#I hope you find it in keeping with the original spirit at least <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[scrumpledorph]

Two points of preface. One, I like to talk in absolutes; 'never do this' 'always let this happen' etc. That's just a shorthand so I don't need to append a bunch of caveats to every sentence I write; in truth, there will be times where breaking the established rules will elevate your work. You kind of just need to get a sense for it, and I'm afraid I can't help you with that because it's also largely a matter of personal taste. Two, I'm not a professional, just a hobbyist with a couple friends who I solicit feedback from.

Likely the single biggest piece of advice I can give is: don't cut the tension. Marvel and its derivatives (henceforth referred to as capeshit for brevity) establish tense scenes, but they don't use them for tension - they use them as a punchline by having a character say or do something wacky right as things are getting good. Don't do that.

If you're establishing tension between two characters; an argument, a fistfight, what have you; play it out. Or, if you want that tension to linger; have an interruption that doesn't cut it, but denies them the ability to resolve it. Something more important than whatever they were fighting over comes up, and now they have to work together. This dovetails well into another piece of advice.

Have consequences for scenes. Capeshit more or less alternates between SNL bits and action scenes to make sure the audience doesn't get bored. Not much really matters. When two people shout at each other, have it mean something. Have an argument rise to blistering invective; make them want to genuinely hurt each other's feelings, and leave them raw after - towards each other and onlookers who try to make them feel better. Have a fist fight establish a power dynamic between two characters, have people lose or gain respect for the people involved based on whether they feel the attacker was justified or the loser is weak, things like that. A single interpersonal confrontation can loom over the story for chapters (scenes, episodes, etc.) if you do it right.

Treat your characters with sincerity. This is addressing lamp shading, and it's very closely linked to the first point. When capeshit has a character take themselves seriously, often the villain, other characters mock them in drawn out comedic sequences. While this can be done with intent - to show a lack of respect, goad someone into making mistakes, etc. the problem is the writers don't use it with intent: they always do this, because they're working with borrowed properties made to appeal to thirteen year old boys between twenty and seventy years ago, and think these characters are beneath them.

You should love your characters. You don't need to like them, maybe you think they're a weaselly piece of shit or an irredeemable monster, but you should be excited to flesh them out. You have to want the audience to feel things about them to elevate them above cardboard cutouts. This is a specific subset of the next point, but I felt it was a significant enough occurrence to warrant giving it its own paragraph.

Play it straight. Don't have your characters constantly questioning things if the only reason they're doing it is to signal to the audience that something is absurd. When confronted with the impossible, it becomes the possible, and the mind bends to accommodate it. No 'they fly now', no 'well that just happened'. Things are self evidently possible by virtue of them happening, and that's just how it is. If presented with enough confidence and follow through, the audience will accept it.

For an enduring example, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure constantly follows absurd leaps of logic, but Hirohiko Araki does it with such gusto and panache the reader simply can't question it in the moment, and even when they can later - they usually agree that it worked anyway.

As a closing piece, and I really believe this is arguably the progenitor of the entire problem: assume your audience likes your work. All of the things above are compromises made for a hypothetical reader, watcher, etc. who doesn't like your work, to make it more palatable to them. Cut that person out of your mind. You are creating art for yourself, and if they're lucky - a few close friends. Make your characters hyper competent and don't worry about the person saying it's unrealistic. Give your characters designs you think are cool without thinking about the Reddit dipshit who'll call it a donut steel. Let your characters give uninterrupted monologues at dramatic moments without imagining cinemasins dinging it because the other characters don't attack them while they're doing it.

To paraphrase a piece of advice from Mark Rosewater, the head designer of Magic: The Gathering; if everybody likes your work but nobody loves it, you will fail. It is better to alienate ninety people and make ten lifelong fans than it is to get one hundred fair weather fans. Capeshit ran out of steam the second the original set of characters were retired, because they were working off goodwill established back when they gave half a goddamn.

As I said at the start; every one of these points has caveats and exceptions that are too numerous to list. If I held you by the hand and told you exactly how to make every decision in your work, I can't imagine it would be very fun for either of us. But I hope I've established enough of a scaffolding for you to start building off of.

Few things I respect less than an artist or writer who lacks creative conviction. If your work is visibly self-conscious, how can you expect the reader to possibly engage with it with earnest? If even you don't believe in the work, how can the reader? Likewise I think that having artistic convictions is a boon that can guide a weak premise into a strong execution.

[aayakashii]

It seems I haven't quite had my fill of cuteness. So I humbly ask for part 4 of the plushie series with Luca, Ritsu, Zenji, Tohma, and Rui.

It's ok if you don't want to also

The most requested thing!! hehehe |ू´꒳`) I'm really happy you guys like the plushie headcanons, and thanks to the anon who originally requested it a few months ago too!!

Part 1, part 2, part 3

How Tokyo Debunker boys react after receiving a cute little plushie from MC – Luca, Ritsu, Zenji, Tohma, Rui, Ed and Lyca

Lucas Errant – husky plushie

Extremely happy that he is receiving such a thoughtful gift from you!

He never truly allowed himself to play with toys because of his studies, and then came the guilt of losing his brother… Letting himself relax like that barely ever crossed his mind.

So he doesn't really know what to do???

He just perches the cute plushie on his desk and politely greets it whenever he leaves his room and gets back.

He's a bit confused, but he's got the spirit!

Since the husky is always on his desk, it kinda becomes his study buddy really quick too.

Luca ends up reciting his notes to it and reading his books out loud, so it helps him get even better grades (if that's even possible).

He notices this and IMMEDIATELY goes to thank you.

He is 100% sure that you had this crazy elaborate plan to make him get better grades, which is why you made the plushie for him.

Now he’s asking you to maybe make one for Kaito so he stops going to so many remedial classes…

Because he’s denser than a (quickly researches what is the densest rock in the world) peridotite

And doesn’t realize that you gave him a handmade gift because you LIKE him........

He’ll have to ask someone for help after you get upset with him because of this.

Because the husky plushie definitely doesn’t know either and, for some reason, Kaito just refuses to help him!

Cut him some slack… he’s just dense. Like a peridotite.

Shinjo Ritsu – otter plushie

"For me?"

"Yes."

"I believe you are aware that a gift, in the law of property, is the voluntary and immediate transfer of property from one person to another and in order for the it to be legally effective it has to have donative intent, the delivery of the gift to the donee, and the acceptance of the gift."

“Okay...?”

“Therefore I accept the gift.”

“Cool…”

Congratulations, you have just given Ritsu his first official associate.

Or at least this is what he says to himself in his mind.

He was trained to become a lawyer since he was a little kid, so he never thought about playing with toys that much (and his father didn’t push him to do so as well).

But he gotta admit, having a handmade plushie, something his partner (as in business partner! Don’t get him wrong!) made for him exclusively does bring a feeling of joy he never quite felt before.

If anyone so much as THINK about touching his gift, he will be ready to recite the entire constitution, and every single law they broke, AND declare how many years they’ll get in prison just for touching his little otter friend.

He takes things such as private property very seriously after all.

He won’t take the plushie everywhere with him (what about safety?), but he does keep it right next to him in bed when he’s reviewing all the records he made throughout the day.

For a second, he wonders if he could sneak a camera into a plushie and give it to you, but oh no, that would be an invasion of privacy!

Or at least only until he finds a loophole in the law.

Kotodama Zenji – koi plushie

"My dear!!! Oh you truly are the most lovely flower to ever grace this earth! If my heart could still beat, it would be racing for you!!"

You managed to steal a little beaded bracelet artifact, something weak (or at least you hope so), and tied it on the plushie's tail.

And your theory was successful! Zenji could actually touch it, just like he could carry his doll due to its anomalous properties.

To say he’s absolutely SMITTEN with the plushie is an understatement.

He loves anything artistic and knowing that you spent your precious time creating that cute plushie for him makes him so so happy!

WILL carry it everywhere and write ballads about the koi. And poems. And he will read every single myth involving kois and post them on his youtube channel as well (please like and subscribe... PLEASE...)

Haku has the time of his life laughing at Zenji, because now he carries his doll, his biwa AND his plushie everywhere.

If you keep giving him gifts, he might actually need a whole cart to carry everything around him.

The little koi and the doll become his most loyal fans, and his company during nighttime, when everyone’s asleep.

If you see a koi plushie outside your window, don’t freak out. It’s just Zenji watching you sleep again.

He has the habit of calling the doll "his brother" and now he’s gonna call the koi plushie "his dearest".

The two people he cares about the most, right there in his arms: Jiro and you.

Ishibashi Tohma – orca plushie

"Oh? I wonder what made you think I am fit for receiving such an adorable little gift."

Tohma… does not know what to do with the gift you just gave him.

Don’t get him wrong, he appreciates it! Truly. He is mesmerized by the fact that you made a whole orca plushie with your own hands.

But he also doesn’t see how someone as intimidating as him deserves such an adorable gift.

Maybe all those months serving someone else with little appreciation made him forget how it feels to be pampered…

He places the plushie in the vault, right on his desk, and it becomes his companion when he needs to go through paperwork.

Tohma tried giving it a hug once and he got so damn sleepy RIGHT AWAY that now he just pats its head whenever he needs to take a break.

That little thing is dangerous, making him feel so comfortable… He can’t sleep, he’s a busy man! A little headpat to acknowledge the plushie will have to suffice.

However, he still hasn’t tried taking the plushie to his room yet.

He’s quite worried that his sleep will just be filled with dreams about you.

And oh dear... it'd be way too tough to wake up from something pleasant like that.

Mizuki Rui – black bunny plushie

You torture him, being so cute!

A plushie? For him? A black bunny you made with your own hands?!

He wishes he could squish you to death, but that could become quite literal if he actually touched you.

So instead, he squeezes the hell out of the bunny.

Absolutely loves the gift and takes it EVERYWHERE with him.

It basically becomes his bar’s little mascot.

He kisses the bunny’s cheeks every single time he lays his eyes on it. There’s a good morning kiss, a good afternoon kiss, a good evening kiss, plenty of see you later kisses… (he just wishes he was actually kissing you).

Rui will definitely get little accessories for the bunny and maybe even get matching ones for you.

He will also name it some variation of your name and refer to it during conversations as if he was talking about an actual living being.

Lyca and Ed are forced to acknowledge the bunny as their new dorm mate, but won’t let Rui get the bunny its own room because that would be too much!!

Oh, Rui will also buy a bottle of your perfume to spray on the plushie so when he hugs it, it smells like you

What? No, of course that’s not creepy at all, silly! He just loves everything about you, including your perfume!

Edward Hart – ram plushie

Oya, look at what his lovely human brought to him. And you made it yourself? Wonderful.

He has watched plenty of DIY tutorials on youtube, but was always too lazy to go through with them.

Now that he knows you’re skillful with your hands, though? Expect plenty of requests. Maybe do a little bat for him next, what do you think?

The little ram probably becomes the only clean thing in his room, despite Ed holding it all the time when he’s bedrotting.

(That’s because Rui cleans it frequently. He doesn’t want you to think your gift went underappreciated)

And when I say constantly, I mean CONSTANTLY.

Something cute and comfy to hold while he rewatches that 10 hour conspiracy iceberg video for the 5th time? That is exactly what he needs.

He will try to take pictures of the ram watching videos with him for you, but it will be terribly unfocused.

You appreciate the thought despite that!

You don’t appreciate the message he sent though...

"Hello My Dear 😘❗️I Just Had To Show You This 📷❗️Look At How My New Little Friend 🐏 Is Watching Youtube 💻 With Me 🦇❤️ He Just Absolutely Loves ❤️ To Watch ✨️ Conspiracy Videos✨️ With Me 🦇 I Tried Inviting Lyca🐺 Too But He Won’t Reply To My Messages ✉️🚫😢 I Wonder Why 🤔❓️ Please Come Visit Me Anytime 👋🏰🥀 We’d Love To Watch Things With You👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨😘💋"

Lyca Colt – wolf plushie

“What's this?”

“It's a gift for you. I made it.”

“What do I do with it?”

“Um... nothing. You can cuddle it when you sleep, I guess?”

“Hmpft! I'm not a child, I don't need to cuddle things!!”

Don't worry, he thanks you properly after Rui scolds him and tells him to express gratitude when he gets gifts.

He is a little bit rough with it at first, since he never had a toy before, but he quickly gets extremely possessive of it and starts treating the plushie with a lot more care.

He WILL growl and bite if someone tries to take it from him.

Lyca kind of acts like a big brother to his wolf plushie, taking him to his favorite spots and explaining the things he learned to it (he needs to practice after all!)

The plushie becomes a nice reminder of you. Whenever he thinks about doing something he shouldn’t, he looks at the wolf’s beady eyes and thinks of yours as well.

Who would’ve thought this would be such a sure-fire way to make him behave a bit more.

Rui, however, is absolutely exasperated because he just knows that plushie will be another thing that will desperately need washing SOON and Lyca just won’t let him clean it.

Lyca eventually wraps his plushie in his stinky baby blanket (much to Rui’s despair) and cuddles with it to sleep every night.

His dreams become all about you, so don’t worry in case he has a little bit of a hard time looking at you the next day (and a little blush on his cheeks). It’s a little hard to explain!

Full masterlist

[honeyxbunny99]

Sandor Clegane~ The Bitch and The Hound pt. 3

You woke to bird song and smiled contentedly, rolling over to try to catch another glimpse at your husband. You found only an empty bed. You began to stretch up out of bed and reflect on last night, as if it hadn’t been keeping you awake and even seeping into your dreams. ~Stay out of my head~ you had told Sandor in your mind, but whenever you tried to think of puppies or flowers or children, all of your familiar sweet dream things, you would turn back and watch him sleep.

Just as your feet hit the floor, Anna knocked at your chamber door and entered the next second. She rushed over to you with quiet footsteps, scanning you and seeing that you were still in your evening dress.

“Are you hurt, m’lady?” Concern coated every word and she placed gentle hands on your cheeks. You placed your hands atop hers and smiled, finding comfort in how much she cared for you.

“I’m fine, Anna. He didn’t hurt me, and he won’t hurt you.”

“But (y/n) how can you say that when the bruises are still fresh?” She asked and you were reminded of his grip on your throat the night you were supposed to consummate.

”I just… I’m certain.” You assured.

She nodded softly. Perhaps if you were a handmaiden like her she would have argued further, but now you had at least some sense of nobility. You were a part of the Clegane house now, and that meant a lot more than your original name. You admired Anna’s spirit and compassion as she dressed you. You considered her a true friend, and wanted to tell her everything as you would have told your sister. Sandor’s words stopped you though. You wondered as she tightened your corset if it was true; that she would sell you out to improve her circumstances. Perhaps you would if you were in her position.

“Must have been hard to sleep with that on all night… Though if I had to sleep next to the hound I wouldn’t want to undress either. He seemed very angry… Normally he’s all stoic and,” she molded her face to scowl like his and you laughed, “but that’s one of the only times I’ve ever seen him truly angry…. How did you get him to calm down?” She wondered aloud.

You tried to sort through stories in your head as quickly and naturally as possible. “I yelled back.” You finally shrugged, admitting the truth. She laughed in disbelief and brought a hand up to hide her mouth.

“Lady Clegane you ARE a fiery one.”

You blushed at her comment. “Well there were some tears that followed that fire…” you watched her make the bed and your stomach growled. “Would you like to break fast with me?”

She smiled brightly at you. “If you don’t fear it then I don’t either.”

The two of you dined and laughed together that morning and you felt hope for the first time that this prison you’d been damned to could actually make you happy. After your meal, you invited her on a walk through the gardens. You nearly ran into Cersei Lannister as you swiveled around a hedge.

“Your grace, I—“

“Ah, my dear lady Clegane… Leave us.” She looked at Anna as though she were rubbish littering her gardens. Anna looked between the two of you before saying lowly “I won’t go too far.”

You held your breath and curtsied. You had to wonder by her charming expression if the queen mother hated you for what you had to said about her, and how you had disrespected her son.

~Of course she does, why wouldn’t she!~

“And how is that husband of your treating you?” She asked smirking, taking your arm in hers and creating more distance between you and Anna. “I see you’re up and walking, it is a little disappointing.”

You furrowed your brows in confusion before remembering what Anna had told you about the soreness that came after intercourse. “Yes, well—“

“Maester Pycelle showed us the sheets himself. It was a bloody thing, he almost came to check on you but Joffrey forbade it. Sometimes my son can be overly cruel… Were it up to me, I would have just cut your throat and be done with it.” She dropped the threat so casually it made your mouth run dry. “But, here we are. I do hope your marriage to the hound lasts for many years to come..”

“I’m sorry, Queen Cersei… I’m sorry for what I said.”

“Oh don’t be an idiot.” She stopped walking and faced you. “You know you’re not, I know you’re not. Perhaps you are sorry for how you’ve ended up, the horrors you find yourself enduring with that beast on top of you… But you said it, in front of everyone. Own it. And own your punishment.” Her eyes fell to the ground. “Marriage can feel suffocating… I should know. It can feel like the death of yourself, because it is. From now until the end you will always be Lady Clegane. An extension of HIM. Something for him to fuck when he’s drunk or angry or doesn’t want to pay for it… Robert was a great killer in his day. It gave him nobility. Clegane is an even better killer but you know what it’s given him?” She began walking again, trusting you’d follow. “Next to nothing. Because he frightens, because he’s charmless, because of that nasty deformity on his face. People wrote songs about Robert, but they tell scary stories about your husband…” Her gaze grew distant, as if remembering. “Deep down every man wants to kill things because then they are completely his… the hound is different. The pleasure he takes from killing… I’ve heard tales that make even my blood run cold. That’s why I bought him. He will protect my son from all the cruelty the world can spew at him by lashing back horrors only he could come up with.” Now her eyes were daggers and they were pointed at you.

“You will never have love in your life with a man like that so close to you, and that, my dear, is punishment enough.”

She had taken your hand again at some point in her monologue and now she offered it a squeeze and a pat. She released you and turned to walk back into the red keep.

“You grace?” You called. “I’d like to pick some flowers…” you said it casually, to emphasize that you were not afraid of her. “May I do so here or may I be permitted beyond the walls?”

Cersei smiled in her conniving way as she looked you up and down, and nodded. “Take what you need, girl.” Before disappearing behind the protection of two large guards.

You turned swiftly and found Anna’s face peeking out behind one of the hedges. “Help me pick some roses.” You said, covering for the awkwardness of the situation with a smile.

11 roses later and you were back in your chambers. Anna and you plucked each of the petals off casually and gathered them in a cloth. There was a joust or some other horrible display going on today and you could hear the distant music and crowds from your window. You wondered if Sandor and his master were in attendance.

“I actually feel sorry for Sandor.”

“Who?” Anna said absentmindedly, pricking her thumb on a thorn.

You blew a harsh breath through your nose at the realization that even she didn’t know his real name. “The Hound?? My husband??”

“Oh!” She made a face. “I don’t much care for the name. Why would you feel sorry for that dog?” You narrowed your eyes at her insults and she raised her hands up in surrender, causing your stare to break into a soft smile. “He’s stuck with Joffrey all day. He’s been that way for years. Hell, if I had to put up with that little shit’s demands, his nasty attitude, I’d probably have a scowl like that too.”

Anna giggled. “Probably.” She sighed, finishing her roses and walking over to the window to lean out of it and try to see the event. “Still, he got the much nicer end of your bargain. He gets a beautiful virgin to terrorize in whatever ways he sees fit, all because you said what everyone was thinking.”

You looked down and the empty stems in your lap and sighed. “The Hound does not think me beautiful… And he even did not think me a virgin. Have you heard, that people say my father and I—“

“Nonsense. I know it, he knows it, Maester Pycelle sure knows it. When a pretty girl is lowborn, people make up all kinds of awful shit about her.”

You nodded, eyes still down at your lap.

“The Hound—Sandor— would have to be blind if he didn’t think you’re beautiful. And that wouldn’t make him a very good guard dog…” She came over to you and touched your shoulder gently. “Are you okay?”

“Yes… you wish to go to the tournament don’t you?” She nodded biting her lip. “Come with me, I know a guard who will let us out”

“No, I have no desire for it. Could you help draw me a bath though first?”

You enjoyed your time alone that day and tried not to count all the hours that you were waiting for your husband. It felt as though much more time had passed than the previous night and you were growing impatient. You studied your reflection and considered Anna’s words. ‘He would have to be blind if he didn’t think you were beautiful’ she had said. You wished it were true. You had been feeling so ugly lately, and now that the swelling had moved on, you decided to take the day to beautify yourself. You did not need Anna’s help, in fact you preferred to pamper yourself as you always had. Your makeup suited the lowlight of the fire and you brushed your hair a hundred more times. You wore a simple silk dress, one that would be far more comfortable to sleep in, and waited for your man. You hoped one day he could be proud to have you.

The chamber door opened and you couldn’t help but smile as you spun around in your seat. It fell though as your husband came into full view. He was bloodied, and his face mean.

“Sandor, are you hurt?!” You leapt up into action, racing over to him. He flinched away from your touch and growled out

“I’m fine woman. It’s not my blood.” Your eyes widened. “I’m glad.”

His expression read confusion. “Thank you for coming to me again tonight.”

“I’ve got to sleep somewhere don’t I? ‘Sides, I mad you a promise.”

You nodded in agreement and continued looking him over. “Still, you must have slept somewhere else the night before…”

“I wasn’t sleeping.” He answered as if that was the end of the explanation. The way he looked at you, you decided not to pry. For the first time you felt beautiful under his gaze. “You smell good.”

A shiver of joy ran up your spine at the compliment, and like you always do, you jumped right into rambling.

“Thank you! It’s rose water! I bathe in it whenever I can. It’s been said to keep the skin soft and youthful, though truthfully I just enjoy the scent.. Here!” You offered up your wrist to the big man and blushed at the size difference between you. He looked at you like you were crazy before slowly leaning down to your wrist and inhaling the scent. He closed his eyes for a moment before walking past you without a word. He cleared his throat and began to undo his armor once again.

“When’s the last time you had a bath?” “saying I stink, girl?” “Did I say that out loud?” You quipped and he turned to you and snarled.

“I don’t mean to offend, but you look like you’ve had a hard day, and a bath always makes me feel better.”

“It’s too late for that”

“I could help you.”

“I don’t need your help to wash my own ass.”

“I meant bring you the water, fill the tub, clean your armor… please?” He considered you for a moment, eyes roaming over your body.

Finally he nodded. “Fine girl, since you beg so sweetly.” he mocked but you still smiled. You raced over to the string that would ring the bell in Anna’s chamber and the two of you conspired to sneak around gathering hot water for Sandor’s bath.

“I can’t believe he’s making you do this!”

“He’s not.”

“Then why are you—“

“This will go a lot faster if you don’t ask questions, I’ll tell you about it tomorrow!” Sandor stood in the corner and watched as the two of you filled the tub again until Anna was dismissed. Sandor locked the door and then started blowing out candles you had lit. He watched you from the corner of his eye as he passed by the bathroom again to extinguish the largest fire.

You were sitting on the edge of the tub, stirring the water with your hand, dress hugging your hourglass figure, and all of it was illuminated by the glow of the moon pouring through the bathroom window.

He felt nervous. Bathing was something he did very rarely, and never in front of another person. But he couldn’t exactly kick you out into the hall. He didn’t trust the people outside this room. He took a deep breath and entered the bathroom.

“Out.” He commanded, and though you tried to hold back a frown, you obeyed. Sandor removed his shirt and his boots and you scurried back in, causing his heartbeat to quicken. “What are you—“ “I almost forgot!” You said before pouring half a small bottle into the steaming water.

Sandor grabbed your arm to stop you. “Woman what do you think you’re doing?!”

“Well you said you liked the way I smelled—“

“Bitch, you’ve gone and ruined my bath with roses? I’m a man, a man shouldn’t smell like fucking flowers!”

You smiled a little in spite of his grip on you. “Which is why it isn’t oil of rose in this bottle!” You grabbed the bottle with your free hand and brought it to his nose to smell. “It’s from cloves and cinnamon, you brute.” You raised your eyebrows as he inhaled and didn’t completely reject it. He frowned and released your wrist.

“Out.” He said again.

“Fine.” You replied, sneaking a moment as you slowly retreated to admire his chest; big and strong and covered in dark hair. “Do let me know if you desire company.” You say on the edge of the bed, listening and trying to picture yourself in the room with him.

“What I desire,” you heard the shuffle off more clothes and you blushed, covering your mouth to prevent a squeal. ~HES NAKED!!~ your heart sang. “is some peace and fucking quiet…” and the bath water sloshed against the sides of the tub. After a moment, he continued. “Been listening to that fucking brat all day.”

Your hand dropped from your mouth and you called out in surprise, turning to face the wall that hid your man. “You… you don’t like Joffrey?”

“Hate the fucker.”

You were overjoyed and stood up to pace. All you wanted to do was talk to him about everything but you were silent, granting him the quiet he asked for. Meanwhile in the bathroom Sandor was listening intensely to you on the other side of the wall as well. He heard your nervous footsteps pacing back and forth and smiled. He cupped the water in his hands and brought it up to wet his face and sighed in relief. He would never had thought to do this for himself, but he was grateful that you did. He looked down in the water and decided that, since it was so dark in the shadow of the tub, you could enter again. {Only to stop her pacing} he thought.

“Oh for fucks sake, princess, come in and tell me what’s on your mind.”

You peeked your head around the corner, hair falling over your shoulder. “Really?”

Your expression made Sandor want to smile again but he fought it, instead resorting to lay his head back and close his eyes.

You eagerly entered the room and told him of your interaction with Cersei today, choosing to leave out the cruel things she said about him. “I don’t believe she endorses what Joffrey’s doing, the way he’s behaving it’s like he’s out of her control. She said she’d have cut my throat and be done with it, but Joffrey was much crueler.” Sandor’s face hardened but he kept his eyes screwed shut.

“Her other children are said to be kind and beautiful… I suppose there are faces even a mother cannot love and Joffrey has one of them.” It was then that you realized that with his eyes closed, you might be able to approach. You felt almost perverted, but your curiosity got the better of you. You had never seen a naked man before, and you were now so attracted to Sandor that you couldn’t help yourself. You wanted to join him in that bath, be held by him.

Your feet carried you forward slowly as you spoke. “It angers me that you have to live your life for that family, for that boy, especially now knowing you hate him too..”

“Careful, girl.” He said warily, peeking open one eye as he felt your approach. “Why?” You stopped then, but still looked down at him sweetly. “Because you bite?” You recalled. You imagined being bitten by him. You moved forward. “You going to sink your teeth into my other thigh?”

Your husbands eyes snapped open at this and he sat up a bit turning his head to face you, shock and something else plastered across it.

“I’m not afraid of you.” you nearly whispered as you sank down beside him and rested your arms on the edge of the tub.

“You should be.” “Why? You won’t hurt me…”

“Oh yes I would. So you best not get close, princess.” You gasped, putting a hand to your chest and reaching out your other to place a finger on his chest. “Oh no, I’ve done it now.”

He furrowed his brows in confusion at you and felt nervous at your gentle touch.

“Go on, bite.” You offered up your limp wrist jokingly. Surprisingly, Sandors hands shot up out of the water and grabbed your arm, holding it tightly in place.

“I’ll pull you in this water with me, girl.” You blushed and smiled and he was shocked that his threat had that effect on you. Could you truly be excited by the prospect? “Ah yes. To be in such close proximity with a strong handsome man is truly a fate worse than death.” You mocked your punishment.

“Who you callin’ handsome?” His grip loosened and you wiggled your hand out to point to his chest again.

“You, Sandor Clegane. You are handsome.” And you meant every word.

He frowned again and sighed, trying to lay back down into the water. You walked away and he felt a pang of regret. When you returned from the counter, you got back down on your knees beside him and dipped the sponge into the water. He watched as you rang it out. “Will you tell me about your day? Whose blood is that?”

He reflected for a moment, choosing what to say as you brought the sponge to his chest and began to rub. “No one of your concern.”

You nodded; though you weren’t satisfied you had resolved that this was the most details your husband would give willingly. “May I have your arm?” He sat up again and studied your face as you gently washed his arm with care.

“It was just some of my fellow members of the kingsguard.” He said the word with disdain. “Happened off duty in a tavern.” You glanced up at him as he spoke but didn’t want to jinx how freely he was speaking to you so you continued your work on his large arm.

“You’ve nothing more to worry about. They won’t be speaking ill of you or your family anymore.”

You paused and now focused your gaze on his. “You killed them for me?”

“Killed one, bloodied the others. Gossiping like women they were, the fucking rats. Now they know better…” he concluded, eyes locked on yours as he spoke. You surprised him by throwing your arms around his neck in an embrace. He pushed you away, “Fuck was that?!” “A-A hug?” “I know that! Why’d you do it?!” “Because I…” you felt embarrassed and backed away but he grabbed your arm again. “I don’t know, I just wanted to, I’m sorry…”

The top of your dress had gotten wet in the struggle and he could see the way the silk caressed your breasts, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. “I can do the rest myself.” He ordered as he felt the familiar twitch beneath the water.

You stood up embarrassed and ashamed. “Alright.” You offered peace as you left the room. Your eyes welled with tears but you blinked them away. You feared whatever progress you had made with the man was now all worthless. You had crossed his boundaries, been too forward, and it put him off you. You sighed and walked over to pour yourself a small glass of wine. It was a long time before Sandor came out of the bathroom, and without the fire you grew cold and tired. You pulled the cape he had given you the night before from the closet and wrapped it around your body, it perfectly engulfed you. Your eyes began to close before you heard him clear his throat.

“Are you coming to bed.” He asked, standing beside it with a towel wrapped around his lower half. As much shame as you felt about it, the sight of him like that certainly woke you up.

“Do you want me to?” You asked, still all wrapped up in his cape.

He grumbled, “Sleep in the chair for all I care.”

You took it as an instruction, and so you nodded. “Goodnight, Sandor. I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable.” You turned away from him to your original position, settling back down and closing your eyes. “I was too familiar with you and I forgot my place in your life—“

“Oh shut up.” His gruff voice startled you as it sounded right above you.

Your eyes snapped open and you saw he had extended a hand to you. Hesitantly you took it and he pulled you up quickly, making you gasp. You were right in front of him now, and you were reminded of your wedding night. You looked up at him through your lashes, his hair dripped between your bodies, and he looked down at you, expression soft.

“On the bed.”

Your breath caught in your throat and you felt a jolt of pleasure go right between your thighs. You nodded, eyes not leaving his, and walked to the bed. You laid down against the pillows, knees bent, and watched him rifle through the closet, towel only held up by one hand. Your eyes did their best to see in the dark as he finally selected a new pair of breeches and dropped the towel. He dropped the towel and quickly pulled the bottoms on. You prayed he didn’t put a shirt on. He turned and took a couple of steps toward you, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

“You think me handsome?”

You nodded slowly, unsure where this was going. “Yes, ser.”

“Not ser.”

“Yes my lord…”

You could see his face more clearly now in the moonlight, and watched him grin. “You dream of my pretty face?” He stalked toward your side of the bed and you tried not to squirm under his gaze.

“Of your handsome face.. yes..”

He climbed on top of the bed and began to crawl to you on all fours. Another time when you felt incredibly small compared to him. Your heart felt like it was about to beat outside of its cage. “Do you wish I would touch you?” He asked hotly, at last up by your face. “Sink my teeth into your thigh, that’s what you said…”

His face dipped closer to yours and you let out a small, uncontrollable moan at his words. You closed your eyes in embarrassment and slid down the bed a little. “I asked you a question, princess.”

“Yes.” You whispered.

“Aw, cats finally got your tongue.” He held himself up with one arm and brought his opposite hand up to your lip as he ran his thumb across it. Your brain was too frazzled by the moment to think clearly; there was only instinct left.

You boldly stuck your tongue out and licked a small stripe across the tip of his thumb and he inhaled sharply. He opened his eyes again at you, surprised, but did not protest as you moved your mouth to wrap around his thumb and suckle. He even moved it in and out of your mouth and his breathing shuttered. You felt wetness begin to pool between your thighs.

“Do you tease me on purpose?” He asked quietly. You weren’t sure how to answer so you only continued your ministrations on his thumb. He let out a heavy breath and pulled back, taking his hand away from you. He sat up on his knees and you could see the tent forming in his pants.

“How long have you wanted me?”

You blushed and sat up a bit yourself. “Since the first night we spent together…”

“A lie.” He said coldly. “I saw how scared you were when I ripped off your dress.”

“I didn’t know you… I thought you were going to hurt me like Joffrey said to… but later,” you nearly cringed at your admission, “I dreamt about you…”

He only watched you, breathing through his mouth in disbelief. “Do you really think me ugly?” You asked finally.

He narrowed his eyes at you and questioned, “Who told you that?”

“When you didn’t want me, I just—“

“I think you’re the most gorgeous creature I’ve ever laid eyes on…” slowly he leaned down again, hovering above you. You breathed in his clean scent and trembled. He scanned your face and you felt the biggest emotion you’d had this far.

“You know you’ve never kissed me…”

“Aye..” he agreed, eyes darting to your lips. “Sandor.. please?” You begged in a whisper and his lips enveloped yours in a second.

The kiss was hot and crushing, and his scruff felt perfect against your face. You opened your mouth and wrapped your arms around his neck once again to pull him closer, as if that were possible. Your heart beat erratically and you grew breathless from his kisses, airy moans leaving your mouth every time he pulled back for only a second.

“Do you really want me?” His voice was thick, and he seemed breathless as well as he pulled back and hovered a few inches above your face.

You cupped his face as your eyes memorized every line in his face. “I want you, Sandor. I need you!” You said in desperation, and in that moment nothing was more true. You leaned your head up and claimed his lips again with your own, and he returned the passion from before.

TO BE CONTINUED

[galvanizedfriend]

Klaroline Fanfiction Masterlist

It's been a minute since I last updated my masterlist so I decided to go ahead and start a new one. Yokan // ▪ Multi-chapters

. The Wolf Series [I, II, III and Outtakes - Incomplete] When Caroline wakes up shackled, powerless and very far away from Mystic Falls, she knows she's in serious trouble. But when a woman named Sophie Deveraux reveals the reason why she's been kidnapped and taken to New Orleans, she realizes things are far worse than she could've ever imagined.

[The Originals rewriting where Caroline is a witch and gets pregnant with Klaus' child. Seasons 1, 2 and 3 complete, season 4 coming.]

. Vice and Virtue [6/6 - Complete] As the second son of a Duke, Klaus Mikaelson has the means and all the time in the world to indulge in every manner of wild activity with very little respect for the regiment of polite society. That is until his brother decides he's had enough of his vulgar ways and gives him an ultimatum. Caroline Forbes is a young debutante in search of true love and adventure. Except her aunt wishes for her to marry a somber Viscount who's already buried three wives. When their paths cross, they realize they might yet strike a deal that could satisfy their relatives and benefit them both.

[AH Regency!AU inspired by Bridgerton and a dozen other period novels I have been reading lately.]

. Pedulum [2/2 - Complete] This is what Klaus Mikaelson knows: death isn't the end for him. From the moment he is brought into the world to his final shuddering breath, Klaus' life is pretty much the same as everyone else's. The difference lies in what happens after he dies: he goes right back to the beginning, a child in London with the memory of dozens of lives lived before. Nothing ever really changes, including the fact that no matter how hard he tries, he can never save Caroline Forbes' life for too long.

[AH/soulmates!AU with a slight magical twist. Technically a one-shot, chapter 2 is just an alternate ending.]

. We'll Always Have New Orleans [3/15 - Incomplete] Caroline wakes up in a world where everything looks exactly the same, only nothing really is. For starters, she's no longer a vampire, and no one else in Mystic Falls has ever heard of witches, vampires or werewolves - no one except for Klaus, who woke up just as human and twice as angry about it. Their search for answers and a way out takes them all the way to New Orleans, and Caroline could never anticipate how much this crazy fake world was about to alter her reality forever.

[Canon-divergence!AU. Set right after TVD 4x18.]

. Speed Dating [4/4 - Complete] Klaus is having a bad month, so Caroline decides it's a great idea to drag him along to a round of Speed Dating. Other men in the room do not approve.

AH/AU fluff that was inspired by an episode of House (yes, it is fluff, I promise).

. Gasoline [2/2 - Complete] "He doesn't apologize, of course he doesn't. He doesn't care. He calls everyone love. It's not meant to mean anything. Except it did, once, and it makes Caroline's stomach churn away inside, as she feels Klaus crawling underneath her skin like he never left at all. I've still got you."

AH/Band!AU. Two years after Klaus walked out on his band - on her -, Caroline finds herself in her least favorite place on earth - New Orleans. She really did try to stay away from him, escaping an event just to keep off his radar. He finds her anyway.

. Like It's Christmas Again [2/2 - Complete] As Christmas approaches, Caroline Forbes, a New York-based event planner, is sent to a quaint small town in Virginia to organize their holiday festival. But her plans are momentarily hindered by the presence of Klaus Mikaelson, the Mayor's brother and a grumpy billionaire lacking in any holiday spirit, who's in town to close the sale of his family's manor - the charming estate she was hoping to use as a venue.

[AKA that time when I committed Christmas fic. AU/AH inspired by a Hallmark movie, I kid you not.]

. Spin [5/5 - Complete] Since she was seven years old, Caroline Forbes has been preparing herself to become President of the United States. But before she gets to the Oval Office, she needs to win the election for senior student president at the prestigious Saint Sebastian High - which would be in the bag if only goddamn Klaus Mikaelson hadn't decided to run against her.

[AH/AU lovers-to rivals-to-lovers The Politician!AU where everyone takes school elections way more seriously than they should.]

. How Far I'd Go [2/2 - Complete for now] Set in TVD S6/TO S2. Unable to control Caroline after she turns her humanity off, Stefan reaches out to the only person he can think of for help.

[Slices of moments of Klaus in Mystic Falls while Caroline has her humanity off.] ▪ One-shots

. The Sound of Settling Klaus hates his job at Mikaelson & Sons. He hates wearing a suit. He also hates his brothers constantly butting into his life. Everything will be better once he gets his much desired transfer to the New York branch. Caroline Forbes is the owner of Mystic Café, and when Klaus accidentally wanders into her coffee shop, his whole perspective changes. [AH/Coffee Shop!AU where Klaus is a lawyer. Fluffity Fluff. Lots of Mikaelsons and some Carenzo friendship.] . The Witch Queen Caroline always knew she was different. She was keyed into her own otherness very early on. Strange things happened around the Forbes women. Her mother never really had to spell it out to her, give it a name. Caroline could always sort of feel it, and then at some point the feeling blossomed into comprehension, and comprehension hardened into fact. And with that came an altogether different kind of certainty: this was not a secret she'd be able to keep forever. One day, no matter how hard she tried to hide it, everyone would find out. And when they did, they would come for her.

. Worst Things Have Happened Klaus Mikaelson is a prince with a very dark secret that threatens to destroy his family's legacy. Caroline Forbes is a sorceress whose job is to make sure his secret remains buried. But would it hurt him to put some clothes on? [Royal!AU, with a magical twist.] . The Unexpected Grace of Falling Apart The whole incident was bound to go down as a funny anecdote to be shared among friends, a Oh, you think you've had the worst hook-up ever? Hold my beer kind of story. Provided, of course, that she never had to see him ever and could just wipe him out of her life and memory for good. Given that they live in different time zones, it shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

That is precisely why Caroline is livid when she emerges from the arrivals area at Richmond airport to find Douchebag, in the flesh - sunglasses indoors and all, like the proper jerk that he is - holding up a sign that readsClarisse.

[AH/AU. It's Tyler's wedding weekend and Caroline is back in Mystic Falls for the first time after the most traumatic and depressing year of her life. And it's about to get even worse as she's made to share breathing space with Klaus, The Worst Guy Ever. Except they might have to join forces to save the wedding, and to the discovery that things might not be what the seem. As Caroline teeters on the edge of a breakdown she'd been trying very hard to conceal, an unexpected savior appears to help her through the haze.]

. love, the monster's got me now [Canon compliant. Set in TVD S03E09 Homecoming.]

"Don't run," he says calmly, sounding almost bored, but with a clear warning. "I'm in the mood for a chase. Little spoiler: you can't outrun me." His eyebrows twitch up when he finally turns around to face her, lips curling into an amused grin. "Tyler's girl," he states, gesturing towards the now empty yard. "You missed out on the celebrations, I’m afraid."

[Or: the missing Klaroline scene between "There's your pretty little girlfriend, Caroline" and "There's a whole world out there waiting for you." Klaus and Caroline meet after Homecoming.]

. When It's Gone Suddenly, Caroline hates how nice the bed feels. How soft the pillows are. How smooth and cool and expensive those goddamn sheets are against her skin. She hates the giddiness in her belly, like she's a stupid schoolgirl when she's not allowed to be one anymore. She hates how right the space between Klaus' arms felt, how easily she molded against him. His lips were as full and as soft as they looked, but his hands were gentler and more reverent than they had any right to be, and Caroline hates it. Hates it, hates it, hates it. She hates that it suits her, hates that she wants it, hates that none of it is hers to keep.

[Set after TVD S04E19 Pictures of You. Caroline hears about Klaus' impending departure after a mysterious letter and decides to have some words.] . Wishing Each Sigh Might Be the Last The first time she sees him, Caroline thinks he's an angel.

[Set in 1800s New Orleans. As Caroline lies dying, she prays for God to send help or end her torment and save her soul. She thinks an angel has come for her. But he's no angel at all.] . Feel the Madness Closing In Set in TO S3. Caroline is in New Orleans when Lucien and the Ancestors make a move against the Mikaelson family - and they know exactly who to target in order to get to Klaus. Paranoia sets in, sending him to a very dark place, and Caroline finally learns the price of being loved so profoundly by a monster. . Issues When Klaus' Hollywood career takes a down turn after a nasty divorce and a viral mug shot, his manager decides his life is not yet miserable enough, bringing in a PR company famous for its high-profile damage control cases.

[AH!AU where Klaus is a problematic movie star and Caroline is a PR agent with no time for his BS.]

[studentbyday]

week 3: let's get this bread! (famous last words...)

Omg I can't believe it's only week 3, sm has happened, I swear more time has gone by than actually has 😅😮‍💨🙃 Starting this week feeling a little discouraged because I still have a backlog of schoolwork to catch up on, but let's see if I can get my hopes up again by the end of this week! 🙏🏻🤞🏻If I want to achieve my goals, I need to drastically reduce my screen time. Here's to only using my phone for essential communications and for music, guided meditations, and pilates/yoga videos this week! 😤

mid-week update: this week has been a f*cking mess. mentally, emotionally, physically, existentially. i have not touched the db course so far which was my main goal for this week...every week i'm trying to add something new. i had my reservations about keeping on my original plan for this week, knowing i ended the last one still behind on school, but i went ahead with it, wondering, hoping if it was at all possible. well. we'll see where i'm at by the end of this week. at the very least i'll be closer to caught up.

end-of-week update: posting this early so i don't have to on sunday. i'm making progress but it's still slower than expected. insomnia is a problem. my nerves feel pretty frayed. must find ways to decrease the stimulation. time to reinstate the no-phone mornings (probs should add to my “bingo”) and a social media detox... not sure if i'll have time to post again next week. i find it hard to keep up. i'll probably come back if/when i get things under control...so bye for now (and i sincerely hope your semester is going better than mine 💗) 👋🏻

Academics:

Check and send pathology assignment!!!! ✅

Confirm immunology discussion due date!! ✅

Watch documentary on Wangari Maathai ✅ (glad i did this first thing on monday after sending the path assignment because it was really inspiring and lifted my spirits enough to keep going 💗)

Meet for pathology assignment ✅ (2 members in my group are like...really high-energy and gung-ho. i'm glad cuz that means it's a lighter load for me but woah was that overwhelming at first 😅 and the thing is...these guys aren't the first i've encountered like this. and i'm low-key jealous of them... they're the kind of people who give off the aura of “i'm capable of doing it all” because they're that driven...and based on what i've seen of them, i don't think they're faking it.)

Read all assignment descriptions for global health before you... ✅

Email chosen essay topic to TA by Thursday ✅

Finish M1 pathology by Wednesday ✅

Complete pathology M1 case questions

Finish half of M2 pathology by Sunday

Start pathology M2 case questions

Finish half of M2 global health by Friday ✅

Finish half of M3 immunology by Sunday

Finish M2 microbiology ~ (made some progress but not finished)

Start M3 microbiology

Participate in global health meeting ✅ (wasn't bad but also...not sure when this happened but i've gotten quite nervous speaking up in class and then in my overstimulation, forget some of what i had intended to say, ughhh just gotta keep practicing...)

Complete immunology discussion ✅

Send other pathology assignment ✅

Complete global health discussion ✅

Health:

Meditate x1

Journal x3

Yoga x2

Cardio x1

Pilates x1 (the first time i made it through a 30 min class in one sitting whooooo!!!!!)

Other life things:

Change bedding

Laundry

Music in My Head:

andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante

study music // 1 // 2 // 3

a strange playlist for strange people

piano trio no. 4 in e minor, op. 90, b. 166, “dumky”: i. lento maestoso / ii. poco adagio

pavane op. 50

Things I'm looking forward to:

end of the semester

the height of autumn

christmas

My not-bingo bingo (thinking I'll recycle this every month lol):

[pureforestspirits]

➛ IF THE ATWOW CHARACTERS HAD TUMBLR

featuring! tsireya, lo’ak, neteyam, kiri, ao’nung, rotxo!

just for fun. i couldn’t decide if i wanted to make this a human au, or keep them na’vi… so it’s a mix of both!

TSIREYA - @reefprincessreya 𓇼

she has the most beautiful, aesthetically-pleasing layout you’ll ever see.

username: “reef” because she loves the sea (duh), and “princess” because it’s really pretty + feminine, and she literally is a reef princess after all. finally, her cute nickname “reya”, where the alliteration makes her url extra catchy !

her bio would totally have some beautiful quote.. like, “the way of water has no beginning and no end.” ;)

tsireya does it alllllll. she has her personal tags that she puts on every post to keep organized, and she’ll spend hours on her new themes.

╭ @reefprincessreya

┆sooo happy! our brothers and sisters have

┆returned today, and i finally saw my spirit sister

┆again! she is healthy and well <3

╰ #reya’s life ˚୨୧⋆｡

unlike the rest, who prefer the more private feel of their blog, tsireya shared hers with all her friends who all consistently use tumblr together!

LO'AK - @yooooitsloak

username: he just typed in the first thing that came to mind. 

lo’ak literally made a tumblr account just because of tsireya. 

it’s almost a ghost blog, but he at least took the time to add a pfp (which is a photo of his fav pair of sneakers). 

lo’ak likes every single one of tsireya’s posts. even if there’s only 1 note; it’s lo’ak. 

(we love a supportive boyfriend)

NETEYAM - @burntouteclipse ✰

neteyam is the ultimate aesthetic, educated and sophisticated king for liking tumblr by himself ✊🏻 (no shade to lolo though). like ‘reya, he also has a clean, aesthetically-pleasing layout, but it’s more masculine.

username: just sounds cool, y’know? he also works his ass off and is “burnt out” after all (perfection and golden-childism ain’t easy), and eclipse is just a time of day neteyam really enjoys where he gets to relax and spend time for himself. 

neteyam doesn’t complain much in real life, or let out a lot of his feelings. tumblr is like his peaceful, personal, private corner where he can speak his mind, which he really appreciates. 

i can see him reblogging and following fashion accounts that he likes, as well as occasionally posting a little ramble. ‘teyam’s page is scattered with some little thoughts and feelings here and there between reblogs of cool streetwear clothing and artistic photos/photography (for human neteyam). 

you’ll see him and tsireya interact with each other on occasion! 

╭ @burntouteclipse

┆ accidentally hit my knee earlier today,

╰  and now i can barely run properly. shit

⠀ ╭ @reefprincessreya

⠀ ┆ oh no! i’m sorry to hear. hope you

⠀ ╰ ➤ will feel better soon, ma ‘eylan! ♥︎

⠀ ╭ @burntouteclipse ☆ Original Poster

⠀ ╰ ➤ thank you tsireya

if there’s a girl he likes, neteyam’ll try and see if she has a tumblr. he’ll eventually find it, and enjoys scrolling through her posts + loves reading her little rambles. but he does it from a distance, and doesn’t interact (you’d never know. he’s the epitome of secret admirer). . .

KIRI - @atokirina333 ❀

username: kiri’s a spiritual gal, what can i say? not to mention, she was named after the atokirina, so it’s perfect. there’s also angel numbers!! ofc!!! ps: this url was taken at first, but she tracked down the person and convinced them to give it to her. somehow. 

unlike neteyam who writes ‘n posts small things sometimes… kiri can rant here. don’t get me wrong, she’s not posting paragraphs, but she definitely lets loose when she wants to.

human kiri posts her plants, her crystals, her music vinyls, the desserts she likes baking, her books and posters, literally anything and everything you’d find in her room because it’s all pretty.

what else would you see on her page? poetry. reblogs of quotes and aesthetic photos, and especially pretty photos of nature (kiri and ‘reya’s tumblrs are similar in this sense)!

she and tsireya reblog each other very often! 

AO'NUNG

"what's tumblr?"

ROTXO - @justrotxo

username: he’s just rotxo! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ though when he first joined, his @ was originally “reefboyrotxo”, but he (jokingly) got called out for copying tsireya, so he changed it.

hm, tbh, i don’t really see him as an avid tumblr user!

i have a headcanon that human rotxo'd be a surfer though, so i feel like he’d probably have 1-2 posts of a beautiful sunset + his surfboard, and like one post of a random thought he had. that’s it. his theme would also be blue/teal. 

i feel like he would’ve gotten tumblr because of his friends, and goes on just to see all of their posts. 

he interacts with/likes the posts of everyone in his circle! :) 

. . .

AO'NUNG (continued)

“what’s tumblr?”

it’s a social media app. your sister likes using it.

“oh, ok. whatever.”

neteyam sully uses it too. oh, and his brother lo’ak.

ao’nung is already intrigued at neteyam, but when he hears lo’ak is on there? oh boy.

he immediately signs up, and then gets all of his friends to as well.

soon, lo’ak is flabbergasted at the sudden flood of random anonymous troll asks he receives on his empty blog. 

ao’nung was going to anonymously send something to ‘teyam as well (obviously not to lo’ak’s extent), but after finding and looking through it… he actually secretly likes neteyam’s blog.

after everyone find out it’s him, he still eventually just keeps his tumblr to continue messing with the sullys, and his sister. popping in with a “DELETE THIS 🔥🔥🔥” to show he’s indeed still there, once every few eclipses. 

╭ @reefprincessreya

╰ ➤ ao’nung. rä’ä.

the end!

╭ @pureforestspirits

┆heyy! thanks so much for reading <3  

┆fun fact: i started writing this in my notes

┆app one day at like 4am. the sleep

┆deprivation was worth it, i think.

┆it was really fun to make LMAO

┆

┆all interactions are muuuch appreciated,

┆since i’m still pretty new to posting. thank u!

╰#✺ ࿐ ۫ 

  6 notes  wink wink

© 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒔.

[yanderes-galore]

Hello! I'd like to ask for a Miranda Keyes concept, if that's okay? Thank you!

I can try, sure. I don't know much of her character well so I'll try my best. Sorry for the long wait, I hope it's at least vaguely yandere. I get worried when a yandere doesn't show classic traits that it isn't intense enough- She's subtle in this.

Yandere! Miranda Keyes Concept

Pairing: Platonic -> Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Clingy, Manipulation, Overprotective behavior, Controlling behavior, Abuse of rank/power, Slight stalking, Lucid yandere, Jealousy/Possessive behavior implied, Dubious companionship/relationship.

Miranda Keyes is the daughter of Captain Jacob Keyes and Catherine Halsey.

She was mostly neglected by her mother and often wanted to follow in her father's footsteps.

Despite her mother wanting to keep her out of UNSC affairs, Miranda had an adventurous and determined spirit.

She's brave and has fought in the Covenant War just like her father.

Not much is said in her wiki personality-wise other than her being brave and taking after her father, despite being with her mother most of the time.

Although she has proven herself to be a skilled Commander, obtaining the title at a young age.

I like to imagine an AU where the obsession starts on her ship In Amber Clad.

The ship is large with a big crew and she has proven herself a worthy Commander for it.

Maybe you knew her a little before working on In Amber Clad, that or you just began getting to know her after being assigned onto her ship.

Either way I like to think you work close/under her on the ship.

Which allows you both to talk.

Despite her important role, I imagine Miranda likes a good chat when not busy.

Imagine if Miranda found good company in you, often feeling less stressed when she speaks with you.

It can be anything from battle plans or other tasks on the ship to casual conversation.

She isn't usually very casual but she does her best to let loose with you.

Johnson can be heard commenting on how well you two get along.

Miranda has had allies... But not many close friends.

Most likely due to her busy past.

Miranda was much more interested in training to lead a ship than companionship.

A trait she most likely inherited from both her mother and father.

So she's surprised she gets along so well with a subordinate, especially one who is so insistent on making her relax more.

It's hard to relax during war....

Then again... Too much stress leads to an unclear head.

Even when In Amber Clad is attacked and the Battle for Earth commences, Miranda is impressed that you are able to keep your head unlike most of her crew.

Miranda is another subtle yandere who likes to prioritize her work.

After all, you're both already dealing with a war going on.

Miranda may even experience a bit of annoyance when she's distracted by you.

You really are one of the closest connections she has.

All she's really known is protecting humanity, so she finds herself concerned about you when Covenant start to become a bigger issue.

Now I don't expect her to be murderous or all that overbearing.

She's good at hiding those more intense emotions and is overall busy.

Maybe you two end up going through the events of Halo 2 together.

You stick close to her and Johnson during all the events, even when your group is picked off and you're all kidnapped.

I think the events of Halo 2 would kick her obsession into a higher intensity by the start of Halo 3.

Maybe she almost lost you to The Flood Covenant.

You're no Spartan, even if you are an ODST or Marine... These threats are too much for you alone.

Even if she feels embarrassed to admit it, you mean a lot to her.

It can be through friendship... Or more than that.

I feel her obsession starts as friendship in Halo 2 and transitions to romance in Halo 3.

She originally thinks she's so close to you because she's new to the whole friendship thing.

Yet as you two fight through this war, Miranda finds herself constantly worried about you.

She often thinks of you and nearly wanted to kill the Covenant herself for touching you.

By the time you two set up in the Crow's Nest, she's constantly having you screened for signs of Flood infection or injuries.

She often watches you train and thinks... Maybe there's more to this than the thought?

No... Friends wouldn't be this close, right?

No... And when she sleeps, she thinks of you and what you're doing.

She's normally not one to break composure, although ends up feeling her face heat when you're so close.

When she realizes she's in love, she's worried.

This could jeopardize things in her mind.

Yet she keeps finding herself drawn to you... To the point of pulling you aside one day to tell you such a thing in the Crow's Nest.

If you refuse, she understands and waits for you.

If you accept, then she's less intense but still concerned about your well-being.

She often keeps track of you through others or even visiting you herself.

When you leave your quarters, she investigates a bit out of... Curiosity.

She often finds her obsession troubling.

She's lucid, often catching herself on odd mistakes and tendencies.

For example, she finds herself threatening someone under her for allowing you to be harmed.

That or she finds her nails digging into her palm when you're focused on someone else.

It's... Concerning and she knows it.

However, she tries to blame it on her just being worried for you.

Miranda may use her rank to dictate what you can or can't do.

If she wants you to sit out on a mission, she orders it.

She seems like she struggles on affection, yet would adore her partner to kiss her in private.

She knows you probably deserve better.

You don't deserve to be in war, you don't deserve her being controlling...

But she can't let you go.

No, she care far too much to let you leave her.

If you point out what she's doing wrong, she acknowledges it, but doesn't entirely fix it.

She still feels her grip tighten around you when you try to pull away.

Sometimes she wishes she wasn't in the middle of war...

She just wants to focus on you.

No matter what you say, Miranda may drag you to stay close to her.

She apologizes if she comes off as controlling or paranoid...

But she'd do anything to keep you beside her, hopefully you'll understand she's looking out for you in exchange for your love.

"I need you to listen to me, I don't need you on any missions. I just need you with me... That's an order. I'm sorry I had to do this... You'll understand, won't you, love?"

[kisskissbanggang]

Disavowed - pt. 4

[3.4k Words/12min. Read - Reverend!Jisung x Reader - Priest!Chris & Reader - NSFW/Smut - Church, This is Going Way Too Far Isn't It?, There's Something... Off... About Jisung, Conflicting Feelings, Situationships, Harrowing Guilt, Temptation, Self-Doubt, Priest Kink, Clandestine Kisses, Semi-Public Sex, Hand Jobs, Fellatio, Church Sex, Outdoor Sex, Impossible Happenings, Paranoia, Jealousy, Obsessive Behavior, Manipulative Behavior, Disturbing Assumption of Consent, Uncomfortable Moments]

[a/n #1: we're getting to the intense/frightening parts of our halloween series! please pay attention to the tags above, especially the ones in bold pink so you can do what's right for you 💗]

[a/n #2: ty to @therhythmafterthesummer and @magicficwriting for beta reading and previewing 💗]

[Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Come Say Hi!]

You weren’t sure why you came to church in the first place. No one was actually noticing if you attended every Sunday. You could’ve just stayed home in bed. 

But because you did go, now you had confirmation that Chris didn’t. 

Early on Friday morning, you’d awoken from your horrible nightmare, still in Chris’ bed, still in his apartment, still in your clothes. Suddenly, going out on a school night was the least of your concerns. The dream that didn’t feel like a dream but you very much wanted it to be was taking precedence. Just like in said dream, there’d been an odd glow coming from the kitchen. You’d warily ventured out from Chris’ bedroom, now finding him at the kitchen table, just as you’d originally hypothesized before your awful dream had led you upstairs. He had another cup of tea with him, painting a similar picture to that of the previous week. This time, however, a bottle of whiskey sat beside it. 

Chris looked like shit. He was pale. He looked like he’d been crying.

He looked like he had in your nightmare.

When he was talking to that voice in some language you didn’t know but somehow understood.

The apartment felt freezing.

You stepped closer, hugging your arms to your chest to shield yourself from the cold. “I had the craziest dream,” you offered.

A solid beat of silence had washed down over you both, until Chris took another sip of his tea. He faintly sniffled.

“I can’t do this anymore,” he’d finally said, refusing to look at you.

You’d scoffed in response, maybe a bit too affronted. “This is such horseshit.”

Chris had shaken his head. “No, really. I can’t keep this up. This is bigger than I was expecting. I can’t keep doing this.”

“Then confess, you asshole. Turn yourself in,” you spat. More humiliating, you’d also felt like you were on the verge of tears.

He’d just told you he loves you and suddenly he wanted to stop everything. You’d convinced yourself you’d actually done some irreversible damage and now Chris was actually trying to do the right thing. Or so you thought.

“I can’t,” he’d stubbornly shook his head, “I can’t lose this. I can’t lose everything.”

“So you’re fine losing me instead?!” you laughed sarcastically. 

Chris had dragged the sleeve of his sweater across his face, still not looking at you. 

“I think you should go.”

So you did. You stormed into his room to grab your bag and marched out the door, down the private stairway to your car out front. You’d spent Friday being ridiculously late to work, and drifting from task to task like a spirit.

And then, on Saturday, you’d moped at home. You felt empty, sick. The boys tried to check on you. Felix had brought you a book to pass time with. Hyunjin came and did the crossword while he told you about his week, hoping to coax some updates out of you. Seungmin brought you some soup at dinner time and insisted on checking your temperature.

Everyone protested when you went out to church on Sunday, and then tried to give you space when you returned. Time crawled forward but also somehow flew past, and before you knew it, it was Monday morning and you were miserable at work. You sighed, pushing yourself away from your desk and considering walking to the library, hoping to get a little privacy if Jisung would agree to leave you alone.

Or, at least, this was the plan until you emerged from the front office and saw Chris at the end of the hall, an armful of paperwork in his hands while he walked back to the gym. You both paused. Maybe, if you got a better look, you’d find that he looked as terrible as you did. That would lift your mood a little. 

The spite coursing through you drove you to make pointed eye contact with him before you turned and strolled into the library. Jisung was at his computer at the information desk, and he lit up when he saw you come in.

“Hey!” he greeted, chipper as ever. “I was hoping you’d come by.”

“You were?” you absently asked, looking back over your shoulder into the hall. 

The reverend bashfully nodded. “You’ve been coming by so often, I thought I might be able to ask for your help setting up this bulletin I have on the back wall.”

“Sure,” you nodded shallowly, following when Jisung hopped up to his feet to grab his supplies.

Jisung led you down the main aisle to where the study tables were set up in the back of the library. Here, a counter with a couple computers and a printer was stretched out under a large bulletin board. The reverend handed you a stack of paper borders and a stapler before he pulled over a chair and climbed onto the counter. 

You glanced at his hand when he reached it out to you, helping you up onto the counter with him. Jisung got to work hanging up the border on the bulletin board, before stooping down to grab some flyers from the printer he must’ve prepared beforehand.

“You’re always so nice to me,” you observed, trying to remain present but also casual while you haphazardly stapled materials to the cork surface.

“Am I? It’s easy to be nice,” Jisung explained. “Especially to new people. Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Excuse me?”

There was a delay in Jisung realizing how crazy that question sounded. His eyes widened and he held his hands up in innocence. “Not what I meant!” he clarified, trying to laugh it off. “Single women don’t usually move to Pinewood Falls and they definitely don’t hang around for some reason. I just want to make sure I’m not stepping on any toes if I invite you to a game night or something.”

Jisung made his way through his small mountain of flyers and posters and borders before hopping off the counter. He spied your modest work pumps before offering you a hand down. You reached for him, but a flash of movement caught your eye. Back by the information desk, you could’ve sworn you saw Chris, but when you took a better look, he was nowhere to be seen.

However, your swiftness in looking for the priest made you misstep, sending you over the edge of the counter. Jisung was quick, getting his arms around you, but not so fast that he properly caught you. Instead, Jisung more so softened your fall, ending up twisting and landing on top of you on the floor. His eyes widened again when he caught you looking up at him, your chests pushing against each other as you both caught your breath.

You wondered if Chris was still lurking.

You knew you saw him watching you.

Jisung held your gaze, almost frozen, and you had a funny thought. Cute, really. Just a humorous idea.

“Are you really worried about stepping on any toes if you ask me to come to game night?” you asked, your lips curled into a bemused smile.

The reverend looked a little caught, cheeks rosy and his heart still racing against you before he leaned down, kissing you softly–once–on the lips. It only lasted a moment until the bell rang.

╚⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷╝

After that, both Chris and Jisung avoided you for the rest of the week. Both of them staunchly turned and walked the other way whenever either of them saw you. Neither of them stayed after school for youth group on Wednesday. Neither of them even showed up at the staff meeting on Thursday. 

It was during the latter half of the staff meeting that you were getting fed up. Something had to budge, someone had to do something. You excused yourself and peeked at the parking lots. Chris was simply gone for the day, his truck missing from its usual space. Jisung, however, was still parked in the front lot. You strolled past the library and saw no hint of the reverend. He wasn’t in the faculty room, the copy room, or anywhere else. When you checked the back parking lot one last time, your eye landed on the chapel.

It was worth a try.

Anything to feel anything.

You cautiously entered the church from the back hallway. Father James’ office at the end of the back hall, obviously, was dark. The building was uncomfortably quiet. You poked your head into the chapel itself, and here was where you found Jisung, sitting on the steps in front of the altar with his arms folded on his raised knees and his head bowed in reflection.

He didn’t move when you approached, but he still acknowledged your presence, glancing at you when you sat beside him.

“What’s wrong?” you gently asked.

Jisung sighed and made the sign of the cross, finishing a prayer. He still wouldn’t look at you properly. “I haven’t gone to confession for the other day,” he admitted.

“Do you need to?” 

Another sigh. “I should.”

“Is it because Chris wouldn’t understand?”

And another, smaller sigh. “I don’t like Chris as much as I should.”

“You don’t?”

“Not as much as I should. I feel weird about him.”

You scooted closer, sitting hip to hip with the reverend. “How about me? Do you feel weird about me?”

Jisung fidgeted, playing with his wristwatch. “I feel weird about how I don’t feel weird about you.”

“So you like me more than you like Chris,” you smirked.

Jisung returned a small laugh and smile, and finally looked at you. “As a friend. Is that okay?”

“That we’re friends?” you asked. “Yeah, that’s okay.”

“And you like me more than Chris?” Jisung laughed.

Spitefully?

Or seriously?

“Yeah,” you nodded with a giggle. 

Jisung was still looking at you.

He didn’t stop you when you leaned in for another kiss. In fact, Jisung responded in kind, sighing contentedly when he kissed you back. It took surprisingly little coaxing to get the reverend to let his guard down and make some terrible decisions. You simply pushed him to lay down right there, in front of the altar, and sat yourself on his hips. His hands searched you, caressing and squeezing and actually making your heart race a little before you kissed his neck. Jisung cursed under his breath, and tightly shut his eyes when you kissed your way down his chest before you unbuckled his belt.

“Fuck,” he breathed, finally coming to his senses, “we shouldn’t–”

Jisung shut up the first time you tasted him, instead throwing his head back in pleasure and climaxing almost immediately. He grappled you back into his arms to hungrily kiss you again.

“Sorry if I was pushy,” you teased. Lies, honestly. You were in a rush, really, hoping you could find either a chance to move on from Chris or make him jealous.

“Don’t be sorry,” Jisung shook his head. “I need you. I need more. I’d do anything you say.”

You playfully brushed your fingers through his hair. Humorously, you could see you’d left your own little love bites on Jisung’s neck. “Then come out with me tomorrow night. Somewhere we can get some privacy.”

╚⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷╝

The fact that Jisung said yes was a feat in and of itself. The control you had over him had you dancing on clouds. Your roommates were glad you seemed to be in better spirits, but they ogled the different car picking you up on Friday night. Jisung didn’t bring you flowers or come to the door, but he held your knee while he drove, occasionally letting his fingers trace up to your thigh. You ordered drinks, but he was the one to ask you to dance.

In the haze of the bar, you could’ve sworn you saw Chris. But, again, he was gone as soon as you caught him. 

You invited him to walk with you before heading back to his car. By now, you were begging for Chris to see you being just fine without his attention, let alone his devotion. 

So it wasn’t a surprise to you that you led him right to the field behind Chris’ apartment. 

The dense night sky.

The cool air raising your skin into goosebumps. 

The old house looming overhead.

This time, though, Jisung slipped off his jacket and laid it out on the bench seat for you. He was sweetly shy.

“It’s been a long time,” the reverend admitted.

“A long time like ever?” you teased. 

Jisung blushed before he blustered forward, kissing you like he was about to change his mind before he lowered you down onto the ratty old bench seat. His fingers were awkward, sloppy, maybe a little stiff, but he took his sweet, sweet time sinking into you once you were stretched open for him.

You found yourself watching the attic window again–not because you wanted to keep busy, but now because you were positive you saw Chris.

Watching.

You kept your eye on the attic window while you cooed and whined into Jisung’s ear, trying to sync up your orgasms despite his short fuse. Jisung whimpered into your neck, his cheeks flushed with shame and infatuation before he gasped out a curse in sheer bliss.

Whatever was in the window was gone, leaving a blank void.

╚⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷╝

You awoke with a start and feeling like shit.

So it wasn’t just Chris where you’d wake up and only remembering mostly everything.

But it was your bed.

Seungmin knocked before poking his head in the door. “Eventful weekend?”

“What?” you asked groggily, before something jabbed into your hand. Lifting your palm, you found Jisung’s wristwatch was in your bed. You stared at it while Seungmin looked on, amused.

“And I’m guessing you’re not going to church?”

Your gaze snapped to meet Seungmin’s. “What?”

It was true, you realized as you sprinted around your room to get dressed. You didn’t just wake up the next morning. You lost a goddamn day this time.

You ran into your car and rushed to church. No Chris. No Jisung. 

When you came back, defeated and manic, there was a bouquet of flowers for you on the porch. At least, you assumed they were for you. You looked around before picking up the small arrangement, and found a note tucked inside. In the note was Jisung’s neat handwriting.

I’d do anything you say, it read. His phone number was written underneath. A queasy sensation squeezed your stomach. This wasn’t fun anymore. You weren’t even wanting to make Chris jealous anymore. You just wanted him back.

It felt like you were getting no time to think, no time to process or plan. Everything felt loose and frenzied in your brain. Midway through Monday, it felt like it’d been weeks but also minutes since your night with Jisung, not to mention your night with Chris. You almost felt ill. The sensation of simultaneously having power and no power was nerve-wracking, to put it lightly. 

In a fit of restlessness, you ventured out of the front office to take a quick lap through the school, try to see if you could get your thoughts in order, when you were startled by the door to the copy room opening and a hand darting out to snatch you.

You wished, pathetically, that it was Chris.

Which meant you were more than a little disappointed when it was Jisung hurriedly kissing you against the copier.

“You’ve been playing hard to get,” he grinned in between breaths.

Distressingly, you noticed that one of your love bites was still present under his collar, an angry purple by now.

“Jisung,” you scolded, “we need to slow down–”

“I can’t,” he insisted, his hands greedily gripping onto your hips. “I didn’t expect to fall for you this fast or this hard but I need you. I’d do anything you say; I mean it.”

“Jisung,” you tried again, your hands trying to peel his hands off of your waist and gasping when he nipped into your neck. “I can’t do this. Listen to you! I’m ruining you–”

“Nonsense,” he stubbornly argued, “God brought us together. I’m finally getting that this is part of my plan. I’ll do it, I’ll leave all of this if you just say yes–”

“No!” you denied, trying hard not to sound overwhelmed. Jisung thankfully didn’t follow you when you managed to get him off of you and rush back out into the hall.

╚⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷╝

What you needed to do, really, was stop coming to church, but you kept hoping Chris would come back. The thing you didn’t like, though, was that Jisung wasn’t back. You pictured what he could possibly be doing, imagining all sorts of lunacy the reverend could be up to and you didn’t like any of it. As much as you knew about Chris, you knew even less about Jisung, but he was absolutely ravenous for you whenever he got you within his sights. During school hours, you’d taken to strategically making excuses whenever Jisung just happened to come by the front office, and you were refusing to take any breaks, let alone take any breaks in the library.

At no point had you given Jisung your number, but you recognized his from his note as the one that was calling you multiple times every night over the course of the week.

No, you didn’t like that Jisung wasn’t in church one bit. What was worse was you’d seen his little sedan in the parking lot.

But the only reason you’d even come in was that Chris’ truck was also in the parking lot. 

You knew investigating was stupid and reckless, but what if you ran into Chris?

During the homily, you slipped out of your pew and left through the vestibule, ducking around to the rear entrance and back hallway of the church. All rooms and closets here were dark and closed, helping you feel a bit relieved and resolved to see if you could get into the school to take a look next. However, as you left the robe room and passed by Father James’ office, you got deja vu as the door swung open and a hand darted out to intercept you.

Jisung again.

You tried not to make too much noise as you attempted to push Jisung off of you, given your proximity to mass, but he was making it difficult as he hungrily pushed you onto Father James’ desk and pushed himself between your knees.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered in apology, “I’ve been bothering you a ton but I wanted to tell you I did it–”

“You did what?” you demanded.

“I have it all in place. We can leave together, whenever you want–”

“But what if I don’t want anything, Jisung!” you hissed. 

“Please,” he begged, stealing kisses from you each second that he could manage. “I’m all yours, I’d do anything–”

“Then leave me ALONE!” you snapped, punctuating your demand with a shout to finally scare him off of you.

“I don’t understand–!” Jisung babbled, helpless as you pushed him out of the way, fighting back tears as you stumbled out of Father James’ office and down the hall, back out of the chapel and into the breezeway.

Terrified that Jisung would try to come after you, you rushed towards the school, finding that the custodians had propped the gym door open and you ran inside. You desperately sat yourself at your computer, trying like mad to catch your breath and compose yourself. What your plan here was, you had no idea, but you hated this. You hated all of this. All you wanted was to feel as in control as you did when you had Chris destroying himself for you. Why couldn’t it feel good when Jisung was doing the same? You just wanted to feel good about this, about the decisions you were making.

You accessed the security footage archive even though you knew files needed to be manually saved. Whatever it was you were hoping to find, it wouldn’t exist.

This was hopeless.

You wanted everything to stop.

By now, you were willing to just give up. Maybe, you darkly humored, there was a reason single women didn’t stay in Pinewood Falls. Maybe the whole town was fucking cursed. At this point, you could convince yourself to write your own confession, get out of town and burn everything down in your wake.

Your breath was shaky when you exited out of the security archive, but it fully hitched in your throat when you noticed an icon on your desktop.

It was labeled “Watch.”

Your fingers shook when you clicked it open. There it was: footage from that day in the library, when Jisung kissed you.

[hellcatalex1]

Part 3- Together (Unbinding the Curse)

Astarion x Female Elf Durge

Post game, One year after the fall of the nether-brain, Spawn Astarion.

Triggers: blood, adult language, adult themes, nightmare, trauma.

Gale nods and steps aside, allowing you and Astarion to approach the pedestal. The box seems to pulse with a quiet energy, as if it were alive and aware of your presence. Astarion’s hand hovers above it, his fingers trembling slightly, betraying the emotions he’s trying to keep in check.

You place your hand on his, grounding him. “Whatever happens, we face it together, remember?”

He looks at you, his eyes searching yours for reassurance. Finally, he nods, and together, you lift the lid of the box. Inside, nestled in a bed of velvet, is a small, crystalline vial. The liquid within shimmers with an ethereal light, shifting between shades of silver and violet. It’s beautiful, but there’s something about it that makes your skin prickle with unease.

Gale leans in, his eyes wide with awe. “This is it. A phylactery of ancient Netherese origin. It’s said to contain the essence of a long-dead archmage, one who sought to transcend mortality itself.”

Astarion’s breath hitches. “And you think… it could do the opposite for me?”

Gale hesitates, choosing his words carefully. “The Netherese were obsessed with bending immortality and mortality. Their magic was unparalleled. If this phylactery holds even a fraction of that power… then yes, it could cure your vampirism, or at the very least, alter it.”

You feel a surge of hope, but it’s tempered by caution. “What are the risks?” You ask.

Gale’s expression darkens. “The magic within is volatile. The phylactery was designed to bind a soul to it, preserving the owner’s essence. If Astarion uses it, it could merge with him in unpredictable ways. There’s no guarantee of what he’ll become… or if he’ll survive the process.”

Astarion’s gaze locks onto the vial, the conflict evident in his eyes. The chance for a life free from the curse of vampirism that has haunted him for centuries, but at what cost? He could be free… or he could lose everything, including himself.

You tighten your grip on his hand. “Astarion, you don’t have to do this. We can find another way.”

He shakes his head, a sad smile on his lips. “How long have I waited for this moment? The chance to be free, to walk in the sun again, to live without the constant hunger gnawing at my soul? I can’t just walk away from it now. But…” He pauses, his voice softening. “I promise I won’t rush into this decision."

The room is thick with tension as Astarion weighs his options. Finally, he looks to you, his expression resolute. “What do you think? Should we take this chance?”

Your heart pounds in your chest as you consider his question. You think back to everything you’ve been through together, the battles, the close calls, the quiet moments of tenderness..... and then Cazador. You’ve always been stronger together, but this… this is different. This is a risk that could change everything.

“I think…” you begin, choosing your words carefully. “I think this is a decision that can’t be rushed. We need to understand exactly what we’re dealing with. If there’s even a chance this could help you without destroying who you are, then we should explore it. But we do it cautiously, step by step, with all the knowledge we can gather.”

Astarion nods, relief washing over his features. “You’re right. We’ve faced too much to throw it all away on a whim.”

Gale looks between the two of you, then gestures toward the phylactery. “There may be a way to learn more before we decide. The phylactery is linked to the spirit within. I could attempt to communicate with it, to see if it’s willing to share any knowledge. It’s a delicate process, though, and there’s no telling how the spirit will react.”

“Then let’s do it,” Astarion says, his voice firm. “We’ll gather every piece of information we can before making a decision.”

Gale nods and begins to prepare for the ritual, drawing intricate runes around the pedestal and muttering incantations under his breath. As he works, you and Astarion step back, watching him with a mix of anticipation and anxiety.

Shadowheart, who has been silent until now, finally speaks up. “This is dangerous, but I understand why you’re doing it. Just know that whatever happens, you have my support.”

Astarion glances at her, surprised by her words. “Thank you, Shadowheart. That means… more than you know.”

She gives him a small, genuine smile before returning to her usual stoic expression. “Just don’t do anything reckless, alright?”

“No promises,” Astarion replies with a wink, though there’s a seriousness in his tone that you don’t miss.

Gale finishes his preparations and takes a deep breath, turning to face the three of you. “I’m ready. This will take all of my concentration, so I’ll need complete silence. If anything goes wrong… well, let’s just hope it doesn’t.”

You and Astarion exchange a glance, then step back to give Gale space. The air in the room grows thick with tension as Gale begins the ritual, his voice rising and falling in a strange, melodic chant. The runes around the pedestal glow with a soft, golden light, and the phylactery begins to pulse in time with Gale’s words.

As the ritual continues, the light from the phylactery intensifies, filling the room with an otherworldly glow. You can feel the magic crackling in the air, and a sense of dread creeps into your chest. This is no ordinary magic, this is power beyond comprehension, and it’s dangerous.

Suddenly, the light from the phylactery flares, and a ghostly figure begins to materialize above it. The figure is translucent, its features shifting and indistinct, but you can make out the shape of a humanoid man, tall and regal, with eyes that burn like twin stars.

Gale’s voice falters for a moment, but he quickly regains his composure. “Great spirit,” he intones, his voice steady. “We seek your knowledge. Tell us, what is the purpose of this phylactery? What power does it hold?”

The spirit’s eyes flicker, and when it speaks, its voice is like the whisper of a thousand souls. “This vessel holds the essence of my life, the culmination of all my power. It was crafted to preserve my soul, to grant me eternity beyond death. But in the hands of another… it can do more. It can transform, it can enhance, it can elevate… or it can destroy.”

Astarion steps forward, his gaze locked on the spirit. “And if I were to use it? What would happen to me?”

The spirit’s eyes narrow, its form shifting ominously. “You seek to escape your curse, to walk in the light once more. The phylactery can grant you that, but it comes at a cost. The power within is too great for any mortal to wield without consequence. You would be changed… perhaps beyond recognition. Or you may be consumed entirely.”

The room falls silent as the weight of the spirit’s words sinks in. The choice before you and Astarion is clearer now, but no less daunting. The power to be free from the curse is within reach, but it could come at the ultimate price.

Gale finally breaks the silence, his voice subdued. “We have our answer. The risk is great, but so is the potential reward. Astarion… the decision is yours.”

Astarion looks down at the phylactery, his expression unreadable. Finally, he turns to you, his eyes searching yours for guidance. “What do you think, love? Do we take the chance, or do we walk away?”

Your heart aches with the enormity of the decision. You think of the life you’ve built together, the love you share, and the future that could be waiting for you. But you also think of the risk, the possibility of losing Astarion, of him losing himself.

After a long, agonizing moment, you take a deep breath and speak the words that have been weighing on your heart. “I can’t make this choice for you, Astarion. But whatever you decide, know that I’m with you. Always.”

Astarion’s eyes soften, and he pulls you into a tight embrace. “Thank you,” he whispers, his voice thick with emotion. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m grateful every day that you’re by my side.”

Astarion holds you for a long moment, his breath warm against your ear, before finally stepping back. He gazes at the phylactery with a mixture of longing and trepidation, as if the weight of centuries is pressing down on him all at once.

“This could be the end of everything,” he murmurs, almost to himself. “Or the beginning of something new.”

You reach out, gently touching his arm. “Whatever happens, you won’t face it alone.”

Astarion nods, his resolve hardening. He turns back to Gale, who is watching with a mixture of curiosity and concern. “I’ve made my decision,” Astarion says, his voice steady. “But I need to know more. How do we use the phylactery safely? How do we ensure it doesn’t destroy me?”

Gale frowns, clearly thinking through the possibilities. “The ritual would be complex. We’d need to draw on the phylactery’s power carefully, channeling it into you in a controlled manner. If we’re not careful, the energy could overwhelm you, or even shatter your soul.”

“Then we need to be careful,” Astarion replies, his eyes glinting with determination. “We’ve faced worse, haven’t we?”

Shadowheart steps forward, her gaze serious. “If you’re going to do this, we’ll need to make preparations. We can’t just rush into it without knowing the risks. We should seek out more knowledge, find someone who understands the Netherese magic better than we do.”

Gale nods in agreement. “There is a sage in Waterdeep who specialize in ancient magic. We could consult them, gather all the information we can before we attempt anything. It’s not a decision to take lightly.”

You look at Astarion, feeling a pang of relief that he’s willing to approach this with caution. The thought of losing him to this ancient magic is too much to bear.

“What do you think?” you ask, searching his eyes. “Should we find these sages and learn more?”

Astarion considers this for a moment before nodding. “Yes, it’s the wise thing to do. We’ve come this far, we can afford to wait a little longer. If there’s any chance of doing this safely, we need to take it.”

Gale claps his hands together, clearly relieved. “Excellent! I’ll make inquiries right away. We should have some answers within a day or two. In the meantime, we can rest and prepare ourselves for what’s to come, you are all welcome to stay here in my tower."

Shadowheart crosses her arms, her gaze lingering on the phylactery. “This is a dangerous path we’re walking. But if it means giving Astarion a chance at a better life, it’s worth the risk.”

The four of you agree to set out the next day to seek the counsel of the sage. For now, there’s nothing more to be done but wait. You retreat to your shared quarters in Gale’s tower, the weight of the decision still heavy on your mind.

Inside the room, the atmosphere is different, more charged with the unknown. Astarion seems restless, pacing the length of the small space. You watch him for a moment before standing and placing a hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll find the answers we need,” you say softly.

Astarion stops pacing and looks at you, his eyes reflecting a thousand unspoken thoughts. “You’re right,” he says finally, his voice tinged with both hope and fear. “I just, this is the closest I’ve ever been to truly being free. And yet, it’s terrifying. What if we can’t control it? What if I become something monstrous?”

You step closer, cupping his face in your hands. “You won’t,” you say firmly. “You’re stronger than you know, Astarion. We’ll take every precaution. We’ll make sure you come out of this whole.”

He leans into your touch, closing his eyes as if drawing strength from your presence. “I trust you,” he whispers, his voice almost breaking. “I trust you more than anyone.”

You pull him into a tender kiss, letting the connection between you speak the words that neither of you can fully express. When you finally pull back, Astarion seems calmer, more grounded.

“Let’s get some rest,” you suggest, guiding him toward the bed. “Tomorrow will be a long day.”

He nods, allowing you to lead him. As you lie down together, he wraps his arms around you, spooning you from behind. The chill of his body against yours is comforting, a coldness you have gotten used to, something that was unique to him.

But sleep doesn’t come easily. The weight of the decision hangs over you like a storm cloud, the potential for both great reward and terrible loss swirling in your mind. Every time you close your eyes, you see the phylactery, glowing with that strange, ethereal light, and Astarion, standing on the precipice of a future that could be either wondrous or disastrous.

Eventually, exhaustion takes over, and you drift into a fitful sleep, your dreams filled with visions of ancient magic, swirling shadows, and Astarion’s face, torn between hope and fear.

Click here for part 4

[dailycass-cain]

Spirit World #6 concluded the series this past week. Did it end on a high note? How was Cass within it? Well, all answers will be found here...

I love that this series fills the final gaps of questions I have for certain characters in the series. Namely, Wan Yujing's motivations, WHY the Jade Court are so meh due to Po Po's warnings back in #4. and how this ALL ties into the origins of Xanthe Zhou.

But like poetry, it also ties into Cass as into what she was going through in #1. Said issue, Cass was lost, but also feeling awful in helping slay a creature (even dark) and it took a slight toll on her.

Here in #6, it all circles back.

Seeing why Wan's desperation. Seeing the souls she's trapped. Seeing the Jade Court's inability to "want" to save the situation. All it ties into this isn't a simple solution of just slaying the demon.

But this doesn't just tie into Cass, but also the series' central character Xanthe. We get their full origin here. The mystery all pulled back and the scope of their powers revealed.

Writer Alyssa Wong sprinkled teases of Xanthe's origins throughout, and here they are on full display. You can also see why they keep company with John Constantine but also now open themselves to Cassandra Cain.

Why these characters just gell so nicely to each other complimenting it all. With how Xanthe finds the way to end this all.

For now at least.

The ramifications of this issue interestingly bring up new ideas for the DCU at large. Both in the mystical portion and well in Cass (more on that soon).

I find the whole mystical area of DC fascinating because they aren't just bound to one corner. Each magical user always brings something new to the table. Xanthe Zhou is just another character that I hope more tales are showcased with the character going forward.

The fact that well, not everything is tied up at the end leaves me to think that Wong has still so many more stories to tell of Xanthe and Spirit World itself. We've only touched the first layer of that.

To that, I hope allows the creative team to return and tell more tales.

The artist for the series, Haining has been exceptional with the various designs and actions throughout. Like I'm still in awe of the designs used or even how horrific Wan's demonic can be but Haining brings a level of cracks of her humanity through the body horror drawn.

That's not even bringing up the fluidity to the action we've seen throughout the series.

Every bit of the creative team brought their A-game to the table in telling something truly unique. Like I really want more.

And you get that there MIGHT be more.

Clearly, Wong lays seeds at the end of the Verdant Sorcess not at all pleased with the new status quo of Spirit World going forward.

I'm REALLY curious about their origins now with the reveal of the prior ones.

Not only that but in the case of Cass, only one of her subplots is resolved in the series. I mean yeah it's the big one: she gets to go back home.

But the "missing" time of her being in Spirit World (due to Batgirl Vol. 1 #72)? Why incident is all screwed (Shiva never killed Cass in that particular issue)? What new memories Cass lost in #3? Was Shen posing as Steph?

It feels like Wan found her, that while she was absorbing Cass, THAT's when Shiva brought her back. But it still doesn't answer fully what occurred with Cass during that lost time?

These are riddles still left unanswered, and it can't be coincidental given what next year being. So hopefully maybe THEN they are.

Please let Alyssa Wong cook DC!

Wong truly has an amazing grasp on the character and is the first to really bridge the lingering cracks Batgirl Vol. 1 left and bring it into this modern era.

Regardless, Spirit World was an exceptional series. It was something I truly needed to wash the sadness of Batgirls ending and another event douring the characterization of Cass.

I really hope DC goes all out in collecting this series. Show us all the Haining concept art.

Give me some words by Wong on how this series came to be. How they developed Xanthe Zhou. Give me it all!

.....

I've become Shen. My greed knows no bounds. 😅

Anyway, to those who haven't read this series. You now have the full excuse to read it all in one sitting. It's even BETTER when you do that actually. To those who read it like me keep hyping this and the other new minis DC created this year.

We need more of this!

[lunion]

To be a writter is to drown in endless drafts and honestly, I can see now why finishing something is much harder than starting it.

I planned to write a multi chapter fic and built the skeleton for it. Ok. Turns out that I got a paid internship and I won't have as much time as I hoped I'd have for this, so instead I decided to just write a oneshot.

Now I'm having trouble finishing this oneshot and I can't seem to find a way to write the next scene and I started going over it to see what was wrong and why I couldn't get it to feel right.

Well, turns out I wrote my way out of the desired conclusion,

Context:

This chapter is set in a work place and they have a new hire who's failing spetacularly on every task they give her due to misaligned expectations. Basically, she has a unique skillset because of her abilities, but because they're putting her in "regular" job positions, she's not up to the task because these don't play to her strenghts.

I wanted the conclusion of the chapter to be of the characters realizing the unspoken qualities of new hire and having things improved after they stopped trying to get her to do her job like everyone else and instead using her strenghts to achieve what others couldn't do before.

The problem comes from how I structured the chapter. It was split in 4 scenes.

1: New hire being introduced to the work place 2: New hire shown to be struggling. Lazy colleagues see her failing and are later assigned by their boss to show the ropes to the new hire so she better adapts to the new place. 3: A week of problems later, the colleagues are complaining and discussing convincing the boss to fire the new hire. a third party listens to the conversation and brings attention to how despite the colleagues owns shortcomings, the boss still keeps them because they're resourceful and the boss trusts they can become better employees if given the chance (things which are true) and that they should probably give the benefit of the doubt to the new hire and actually help her better utilize her strenghts to everyone's advantage. 4: The boss and the third party are chatting and observe in the distance the new hire and the colleagues, now having a blast as they creatively solve their previous problems and are now bonding and becoming friends, content at the resolution and seeing everyone thriving.

nothing wrong until you factor in a few hardships I accidentally put myself through.

a) On scene 2, the boss, because they're meticulous and thorough in their work and words, explicitly tells the older employees to keep a close eye and help the new hire to learn the ropes. This causes a problem on scene 3 because then the only way of having the older colleagues still haven't noticed the new hire's qualities now would be willful neglect, be it out of actual disdain for the new hire, which makes the scene much more mean spirited than I'd like, or out of actively ignoring their task, when their laziness is closer to "I'd rather not have to do this" than "I'll ignore work given to me", because the boss would have certainly fired them at this point. The colleagues are meant to be capable, but somewhat uncommited workers, not actual burdens and especially not so self centered that they'd leave a newbie who they had the explicit task of helping to fend off for themselves.

b) On scene 3, they have this talk with the third party, which is meant to help the older employees to realize that they don't know the new hire's skills and that they should give her a chance. The problem is that the third party, at least based on the original draft of the multi chapter story, the third party cannot have (or at least would be weird) to have the insight of "different people can achieve things through different means", because one of the core personality traits of said third party is being very judgemental about their own shortcomings on more "traditional skills", their main character arc revolving around the fact that despite him not being skilled on the traditional skills other people have, his resourcefulness allows him to achieve what others don't.

The reason that's the case it's because this chapter was meant to foreshadow this third party's (who is the main character of the main arc of the story) journey about realizing that even if he isn't capable like the others, he's no less capable than others, because there are many ways to make a meaningful change in the world besides the more obvious, ableist ways. Having him tell other characters of the lesson he's supposed to learn at the end of his own journey sounds a bit weird to be.

So this whole situation leaves me in a conundrum. I like how my characters are characterized and the only way to make the draft work right now is by removing the boss's meticulousness, which breaks characterization, having the older employees be too lazy or mean, which also breaks characterization or having a character be way more insightful on a life lesson he has no business being this aware of.

Of course, technically, I could scrap this scene and start it from scratch to solve these problems so I'm not confined to the chapter planning I already made, but at this point, the reason I quit the multi chapter idea was not having enough time for that. if I had to start over, then I might just scrap it.

Not sure if I'm looking for solutions or venting, but I thought it'd be interesting to share.

[lastontheboat]

Fandom creators self rec game! Choose five favourites from your own creations (and tell me why, if you like!), then pass on to at least five other people. I'd love to hear what you're proudest of.

Thank you @tackytigerfic for providing me an opportunity for navel-gazing! I enjoyed reading about your own favourites; I find it super interesting to see what other creators value about their works.

Per my last letter (I hope you choke on it)

This is my favourite completed fic for a number of reasons:

1. I had always wanted to try writing an epistolary

2. I had always wanted to try collaborating on a fic with a friend

3. The writing process was an absolute joy

It feels like a distillation of many of my favourite things, but unlike many fics the creation process didn't involve tearing my hair out trying to make it do what I wanted. Whenever I'd get stuck, I'd just close the document and go to bed, then when I woke up the next morning @fluxweeed would have added several new scenes that set my brain on fire. It was an absolutely magical experience for me, and I'm extremely fond of the end result. This is probably the fic of mine that I've re-read the most, and it delights me every time!

Podfic of Stop All The Clocks, by firethesound

I've got a lot of podfics to choose from, but this is one that I'm particularly proud of. The original fic is imprinted on my soul, but the thing that sticks with me more than the actual plot is the sensation of reading it and feeling my heart break over and over.

Making podfics is a very personal craft for me. It's an investment of my time, and I generally choose ones to record that I strongly associate with a particular first-time reading experience. This was my sixth large podfic project, and I really wanted my reading to amplify the heartbreak that's already present in the text. It was a much more emotional recording and editing process than most of my podfics, but it's also the only one I've listened to entirely after releasing it.

I'm extremely fond of every listener who has taken the plunge and commented about their experience of it, and completely understand everyone who has been like "I don't fuck with that fic. You couldn't pay me to listen it."

body electric

This is the first fic I can recall writing that was entirely driven by a feeling. I remember being consumed by the idea of that spark between Harry and Draco, of them needing to feed it and hold it but being unable to act upon it. I was between jobs and had a lot of time to myself, and I wrote this fic in a fugue state over the space of two days. I had never experienced a writing process so feverish before, and I don't know if I will again.

I also need to shout out the beta feedback I got from @zaharya on this one, whose very insightful comments about the passage of time in the second chapter led to me adding a bunch of my favourite lines to it:

“I want to bend you over this table,” he says, panting now. “I want you under me, here in my workshop. You’ll leave here and every time you smell wood shavings you’ll think of me.” “I already do,” Malfoy says, his voice cracking.

Podfic of If The Fates Allow, by saras_girl

I spend a lot of time listening to audiobooks these days, and I really appreciate being able to consume so many stories while driving or cooking. For me, recording a podfic is about giving others the opportunity to experience some of my favourite fics, and trying to capture some of what they mean to me in my voicing.

saras_girls fics hold a very special place in my heart, and this one is my absolute favourite of hers. As a podfic, the biggest challenge here was dealing with the ensemble cast—it stretched the limits of unique voices I could do without them sounding forced, but it was also exciting trying to keep the voices consistent across 25 chapters.

the spirit is willing (the flesh is weak)

This is the newest fic that I finished (the only one so far in 2023), but I haven't made too much noise about it on here because it's attached to my alt account. This one started out as a concept that wouldn't leave me alone (Bill/Ginny fuck or die), but it's also another data point in my exploration of what it's like to write smut.

I still don't think it comes naturally to me, whatever that means—I'm much more comfortable keeping my writing to Teen, but I'm very satisfied with how this fic achieves what I set out to do with it. It was a stretch, but a good stretch!

[skambigbang]

SKAM REVERSE BANG 2025 BETA READER INFO

TIMELINE

SIGN UP

15 NOVEMBER 2024 - 15 APRIL 2025

Sign ups open on November 15th 2024 and will remain open until April 15th 2025. Sign up here!

2. COLLABORATION

15 APRIL 2025 - 15 JUNE 2025

As agreed between you and the author you are paired with, you may be asked to beta read chapter per chapter, or the complete work in one go. Be sure to communicate well to manage expectations on both sides.

3. CELEBRATION

21 JUNE 2025 - 01 AUGUST 2025

Time to share the finished work and celebrate all things SKAM!

RULES & FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

GENERAL

What is a Reverse Bang?

In a reverse of a more traditional ‘Big Bang’ fan event, a Reverse Bang is a fan-centric collaborative event where writers write a fic based on art created by fellow fans.

Both the ‘Big Bang’ and ‘Reverse Bang’ type of event can be traced back to the tradition of fanzines, which often combined visual and written fan art.

How can I be part of the Reverse Bang 2025?

There are three ways to participate: as an artist, as a writer, or as a beta reader.

Artists will create original artworks to celebrate SKAM. Writers will then create a written work specifically inspired by the artwork. And beta readers will be cheering on the authors, and helping them polish their work.

If you cannot be part of the Reverse Bang this year, we invite you warmly to enjoy the art and the fics starting on June 21st 2025, and give the finished works your love to keep the fandom alive!

You may join in more than one role, if you’d like… but be sure you can really commit to the tasks expected of you before you do so.

Can I join together with my friend?

Of course! In past events, there have been teams of writers working together on one fic. We welcome artists to do the same, if they like. In that case, you can join as a team - just let us know the contact data of all team members.

Artists and writers cannot join up as a team. The spirit of the event is to be paired up with someone you might not know before. But we hope you’ll join anyway, and meet new SKAM fans to collaborate with!

Beta readers and writers can team up if they wish to do so, but they will need to sign up separately.

Is the SKAM Reverse Bang 2025 open to all versions of SKAM and all ships?

YES! All versions of SKAM, all seasons, all ships are allowed. The more the merrier!

How many people will I be paired up with?

The short answer is: at least one.

The slightly longer answer is that we cannot give any exact numbers yet, because we don’t know yet how many people will sign up as artists, as writers, or as beta readers. It is likely that some artists may get paired with more than one writer. If there are more artists than writers, we will check in with the writers to find out if people are willing to write more than one story. 

A second consideration is that our fandom encompasses many verses, generations, and ships; of which some are very popular and others relatively obscure. The broader the horizon of the artwork, the more writers will be able to write for it.

That said, we will try our absolute best to make sure every artist is paired with at least one writer, and vice versa.

Do I have to keep my creations a secret before the posting date?

Yes, and no.

Unlike previous SKAM Big Bang events, we will not have an anonymous pairing. This means that writers will know which artists have created which artworks, when they choose the works that inspire them. This also means that you can freely talk about your project during the creating period.

However, we ask that you do not share significant parts of your works outside of the event participants. A tease, a snippet, a mention for Six Sentence Sunday, … - these are fine; but we’d like the fandom to enjoy all the new artworks and fics during the posting period of the Reverse Bang. Let’s make it a true celebration of all things SKAM!

My English is not perfect. Will that be a problem?

Not at all! Most of us aren’t native English speakers, and we all make mistakes. Some of us speak other languages too, so we will find a way to communicate - even if we have to rely on online translators.

What do you mean by ‘checking in’?

During the timeframe of the creation of art or stories, we will check in with you to ensure you are on track to be ready by the end date, to help you find solutions to any problem that may arise, to encourage you during the creative process, and to make sure you are still having fun.

Is this event age restricted?

The SKAM Reverse Bang is open for fans aged 16 and over. However, if you are under 18, we will ask that both the art and the written work that you and your partner create, will be non-explicit in nature. Beta readers under 18 will only be paired with teams creating non-explicit works.

Will there be a place to hang out while we are creating and posting for the Reverse Bang event?

Every participant will be invited to a pre-existing lively Discord server with a group of enthusiastic, friendly and helpful SKAM fans. Note that this year there will be no separate Discord server dedicated to the event, but a section of the 21:21 SKAM Fan Content Creators server will be set up to host the SKAM Reverse Bang 2025.

While we hope you will join the Discord server, there is no obligation to do so. 

What will be the main form of communication between participants and mods?

As said, all participants will be invited to join our Discord server full of SKAM fans. 

However, should you choose not to, you can reach the Reverse Bang mods via email, or you can ask your question on the Skam Big Bang Tumblr account.

Where will the art and the stories created for the event be published and shared?

All written works will be posted on Archive Of Our Own (ao3), in a collection dedicated to the Reverse Bang. The author will include the art, a picture of the art, or link to the art, in their post. Artists may choose to post their art in a separate post on Archive Of Our Own (ao3).

If you want to participate, but have no Archive Of Our Own (ao3) account, we encourage you to request one as soon as you register for the Reverse Bang. You can ask the mods for help, if needed.

After the works have been posted into the collection, both writers and artists will be free to post their works on any other site, including their social media. 

Of course, you will need your partner’s permission to post their work. And obviously you must credit your partner appropriately when posting their work alongside your own!

What if I cannot meet a deadline?

While an event like this relies heavily on everybody involved being accountable, we understand there is this thing called life. If something pops up that makes you have to defer on a deadline, or have to drop out completely, please let us know as soon as possible. We are ready to figure out the best possible solution, but we need to know in order to keep the event moving seamlessly for everybody. Communication is key. Do not hesitate to contact us! Better a solution that's not needed in the end, than a problem snowballing into an experience that leaves someone unhappy.

That said, please take the deadlines and timelines into careful consideration before committing to participating. An event like this can only run smoothly if all the parts run smoothly. With that in mind, exceptions to the deadlines must remain rare exceptions.

Can I use AI?

AI takes many forms nowadays. While many of us use some form of AI as a tool while creating, we want this Reverse Bang to reflect the many talents of fans and fan-created works. Therefore, we will not allow any art or stories which were created solely by prompting an AI generator, even if you lightly edit or modify the result.

That said, use of AI as a tool can be permitted, provided it is disclosed. Disclosing will allow people not to engage with your work, should they so choose.

To make the difference clear, let’s consider some examples.

Let’s say your art has a background consisting of a repeated pattern. It might be fine to do that manually, but if you want, you could also use some form of AI to create a repetition of something you created. Or, if you want to draw a female figure in a certain position but have difficulty finding a good reference, you could ask AI to create one for you, as long as you then draw the final artwork yourself.

For writers, you might like to ask a chatbot to suggest some names of fantasy lands if you draw a blank. Or maybe you can prompt an AI story generator to describe the atmosphere of a Mediterranean marketplace, which you then use as inspiration to enhance one short paragraph of your story.

The examples above are meant to illustrate that minor uses of AI to help create a work of art or a story, where the AI generated part is either a minor detail of the final product and/or used as reference or inspiration without it ending up in the final product, will be permitted for this Reverse Bang.

To be abundantly clear: Art or stories which were, at their core, created by generative AI based on a prompt by a human, will not be permitted for this event.

You didn’t answer my question!

Oh no! We’re sorry, and we invite you to please contact us through email. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

BETA READERS

What is the job of a beta reader?

Depending on what your author needs, you can be asked to read through an author’s first (or second, third, …) draft to help them point out plot holes, continuity errors, or factual mistakes. Some authors only ask their beta readers to do a spelling, grammar and punctuation check. Sometimes, a beta reader is a cheerleader, or sometimes they help an author brainstorm narrative points, or they can provide tips for a better story flow.

You can let us know what you are willing to do when signing up, and we will try to match you with an author suited to your strengths.

Will I get to choose who I work with?

Yes and no.

You can definitely join the event together with a writer you’ve worked with before; but you can also ask to be paired randomly. In that case, we will check what your limits are in terms of story triggers, story lengths, etc. before pairing you up.

[tirsynni]

LoZ Whumptober/Nanowrimo (as I failed to complete it in October), prompts 1 - 15:

Sands of Time Ganlink 1/3 - "Calling to You (My Safety Net)" “But now this room is spinning while I’m trying just to fill in all the gaps.” Safety Net | Swooning In which the call of Link's new home proves stronger than common sense or years of experience. Mistakes are made.

Revalink One-Shot - "Almost a Memory" “I’ll call out your name, but you won’t call back.” Delirium | “They don’t care about you.” Link wasn't sure what the Hero from a hundred years ago would have done, but he was confident that he could have dodged that arrow.

Malon/Link Gen/Pre-Relationship One-Shot - "In the Cold Light of the Moon" “Like crying out in empty rooms; with no-one there except the moon.” “Make it stop.” After Termina, nothing fits quite like it should and Time marches on even as Link wishes it wouldn't.

BotW Gen 1/2 - "Riding the Lightning" “I see the danger, It’s written there in your eyes.” Cattle Prod | Shock | “You in there?” The Yiga were either very lucky or were competent for a change. It didn't matter. Either way, Link was about to have a bad day.

Hyrule Warriors Gen 1/2 - "So Far to Fall" “You better pray I don’t get up this time around.” Debris | Pinned Down | “It’s broken.” When the small child with the Spirit of the Hero entered the battlefield, Link had no plans on getting attached to the feral brat. He swore to protect him, to keep him safe, but that was supposed to be the end of it. Now trapped and wounded with the young hero crying in front of him, Link realized far too late that he had failed.

Revalink One-Shot - "See You Later" “Do or die, you’ll never make me; Because the world will never take my heart.” “It should have been me.” Tomorrow, Link would finally face the Calamity. He feared that tomorrow would spell the end of many things, not just that nightmare. An unexpected source provided reassurance. If Link had learned nothing else since awakening in the Shrine of Resurrection, it should have been that death wasn't the end.

Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors Gen - "That Old Familiar Sting" “I paced around for hours on empty; I jumped at the slightest of sounds.” Alleyway | “Can you hear me?” In an alleyway in Castle Town, with Sprite and a handful of burning corpses as his witnesses, Link faces his failures once again.

Sands of Time Prequel - "Airless" “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier.” “It’s all for nothing.” Immediate SoT Prequel: Before Link awoke in the desert, it was just him, Epona, and a terrible decision to make in a cold cave.

Hyrule Warriors Gen 1/2 - "Can't Rain All the Time" “Learning everything ain’t what it seems, that’s the thing about these days.” “You’re a liar.” Hyrule Warriors Gen 2/2 - "Can't Rain All the Time" “Can’t you see that you’re lost without me?” “You said you’d never leave.” The war was over. It was time for everyone to return to their original time. Whether they wanted to or not.

Hyrule Warriors NC Cia/Link 2/2 - "A Song of Love and War" “All the lights going dark and my hope’s destroyed.” Captivity | “No one will find you.” Link thought he knew what to expect of Cia: what she wanted of him and what would happen if he was captured. He was so very wrong. (Second chapter = Whumptober Prompt) Cia and Link meet again: this time, on the battlefield.

BotW Gen One-Shot - "Deep Silent Complete" “I haven’t slept in days but who’s counting?” Insomnia | “I’m up, I’m up.” Link was no longer sure what were nightmares and what were memories, but at least he wasn't alone... even if he couldn't figure out what exactly his lupine friend was.

Sands of Time Ganlink 2/3 - "Calling to You (My Safety Net)" “It comes and goes like the strength in your bones.” Cold Compress | Infection In which the call of Link's new home proves stronger than common sense or years of experience. Mistakes are made.

Hyrule Warriors Gen 1/2 - "Just Hold On" “Feed me poison, fill me ‘till I drown.” Water Inhalation | “Just hold on.” If Link survived this, his old commander was going to yell at him if he saw him again. This was beyond stupid. It didn’t matter. It hadn’t since that moblin backhanded Sprite and knocked him into the raging waters of the river.

Sands of Time Ganlink 3/3 - "Calling to You (My Safety Net)" “I don’t need you to help me I can handle things myself.” Suppressed Suffering | “I’m fine.” In which the call of Link's new home proves stronger than common sense or years of experience. Mistakes are made.

[monkey-madness-by-rokkr]

Master post

Okay dunno how these are done, my first time 😅

Links to all related fics below the cut

Important tags are on this post for quickly looking up certain fic posts

Asks are open!~

I am an open book, ask me what you will. There is very little I will hide :3

Shards of a Frozen Soul

"Will you be my Warrior?" Promises made, but will they be kept?

Historian and Archeologist of the Journey to the West Initiative, Dongzhi Soushirou, finds her Footnote in history far closer to home than expected. When an Old Threat with New Faces threatens Megaopolis, how can good prevail without a hero?

Speak no Evil, Do no Evil

Harry Potter x LEGO™️ Monkie Kid

How a punishment from the Celestial Court ended up in a new headache for the Jade Emperor

Lily and James were Sun Wu King and L Mihou with their memories sealed. When their child discovers the truth, she sets out on a quest to find her family!

Amount of Plot Outlined : 3 major parts planned out. Currently about half way through the first story arc

See no Evil, Hear no Evil

My Hero Academia x LEGO™️ Monkie Kid

What if Izuku is adopted by Macaque?

Princess Iron Fan being a very bored immortal that wants to screw over Heaven by making Earth prosper~

Many adoptions to cause chaos and prosperity~

Plot outlined : I’m not sure where I’m going with this one. I had a plan originally but it just fell through when writing. The chapters are actively fighting me

Sun Lilies and Moonstones

Harry Potter x Lego Monkie Kid

Assorted tales of Sun Lily and Jacque in their Hogwarts years

Cheeky Monkey

Harry Potter x Lego Monkie Kid

what if Lily and James actually looked for their kiddo and stayed together?

Aschente

Lego Monkey Kid

What if MK grew up around Anime and managed to emulate some of the abilities? If his first Memory was watching No Game No Life Zero... Will he follow Riku's path of self sacrifice? Or perhaps be the Hope his world needs to Keep Moving Forward.

Monkey See Monkey Do

Harry Potter x Lego Monkey Kid

Wracked by the guilt of what she forced upon Sun Wu Kong, Guanyin of the Wizarding World realm decided to send his latest reincarnation to the realm of another to help prevent her fellow Guanyin from making the same mistake.

Little HP sent to the Lego Monkie Kid verse as a baby monkey during the Journey to the West era. Makes ripples in both realities

Plot Progress : Chapter 1 written but working out an outline and wanting to write at least 3 chapters before posting this one

One Shots

I’ve got several one shots I’m juggling and musing. These will be rather long but consist of a stand alone story

None are post ready yet 😅

Shadow of the Plum Tree

Instead of stumbling into Megaopolis after hatching, MK finds himself at the grave of a particular Spirit unable to move on in any way. Macaque doesn’t get tortured by the Diyu in this one, he’s just unable to go far from where his corpse was burried without a living soul to latch onto

Effectively raises MK from the shadows

Shadow Plays

MK and Mei run a YouTube channel where they take old stage play and shadow play manuscripts to make animated videos of. MK’s favorite playwrite is Liu’er Miho. Little does he know the Shadow Play he goes to see with the gang is being performed by his favorite playwrite~

What is a fan to do?

“What Did I Say About Strays?”

MK has a real fondness for Stray animals. Using what food remains after his shifts to feed them behind the Shop. He already has a baby monkey and two kittens he adopted after a few… incidents…

Today felt like any other! Working the whole day, making sure the Child Services spies can tell he isn’t doing anything illegal for his age range. Helping Pigsy find ingredients without getting captured by the spooky spider lady again…

And then he finds a half dead monkey person in the trash behind the shop. Only barely stopping himself from chucking the trash bag in. Now… how long can one Teen keep hte8r papa pig from finding about the shadow? And why can’t the shadow leave MK’s side for long?

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Thoughts on Joker as an optional boss in P3R

.........................................snrk.

Wow....just....wooooow wowowowowowowooooow. Wow. Woof. Omg. Wow.

"Silly salt incoming?" Yes but in a "At this point I'm not even fucking surprised. Just wow!" type of salt

"Are you mad cause it's Joker/P5 related?" I mean like...yes and no?

"No?" I'm not inherently against him being an optional boss. I'm all for past characters coming back. Is it a biiiiit annoying it seems to be ONLY P5 related? Yeah. But like, that's because it seems to ONLY be P5. If it was P5 IN ADDITION to something else, I really wouldn't bat an eye. Like how I didn't for P3/4MCs in P5R (Sad they drew the line at those two only, but....hey. At least we got SOMETHING)

"Then what's the yes?" Besides weird timeline bullshit, which I'm sure they'll have an explanation (or at this rate I hope so). It's just....

I find it funny.......how the devs want to hide behind.... "keeping the original spirit alive" or some bullshit like that. As a means to tell certain fans why we can't have certain things in this game.

I mean, should I be surprised? They removed key features of the original game despite saying that. Yet still tried to hide behind that narrative. "Oh no it's more like Vanilla P3!....except for the FES stuff WE want still.....oh, and using a lot of P3P's stuff too-" I mean.....still funny they wanna hide behind that narrative. All that considered.

Sorry, that was a side tangent. Joker fight only now. Ok.

I find it funny they wanna hide behind that narrative....and then put Joker, a P5 character, THAT WASN'T IN THE ORIGINAL GAME, into the DLC. Just....huh. Interesting.

Just....didn't think to, you know, put a different character in the game? A legacy one. Maybe P1MC? With the whole Tartarus shared scenario and Nyx scenario? No?

Or maybe Tatsuya/Maya? I mean, P2 and P3 have a lot of overlapping parallels. Greek theme, dual MCs, sun and moon themes to name a few. Orpheus in some mythos being Apollo's child.... A real passing of the torch vibe when it comes to P2 going to P3 tbh.

Oh! Or you know, having them face Labby or Sho! They had them as DLC in P3D, plus it would've been PERFECT! We could've had all 3 P3 themed robo girls in ONE GAME! :D Plus they already have working models for them! They'd just need to update them.

Or......you know. They could've gone with the obvious one? Esp if timeline/space bullshit isn't an issue. One that would've been both a narrative AND mythos driven gut punch. They could've gone with FeMC! :D

"Oh but we can't have her in the game, it'll take up too much time and mone-" It's one model for a boss fight. (ʘ‿ʘ) One. Model. We don't even need to account for her Personas because they already have models. Just one model, for a boss fight, with certain animations tied to that. "But money" oh noooooo a company has to make one model with certain animations for a fight and not a whole story mode? Whatever shall they do? Where will they get the time and money to do one model with fight animations? :( :( :( :( :( (/sarcasm)

"But would fans really like-" Yes. We are asking for crumbs. Literally the bare minimum they could've done.

I'm starting to think that they are allergic to her. Cause why else are they dodging her like Neo dodges bullets? TT0TT

"You ok Silly?" Yeah I'm fine. I'm annoyed. Not even pissed. Just....."yeah this is what I expected" and moved on. But I had a feeling I should make a post about it so I came back. >_> Literally took me a few hours to realize the bs after seeing it drop kjaskfdl My first reaction was "yeah sounds about right" THEN after a few hours I was like "wait a minute....." jklsadjfkal

If anything, the need for Atlus to hire a new PR manager for BOTH Jpn and West is just becoming more apparent. I mean they've needed it for years now but ooof please someone save them. save me TT0TT

Tldr; I don't care Joker is in the game because it's P5/Joker. I'm not against him being in the game. I'm just FOR other things ALSO being in the game. And I find it weird they draw the line at other things but then choose Joker???? So weird. :/