#I say like I'm not supposed to be working on a novel rn and have no responsibilities

[murderousewpecspredator]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Tales of Arise Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Rinwell (Tales of Arise) & Original Character(s), Hootle & Rinwell (Tales of Arise), Law & Rinwell (Tales of Arise) Characters: Rinwell (Tales of Arise), Law (Tales of Arise), Hootle (Tales of Arise), Original Characters Additional Tags: Angst, Fluff, Spoilers, both ganabelt and almeidrea are trash who's with me, the others are there as well but they aren't the main focus so I'm not tagging them, no beta we die like [redacted], very scattered writing over several long months with lots of internal screaming on the side, enjoy Summary:

She thinks that, above everything else, she will remember this:

Hootle is a tiny bundle in her hood, asleep and shivering, and the air reeks of death muted with layer upon layer of frost. She is curled up in an alley just a little ways off the main road, enough that no one passing by will notice her, and every breath she takes in stings her nose, attacks her lungs with sharp pains like knives. Her stomach scrapes hollow, long past queasiness, longer past hunger. At this point she's willing to risk conjuring up a tiny flame no matter the danger if it keeps her alive, but she's tried and failed and tried again and failed again, energy and mana depleted, as dry as the wells in Calaglia during a drought.

Or, Rinwell, through all the ages.

Hullo toa tumblr, if anyone’s lurking around here have this small fic I just finished because I’m a shameless self promoter

[moonchildstyles]

have you thought about revisiting that anon concept about asterry and his girlfriend watching p*rn? I'm asking for a friend hehe

wordcount: 9.8k+

—————

(Y/N) blinked, staying silent as she took in the conversation around her. This was definitely not the avenue she saw the night taking when Charlotte had opened the second bottle of wine between the few of them. 

"I asked him if he still watched it a lot, like as much as he did before we started dating, but he wouldn't really say no," Emily shared before taking a pull from her wine glass, "He didn't say yes, but all he said was that its different now, don't worry. What is that even supposed to mean? Like, do you watch porn when I go to sleep, yes or no?" 

Charlotte and Sarah both laughed, joining Emily as she smiled around the rim of her wine glass. (Y/N) wanted to laugh along, but she was honestly still a bit thrown off by the topic. 

Truthfully, she didn't know really much about anything that had to do with... pornography. The closest she had were the scenes some of her romantic novels had, and movies that had her adverting her eyes.

Not only was the act of sex demonized growing up—especially before marriage—but anything else that had to do with it. There was no way she was going to risk doing any of her own research should her parents' close monitoring catch even a stray google search. 

After getting out from under their thumb, she didn't have much desire to go looking on that corner of the internet—she had done fine enough up to this point, she figured. Then, of course, she met Harry and there really seemed to be no need for any kind of video when she had him in the flesh.

(Y/N) honestly wondered if she had ever even spoken the word porn aloud, let alone discussed it with anyone else. This conversation was especially jarring given all of the giggling and the unfiltered language. 

"Em," Charlotte piped up, bringing her wine glass to her mouth to cover the wry grin growing on her face, "Have you ever tried watching it with him, though?" 

Feeling her cheeks warming, (Y/N) practically sunk into her skin as if to hide from the conversation. Sarah had mimicked her surprise some, though she was decidedly less shocked into silence. 

"Charlotte!" Sarah bubbled, dark brows raised, "Is that what you do?" 

Another peal of laughter came from the wine-soaked group, though (Y/N)'s reaction was more to fit in with the theatrics. (When it came to topics like these, she didn't want to be quiet even if she wasn't necessarily talkative—being too silent left people wondering if she was uninterested, judging them, and invited questions she wasn't looking to answer). 

She had always figured the viewing of those kinds of videos to be something that was done alone. She couldn't fathom anyone joining in and watching alongside what should be a particularly intimate moment. (Besides, if you had someone to watch them with, why watch them at all when you could be with that person?). 

Charlotte hesitated for a moment, opening her mouth before closing it. Emily nudged her at her side, a mischievous smile on her face. 

"C'mon, spit it out." 

Finally, Charlotte threw her hands up in surrender. "It's honestly not that bad, and I think you should try it." 

"So, you have done it!" Sarah called, bouncing in her spot on the couch, "With Elijah or?" 

"With Elijah, yeah," she settled, the wine getting to her tongue as she didn't mind sharing more details, "I walked in on him one time, and I wanted to be grossed out, but I just wasn't. It ended up working out, and now it's just a thing sometimes." 

Charlotte's ending shrug before taking down a gulp of wine showed the end of her story, though Emily still nudged her as if there was more she could shake out. 

"I don't know if I could do that," Sarah admitted, crossing her legs underneath herself, "I think it would annoy me too much, that Mitch was watching a video like that when he could have just called me or something." 

(Y/N) rolled her lips between her teeth as the conversation then changed, some debate on if videos like that were allowed in relationships. 

She didn't know what she would do if she walked in on Harry watching something like that. While she couldn't really deny that she enjoyed the sight of him playing with himself (something she's shyly learned every time Harry passed his fist over himself before sinking into one of her holes), she wasn't sure what she would think about the inspiration behind the act. There was a part of her that would be offended, she thought, that she was right there and he picked a video over the real thing. Another part of her understood that maybe he wouldn't want to have sex right then, instead opting to take care of himself before moving on. Besides, it wasn't like he had photos of her to look at in the heat of the moment, so she figured she would have to understand. 

There was no use in being jealous of girls in movies anyway. Even if it did kind of hurt her stomach thinking about Harry reacting to them the same way he did to her. 

Around her the conversation had floated elsewhere leaving behind the illicit subject matter for something lighter (a movie Emily had gone to the theater to hate watch only to end up liking it some, and now she was questioning her taste level). She was able to plug into this one much better, that much was evident in the way Sarah had quit giving her small glances as if she knew that (Y/N)'s comfort was twisting. 

Despite now adding her own takes to the conversation and actively engaging outside of a few well placed laughs and head nods, the back of her mind was lagging behind. 

There were questions rattling around that she was sure she wasn't going to be able to keep completely under wraps the next time she saw Harry. 

—————

(Y/N) watched as Harry climbed into bed beside her, comforter pulled up to her chin as she sunk into the warm mattress. He gave her a lopsided smile when he caught her following gaze, her skin warming as she averted her eyes. 

Cuddling in beside her, Harry pulled her close with an arm around her waist, his ankle hooking around hers. She could feel his eyes on her, but when she didn't immediately match his gaze she heard a plume of laughter fall from him, 

"Why won't y'look at me, love?" he smiled, reaching his hand on her waist through the duvet to brush her hair out of her face. 

She shyly kept her eyes on the column of his tattooed throat, following the thorny roses. "You caught me." 

(Y/N) could feel the fan of his laughter as much as she heard it. His hand settled on her cheek then, his fingertips venturing into the baby hairs bordering her hairline. "Yeah, but y'catch me looking at you all the time," he countered, "Jus' lets me know y'like what y'see." 

Using his hand on her cheek, he angled her face towards him once more, forcing her eyes to meet his own. A small smile graced his features, his eyes light with amusement. Tipping his chin just right, he pressed his lips to hers in a delicate kiss. 

When he pulled away his smile had grown, dimples now touching his cheeks as he ran the pad of his thumb over the height of her cheekbone. "Did you have fun tonight, baby?" 

Their dinner date splashed through her head, along with all of the warm feelings she went through while under the dimmed lights. They swapped bites of food, shared a cocktail (Y/N) really wanted to try but was worried it would be too strong, and Harry pulled out any joke he could in hopes of hearing her bubbling laughter through the restaurant. 

Nodding her head against the pillow, her own smile took her features, leaving her cheeks mushed between Harry's hand and the soft of her pillow. "A lot of fun. Thank you for taking me." 

His hand slipped down the slope of her form, settling on the sup of her waist before he gave a gentle squeeze. When (Y/N) reacted with a bubble of laughter, Harry's eyes swam with adoration. 

"I had fun too, baby," he crooned, "Thank you for coming with me." 

With the low lights and the gentle way he spoke to her, (Y/N) felt like she was supposed to be tired. It was kind of her thing, anyway—being sleepy and decidedly ready to pass out whenever. But, that just didn't seem to be the case tonight, her head was too full.

When she had come to his place after class, Harry greeting her at the door, there was a pinging question in the back of her mind that made an abrupt return from the previous night. As much as she wanted to blurt it out, get the curiosity out of the way, it didn't feel entirely appropriate to ask her boyfriend about his porn habits just after walking through the door. That much was made even more apparent given the fact that Mitch greeted her a few minutes later, trekking from his room to the kitchen with a small wave. Then, Harry had told her he had plans to take her out to dinner that night, and there was no way she was asking such a question in the middle of a restaurant. 

There was never good time it seemed, to sate her curiosity and learn her own perspective on what her friends had been talking about. No time better than right now, anyway.

She just had to find some kind of courage to go along with the timing. 

Shuffling closer, the sheets shifting around them, Harry pressed a small kiss to her forehead, right over a crease she hadn't realized was scrunching the skin. "What's going on in here?" he cooed, "You're thinking too hard before bedtime, love." 

"I just—" she bubbled off before stopping her tongue. She swallowed, a pinch appearing between her brows. "There was something... I don't know." 

There were no words that felt comfortable in her mouth, nothing that she could feasibly hear herself saying when it came to the questions she had. (Honestly, she couldn't understand how she was able to utter some of the things she did for Harry between the sheets and now shy away over pornography). 

His hand on her waist was a stern anchor, the grip just tight enough to remind her that he was there. "'S alright, y'can tell me. What is it?" 

Gone was the amusement and the soft teasing he had offered up to her before, instead his voice growing soft and forgiving. Patience now settled in his eyes as he waited on her. 

Dropping her own gaze to dance around his features, she distracted herself with the spray of fine freckles on his nose. "The girls last night, they said something that I've just been... thinking about I guess." 

The warmth of his gaze traced over her own features. "What was it? It wasn't anything rude, right?" 

"No, no, no," (Y/N) rushed out, matching his gaze to show her sincerity. All of those girls were her friends, and Sarah would also never let anything like that happen around her. "It was—I don't know, it feels weird to say it." 

Harry's expression relaxed now that he knew he wasn't there to be nursing any wounds. "We've said a lot of weird stuff to one another, baby. I think I can handle it." 

She couldn't look him in the eye when she tried to speak again, instead dropping back to the tattooed skin of his neck. Her hands between them reached to take his shirt between her fingers, the faded graphic on the material distracting her just enough. 

"They were talking about porn." Her heartbeat sounded in her ears. "With their boyfriends." 

There was a pause, though (Y/N) could feel his unwavering eyes on her face. 

"Okay," he finally shared, the syllable slow as it dropped from his tongue, "That's what's been on your mind?" 

Folding her bottom lip between her teeth, she tried to find the next set of words that made sense. "I-I have questions. I think." 

Harry's expression broke into a soft smile she could hear through the delicate huff of laughter he let out. "You think?" 

Peeking up at him through her lashes, she saw his eyes bare of liner, the planes of his face relaxed and rounded, and his hair pushed away from his face leaving it all on display. He didn't look at all bothered by her avenue of conversation, leaving him to be the always open book he was for her, willing and ready to answer anything she needed. 

"Yeah," she said, settling into her skin some, "I knew what they were talking about, but I don't think I really understand it all. I thought I could ask you, if it wasn't weird." 

"Never weird, love," Harry shared, "You know 'm always here to answer anything y'need help with." 

(Y/N) blinked, tipping her chin in a short nod. "Okay, but if there's anything you don't want to answer, you don't have to." 

"'M sure I can answer ever—" 

"Do you watch porn?"

Practically cringing at the sound of her voice wrapped around that question and the fact she spoke it aloud right to Harry, (Y/N) wanted to curl up in hopes of disappearing. 

"Sorry," she started, her voice barely a peep, "I didn't mean to cut you off." 

Harry looked at her for a lingering moment, his brows raised high over his eyes before he melted some. An amused smile sat on his lips, a small puff of laughter exhaling from his lungs. "'S alright," he offered, his hand on her waist squeezing just enough, "Not what I was expecting, but 's okay.

"To answer your question," he drawled, "No, I don't—not since you, really. No need to when I've got my own pretty star, huh?" 

His lips molded into a teasing smile, but lopsided as he pressed forward hoping to catch a small grin from her. 

Keeping her shy gaze dropped, (Y/N) couldn't keep her lips from curling. There was a bit of pride from the flattery; he didn't need any videos when he had her instead. She was enough to satisfy him, and that was a nice thought even if it was a bit in the gutter. 

Spotting her shy smile, Harry let out a plume of laughter before he dropped a kiss to the tip of her nose. Knowing him, he probably already knew what was going on in her head, even if she didn't say it aloud. 

"Is that all y'wanted to know, my love?" 

Her fingers in his shirt curled just a bit more, as if she were bracing herself for this next string. "One of the girls, she said something about her and her boyfriend... watching it together," (Y/N) prattled, her voice growing smaller the more she went on, "Is that normal?"

Harry lagged in his response, taking his time with his fingers fiddling with a pulsing pattern on her waist. "It can be," he offered, "but, 's not for everyone. I've never really talked about that with anyone, but I would imagine it could make people feel closer—sharing something that's usually only done by yourself."

(Y/N) silently nodded her head, taking in his offered information. Truthfully, she wanted to stall, find another inconsequential question to stall him before she was left with the last curiosity she'd had burning in the back of her head. 

The avenue she landed on was barely any less humiliating, but it was easy to fall from her tongue than the other she'd had on deck. She still couldn't meet his eyes as she spoke, bubbling off the question before she could second guess herself. 

"Is that something you would want to try? Like, watching it together and all." 

Skating his hand over the curves of her form, Harry tipped her chin up. Their eyes matching, (Y/N) could see the way he scanned over her features the way he always did when he was attempting to decipher where she was coming from. The lines of his features were softened, rounding into soft curves and gentling the longer her gazed at her.

"Is that something you want to try?" 

Flounder under his pressing, (Y/N) understood what he was going for—she was too shy to explicitly voice all of her wants, so he had to fill in the gaps at times—but was still taken aback none the less. Of course the thought had crossed her mind since the previous night, about what it would be like to sit with Harry and watch a different kind of movie than she usually watched with him, but the idea wasn't exactly the most compelling. 

She wasn't sure if she could really handle watching him watch someone else, and potentially become more turned on than he had even been with her. Nonetheless, she had never actually watched any porn herself, and she wasn't sure if she really had any real inclination to change that. 

But, there was something to be said about the way Harry had described the act: sharing someone to vulnerable, that is usually kept private, with someone you trust. He had a way of making these scenes sound much more romantic than the semantics did. 

"I don't know," she settled on, aware of the intensity in his eyes as he watched her, "I've never really watched anything like that, so I don't think I really understand what that would mean." 

Almost imperceptible, (Y/N) was able to catch the way his brows raised just enough. "Really?" 

Tipping her head in an almost shrug between the sheets, (Y/N) pursed her lips. "It was one of those things, you know." 

That was enough of an explanation to Harry; he knew her growing years and the drilled in obedience that followed her even after leaving home. Despite curiosity, there was no way she would have had the confidence to even make a search, that he knew.

A small curve settled on his lips, patience and understanding sitting in his eyes. "Guess that makes sense then, hm?" 

"Just add it to the list," (Y/N) joked back, a small huff of laughter falling from her lips. 

His hand on her jawline that he had used to tip her face towards him now angled itself towards the curve of her throat. His palm was warm and agnate over her skin, the pad of his thumb stretching to rest on the hinge of her jaw. "Is it something you want to know more about?" 

"Kind of," she answered honestly, sinking into the fluff of the pillow under her head, "But...Really, I think I only care about what y-you like and all of that." 

It was one of the harder admissions, (Y/N) feeling as if she were asking a bit too much into his personal thoughts. If he wanted to share that part of himself, he would have already, she figured. 

The warmth of his thumb on her cheek expanded as he pet a small trail down to the line of her jaw. "I don't really watch it anymore, love, remember?" 

"Yeah, but," she started, resisting the urge to pin her bottom lip between her teeth, "What about before?" 

When Harry paused, (Y/N)'s fingers in her shirt pulsed in an anxious curl. 

"But, you don't have to answer if you don't want to," she quickly attempted to recover, replaying her words and just how pushy they may have come off.

The amused laughter that fell from his lips was enough to reassure her that she hadn't bothered him too much. "'S alright, baby," he murmured, "I was jus' thinking." 

When he didn't immediately offer any extra information, she couldn't help herself—her curiosity was so close to gaining all the answers she needed, she didn't want it to stop now. 

"About what?" she mumbled, watching intently as he just kept thinking.

Only one side of his mouth curled upwards, his smile going lopsided. "If I should tell you, or show you." 

Now, (Y/N) had no choice but to fall silent around her dry throat. Show her?

Harry let out a small laugh at her reaction, unable to hold himself back before he was pressing a gentle kiss to the bridge of her nose between her wide eyes. 

"I take it that I should probably jus' tell you, huh?" he joked, pulling away with a brilliant smile on his lips to match the bright lilypad of his irises. 

Swallowing around her dry throat, (Y/N) spoke up, "Y-You could show me. If you think that would be easier." 

Though the request itself wasn't made with much confidence, she still was surprised it even made its way out of her mouth. Two birds with one stone, she figured, she'd finally see what it—porn—was all about, and learn something new about Harry. 

That was what she was telling herself anyway. 

Raising a single brow over his intense gaze, Harry took in her reaction. "We could do that," he mused, "But, I don't want to do that if it would make y'uncomfortable, love. It can be a bit... much, especially if you have nothing to compare it to." 

Rolling her lips between her teeth, she allowed her gaze to trace along the line of the single stray curl that rested against his temple. "I think I can handle it," she told him, her voice small as she avoided his eyes. 

Shifting his hand on her neck, Harry brought his palm to rest on her cheek. The pad of his thumb ran along the fragile skin under her eyes. "You are brave, aren't you." 

"I try," she murmured, shy smile evident in her voice. 

She could practically see the gears turning in Harry's head, his eyes flashing with just a glint of something she couldn't name. She was hyper aware of his hand once again gliding over her skin until he was carding his fingers through her hair to rest his palm on the back of her head. She matched her gaze to his bashfully. 

"Are you tired, or do y'think y'can stay up a little while longer with me?"

With a flutter of her lashes, and her heart mimicking the act, (Y/N) tugged herself that much closer to him between the sheets. 

"I can stay awake."  His lips turned into a lopsided smile, a single dimple denting his cheek as he gazed at her. (Y/N) could only tip her chin just so when he surged forward, pressing their lips together in a warming kiss. While it was chaste, there was an urgency behind it that she could feel before he pulled away. 

"Lay the other way for me, baby," he instructed with a jerk of his chin, "I need to grab m'phone." When (Y/N) didn't immediately turn to press her back to his chest, Harry lagged, keeping from reaching for his phone on the bedside. "What's wrong, hm?" 

"I don't get to see you?" (Y/N) murmured, barely keeping the whine out of her voice. She preferred seeing his eyes over everything else, knowing that it was him that was touching her. 

A soft hum of laughter fell from his lips. "'S just gonna be a little bit easier this way, love, that's all. I'll still be right here." 

"'Kay," she answered, though she didn't follow his instruction until he pressed another kiss to her puckered lips. 

With that, Harry reached to the bedside table where his phone was resting while (Y/N) twisted in the sheets to lay on her side with her back to his chest. The duvet folded, leaving her arm and back exposed to the chill while Harry took longer than a few moments to do whatever it is he was doing on his phone. 

She could hear the faint taps of his finger against the screen, scrolling and typing before he eventually curled around her. Harry conformed to the shape of her, his sweatpants-clad legs tangling with her bare ones with his arm hooking around her waist to position his phone before the two of them. He shifted the pillow under his head until she could feel the plume of his breath grazing the column of her throat, warm though it still elicited goosebumps to erupt over her skin. 

(Y/N) could feel her heart bubbling in her chest when she dared to peek at what was on his bright screen. Though there was nothing explicit or exposing on the screen, she was sure they weren't too far off with the dark color scheme of the site he had brought up. 

"Are you sure, love?" he murmured, his lips close to her ear, "We don't have to do this if y'don't want to. It can be a lot right away, and I don't want to scare you." 

Folding her bottom lip between her teeth, (Y/N) allowed his words to roll around her head. She wasn't completely naive—she could imagine what the videos would look like, though she doubted it would look or feel the same as it did when she was underneath Harry. But, his earlier definition still stuck with her: this was a small vulnerability he was sharing with her. This is something he would normally have kept so private, but he was willing to bring her in and share something so different with her. 

She could be brave—she could keep her curiosity burning enough to keep from feeling any kind of anxiety. 

"I'm sure," she mumbled, "Thank you." 

Dropping a kiss to her shoulder, Harry hugged her to his chest for a lingering moment. "You tell me if y'change your mind, darling." 

"I will," she assured, despite his words being more of a statement than request. 

Reaching over her, Harry grabbed for his phone and began tapping at the screen. The brightness had lowered from disuse, but was brought back to life from his touch, leaving every frame illuminated once more. Snuggled against his back, (Y/N) watched, her eyes widened once the reality of the site was scrolled through. 

There was already a video pulled up on screen, showing what exactly took him so long to tap through his phone before. (Y/N) blinked, trying to decipher what was in the thumbnail before her. 

From the small snippet she could see—along with the attention grabbing, all caps title—this was a loving couple having morning sex on a Saturday to the sunrise. Very romantic and loving, supposedly. In the picture, she could see the beginnings of a sunrise through a conveniently, perfectly lit bedroom. There were gauzy drapes over their open windows and pristine white linens on their bed—even the creases and folds were artfully tufted around their bodies. (Y/N) couldn't be sure if they were just that perfect, or this was an expertly produced video. She couldn't tell the difference. 

The pair was barely clothed, their faces cut out of frame, leaving their bodies to be the star of the show. The man had tattoos—no where near as many as Harry, but still quite an array. He was undressed down his briefs, where there was a bulge that could be clearly seen against the woman's stomach. She was made of smooth swathes of skin, the ends of her hair visible as it brushed her bare skin before disappearing out of frame, and her chest bare. All (Y/N) could see that was distinctive about her form, was a small tattoo on her thigh in the shape of a red heart outline, contrasting against the white cotton panties sitting on her hips. Their limbs were in a tangle with one another, legs crossed and arms holding one another.

From behind, she could feel the brush of Harry's lips against her throat. "Does this look okay?" 

(Y/N) gave her approval in a small nod of her head, her hair brushing against her pillow. "Have you watched this before?" 

She could hear the curl of his lips in his voice as his words swept across the back of her neck. "A few times, yeah." 

As he spoke, Harry's thumb tapped on the video, pressing play and starting it up. She watched as the frames took over the screen, showing the humble beginnings of the film with the woman crawling over the bedsheets to reach her lover where he was laid back against the pillows. The soft sound of their lips meeting could be heard off screen. 

"W-When?" she asked, her line of questioning a safe distraction from what was going on in front of her. 

The soft sounds of their mouths coming together and parting filtered quietly from his phone. Were they that loud when they kissed too? 

"Not for a while," he reminded her, though his voice dropped lower into a whisper just for her when he spoke again, "Watched it for the first time after that night in my office at the shop though, I remember that." 

"You do?" Her skin warmed at the reminder of that first night—all of the things she learned that night while sprawled out on that couch. 

On video, the man had gripped the woman's hips and settled her atop him from the position she had previously held on all fours. The length of their bodies were pressed together, their faces still just perfectly out of frame to keep everything anonymous. Their kissing had turned rougher, a bit noisier as they sunk into one another. The sun outside their window was casting luminous glares over the scene, giving buttery warmth to their escalating acts. 

Harry's hand on her waist squeezed as he watched. "Yeah," Harry breathed, a heavy kiss landing on the back of her neck, "I couldn't stop thinking about you, and I saw this video and... she kind of looks like you, doesn't she?"

(Y/N)'s breath caught in her throat. There was a moment as the woman moved, her body on display against the heavy tattoos of her partner that had her seeing them in just the right light. 

Cotton panties, bare skin, delicate tattoo, all wrapped in white with the slow sharing of kisses between she and her lover. (Y/N) could see herself in that. 

It was an exhilarating feeling knowing that Harry saw someone so effortlessly sexy, and could see (Y/N) in them. 

She pressed herself against him that much more, her back against his chest. His hand on her waist tightened, as if preparing to keep her just where she was should someone try to steal her away. She could feel the fan of his breath fluttering over her skin as she watched his phone. 

The acts between the couple escalated until the camera caught the way the woman ran her hand down the man's body until she had reached his cock. Her palm was pressed against the bulge, rubbing against it through the fabric of his underwear. He moaned unabashedly off screen, whispering something for only his lover to hear. (Y/N)'s lungs squeezed when she saw the way the dots of wetness seeped over the grey underwear covering him. 

"Wh-What else do you like about this video?" (Y/N) murmured, shifting so her hand was laid over his own on her waist, their fingers tangling together. 

A breathy laugh could be heard from behind her. Harry's voice was just as low as he spoke, "Do y'really want me to talk through the whole thing?" 

"I like hearing you more," she admitted, squeezing his hand in hers. 

A delicate kiss was dropped to her shoulder, the curl of his smile evident in the small contact. "Well, other than her reminding me of my angel," he drawled, a tease to his tone, "'S different than some of the things I used to watch. I liked seeing something gentle." 

(Y/N)'s throat bobbed as she swallowed around her dry throat. Before her, the videoed couple had now moved on to sliding their hands into each other's underwear. The man's face was buried in his lover's neck, showing off a head of dark hair as his moans filtering through the small speakers. The woman's whimpering noises could be heard in tandem with the slick sounds of their hands roaming each other's bodies. 

"What was the other stuff you watched?" Absently, (Y/N) was aware of the way her hips shifted some, rubbing her backside against Harry's front. Behind her, against the curve of her bottom, she could feel something much more rigid than the blocks of his muscle beginning to press into her.

He paused before he spoke, mulling over her question while she watched on screen as the few pieces of clothing covering the couple's bodies were shed. Harry's hand on her waist shifted, leaving her own behind as he pressed his palm into the soft of her stomach. She could feel the pressure of his fingertips on her plush skin just as much as she could see the man on screen press against his lover's thigh in the same way. 

"'Member m'birthday?" he murmured into her skin, his mouth beginning a blazing trail over her shoulder. The tip of his nose caught on the neck of her top, pulling it along with him as he kissed the cuff of her shoulder. 

For a split moment, there was a different movie playing for (Y/N). This one featured she and Harry as the stars, celebrating his birthday between the sheets with his cock sinking into her throat, his palm smacking over her center, and his cum painting over her face. She wondered if he could feel the way her stomach tightened under his hand at the memories. 

"Yeah," she answered simply, the word carried on a warm breath. 

He hummed from behind her, a smug curl on his lips pressing into her shoulder. "Things like that, baby," he explained, "But I started watching things like this after I met you." 

The couple on screen was beginning to find the throes of their passion, now both bare bodied and reaching for one another. There was a part of (Y/N) that wanted to shy away at the sight of two strangers and their naked bodies, their recording of an intimate moment not sitting right in her stomach. There was another part of her that imagined Harry sitting down, pants to his thighs and his hand in his lap, picturing she and him in these spots instead as he fisted his cock. That part of her kept her from drawing her eyes away, urging her to see what he did—see what held his attention while waiting for her to be ready for more than easy touching and kisses in his bedroom.

Her mouth felt dry when she tried to speak again, only to be cut off when Harry's palm grazed the waist of her panties. Though she was still only feeling his touch through her shirt, she was sure he could feel the extra groove of fabric and the tightening of her abdomen. Only that much further, and he could fit his hand between her legs just like the man on screen was doing to his own lover. 

"Wh-Why?" she asked, building off of his previous response to keep herself from melting and begging for him to touch her when they had barely just started. 

Hooking his ankle around hers, Harry started pulling her that much more into his embrace. The sheets around them hissed over their bodies, his phone wobbling from its upright position against the pillow though it didn't fall. He pushed his thigh between her own, opening up her legs with the hem of her oversized shirt being pushed up and over her thighs. 

"I liked the idea of going slow, after I met you, love," he detailed, no longer playing around when he finally slid his hand over her form and slipped it under the end of her top, "Didn't really get off on the thought of fucking you as much as I did to kissing you and making y'happy." 

(Y/N) all but melted at his explanation. She reveled in the sound of his voice, mixing with the soft sound of the couple on screen finding their own bliss within one another. Through her hooded gaze, it was easy to see the lovers on his phone as she and Harry, the daydream building around her. 

In a tug back down to earth, (Y/N)'s breath caught when Harry fit his hand between her thighs. His wandering touch had finally reached her, pressing the heel of his palm against her clit and the length of his fingers down her center. She was sure he could feel the heat that had collected there, though she hoped she hadn't completely soaked through her underwear that quickly. 

"Y'like it so far?" he asked, pressing his palm that much harder against her clit. 

"Uh-huh," she breathlessly replied. Her hooded eyes were glued to the sight of the way the man positioned himself above her, thighs open for him to fit between. She could hear him murmur something to her, passing a hand over her form with fingertips skating across her breasts and down to the round of her hips. Every touch was careful and clinging, the sound of their kissing soundtracking the moment. "He reminds me of you." 

He hummed from behind her, his hand beginning to shift over her core in a delicate press to draw away her breath. "Yeah?" 

"Yeah," she answered, eyes stitched to the video as the man sunk his cock into his lover, a shrill whine leaving her lips while he settled against her hips. His tattoos quivered as his muscles flexed under his skin, making the stars and constellations inked over his skin dance. "You're better, but," (Y/N) swallowed, hearing the quiet slap of his skin against the woman's as he thrusted against her, "He touches her like you touch me." 

Harry's response came in the form of languid touches that warmed her skin and kept her breathless even when her eyes closed and the video was an afterthought. Underneath her, he fit his free arm to coil around her form. His thigh between her two tensed, lifting just enough so he could spread her own legs enough to give her what she wanted. 

Hooking his fingers into her panties, he pulled them to the side, a cool shiver going up (Y/N)'s spine now that she was exposed to his touch. He dragged his fingertips through her slit, collecting the drops of slick until he circled around her clit in languorous pulls. 

She had never been so thankful for the stretched out neckline of her top as she was then, when she felt Harry's heavy kisses searing into her bare skin. There was so much of him all over, pressing into her back with his cock hard against her, his kiss on her shoulder, and his hand on her core, pulling more and more air out of her lungs. 

"You know how many times I thought about doing that to you, baby?" he drawled into her skin, syrupy and thick into her pores, "Before y'were ready, this was all I had. Had to picture you letting me spread you out like that, feel how wet you were jus' for me." 

With his hand between her thighs, slick fingertips on her clit before they traveled down towards her pulsing opening, she could have cried for him. She had been depriving him of this, leaving him to only watch videos and imagine, when they could have been doing this so much sooner. She wasn't sure at times—especially at one like this—how she had even made it through without his touch. 

"I'm sorry," she stuttered out for him, her hand grasping at sheets, "Yo-You should have told me." 

A rumble of laughter was felt against her back as much as she heard the sound fan to her ears. "Don't be sorry, lovebug, y'jus' weren't ready yet, that's all. I think we're making up for it jus' fine, don't you?" 

She could only nod her head, forcing her eyes to blink open. It was a task given the fact that she was still luxuriating in the tease of his fingers passing over her entrance before smearing her clit and restarting the circuit. Looking ahead, she had seen that the couple on film was thick in their session, breathless, the man straining himself as he set a controlled pace while thrusting into his partner with the woman grasping and reaching for any part of him she could reach. Watching the way the man's skin turned pink in the wake of her nails made (Y/N) want to do the same to Harry—what would the roses on his chest and the butterfly on his torso look like filled in with a bit of color? 

"I want to see you," she blurted out, unable to hold back anymore. She didn't care much for the movie anymore anyway, he was what she wanted. This video would probably still be there later, they could explore more later, if she really wanted. 

A teasing smile could be heard in his voice, the notion making (Y/N) want to feel embarrassed through she didn't have much room for that given the way she was rutting into his hand. "Y'don't want to keep watching? I thought y'liked it, love? Liked him?" 

"I like you," she countered, already turning in his arms despite the coil of his hold around her, "I want to see you now. You're better." 

He didn't put up any more teasing argument, instead helping her as she twisted and turned in his arms until his phone was forgotten in the tufts of the duvet and she had her lips pressed to his. His and that had been between her legs was now stationed at her hip, his fingertips denting into the plush skin as she melted into him. A sigh of something that felt like relief to (Y/N) slipped from her throat.

Harry parted his lips, swiping his tongue across the seam of her mouth, tasting her noises. Reaching for his bare shoulders, (Y/N) wasn't even thinking before she had the blunt of her nails pressing to his skin, just like the woman in the video. (Who must have been having a good time given the faint noises (Y/N) could still hear among the folds of their bedding). 

She readily opened her mouth for him to slip his tongue inside, eager to get a state of him. He led her through the kiss, pressing his tongue to hers and tasting through every delicate moan and breathy exhale she gave. 

This was definitely better than watching a video. 

"Harry," she mumbled into his kiss, barely enunciating before she was urging to press her lips to his once more. 

He smiled against her mouth, allowing a small slew of her excited kisses to hit him before he pulled away enough to meet her eyes. His pupils were wide and dark, leaving only slices of murky green to ring around them. There was a flush over his cheeks, warm and red that matched the hue of his kiss-swollen lips. She couldn't help her eyes but to follow the tip of his tongue as it peeked out to wet his lips. 

"What do y'want from me love?" 

Her answer was automatic: "You." 

(Y/N)'s gaze was drawn to the dimple that was thumbed into his cheek as a lopsided curl took his lips. "I know," he said, much too smug, "But do y'want me to keep touching you? Or do y'want more, love? Gotta tell me or I can't help you."

Her mind flashed to the vision of the man fitting his hips against his lover's like a puzzle piece, sinking inside her and straining his muscles to making the best pace for her. That was what (Y/N) wanted. 

"I want more," she told him, her voice a whisper between just the two of them, "Like the video."

Harry drew closer towards he, his smile fading as the blunt of his teeth sunk into his bottom lip. "I can do that for you, baby. Do you think you're ready for me, or do y'need a little more?" 

She shook her head on instinct. "I'm ready." 

Tipping his chin, Harry pulled her into another languid kiss with his tongue touching over her lips. His kiss was a welcome distraction while his hand reached for the waist of her panties underneath the hem of her top. He pushed them down her thighs as far as he could before he was forced to break their kiss to help ease them off the rest of the way. (Y/N) felt clingy for him in that moment, already missing his touch and warmth. It wasn't much longer that he pulled his own underwear off, everything landing into a pile on the floor, before he was laying himself atop her. 

Much like the movie, she swore their hips fit like puzzle pieces together, the bones cushioned by plush skin. She reached for his arms reflexively, though she hadn't meant to grip him so tightly until she felt the head of his cock nudge against her clit. Her lungs squeezed with a coiled ribbon cinching around her stomach. 

Above her, Harry was like an angel. His eyes were bare from his usual liner, though there were still the stark black additions of his nose and lip rings pierced through his face. His skin was flushed and warm, cheeks matching his bright eyes. Around his features, his curls hung around in waved strands and curled ringlets. It wasn't the first time she had seen him like this and wondered if he was the true angel between the two. 

"Still feel good, love?" he asked, his hands fisted into anchors on either side of her head. 

Matching the intensity of his eye contact, (Y/N) kept herself from shrugging her hips against his own, wanting of feel along heavy brush of his cock against her center. "Uh-huh," she sounded, throat dry, "Please."

 Only a glimpse of his smile could be seen before he was dipping down to draw her in for another kiss. He sealed his mouth to hers, kissing her top lip delicately with the soft sounds of their lips parting and coming together to fill the room. 

For a moment, (Y/N) wondered if they would look like that couple if they were on film. If their love, and the gentle touches, and the shared heartspace could be seen just as easily. She liked to think they would do it even better. 

One of his hands on the bed disappeared, the mattress shifting without the weight, before she felt it again over the small of her stomach. It was nothing more than a soft brush before he had his fist wrapped around his cock, guiding himself inside her. The head brushed against her clit in a heavy press; she couldn't tell if she was more wet than she thought or if he had been pearling dots of precum from his tip while she was preoccupied. 

He slid his tip through her folds until he hit the pulsing entrance nestled inside. (Y/N) shivered, letting out small noise into his mouth. She could tell her was becoming distracted, his kiss slowing until he was doing nothing other than focusing on the slid of his cock through her wetness, socking in her until he finally pressed forward. 

It was a familiar stretch, the head fitting inside her, but it still took her breath away. Especially now that their box of condoms was pushed to the back of his bedside drawer, barely used unless she asked, she was able to feel every ridge and vein on his cock. She felt more and more full with every inch pushed inside her, her walls pulling him in while she attempted to keep kissing him before giving up on the act in favor of simply resting her parted lips against his own.

Harry's guiding hand had shifted to lay on her hip, his touch a bit slick though neither of them minded. He was just as lost in the feeling as he was with the way he let out shuddering breaths with stilted lungs, his hand on the other side of her head now holding a tremor. His breath came out in warm fans over her features, heating her that much further. 

He bottomed out with a wet sound of his cock sliding through her walls, his base resting heavy against her clit. (Y/N)'s hold on his arms tightened at the feeling, nails leaving imprints on his skin. 

Her heartbeat bubbled in her ears as she got her bearings, coming to with a flutter of her eyes only to see harry already looking at her with his own hooded gaze. 

"You alright?" he breathed, dilated eyes scanning over her features, "Do y'need me to wait?" 

"No, no," she bubbled off, "Please, daddy." 

That was all he seemingly needed to hear—the whine of her voice and his title so lovingly mentioned—before Harry was rearing his hips back and pressing into her once more. He split her open, her walls stretching and opening for him to fit inside with every languid thrust. The first few took her breath away, getting used to the feeling of the friction and every part of her body being fulfilled by him. 

"Daddy," she helplessly called out, her voice a shared secret for just the two of them. The sheets hissed around them, matching her volume. 

Harry watched her form above as she struggled to keep her eyes from closing. She wanted to see him; this is what she had been wanting when she decided to ditch the movie. She wanted to watch him the way they had watched the couple. 

"'M here, baby. 'M here," he murmured, his voice dropping low as his mouth fell into a gape. "Feel so good, love—fuck." 

Spurred on by his praise, (Y/N) hiked her this over his hip, the heel of her foot pressing into the back of his thigh. Her plush skin gave way to the angles of his body, cushioning him as he drove his hips into hers in lingering passes. His hand on her hip shifted then, dragging her sleep shirt the rest of the way up until her bare breasts were exposed to the heat of the room. 

His palm dragged over the swell, her nipple catching on the creases of his skin. Goosebumps erupted over her form, her lashes fluttering at the touch. Harry dipped his head down, pressing his lips to her other breast, the tip of his nose skimming across before he wrapped his mouth around her nipple. His tongue touched over the bud, warming her though she could feel the skin tightening in response. He matched the pace of his wandering touch on her other breast, allowing her to feel him in every place she needed. 

Almost. 

Feeling the base of his cock press against her clit wasn't enough. She needed more than that fleeting touch against her, more than just the harsh smear over her weeping center. 

"Daddy, I—" she cried out, her words evaporating when she felt him twitch inside her. 

"'S okay," he shushed her, his mouth popping off of her nipple before he dragged his kisses towards her collarbone, "'M here, baby. I'll give y'anything y'want." 

His words were nothing more than smeared rambles, but they sank perfectly into her brain. He was here—he had her. He wasn't a silly video, he was real and she could feel his weight and his touch and even his heartbeat. 

"I want—" she stumbled, her words failing her in the heat of the moment, "I need—Please, touch me." 

"I am touching you, baby," he countered, looking up at her through his lashes before finally leveling his gaze with hers. He hovered above her, his eyes still finding hers even as he jostled her with every thrust into her. "Y'need to tell me what y'want, and then I can help."

"My—It's—"

(Y/N) almost felt panicked, instead reaching for his hand on her breast to push it down to the apex of her thighs. His wrist strained under her hand when he realized when she was directing him towards. That was all the cue he needed before his thumb was smearing over her clit, circling and patting the bud just as she had wanted. 

All but melting into the mattress, the beginnings of a cocky curl fell on his lips. "This was what y'wanted, my love? Coulda jus' told daddy—would have done it for you earlier." 

Maybe it was feeling him splitting her walls open, slick with his precum, his hand on her clit, or the sound of his voice wrapped around his honorific, but (Y/N) could feel the bow in her abdomen tightening. 

She could only whine for him, tightening her fingers around the bones of his wrist as he kept his ministrations up. His skin glimmered in a sheen of sweat, baby curls sticking to his temples as he took care of her just as he promised. 

He caught her looking, matching his eyes to hers when she dared to travel her gaze to his clumped lashes. She expected a curl of his lips, a flash in his eyes, something teasing and smug to enter his expression. Instead, she saw the way his face rounded out, the harsh angles that usually made him up now fading into soft lines and curved edges. 

"I love you," he murmured, "So much, (Y/N). You know that?" 

This was a moment she wished she had on video, exactly from her perspective with every detail memorialized. 

Releasing her hands on his wrist and arm, she settled her palms on his cheeks. Despite the rocking of their forms, the rustling bedsheets, and his phone lost somewhere at seat, (Y/N) almost forgot about everything but his touch. 

"I love you too, honey." 

Something flashed through his gaze then, but it was decidedly softer, more delicate than anything she had ever spotted before. She never called him by many pet names, preferring his name (it was the name of the man she was in love with, she couldn't think of a better thing to call him), but there were moments she thought he might like the extra love falling from her lips.

Harry didn't waste any longer than a beat before he was smearing his lips against hers. The kiss was messy and clumsy, just off center with his tongue swiping out before she was ready, but she loved it. This was what she wanted, what had been on her mind throughout the video. 

He put more of himself into her, his hips picking up pace and his hand on her clit quickening. She felt the press of his chest every time he sank in deep inside her, splitting her walls and making more room for him than she even knew she had. Her insides clenched around him, sucking him deeper every time he sank back inside. The ribbon in her stomach was beginning to fray at the edges, unravelling more and more.

"B-Baby," Harry breathlessly crooned, pulling away just enough so she could hear, "Where do y'want m'cum? 'M al-almost there—fuck." 

She didn't have to think before she was answering him, "Inside, inside. Please, daddy. I want it inside."

There was one more twitch of his cock inside her, his head nudging against what felt like her stomach, before there was nothing left of her to give. The fraying ribbon gave way, spooling too tight inside before falling apart. She shredded around him, feeling like nothing more than glimmering fabric laying in his arms for him to toss and turn whichever way he wanted. She could feel herself grow wetter, Harry's cock slicking through her opening. 

(Y/N) clung to him, her hands on his cheeks keeping him close as she attempted to kiss him through her hazy mind. It was nothing more than her gaped mouth dropped open against his own, nothing more than absent calls of his name falling from her throat. 

Barely, she could hear Harry mumbling a declaration—that he loved her—over and over against her mouth. She felt entirely too full, everything too much, when she realized he was cumming. Just as she had begged, he let go inside her, painting her walls in pumps of his cum that mixed with her own. She wouldn't be surprised to feel the aftermath dripping over her thighs. 

By the time Harry's bedroom came back to fruition around her, (Y/N) wasn't sure if she had been breathing properly since he landed atop her. Everything around her was wispy, not quite real, other than Harry himself. He was a comforting weight, an anchor she clung to. 

Sinking atop her, he rested his cheek on top of her chest. His nose skimmed her throat as he nuzzled closer to her, the length of his lashes tickling her bare chest. 

"Y'alright, love?" he murmured, just as out of breath as she was. 

"Mhm," she hummed, wrapping her arms around him in a clumsy hug, "I love you too, by the way." 

A rumbling laugh fell from his chest. "Love you more." 

With a small kiss being pressed to her sternum, harry began to untangle himself from her hold. He righted her shirt on her torso, covering her chest and keeping out the call that was beginning to seep over their sweat-glimmered skin now that the sheets had slid off of them.

"Where are you going?" she almost whined, reaching for him when he shifted out from between her cushioning hips. 

His smile was tender, affection swimming in his lightening gaze as he looked at her. He brushed a stray hair out of her face, keeping her features clear for his admiration. "We've gotta clean up, love. Can't go to bed like this, can we?" 

Fitting her bottom lip between her teeth, (Y/N) didn't want to answer him. He was right—she needed to use the restroom and find a different pair of underwear for the night, while Harry inevitably searched for new sheets to change the bed into. But she didn't want to do that right now. She didn't want to walk around on wobbly legs, and go through her designated drawer, or anything else. She didn't want to touch anything that wasn't him. 

Instead, (Y/N) clung to him, using her weight to tug him down until he finally relented. Harry gave in with a sigh though he couldn't keep the smile off of his face. 

"Five more minutes, 'kay?" he bargained, cuddling her into him with her face in his throat and chin on the crown of her head. He even tugged the sheet up to blanket their forms once more, keeping her warm before patting her hip through the material.

(Y/N) smiled, pecking a small kiss to his neck. 

"Five more minutes." 

She'd stretch it until ten. 

—————

I finally got around to this request so thank you for everyone bein patient!!!! thank you for reading, sorry for any mistakes and if there's any ideas or requests you have send them in !!!

[sl-vega]

Hi Vee, I would like to request a sick! gn reader with some of the genshin characters (Yae Miko, Wanderer, Albedo, and Kazuha) where reader can’t really talk all to well cause of said sickness. What sort of shenanigans would ensue as our dear reader tries to communicate. It’d also be really cool if the reader knew a bit of sign language and tried to communicate that way (your choice on whether the characters know it or don’t). Have a lovely morning/day/evening!

NOW I'M (LOVE)SICK

pairings: Yae Miko, Albedo, Wanderer, Kazuha x [GN!] Reader

genre: fluff, established relationship, headcanons/drabbles, canon compliant, sick! reader, reader knows sign language

synopsis: in which your s/o tries their best to make you feel better since you've fallen ill

CW: mild language, potentially ooc, vee doesn't know how to do headcanons so you have been warned

additional notes: lol perfect timing for this request cuz I'm actually sick rn // header credits: yae header by @/k1aya on pinterest, albedo header by @/kuno on pinterest, wanderer header by @/ggoldiz on pinterest, Kazuha header by @/detailuffy on pinterest

YAE MIKO-Divina Vulpes

miss girl would be babying you 100%

kinda acts more like your mom than your s/o in this case tbh

"I told you not to go adventuring in the rain!" but then she goes back to saying shit like "aww you poor thing~, let me get some soup for you"

yae would also tease you too, cuz yk, she's yae miko

since she's not human, I don't think she can get sick, well not any human diseases at least

she tries her best to be there for you though, probably reads a bunch of light novels from her publishing house to help you fall asleep

if you try to communicate via sign language to her, she probably just hushes you and grabs your hands so you stop frantically making hand signs

cuz she wants you to get your rest

I think she does know a little sign language, but she never really committed to learning it, she'd gladly start for you though

ALSO

i think she'd turn into her fox form and let you cuddle with her like she's a stuffed animal

totally not projecting rn

ALBEDO-Princeps Cretaceus

he'd def send sucrose over to check on you if he's busy, but once he's done with his work, he is SPRINTING over to check on you

✨he's a runner he's a track star✨

maybe it's just me but I feel like Albedo would be the type of boyfriend that worries over you a lot

when he does come over, he probably has lots of concoctions that are supposed to clear your throat, but they're probably made of...

less than delicious materials

and you aren't becoming your boyfriend's personal test subject no thank you, not today

since he has a little sister, he knows how to take care of you

probably has experience cuz klee would get super sick after running around in the rain for too long-

makes you chicken soup, and tea, the usual

if you try to communicate with him via sign language due to losing your voice, he'll probably have the same reaction as yae

just forces you to go back to sleep

he def knows sign language (mr. genius🙄) but he wants you to get better as soon as possible

klee also comes over at some point, probably tells you some crazy story about how she tried to blow up dawn winery with diona or smth-

her and Albedo also make some get well cards for you once you fall asleep as well <3

WANDERER-Peregrinus

this mf

if you've heard his voice lines you already know what this bastard would say to you

he'd call you weak and say shit like "a small illness has already rendered you helpless? how pathetic..."

THE FACT I CAN PERFECTLY HEAR HIM SAY THAT-

he's a puppet so he's never been sick cuz he can't get sick either

nahida would probably slap him and scold him and tell him to be nicer though

on the inside he's super concerned about you

lowkey, he's afraid of losing you

not that he'd ever admit it-

(tsundere scara for the win)

he's worried that you're going to end up like the child he used to live with, and that you'll become "powerless before your mortality" as he'd like to say

same as yae + albedo, if you'd try to communicate with him via sign language he'll tell you to sleep

(in a slightly aggressive way but he's scara what do you expect?)

i don't think he knows sign language at all tbh

he'll ask nahida about it and he'll probably start borrowing books from the akidemiya and practices in secret for you

he WILL ruin his sleep schedule for you but he'll probably just brush it off and be like: "meh, it was easy."

when in reality this mf has spent an AGONIZING amount of time just to try and impress you

he'll make you tea too, the bitter kind

the VERY bitter kind

oml this sounds like scara slander 😭 dw I actually really like him

KAEDEHARA KAZUHA-Acer Palmatum

like albedo, he'd be super worried about you

tells beidou that he needs to make sure you're okay before the crux leaves for it's next destination

brings you tea, soup, and writes cute little love poems for you while you rest in his lap

tells you stories about his travels while holding your hand and sappy stuff like that

kazuha is a top tier boyfriend fr fr

unlike the others, if you tried to communicate with him via sign language, he let you teach him certain phrases

i think he knows a little bit due to his travels so he's picked up on a bit of it

he thinks it's really cute of how you try to explain things to him since you can't speak so you probably alternate between the hand signs themselves and pen and paper

VERY attentive to you

"slow down love, we have all the time in the world."

[pomefioredove]

hiiii

could you make a list of ur ocs and their descriptions from ur noble bell college fic at some point i am itching to draw them already

JUMPING UP AND DOWN!!! I actually wrote something like this for the first two characters who have appeared so far but I didn't post it cause I was like "eh, not that important"

SO I'm just going to copy and paste it here

the other original characters (I have... three? rn) I'm still working on

Pierrot Gregoire

I'm sure a lot of people kind of went "who the hell is this supposed to be" since Pierre himself was not in the Disney adaptation

...which is kind of the reason I wanted to include him, since he's my favorite character from the novel and is almost never adapted accurately (stop making him cool and romantic and interesting!!)

the naming choice was rather easy. obviously, it sounds like his name. "Pierrot" is also a pantomime character, and I thought the connection to the theater was fitting. he is literally like a sad clown

appearance:

tall, taller than rollo (around 183 cm/6 feet)

thin

thinner face/long nose

round, green eyes

hair is more of a muted blond, cut just below his chin, obviously a little unkempt (curls and sticks out in odd places). he has bangs too

I don't know if I could describe his stupid little hat. but he has a stupid little black hat. it looks like the tall cousin of a beret

he looks kinda sad and tired all the time and his uniform is always a little worn down

nonetheless he is very smiley. to me. he loooves to chit chat. he talks to himself in the third person

sort of resembles rook (which could mean nothing at all!!!)

this artwork and this artwork of Pierre himself are close to what I envision

Gregoire more or less plays a role similar to ADeuce at NRC. I'm still trying to figure out how I want to write him, but he will be novel-like more than anything. so he's like... clumsy and socially unaware and loves to talk. his fatal flaw is cowardice, but otherwise he's... niceish. compared to everyone else, at least. I already know I'm going to write him nicely

Bou de Neige

a very long time ago I saw an oc of the h.rose. the horse. disney frollo's fuckass evil horse. and I cannot remember anything about the oc, but the very concept left such an impression on me that I could not help but make my own

for those of you who are blissfully unaware, Frollo's horse is named Snowball. Bou de Neige is a play on boule de neige, which is the direct translation of snowball. according to the internet, "Bou" also means ox in Catalan. close enough! and it sounds like "boo", referencing the scary nature of the horse. I'm not going to add a picture but those animators really knew how to make a scary horse

the design I have in my head is loosely based off this npc model:

except his hair is the same style but darker, he has sharper features (CRAZY winged eyeliner) and maroonish eyes? he's not even a horse beastman he's just some freak

at the time the fic takes place he's kind of an asshole, so he always looks a little pissed. he gets better before glomas dw :)

this freak is the vice president of the student council

picture also reminded me to say that these outfits are most certainly not every day wear. to me, they're equivalent to the ceremonial robes at nrc. the actual uniforms are less... intense. I can draw clothes so I'll deal with that later, these are good references for now

[angelp-official]

New Detlarun + PJSK crack theory alert!! (SPOILERS FOR JPSEKAI I THINK)

Paperus Deltaballs MIGHT be connected to tbis new unit

(Note: In case if you didn't know at this point, this is not supposed to be serious at all, so please don't come after me, I'm just joking and having fun around here-)

Here we habe 3 poeple here!! HOEVER!! Only 3 people her e? WHERE THE FUCK IS THE 4TH PERSOM and no I'm not counting the person in the mirror cuz if so I'll count the 5th person as well

SO YEAH

HOWEVER, THESE PEOPLE HERE LOOK AWFULLY LIKE FRICK AND CHARA!! So these persons MIGHT be them!!! (Source: Trust me bro)

Frisk and 3rd person side by side

Chara and 2nd person side by side

Idfk who the guy is but you could say it's Asriel?? Idk not the point

The point is that it's fucking weird that there's no 4th person!!

These 2 people might be Frisk and Charmander from Undertall

SO LETS GO BACK TO THE WEIRD EGG CARD I mean the Luka card where she discovers abandoned Sekai

LOOK. EGGS, HM? SOUNDS FAMILLIAR??

"It would be safe to assume that each egg represents something they were trying to make..." HMMMMMMM "...Petrified one, I wonder what you were supposed to become?" HHMMMMMMMMMM THE KNIGHT PAPYRUS AND EGGMAN PAPYRUS THEORIES ARE LOOKING GOOD AS HELL RN

What ARE the eggs supposed to represent? Well, I say that these eggs are supposed to represent the dark worlds the knight, in this case, Papyrus, has made!!

(PS: Tumblr hates the number 11 so I'll post the YT link here)

OR MAYBE ITS PAPYURS DETLARUND, MISS LUKA LUKA NIGHT FEVER (/j)

SO LETS LOOK AT POSSIBLY PAPYRUS'S MIKU

So she looks emo as fuck

But you notice that her outfit is more suitible for winter? And WHO'S THE UTDR CHARACTER THAG'S ASSOCIATED WITH WINTER?

"Noelle?" ❌️

"Dess?" ❌️

"Sans?" ❌️

"Papyrus?" ✅️

HELL YEAH IT FUCKING IS, AND SHE LOOKS LKKE SHE HAS A TAG AND WHO HAS A TAG LOOKING THING ON HIS ARMOR? PAPYRUS UNDERTLE!!! Maybe she has a jacket looking dress because Papyrus is familliar with a person who has a jacket (his brother)?? Idfk

HOWEVER, She has black crosses all on her, so what is that supposed to mean??

I say: MAYBE THOSE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SNOWFLAKES BUt they distorted to X marks overtime bexause Papyrus abandonded his SEKAI and possibly the other s too!!

But why is she emo??

I say: Because Papyrus Deltarune is emo himself!! Maybe because of the same reason Mafuyu is emo? Because Sans Undertale threw away his stuf?? Or is it his and the others' emotioms combinded??? Idk

NOW LETS LOOK AT THE MIKU COLORFES CARD

"I did as I was told, and followed him into the alley. Right at that moment, I closed my eyes without thinking. The sun was setting. Its blazing hue painted the alley in vermillion..."

And there's an unfinished animal illustration and a manga there too??

So uh idk wtaf these are so lets put these aside for now

(PS: These are all actually multiple people's stuff! So maybe the novel thing was Chara's stuff and the drawings are Asriel or Fisk's?)

And the music sheets. Maybe the reason why they sound so painful is because it represents the problems the 4 members face through?

There's also an MP3 player where a boy was practicing. Maybe that was Papyrus? "I bet this boy is a hard worker." "I can hear his frustration and impatience from the way he sings..." Hm? Maybe Papyrus was really putting his emotions into this recording, but it doesn't seem enough. Despite the hard work, he always messes up, and he always has to try again, and again, and again. But still, somehow, he never gives up. Until he finally did.

And the wooden box, oh boy. Maybe it was the 4 members' emotions put into one? Papyrus's shallow hopefulness, Asriel's sad nostalgia, Frisk's unsure creativity, and Chara's pure paranoia, all in one box?

All these feelings hidden away because they all feel too stressed of choosing their own future?

"It's so hard to find a place that makes you feel needed or welcomes you to try in a way that works best for you..." Okay now that's definitely Papyruscore

"Was it because you didn't want anyone to know? Was it because you couldn't tell anyone about it? Or... Was it so painful that you couldn't take it anymore and had to give up?" Maybe it meant Papyrus either didn't want Sans or the others to know, he couldn't tell anyone about it, or he had to give up at that point (And that could explain the others too)... Or was it because he was weighed down by someone? Who knows

And at that point, the SEKAI is now erased. Maybe Papyrus and the others... Really didn't want to remember those terrible memories that they built together. Maybe they finally let go of their... "Mistake", or as they would call it.

Maybe that was in the past? Maybe... All of that was resonated into the Empty SEKAI, the one that belongs to Mafuyu?

Maybe that explains why the SEKAI has one to no emotion put to it at all!! Maybe because Asriel misses his place at home, Frisk and Chara wanted to do their own things on their own, and maybe Papyrus is the only one who truly cared about the SEKAI, but is too weighed down to admit it?

Okay this is getting too serious for a crack theory iGNORE THESE PARTS LETS JUST JUMP INTO COLCUSSY NOW + I DONT THINK THESE GUYS WOULD GIVE UP AND BE THAT EMOTIONAL SO QUICKLY BUT SHUT UP

So in conclusion:

The abandonded SEKAI MIGHT'VE belonged to Papyrus Detlarunn

So thank you for coming to my ted talk, cyaaaa 🤩🤩

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

sully family trip to the library 🥺

So much drama.

I really don't think Jake and Neytiri are library people, I think they're bring your kids to the local rock climbing gym parents. I live in a world where they're just like, doing the most insane shit all the time. Pre-kids they were like what if we randomly skipped work today to go sky diving, and what if tomorrow we try a kickboxing class? Like their idea of a fun date or couple activity is trying something they've never done before and seeing who is better at it. One week they're in a couples cooking class like bullying the shit out of each other's food while the rest of the class is like 👀 because it's couples cooking you were supposed to make something together? Next week they're learning parkour, and every time the other falls first they run over and make sure that person is okay and then they point and laugh. By the time the kids are born it's crazy. Kiri, Neteyam, Lo'ak, and Spider in the back of a stupid family skateboarding class watching their mom not so subtlety push their dad so he falls and then pretending not to have seen who did it like Jesus Christ, right in front of us?? Our salad??? (This got off track can you tell I'm entering my Jeytiri era rn?).

So yeah I don't think the library was their main place before their kids. But now the kids love reading and the jocks (their parents) must entertain them.

I think Kiri and Neteyam vibe hard with a good book, while Lo'ak is with his parents in that he'd rather be outside doing something athletic and dumb. Spider and Tuk are in between, they can be swayed either way and get bored with reading or with dumb shit. They have short attention spans.

I think Jake does really good voices in the childrens section, so he without fail will find himself surrounded by like 15 kids and not notice until the end of the book because he feels like he has 15 kids anyway. Parents don't realize he's not there to read for everyone because he's so good at it and he's got so many kids sitting there listening who don't all appear to be siblings lol.

Neytiri really likes the romance books. I think she's a little bit of a romantic, and even if reading isn't her favorite pastime she'll get sucked into a good romance. Jake likes John Grisham type detective dad novels, but he'll read all the YA nonsense his kids say is good. He's read all of The Hunger Games, Divergent, John Green, he and Tuk are caught up on Percy Jackson. Lo'ak reads those crazy sports books middle school boys read, and those My Weird School books. Neteyam has read all the books. Man is reading Stephen King and Octavia Butler and what not way too young. Idk just every book, all of them. Kiri mostly has as well but she and Tuk have also read every single Warrior Cats book multiple times. Tuk also eats up the Rainbow Magic series, and some Junie B. Jones.

[sineala]

Hi Sine! I find myself in possession of a very long plot (not going to count how many of those are in my inventory), and was hoping you'd share what program(s) you use for yours? I'm the sort who'd use a murder-wall with notecards but I don't have space rn. I *should* use tagging systems but all the ones available are so sketchy and unreliable that I lose focus just typing. Also I tried to search but. This is tumbs. Thanks - Shusu

Oh boy, this question was made for me!

The first novel-length story I wrote, I wrote in TextEdit. All 90,000 words of it. I basically just made a list of the scenes I wanted in the order I wanted them in, started typing the story above the list, and deleted every scene from the list when I had written it. I don't recommend this.

These days, I use Scapple and Scrivener. I have much more detail below. I am sure I have talked about them before but, as you say, Tumblr is hard to search.

Different things will work for different people, and I don't always start this way, but sometimes, while I'm still trying to rough out an idea, I start with a mind mapping program. You know that brainstorming technique that you learned in, like, third grade, where you take a piece of paper and you write down the main idea in the center in a bubble and then branch lines out from those with more bubbles containing related ideas, and then branch things out from those, and so on? You can get programs to do that instead of a big piece of paper, and the advantage to doing this on a computer is that your piece of paper can be infinitely large and you won't ever run out of space.

I will sometimes skip this step if I already know what order things are going to happen in (in that case, I just make an outline), but if it's the kind of unformed idea where I just want to write down everything that happens as I think of it so I won't forget it later, then I use a mind map.

I also use it to write down bits of dialogue as I think of them; the program I use lets me change fonts and colors and so on, so I have color-coded my dialogue by character:

I feel like I have probably posted this before but Tumblr is not letting me search. Also, this is probably not how you're supposed to use this, judging by how it exports data, but whatever.

There are a variety of programs that can help you make mind maps, and I'm sure a lot of them are good. The one I use is Scapple, which I like for a few reasons: it's very easy to use (you type something in, and then to connect two bubbles you drag one on top of the other) in a way that gives you a lot of freedom; it's not a subscription model like a lot of apps are (you buy it, you pay once, you can use it forever, and it costs about $20); and mostly, it's made by the developer of the writing program I use (Scrivener), meaning that the two programs integrate very well.

So then there's Scrivener.

Scrivener is probably the absolute most useful software I have ever owned; I have bought it four times now. (All three desktop versions and then the iOS version.) It is a word processor that is designed to help you structure and write novels. There are similar programs for free or at least cheaper, of course, but this is the one I use. (It also isn't a subscription; you just buy it.)

The downside is that it's a very complex program. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can look a little daunting. It's one of those programs that has hundreds of features and you will only use about fifty percent of them, but everyone uses a different fifty percent, so there's something for everyone. (It can generate character names! There's a feature on the Mac version where it can highlight words by part of speech! You can change all the icons! The LaTeX export is pretty decent!)

Honestly, as long as you can figure out how to make scenes, rearrange scenes, edit synopses, and get your work out of the program, you're good to go; that's probably what you'll be doing most of the time.

Scrivener is basically designed around the murder-wall-of-notecards writing approach. A Scrivener project contains your Draft, which can have a bunch of folders in it (chapters) which can have individual documents (scenes). Each scene has an index card associated with it, and each index card is where you can write a synopsis for each scene.

You can view your story as single scenes or as a whole story (optionally with a window showing the synopses, so you can remember what you thought was going to happen while you are writing; I have shown this above) or you can just view the synopses as an outline or as index cards, like so:

There's your murder wall right there.

Rearranging the index cards also rearranges the scenes. (Rearranging the scenes using the list in the sidebar also rearranges the scenes.) So if you want to swap scenes around, you can do that. If you want to write the end first, you can do that. If you want to add three more scenes in the middle, you can do that.

You can also search your whole project, color code the index cards, tag them however you want with keywords (e.g., a keyword for every character who appears in the scene) and then look at everything you've tagged with particular keywords, notate scenes by whether they're done or not, and basically everything else you can think of. Mostly I have used this to color code scenes by POV so I can keep track of who's talking; I could also have used keywords.

So my first move when I start a project in Scrivener is to make a bunch of blank documents for all the scenes I think I will have, give them some kind of meaningful title, start writing down on the notecards things that will happen in each scene, and then move them around. This is where Scapple comes in handy -- both because I already have an idea from making a mind map in Scapple of what scenes I want, and also because the integration between Scapple and Scrivener makes it really, really easy to get started.

How do Scapple and Scrivener integrate, you ask? If you make a mind map in Scapple, you can drag and drop it into Scrivener and it will automatically make one scene for every bubble you have, and the text of each bubble will be on the notecard, so you can basically start with all of your scenes that you already have made in Scapple and then reorder them as you like.

Scrivener projects also have a Research section, where you can store basically anything related to what you're working on; you can set it to show your draft and your research at the same time. Basically anything can go in here. Mine usually have notes, more notes, character information, lines I cut but wanted to save somewhere (there is also a versioning system built in if you prefer that), comics panels, reference pictures, and entire webpages. This way, you'll never have to figure out what you did with that thing you looked up for your story, because you can keep it right there with your story.

Scrivener costs $60, which is kind of a lot, but there are very often coupons for 50% off from online software retailers (I just saw one on Boing Boing a couple days ago that still works as of the time I am answering this; I can vouch that they are a legit retailer). Also if you know anyone who has won NaNoWriMo, they get a Scrivener coupon as part of their winnings, and some people don't use theirs. It has a thirty-day free trial period (IIRC that's 30 days of use, not 30 calendar days) so you can try it and see if it works for you.

I also made a Compile Format for Scrivener 3 -- the current version -- so I can export HTML suitable for AO3 or Dreamwidth in one click. Scrivener can export your work in basically any format you can think of, but the default HTML exports all have too much stuff in them for my liking.

(Scrivener also has a bunch of preset templates for various kinds of writing -- like, there's a Novel template with room for character sheets and settings and all of that. You can make your own template, too. I actually made my own template for writing fanfiction for AO3. I'm not sharing this one because it is so personalized to me that it wouldn't be useful -- but, for example, I already know that I'm going to want a document in my Research section where I list notes about canon, and one where I list what bits I need to edit, and one where I copy in any conversations I've had with beta readers that I might want to refer to, and one where I list the things that will be in the AO3 header (it contains empty spaces for Title, Fandom, Tags, Summary, etc) so I can now always start with that. You can make a template yourself by opening a new project, setting it up exactly the way you like with the Research documents exactly the way you want, and then doing File > Save as Template. It will copy everything including any text that's in there so you want to use something that doesn't already have any story or research content written in it because then that will get copied. But it's a real timesaver.)

Anyway. Scrivener is the best.

[farfromdaylight]

OH I AM SORRY somehow i completely did not see that you had already answered some of these lmao. anyway have some more: 9, 16, 20, 21

NO NO i got a bunch at the same time and answered them together, you just happened to double up! not ur fault at all. THANK U FOR SENDING MORE, i shall tl;dr below!

9: worst part of canon

god i could answer this for so many series, i am always full of salt about Bad Canon.

can i say "most of zero time dilemma?" i know this isn't final fantasy but oh my god, what the fuck was uchikoshi smoking on this one. i thought it was okay but not great when i played through it the first time. when @shepherdtostars played through the series she streamed VLR and ZTD for me and man, ZTD does not fucking hold up lol. like all three games have their low points (especially in gameplay/mechanics/traversal but i'm solely speaking about story here). ZTD's conclusion to the series is fucking stupid at best.

to be slightly more on topic, i have not thought dirge of cerberus was good since i was a teenager with no taste and no understanding of Decent Storytelling and Characterization. (and even then i could recognize some shit was garbage, lmao.)

16: you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

my gut answer for this is zenos, lmao. i think @anneapocalypse summed up a lot of it in her similar response (i'm on mobile rn or i'd link). i think zenos is fine in stormblood itself and his ultimate ending at the close of 4.0 is fantastically done, ties together the narrative themes, etc.

i don't feel that way about endwalker. i don't think it's earned. i struggle with it to the point that i am going to replay stormblood (i haven't replayed it since 2020) and really dig into how i feel about it for my wol's story, then extrapolate from there for an ending that makes sense for endwalker. like i'm genuinely stuck on my 80% complete endwalker fic due to The Zenos Problem.

here's the thing, i don't hate his character trope? ennui is fine for a villain motivation and it ties into the themes of uncaring imperalism that stormblood puts forward. by contrast, i really disliked how zenos carried forward after that in the story. fandaniel didn't work for me. EW zenos didn't work for me. i have no desire to replay endwalker but i've reread and rewatched the scenes enough that i don't think it'll ever really work for me.

which is fine. i know i'm supposed to be choosing violence in this meme but it's fine that This Specific Storyline didn't click. there's a lot else i like instead.

20: part of canon you found tedious or boring

FF14 is too easy an answer for this. I love the game but it has some dead boring story and gameplay structure for MSQ. i have nothing against the character (i thought she was fine) but "speak with wuk lamat" illustrates the problem perfectly no matter how you feel about her. you need variance in the actual gameplay of telling your story, or it becomes too obvious to the player.

it works fine in visual novels and in many ways FF14 is very similar to that medium, but... it's not. it's a RPG. FF14 can't really do much of interest with this kind of thing due to the nature of its setup. i don't expect the kind of genuine exploration and discovery you get in other RPGs from it because it's linear by design. but please hide the bones of the structure so i can focus on enjoying the game.

21: part of canon you think is overhyped

final fantasy vii rebirth dev. square enix

lmao.

i really wish i'd liked it. in so many ways i should have liked it. it clearly, CLEARLY worked for many people. but it didn't work for me. remake was solidly middle of the road, but rebirth? good god, what is nojima smoking these days. why is aerith singing. why is zack here. what the fuck is that ending.

sigh.

[alexbutrandomthoughts]

Now, that you've started ORV, welcome (sorry for being late in saying this). So, what are your top 5 fav moments (until now) and which ships are you in for Kim Dokja (the het, slash, or poly ones)? Why?

[For me as multishipper, I love both the poly and slash ones, depend on my mood for the day]

Now, between Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk, do you see their relationahip more of a platonic (bromance) or romantic (subtext) one? Why?

Ngl this might change since i plan to reread orv, so I'd say in no particular order 1)kdj dying as the demon king, 2) kdj and hsy riding the ferrarighini and kdj shouting embarrassing shit, 3) oldest dream reveal, 4)joongdok fight in that trust chamber thingy which names escapes me, 5)Joonhuyk reading the novel to cope with being in space alone (honorary mentions, kdj waking up to kkoma yjhs, kdj making 1863rd eat dirt, jhw having a breakdown when kdj sacrificed himself again even though he promised not to, the entire military sequence with lhs)

I prooooobably prefer joongdok, yknow black and white, life and death companions, them catfishing everyone with their names, incarnation and it's star, you know the drillllll

Although i absolutely see yoohankim being a thing like maaaan, the reader/writer/protagonist relationship just UGH so powerful. Like even if i like joongdok more, hsy is always there cuz ofc she has to be, that's just how it works

I mean you could probably guess by this point that i see them as gay gay homosexual gay than bromance. I mean i suppose they could kinda work as bromance, but like after the whole "getting killed by the person he loves the most" it was sooorta hard to see them that way (and yes i get that it was probably referred to all of kimcom but like bro still delivered final blow and got whole ass panel to himself when kdj was thinking of em all) i cannot really formulate my thoughts properly rn cuz i am writing this as I'm having a veeery high fever but yeah

[anulithots]

Hi! *hugs*

I saw the ask game you reblogged at like 1 in the morning and I thought I would go to sleep and send you an ask for that in the morning. But I got distracted...so here I am nearly thirteen hours later and I spent and hour searching for the ask game. Anways....

If you are still doing it.

12.What emotions do you expect readers to feel?

21. Share 3 songs that would belong on a playlist for this chapter/fic.

(sry for talking so much)

HELLO HELLO! *hugs hugs*

You SPENT AN HOUR LOOKING FOR IT??? LKDFJDK You did not need to do that but I appreciate the effort nonetheless. /pos /aff

<3 <3

Thank you for the ask! I did 12 for lotff already... but that was just for Anuli's POV.... SO I CAN DO IT FOR KAMARI MUAHAHHAHAH! (I'm listening to faer playlist rn actually. <3) The Anuli ask here

12.What emotions do you expect readers to feel?

Kamari can actually describe faer emotions in words, so faer aspect of happiness chasing is less on the emotions and more on the lifestyle of happiness chasing.

Which isn't to say that I don't want Kamari's POV to be emotional... when I say less emotional than Anuli, that isn't saying much given how Anuli feels everything so strongly.

With Kamari I want to convey the feeling of hopelessness. The idea that society promised a happy ending if you 'act like this, if you do this, if you achieve these goals', and you go with it, you try your best, you do everything right, everything that they asked. You genuinely believed that in good time you would receive that happy ending they promised.

It never happens though. In the end, all they wanted was another cog for their machine.

Or in this sense, the fallen fairies system required a High Protector to rid of the fallen fairies, and Kamari would never be treated as fae should, no matter how long fae followed the fates.

And I think even more than Anuli, longing interlaces through Kamari's POV. Anuli has a... complicated relationship with faer past, but fae wants it back so much that it hurts, it throbs and stings, because its lost.

Kamari never had the happy ending fae craved, so fae imagines it, builds up a whole fantasy of what it should be, yet because fae never had it, because fae doesn't know exactly what it should be like, there's an additional sensation of anxiety, of the unknown over what it would be like, if it's as Kamari hopes it will be, if it is even possible.

It isn't. Not for Kamari. No one gets happy endings and that's intentional.

(The goal is to say that happiness chasing is such a strained and awful endeavor, and there's more to be found in... just being? Although that's what a lot of things say and I want to say it as a neurodivergent person because the idea of 'quieting your thoughts' is not likely to happen with my brain.)

So basically Kamari's a dualistic hope and hopelessness, desperation and solace. Fae has such a different vibe to Anuli in my head, and I can't exactly put my finger on what it is.

... Anuli's very poetry-eque? I even write faer like poetry with the whole 'careful construction of each sentence and metaphor', WHICH I know you're supposed to get into a flow state and keep going, but this seems to work best for faer, but not Kamari?

Kamari's the narrative one. Fae's the one where it is supposed to feel like an actual novel and such and such.

So in terms of physcial sensations of the emotions (I have no idea how to describe feelings help.) Kamari's are sharper and more defined, and therefore less mailable and more... tangible?

ANuli's are softer, stickier, they're messy and get everywhere, they can't be held and constantly overwhelm, linger even after the original feeling has passed, and cannot be controlled, they are so obscure and random and inconsistent it hurts.

21. Share 3 songs that would belong on a playlist for this chapter/fic.

Oooh okay okay. Hmmm. ijkafldsjfaksdlf. The Anuli playlist is five hours long what I am supposeddd to choooseee. Just threee?

I have a whole video that's an hour long and that's just a small part of ANuli's playlist kafjdkasd.

Okay HANDPAN MUSIC THOUGH.

I keep making soundtracks for my WIPs like I'm trying to do a film production... will I do it? It' will take too long proabably buuuut...

HANDPAN MUSIC.

I would make a lotff production just to include handpan music. Sadly there's not much of it on artlist.io (the music lisencing website I use.) but its the most satisfying instrument everrr. AND I think it would pair well with the tubla. (I do not think I spelled that right, but it's a drum thingy with a LARGE range of sound. My siblings are learning how to play it because my family wants us to be more connected to our culture and such and such. So I feel like if I include tubla in LotFF it would earn brownie points with the family as wellll... and they are already kinda hating on it? Because no one has a gender here? Soooo... ALSO THEY SOUND SO COOOOOL KDJFDSLKF)

I do not know instruments. I do not know composing. I would absolutely love this though.

... I did not answer the question.

Waisia project for sure. Remember When.(tragic dynamics all around). Ur so pretty (very Anuli). Petals on the moon (very Kamari).

(Impossible and 'Is this what love is' are also my favorites)

Thank you for the ask!

ALso you never ever need to apologize for talking too much because *gestures to this post*, *gestures to this blog*. We are one in the same.

[habizuh-studios]

Reaction to Guardian (Chapter 2-Chapter 10)

okay so i had to stop myself from binge reading so that i could make this post, but i think i failed.

okay i'm not even gonna lie, i kinda really love guo changcheng. he makes serious situations so funny and i feel kinda bad for him. ik he would be soOOO annoying irl, but in the book he kinda heightens the experience without intruding on zhao yunlan and shen wei, lmao.

i re-looked at the cover for volume 1, of course, and my first impression of shen wei was that he was apprehensive or concerned, but now he seems a little in love/shy type of concerned. idk, after reading, their expressions seem a lot more soft.

the python lady, whose name i forgot. wait. erm. ZHU HONG that was it. okay so first of all the period jokes are crazy. at first i was abt to say why tf would you spend so much money on making her learn about tech stuff, but then i realized this was based in china and idk how much universities cost there. whoops. ALSO ALSO WHY THE FUCK IS SHE FLIRTING WITH ZHAO YUNLAN?? HELLO?? bro was actually disgusted and she should've been ashamed. that being said, i do quite like her. i think if there are scenes with her in the future, they won't be that bad.

lin jing- whose name i only remember because of jin ling- is super kewl. idk, bro just seems like a wingman. i think i imagine him differently in my head because of jin ling.... so he has no glasses and is kinda short in my head... but all is well, yk? i like his- again, i binge read, so sorry if this is offensive/incorrect- monk/buddhist motif.

the fight scenes are so well made, holy shit. and so are the illustrations! like omg, they were so fun to read. i love love love fight scenes and with guo changcheng it definitely wasn't AS serious, but yk. obv we love shen wei being a badass and daqing being daqing.

the illustrations are such bangers as well, i love the style. especially the one where zhao yunlan was holding the dagger in his mouth and holding the talisman? dont ask me why, but i love when characters do that. it feels so badass to me.

i'm so excited to read the rest. i'm not sure if zhao yunlan's memory altering technique thing will work on shen wei, because he is a little sus. meaning that he definitely has a hidden past and is like secretly a demon or guardian of zhao yunlan or some shit, yk? i have the covers of the rest of the novels at my disposure, or whatever the fuck, and i can see that they have long hair, which was kinda strange to me because it seems like a modern type au so far?

oh yeah quick interlude: love the fact that you can shoot ghosts with bullets. that seems so fucking badass to me. this novel is so badass, dont ask me why

anyway i really enjoyed the little kissie that zhao yunlan gave shen wei. i wonder what their future dynamic will be?

so excited to read the rest, i highly recommend if you like good fight scenes!! can't wait to unravel the mystery.

oh, p.s: li qian (?) wasn't the one who died, i was wrong. but she was supposed to die- or so i think rn, idk the twists. ah, maybe mxtx has shapen me into expecting something so out there, but with jun wu and nie huaisang and luo binghe, things aren't really what they seem, i'm SURE of it.

i love guardian so far, and i'm sure you will too!

until next time...

[tricornonthecob]

Will someone please get this boy a Xanax

Felicity Steals An Entire Fucking Horse: The Movie (2005)

pt1 pt2 pt3 pt4 pt5 pt6 pt7 pt8 pt9

"Jesus Christ why do I keep doing this fuck fuck fuck fuck"

Mom-Friend Ben is having his daily aneurysm a little early today

Yes its supposed to make him look slovenly and he's a dickhead but if his shirt were clean, this is just the Slutty Historical Novel look.

you know maybe if your first interaction of the day wasn't immediate and unprovoked violence, the horse might be more inclined to working with you and then you wouldn't have such awful buyer's remorse.

Finally, a task that Ferrari was actually bred for!

You ought to be more mindful of the chaotic good and lawful neutrals hanging out in your weed gardens before you go yelling things like that, Nye.

"No, Felicity, I was trying to not die."

The Ben/Felicity ship dynamic is The Anxious One That Survives To At Least Act 3 Of A Horror Movie and Absolutely Zero Self-Preservation Instincts. Also girl what the fuck is going on with your bangs.

"Girl what the fuck are you talking about that's a domestic animal that wasn't even feral"

Yes, that's a valid point and an important Life Lesson, but I feel like there's a better and more immediate way of introducing to her the concept of Consequences In Horse Theft. Such as "Hey did you know this is the 18th century and what you're doing looks exactly like Horse Theftin' and the punishment for Horse Theftin' is probably death by hanging hahahahahahaha I knew."

Also like, can you image. "I disguised myself in your clothes so I could trespass and steal a horse, then brought you to the scene of my doings instead of just telling you outright, potentially implicating you in crimes punishable by death."

...Felicity did you not just see the horse run away. Did you hear the part about "Give the horse to anyone who can ride her" and stop listening to all the parts about him saying "never come back," she's probably safe from that rn.

"Neither are all the people your family enslave, but that's another story."

That is the look of "...I really. REALLY. Don't have the stomach to be the punishable-by-death crime secret keeper."

And that is the look of "Oh, Goddammit, I'm about to be the punishable-by-death crime secret keeper, aren't I."

"Go down to the creek and buy it off the Dutch pirates!"

what the fuck is she huffing.

wow way to interrupt an outrageously shippable moment. Christ this really is the superior ship.

Annabelle you do realize adding "Forbidden Romance" elements to the ship only makes it stronger.

Felicity I love you but your ADHD-ass is so dense sometimes.

"We are going to die on this hill with all the social awareness of a bitchy potato."

She's a loyalist to you.

When the fourth graders debate politics on the playground and it gets dramatic.

she's either highly amused, screaming internally, or a little day drunk. Maybe all three!

awwww the loyalty themes!

"Bitsy!"

"Oi, fuck off, yeah?"

[melrosing]

add the copenhagen trilogy to the my brilliant friend subgenre 😔 the childhood section REALLY hit like the first two books of my brilliant friend (less of a focus on female friendship—though there is a bit of it—but really captures that mid-20th c european working class childhood haunted by poverty misogyny and political upheaval + fantasies about getting away and strong prose) if u have any other recs PLEASE lmk because i'm also in my brilliant friend withdrawal ahhhh

ooh thank you so much for the rec! my friend actually also recced it to me a couple months back so I think I should really check it out soon. currently im in the middle of an mbf rewatch cos think im already anticipating the withdrawal after S4 💀

I wish I had more recs that hit in exactly the same way…. I liked Swing Time by Zadie Smith which was I think quite directly inspired by MBF (as in I think Smith outright says it is?? not certain but I know she loves MBF either way). and that’s about two black British girls growing up together in London. the first couple of acts I remember being fantastic but then Smith gets distracted by a bizarre subplot involving a secondary character that imo derails the book. still a great final chapter. also rec NW and White Teeth by Smith. Book of Goose by Yiyun Li is like if you simplified MBF to its barest essentials, good enough read but all the way through I was like I knoooow that’s what inspired this. so plot wise those are the nearest things I know but some other books that are maybe not quite the same hit but kind of scratch a similar spot for me:

The Country Girls trilogy by Edna O’Brien - this actually has a lot of similarities with MBF, it’s a Bildungsroman about Irish girlhood etc, studied this as part of a modern Irish lit module at uni and have thought about it often since

Patrick Melrose quintet by Edward St Aubyn - another Bildungsroman about the title character growing up in an abusive household and fighting through the trauma of it in adulthood, this also has an amazing HBO adaptation that I would rewatch if it weren’t so fucking painful lol

anything by Natalia Ginzburg - know Ferrante likes Ginzburg and I am a recent convert. I think her understated and straightforward style is very effecting and her stories are also generally portraits of the postwar Italian middle class

I’m Supposed to Protect You From All This by Nadja Spiegelman. if you know Maus (the graphic novel), this is a memoir by the writer’s daughter about her mother’s side of the family. it’s my favourite memoir I think I’ve ever read and kind of transformed the way I saw my own mother and grandmother lol

Breasts & Eggs by Mieko Kawakami - also has a lot of interesting conversations about womanhood, gender and sexuality and there are scenes in that book I think about all the time

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee - everyone and their grandmother recommends this but imo it is that good. yet another Bildungsroman but about a Korean woman living in postwar Japan

anyway might be loads I can’t remember rn but any of the above I really rec! also I’m like one away from reading everything of Ferrante’s and I haven’t found a dud yet. second fave for now is The Days of Abandonment which I think some day would make a great art house horror film lol

[qilingxiong]

Hi!! Hope this isn't too much work for you rn, and no pressure answering this! But your constant endorsement plus knowing so many of these DMBJ men from various other dramas has convinced me to give it a go. If I wanna watch all the seasons + movies, which order do you suggest I go in? (came across a whole bunch of different opinions on this, so decided to come to the resident DMBJ expert on my dash <3)

omg welcome to dmbj territory!! hope you end up staying hehe, these stories are a good time :P

alrighty, watching order: first things first, dmbj is not broken up into different seasons, but rather a timeline of individual dramas + side movies adapting different parts of the book series. the casts shift between dramas (some actors do reprise roles), and they were not adapted in chronological book order nor necessarily in continuity with one another. the tone varies wildly between shows/films as a result, and a lot of things in different dramas will not line up between them. timeline whomst. don't think about it too hard just go with it shhhh

for starting points, i've seen people who've started at wildly differing places along the dmbj timeline and made the most of it. others are correct, and there's no 'right' starting point. however, you asked for my opinion, and so with the proviso that i've only actually finished 4/7 of the dramas released so far and can only speak from those experiences, imo the best starting point would be Ultimate Note (2020), or The Lost Tomb Reboot/Reunion: The Sound of the Providence (2020).

Ultimate Note covers most of the latter half of the original book series, and feels made to offer an entry point for people who didn't break into watching the adaptations releasing since 2015. it's the first dmbj show i watched, coming off of heroes because it had a younger cast including zeng shunxi and liu yuning, and i'd say it was a really good experience. the production is snappy, the pacing is decent, and the plot keeps you well engaged for its 37 episodes. for what it's worth, it also feels like the show that tried its hardest to be a bl hehe. one thing to warn is that the ending of the show does not wrap up well, as it's supposed to tie into the next installment in the dmbj chronology (that has not been adapted yet and may not ever), but aside from that it's a satisfying story.

The Lost Tomb Reboot is set ten years after the end of the main series, and adapts one of the sequel novels. like Ultimate Note, it feels like a natural start point, and i'm pretty sure a lot of people went through Reboot as their first dmbj show. it's an older-led cast including zhu yilong, chen minghao, and chen chuhe, with characters who have long settled into their relationships with one another. for me that's where this show shines, as the character dynamics are great and there's a full ensemble cast that gets their own arcs. the production values on it are also decent and the plot twists are good. i will say that for me this show struggled with very uneven pacing, and Reboot is a longer commitment than other shows with two seasons at ~30 episodes each. but overall it was still worth it!

after one of those shows, you have a general grasp of the worldbuilding, and so honestly you can pretty much go anywhere depending on what vibe or maybe actors you're looking for. my personal trajectory was Ultimate Note → Sha Hai/Tomb of the Sea (2018) → The Lost Tomb Reboot, which are all in chronological order, and then i doubled back and watched The Lost Tomb 2 (2019) which is set before Ultimate Note. that's all been a lot of fun for me, but there's a lot of choices.

something that was really helpful for me in deciding what to watch was foxofninetales' guide you can find here, which gives a more in-depth overview of each drama adaptation as starting points and the pros and cons of each. (while we're at it, this character guide may also be useful for tracking who's who across adaptations.) the side movies are not essential to understanding the main dmbj narrative, but are nice for filling in parts of different characters' backstories and events in between/after various shows :)

okay, uh, i'll stop talking now. i hope this was at least somewhat helpful or gave you a place to start looking, and i'm looking forward to seeing your journey through dmbj 👀

[jichanxo]

hey i'm back to be annoying about sensei fic i don't remember if you've talked about that before (i think you did), and also i'm afraid that it may be considered as a spoiler (?), but! how much of amasawa and itokura's story will you include here? (they are very important to me, your honour) (the potential of parallels to kwgm is here as well and everything)

never annoying! I’m enjoying writing my paragraphs of rambling, so thank you more under the cut again lol. spoilers for lost judgment and also my own fic i suppose lmao

this is kind of difficult to answer because I don’t want to overpromise anything… I am unfortunately a “fuck it we ball” writer which means I am not really used to planning anything at all really (which is why I write mostly oneshots. I usually write everything blind) and that means that while I have ideas about what I want to do, I can’t really say anything definitive until I feel out my plans more concretely…

for what it’s worth though, I’d be shocked if amasawa and itokura didn’t appear the most out of everyone (aside from yagami and kitakata), since the mrc is effectively the centrepiece of both plots: being the main reason kitakata and yagami see each other, and of course I’m going to try and make an altered version of the school story plot work here. I expect there’ll be more of them than kaito and sawa, certainly…

one of the planned major beats in the kuwagami plot is having yagami actually let kitakata in on the professor investigation and not just blow him off. he might think that kitakata will just get in the way, but he has to accept that kitakata’s interest in the investigation and care for his students is legitimate and valid! keeping him in the dark and ignoring how he feels is wrong! anyway. my point is, that to resolve this plot beat, it’s unavoidable to talk about itokura and the professor, so no matter how I end up getting there, itokura (and by extension amasawa) are going to be crucial. you’re right about the parallels angle too… gonna gnaw on that… gotta figure that out… kuwagami but if they were both girls and in highschool and more emotionally intelligent… the idea of kitakata and yagami being a mess and super lame while the kids in the club are much more put together? it’s just too funny to pass up on… I can already imagine itokura complaining to amasawa about how she wishes they would just grow up already.

amasawa and itokura are really great and I also like them a lot! there’s a lot of interesting stuff with them to grab onto, both with canon – yagami’s relationship to them both, and with new stuff – inventing new stuff for them with kitakata! itokura and kitakata especially feel like a surprisingly natural fit – kitakata who wants to make sure no student around him feels the way that kusumoto mitsuru did, and itokura who was estranged and pushed out of school by her peers… it’s a relationship that would be engaging and interesting to develop on both sides… I really can’t pass up on that… so thematically rich… I imagine their relationship rn as being kind of awkward and a little tense. they probably get along best when they’re talking (cough arguing cough) about mystery novels.

one of the things on my to-do list for sensei fic right now (aside from taking thorough notes on school stories and general editing) is definitely trying to feel out this relationship, in particular before yagami enters the picture (@/four-white-trees poked me about this ages ago. thank you!!) presumably kitakata doesn’t let all of that happen to itokura without trying to do something about it, right? and yet, he still fails. yagami’s intervention is the one that brings itokura back to school. hence why I imagine things between them being a little awkward… that shared history…

though I imagine that it piques kitakata’s interest that yagami succeeded where he’d previously failed. So yknow. This Too Is Kuwagami. A surefire way to make kitakata fall in love with you: 1. be hot 2. legitimately care about and take action for the wellbeing of students

anyway! while nothing is set in stone, that’s what I have in mind about amasawa and itokura right now… though most of it ended up being about itokura… there’s still a lot I gotta figure out, but I’m definitely looking forward to poking at them some more! Itokura’s attitude is going to be a lot of fun to write, and amasawa is always a delight, and I love having her be the voice of reason between kitakata and yagami when they’re being ridiculous lol. thank you for the ask o7

[necrogfie]

okay so rn im translating a novel into french (because there is no official or even unofficial translation of it) but !! i'm kinda having a problem w some stuff

should i translate the specific vocabulary ? ( ex ; in the english version, they kept the term 'dage' which mean elder brother - but should i keep 'dage' or say 'frère ainé' - i want to keep thoses words in, because it feel more organic to do so + its a preference of mine to have them when reading BUT if someone is not familiar w this term they will just be ?? confused and i wanna avoid it )

what am i supposed to do with expressions that cannot be translated ... do i just translate them or try to find an another expression that still work ? ( in the book i'm translating - which is a translation of the orginal chinese novel, they decided to straight up translate the expressions and not change them so ?? i suppose i should do the same, but i'm very annoyed that i have part that just ... don't make sense ?? )

i am not sure if i should translate somes like core elements of the story because they just should very bad in french ?? ( ex ; there is a material in the story that is very important called 'violet gold' translated it become 'l'or violet' and it just do not give the same vibe - but again it may confuse the readers and just be weird to have english things in it ?? but i think it suck that it lost it's vibe ?? - also this work for places too, some of them sound really lame in french and in this kind of books they translate some of them - or part of it at least, so i'm not sure what to do )