#I’m gonna try to figure out a lore post for this au soon
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Height chart for the Wily fam from oldest to youngest :)
Some extra stuff under the cut on their designs and relationships with each other
Some little clarifications;
Metal Man and Punk are the same person in this au, he changed his name to Metal because it’s a double pun (Metal music, plus his special ability)
Ballade’s death didn’t happen the same as it did in canon, but he did die for the same reason.
Bass is technically older than Ballade, but had to be rebuilt due to an accident with one of Wily’s reprogramming tools. He doesn’t remember anything from before it.
#I’m gonna try to figure out a lore post for this au soon#there’s a lot going on lmao#mega man#megaman#my art#megaman au#mm au#mega man soul core#megaman soul core au#bass megaman#metal man#enker megaman#ballade megaman#king megaman#zero megaman#bass#enker#ballade#zero#mmx zero
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I need to stop using World’s Strictest Parents as background noise because I’m getting nightmares of my own parents.
Anyways. Instead of KenzTober. I thought of this year in December to do Kenz Shamemas. You know the trend where people put pieces of paper on their pets to shame them for things that they have done? I thought that it would be funny to do that but with each of Kenz’s most common forms. It’s a good way to showcase my theriotypes/kintypes, some tidbits of Kenz lore, get a decent chuckle out of my moots, and pracitce drawing various animals and pokemon. I am weevilhearted/linked. I wouldn’t say one of my theriotypes is weevil. I have a deep connection with weevils that resonates with me.
Will I actually remember to do Kenz Shamemas? Maybe not. But I will set enough reminders. @fishy--friend help me out here to remember. October came on too fast for me.
Will Kenz’s other two siblings make Cameos? Definitely. Will I draw Bill Mpreg as a gag? Maybe. I’m totally not considering drawing Bill Mpreg and Kenz’s reaction. Idk how Kenz can get someone preggers when they’re assigned female at birth. But things do happen when weird biology gets in the mix. This Mpreg will not be canon to the Kenz lore. It will be a throwaway gag making fun of Mpreg in general. Might add Ford’s horrified reaction as well. Idk. I’m weird. If I was typical, I would not be the target demographic for 80s men and eldrich horror polycules.
I also have AU ideas where Kenz grew up with Ford and only moved to gravity falls with him out of curiosity. Bill can’t decide between the two and Kenz ends up with Lazy Susan because this version of Kenz is platonically attracted to girls.
Another AU idea is a Kenz Rewired AU where after Kenz had read the book of Bill and saw Bill for who he truly was, Bill pulls a lobotomy on them and they become like an even more down bad version of themself. Cheesy lobotomized lover with the occasional memory lapse.
Yet another AU idea is where Kenz and their siblings were raised together with a similar childhood to mine. I am toying with that AU a lot and it’s omegaverse shit with weird genetics. Not gonna post it because it is really smutty and would get me canceled for some things. Prolly gonna delete it soon when I burnout writing that AU. It’s vulgar trash.
Will I ever get around to writing the Base AU? Yes. Will it be soon? Prolly right after the TikTok ban takes effect as I start making YT shorts about Kenz. That will be fun. Will I ever start my streaming career and not screw around with vulgar smut? Yeah. Dunno when because I’m trying to figure out my own AuDHD DID CPTSD Bipolar quirks like that voice in my head that keeps either flirting with me or telling me to kms with visions of stabbing, drowning, and falling off of bridges. Yeah. Not fun. IOP is working a bit I guess. But I still dissociate way too frequently, and to the point where I reopen that gash on my foot so I walk with a weird limp. It made playing Pokemon Go at the dog park today not as fun even thought it’s the Halloween event.
Give me suggestions for background noise, because World’s Strictest Parents is now giving me nightmares. Kenz is kenzing. I’m formulating an abundance of AU ideas and not absorbing any of the grounding techniques I’m learning in IOP. I probably need to stop spending so much goddamn time on social media yelling into the abyss. And stop spending so much time writing…. Weird… things…
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MORE DELTARUNE X TMC CONTENT BECAUSE I SAID SO! HERE’S SOME LORE FOR YA’LL!!
Nah but fr, until i figure out what im gonna do with one of my newest project (i gotta set up the blog first lol) im gonna keep posting lore and comics about Deltarune (mainly The Melting Point or just my regular AU)
I’m also going to start post more original content as well! I’ve been really inspired lately so im trying to figure out how to set those up. I hope i can post them soon, im really proud of them!
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Atlas is a Child AU
(BIOSHOCK SPOILERS)
I brought this up to a friend before, but I’m bringing it up again here. Keep in mind it’s 8 AM and I probably didn’t edit this before posting so some things may not make sense. Also I’m disregarding Burial At Sea entirely because I haven’t played it yet so I haven’t got the faintest idea what’s canon and what isn’t so we’re just going off Bioshock 1 lore for now. Also there may be OOC moments for the sake of fluff. You have been warned.
TW for some cursing, runaway mention, not so great “father” figure and the word “kill” thrown around multipe times (once in reference to the near death of a minor).
A while back, about a year before Rapture, Frank was in Ireland for another con and he picked up a little shadow. A scruffy little black-haired kid with a foul mouth and smart-ass attitude. He was annoying as Hell but he happily did whatever tasks Frank told him to (which went from “just to get you out of my hair” to “legitimately helping me”) so he wound up bonding with the little bastard whether he admitted it to himself or not. To the point he gave the kid a nickname--Atlas, since he was his “support”. The kid started introducing himself as Atlas and he never told Frank his legal name so it stuck.
When Frank left, he took Atlas with him...Though not by choice. Little fucker stowed away with him and begged to stay when he was caught. Apparently the seven-year-old was a runaway and wouldn’t go back home if you paid him--besides, Frank’s line of work was much more interesting than stealing food and getting into fights with other kids. Since the boat they were on was too far away from Ireland to return under the same guise of night, Frank let him stay--but as soon as they got back to America the kid’s out of there. Atlas swore up and down he’d leave him alone when they reached land; he just wanted out of Ireland.
This kid was SEVEN and he hated his home land so much that winding up stranded was the better deal. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. The cocky little shit grew on Frank again and he took him back to his temporary living space when they arrived in America.
Skip about half a year, to the existence of Rapture. The place is mind-blowing enough to an adult, imagine it through the eyes of a kid. Atlas’ gotta see everything! Sadly he doesn’t get the chance. Frank is here for one reason and one reason only: to get his hands on the place and make himself the king. When the brat’s not working with him, he’s learning everything he can about Andrew Ryan. The poor kid can’t even make friends.
That is...Until Jack is born.
Atlas was put in charge of Jack as his protector of sorts; keeping him out of trouble, stopping him from seeing anyone outside their little circle, that kind of thing. Bonding with him wasn’t part of the deal. However Jack’s the closest thing to a fellow kid Atlas has come in contact with since before he came to Rapture; so of course he’s gonna latch on to him. They bond throughout Jack’s speed-run of life up to the point he has to leave Rapture for the final portion of Frank’s plan. Both kids were a wreck, but Atlas was warned not to get attached and gets no sympathy. You brought that mess upon yourself.
In the same vein, Frank’s “alter ego” Atlas is born almost the same time. Atlas (the child) is floored that Frank thought highly of him enough to make a revolution leader based off him. His idol idolizes him too?! Holy shit! (He doesn’t. Frank was just put a little on the spot and went with him as a character. Having a literal Atlas around was helpful in the long run, at least: he had a body double (albeit one almost half his height) to take the fall for him.)
Shit hits the fan, Rapture falls, people are locked in, a civil war starts. Atlas and Frank (who Atlas’ admiration of took a hit due to him ripping away his best (and only) friend) go into hiding and screw with Ryan. Atlas is almost killed in an attempt to make him a living Adam dispenser like the Sisters, Frank is oddly put off by this and gives Suchong what for over “trying to kill [his] protegee”. Never mind the fact he TOLD Suchong to do it... Atlas survives, but there’s a scar across his stomach as proof of the event. The scar still makes Frank’s skin crawl for reasons he hates.
Jack returns, things go to further Hell and Atlas is put to work helping him along in any way he can without being seen. He manages okay and things go like normal...Until the final fight.
Atlas’ opinion of Frank had been swinging back and forth between being in favour of him and being afraid of him as time went on. Being forced to turn on Jack made him turn on Frank, though an extremely one-sided fight put an end to that quickly. Now he’s still against Frank but he’s also afraid of him. Come the time of the boss fight, Frank had been shooting up on Adam like there’s no tomorrow and taunting Jack to the point some of his own followers were starting to question him. Then he went further by bringing Atlas to the battle with him. What reasons he had for bringing a LITERAL CHILD to a STANDOFF, he didn’t provide, but he at least kept Atlas out of the fighting and shouted at him if he tried to come in and assist.
The plan was initially for Atlas to take care of the Little Sisters after the fight (since it wasn’t hard to figure out that they were the ones following Jack around like puppies) and give all their remaining ADAM to Frank, making him even more incredibly powerful. That...Didn’t happen. What did happen was Atlas had the lovely view of the Sisters stabbing the Hell out of his former idol and draining him of his ADAM until it killed him.
Surprisingly, he went nuts. Didn’t get far, however--he only managed to tackle one Sister before the others went for him and probably would have killed him too if Jack hadn’t stopped them. His beef was with Frank, “Atlas”, not this kid that all but appeared out of nowhere and was now shaking so hard he was vibrating from fear. Not this kid that was once his friend.
Needless to say, Atlas was spared and brought to the surface with the Sisters. Having Jack go from a friend to a father was a little bit strange, but...It was nice to have a family again. A more close family. One that cared about him as more than just “support” or a body double.
#El writes#Bioshock#Bioshock Atlas#Bioshock AU#Bioshock Jack#long post#Kinda slowed down close to the end there I'm sorry-
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I read a good headcannon and then spent too long writing a TechnoPhil fanfic.
This is more platonic ship content than anything, with a hint of queer-platonic marriage, me and my friend have a whole Au on that which I might post one day. Headcannon by @peachy-rambles (thanks for the permission btw!!) here as well as a headcannon by @wiggleworm-art that I popped in because I thought it was wholesome here.
No real triggers, just pure fluff of c!Techno baking and a slightly mischievous c!Phil as well as no promises this is gonna be good (I'm not fully caught up with the lore)
Also featuring beast Techno and Winged Phil for emotional reasons, and as always, I'm talking about the characters, not the people (that would be weird lol)
This is Unfinished.
It was freezing outside that night, thick snow was falling through the sky and the wind was heavy. A perfect excuse to stay inside, though all of this would come with the annoyance of having to shovel snow in the morning.
Techno watched this going on from a moderately sized window in the kitchen, waiting for water in the kettle to come to a boil. With a ping telling him it was warm enough, he turned to it, poring water into pre-prepared mugs of hot chocolate powder, and watched as it slowly diluted when the water was added. Gentle taping of spoons on the side of mugs came and went as he stirred the drink, a pleasant smell of coca coming from the two mugs. Techno took a mug in one hand each, glancing at the oven where he has cakes baking, before taking the through to where his husband was sat curled up in a blanket waiting, the gentle glow of a lamp on the coffee table illuminating the other's smile.
"That's my shirt." Techno commented, looking at Phil wearing said garment, it being much too large for the smaller, the arms covering his arms with room to spare.
"You let me have it." He mumbled fondly, rolling his sleeves to take the mug that was offered by Techno into his own hands, smiling down at the drink and basking in the heat emitting from it.
" 'Spose I did." The taller sat down. "Do you think you could spare any of that blanket"
"Nope." A sigh from Techno came with an amused edge, Phil next to him letting out a grin before blowing at the hot chocolate preparing for a sip and moving his wings to get them more comfortable.
Placing his own mug of hot chocolate on the coffee table beside him with the lamp on, Techno stood once again, Phil shooting him a questioning look before turning his attention back to the hot chocolate. Leaving the room, he turned his attention to a closet where they kept their blankets and other odds and bobs, purposefully choosing the fluffiest and softest just to taunt Phil with. Once returning to the room, he saw the smaller frowning as he looked at his hot chocolate.
"What's up Phil?"
"Burnt my tongue." He mumbled, softly annoyed with the beverage. He looked up, face lighting up as thy saw the blankets in Techno's arms. "Can we share?"
"Nope." Techno said, trying to imitate how Phil had sounded when he had said it before. He wrapped the blankets around himself before taking his drink back from the coffee table.
"Don't get too comfy," Phil said. "You have cakes in the oven, remember?"
"I haven't forgotten," He said simply, testing a sip of the warm, but cooling, drink. "I set a timer." Phil nodded before they both shared a silence of contently drinking hot chocolate. Techno being able to drink most of it in one go whereas the smaller continues by only going for a few sips at a time. Phil still wanted to steal the blankets that Techno had wrapped around him snugly, and as keeping an eye on the timer himself so that his plank could be put into action.
Slowly the room filled with the sweet aroma of backing goods from the kitchen, and the timer soon went off, Techno silenced it quickly so that the alarm didn't get tiresome, taking it along with both empty mugs for the other room. Getting up yet another time that evening, he walked through to the kitchen, placing the items in his hands onto a free space on the counter, then going to look through the cupboards for his cooling rack. After finding it and placing it on its own part of the counter, Techno opened the over, warm air flooding out from it, and saw the golden brown cupcakes nestled in their backing tray. Smiling and taking them from the oven, he placed them onto the cooling rack, figuring he needed to make some icing while they cooled.
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Ok, so, new (actually pretty old, but I revamped most of it) fic idea!
I remembered this bad boy sitting way in the back of my pile of old fic ideas I nearly went through with, touched it up, and shall now pitch it to all my fellow Varian fans out there! (most of it was original, but then I changed it up because I was inspired by shows like “What If...” and “Loki”, so you may see some similarities, but those ideas were already there a few years before those shows, they just looked a bit different)
This post is long, so if you want to hear about it, just click the read more button.
Plot
So, this fic starts post-series, about 4 months after the finale (maybe more). Varian finds some old Demanitus designs (or maybe a hidden room full of weird equipment), and Varian being Varian decides to build it. He ends up making a weird mask and glove (the glove has a weird circle symbol on it with a couple of runes). He ends up somehow pricking his finger and some of his blood drips on the center of the circle. Varian thinks nothing of it and moves on, trying to figure out what the glove/mask can do and how he can activate them.
Suddenly, (while he’s wearing them) they start working, and a smallish portal opens up from underneath him, which he falls through. Suddenly, he’s in a whole new place, very different from anywhere he had ever seen. He begins walking around, exploring, and sees amazing things, like dragons and magic and stuff, just out and about. It’s straight up HIGH fantasy. He’s like an isekai protagonist in a fantasy world.
While Varian’s walking around, he is suddenly attacked by a group of generic monsters, but a mysterious stranger saves him. He thanks the stranger, whose face is covered, and asks if they can tell him where he is. The stranger looks him up and down before saying “far away from your home, Varian. Very far away.” Varian, surprised and a little bit suspicious, asks how this stranger knows his name, and then who they are. The stranger simply says that they are someone who can help him. They introduce themselves as “One”, and request that Varian follow them to safety.
Varian, looking around him, decides that he’d rather just trust One than get stranded, so he follows them. They find a good place to stay for the night, and One asks if they can see Varian’s glove. Varian cauciously hands it over, and One looks it over before handing it back, then decides to explain the situation.
“Varian, have you ever heard of the multiverse theory?”
“Yeah, I read about it in Demanitus’ book. It talks a bit about how there could be infinite universes parallel to our own and each other, each event creating new universes based on the alternate versions of those events. Some universes also work entirely differently from others, or the flow of time is different, so there might be a universe where everyone is a chicken, or a universe where everyone that exists now is living 100 years in the future compared to us. But everything also moves at the same pace. It’s like a time paradox. Sorry, I’m rambling. Why are we talking about the multiverse theory?”
“Well, my young alchemist, what you have there is called a thread jumper. It allows you to jump between universes, and travel the multiverse.”
“Wait, so what you’re saying is, I’m in another universe?”
“Precisely.”
After a small panic attack, One explains that they know all about this kind of stuff, since they have a jumper too, and can help get Varian home. The only problem is, Varian’s jumper isn’t working. One says they know someone who might know how to help, and they walk to a strange hut. One barges into it without knocking, shouting “what’s up Science Bitch” as they entered.
Inside is a guy reading a book, who immediately puts it down to yell at One, shouting “I’M A WIZARD YOU-” before noticing Varian. They stare at each other for a long moment, due to the fact that they are both Varian.
So, introductions are made, short existential crisises are had, and Wizard!Varian sits down to look at OG!Varian’s (That’s what I’m calling our Varian) jumper.
Turns out, Varian’s jumper is a bit weird, and requires a day or two to recharge after a jump, so they have to wait a while for it to charge (it seems that Varian can only travel using his own jumper, and can’t just hold onto One or anything). They all groan at this, but decide to take advantage of this by getting to know each other a bit. Wizard!Varian and One already know each other very well, and have a history with the multiverse stuff, but they don’t want to talk about it much with OG!Varian. Instead, they tell him a tad bit more about how some of the stuff works, and ask about his world.
After a few hours of conversation, Wizard!Varian decides to observe the jumper a little more, and finds some more bad news. So, he doesn’t know why, but it doesn’t have settings, so they have no control over where OG!Varian might end up when he teleports. Uh oh. So they might have to do a slightly more old fashioned way; just keep teleporting until they get to the right world. OG!Varian will be able to tell when he’s in the right universe though, so it should be okay! Besides, they can probably find someone to help them fix it since Wizard!Varian can’t.
So, One vows to help get Varian home, and they soon (after it finishes charging) head off. The fic will start out slightly episodic, with a bit of a “universe of the week” type format. In each one, they will meet a different Varian (since this fic is centered around the different Varian AUs. Some crossovers may happen occasionally, but there will always be a Varian there). While they are in each universe, they may end up helping the Varian there in some way or another, and later on in the story, one or two may end up joining the duo.
Eventually, the plot will pick up, and become something a bit bigger, with plenty of lore and character development for the Varians. I already have the bigger idea for the plot and most backstories already planned out in my head, but don’t want to give it away in case I starting making this proper.
Anyways, that’s my fic idea. I call it “Varian!AU” and nobody can make me change the title.
I’m probably gonna add more info and ideas in a reblogged version of this post, so look out for that on my blog!
Hope you guys think this is interesting! I’d like to hear some suggestions for AUs I could include (I already have a long list, but I want to see some other stuff people come up with)!
#varian#tts varian#tangled varian#rta varian#varian and the 7 kingdoms#varian the alchemist#rta fanfic#rta#rta fandom#rapunzles tangled adventure#tts fandom#tts fanfic#tts#tts au#rta au#tangled the series#tangled#tangled fandom#fanfic#fanfiction#fanfic idea#au#alternate universe#multiverse#fandom#writing#writing ideas#my writing ideas#this is gonna be fun
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Mite Steve AU character reveal: Zero
Content warning: The art below the “Keep Reading” line depicts body horror, but the body horror is on a robotic character who is obviously not human or organic.
Sooo, I’m still working out the plot and character arcs of this AU, and I don’t want to spoil anything.
Buuuut, I’m kinda running out of inspiration for non-spoiler content and I think revealing a brand new element of the AU will help me generate more non-spoiler content for this blog!
This might also help me develop the spoiler/plot content. Because fun fact about my writing process: the best way I can understand the characters I’m using for a story is by drawing them, showing them to other people, and being unafraid to talk about them. This method forces me to think more about these characters, making me understand them better, which will help me with writing them and planning their character arcs. So I’m gonna do that method with this character I’m gonna show you, and I hope this is a fun little experience!
Btw, as a disclaimer: This is just for fun. So this, along with other non-spoiler Mite Steve AU posts, may be subject to change and may not reflect the final version of the story!
With all of that said, let me introduce you to a character who will appear in the Mite Steve AU: Zero!
Final warning of body horror content below
Here is my brand new OC, Zero! (Zero goes by she/her pronouns)
I created her in January 2021. She is actually the result of sudden character design inspiration. I just sketched her really quickly when I got the idea of her. Soon, I felt the need to add her into the Mite Steve AU! Something told me that she would be a great fit into the AU and after a bit of more brainstorming, I think I got a role for her in the AU.
I got some bits and pieces of her backstory, but it’s honestly still a work-in-progress.
I’m not even sure what she’ll do in the main storyline of the AU. Right now, I think she would best fit in an antagonist role (as a minor antagonist or a big villain? I’m not sure yet). I don’t see her in a friendly role. But she could also be in a neutral role?
Zero is not a Steve. She’s also not a player nor an Alex. I know what her “species” is, but I’m not revealing that yet, lol. (feel free to speculate though)
She does have powers, though I’m still brainstorming the details of it, like the full capacity of what she can do and her drawbacks and weaknesses.
I have mixed feelings about the shape and design of her coat.
I’ll tell you one horrifying secret: Zero got her coat first before Mite’s. So lore-wise, Mite’s coat is no longer special, lmao. I wonder if Mite stole the style of Zero’s coat.
Here’s an old sketch I did to figure out Zero’s side profile! It’s actually one of my oldest sketches of her:
I’m not sure what Zero’s personality is yet. The only thing I’ve written down so far for her personality is “she believes healthy relationships are a myth.”
I hope to use her in more posts (mainly incorrect quotes)! It’ll help me figure out her personality and the dynamic she has with other AU characters.
I hope you guys enjoyed this little post! Feel free to send asks you have about her and I’ll try to answer them with my limited, but expanding, knowledge of her.
Anyways, new OC, wooooooooooo-
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When your tired after a 16hr shift yesterday so you rant about Sonic and explain why aggressive writing vs. neutral writing helps with sharing ideas
Me and my online Sonic friend talking about Belle. (I’m skipping some dialogue throughout the chat, this was lazily put together lol)
WARNING: It’s long, and it’s a rant. So please note that I’m blatantly aware of how wrong my aggressive, sleep-deprived rant was and that I’m stating “DON’T PRESENT YOUR IDEAS LIKE THIS!” because this is not a healthy nor effective way of sharing ideas.
ALSO, ALL THE MENTIONS OF WHAT I BELIEVE MY FRIEND IS FEELING OR THINKING DURING MY RANT ARE ENTIRELY MY OPINON. If she tells me to delete something or change it I will without hesitation but I find it funny, as I look back, to insert what I think might be going on in her mind XD She might have been oblivious to me but I’ll get her thoughts and change anything if necessary.
It’s also how most trolls and antis and even some ‘not experienced writers’ write their ideas out, and it can be easily avoided by using Neutral Writing Methods. So this is a ‘don’t do this, but try this’ post. Enjoy my badly written, sleepy aggressive rant~<3 (Also, my friend gave me permission to share this lol)
Me: She could be for entertaining little kids. But we already have too many OCs, and they're not 'dying off' any time soon so...I smell a mini-series backup plan...and I don't like what that means for Sonic. And it is cute, sorry, my brain is off the hook right now, I'll keep things to myself cause you may not like what I'm predicting and I'm getting sad thinking about it ;-; so, want to be wrong.
(Friend mentioned “Tinker Bell” spin on name.)
That's precious, but can I get a link to the reference sheet plz? Reference sheets can tell a lot about a chara's functionality if you compare it to the 'needs' of the casts. it can help predict their role. I think she's meant to help but also entertain the kids, maybe planted with a secret. Her goal could be to come back to Mr. Tinker but Eggman abuses that and tricks her into a new robot. I got a weird theory about her but I'll just say that she's probably gonna go a bit dark. But be cute and make the audience go, "Aww, poor thing! She's a cinnamon roll" at first, wonder if they'll equip her with 'happy backstory, tragic ending' kinda thing to switch the usual 'tragic backstory happy ending' but I feel this is a tragic character meant to pull emotion out.
(Friend understands my concerns but mentions there hasn’t been a ‘Bad’ Oc for the comic)
No one sets out to create a 'bad character' especially professional writers like these guys. But what makes a character 'bad' is if you ruin or oversaturate their purposes. If she's a main character that over-shines others with too much story then the audience feels 'betrayed' because they want that screen time for the main casts to express themselves and shine through. That's just an example. When working with IPs like Sonic casts, you HAVE to remember the fanbase is expecting things Do you like my OCs? be honest lol Not from my prompts. There's a specific way to handle a OC that helps the main cast shine and reveals their characters more. AU Ocs help Canon Characters in many ways.
(Friend admits they have not seen my OCs in some of my fanfictions, they’ve only really read my prompts.)
Oh, well, some of my fanfictions have OCs, not Lavinya, she's just a mascot. My Sonic OC that retried XD Sorry, I'm misspelling a lot but I hope you don't mind, my spellcheck sucks and I've given up on it lol Oh, so you don't know Harmony, Ol'Wizzy, and Data?Or the Metal Series? Well, there are specific Ocs that my readers like and they express/compliment the canon characters to where even though they're a main character, they don't intervene with the Main Cast's goals. They actually help. Then everything I'm gonna say won't have much merit so I'll just focus on waiting to see if my predictions for Sonic IDW will come true, but I really hope they don't do what it looks like they strategically might be pulling... I hate SEGA marketing-
(The beginning of my aggressive rant, please note that I’m not thinking about my image and am writing tired and lazy. This is an example of how NOT to express your opinions in negative ways. It doesn’t influence good at all.)
Their ploys are outdated and frankly, do not work for their IPs market. They target the wrong age group, they have no idea how to organize themselves, and they don't have a leading 'elder' so to speak (just a professional among them) to make good calls. So you have young adults (not super professionals, this might be their first real company job) trying to target internet culture and failing their IPs. They're doing outdated Nintendo tactics that only worked for NINTENDO! Also some other companies that have DIED so why are you copying their marketing strats!? stop! lol
Friend: Did you study marketing because this entire convo kinda flew over my head in terms of understanding (This should have indicated to me that my words were coming off too factual and had too many ‘jargons’ going on. I was losing my ‘reader’ through my rant, but my tired brain would not cease!)
Sonic's trying to morph into something he's not and they're following outdated college course books and it's not gonna help... they're leading Sonic further down and the creators in japan have no power cause all the power is in the stock holders who are stupid money-hungry americans who have lost faith in American SEGA leading SEGA of Japan to move on to other things
Friend: mostly just got you don’t like the marketing (Huge red flag! This means my friend is starting to tune my info out, it’s because I’m presenting my ideas in a slightly aggressive writing style. There are trigger words here that lead an reader to start doubting you. This is why, in most of my answer posts, I make sure to write Neutral writing methods, but I’ll mention that more after my rant lol XP)
It's just bad. Lol I have a Frankenstein degree, (Now I’m justifying myself, which was caused by my aggressive approach. If I simply stated this in a more ‘neutral writing method’ then I wouldn’t have to worry about creditability claims because I’m not trying to sell my idea as the high authority on it.) which means I have knowledge on many different fields. I never took a fully -dedicated- 'marketing class' I took a lot of different communication classes that went to my overall major. One was directly about how you present, sell, and look at marketing tactics. So I have my fingers in many different fields, my major was "Creative Writing for Fiction and Film with an Emphasis in Video Production and a Cluster in Theatre Arts." So I can be on camera, off camera, post and pre production, creative table and actual filming. Does that make sense? (I’m not fully awake to realize what I’m writing, but it’s clear at this point I’m starting to wake up and realize I’m ranting and tossing my ideals of how to present ideas out the window, but let’s watch my follies and learn from them, shall we?) I have theories on what SEGA is going to do, and I have my worries because it's all outdated. It worked for older companies but those companies also targeted a varying audience, which SEGA refuses to see themselves as for a 'teenage audience' which is exactly why they boomed in the 90s. Their target audience is now 20s.
Friend: There are Kids who also like Sonic, even if they don’t play the games though. (Due to my aggressive tactics from not thinking clearly about, not just the what, but the HOW I’m writing, it has turned my friend into a ‘contrasting neutrality’ which is amazing by the way that she did this! She noticed my writing was turning aggressively ranting, and being my friend, didn’t want to be rude about what she was noticing. -I’m guessing lol- so instead, she took the commentary approach, which is to state the good as well. This is a terrible position to put your reader into, and you should make sure to always have good examples and good praise mixed in to contrast any opposing or aggressive statements you ever make. -though you should avoid aggressive writing at all times- Sadly, this does put the reader, in this case my friend, in a very vulnerable position. It leaves them open for attack... but thankfully, she’s a wonderful friend and had trust that I wouldn’t hurt her on her counter-follow-up.)
So instead of using their 40 to 50 year old charts, start with looking at early millennial trends and desires. They tried for 'angst' to 'adultify' Sonic but it busted because we are STICKLERS for animation. Because their story was so scrapped together and had no actual character depth, motivation, or even emotional growth to develop for future game lore, they went for the 'easy made game' (Easy baked oven quote lol that’s just mean XD) We loved the trailer, it was well made, but they threw their animators elsewhere and made the programmers (WHO BLANATLY ADMIT THEY DONT KNOW HOW TO DO STORY/GRAPHICS) and made them do things they aren't trained in. Those micro-head movements and mouths took them A LONG TIME to figure out.
(My friend is now agreeing with me several times through my rant. This is a tactic that is used as ‘avoidance’ but also for ‘appeasement’. She’s probably tuned out by now, but respects what I’m saying but is also incredulous at it as well. It’s fair, I’ve cornered her into my sleepy-time rant, and being the lovable woman that she is, she is simply waiting for me to realize my follies lolol I wish she would have told me but I think she knew I was beyond ‘logical reasoning’ at this point and was just letting me get it all out lolol What a good friend TDT)
Animation can't be learned that fast AND expect them to program a game AT THE SAME TIME. Sonic Forces was a 'split up SEGA' trying to get those who survived and said, "Yeah, I'll stay in this job." to do things that THEY AREN'T EVEN TRAINED IN. you put a game programmer on animation and some other stuff they didn't know what to do with and expect it be a top-notch seller.
Friend: (in more attempts to join in and be a ‘participant’ of the conversation I’m clearly dominating -MY ABSOLUTE BAD- she tried to engage normal conversation flow into the discussion again. At this point, she probably did notice I wasn’t my usual self, and just decided to play along and enjoy the ride lolol I’m just guessing this tho, but it’s a good chance to reflect on what ‘wrongs’ I was doing and what ‘rights’ she was doing during this situation ;)b) My big issue with SEGA is that they rush everything. A lot of things would’ve been better if they had the proper time.
That was resolved actually.
Friend: Oh? It was? (Although this looks like an encouragement, it’s actually just another avoidance tactic to help me ‘get the venting out’ but it’s clear she’s not fully onboard anymore. When you write to discuss, you have to leave room for other’s opinions to shine through as well. Healthy conversation doesn’t mean forcing the other person to comply to you. A lot of this is educated guess based on past research, she knows this, and it’s clear she’s got her own research. Please remember to never shoot someone down when they try to engage you in your conversations. But again, this is the ‘don’t do this’ and me upset at my tired self for not waking up fast enough to contemplate how I was coming across in my wordings. Let’s continue to investigate and dissect the train wreck, shall we?)
That was an issue a few years ago but SEGA is taking their time, it's just that they can't organize themselves and hire the right professionals. They have old tactics, they have rookies that aren't 'Fresh Blood with professionalism' like they need. They don't need an old fart who knows his stuff, they need a new guy who is dedicated and passionate about their company who will remain there, learn them in and out, and knows his stuff SPECIFICALLY for the things SEGA needs. You have to grow that. You have to hire a very talented and young spunky and fresh professional, have him work with you for 10-15 years, and start training others. But SEGA is already recognized as a 'established' company.
(Friend is still agreeing with me, but is aware of my way of presenting it isn’t “As nice as I usually present it” so she starts mentioning the symptoms of Japanese Work Culture. A wonderful, insightful point to mention! But let’s see how I butcher this as well...)
It's not Japan though! (Again, shutting her down. Tsk tsk, sleepy me. Wake up, you lazy bum.) They won't let Japan interfere! They're all really rude to japan actually. The guys in charge, anyway.��We all respect the officials, but SEGA of America people just want results. They are just funders, they don't actually work the company.
Friend: So you blame them for everything? (She’s trying to help me see that my writing is coming off as ‘hate’ which is because of my aggressive writing follies I’m doing so bluntly. Let’s please all admire my friend’s patience as she lets me rant and kindly waits for me to realize how bad I’m handling my 16 hr shift from yesterday lolol)
Look, business is really unfair, and I get that, but if I have to rant (I’m starting to wake up more, oh goodie.) I'd say they really need to humble themselves and ask Japan to please take ownership again. They kicked out people due to a money crisis but they need a game that will be 'safe to secure money but get enough excited momentum to help us push on and continue.' which isn't Japan's strategy usually. Japan likes risks, they also like money too. They trust America too much (especially in the beginning) because America is a HUGE consumer. For the world in fact. But I think they sacrificed too much for the company (common in Japan) and trusted America too much in making decisions. The officials are too nice to say that America screwed them over because America wanted full control. Well guess what? They have too much control now and their product is sinking..
Friend: You’ve got a lot of fire about this topic. (After I completely disregarded reading her follows-ups and continued to rant, my unconditionally kind friend finally threw in the towel, realizing I was no where near my usually ‘present’ self and was probably just flopped back in her chair smiling at my idiocy of not understanding her kind and subtly hints.) Go ahead and rant it out. (BOOM! Obvious right!? I should have corrected myself but at this point, I was writing like wild fire with droopy, waking up eyes and didn’t even read it during my long paragraphs...)
Sonic won't ever fade away due to it's fans, but the company is struggling to figure itself out for YEARS now. I just worry what they plan to do next. But I have a theory that they are really putting the next game in Japan's hands, a lot of activity is happening in SEGA of Japan, and they're spending WAY MORE TIME on the next installment of Modern Sonic (or Classic, still unsure which one it is yet.) I really think they need a remake game to give them profit, then use that profit for their next big installment. But so far, I think they are working on a game BUT corona might have effected production so I'm sure they are working but I'm concerned if Corona helped manage 'time and quality' or is helping to ruin it...That I can't investigate yet :( I just wish for the best (I’M FINALLY WAKING UP FULLY AS I STOP AND REALIZE-) Sorry for my rant! My theory talk showed through and I don't usually like doing that so forgive me. I'm tired and that's why T-T
Friend: It’s cool we all need to rant sometimes. (My friend’s going to make it to Heaven TwT she’s so kind.)
(Then I profusely apologized a billion times cause I realize how badly this all went down. lol)
(But the terror hasn’t ended... she mentioned some youtube videos mentioning other opinions as well. -which I’m usually cautious of cause some of them can be fanon.-)
OHhhh did he mention the arcade crash??? the literal WORST event in SEGA history??? That's literally where they sank the titanic, SEGA has never recovered from selling off their stocks. (I’M BACK AT IT AGAIN. -facepalm-) Shareholders are everything now and it's the biggest loss ever. Also, the problem is that kids don't play the games, (Rereading my follies and wanting to answer but still only just waking up...) but SEGA can't figure out why they like the characters and can't seem to take the FREAKIN' TIME to learn their lore. (Overwhelming the conversation again.) My easy steps: Re-establish Sonic lore CANONLY AND CORRECTLY, Re-gather the Japanese Officials original plans and notes, guides and study art, Re-make some popular games with the most details on Animation, Fluidity of motion graphics, and with modern Technology incorporated into the game. Once that is accomplished, they will have enough money to then- Create a continuity. Only with a flowing story and relevant past lore can they start moving forward. Animation will target their audience, Story and character re-established arcs will bring nostalgia and new blood to the field of their games, and then Japan's influences will keep it authentic for the continuities so we don't have fandom mixing with canon NEARLY AS BADLY as before anymore. Ugh, it does matter their sales, but I literally bought a book on the history of SEGA, and read a really compelling history article about more then just the Console Wars... I know SEGA has survived literally the edge of extinction on multiple fronts, but someone needs to take charge of their Sonic branch, and it's... it's just too outdated. kk, sorry for the rant.
Friend: (After being multiple times ignored, even after my brief moment of clarity, is still an angel. Frustrated, maybe, but an angel.) And your steps sound really good. Also mostly just listen to his vids if you ever do. It’s ok we all need to rant. (THE WORLD DOESN’T DESERVE THIS GURL T-T)
I'm tired so my 'angry' is showing and it's not professional XD do you mind if I post my rant? lol Actually, no. (Realize how awfully I delivered my ideas, this is where I begin to see my errors and where the clarity comes into play. -we all have our off days lol- )
Friend: Go for it
I want to but it's too aggressive. I'm too lazy to rewrite it out so I'll just save that for another day XD You got a rare treat
Friend: (This is actually interesting and fascinating to her. But she realized then that I finally did see my error.) Concerned you’ll get aggressive responses back?
Honest opinion is sometimes too blunt and I need to be careful about that
Friend: I mean it’s always good to try and get most of the anger out so you seem more professional (Saint. Literally. A saint. She’s puts up with too much of my crap XD)
That, and also the war of 'But this is Cutegirlmayra? She's so sweet and constantly puts her answers in supportive, positive lights so that if SEGA were to see it, they would feel empowered to try it instead of threatened and throw it off as hate or something unprofessional.' I have an image too. I can't post something super aggressive or I'll lose trust. You're right.
Friend: I’m glad you put a lot of thought into everything you post
I apologize for it tho T-T I didn't mean to dominate with such opinions...lol I worry who I influence, you know?
Friend: Most people don’t and trust me they get into trouble cause of it. And yeah.
I don't want to create trolls or heated arguments. I want to teach people they can safely express an idea without using such awful communication. Exactly, it's professional fanism. lol Positive writing is what companies and their employees actually read. (I’m almost fully awake now lol, realizing my blunder and starting to explain why I was in the wrong. Good on me, pat on the back, admitting I was coming off as aggressive is the first step to changing and getting better lolol Also, I’m including her more, and I’m saying “You’re right.” and she’s going “And yeah.” which is a indicator that the conversation is slowly returning to an enjoyable and healthy one. ;w; happy endings lol) That's why I skip the aggressive stuff, even if it's passive, I write in a neutral setting so everyone feels safe to read, even someone who works at SEGA.
Friend: (Mentions some nintendo youtuber rant and also news as well, then says-) It was honestly very professional sounding and not rude. (MY HEART, YOU KNEW THAT WAS AN AGGRESSIVE RANT lololol So nice to me TDT)
Lol you had to have seen how slightly aggressive it was tho. (I’M CALLING YOUR BLUFF, BESTIE lol) You literally asked, "You blame America for it?" which is not always true but semi-true. They were way too prideful (Aggressive word) and haughty (Still aggressive terminology) about their success in other Japanese products that they wanted to completely change Sonic to their own wishes, pushing out Japan's creative "licenses" (I use this word loosely, and this gives a slightly aggressive feel but is also more dumbed down so it's more 'passionate' than just aggressive)
Friend: Yeah I saw it was slightly aggressive (Either is starting to realize it or at last admitting it now that I am fully aware of how I was coming across. I also used indicators to show what words were aggressive to help illustrate my point. This is showing I’m much more awake now :)b)
Gotta use those neutral tactics or no one will feel comfortable just reading your idea and instead, will constantly look for a place to intercept with aggression back, whether they agree or not, they're looking for ways to self-insert their aggression if you are also aggressive. I can't write something that doesn't somewhat support and uplift SEGA of America. Why? Because like I said, they literally have survived EVERYTHING and have stuck around. Without them, there wouldn't be an American branch and the money issue would have ended SEGA. Some might say, "But they've done so much harm than good! Why is the money thing such a thing to be praised for?" But it's huge, it's so big, it kinda does offset the wrongs. (Now I’m doing the healthy thing, doubling back and mentioning the good to try and recover. The damage may be done, but she did recommend some videos for me and was polite, so I’m just trying to smooth things over and leave on a ‘wrapped up’ conclusion. But... I should have just left it there in all honesty xD Some things you can’t double-back and correct lol) America is a great business-influenced mindset. None of us would be fans of Sonic without them.
(Friend continues to agree but realizes I may slip into ranting again. She just asks if I can watch the videos.)
America does have it's advantages in some fields and areas, but their biggest most redeeming quality is that they saved SEGA which gave us our biggest love and obsession: Sonic. Now, my usage in that writing was still off neutral, but combined with the slightly aggressive statements, made a GREAT contrast. It's still slightly praising
Friend: And they stopped Japan from giving him a human girlfriend right away.
Me: Exactly.
Friend: I will always thank them for that. (She’s still a sweetheart, working herself into the conversation so it stays healthy. lol Such amazing follow-ups too!)
So although I don't like what's happening, I'm also grateful... to a degree lol We need SEGA of America, which is why I think Japan just ignores them now lolol they know they owe them a lot.
(Friend mentions videos and as I go to save them to my ‘watch later’ sees that one of them is about Nintendo.)
Yeeeahhh I've noticed that Nintendo is starting to trail into 'cash grab' tactics and that's sickening (MORE AGGRESSIVE WORDING??? HAVE YOU NOT LEARNED YOUR LESSON CHILD?! It takes time to fully wake up lolol) cause before, I literally thought, "Nintendo can do no wrong" their marketing was ON POINT! but the stuff they said about Peach and now... I think new, unprofessional blood (like SEGA) has entered Nintendo and the older guys are either 'training' or 'retired to other ventures'. Nintendo is having it's own 'we used to not be prideful but now we're getting a little too pompous (Another aggressive wording... This can easily trigger people to comment with further aggression either against you or for you, but no aggression is the ideal. Which is continuing to show my lack of remaining conscious lol) about ourselves' and they're starting to act like Disney before their big crash. Disney also had 'limited time offers' with their VHS movies. Now, Nintendo is doing that. They'll make money, but at what cost? When you lose your costumer's trust...
Friend: And yeah the 35th Mario thing immediately reminded me of the Disney vault
Me: Yep. I'm worried for Nintendo. Don't get me wrong! Disney is really good with money grabs, but they... they also act high and mighty (More aggressive statements, wake up, darn it!!!) and their fanbase literally calls them 'an empire' so the fan-trust is gone. That makes you 'lame/outdated' and fans begin to look for 'what's cool?' instead.
(Friend is now re-realizing I’m ‘in and out’ so is trying to use a effective avoidance tactic by asking about different things to help my ranting fully stop.)
Sorry, I'm tired, I get on these rants and I don't mean too. (Trying to shake myself awake again.) I'm sorry.
So we returned to a healthy conversation, but I hope this interesting insight has revealed how to and what not to do about Aggressive Writing. Always stick to Neutral writing if you can, putting in a compelling counter-argument. In this aggressive writing demo, you saw that I tried to cover up my follies by saying counter-praise, but praise writing can be just as bad as aggressive writing. Passive writing can sometimes be annoying (aggressive word choice) too if you come off as disinterested or uncaring, which can still result in negative comments coming at you, or someone overly praising in their writings.
This has been all I’m showing you cause it’s kinda embarrassing ^^; but I hope it helps you in what ‘not to do’ while writing your ideas out :)b
Learn from my sleepy-time mistakes! lol
#cutegirlmayra#aggressive writing#what not to do#sonic#nintendo#marketing#sega#commentary#rant writing#an example to help teach#sonic the hedgehog#sonic idw#sonic comic#sonic rant
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I was tagged by @la-muerta & @facialteeth & @thedivinemissema for the WIP/Title Game
rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and interests you and i’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it!
AND THEN by @shadoedseptmbr @msviolacea & @ravenclawnerd for the “stories you want to write... but for some reason haven’t yet”
so this will be a mish-mash of both? The WIPs will mostly have blurbs in this case (to fit the second meme) but you are still welcome to ask follow-up questions, if you’d like ;) Assuming you make it through the list, it is uh. Not Short.
Anyone who would like to play with their WIPs, please consider yourself tagged in either or both of these. :D
Misc Fic Folder:
“untitled document” - where I’m working on fictober fills so I have word-counts for my GYWO tracker. I am not working on these because Brains Are Dumb and also Going Back To Work Is Exhausting
I made a file called “YULETIDE!” which has nothing in it but I’m determined to finish this year so that is definitely technically a thing in the Unending WIP List of Doom worth mentioning. (Tho obviously that’s all I could say even if I had started, because anonymous.)
“coda-fics, rewatch!” -yes, that exclamation mark is important! it’s to keep me motivated! (it didn’t work). Much like untitled, this is for putting stuff so I can do word count tracking even if I don’t know what I’m doing. Currently I think it just says “MARYSE” because I was working on my SH 1x6 coda-fic and then got distracted and haven’t typed anything up yet. (Yay notebooks? Boo notebooks? Not even sure at this point.)
WNIP (works not in progress) Folder:
“TOG” - I had one vivid mental image of how Nicky & Joe met (blood-stained evil smiles?) but then no idea for a follow-up story and also the fandom is insane and I’m not sure I want to deal with all of *gestures vaguely* all that
“Shan Xia Notes” -for a TTRPG that never quite got off the ground; she was a semi-tragic selkie who was still in love with the evil queen/lady who stole her skin and I got to play her for like one session and she was surprisingly chaotic neutral, which wasn’t at all what I’d been expecting. But the game never really got off the ground, so I never had enough info to really delve into writing backstory fic
“post-Kruschev” -Kruschev’s List was the last episode of Scarecrow & Mrs King, and I was debating writing an epilogue in place of the s5 we never got, to try and tie up some loose ends, but the fandom’s three old-ladies in trench coats and I never quite worked up the gumption to get it anywhere
“Code Realize warm as silk sequel” -there is literally nothing in this file except “SEX! Only a little angst” because I wanted to write some “we can’t actually touch each other” smut but never actually did. 🤷♀️
BioWare (also all Not-In-Progress Anymore)
“seb/adelaide”, “Theia” & “DAI Erana” -these WIP folders were cannibalized for ficlets for the last few times I did fictober, and while originally I had ideas for longer epilogues for all three of them, at this point I don’t think any of the remaining bits could support a story any longer.
”whispers in the dark” -Maia Ryder never really got much fic at all; the cancellation of any further Andromeda stuff was really disheartening, and at this point I’d have to play the game again, and I don’t think I’m gonna manage that any time soon
”TSP” -a Mass Effect 3 Shepard AU collab project that kind of went off the rails, and our mutual brains/lives never quite seem to line up so we can try and rebuild it ”Ngaio & Tane” -my one truly ruthless Shepard (Alliance background, who romanced Traynor) whose father Tane Shepard was, I think, in PsyOps, and I wanted to figure out their complicated relationship but never really did know where I was going with it
”JE Zu & Yaling” -so I’ve rambled about my Tragic Sagacious Zu Romance Thoughts regarding Jade Empire more than once (#Icy Yaling should have most of it) but apparently I want to yell about it more than I want to actually write it? Whoops.
”CI sequel: 5 times fic?” -Cruel Intentions is a kinkmeme fill that I started and then it sat for like five years before I actually finished it, and I liked the ending, but it does leave a giant fucking question mark in terms of how those people got from there to where they are after the game, and I kind of wanted to write a proper h/c fic rather than just... leaving them wallowing in all that trauma?
But I didn’t. I don’t even remember for sure how I wanted to frame the 5/1 of it all, besides it being something sad about allowing people to see you or touch you in some way. (Prayers maybe, since I think there was definitely some Sebastian & Fenris & faith stuff going on in there.)
“candles” -Merribela prompt fill that I never was happy with? Not sure what I might do with it at this point, so it’s just sitting there all sad and lonely and neglected-like.
Shadowhunters
pt1: WIP LIST ONLY
“Persuasion” -so I keep trying to write Persuasion AUs in many fandoms because it’s my favorite Austen, but I think I like it too much, I have no real solid concept of how I’d transform it, and if I don’t have anything else to say about different characters within that framework, I have no push to actually write anything? Also this SH version of it suffered from MASSIVE scope creep when I started outlining and it got too big for me to handle so I like, killed it twice? Whoops. This one is really probably never gonna happen.
“oosdt sequel” -I wanted to write more about the Forest That Eats People and Magnus & Alec as Guardians Between Worlds, and also some background Magnus’ Found Family & Lightwood Family Feels (maybe some clizzy?) and I left a Madzie plot-thread dangling from the first one on purpose even but I think this one had too many ideas and not enough focus so it’s sort of sprawling all over a doc with a lot of “???” in it
“procedural-ish” -this was originally going to be a sex-farce. and then it turned more serious. and then maybe kind of copaganda which was uncomfortable in terms of the Everything That Is The News in 2020, and then maybe it was more a Mafia AU and at that point I had self-inflicted tone whiplash and I wished the voices in my head were a little more forthcoming about their plans so I stopped before I brained myself on my computer monitor in frustration.
“I had rather a rose than live forever” -I started a reverse!verse Malec (Shadowhunter!Magnus, High Warlock!Alec) for bingo last year, and I couldn’t quite get it together in time, so I made a moodboard inspired by the bits I’d started instead. I may see if one of my prompts from Bingo this year help me finish it?
“fall fright fest (practical magic au)” -exactly what it says on the tin! almost exactly a year old & neglected! IDEK ANYMORE (I talked about this one with the WIP meme last time tho: here)
“priest!kink theology?” -I thought it was gonna be smut? I like priest!kink. I have made other people like it and yell at me even! But then I kept diverging into demon!Magnus thinking about Priest!Alec’s faith and as usual, IDEK ANYMORE *laughs*
(If they’re remotely canon-adjacent or divergent, a bunch of these are in here because I need to rewatch the show to get the pacing/timing/tone right and I haven’t, and I don’t know why, because I enjoy the show, but BRAINS! Are Dumb! So I guess that’s it?)
“I do” -I have tried to write this damnable Malec arranged marriage fic like six different times. I have signed up for fic exchanges and bangs with it, I have rewritten massive sections, trying to change tone or structure or POV or whatever, and it basically comes down to they like each other too fast and I keep not gutting it enough to get back to a useful pace, but by the time I realized that I was on take six and kind of sick of it. I may get back to it eventually
“wing!fic” -canon divergent in early s1, trying to deal with the consequences of Simon’s kidnapping as the Truly Serious Event that it should have been. It uh. Got heavier than I expected with those consequences (considering it was originally just supposed to be Alec’s wings flirting with Magnus) and also see above re: rewatching for pacing.
“2x20 aftermath/date night/pandemonium porn“ -yes that is the actual wip title. It used to be “spite fic” because I was originally inspired by fighting against a lot of fic!Alec characterization that was clearly based more on the books and ATG syndrome than the Alec in the show, which is the Alec I know and like and want to read about. BUT, pacing and etc. again, I think. Also I have somehow entirely lost my knack for writing porn, which makes it difficult to finish something originally intended to be smut!fic. Or even teasing almost!smut.
“rubbish heap” -so this is about three different fics that I realized complemented each other really well so they’re now all in the same file as I try to turn them into the sequel of “with an if in its soul”. It includes amnesia, parabatai lore shenanigans, a s3 rewrite, and some truly awful Owl adjustments that make me wince in horrified authorly delight and pain. BUT, as with the other ones in this file, the scope is large and I normally write short-fic and I kind of just threw up my hands in exasperation. I may have to break it back up into the three different fics instead, if I ever actually want to write it. Them? But also I need to take better notes on s3 to make sure I have what I need in here.
SH Pt 2: Started posting or not yet in hiatus because it’s actually almost ready to be a thing in the real world! maybe!?
“kisses (firsts)” -I actually started publishing this one, a “series of firsts” that was supposed to be kind of relationship milestones and kind of an excuse for smut, and then there wasn’t that much smut and I lost momentum and also dear lords & ladies the timeline is stupid, wtf. I may not ever add to this one, tbqh. It doesn’t stop in a terrible place, and they’re all ficlets so they stand alone all right.
“clizzy epilogue” -this is blank atm, it’s more a reminder for me to keep poking away at my “girls who can’t breathe air, only fire” collection BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO ACTUALLY GET TO THE CLIZZY AT SOME POINT
"mer!alec" -pts 2-4 of a series, but apparently having an actual plan gets in the way of me *writing* the thing, and I haven't managed to throw the half an outline far enough away from my brain to be able to write again. Or something like that.
"ibhww" -if broken hearts were whole is a soulmate fic I started a million years ago, and purposefully set aside to finish some other WIPs because I thought they'd be quick, and now it's just buried under two and a half years of regret and shame so it's hard to get back to it
"iafy" -i am for you is a delightful & frothy semi-epistolary fluff piece that also just lost momentum because Life & 2020 & etc. It's far and away the most popular thing I've ever posted on AO3, which also makes me feel weird sometimes, and I feel like the fact that there's no grand conclusion planned, just a bit more fluff and settling in, might end up being disappointing? Basically, it's the first time I think I've psyched myself out about reader expectations, and until I get over that I'm going to have trouble finishing the last couple chapters. (There really are probably only two more chapters though. IT’S SO CLOSE, I wish I could just... write it. And yet?)
“fake-hating” -I do not like fake dating as a trope that much, I just do not get it, but I love outside POVs and arranged marriages and there’s this delighful tumblr post about how they wished there was more fic about people who were together but had to pretend they werent’, and uh. This may be that? Eventually? I’m not exhausted by my failure to finish it yet, so it’s still in the regular folder rather than the hiatus folder, even though nothing’s been posted for it.
AND I THINK THAT’S IT?
Not as terrible as it could be, but still. MANY WORDS THAT MAY NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY. Posting the equivalent of one’s old ratty sketchbook is always a weird feeling. :D
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BATDS Update Liveblog
I was debating on whether or not to liveblog this, but it seems more substantial than the original release so I guess I will. Spoilers under the cut.
Unfortunately I did spoil myself in regards to Milla being Alice, but I do like the bit of foreshadowing with her voice - you can still tell it’s Lauren doing it, and Susie being a VA means that doing other voices is her thing. it’s a nice touch.
I’m confused on what Boris is doing with the corpses. I’m assuming he’s opening their ribs, but they’re already open? And it doesn’t make sense as to why there’s tapes there (okay, maybe Millia’s makes sense, but I’m assuming other character’s tapes can spawn as well).
I like that you can pick up the hearts and Norman just kind of yells at you but doesn’t even bother hunting you down
is there any point to these wall holes? they just seem to be there for no reason
just gonna headcanon that Susie’s father actually was a butcher and she figured she’d work that into her fake backstory
Kind of concerned about that one Wally tape because it mentions the ink moving like in DCTL. Unlike the infections, the Venom shit just... does not work or add anything to the plot, and I’m hoping it won’t be a major plot element here or in BATDR (though I don’t mind the ink seeming to move a little, it’s more when it’s just straight-up conscious that shit starts getting kind of stupid)
I realize Milla’s just Alice trying to... lure in Boris, I’m guessing? But I do wish her tapes had more variety. They’re all just “this fucking sucks save me” and it’s starting to get repetitive.
Then again, it is kind of clever foreshadowing, given that they’re all fake. Makes sense for Alice to ham it up.
I’m assuming the Alice ending is an alternate ending and not canon? would be kind of fun plot twist though if she steals the heart of this Boris and it turns out this was a previous Boris living in the safehouse, and ours doesn’t move in until after this one dies. Then again, the sound of Henry entering the studio doesn’t make a lot of sense if it doesn’t happen anytime soon after this.
BATIM now has FNAF-style jumpscares
it amuses me that boris runs out of stamina by running for like 5 seconds. does he have the metabolism of a hummingbird
I wish the jumpscares were more creative. They’re kind of awkwardly animated and pretty generic
alice recording these like “Boris I swear to god get your bitch ass over here or I’ll hunt you down and disembowel you myself”
AND BEHIND DOOR A IS... A NEW CARE
why was Alice just sitting behind this door anyway. how long was she waiting back there for boris to finally find the damn key
(also that’s kind of funny if he is wally adkflj)
I really like the attention to detail here - might make a post about this, but Alice’s dialogue indicates she used to be more deformed, and has slowly been fixing herself with the hearts. Sure enough, this a prequel, and Alice does look more deformed. It’s good lorebuilding and attention to detail.
and while it makes sense for her to be less deformed, I’ve always wanted to see a more monstrous version of her. This delivers nicely, 10/10
so she doesn’t... kill him? what the hell was the point of that then? esp because she just... sat there and let him leave when it should have been stupidly easy to close the door on him?
also, why in the piss does Alice not kill him when he’s in the station? Bendy seems to be implied to not do it because he enjoys fucking with people, Norman’s mindless, but Alice knows he’s in there and has no reason not to grab him. I know the technical reason is “gameplay” but it feels sloppy.
or she looks exactly the same and that illustration was just stylized. fuck me I guess
boy oh boy it sure is suspicious that the game just happens to be comparing Boris’ score to Wally’s score and is possibly a game he himself made and it’s one of the main things you have to unlock
I’m going to read some transcripts of tapes because it’s gonna be hard to find them in Let’s Plays. hopefully I’ll hear them while watching later or someone will comp together a video of them all, but for the sake of liveblogging I’ll just read for now.
I’m genuinely curious as to why Thomas would steal from Shawn. He doesn’t have a reason to, and it doesn’t seem in-character for him. I smell shenanigans
I’m wondering if this “Nathan” dude is the Unknown tape from BATDR? He doesn’t have a South American accent but it’s not clear if Nathan was born in South America or just moved there. I’m mostly wondering because he and Joey are friends, Joey specifically called on him to help out (which he didn’t apparently), and Unknown knows about the studio and seems to have almost taken over at some point (if it’s an AU or something). And I don’t know why else they’d bring up a new character unless it dies into BATDR somehow.
Final Thoughts:
The good:
They did a really good job improving on this game.- the original wasn’t really bad, it was just a solid Meh. This actually has a bit of plot, more interesting character tapes that actually have meaning, and more lore. I didn’t bother buying the original because it didn’t really seem all that interesting, but now I probably will grab the mobile version.
Hearing from old characters again
Getting to face off against more canon enemies rather than just Bendy
Something resembling a plot
The bad:
The subplot with Millie was clever and interesting... but it feels pointless because it doesn’t amount to shit. I mean, Alice chases you afterward, but that could have happened without that subplot and it would’ve made just as much sense. And like I mentioned earlier, Boris escaping in the first place doesn’t really make sense and feels like it only happened because this is a prequel.
Some things, like Alice not entering the Miracle Stations, feel like they exist only for the gameplay and are pretty sloppy. Environmental storytelling doesn’t really work if things only happen for the sake fo gameplay and nothing else.
It doesn’t really... end? We’ll see if future updates keep adding to it, but the original, while not technically “ending”, had a resolution with Boris remembering who he was briefly and Henry entering the studio, even if you could keep playing afterward. Here, it feels like the Alice part should have been the ending... but then it introduces another character and keeps going for another round, except when you complete that nothing actually... happens. It’s weird.
So basically, this was a pretty solid update.and a surprising improvement on the original. Would recommend.
#bendy and the ink machine#batim#batds#dark survival#alice angel#boris#outdesign posts things#outdesign analyzes things#.liveblog#batim spoilers#I know there are still easter eggs I'm missing but it'll take a while to dig them all up I'm sure
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Before The Dawn -- Preview Thoughts (ahoy rwde)
So if you didn’t know (or didn’t see [or didn’t hear {or are living the life of blissful ignorance that I, for one, wish I had}]), a preview for the next CFVY-centric novel, Before The Dawn, came out! It’s the sequel to After The Fall, which I liveblogged a while back and generally like… was ambivalent about. Some of it was okay. Other parts were weird. Some bits just plain bonkers. But whatever!
Well, a part of this preview also happened to contain a flashback of Velvet and her father, and I really wanna extrapolate on some reasons this has me bewildered and frightened for my wellbeing! Because what the fuck! Anyway, goes without saying this post contains spoilers for six pages or so of Before The Dawn, but I can’t imagine anyone really cares about spoilers? Probably? Anyway.
(A small aside: I’m not crazy interested in engaging in, like, any debate over anything I’ve put here. This is just a write-up of conversations I’ve already covered with other people for the sake of quick linkage, and not a bright flare arc of ‘somebody come debate this’. If you like what the book says: fine! I don’t. Let’s leave it there, kiddos.)
So, I’m opening this with a disclaimer: many people know I have some hefty headcanons for Velvet’s parents, and I wanna just make it, like, excruciatingly clear: never, at any one point, did I think my headcanons or my AUs or what-have-you would ever become anything even vaguely close to canon. I knew a day would come in which what I’d filled in would come to have canonical content (or, rather, I’d hoped they’d not touch Velvet with a ten-foot pole and I’d never get disproven), and that this was inevitable. Canon and I aren’t on speaking terms, and that’s okay! I didn’t want, nor expect, nor imagined, my stuff becoming canon. So everything I’m about to say isn’t a case of my headcanons were superior or I wish they’d done what I did. What I wanna talk about is how… bad the canon we got, is. Got it? Good.
The preview doesn’t grant me page numbers so I’m unsure exactly where we are in the book, but that prooooobably doesn’t matter so much as the content of the section I’m talking about, but anyway; somewhere in this book is a 6-page section of a flashback Velvet has of talking to her father, as well as some Velvet and Scarlatina family lore. Can I even call it lore? Probably not. But it’s there and it’s real, and I wanna just dissect it for a moment by covering the main points from this excerpt, in no real order, with no input on my half, just facts:
Velvet’s father is an Atlesian engineer.
He works for/under/with Ironwood.
Velvet’s own skills as an inventor and engineer stem directly from him.
His work in Atlas has divided the family, because Velvet’s mum hates that he prizes his work over his family.
Velvet has always wanted to go to Atlas as it’s the tech capital of Remnant.
Velvet’s father doesn’t see her often and that causes some strife.
Her father’s name is Will Scarlatina.
Her mother’s name is Meg Scarlatina.
These are probably our main points to cover, and I’m gonna go over ‘em probably in this order since this is more or less how the excerpt presents them. So let’s take it from the top.
1. Velvet’s father is an Atlesian engineer.
WOW what a start. What a START!!! So, someone pointed out to me that this definitely implies he’s a human, which has some in-text proof that I’ll show a little later in point three, but my god what a. bold beginning. Yes. That said, this point only gets egregious a little later down the line, so let’s hop to point two.
2. He works for/under/with Ironwood.
Okay, so, again. I don’t plan nor intend for my headcanons to become canon in any capacity… but GOD do I hate how we have someone else tied up to Ironwood in some way. This man pulls all the strings, and it seems like nobody can do anything science-y or invent-y without it getting all wrapped up with Ironwood, what gives? Also, probably further proof that Will here is a human, though I’m ready to be wrong. I SURE HOPE I AM. Either way, with Velvet being a Faunus and Will potentially being/having married a Faunus, this slaps in all the bad ways. Can we stop that? Right now? Thanks.
3. Velvet’s own skills as an inventor and engineer stem directly from him.
SO THIS WAS MY FIRST STICKING POINT. The way I explained this was that, in some ways, some people are just like their parents (I sure am in a lot of ways!) and others are totally UNLIKE their parents (such as a lot of my friends!), but it really bothers me that RT looked at Velvet, who they decided was a very competent inventor and creator, and said well, she must’ve gotten it from somewhere! No way she did that all by herself! Let’s have this masculine figure in her life be the reason she’s Like That!
You can say I’m maybe over-exaggerating and, hey, maybe I am. But I really hate stories when a person’s skill is attributed directly towards someone else as if they have no autonomy to learn things on their own. Wouldn’t it have been cooler to have had Velvet strike out and make use of a skill that she developed with the help of friends and family? Who weren’t responsible for this skill, but aided her improvement? It’s real annoying that they decided she’s basically a clone of her father, which is supported by that in-text quotation I mentioned:
“She might have her mother’s ears, but she was her father’s daughter.”
So, first off: what the fuck. Secondly: ?????? Thirdly: so I think this is proof towards Will not being a Faunus, since the reference to ears is so pointed, but GOD I HATE THAT WHOLE IMPLICATION? People aren’t always little mini-clones of their parents, and something really bothers me about a daughter being Just Like Her Dad. It smacks all wrong, and maybe it’s ‘cause I have my vision of the Scarlatinas being so matriarchal and all but it bothers me one hell of a lot. Jesus.
4. His work in Atlas has divided the family, because Velvet’s mum hates that he prizes his work over his family.
/deep breath
Okay. Again, not tryna inflict my own headcanons on this. But are we really gonna play ball with yet another heterosexual marriage on the rocks because the man of the house prizes his job over his family? Really? Really? That’s what we’re being given, hot and fresh, off the printer? Really?
I’m just. Deeply disappointed that this is the angle we’re getting here. Like… right now, the ONE family we’ve got with their braincells in a row is, like, the Belladonnas, and yet we can’t get ONE other out here??? Not one??? The hets, they’re at it again! And I just. It would be SO easy to toss in some good queer content with these flashbacks and we’re just Not getting it. I don’t know why, I shouldn’t have to wonder why, but this is that, I guess.
5. Velvet has always wanted to go to Atlas as it’s the tech capital of Remnant.
HAS SHE THOUGH… REALLY? We’re really gonna say the Faunus who canonically got bullied in Vale and like, is visibly concerned about asshole humans being assholes, wanted to go to Atlas? Asshole human capital city? Are we positive? ‘Cause I, for one, ain’t. Tech is everywhere! You can study and deconstruct and pick apart and invent shit anywhere on the planet! Why would Velvet put herself at such risk just to see the equivalent of Silicon Valley dipshits engage in a circlejerk?
6. Velvet’s father doesn’t see her often and that causes some strife.
Here’s a slice of in-text dialogue to chew on:
“Just another way I’ve disappointed you, huh?” he said.
“Dad. No!” Velvet paused. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but she didn’t have much to follow that up with, nothing that would convince him, anyway. It was hard to argue with the truth.
Now, small tangent: if you’ve read, or seen, any of my writing on Arslan-as-Sienna’s-offspring AU (which is [are] good AU[s] and general idea[s] you should read my content on the matter), then you’ll know I hate the trope in which a parent who does wrong by a kid, then expects that kid to apologise in order to make themself behave better. For instance: kid has an absent parent. Kid apologises profusely to the parent in hopes they’ll come home and be more present in their life. Parent feels bad, and does that, validating the kid’s belief that they needed to apologise to get their parent to come home. It’s a garbage trope and a dangerous one, because you don’t have to apologise for someone else hurting you. Full stop.
So imagine my surprise to see the same thing happen here! What’s this guilt-tripping? What’s this weird focus on Velvet when he’s the one not coming home? As soon as I read this line, it felt skeevy, it is skeevy. I hate it. I am brimming with hatred. Why do this? Why bother? Why does she need this drama? Jesus christ.
Next two points are a two-in-one:
7. Her father’s name is Will Scarlatina. 8. Her mother’s name is Meg Scarlatina.
WHAT? WHAT??????????? HUH????????????????????????
Okay, I know this seems like a bizarre thing to latch onto when there’s already so much fucked up here, but huh?????? These are the names? You chose? Will and Meg??????????????????? Never mind that they do NOT flow into their surnames at all (Meg Scarlatina????????????????????), but also the fact that Meg makes me think of Family Guy (which is something I NEVER want to think about, thanks,) just makes this a fuckin’ TRIAL of pain for me. Will and Meg???????
Did they pick up a phonebook — or, like, an online one — and grab the first two names they saw? Did they get a dartboard and put on a blindfold and launch darts across the room? Was this a socially-distanced[1] conference call gone wrong? I’m BEWILDERED. I learnt these names from someone posting about it in my discord chat, and I thought it was them telling a shit joke to try and piss me off. Are we really serious?
And to me, the name thing really epitomises this whole section. These names — that don’t fit well, that don’t really make sense with the whole colour-name lore, that don’t sound like they should be within a 20-mile radius of RWBY canon — are like the excerpt itself: bonkers. Bonkers bananas. Where every page brings in a new and unprecedented level of huh???????? that I JUST can’t get over.
Now, again. I don’t want my take on Velvet’s parents to be canon. No, really, I’m gonna use them for an original fic, RT don’t touch them they’re mine and they’re going to be in a novel. A series, even. It may even be erotica! But that’s neither here nor there; when I made Ash and Taffeta, I spent a lot of time reverse-engineering (my brand of) Velvet to put the pieces together. How did she grow up to be who she is now? What influences did she have? What examples did her parents set? What were her family like, and how did she take that upbringing forwards? And I spent a lot of time thinking about who they were, the environment they fostered, and I spent so many hours googling names it doesn’t even bear thinking about. Point being: I put a lot of time and energy and love into the Scarlatina family because I wanted, so badly, to have a family people could be, well, jealous of! A family so big-hearted and kind and full of love and furious compassion that you couldn’t help but wanna be there.
To me, this… take. This version of Velvet’s parents being peddled as canon is just so… unreal. Never mind that it’s been so many years since Velvet was unveiled, so many years people have developed headcanons of their own that, honestly, at this point, why bother? But it’s so frustrating to have taken time to make a queer family built on the solarpunk and socialist and eco-friendly and green-thinking and sustainable ways of being to then have canon turn around and say, okay, what if her dad’s a bootlicker, Velvet’s a mini clone of him, and the marriage Velvet’s parents have is on the rocks due to a trope older than time itself! Why? Why bother? What can this possibly add?
I’m not mad that what I wanted isn’t canon. I’m mad that what canon has given is so… lackluster. So boring. So unoriginal. I feel like I’ve read this story a thousand times, but it would have been so easy to make something so much richer with just a smidgen of effort on everyone’s parts. I expect so little from canon and I’m still let down. This is somehow worse than anything I expected canon to pull. It’s wild. What a bonkers series of choices to make.
[1] I know that most of this book would’ve been planned/written before lockdown, but please bear with the joke.
#rwde#before the dawn spoilers#preview discussion#dont @ me fuckers im too busy being disappointed BUT NOT SURPRISED
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Just a tiny misunderstanding
This is for @sugarglider9603‘s monster pat AU, people have been tossing around this idea of Virgil accidentally marrying Roman for awhile now and I could not help myself. I have been writing this for two days now, sorry if there are any grammar mistakes.
And thank you sugar for answering my asks about the au, and @broadwaytheanimatedseries thank you for telling me about the lore and different things about the universe. I hope you both enjoy.
Also I’m gonna post this on my ao3 of the same name so don’t freak if you see it there.
(also I based the fae marriage thing on how the Greeks used to propose cause I’m a nerd)
((Also also Roman’s mothers names are based off of names from the Victorian era cause why not))
Word count: 8,124
Honestly Virgil wasn’t sure what he’d done wrong, he wracked his brain to think but honestly, there was nothing. The only thing that he’d done that could have been of some concern was when he was hanging with Roman he tossed him an apple and had misjudged the space thus hitting the other in the face. But that was an accident and Roman didn’t really seem hurt.
That’s Fae magic for you, his only response was to grin widely and kiss Virgil passionately. A strange form of reassurance but Roman had been and reacted weirder so Virgil had tried to brush it off. But over the next few weeks he was acting…
Strange
Not in a bad way, but he was more affectionate and…
More protective?
Virgil couldn’t be certain about that one though that was until.
“Your fairy prince is acting unusually,” Logan commented hardly looking up from his book. It was a formal title for Virgil’s boyfriend, but it was far less formal than it used to be.
The statement, however, sent a small shock of panic through Virgil’s system, if Logan had noticed to then…
“Care to explain that statement, Lo?” Virgil asked fear encroaching on his mood, but he only let frustration taint his voice.
Logan saw right through it, he sat up straighter in his chair, placed his bookmark (a woven charm from Patton) into his book (again from the kind-hearted giant) and spoke again, however his voice was much softer like he was afraid of spooking Virgil. Like Virgil was a deer in the woods that needed to be coaxed.
“I’m sensing you noticed it too?” Logan asked though he wasn’t great at reading other peoples emotions he’d known Virgil for almost all of his life.
Virgil sighed and collapsed on Logan’s lap rather dramatically (what could he say Roman was rubbing off on him) his back leaning on the armrests.” Don’t get me wrong I appreciate all of the extra affection he’s giving me… but,” Virgil furrowed his brow remembering the other night.
They’d just finished, well a rather heavy make-out session, they hadn’t gone much farther but they both were certainly on an emotional high. Then Roman had looked out, to the side just beyond Virgil, he’d gone to follow his gaze but the other took his cheek gently in his warm hand,” don’t worry about it love,” the way he said it sent a shiver down Virgil’s spine, that someone so powerful would care for him so much. But there was an underlayer there, something under his affection that he couldn’t quite place.
Which was fair the other wasn’t quite human, so of course, his expressions would be different than Virgil was accustomed to, but this was one he’d never seen before. It was almost guarded, but then it was gone and Roman was asking if Virgil wanted to cuddle and watch a magic projection.
Virgil of course agreed, the system of crystals that the fair people had that could broadcast moving images that told stories was breathtaking to the dark man, it wasn’t anything like human’s modern technology.
“Virge? Virgil?” Logan was shaking his shoulder.
Virgil was on the floor now and Logan was kneeled in front of him, his brows furrowed as he gently shook the younger male.
“Huh?” Virgil was dazed the dregs of the memory still pulling him in, and there was something…
Something there in the corner of the room.
“You weren’t responding, you appeared to be, ah, spacing out.” Logan spoke his normally restrained tone painted ever so slightly with a thin coat of concern.
Virgil blinked further pushing himself out of the memory, he also tore his gaze from the spot he’d been staring at blankly, there was nothing there anyways,” had I?” the blue-clad man nodded,” sorry L, it’s just,” he chewed his lip back and forth playing with the muscle nervously trying to calm himself. “It’s just that roman is starting to worry me.”
Logan made a face,” if he’s threate-“
“No nonono!” Virgil cut him off frantically, he didn’t want his friend to enter what he’d dubbed, the mama bear mode,” if anything he’s been much more affectionate than normal, almost like he’s making up for something. And he’s always so tense, and even when we’re cuddling it’s like he’s waiting for something,” Virgil felt ill at the thought a pressure rising in his throat at what could cause his boyfriend to be…
“It’s almost like, he’s scared…” Virgil’s voice was small.
Logan nodded,” well perhaps there is some sort of fae event going on currently, perhaps he is just nervous,” Logan offered,” to be far he does participate in the fae equivalent of professional make-believe perhaps that is what has put him on edge.”
Virgil shook his head, he wasn’t looking Logan in the eye anymore the overwhelming sensation that he was going to throw up was tangent and pushing in on all sides now. “He doesn’t have a performance coming up, and that’s different, he’s always,” Virgil searched around the room eyes flitting from corner to corner as he tried to find the words,” more collected. I don’t know.”
Virgil’s voice cracked at the last three words; he’d been really trying to figure out what was wrong. But every time he asked Roman managed to distract him or change the subject. Did he hate him now? Was he being overly affectionate to make up for the fact that he was going to break up with him soon? Was he-
“Virgil,” His friend made a face, his perfectly pushed back hair falling out of place slightly,” in for four Virge,” he said calmly.
The dark clad man was already hyperventilating he hadn’t even noticed he was so busy trying to figure out what was wrong with his boyfriend that he was hardly able to focus. His sweaty hands were balled up clenching his tattered cloak the familiar coarse fabric bringing him to reality a little bit.
But still the worried thoughts dumped on him like a snowstorm, kicking up occasionally appearing to get lighter but then the heaviness was there again, thick, cloying and sticky, not leaving and chilling him to his core. His head felt like it was being squeezed he couldn’t leave, and he felt like he was watching a stranger in a daze.
Logan’s soft words filtered in and out of his warped pained reality, it was like his ears were an out of tuned radio struggling to stay connected and pick up a signal.
Thoughts blurred…
Was Virgil even breathing? He felt constricted and hot and like he was gasping for breath like a snake was constricting on his lungs.
What was that voice?
Who was there?
Why were they helping him?
His focused on the sounds of the voice, it finally registered, that was his best friend. And slowly his breathing slowed a little and the violent feeling that he was going to throw up subsided a little.
Once he’d finally managed to school his breathing again Logan was still going through his breathing exercise count.
They were silent for a moment, nothing exchanged between the pair as Logan allowed him to catch his breath,” I am going to get Roman,” Logan said.
Virgil was frantic again,” what no what if someone in the village sees him? What if the others fre-“
The other put up a hand to stop him his dark brown eyes swirled with concern,” one,” he raised a finger,” this house,” he gestured around for emphasis,” is just around the edge of the monster forest, nearly outside of the main radius of the village.”
That made sense to Virgil, he couldn’t really argue with it, his and Logan’s houses were both on the outskirts of the human civilization. Virgil for his anxiety and natural skittishness around others, and Logan because he enjoyed the quiet that then allowed him to do his work. Not to mention no matter anyone’s opinions on monsters and whether they were good or not very few ventured into the forest.
“-econdly,” Virgil hadn’t heard most of the others statement for the first one. Damn it he’d spaced out again, what was with him this afternoon he kept looking into that corner of the room and getting so damn distracted. “Our village was one of the first ones to agree to a tentative peace deal with the monsters under the rulers Joan and Tayln’s behest. This is one of the most open-minded villages to be a part of. No one will attack him.” Logan smirked,” besides most people are afraid of the fae it’s hardly likely they will even have the courage to speak to him to realize he’s far too dramatic and good-willed to actually hurt anyone.”
Virgil chuckled a little,” he is a dork,” he smiled fondly the sentiment loud and clear despite the fact that he hadn’t said it.
His dork.
Logan stood up and brushed off his pants and shirt,” now if you excuse me, I will go fetch his royal pain in the ass and you two will sort out your drama or so help me.”
Virgil nodded, “thanks Logan,” he smiled.
The other nodded and in the next few moments, he was out of the house, the door closing with a soft click. And like that Virgil was left alone in Logan’s house, the sound of a soft fire crackling merrily his only true company.
Virgil eventually stood up his knees creaking slightly in protest, his bones tired from sitting in the same position so long. He stretched his back out arms extended outwards, he slouched over immediately afterwards his back falling into its normal slump.
He needed to do something with himself, something that would take a few moments and free up his mind a little bit from its thoughts.
But what?
He scanned his best friends home searching frantically for something to distract him, he didn’t understand Logan’s collection of crystals. And frankly he was scared to fiddle with them, he’d never been particularly interested in Logan’s books. Even the ones written by Patton bored him. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand. He and Logan had been some of the smartest kids at school, but academia was not something that interested him. And the second he was allowed to he dumped any tolerance he may have had for it.
His gaze flitted to the kitchen, there were pots and pans, and
A tea kettle.
Virgil was up in an instant busying himself with the actions of filling the kettle, setting up three cups and preparing three separate teas. The loose leaves piled in the bottom. Now all that was left for him to do was wait, the soft rumbling of the slow simmering water being a soft comfort.
But his nervous gaze was already searching, around the room some and he searched for some form of entertainment. Again, the crystals were out of the picture, some had enchantments, and others were attached to a system of wires that Virgil didn’t trust his luck to try to tamper with.
The tall bookcases were all filled with research notes, there was only one shelf that Logan had that wasn’t strictly non-fiction. However, even then those were scribed oral folktales that their village had been passing down for generations. Virgil could mess with the fire or cuddle up to the heating stone, but his mind was racing far to fast for that.
Again his gaze snagged on that damn corner, Logan’s house was one of a simple and efficient layout, the kitchen, main entertainment area, and dining room (well it was intended to be a dining room but Logan had long since converted it into a lab and office combo) were all one space divided by small half walls pillars and furniture, the only real rooms were Logan’s bedroom and Bathroom. And there in the far-off corner closest to a window was something.
He couldn’t really see anything at first, but it eventually grew more prominent as he stared on, it was like a mirage in the distance, a distortion from the heat, something intangible and uncertain. In a daze, Virgil stepped forward trying to get a better look at the strange corner.
The house plant in the corner was, well it looked like it was waving, it was akin to when you looked through bubbles but there was no shine just distortion.
Shaky step after shaky step Virgil was feeling his thoughts start to melt away and a soft warbly kind voice was speaking to him.
At first, it was unintelligible, just syllables and letters he was aware of almost as if his head was underwater, but slowly the words grew clearer, as he stepped closer.
He p
Wee wa t he p
Fo ow s
Follo
We want to help
Follow us
Yeah, that sounded reasonable to Virgil for some reason, there was a small worry in the back of his skull, jiggling around something that sounded an awful lot like Logan trying to supply him with information, but his mind was in a daze.
Wil-o’-the-wisp.
The voice told him firmly and helpfully. They were guiding lights, some benevolent, some cruel. And that voice that was supplying the information about them told him not to follow. That it was foolish. But the rest of his mind felt like it was submerged.
Let us help you.
Virgil was tentative that last string of common sense telling him to not listen, telling him to run in the opposite direction. And he almost tugged himself via that string… but then, they said all the needed too.
Answers about Roman
And like that, they had the scissors that they’d needed to cut his link to reality. He was moving forward and was almost within arms reach of the wisp.
It popped out of existence and then it was by the window, the sound of there whispers was drowning it was almost like a shrill loud whistle, it kept his thoughts from functioning and their magic had him ensnared.
Like a fly in a spiders web, he did exactly what it wanted, he opened the large window, an idle thought to close it behind him was there for only a moment but it was quickly abandoned as the honeyed words of promises led him closer and closer to the spider's den.
“You left him at your house alone!?” Roman asked concern lacing his normally regal tone.
Logan’s brow furrowed,” yes what is the matter, Roman? This is exactly why I came to ask you to talk to him. He has been very concerned and your acti-“
Roman was stepping back running forward his wings flapping, he was five feet away almost in the air when Logan jolted realizing the other’s actions were strange. “Roman!” he bellowed as he ran after him.
He’d never quite trusted the fae and this was not helping his case. He wanted to trust the fae, for Virgil, but every time he did the man did something foolish or reckless, or just without any common sense. It was like for him logic was metaphorically thrown out the window. Logan loathed such a thought, he ran after the prince his breath growing labored, “Roman!” he shouted. “Wait just on mome-“
Harsh pressure was digging into his upper arms, and the ground was falling away. A scream ripped out of Logan’s chest as he swung his feet violently, his hands covering his eyes. He’d been comfortable with Patton picking him up, the others large warm hands always stabilized him, and made him feel safe. But this was not safe, Romans hands were warm yes but not the comforting warmth of his Patton. They were long thin spindly fingers and it almost felt like a bird had grasped him.
Logan was swearing up and down his normally low voice a breathless shriek.
Roman apologized but he left it at that until they were descending on Logan’s front lawn.
“What the” Logan took in a few breaths schooling his words and expression,” why Roman?” he asked teeth gritted as he tried to calm his seizing respiratory system.
The prince was shushing him holding a hand to his ear,” do you hear that?” Roman asked with a faint whisper.
“Hear what?” Logan asked voice at a normal tone.
Roman stepped forward and with a quick flash of red magic, he unlocked Logan’s front door and entered his home. Then Logan could hear it: the loud shrill shriek of his tea kettle screaming through the small house. It was a deafening noise in the otherwise silent home.
Roman was moving through the house frantically examining the rooms, his eyes flashed a glowing red a few times. The smell of oranges, nutmeg, and sandalwood, which were the familiar smell of Roman’s magic wafted through the entire house as Roman seemed to perceive something that Logan couldn’t, and a disconcerting growl escaped deep from his chest.
He took the kettle off of the hot eye a puzzled expression flitting across his face, but then he sized up the teacups and he seemed to be putting together something that Logan couldn’t.
“Roman?” Logan asked he was wrenched with worry his stomach tied in knots and fear was threatening to engulf him.
He’d noticed that Virgil was gone, how could he not, the window was wide open chilling his house with the late fall air and the tea kettle had been screaming only moments before. And Romans actions were not helping with the thick foreboding air that had descended on Logan’s small home. Logan was normally so calm, so collected, he normally put on this front, this air that he couldn’t be affected, but this rattled that like an earthquake to a shabby but well-presented hut.
Roman didn’t respond he was muttering in a language that Logan could not understand and a small flicking blue light that he couldn’t focus on for longer than a few seconds was hovering right by the prince. He continued in a language that Logan could not understand the prince was yelling, shouting something. And while he couldn’t decipher the words, he understood that it was filled with rage and disbelief.
The wispy creature, a wil-o’- the-wisp if Logan was correct (And if he was that thought chilled him to the bone) continued to talk to Roman for what felt like an eternity, and then it vanished, just a pop and it was gone.
“Roman?” he called out again in concern.
Roman jumped he looked over the human a few times, it was like he’d forgotten about him,” Wait here,” he begged.
“If I don’t?” Logan asked the tone catching him off guard.
A sorrowful expression, that’s all Logan could describe of the others face,” then I’ll have to make you stay,” the hollow way he said it, it wasn’t a threat it wasn’t even a promise, it was a regret.
“I’ll stay,” Logan whispered.
Roman nodded the thanks apparent in the motion,” I-I’ll be back.” He walked to the front door before stepping back,” I’ll tell Patton to come over so you’re not alone,” And with that he left Logan alone in the house.
Half thoughts and words were starting to swirl in Virgil’s head again, the blank nothingness that had encompassed his being was fading away, and he was shockingly aware that he was alone in the forest in the center of a damned fairy circle. This was not Romans circle though; this one was circled with entirely different plants and flowers than Romans. Suddenly there was a flash and a tall woman appeared before him.
She was breathtaking, if Virgil wasn’t as gay as they came, he’d probably be taken with her. She like most fair people looked like she could be both 20 and 60 aged and ageless. Virgil realized as the last dregs of the wisp magic faded just how lucky he was that he’d stumbled into Roman’s circle instead of this one all that time ago. Roman looked like a man. A stunning breathtaking man that also looked like a piece of artwork, but except for a few things he looked relatively normal.
This woman, however, defined otherworldly, she looked like she brought definition and weight to the scared whispered folklore of Virgil’s childhood.
The lady spoke, but Virgil didn’t understand the language, she paused and swapped to another. She continued in a few others before Virgil spoke up.
“H…h-hello,” he made a gesture with his hand that might have been intended to be a wave, but he wasn’t quite sure himself.
“Hello,” she paused before smiling,” Anxiety, I believe my son calls you?”
Virgil must have made a face, but he couldn’t be sure his heart was beating so loudly he couldn’t think. None the less she supplied an answer,” Roman,” Virgil nodded now in understanding.
The smile was wider,” you’re so cute I could eat you up!” she exclaimed.
Virgil whimpered, he’d heard that phrase before, from humans and even Patton but this woman, he wasn’t sure of her intentions, regardless of who’s mother she claimed to be. Virgil wrapped his arms around himself hiding them under the cloak so that he could grip his hands around his iron daggers.
Maybe it was a little distasteful to have iron weapons when you had a boyfriend whose main weakness was said weapons and almost those alone, but Virgil liked to think about it as protection in case Roman couldn’t protect him. He didn’t draw them out yet however, the fae were powerful beings with important laws that dictated their magic. If he were to draw a weapon, she’d have grounds to use it against him.
He may be in her territory but because of the circumstances, the law of the fair people might just allow him safety for a bit longer. He just had to watch his next few actions carefully and not offend her.
“Now I know you’re a little skittish but me and my wife have been dying to meet you and Roman has refused to bring you along.”
She said it all in a way that reminded Virgil of his own mother (well it reminded him of the few memories he had of her),” can you believe that? Won’t bring you to meet his own mothers,” she said it was such an air it was familiar enough to Roman’s dramatics that Virgil was relaxing slightly, his grasp on the blades slightly looser, but the grip was tighter in an instant.
He couldn’t be tricked by them even if they were Roman’s parents. The woman walked forward her hands held outwards dramatically,” just so you know there is no funny business, I’m going to take you to my home for tea with my wife.”
Virgil made a noise of protest his hands moving off of his daggers in shock as she put both hands on his shoulders and there was a flash of magic that dragged with it the smell ginger, and a fruity smell he couldn’t place.
Roman was terrified, the second he’d spoken to that wisp he knew that it was one of the chaotic ones, it had chirped off gleefully that it had directed his sweet anxiety to another fae, and not just any other fae his mothers. Gods that made him nervous, if his mothers talked to him? The anxious butterflies that were only caused by his sweet husband were starting to tear up his stomach.
Husband.
If that word didn’t stir up a lot of emotions in him. He was glad that it was Anxiety how had taken the step, he’d long since learned not to push the dark clad man. And he absolutely adores the idea of spending forever with him, but they’d not been dating for that long and had known each other for barely much longer. The commitment of it was terrifying, he barely felt ready for it. But he couldn’t tell the other, not after he’d been so courageous to do so, not after he’d been so bold when he was normally so, well, anxious.
“Roman!” A peppy voice called out.
He looked down, oh it was Patton, good because he didn’t want to make another stop or to search for him,” can you go to Logan house and stay with him something is going on and I told him I’d send you over.”
“Is he okay?” Patton asked his pointy ears tilting down.
Roman was already looking off in the distance,” oh, yes he’s fine, I just uh my mothers, uh, Anxiety, I gotta go.”
Patton nodded and began the trek to the scholar’s home.
The prince hardly thought as he made the trip to his mothers’ home, his all-encompassing thoughts were:
Get to Anxiety
Make sure he wasn’t having a panic attack
Protect him.
His mothers had never really been part of the human hunts that so many of their elite fae peers had been a part of, they were ahead of their time in that aspect. But they’d also never interacted with humans directly, their circle was too deep in the forest; when the peace treaties were sent by the two human rulers the messengers ended up finding Roman instead. Which was fine his mothers’ didn’t find an offense to that they enjoyed their seclusion, but they didn’t understand humans’ limits, they didn’t-
Roman’s stomach churned at the thought, if they exposed him too much to certain magics, he might fall ill, that was a mistake they’d fallen upon a few months back. The human vessel just wasn’t durable, it was fragile and as strong as his beloved was, he still was limited. Roman’s stomach felt much like it had a mind of its own crawling up his throat, Anxiety had iron daggers. He hid them from Roman and tried not to show them to him.
But none the less Roman knew about them, how could he forget when anxiety had pulled them against him at their first meeting. A guarded man like him, of course, had weapons, and considering that he had to fight from an early age to survive Roman didn’t care, Anxiety would never hurt him, and considering how much power he had he couldn’t blame him if maybe Anxiety just wanted something to make him feel safe.
But if Anxiety got scared he might pull them on his mothers, and then, then Roman’s mothers might get offended and his mothers were forces to be reckoned with when they were offended.
Before the prince knew it he was at his mothers’ cottage, they did have a castle but they often stayed in the cottage for comfort, and from what Roman had told them they knew that Anxiety had a nervous disposition and was prone to getting scared easily.
Roman threw the door open to the main entertainment space,” Mother! Mama!” he shouted,” were is he!”
Virgil was quite nervous there were two very powerful fairy queens attending to him handing him food and drinks and talking to him. The taller very muscular one, the one that had greeted him in the clearing was sat on a chaise. She’d greeted herself as Ada after they’d gotten into the fairy realm. Once she had directed him into the home she was covered with a bright flash of warm light and her appearance fell. She was still beautiful, still had terrifying pointy teeth but she looked far more human. She still had the pointed ears and the face and body markings that denoted she was something else but the aura she had before faded away.
As it did she apologized informing him that she still had to keep up appearances and if she startled him it wasn’t her intent.
And the other slightly shorter one was sitting in a wood carved chair that was decorated with the most dramatic curls and delicate flower petals. She was also beautiful, she had a round large nose and big expressive eyes, but they were lined with dramatic face markings and makeup. She was kind of adorable in a strange sense, very round and huggable, but there was something behind her eyes that told Virgil that he should still be weary of her.
And they were doting on one another, they threw soft actions and kisses at one another like he and Roman threw nicknames and cuddles.
“I-is it safe to eat or drink this? Uh- your majesties?” Virgil asked the women holding a sandwich nervously.
The shorter one smiled,” Oh our roman got himself a clever one, didn’t he?” she asked looking up at her wife,” he even makes sure the food won’t trap him!” she preened. “also call me Evangeline, your majesty sounds so formal! And we're practically family!” she smiled at him.
The other woman smiled,” anxiety how did you meet our son?”
Virgil chuckled,” I sort of fell into his fairy circle after getting lost.”
“Why were you lost?” Evangeline asked. “Also, yes you can eat the food we have no intent on trapping you.”
Virgil ducked his head,” well human’s don’t have the best perception of monsters and my best friend was dating Patton-“
“Oh,” Ada cut in,” the giant boy? He’s a friend of Roman’s.”
Virgil nodded,” well I didn’t know Patton was a cool person yet, and I was scared cause all I had been taught was to fear monsters and because I didn’t know how to react I tried to walk home but I’d never been in that section of the forest before and after hours of wandering I fell down a small cliff and into the circle.”
The two women nodded in sympathy,” our raisings were much of the same,” Evangeline added on,” don’t trust the humans don’t talk to them the normal nonsense.”
Ada nodded,” we’re very eager however for this promised new era of peace between us and the humans, the royal Joan and Talyn have only been able to extend to us informal treaties, but we understand it’s tough to erase the years of misunderstandings on our end as well.”
Virgil nodded his arm that had been under his cloak was loose around the hilt almost in a resting state. He picked up his teacup and took a tentative sip. It was a nice spiced blend with just enough sweetener, it was one of the best teas he’d ever tasted.
Suddenly the door was being busted down and the sound of Roman shouting was filling the room.
Logan was pacing up and down up and down, he wanted to follow the fae prince get answers, but something had rattled him and if that were the case then it could be nothing good. Logan’s floor was no doubt being rubbed down from the pacing the varnish slowly getting removed. But Virgil was out there having probably been swept away by the wisps. The situation did not lend itself to, particularly pleasant thoughts.
There was a slight shaking of the ground, Logan’s heart skipped a beat, he knew that thudding rhythm, he flung the door open. Patton wasn’t far away just at the edge of the forest only a few dozen feet from Logan’s house. Logan ran forward the jumped up into Patton’s arms. Patton scooped him up in his arms the warm embrace surrounding Logan and calming his thoughts.
He was able to think more logically now, his thoughts slowly organizing as Patton kissed his forehead,” you okay Lo-lo?” he asked his voice a low rumble.
Logan nodded,” better now, do you understand what’s going on?” he asked.
Patton smiled,” let’s get in your house first and I’ll tell you while we cuddle.” He said stepping forward putting Logan down on the grass gently
“Do you have a potion on you or do I need to grab one from my stash?” he asked, unfortunately his house was far too small for his boyfriend so he had to drink a shrinking potion, both so he could fit for them to cuddle, and so Patton didn’t draw any un-needed attention. While their village was one of the more open-minded, there still were hunters that passed by.
He shook his head nuzzling into Logan’s side,” I don’t have one on me no.”
“I’ll go grab one,” Logan left a soft kiss on Patton’s knuckle.
Patton chuckled at the soft gesture, Logan was only in the house for a second his crate of the potion was right by the door and in a moment Patton was shrinking.
For some reason, maybe it was just the ingredient ratio, whenever Patton took the shrinking potion he was shrunk, thankfully with his clothes, down to a height shorter by just a few inches than Logan. Patton wasn’t holding back anymore he was running forward jumping into Logan’s arms a kiss a whisper away.
He was only a hair away, that question in the air as Logan held him up under his thighs, Logan vanished the remaining distance surging forward. Patton’s tail was wrapped around Logan’s leg , he smiled into the kiss and he could feel the other smiling back as he stumbled into the house eyes closed.
They were chuckling into each other's lips, Logan raised a hand to Patton’s face, he backed away catching his breath. “I love you,” Patton whispered.
“I love you too,” Logan returned the sentiment. He backed away though reality returning to him.
“You’re worried about him aren’t you?” Patton asked.
“Roman told you what was going on?” Logan searched Patton’s face as if he was trying to find an answer.
Patton’s expression was soft,” yeah he told me a little bit, enough that I could gather that his moms had basically kidnapped Virgil.”
“They won’t hurt him right?”
Patton shook his head,” Nah,” he plopped down on Logan’s bed. Logan sat next to him and began to play with his soft hair,” Roman’s just a little bit worried because he doesn’t want his moms to talk to his husband.”
Logan sputtered,” when did they get married!? Why wasn’t I invited to the wedding!”
“Wedding?” Patton asked,” they got a fae marriage.”
“What does that entail? And why didn’t Virgil tell me?!” Logan was standing now Patton’s head falling from his lap and onto the bed.
“Lo-lo,” Patton sat up and wrapped his arms around his lover,” I’m sure there’s a good reason he didn’t tell you. I didn’t even go, apparently, Roman was really caught off guard about it. It hit him in the face so to speak,” Patton chuckled.
“Hit him in the? Patton dear I’m lost what are you talking about?”
“Virgil threw an apple at him and it hit him in the face.”
Logan was blinking taken aback,” apple?” he paused his mind trying to add two and two,” do you mean to tell me that a fae proposal is throwing an apple at your lover?”
“No, that’s the marriage.”
Logan was silent, he was at a loss for words the way Patton said it, so nonchalantly,” okay, you got me, dear, I almost believed you.” It was a good joke, Logan had to admit, that something so mundane something that humans do literally all the time could have such weight attached to it.
Patton’s expression remained serious,” is this not the same for human culture?”
Logan shook his head,” of course not that would be ridiculous, if it were then me and Virgil playing catch with apples as kids would make us married ten times over.”
Patton covered his mouth with his hands,” this means that for Virgil he’s been put into a marriage with Roman for two months that he doesn’t even know about! He hasn’t even told Roman his name yet!”
Logan nodded part of him found some humor in this and eventually he would tease Virgil about this but for the moment being, “I do not believe that this will go ideally, most likely Virgil is going to panic.”
“It’ll work out,” Patton said nuzzling into the scholar's neck pulling him onto the bed,” Roman revealed to me that them being married made him uneasy since they hadn’t been dating that long but he was under the impression that it was what Virgil wanted.”
Logan groaned chuckling all the same,” they are fools sometimes but at least Roman is not being reckless by desiring to marry a man he when he doesn’t even know his name.”
Patton sighed,” I’ll be glad when Virgil finally tells Roman his name, it gets confusing sometimes to keep straight what I’m supposed to call him.”
“I agree, but it is a big step for him, he doesn't want to just tell him he wants to give it to him.”
Patton sat up,” give it to him? Does he know how big of a deal that is?”
Logan nodded, once he and Patton had introduced themselves, they had said ‘you may call me’ it was subtle but very deliberate. They couldn’t have it used against them because of very careful wording, not that Roman would but it was good practice to measure one’s words exactingly near the fae.
“Virgil is very aware, he’s wanted to tell him for a while, but he keeps getting frightened, not that I can blame him it is a rather large step in their relationship.”
Patton snorted,” Bigger than accidental marriage?”
“Yes, well,” Logan was chuckling too,” biggest intentional step then.”
They were laughing now holding one another in each other’s arms just enjoying each other’s company. Logan felt calm and at peace, it wasn’t very often that his mind could be calmed, a good book, some fascinating research, those did the trick for a while, but nothing really relaxed him like his boyfriend.
Patton was swirling patterns onto his arm eyes closed, Logan took in the sight. His soft turquoise almost star-studded fur, his slight under bite. His round nose and glasses
All perfect.
Logan raised a hand an lightly brushed his thump on Patton’s cheek, the other opened his blue eyes lazily. They looked like perfectly cut crystals to Logan, magnified perfectly by his slightly askew glasses.
“Do you ever think about it?” Patton asked softly his purr vibrating loudly in the cold tinted fall air.
Leaning into the hand his own still idly drawing swirls and patterns into the others dark skin.
“Think about what?” Logan asked his heart melting at the way Patton’s face squished into his hand.
Patton was quiet for a moment, Logan almost thought he fell asleep, but his eyes were open again and his words were tentative and soft,” us, one day, getting married?”
Logan’s heartbeat went up to levels that probably put him at risk of a heart attack,” I-I,” he stuttered his mind reeling from the idea. He’d never actually thought about it, he was always so caught up in the moment that honestly, a future was intangible. But hearing that right then,” I am now,” he admitted sheepishly.
“And?” Patton asked voice soft and gentle as he snuggled closer to the scholar.
Logan swallowed his pooling spit and collected his thoughts,” I am not opposed to it, but I am nervous.”
Patton turned his head slightly a brow softly quirked the question in the air,” it is just that, Human’s right now are turning finally to see that just because you’re monsters it doesn’t make you inherently evil, and I will admit the thought of those few that won’t listen to reason scares me.”
Patton grumbled lowly,” well I won't ever let them hurt you Lo-lo.” Patton hugged him close nuzzling his face into Logan’s chest.
“That is not what I am afraid of,” Logan ran his hand through the other's hair, he accidentally bumped his hand into the base of Patton’s antlers. They were just as soft as the rest of him. “I’m afraid of what they will do to you,” Logan admitted not much louder than a whisper. But the words might as well have been a shout.
Patton detangled himself from Logan,” It won’t happen,” Logan went to speak unwanted tears forming in his eyes,” No,” Patton cut him off,” sweetheart listen, it won’t happen. We’re friends with the next in line of the fae royalty, and we know people with direct connections to the human throne, we’re safe.”
Patton grabbed Logan’s hand which was still pinned under his face, he held Logan’s hand to his heart,” I’m safe.”
Roman scanned the room and there closest to the door was Anxiety, he scanned him up and down nervously. One hand was out of his cloak that was good, but the other was in it, no doubt wrapped around the hilt of his dagger.
“R-roman,” Anxiety said, his face relaxing slightly.
Roman put a hand to his husband’s face, Anxiety leaned in ever so slightly,” are you alright my love, no panic attacks?” he asked his red tinted brown eyes scanning his fae for every expression and microexpression he could.
Anxiety smirked,” I’m fine princey, just a little surprised, it’s not every day you get magically kidnapped by fae royalty.”
Roman looked down ashamed,” I supposed that might be my fault, they’ve wanted to meet you for a while now and you’d think they’d have the patience to wait but no,” he looked up at them and shot them a look.
“They did seem eager to meet me yes,” Anxiety agreed, nerves still an undercurrent to his tone but his tone was as calm as it’d been since Roman had heard him that afternoon.
Roman’s mama clapped her hands,” well if you’re done modeling after your mother and being overdramatic,” Roman’s mother made an offended noise, Anxiety made a near-silent chuckle,” we were just about to show your husband your baby portraits.”
“WhAt!” Anxiety shouted his face red as he stood up.
The three fae looked at him bewildered,” is there some sort of human taboo against showing newlyweds one another’s baby portraits?” his mother asked in concern. It was a fair question one he himself was actually wondering now considering his husbands panic.
“I-I no, we,” Anxiety was looking between all three,” married? When?”
Roman studied him carefully, did he hit his head? Had the magic from traveling between realms altered his memories. Roman stepped closer,” are you okay, love?” he put a hand on the others forehead,” are you feeling unwell?”
Anxiety’s eyes were filled with fear and confusion as he looked frantically around. “Hey, hey, hey,” Roman repeated himself a few times,” what’s the matter? Anx dearest,” Roman spoke carefully after he waited for the other to breathe for a moment,” are you alright?”
Anxiety looked up panic still splayed on his face but he was already attempting to cover it up with his normal disinterested expression,” s-since when were we married?!”
“When you threw that apple at me?” Roman said confused.
This deepened Anxiety’s troubled expression,” humans,” his eyes darted to Roman’s mothers. “we, it’s not, I didn’t. besidesIhityouinthefacethat’shardlyromantic!” Anxiety looked over at the two women,” not that I wouldn’t but we just,” he looked back at roman,” we haven’t been dating that lo-“ his voice died in his throat as he gestured wildly trying to explain himself.
“Oh,” Roman said softly as he added it together,” Oh!” he exclaimed hitting himself in the head,” I’m sorry Anxiety I completely forgot humans have different customs.”
Anxiety’s rapid breathing slowed,” you’re not mad at me?”
Roman shook his head, at that moment however his mother decided it would be the perfect moment to speak up,” you-you’re not married?”
Virgil was jumping up again he’d seemed to have only for a moment forgotten about the two women,” no- not that I would- I just- it just- humans don’t normally- after such a- a short period of time.”
Roman was elated, Anxiety didn’t want to get married just yet either, part of him felt bad for feeling relieved but he was glad that they were still on the same page relationship-wise. “Well then,” Roman spoke up,” Mother, mama, this is my boyfriend.”
Anxiety smiled at Roman a soft look in his eyes, they’d have to talk more later but for now, they had Roman’s mothers to talk to.
“So, baby portraits?” his mama asked, perhaps she was trying to smooth over the afternoon, but there was a glimmer of something in her eyes that definitely suggested otherwise.
“Mama!”
“So, humans have an exchange of rings and a huge party?” Roman asked a slight bit of excitement peeking through his voice.
Virgil giggled at his boyfriend, his reaction caused his entire being to feel like it was being swaddled and hugged. It had been a few hours since they’d gotten back from the fae realm, and because of the magic exposure, they decided to continue their conversation at Virgil’s house. His house was much like Logan’s but instead of science stuff and crystals and books, he had different trinkets from Roman, posters of his favorite bard groups, and general décor that tended to fit the macabre.
“Yes, it’s incredibly dramatic,” Virgil said drinking in the others face as they lay next to one another on Virgil’s old rickety bed. “but don’t let that fool you the wedding industry is a sham.”
“Wedding,” Roman said testing out the word as if he were tasting it, Virgil’s heart fluttered at his expression,” Well when we are ready for marriage, I will sweep you off your feet!”
His stomach was exploding with butterflies his heart squeezing at the words ‘when we are ready’ not just him both of them. “So, you’re not disappointed that we aren’t actually married right now?” Virgil asked voice small.
“Anx,” Roman said softly as he pulled the shorter male closer,” of course not,” he was quiet for a beat,” I was actually scared after the initial shock wore off because I hadn’t really realized that I wasn’t ready either.”
Virgil hugged him, Roman embraced him back his fingers playing with his hair they were quiet for awhile neither speaking just enjoying each other’s presence. “Roman?” Virgil eventually spoke. The fae hummed in response his fingers continuing their ministration in Virgil’s messy hair,” sit up?” he asked him.
The prince did disentangle himself with a grumble,” I wanted to cuddle,” he pouted.
“W-we can get back to that,” Virgil promised running a hand through his hair as he too sat up,” I wanted to tell you something.”
“Okay? Roman asked his expression mainly blank but Virgil could see just a small little inkling of confusion.
“My n-,” he took in a shaky breath, he could do this, he wanted to,” My name is-“
His gaze darted up to Roman who’s eyes were as wide as Virgil had ever seen, his mouth was open slightly in shock. “I-I,” Virgil clenched his fists letting the sensation of his fingernails biting into his flesh ground him,” sorry I just got nervous.”
“Anxiety you don’t ha-“
“It’s Virgil!” he exclaimed, he nervously started muttering to himself,” it’s like a band-aid you just gotta rip it off.”
Roman took Virgil’s face in his hands gently,” Virgil,” he said in an almost reverence, it was like before when he was playing out the syllables of 'wedding' but now instead of just tasting it, he was savoring it. “Virgil,” he repeated clearly enjoying the way the word fell off of his tongue and into the air between them.
“I’m going to kiss you now, is that alright with yo-,” Roman warned but Virgil beat him to it, he surged forward his lips crashing into the others. Romans lips were soft plush and felt like he moisturized them regularly. Virgil knew that his were chapped but Roman simply pushed back into the kiss meeting Virgil’s passion.
Roman accidentally pushed too far however and Virgil fell back onto his bed bouncing up a little as they detached slightly. Laughter burst from Virgil’s chest and Roman laughed back, he began to pepper Virgil with kisses every time he came up, he whispered his name like a quiet prayer.
“T-that tickles roman,” Virgil attempted to hold back his laughter.
Roman quirked an eyebrow as he hovered over the other,” oh tickli-“
A knocking from the front door interrupted them, Roman groaned and Virgil let out a laugh,” that’ll probably be Logan, you did just leave him with no expli-“
“I will be opening the door in one minute, if you are not fully clothed by then, then it is your fault!” Logan interrupted again his tone not betraying any amusement.
Virgil could hear Patton exclaim in shock, he laughed as he clambered up to answer the door, and for once there was nothing wrong in his life.
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Hey I’m asking a couple of the writer asks at once if that’s okay. 4, 18, 32 and 37?
4) how many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? care to share one of them?
oh goodness you’re just really curious in what i’m working on, aren’t you?
hmmm, so i mean in terms of ideas i always have at least like 5 that would be so much fun to write - there’s a Qui-Gon/Shmi ficlet inspired by fae lore and a fantasy book i really like; there’s all these ideas for that post going around that’s like, “what if you stopped aging after 18 until you met your soulmate” but put that in the gffa (imagine! Cody desperately trying to hide from Obi-Wan that he’s aging when most of his bros aren’t! Rex being the only person that undertstands! Anakin and Padme never stopped aging because they met each other at such young ages); a rexsoka modern soulmates AU where you see in black and white until you meet your soulmate, but Ahsoka’s blind - this one would explore different ways that people could manipulate a blind person and would deal with some... light emotional/mental abuse, but it’s a super interesting idea. i have a few other ideas that i’m in varying stages of sorta-writing (Ahsoka saves rogue one is the name of a doc right now) as well, but if i listed everything this’d get way too long...
18) do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?
not really, actually! i’d probably be better at actually stayign focused and finishing things if i made outlines, but my preferred way to write is to talk things through with a friend to give me solid plot ideas and then to just kinda... let the characters do their own thing
32) how do you feel about smut?
i am ace. i don’t terribly mind smut, and i’ll read it in a story if it’s emotional or if it checks a couple other boxes, but i’ve never written it and i doubt i will. i’m perfectly fine with just writing some UST, flirting, and fading to black.
37) talk about your current wips.
ohhh boy here goes. i’m just gonna go with what gdocs i have open right now, excluding the Hunger Games AU series and lullabies, as y’all already know about those
i’m gonna be here til i’m nothing (but bones in the ground): a fullmetal alchemist fic i’ve been commissioned to do by a close friend of mine, who requested for Hughes and Roy during the Ishvalan War of Extermination
for want of a battle (the kingdom was lost): this is my self-indulgent “what if Vader decided to defect during twilight of the apprentice” fic - so far featuring Rex punching Vader, some background rexsoka, Ezra being suspicious, Ahsoka being Ahsoka, and soon to feature Vader reforming and getting a new suit, the takedown of the Empire, and Vader meeting his children and old Obi-Wan
i just wanna keep calling your name (until you come back home): codywan post Order 66 reunion fic! set in a verse where some influential Jedi survived Order 66 and Obi-Wan’s in hiding on Alderaan watching over both the twins, this fic is a series of dreams that chipped Cody and Obi-Wan share through the Force. it’ll eventually lead to Obi-Wan figuring out where Cody is and rescuing him from the Empire
Hunter AU: this currently-nameless fic is based off of a post by @gallusrostromegalus about Coruscant’s lower levels, in which Ahsoka is part of a clan in the mid/low levels who hunts the slightly terrifying creatures who live down there and yknow is just chillin and surviving, and Rex and a small squad are sent down on an undercover mission to discover the source of something that’s been, through the Dark Side of the Force, augmenting negative emotions (fear and anger) and inciting wild riots and protests and things on the surface. @collegefangirl3791 and i have some Real Fun plans for this, including a journey all the way down to Coruscant’s byssal level, completely underground, which has glowworms and glowing crystals and acidic rivers and lots of fun, alien things (literal built up layers of pure sulfur crystals, for instance) that we’ve come up with. that’s one i’m very excited about.
a smol excerpt (note that Rex and the boys have all been disguised so they don’t look identical):
The green-eyed blond man points at the jar that the injured man is holding, says, “This. Couple bacta patches.”
That’s- so much. Ahsoka can’t help grinning, pleased with herself - Carda will definitely be happy with this, maybe enough that Ahsoka can get some extra rations, and there’s probably plenty of bacta to act as tribute for these people. “Okay. Cool. I can take you to see my boss, but you’ll have to wait until closer to the end of wake, I’ve got shit to sell.”
She gives them all a pointed look, then adds, “Oh, by the way, what’re your names? I’m Ahsoka.”
“I’m Rex,” the blond man who’s been talking says, and they go around the circle - the man with the scar on his face is Cody, Jesse has the facial tattoo, Echo is the injured one, and Fives is the redhead. They seem… nice enough, and they agree to wait for her, and so Ahsoka goes back to Teren and the table.
“I got us some bacta,” she singsongs, patting Teren’s shoulder. “Definitely gonna get the extra rations this week.”
“You left our table unattended for like- too long,” Teren says, grumpy. “So she’s not gonna give them to you.”
Ahsoka flicks Teren’s left lek, grinning when he grumbles and ducks away from her. “So you don’t count as attended, is that what you’re saying? Or did you wander off?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Well, it’s what you said.”
anyway, on to the last two!
qui-gon lives: fairly self explanatory. Qui-Gon survives on Naboo. shit happens. he and Shmi are definitely a thing i don’t make the rules.
can you see right through me: this one is one i’m very excited about as well - it’s kinda modern day, but also kinda not, because it’s a modern day where the Greek mythology is all real. so some technology still is a thing but other stuff isn’t, and some things are replaced by magic, etc. Ahsoka is Medusa, basically, and her Gorgon sibs are Barriss and Anakin, and Rex is a blind enchanter who happens to run into them once. things happen. it’s fun.
okay, i think that’s everything. yeesh, this is a long post, sorry about that!
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Was thinking about spn au again, specifically soulless kyle + the doug thing, and ya’ll want a thought?
So I already suggested the bit of Kyle trying to explain to Gil and Ivan like. Hey this soulless thing is actually working out really well for me and it baffles me that you don’t see it the same way too, i’m /not/ looking to get my soul back, no thank you. But then him later admitting to ludwig (matt? we had suggested the swap to matt recently after the prev posts so I’ll swap to matt too I guess) that he doesn’t think any of it got through and he still thinks they’re going to try something so him thinking he needs to try something first + his referring to soul!kyle as “him” instead of even the “old me” he’d probably been using for a while after the soulless thing first came out, fully solidifying okay he has completely distanced himself which isn’t good. Matt tells gil and ivan like hey we should work on fixing this soon since he didn’t specify an option but he seems like he’ll at least be looking for a way to prevent his soul coming back so like.
Another point I had suggested in another post though was soulless!Kyle getting to meet Doug again, via some bullshit flashback showing that doug wasn’t killed by the three during the first encounter and managed to get his old body back or whatever. Honestly, could get a new one, that’d probably be fine. God, imagine if I introduced jodie into this AU by having her be the next body Doug takes on. Anyway anyway, whether he looks like himself or not, him having a major grudge against the group, mainly gil, ivan, and matt. Kyle’s a nuisance and it sucked having to pretend to give a shit about him, but he was easy to play and he ultimately wasn’t the one who ruined doug’s plans. So Doug lowkey looking for revenge and when he finds the gang again, starts to make plans in the bg. Except at one point, him and Kyle running into each other when it’s just Kyle, and at first Doug thinks he’s fucked on this plan, but tries to do damage control until he realizes something’s clearly off with Kyle. Doug tells him to spill on what’s up with him (i don’t think demons can tell if a person is missing a soul but if so he auto knows from that) and while Kyle argues against it at first because he doesn’t owe doug anything let alone telling him this, he’s eventually either talked into telling him or just lets slip enough clues + doug realizing what kyle’s snuck away to try and research for so that doug can guess at it, which kyle confirms and starts to try and focus on the ‘i’m going to exorcise you so i can get back to work’ thing since having doug here is way more of a hinderance than a help. Except Doug offers yknow, he /could/ help here, if Kyle were interested. At the confirmation that Kyle doesn’t want his soul back and is looking for a way to stop it, but can’t find anything, Doug like oh /mate/ it sure is your lucky day. Doug directing him to some other source of lore in the area to show him there IS actually a spell you can do that’ll make it impossible to put your soul back, scars the vessel so the soul can’t return and all that. All you need is x, y, z, and ‘the blood of the father’ (i really should put the effort into looking up the wording but like. Yknow, idc). Kyle offering his dad’s dead so thanks for nothing, but Doug cutting him off like ‘you know that old magic, lots of wiggle room’ and explains it really only has to be anyone who was a father figure or guardian really, like say, an older brother kyle /used/ to look up to and who hangs over him like a watchful parent a lotta the time, for instance?
Kyle suspicious, knowing that doug can’t really be trusted but also given that doug was able to provide a bit more concrete evidence of this physical piece of lore backing it up, he’s not completely dismissing it. Asks why Doug would want to help him again and Doug waving off oh he’s not, he’s helping himself. Given how their last encounter went + how Kyle is now, Doug knows he doesn’t have to sugar coat anything or bullshit the kid, and that it’s frankly better if he doesn’t. He can just walk kyle through the steps to explain why this is good for both of them. Doug laying out that he’s more mad at the others than Kyle. He’s still fucking annoyed as shit by Kyle- though admittedly less by this version of him than the old kid, and either way, he can pick his battles. But, and Doug brings up three fingers at this: kyle kills Gil for the spell, that’s one down, and he folds one finger over. He says he’s hoping Kyle has to kill at least one of the other two to get away with it, but let’s say that he doesn’t. Kyle thinks Matt’s going to hang around once Gil’s dead? Absolutely not, so he’ll be on his own, easy for him to handle, fold another finger down. And finally Ivan? Without the chance of getting his old boyfriend back? Doug’s sure Ivan’s been putting up with a lotta shit for Kyle to hold onto the idea of this all returning to normal, but once that’s done, once he physically /can’t/ get Kyle back, Ivan’ll spiral and probably drop off from the group too. If another hunter doesn’t finish him off, Doug will easily, and there folds the final finger.
Kyle clearly considering, but finally frowns and shakes his head. He’s not looking to get them all killed exactly, he just needs them off his back. Working with them has its benefits, he just doesn’t want them wasting time and energy trying to “fix” him when he’s not broken. Doug countering back that Kyle’s really going to let /that/ stop him? Don’t tell him that Kyle’s really going to put the others’ lives over his own when they clearly won’t do the same for him if he’s pushed to these extremes to get them to stop from overwriting /his/ existence with this shittier version of him. Not to mention how long until they actually find a way to force his soul back in? You think they’re gonna give him the same courtesy of second guessing and giving him more time to find a way to stop it, if there even is another way which doug doesn’t think there is? Kyle offering he could try running if it came down to it but Doug just laughing at that. You’re gonna escape all three of them after waiting for a point when they’ll /know/ he’ll be ready to leave. Plus, /please/ tell me how well trying to run from a stubborn vampire who’s faster, stronger, and tougher than you goes when the vampire still thinks there’s a chance to fix this boyfriend he’s sunk so much energy into. The only way to be /certain/ is to scar the vessel and make it /physically impossible/ to stick the soul back in. otherwise, the others will find a way and kyle knows it.
Kyle finally reluctantly sighing, admitting those are all good points. He hates to agree, but doug’s not wrong here. Doug adding on, too, that the only one Kyle’d /really/ be killing is Gil, anyway, he doesn’t have to hurt either of the other two if he’s careful. Doug can also promise as needed not to go after the other two or whatever, but does reiterate that a rogue vampire or an inexperienced hunter don’t have great odds (because he can just go kill them anyway and kyle won’t know for sure if it was him or not. Plus like. Doug can say “I don’t care about killing you as much as the others” but if Kyle’s all alone too, he’ll be easier to take out too, so who really cares?).
And all those points finally being what flips Kyle over to agreeing it’s the most logical option and thus, trying to put the plan into action. I dunno if I want Doug to slip back into the BG after that or have Kyle try to get his help since it’ll be easier to overpower gil enough to tie him up for the sacrifice with a demon’s help. I do think it’d be kind of a shame to introduce doug just for this bit and not have him stick around as an extra threat. Plus, Gil finding out what Kyle’s planning when kyle puts the action into place + finding out kyle found out from doug’s suggestion & is working with him ///again///??? just ???? kyle what the FUCK??? Trying to kill your BROTHER is bad enough but trying to kill YOUR BROTHER because that shitty DEMON we all HATE who is a KNOWN LIAR told you it’d make it so you couldn’t get your soul back is FUCKED UP how do you NOT see the issue in you not having a soul, soul!you would know now not to listen to doug, what the FUCK? With kyle then having to present his counters of ‘you all won’t give up and I can’t avoid or run forever, what do you want me to do????’
Also almost forgot but i remember seeing talk of ludwig punching kyle in the face to stop him in the prev post so now matt gets to do that instead. matt seeing kyle has tied up gilbert to sacrifice him and possibly has doug there with him and just first order of business is punch kyle out before they turn on doug as needed. if doug is there, him probably smoking out real fast if able, this was fun bye nerds
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Kingdom Hearts III Secret Ending, TWEWY, & FFXV
So, the Kingdom Hearts III secret ending dropped yesterday, and this might be the most bizarre and unexpected one yet. Further complicating it is the potential ties to other Square Enix properties. As someone who is a big fan of both Kingdom Hearts and The World Ends With You, and who at least has played Final Fantasy XV, I thought I’d have a hand at trying to consolidate various points people have made as well as my own observations into a simple* explainer.
Honestly, this is as much for my own sake as for helping others who aren’t sinking headfirst into the deep lore of multiple Tetsuya Nomura franchises...This man is utterly ludicrous.
*ugly sobbing
***OBVIOUSLY, MAJOR SPOILERS FOR BOTH KINGDOM HEARTS III AND THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU: FINAL REMIX UNDER THE CUT***
For people who haven’t seen the Secret Ending...Well. I’m not quite sure why you’re reading this, you should probably go watch that. But the basic gist is:
We see Sora and Riku both waking up in hyperrealistic and visually distinct cities--or perhaps just different areas of the same one (the likely answer)
Due to the gradual reveal of the environment, it’s shown that Sora is in Shibuya, Tokyo--not quite the real one, which I’ll comment on later--and Riku is in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
As Riku walks through Shinjuku, we see Yozora--the protagonist of the fictionalized video game, Verum Rex, that we saw in the Toy Story world--observing Riku from a rooftop.
Lastly, we see a figure in the iconic black cloak looking out at the moon of this world--a normally shaped moon--and forming a heart shape within it with his hands.
Really, the basic sequence of events is pretty simple to follow. What makes this complicated is what each of these individual pieces mean.
Verum Rex? Final Fantasy XV?
The biggest elephant in the room to most is the presence of Yozora, and in fact the secret ending is named after him. This is gonna get into some real meta stuff.
The entirety of Verum Rex--the fictionalized video game of which Yozora is the protagonist-- is a very, very thinly veiled jab at Final Fantasy XV.
For those who do not know, Final Fantasy XV was originally developed under the title Final Fantasy Versus XIII, with Tetsuya Nomura, director of Kingdom Hearts, at the helm. He was taken off the project, and rumors circulated about his bitterness towards his brainchild being seized from him. Verum Rex seems to be complete confirmation of this, in a very public and hilariously petty way--the Final Fantasy XV that Nomura wanted. The similarities between the two games have been pointed out by many. To list a few as examples:
‘Yozora’ is Japanese for “night sky.” Noctis Caelum, the protagonist of FFXV, is Latin for “night sky.”
“Verum Rex” is Latin for “True King.” Noctis’s main character arc in XV is him growing into and accepting the role of King. This title could be Nomura asserting that Yozora is the true king he wanted to make.
As can be seen in the in-game trailer, the aesthetics of the games are extremely similar, and a few of the characters can be identified with those from XV.
Yozora’s pose on the cover of the game is extremely reminiscent of that of Noctis in Versus XIII’s teaser art.
The main theme of XV, Somnus, is just kind of straight up incorporated into the Secret Ending at one point. Compare: Somnus vs “Yozora.”
What does this all mean? The only two things we can say definitively are:
a) Sora and Riku as well as the black hooded figure have somehow ended up in Yozora’s world
b) Tetsuya Nomura’s pettiness levels are off the charts
I personally highly doubt any of this means that the lore of Final Fantasy XV itself will tie into Kingdom Hearts--it simply seems that Nomura is determined to see his original vision of his characters to their end, whatever form it may take. But who knows? Nomura is riding it ridiculously close here.
The World Ends With You?
So the other big Tetsuya Nomura property that is possibly wrapped into this Secret Ending is The World Ends With You. There is not as much concrete to go on as with FFXV, but regardless, what are the connections in this trailer?
First, the basic premise of TWEWY: The protagonists are participating in something called the “Reaper’s Game,” a competition among the recently deceased to get a second chance at life. The game is set in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Wait, that sounds familiar--Sora is in Shibuya in the Secret Ending! In TWEWY, the game begins with protagonist Neku waking up in the middle of the bustling Scramble Crossing in Shibuya. While devoid of people here, Sora wakes up in the very same Scramble Crossing.
One could think that Nomura might just like Shibuya as a setting for his games and wanted to have a little fun--certainly possible. But what makes the connection to TWEWY especially striking is when the camera pans to the massive building with “104″ in big letters along the top. This is a building in real-life Shibuya, as well....sort of. The real-life building this is based on is actually called 109. 104 originated in TWEWY’s own version of Shibuya.
This would seem to indicate that this is not just any Shibuya, this is the TWEWY Shibuya. It could be a reused pseudonym, yes, but 104 is such an iconic part of TWEWY that Nomura would know full well what he was doing by placing it in the trailer.
But what drives home the TWEWY connection even more is Riku and Yozora’s location. We know Riku is in Shinjuku, because after showing 104, the trailer shows Riku looking up at what is a distinct governmental building in real life Shinjuku.
What’s the relation of Shinjuku to TWEWY? Nothing....Until the recently released Final Remix, that is. Final Remix reveals that a girl Neku keeps seeing visions of--the girl who will presumably be the protagonist of TWEWY 2--hails from Shinjuku. Additionally, Shinjuku is discussed by Joshua and Hanekoma in Final Remix as having been destroyed in some way--if I remember correctly, the entire city was “erased.” What the implications of this are isn’t really clear in TWEWY, but the notable thing is that the two main settings of the trailer are the two most important settings of TWEWY.
This is not the first time TWEWY has appeared in Kingdom Hearts, either--characters from it appeared in KH: Dream Drop Distance, and at one point, Sora makes a promise to visit them in Shibuya one day. Seeing as he is in Shibuya now...Perhaps this promise is one that will actually be fulfilled.
TWEWY’s relevance is potentially extended by what exactly happened in Kingdom Hearts III’s plot...which is what we’ll talk about next.
What the heck does this all have to do with the game I played???
Obviously, this is impossible to answer at this point, and can really only mostly be speculated. First, here is what we concretely know:
It is made a point several times in the game that Sora’s vast connections to others, and specifically his repeated attempts at awakening them, have been causing him strain. Sora’s connection to other hearts has been waning, enough that he no longer appeared on the cover of Pooh’s story book, likely due to his weakening. Xehanort tells Sora at several points that he has doomed his heart.
Right before the climax, Xehanort strikes Kairi with his keyblade, seemingly killing her. Of course, everyone also “died” earlier in the story, and Sora saved them as well, so this was never going to be permanent.
After defeating Xehanort, Sora goes off to find a way to rescue Kairi.
Later, we see Kairi and Sora back on Destiny Islands--however, Kairi is crying, and Sora evaporates into light. We have no idea what his true fate might be, but it’s probably not good.
Some time after, Sora awakens in Shibuya. Riku is in Shinjuku for some reason but we have no hecking idea why so don’t think about that too hard.
Of course, you didn’t read this far to have the plot reexplained to you, you came here for plausible speculation!! Here’s my take which will almost certainly be wrong since this is Kingdom Hearts, but it’s fun to think about.
If the TWEWY connection is real--why would Sora awaken in Shibuya? It’s possible that in rescuing Kairi, Sora died, and now he has come to Shibuya to participate in the Reaper’s Game, to reclaim his life. Alternatively, he could not be dead but still have ended up there for some reason.
We don’t know if this is Canonverse TWEWY or some KH AU version like they do with Final Fantasy--both are plausible.
But wait, why is Yozora there? One answer is that despite all the similarities Nomura is just having some fun and this is simply the setting of Verum Rex. Another potential answer is that Verum Rex takes place in the same universe as this TWEWY. Or perhaps Yozora’s heart was set adrift like Sora’s, and he ended up in Shinjuku in a similar manner.
There’s one thing that I’ve barely talked about at all, though--the figure in the black cloak. That’s because there is not much to latch onto there. A likely candidate for the figure’s identity is the Master of Masters--the originator of keyblades who is stated by Luxu/Xigbar both in the epilogue and the secret reports to soon be returning. By making his hands in a heart shape around the moon, perhaps he is conveying his desire to to turn this world’s moon into a new Kingdom Hearts? We really don’t know. But that seems a likely implication.
Wait, you ask, what’s all this about Luxu and the Master of Masters? Who?? To which I say: It is exactly like Nomura to make the plot of a mobile game that no one plays the central conceit of the KH series going forward. That’s a whole other novel length post to explain right there and I only tenuously understand it myself sooooooooooooooooooooooo
you’re on your own
tl;dr welcome to the tetsuya nomura cinematic universe
#kingdom hearts iii#twewy#final fantasy xv#yozora#verum rex#kingdom hearts 3 spoilers//#twewy spoilers//#long post//#very long#srsly though the human drama of nomura being this fucking bitter over xv#is probably more interesting than the entirety of the game itself dlkfajsdfakdj#i swear i did not spend too long writing this. just. a heck of a lot
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Ask a Writer!
Tagged by the lovely @i-masshiro, thanks babe! Love you tons, such a sweetheart D’:
1. How did you come up with your username and what does it mean?
It doesn’t mean anything in particular! An old best friend of mine helped me pick it up when I was struggling with new decent nicknames. This is the one I use for all my accounts now.
2. Which fanfic of yours has the most feedback? (bookmarks/favorites, follows/subscriptions, visitor hits, kudos)
These Stones We Skip, definitely. It’s got like 90 comments (half of them me responding to those, so it’s narrowed down to 45 haha) +2k hits, 100 kudos more or less, and a bunch of bookmarks! I’m super happy with how the fic is being read and that people like it this much! Also if anyone waiting for an update is reading pls forgive me I’ve been busy I promise I will update pls don’t sue ;;.
3. What is your FFnNet/AO3 profile icon, and why did you choose it?
Actually, I think all my icons are Uraraka icons, excepting the one I got for FF.net which is actually Asuna from SAO. Last time I updated the page I was heavily into SAO so... pretty self-explanatory. My love for Uraraka needs no explanations either.
4. Do you have any regular/favourite commenters?
I do! And most of them are an incredibly fun bunch of them. Long, usual commenters are my shit, not gonna lie. Although I have lost some of them as my updates have become slower, but I hope they come to read someday.
5. Is there a fanfic that you keep going back to read again and again?
Not really, unless it’s for some kind of reference. There was this line I hit where my style got smoother and a bit more polished, but from there below it’s kind of rubbish and I can’t read anything. All good things I write I can’t usually read because of self-awareness.
6. How many stories are you subscribed to? How many do you have bookmarked?
None and none lmao, I always drop kudos but I don’t think I have ever bookmarked anything, nor subscribed to because I don’t really have much time to check out stuff-- and when I do, I totally binge read it.
7. Which AU do you find yourself writing the most?
Fantasy AU because it’s consumed my life now.
8. How many people are subscribed and bookmarked to you in total? (you can view this on the stats page)
I got 10 subscriptions on AO3 and 60 bookmarks!
9. Is there something you’d like to write about but are afraid of people judging you for it? (Feeling brave? If so, share it!)
I would like to someday find the strength to write something venty someday, as I recently found out I somehow write much better and feel more satisfied when I vent my anger on writing. Something that doesn’t happen really often, but it happens and it’s great therapy!
10. Is there anything you would like to be better at? Writing certain scenes or genres, replying to comments, updating better, etc.
Tons of things, most particular. I would like to become less paranoid over people not seeing my scenarios, thus making my style less complex to the untrained eye. Also, fighting scenes make me cringe because I suck so hard at making them depsite having clear pictures in my head /cries.
11. Do you write rarepairs or popular ships more often?
I am now very focused on Kacchako and iirc ir used to be a rarepair? but I think it will break out of that zone soon.
12. How many stories have you posted on FFNet/AO3 to this day (finished and unfinished)?
3 on AO3, and 31 on FF.net.
13. How many stories do you have saved in/with your writing program?
Tons of them that sounded great in my head. It’s that small snapping process of realizing a powerful story is too weak to be posten, and kinda let it rest.
14. Do you write down story ideas, or just keep them in your head?
I keep them in my head and plan to write them. Only the fantasy AU for kacchako has made it out of my head, lol.
15. Have you ever co-authored a story?
Yes, and it was a wonderful experience.
16. How did you discover FFNet/AO3?
Weirdly enough, from DeviantArt! I would usually go there searching for art pieces and found some deep small fics, whose authors would usually have a FF.net account. I only knew of AO3 last year, but I think I read one a bit before that. Not exactly sure when.
17. Do you consider yourself to be a popular or famous author in your fandom(s) on FFNet/AO3?
Not at all, there is too many talented people in this damn kaccha house (⁎˃ᆺ˂) they are all so good jdskak
18. Do you have a nickname or fandom name for your readers?
People usually call me Mira, but use others for Discord.
19. Was there an author who inspired or encouraged you to write?
Lots of them! Every author that lies in my recs gallery has inspired me in one way or another. Though that place is kinda outdated so I may have to add some more, but all my friends have inspired me overall. They are all wonderful writers and artists and it’s amazing to be so surrounded.
20. What writing advice would you give to a beginning author?
Don’t feel pushed to write queality straightaway, and always read other stuff to build new vocab and structures. Everytime you read, you will most likely learn something new as every author’s view gives you a new perspective on things. I have found it to be a great practice!
21. Do you plot out your stories, or do you just figure it out as you go?
Plot, always. Everytime I am listening to music and come up with a new snippit, I jot it down anywhere I can. Google’s Keep is a pretty nifty tool for this!
22. Have you ever gotten a bad comment on a story? If so, what did you do?
Well, I only got maybe two! One of them was pretty lukewarm and more of an advice that I followed, and it was a good one despite the harshness of it. On the other hand, I got one comment that told me they were giving up on my story because it was too thick style and lore wise, but I didn’t mind at all tbh-- I already knew I was facing these kinds of risks when I started writing long things like these.
23. Is there a certain type of scene that you have a hard time writing? (action, smut, etc..)
Fighting scenes in general kind of take a lot of time for me to work with, and same with some simply dialogue bits that I am like: and what now!? D:
24. What story(s) are you working on now?
My fantasy AU! pls if sb is reading Im sorry I will update soon don’t press charges thank
25. Do you plan your next project(s) before you finish your current ongoing story(s)?
I usually jot the deets down and push it aside until I am done with my main thing. It’s probably my best habit when it comes to planning, lol.
26. Do you have a daily writing goal set for yourself?
Not really. I usually try to plan when I wanna update, divide my chap’s aproximate word count and split it in days!
27. Do you think you’ve improved as a writer since you first started?
Oof, definitely. Mostly because my English has improved along with my writing and that helps. A lot.
28. What is your favorite story(s) that you’ve written?
I did write one in Spanish that got lots of good feedback and invested readers, and I had a blast writing its lore and characters.
29. What is your least favorite story(s) that you’ve written?
I wrote a pretty dark fic once and it’s a fic I know I wrote well? but I am kinda ashamed of looking back at it.
30. Where do you see yourself (as a writer) in 5 years?
Maybe working on something that is a little bit more professional, or just enjoying myself. Got no clue tbh.
31. What is the easiest thing about writing?
I think I can be pretty ominous in some parts and be very subtle with foreshadowing. The art of subtlety is something I worship everyday.
32. What is the hardest thing about writing?
Trying to live up to those little scenes I had in my head, and writing them as good as possible. And description in general, sometimes. And word count consistency is something that worries me sometimes. Oh, and the endless fear of poking a plothole bigger than a damn blackhole.
33. Why do you write?
To make people entertained and happy if they want something to read!
I nominate the great artists and gals @animeniac, @kacchanswife, @hondaroo, @kacchas and @liltoothbrush! If you don’t reply I’ll press charges so hahaha!
#ramble#this is an obligation you've been taggedo >:c#jk#yall read their stories they are all great pass it on#/leaves tumblr for another year
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