#IT HAS NOT BEEN PROOF READ

[astr-venus]

｡⁠☆Loser Boyfriend｡⁠.ﾟ⁠+⁠ 

☆Cw: one use of "her", Mina calls you girl once, embarrassment, fluff, humor, rookie!prohero!deku

"Izuku, dude, no offense, but how did you land that?"

Izuku turns to Denki, looking just as lost as he does. There's a little flush on his cheeks and a wide eyed expression on his face. The boy looks like a confused baby dear, which truly only adds to Denki's confusion.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Teach me your ways." Denki says, comically whipping out a notepad from his pants pocket. "Did you grovel? Cry? Feed her a love potion but disguise it as juice so that she would drink it, but have no clue what it was?"

"N-No of course not!... And I'm pretty sure that would be illegal anyway..."

Denki shrugs, "Hey I don't know your life. You could be into some weird shit on the down low, you seem the type!"

Izuku responds with an eye roll. If anyone 'seems the type' it's Mineta and Denki himself. They turn back towards you instead of continuing the conversation. You're still in the same position you were in before; fully leaned over the back of the couch, legs closed with one slightly hanging in the air, while the rest of you is inside Mina's personal space giggling at something she's showing you on her phone.

You're in some cute little outfit that Izuku helped you pick out, a rare case, since Izuku still wears almost exclusively punny t-shirts and sweats. The only reason he helped is because it's your first time meeting his friends and former classmates, you just wanted to make sure the outfit wasn't too little or too much. This is not to say he was much help.

Izuku feels almost entranced by you, and you're not even looking at him. You haven't glanced his way since Mina took your attention, actually. Izuku could start pouting if he wasn't too busy ogling your backside. He's so busy he misses the picture Denki snaps at the enraptured look on his face.

"C'mon man, let's go raid the snacks before Kaachan forces us to leave the kitchen."

Denki's arm around Izuku's shoulder shakes him out of his stupor and he nods in agreement, not really having heard what he said at all. He allows Denki to lead him to the kitchen with only minimal glancing behind his back, just to get a little more time to soak in your image.

But he doesn't expect your eyes to catch. He has no time to prepare for the heat in his pink cheeks to spread to his ears, no time to prepare for your smile to make his heart thump in his chest. It makes him lightly stumble in his steps and turn to face forward again, feeling incredibly embarrassed.

"Oh, Izu! Can you come back for just a sec?"

Izuku breaks out of Denki's hold with not a single lick of hesitation, embarrassment be damned. His world shortens and zooms in when you talk, the feeling of embarrassment, as well as Denki's voice, becomes muffled in the face of it. None of that matters if you're the one who needs him.

"Look at this picture Mina has of you!"

It's the picture All Might took of him before he bulked up. The one where he's dirty and sweating and crying after trying to haul a fridge across a beach. Izuku thinks he might die. Where did she even get that picture?

His face must say a lot, because both you and Mina burst out laughing. You're trying to reassure him, but you're laughing so hard you're struggling to gain a breath to string words together. If the floor swallowed Izuku whole right now, he would be grateful. It was a terrible idea to bring you to meet his classmates, especially a gossip like Mina.

"Oh, baby no, don't look like that!" You gasp, placing a hand on his shoulder. It's not nearly as comforting as you're trying to make it be.

"Izuku you look like a total loser, good thing you gained some muscle there, pipsqueak!" Mina chortles.

"Oh stop it! He doesn't look like a... Loser... I think it's cute!"

"Keep telling yourself that!"

Izuku has never considered the merits of getting hit by a bus before, now is a better time than ever to start.

Your arms wrap around him, and he instinctually hugs you back. You press your still smiling face into his chest, and turn towards Mina, still a little breathless.

"It's okay Izuku, I'll protect you from Mina's mean words." You giggle.

Mina is quick to start booing you, but Izuku doesn't miss the picture of him being sent to an unsaved number in her phone. Oh she's going to get it next time they spare together, and he will make absolutely sure it is soon. She doesn't get to run away from the enemy she has created today.

"Whose side are you even on, girl?" Mina huffs playfully, turning back to her phone and sitting back down on the couch.

The party goes smoothly after that, mostly because Izuku doesn't leave your side for the rest of the night. He refuses to let any of his other classmates show you blackmail. Even when you go to the bathroom he stands right outside the door, waiting for you to come back. At one point during the night Katsuki told him he looks like a stray puppy, and before he could deny it, you responded, "it's cute, part of his charm". He elected to ignore the way it made his chest puff out.

He likes to believe you think of him less as a puppy and more of a guard dog. He will not be confirming or denying this with you.

Before long, the party is over. Despite the little mishap with Mina earlier, he's satisfied. You were both fed well, and you very clearly had a good time with his friends, so he considers the night a success. He knew that you'd been nervous about the whole thing, his reassurances hadn't done much to sway you, but you had a great time. Just like he said you would.

As he's pulling the car out of the driveway, you turn to him, a mischievous smile spread across your face. Izuku hopes you don't notice how heavily he swallows when you look at him, your expression is making him nervous.

"Mina sent me that picture of you."

The car lurches as he slams on the brakes. "She gave you her phone number?! Noo she's gonna show you how much of a loser I am!" He whines, putting his head into the steering wheel.

"Izu, my love, you are a bonafide prohero who's about to hit the top 30 barely two years out of highschool, you are not a loser."

Izuku turns to you with a wobbly smile, forehead still lying on the steering wheel. "U-Uhm no, I totally am. Hero work aside."

You giggle, his heart stutters again.

"Well you're my loser then."

"Yours?" Izuku flushes.

"Mine."

And well, being a loser isn't so bad if it means he gets to be yours. Your boyfriend. Your guard dog. Your puppy. Your loser. Your anything. He can be anything, as long as he's yours.

Love men who are losers and very smitten for their sweethearts, what can I say

｡⁠☆Requests open

[starry-bi-sky]

yall ever think Shen Yuan went through like, internet withdrawal after being transmigrated into Shen Qingqiu? Like, he's canonically a NEET shut-in who did nothing but spend his time online, you can't tell me that for the first week or first few weeks of being SQQ he wasn't twitchy.

Like, reaching instinctively to his pockets for a phone that wasn't there, having an obsessive itch in the back of his mind that he should check and see if X or Y novel or webcomic has updated -- only to realize he can't anymore and being irritated by it. Wanting to go and see if there's new posts about this or that, but again realizing that he can't.

When he's bored or uncomfortable or just feels like wanting to escape he tries to go for his phone to distract himself, but oops! Not there anymore, and now he has to find a new and different way to distract himself from his feelings. And going through system notifications, quests, etc only does so much.

And there's that Tetris Effect too. SQQ makes a mistake while writing and instinctively goes to backspace on it except hey-ho that's not a keyboard and now he just dipped his pinkie into a bottle of ink or on a still-drying letter.

With him scrambling to fix his reputation and learn how to be a peak lord, I think his abrupt cold-turkey from all things internet would just be another straw on the camel's back that he promptly Ignores until it goes away on its own after he acclimates to his new surroundings.

[epiphainie]

i simply can't get over how tommy immediately opens up to buck about his feelings over the current 118. like saying "i wanted to be a part of that" is such an honest and personal admission to a person you barely know, especially to a person who is a part of that thing you wanted in. choosing the words "i was jealous" is a direct admission of being envious which is hardly considered the most admirable or desired feeling by anyone. it's also him admitting that he lacks that type of deep connection which is not something many people are very forthcoming about, let alone with people they met two weeks ago. and you can see in his body language that everything he says at that moment comes from this very real and honest place. it's not calculated, it's not just him trying to make buck feel better about his own feelings of jealousy. it's personal to tommy, honest, real, even a little uncomfortable as it takes a bit of effort but tommy says it anyway because he genuinely feels like he can be vulnerable with buck about this because buck has been vulnerable with him. it's like the truest moment of connection between two people.

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

Randomly thinking about “tolerate it” (narrator voice: it was not random) and how under the cloak of fiction it is ostensibly inspired by works like “Rebecca” (which Taylor said she read during the 2020 lockdowns I believe?), with the line of “you’re so much older and wiser” indicating that the speaker is significantly younger and inexperienced compared to the person she’s speaking to and a pretty direct reference to the plot of the book.

But I saw something somewhere once that stuck with me about how it might not be referring to relative age between the characters but chronological age as in the passage of time in a relationship. And that made me think about how in a contemporary context, it might not necessarily be referencing an actual age gap between the two characters, but rather a sarcastic or cynical response to the man’s claims that he has matured (“you’re so much older and wiser [than you were before/than you were when we met/etc.]”), which then made me think about that line in relation to the woman. And that it could be taken like, “you act like you’ve matured so much in our time together and like you know everything, while I’m supposedly still stuck as the girl I was when we first met.”

Which then made me think of the “right where you left me” of it all and did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen time went on for everyone else she won’t know it and the bit in Miss Americana where she talks about how celebrities get frozen at the age at which they got famous, and how she’s had to play catch up in a lot of ways not just in her emotional growth but kind of in general. (Which also made me wonder if she’s ever been called out for immaturity/lack of curiosity/lack of education about things in her life…)

Which then made me think about the rest of the song, and @taylortruther’s posts yesterday about “seven” and “Daylight” and the way Taylor idealizes her youth yet contrasts it with an almost sinister reality in its wake, and the line, “I sit by the door like I’m just a kid,” because the discussion raised that her relationship let her recapture some of the childlike joy and wonder she’d lost. So this line is a double-edged sword: the speaker sits by the door with childlike hope that the person will come home and cherish her, but on the darker side, feels like the child dealing with the monsters she doesn’t have names for yet and the feelings of isolation she felt as she aged.

I’m not saying the song is necessarily autobiographical; like most of the songs on folkmore, it’s clearly a fictionalized story based on media she’d consumed and created, but we know a lot of the fictional songs were infused with her own feelings and experiences and… This idea swirling in my head picked up steam and now I kind of can’t stop thinking about it. Sorry but I’m a little obsessed now.

Like maybe it might start to shed light on why she identified so strongly with the novel in the first place…

[tenderpreyy]

​I’m thinking again about Astarions sexuality and how I've seen some people (to be fair, just a few) talk about it. Mainly, people pointing out his flamboyant behavior, and that us as players are learning more about his past male lovers than female ones and basically all these things for some people pointing to him being gay or at least not interested in women in the same way he is in men. And him only being a romance option regardless of gender, because, well, all companions are and he is therefore just "playersexual", only showing interest in female player characters because he has to, because of the game mechanics.

I think what really rubs me the wrong way about this topic is that it echoes the kind of things bi/pan people (speaking as a bisexual woman myself) find themselves dealing with irl. Whether through some form of internalized biphobia or from the outside through other people's comments. Of course this is about a fictional character so it’s not like he has any feelings that could be hurt. But when i see people tallying up how often he mentions men vs. how often he mentions women it really reminds me of a way of thinking I sometimes fall into in regards to my own sexuality. This is definitely just an internalized response and not something I actually believe when I truly think about it for a second, but I know these patterns of thought very well. Of observing my own behavior. How often do I find which gender attractive? Am I attracted "enough" to women? Do I talk about men's attractiveness too often? Is it the other way around? Am I only saying this woman is attractive to prove something to myself? I literally have a girlfriend and my attitude towards mine or other's sexual orientation is generally a huge big "whatever, I don't care". And I still have a passing thought like that from time to time.

So seeing people talk about a fictional character in this way really sends home how many people (whether consciously or unconsciously) see attraction as some sort of equation, you can solve, where in the end you get a result of either gay or straight.

[ruvviks]

Rome blankly stared up at the cold night sky, his eyes trailing over the stars drawing constellations in his mind. He wondered, wherever she was, if Judah could see them too– if they could lock eyes across light years of distance and despite the time that had passed since he had last seen his sister, if they could still recognize the other by smile alone. 'Oh, Jude,' he sighed, lip trembling as he failed to conjure a mental image of her visage altogether, head barren of even the faintest memory of their shared past. 'Oh, Jude– We've messed up, haven't we?'

taglist (opt in/out)

@nistarot, @deadrlngers, @euryalex, @ordinarymaine, @mojaves;

@shellibisshe, @dickytwister, @mnwlk, @rindemption, @ncytiri;

@calenhads, @noirapocalypto, @florbelles, @radioactiveshitstorm, @strafethesesinners;

@fashionablyfyrdraaca, @radioactive-synth, @katsigian, @estevnys, @devilbrakers;

@aezyrraesh, @carlosoliveiraa, @adelaidedrubman, @fromgotham, @wardenevka;

@samuraifics

[flutterflora]

Whenever I see people say things like "Pinkie Pie should've been a pegasus" or "Fluttershy fits earth pony more" I get a little frustrated because TO ME the mane six have always been a really good example of "societal expectations" VS "societal deviance" of the three pony species within equestria.

Earth ponies are almost always expected to be providers. Like the Apple family for example or the Cake family OR even the "flower trio". They provide necessities, often food or they often provide hard labour (note how "background" jobs like construction and taxi pulling are most often done by earth ponies too). Applejack is obviously a perfect example of this! She's the head of her family, she's extremely hard working, shes incredibly physically strong, she's known and relied on by most of Ponyvill. Applejack very much lives up to the expectations that pony society has of earth ponies.

Pinkie Pie on the other hand is not one bit concerned with hard work. Her whole thing is having fun and throwing parties. In a way she is also providing something very important and necessary, socialisation and relaxation, however these are generally not deemed as valuable as strenuous labour and food production. Pinkie Pie is always written off as "childish" or not taking things seriously enough. She isn't deemed as very reliable a lot of the time and has to work very hard to prove herself, more so than someone like Applejack.

Ponyvill was founded by earth pony farmers, and is densely populated by earth ponies. Earth ponies are expected to work hard and grow food and provide for everyone, their roles are incredibly necessary and their work is highly appreciated. However, without someone like Pinkie Pie who deviates from those expectations, Ponyvill would be a miserable place (as seen in the episode Magical Mystery Cure). She may not be a farmer or a construction worker but her divergence from earth pony "standards" is what keeps everything in balance.

The same can be said for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy too. Rainbow Dash is an exceptional athlete, she flies like no other pony and she almost always has her wits about her. At the end of the day, Rainbow Dash is truly a performer at heart, she wants to be in the Wonderbolts and show off her skills to all of Equestria. Pegasi are expected to be fast, agile, eager, always cool, proud and quick witted just like the Wonderbolts, and just like Rainbow Dash. She is a peak performance pegasus.

Fluttershy is Rainbows exact opposite. She doesn't care for speed, adventure or displays of athleticism, she truly doesn't even care for flying. She is, in both a literal and metaphorical way, very "down to earth", however her role is still very important and her being a pegasus is still very integral to who she is. If it weren't for her experiences of being ostracised for being different she would never have the empathy and dedication to her animals the way she does (and on more practical note, being able to fly does aid her in her work a lot the time). Fluttershy slows down, she's quiet and she gentle which something that other pegasi (and earth ponies honestly) struggle with. It was alway right for Fluttershy to be a pegasus who could soar the skies, because if she never fell down to earth she would have never found her true calling. Without ponies like her, many important things, creatures and events would go unnoticed and unchecked.

Rarity and Twilight Sparkle is kind of a funny one because I think a lot of people may expect Twilight to be the prime example of unicorns, but that's not really true at all. Twilight, despite being our mane character, is actually the deviant one here.

This is illustrated for us almost immediately in the first episode, where she's invited to a party by three other unicorns but ditches it to go study instead. Magic is merely a tool for most unicorns, but for ponies like Twilight or Starlight, it is their whole existence, it's what they were quite literally born to do. Twilight does not value social status at all, she doesn't have time to and growing up so stuck in her studies I'm not even sure she aware that it's such a big deal to others, especially within Canterlot. It's also worth noting that to Twilight, Princess Celestia was always her teacher and Princess Cadence was her babysitter so their status as royals never really mattered to her and she's able to see them more are regular ponies for that reason also.

Most Unicorns are socialites, they value "social currency" and monetary gain more than they value magic. They don't care that the Princesses are very powerful magically, they care more about their political powers and their social status as royals. We see this clearly in the season 2 episode "Sweet and Elite" where Rarity gets swept up on the high society life of Canterlot, when she mentions being from Ponyvill to two random snobby unicorns they look down on her, yet once it's revealed that she's staying at the castle for her visit, things change, mostly notably: her status. Rarity is a prime example of a unicorn, she's stylish, she's ambitious, she's concerned with image, she's social, she has very fine tastes and she's a businesswoman.

As the series progresses we she both Twilight and Rarity gain some fame. Twilight is mostly inconvenienced and troubled by this whereas Rarity, like most unicorns would, relishes in any sort of limelight. Unicorns are expected to be professional, they're most often more modern or "ahead of the curve" than other ponies and tend they to be the primary business owners of Equestria. However without ponies like Twilight, magic would become just an afterthought. Without powerful wizards like Starswirl, dedicated students like Subburt or magic obsessed freaks (affectionate) like Twilight Sparkle, pony society would crumble.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity are prime examples of what is expected of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns, respectively, in Equestrian society. However without ponies like Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle there would be no balance and no progression. In fact in the episode "Hearts Warming Eve" we literally get canon lore telling us that if it wasn't for three ponies who deviated from the rules and expectations of their respective tribes, that Equestria wouldn't even exist today.

I think the mane six are a great small scale example of how pony society functions and I really appreciate this aspect of the writing <3

[eustassslut]

If we're talking full Stockholm Syndrome what does the reader like about our Yandere boys? Heat and Killer obviously give gifts and treat the reader decently but do Kid and Wire care if they're liked and what do they do to win affection?

this is a very good question actually. i think what the reader likes about each boy would depend on the individual experiences shared between all of them.

with Heat, i think the reader would like how eager he is to please them. Heat is so desperate to have his affections received that he'll do anything for the reader, even if it means breaking some rules and giving them gifts he's not supposed to buy. falling into this twisted love with Heat guarantees the reader with more safety and stability than with the others, despite the fact he is definitely the most delusional. the reader would also like that Heat naturally runs hot and lets them hug him when they're cold, as well as that he waits for them to initiate physical contact and doesn't try to make it sexual unless the reader wants it to be.

Killer's main selling point for the reader would be how easy he is to talk to. despite his long list of insecurities and his hatred of talking about his own feelings or emotions, Killer is extremely observant and knows exactly what his crew is feeling or thinking. he doesn't like to gossip and tends to just keep anything he's told to himself unless he feels it's a threat to the crew. so whatever the reader tells him, stays between them because he likes feeling that they have such a special bond that the others will never understand or relate to.

Killer also knows when punishments are going too far and because he has the most authority on the ship since everyone listens to him, Killer can step in at any time to help the reader without them getting in trouble. the reader would like how dependable he is and would begin to fall for him because of how he treats them with such respect and care after each punishment, making sure they're fed and looked after properly.

with both Heat and Killer, the reader would like how similar it is to having actual boyfriends. both boys are clearly insane and have trapped the reader on their ship forever but during the quiet and peaceful moments it's easy to pretend like this is a proper relationship with communicate, gifts and physical affection.

Kid and Wire however, are significantly harder for the reader to find something to bond with them over it or to feel anything positive because of how cruel and abusive both boys naturally act.

on the surface Kid and Wire both like to pretend they don't care about having their feelings reciprocated and that the reader refuses to touch or look at them unless forced, but secretly it really upsets them. they are both incredibly touch starved and just want to be liked by the person they love. when the reader first 'joins' the crew, neither of them give a shit about receiving affection or building a relationship. but when the reader starts giving Heat and Killer affection as the Stockholm Syndrome begins to take place, Wire and Kid naturally start to get jealous of the others.

suddenly Kid wants to have quiet moments in his workshop with the reader where they just cuddle up together doing their own things and wants the reader to sit on his lap whilst he creates them pretty gifts from scratch. so he starts putting in the effort to find out what they like and figure out what their hobbies are. it doesn't matter whatever the reader's interest might be, Kid wants to know it and will happily sit listening to them talk about it for hours. however, he's not going to approach this properly and will basically just yell at the poor reader to tell him about themselves out of the blue. so unfortunately for Kid it's going to be a slow process until the reader fully starts to experience the effects of Stockholm Syndrome for him but when they do, the reader would like how Kid prioritises whatever they have to say and takes whatever they say (only about their hobbies/themselves) on board.

the reader would also become more drawn and attached to Kid if he ever showed his more vulnerable side, which is usually reserved for Killer, to them.

with Wire, however, it is a lot harder to find things to like about him. he's just too mean and horrible to the reader, there's nothing to really like about how he constantly bullies and ridicules them. but that doesn't mean it's not possible to experience Stockholm Syndrome for him! it would just take a lot longer to begin developing compared to the others because he's so confusing and difficult to get along with. it wouldn't happen until the reader starts to notice just how sweet and caring Wire can be towards his crew members in the relaxing moments. suddenly the reader begins to hyper-fixate on this soft side that Wire has to others and starts putting in some subconscious effort to please him.

it would take them a while, but within a year of living on the Victoria Punk, the reader begins to develop an understanding of Wire and becomes increasingly happier to play along with his cruel games for the rare moments where he's so gentle towards them. whilst this want to be liked by the other would probably be one sided for the reader, Wire would increasingly grow eager to trade a nicer version of himself to the reader in exchange for the things he feels he needs. if giving the reader privacy or the opportunity to cry in peace makes it so they take his cruel version of affection, then he's happy to make the trade. therefore, the only instance i can really see the reader beginning to fall for Wire is through how he openly treats others around him and that is what they would like the most about them.

overall, like you mentioned, Heat and Killer would be the ones to obsessively give gifts of things deemed valuable to the reader for any affection they can get due to being so incredibly touch starved and lonely which results in a very quick Stockholm Syndrome scenario. however i also think that Kid would also give them gifts that he made for affection, but this would only happen if he had begun to want to have his feelings reciprocated by the reader/when he decides he is also in dire need of affection and would only result in a Stockholm Syndrome scenario with the reader if he made the first move to be more gentle. Wire however is too mean to truly ever give proper gifts since he doesn't really care about being loved back by the reader but his versions are the most valuable when remembering how mean he is.

buy me a Kofi | TikTok | Twitter

[anglerflsh]

my favourite passtime is making up incredibly unaccurate armour designs. That's a lie my passtime is researching but this comes at a close second

[slavhew]

Hello!

If you're not too busy, would you mind listing some of the things you think count as death flags for Mr. Spender?

There's the obvious fact that he's the "old" mentor to group of young protagonists, but what else do you think would count?

OHH BOY ok so I'd think I'm a crackpot for this but since we're talking about Zack "Foreshadowing" Morrison. I have some thoughts

No harm in leading with the (chronologically) first thing that jumped out at me:

This one IMMEDIATELY made me antsy whenever I came back to it after my initial read, and considering Zack has referred to it on twitter in the past as one of their favorite jokes it's definitely not been forgotten about.

Second, the sheer amounts of near-misses, jokey or not, of Spender narrowly avoiding specifically lightning

Again, not much, but it's weird that it happened thrice, latter two of which had real gravitas rather than an one-off joke.

And third, Spender himself. He's repeatedly shown himself to be kind of a self sacrificing idiot, as well as prideful to a fault. Granted, it's both him and Mina trying to take on all the responsibility of saving Mayview and its inhabitants from their fate.. But Spender is exactly that right measure of doesn't-value-himself-enough (chest footprint aftercare or lack thereof), having an obscene amount of power (enables his loner act + pride) and poor judgement that has the capacity to put him at great risk. And it has!

Spender has not only shown low enough self-esteem to view himself as the de-facto scapegoat for the safety of the town, but also prideful enough to make very bad calls that end up in people, often himself, hurt (COUGH FORGE INCIDENT COUGH)

This is all conjecture, but it's definitely enough to make me worried about him :') Even if all this doesn't mean he'll necessarily die he's definitely getting (even more) seriously injured at some point. I love the guy but he's so far doing a horrible job of convincing me he wants to live bad enough to circumvent at least that

[ego-osbourne]

Iren Remaster

Rakell is there too <33 Hunkified! Iren was the one to make him a bunk - consider this early on in their relationship

I’d been meaning to take another stab at Iren’s design, and I finally got around to it. It’s been a while! Made him chubbier, switched his primary colors from orange to pink, and made him a bit fancier over all. A lot of his new design aspects are darker in general, too.

I’ve also updated his lore since the last time I posted anything big about him. Under the cut! (Warning for general mention of c.annibalism, attempted assisted s.uicide [unsuccessful])

The climate of Valenwood at the time was in a recover stage after freeing themselves from the tyranny of the Camoran Usurper. Following his death, Valenwood saw a resurgence in tradition to oppose the previous forces they were ruled under. The Green Pact saw more popularity than it had in the last few centuries.

This is what Iren was born into. He grew up in a newly-liberated Valenwood, enjoying a cozy family life where he and his relatives followed the code of the Green Pact. Iren grew to be a troublemaker, though, and was scorned by his family. Ostracized, he left Valenwood and sought a new life in Cyrodiil.

For context, the rules of the Green Pact consist of this: 1) Harm no plant life; 2) Eat no plant life unless it has naturally fallen; 3) Let no felling of any creature go to waste; 4) Do not take on the shape of beasts; 5) Do not kill wastefully.

When regarding these rules, Iren had a lot of trouble adjusting to life in Cyrodiil. He was a staunch Pact Bosmer, among the few who cared even for the grass they stepped upon (Iren would wear shoes with healing enchantments on the soles, so that any grass he stepped on and harmed would be immediately restored). He considered all plant life sacred, not just the forest of Valenwood. He originally would not enter buildings made of/with wood if he did not know that it was rightfully obtained. Meat was far more expensive to buy in Cyrodiil than it was in Valenwood, and he always seemed to be low on money.

To remedy this issue, and already familiar with some areas of trouble, Iren found himself in the Green Accordance Affiliation. On the surface, the Affiliation appeared as a state-run pseudo-charity, promoting religious inclusion by raising funds and providing jobs for Pact Bosmer so that they may more easily carry out the Green Pact within Cyrodiil. In actuality, the Affiliation employed Pact Bosmer to get their hands dirty and breach county lines to settle disputes, most often through murder. These Pact Bosmer were most desired due to the Green Pact demanding they eat the bodies of their fallen enemies, and, so, there would be very little evidence left of the targets to trace back to the officials who had ordered them.

Iren did not miss the opportunity that the Affiliation gave, being reeled in on the promise that he was “cleaning up” Cyrodiil of the serial murderers and deviants that plagued it, and was eventually desensitized to the prospect of killing whoever his employers told him to, morally justified or not.

As Iren entered his autumn years, he found very little fulfillment in the Affiliation. Religious torment ate at him, as he knew had had been unknowingly and knowingly disobeying the ��do not kill wastefully” rule. Moral torment gripped him, too, as he slowly realized there was no redemption for himself.

The Association was difficult to leave, however, due to its illegitimacy. The officials who backed it were paranoid of catching heat, and so threatened the Bosmer that they employed with torture and death if they were to ever speak about the Association or abandon it.

Iren spent many years in hiding. He had used the money he’d earned to make a cozy home in the Great Forest, and eventually sought a means of dying early. Finding a dremora (some years before the Oblivion Crisis), Iren taunted him into a game of cat and mouse with the ultimate goal being suicide in the end.

That end did not arrive. This dremora was Rakell, a Deadlands kynmarcher who had just left his post to enjoy the last few years Nirn had left to offer, as his Prince had plans for a great invasion in the coming future. Iren and Rakel grew to be fast friends, intrigued by one another’s lives, and Iren figured he might try and find one last sense of purpose in the few years remaining.

Iren could not seem to stay away from shadows, however. His self-loathing grew the more he remained within the peaceful life, and so, he sought distraction within the Dark Brotherhood. The DBH doubled as protection against the Affiliation, but would prove to be a point of major contention, anguish, and depression for Iren for as long as he remained within it.

And that’s what I plan to make a mini-fic about between The Dez Illusion and Mortal Intentions ;]

[deconstructthesoup]

*points* Hey! You! D&D player who loves sorcerers!

Do you wish you had a good-old-fashioned Lower-Planes themed subclass to contrast the Divine Soul sorcerer? Are you sick and tired of all the nepo baby jokes and want more sorcerous options that focus more on the "my magic is a force of nature that I can barely keep under control" aspect? Do you want some way to better support your party?

Then I present to you a monster of my own creation:

The Fiendish Soul Sorcerer

Of all of the sorcerers that exist in the vast multiverse, there is one who rivals even the Wild Magic sorcerer in the toll it takes on the individual. Sorcerers infused with the energy of the Lower Planes wield the powers of devils, demons, and yugoloths alike, but that kind of magic will always come at a price, even if you never asked for it.

The stronger a Fiendish Soul sorcerer gets, the more unstable their powers become, to the point where they must share their magic with others in order to control the magic that eats away at their very being. This has manifested in these unique sorcerers sharing their magic as a symbol of trust and connection between themselves and their loved ones, but it has also manifested in Fiendish Souls tricking desperate people into accepting their magic, and exerting that influence over them as a form of control. This ability has gained these sorcerers the moniker “Shoulder Devils,” referencing their similarity to their dealmaking counterparts, and it’s said that the most powerful Fiendish Souls become warlock patrons themselves… that is, if they live long enough to master their magic.

(Pretty cool flavor text, right? Onto the abilities!)

1st Level: Sinner's Soul

You have magic that stems from one of the Lower Planes—maybe from the Nine Hells, maybe from the Abyss, maybe even from Hades. Whatever the case, it has given you immense fiendish power, the likes of which could destabilize you if you’re not careful.

When you choose this subclass at level 1, you also decide where your fiendish powers come from, which will grant you more abilities as you level up:

Infernal: You gain the Burning Hands spell, and can use a sorcery point to cast it as a cantrip.

Abyssal: You gain the Inflict Wounds spell, and can use 2 sorcery points to heal yourself or a party member for the amount of damage you inflict.

Chthonic: You gain the Dissonant Whispers spell, which counts as a sorcerer spell for you, and can use 3 sorcery points to make it affect more than one person.

(I wanted to base this off of the insanely cool new tiefling lineages we got in the 2024 PHB---even though this subclass follows 2014 rules---but I wanted the subclass features to differ from the abilities those lineages offer, since... let's face it, if you're playing this, your character's probably a tiefling.)

1st Level: Dealmaker

Your fiendish charisma worms its way into the way you interact with others. You have advantage on Insight and expertise in either Persuasion or Deception, making you skilled at finding compromises and leveling the playing field. You also gain the Friends cantrip and the Charm Person spell if you didn’t already have them.

(First instance of "deal with the devil" symbolism! It won't be the last!)

6th Level: Salt To The Wound

On a spell attack, you can add 2d4 of your fiendish origin’s damage type to it—fire for Infernal, poison for Abyssal, and necrotic for Chthonic. This increases at levels 10 (3d4), 14 (4d4), and 18 (5d4).

(If all of this is sounding a little OP to you, well... get ready for the next ability, it's a doozy.)

6th Level: Faustian Bargain

Your magic is beginning to become too much for you to handle. Every time you cast a spell of 2nd level or higher, you must roll a D20. On a natural 1, the spell deals out the maximum effect as you take 1d6 necrotic damage, and you will continue to take that damage after every spell you cast. If you don’t get a nat 1, your Faustian effect will trigger if you roll a 2 or lower, than a 3 or lower, and so on until it’s fully triggered, at which point it’ll reset. This effect ends once you spend two sorcery points to give one of your spell slots to an ally within reach, briefly infusing them with your powers. Going forward, this ally will also have access to one of your spells, which can also end your Faustian effect if they use it.

(DRAWBACKS! Loosely based on The Unsleeping City's homebrewed Wild Magic system, which always guarantees that this effect will happen, making for much more interesting gameplay! And, just like the Divine Soul sorcerer, this gives you the option to have more of a support role in your party!)

14th Level: Devil On Your Shoulder

Your body alone cannot contain your magic, but that doesn’t mean that it cannot be controlled. When you reach this level, you gain the ability to expend three sorcery points and use any creature you have granted a spell or spell slot to as a living arcane focus to avoid the Faustian effect, casting spells through them instead of alongside them. If the creature is willing, they can continue to use the spell you cast through them until they take a long rest. If the creature is unwilling, they must make a wisdom saving throw equal to your spell save DC, minus a third (rounded down) of the spell slot level you most recently gifted them. This effect backfires and triggers your Faustian effect if the unwilling creature succeeds, and you cannot use this ability again until after a long rest.

(I'm aware that the "unwilling creature" thing could only happen if, say, you gave a spell slot to an NPC who turned out to be a villain, but I believe in covering all my bases here. Also, I really do love the imagery of putting a hand on the shoulder of your fighter, guiding their hand upward, and seeing a look of shock and delight on their face as they cast one of your spells. It's all about trust!)

18th Level: Hell's Coming With Me

It took many trials and many near misses, but you have finally regained control over your magic—or, at least, your magic is much less likely to kill you by accident. Your Faustian effect only occurs if you are not in the near vicinity of those you have lent your magic to, and you regain a number of sorcery points equal to your magic-lenders once you are fully depleted of them. Additionally, you gain the ability to cast the Summon Greater Demon spell at will, calling the forces of the Lower Planes to your command.

(Is this OP? Yes. Counterpoint---this is the capstone. You are level 18. You are basically a god.)

[revryebread]

wild wild west

The door opens with a slam, and one of Bruce’s animatronics- Stuart- was in the door way, holding it’s leaking side. “Sheriff Wayne! There’s been- The Una Gang- they’re here, and they’re breaking people outta the jail!” It’s voice comes strained from behind it’s porcelain face, the gears in it’s voice box struggling to run on less fuel. 

It gets it’s message out, and it collapses onto the floor- a oily handprint smearing from the doorframe as it slumps into a pile of metal, the gears grinding to a halt. Bruce Wayne gets up and tries to level his emotions. He’d been prepared for this. He’d put away so many other problem citizens in his time, Trish Una and her crew would fall just like the rest. His hand is shaking when he grips the brim of his hat, and settles by the time it goes over his head. The title is something he hides behind. Bruce can be scared, but Sheriff Wayne has to be strong, else the people of this town would be helpless.

There’s a part of him who reminds him how he got this job, and who he was before he had the hat and gun, but he shakes it off. No time for second guessing now.

He moves to the doorway and kneels down to pick the badge off the deputy in the doorway, and pulls up his mask as he moves out into the sun. As soon as he steps into the heat of day, he can hear it- the sound of people yelling, the sounds of chaos and disorder. He narrows his eyes and begins to slowly walk towards the other end of the street where the prison is. He had taken over the old Saloon and repurposed it once the jails were full, and then next came the general store, and eventually an entire block of the town had been quarantined as a prison for people he’d found guilty.

A troublesome individual with a book was the first one who was running his way, quickly spotting Sheriff Wayne and trying to go for his book at his side. He was met with the business end of a gun, hitting him in the shoulder that was bending to reach for the book. He looked to him and tried to speak, but the words couldn’t cut through to the Sheriff, he had moved on to the next prisoner escaping, trying to scan for Una.

And there she was- standing at the stables with her crew. Two of them up astride the horses looking down. “What are you doing? People are going to get killed.” the voice he uses for the Sheriff is booming- deeper than his normal cadence. It’s an attempt to make himself more intimidating, and it usually works, but not for her.

She pushes away from her crew- the dark haired boy looks to the Sheriff and- it gives him a stop. He’s looking at him like he’s already a corpse, and he looks pitying about it. Like he’s never seen something more destined to happen. Trish pushes past people on her walk over, and the boy whispers with a voice that Bruce can almost hear- “You need to run.”

“How long?” Trish shouts over the crowd, and it parts for her, as if a ravine was cut from her to the Sheriff. “How long have you been in charge?”

The question is absurd to him- but he answers. “Four years. I’ve been here four years “ The weight of tose years sit on him- but he’s done the best he can in that time. There is so much evil in this world and he’s just one man. He says as much, but Trish narrows her eyes. She’s not listening anymore.

She asks him another question- a non-sequitor. “What sound does a train make?”

“What the hell are you talking about? Look- just help me get everyone under control here and you and your friends can walk free. Just stop wha-”

A gunshot cuts him off. His eyes dart down to the growing red on his chest, and then back over to Trish, who was holding her signature revolver, with a rose gold inlay to give it that pink sheen. She fires again, and again, and again- and when she empties that one she reaches to her other holster and pulls out a reddish gun that has had whatever inscriptions and markings shaved clean by a nail file. She unloads all 12 bullets into Bruce and flips the cylinder out, letting the empty casings drop to the ground.

He’s frozen in place, slowly falling backwards. He sees the boy with the bowlcut reach to the girl and the two of them share a nod, and leave on horse back in separate directions like they’re the only things moving at a normal speed. Trish turns her head and sees that they’ve left- beginning to run back through the crowd to her other crew member who’s still standing there. Her last crew member.

He hits the ground and sees the sky- letting his last breath out of his lungs. He sees a woman step over him and reach down to grab his hat off his body- the hat that used to be hers.

[strawberrybyers]

convinced that when mike and will both tell each other about how “it’s been a year, mike!” and “the truth is is the last year has been weird” isn’t in the context of talking only about the byers move to california. considering the byers haven’t lived in california for a year, then obviously they aren’t only talking about the move. you know what has been going on for a year though? mike and el dating.

mike and el started dating in season 2 at the snowball dance in december of 1984 and we catch up with their relationship in season 4 in march of 1986. this is when mike and will both bring up how the last year has been weird and they have felt disconnected from each other. i know we have theories on time being weird and everything, but i don’t think the use of the word “year” is to hint at a screwed up timeline, but to hint that el and mike’s relationship for the past year has been a problem between mike and will’s friendship and the relationship they have with themselves. they’re both feeling disconnected from each other and in season 3, their rain fight literally shows how el begins to get in between them.

it would make sense for will to feel like mike hasn’t been as connected to him as before because in season 3 he literally expresses that in their argument! will just wants to play d&d and have his friend pay attention to him, but mike is too focused on el. mike then mentions in season 4 when they’re talking that he was “too focused on el” and relates that as a contribution as to why things have been weird between him and will. i say that throughout the past year for mike he feels it’s been weird not only because within that space of time will moved, but because he realizes that he is in fact in love with will, or at least acknowledges that what he feels for will is not what he feels for el. this explains why he wouldn’t really call or write to will, but spent most of his time writing el because that was a way for him to convince himself that he is attracted to el. hence why when will questions mike on him not writing him, mike’s immediate defense is “we’re friends. we’re friends”. just like when will calls out mike on not being a good friend and only focusing on el, mike hits him with the “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls”. like bro, your responses have absolutely nothing to do with what will is trying to communicate to you!! anyways, the problem now is that el catches on to how he actually feels because he writes “from, mike” instead of “love, mike”. he then can’t even defend why he does it except for telling el she’s “ridiculous” and that “mouth breathers” are the problem. once again, mike is not addressing the issue at hand.

so yeah, mike and will express that their relationship has been disconnected and weird for a year, not because of only the move to california, but because mike being in love with will while dating el is not working for him and el, therefore, his actions then affect will and their friendship.

[micechicken]

"You look an awful lot like your mother. I hope you're nothing like her."

Myrtle's mother Mystira, often nicknamed Myst.

She was the soul mate to the King of Rudor, Leroy. She was not born royal, but that has never been something that was looked down on in regards to becoming royal. Myst was born in a small village that was secluded from the rest of the kingdom, known as Brindlefell. It's the only place in all of Rudor that ever speaks about the Malterns and magic as speaking about it is considered forbidden by law due to the nature of the departure of the Malterns. This became so true that it as almost completely forgotten outside of Brindlefell save for stories about magic that seemed to have vanished one day.

Leroy longed to marry his soulmate whoever they may be, something shared by many but not all, as a soulmate is one who best connects to you in someway, and is personally picked by Selene. He actually even sent out for finding the one who received the same markings he made (as any intentional marking you make on your body will magically appear on the same place on your soulmate). After discovering her he was smitten and they quickly wed as soon as they could.

Though she knew such things were forbidden, she admitted the truth about keeping the history of the Malterns, hoping that her soulmate must understand. But he quickly forbid any more talks of them, and that it was for the better.

After the birth of Myrtle, Myst often told stories to her daughter even before she could fully understand. It was under the guise of fairytales and myths but they were all related to the Malterns and the magic that once was present in the land and the history of Rudor. After telling the stories she'd write them down and draw out pictures of things so that Myrtle could read them whenever. Myrtle still preferred to hear her mother tell the stories.

This was all in secret with only the 3 family members being aware of the stories. But sometimes there would be slip ups and word got around about the queen speaking about magic and Malterns. Claiming that his wife must have lost her mind, Leroy had her locked up in a personal cell. Begrudgingly he allowed Myrtle to visit her mother as he was concerned how disallowing it may affect her. Anytime Myrtle ever spoke up about anything from the stories he scolded her for focusing on "fiction" and to keep in mind she'd be queen one day.

Even despite being locked up Myst still kept telling stories and even made up some. Often crying and lamenting her reality between visits from others. At times she'd write messages to Leroy on her body so he'd see them, which he often ignored.

Almost to Myrtle's birthday Myst became very ill with something very unknown, thought to be native to Brindlefell as that's the only location known to have it. But it had no cure. Despite all efforts of the royal help and medical staff, she grew sicker. On Myrtle's birthday she got to preform her coming of age ceremony and discovered her wolf form. Unfortunately it was also the night her mother past away, leaving Myrtle with just the book her mother created left to her.

Myrtle continued to view them as just stories until she met Nym.

Mystira's shifted form was also a Wolf. Leroy's is a peafowl.

[expatesque]

Well ladies (gn), it might have been unexpected but funemployment isn't starting off too bad.