#Like I personally enjoy reading and thinking about two characters falling in love etc

[myokk]

I was talking to Lamie about the oneshot I’m writing, and now I’m curious…would you prefer it if the girl wasn’t named OR would you want it to specifically be Eloise??🤔

Since it’s a standalone and AU that has NOTHING to do with my fic, I kind of just want it to be its own thing. BUT…I like Eloise and Sebastian too much and they’re the ones who inspired this oneshot in the first place😫 in the end I’m going to just do whatever I want and probably not name her😆 but I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS!!!!! Like I’m not shaming at all, but for example I’m not the biggest fan of Y/N or second person pov, so I won’t be doing that but I know they’re really popular. I guess I’m just most interested in what YOU like & why. Maybe this is more of a discussion post to satiate my curiosity bahahahahah bc I’ve always wondered!!!!

In my Ominis oneshot, for example, I didn’t name the girl & I LOVE how it turned out😌💘 but also I haven’t really read too many oneshots in my life so maybe I’m just VERY out of the loop.

[ayoogirlie]

Before I start writing angst, let's go with something pleasant. I just recently started reading and watching MASHLE which is why I don't knowe many characters well.

MASHLE MAIN 5 X GN!READER (separated)

Main 5 falling in love with you!

Mash

This one is oblivious. He doesn't realise he holds special feelings for you. I believe at first he could have though of you as sibling.

You're just as important as his father so why not? The three of you could be a fine family.

He would share creampuff with you... just like with others. Honestly, it would be difficult to notice he likes you in that way. This man is so indifferent or more like he forgot to train his face muscles.

The thing that betrayed his feelings is the fact that he has been following you everywhere like a little duckling his mom.

Whether you have classes together or not. If you had them together — he would sit with you or at least close to you. Some rather prefer to sit alone, which helps them focus. On the other hand, if you have separated classes, he would always escort you to the class and only leave after making sure you sat down.

Mash's main love language would be act of service. I don't find him as a touchy guy — he would respect your personal space. The most he would do is grab the snip of your sleeve to not possibly lose you in crowd. (I find it cute honestly, like he would be to shy to grab your hand, so he would be happy with bare minimum.)

Going back to act of services. I think you would have a special privilege — flavoured creampuff. Coffee, chocolate, strawberry, etc., whichever you want. This guy would take you to kitchen and make you bake them together. Unless, your cooking is hopeless and you can set the kitchen on fire, then you're simply watching him work and talk about the silliest things.

Mash would definitely listen to your rambling. Well, at least he will try to. At some point, he would pass out, if he was overflowing with many new information. Please, go slow with him.

When asking others for help with you, he first would try to figure things out himself. Only if he had no more ideas, would he ask his friends for love advices (most likely Lance or Finn).

This guy is so sweet yet so clueless. He loves you so clumsily and as a boyfriend he doesn't change his attitude much. He already treated you in special way. Well, maybe he'll get more intimate with you. I'll leave it to your imagination.

Finn

I simply adore this boy. His love is as innocent as he is. Literally, he would be all red and shy when he realised his feelings for you.

He would get nervous around you and every possible physical contact would make him explode. He's too focused to not make any mistakes in front of you, that he forgets to relax.

Well, it's not like he's always like that. His heart would explode at this point. There are some moments, when he is even sweeter than he is now. It's when you simply sit somewhere and do nothing, just enjoying your existence. He feels so calm that he wish those moments would last forever.

Finn likes DIY. So I bet he would make some for you, it might be jewelry, plushie or something more practical. Whatever you'll ask for he will do. (If it's in terms of his skills.)

If you ask him to teach you how to make some, he would be more than happy. Who wouldn't be happy to spend time with their crush?

He would carefully explain everything and help you if you have any difficulties with the project. Sometimes I wonder where he gets all this patience from. Whether you would get discouraged or curse how hard it is, he would try to calm you down and explain your mistakes.

When I'm still talking about teaching. Study session. I just see with my eyes of imagination. The two of you sitting in library beside each other and bending over books. It depends on you — whether he's teaching you some subject or you just enjoy your company.

Finn loves animals. I think, he would always tell you many random fact about them and won't stop talking, until he gets a hold on himself.

When he finally remembers himself, he will start apologising and feeling bad about being the only one talking. Then you kave to reassure him that you really don't mind and he can continue.

As a boyfriend, he treats you very well. People might say he's a perfect boyfriend material, but you can see how much he tries and I hope you do as much for him as he does for you.

Lance

Honestly, I can't imagine him giving someone else attention than his sister. Like this sis-con on has Anna in his head. So you can imagine how everyone was surprised when they noticed his unusual behaviour towards you.

And it wasn't some big change. No. It was more subtle. He was less strict with you than he is with others. Whenever you seemed sad because of his, sometimes mean, comments, he would apologise. (It took him a lot of courage to say this simple words.) He was more careful with his act to not sadden you.

I believe that after some time of knowing each other he would tell you about his sister and maybe if he happens to trust you a lot — about her illness as well.

He strikes me as a gentleman at some point. He would hold the door for you, help you with school work and follow you almost everywhere as if it was his duty.

Unfortunately for you, his sister will always be his number one, so unless you accept this fact, I don't think he will try to do anything with your relationship.

As well as it was with Finn, you two would have study session together. This guy is so clever that it would be stupid not to ask for help with the subject, spell or other thing you have difficulties with.

He truly admires you. You saw him in numerous embarrassing situations, for example when he was talking to Anna's pictures etc. Everyone' else would already start avoiding him. Maybe that's why he finds you as a perfect match for himself. Someone who wouldn't judge his behaviour and just accept his 'imperfections'.

Lance would respect your personal space and it would have to be you who initiates physical contact (mostly before your relationship). But he would place his hand on your waist with excuse not to let you bump into others.

He looks like the guy who would give other people, who are talking to you, nasty glare, when you don't look. It's not that he doesn't believe in his charm, it's just the fact that he doesn't like others being to close or touchy with you.

As a boyfriend Lance becomes more possessive and clingy. He would hug you from behind and gets touchy when you least expect it. Well, at least you're never bored.

Dot

It's easy to captivate this hot-headed guy's heart... if you're a woman of course. Male readers have it harder. But now we are talking about the stage he is already in love.

He would always boast to his friends about how he's going to marry you with no shame. Of course, always when you're absent. If by chance you will witness him saying it. He would want to hide under ground.

He would always scream at the person, you would give too much attention. He gets easily jealous, but he act like thata with every male that gets too much attention from others.

That's why you don't realise he holds any special feelings towards you. He still acts like he act towards women, so you don't think any special of the way he treats you.

I believe Dot would be touchy with you. Like put his arm over your shoulder or surprise you from behind. Honestly, if he would have ever touched you in a way that would make you feel uncomfortable, as a man he is — he would never forgive himself.

In his eyes, he gives you special treatment. He doesn't play pranks on you and even with Lemon in room, he always focus on what you're saying and so on.

After some time, he gets more obvious that others notice his strange behaviour. He always stares at you, daydream about you two being together. His eyes are always following your person.

When you're close, he catch himself on enjoying your fragrance. Later of course, Dot will blame himself as well call himself a pervert. But you cannot be mad at him. He just can't get enough of you.

If he only could he would almost always hold you in his arms and never let go, while being too scared you might run away from him.

He is energetic, so as a boyfriend he would take you to many places. Date? Let's go to amusement park, if not, we have many other options. Of course, sometimes you two have home dates, where you just cuddle and enjoy eachother company.

Lemon

Congratulations. You just won over Mash and captured Lemon's heart. This turn of event surprised everyone, like literally everyone, even Mash.

Lemon would act similar like she did while having crush on Mash. She would be so delulu and talk about how the two of you are engaged and all (in fact you aren't... for now).

She would randomly grab your arm and hug it. People got used to seeing you this way. The two of you walking through the corridor, you look like those couples who always stick close to eachother.

She gets easily jealous of other people you're close with, expect for Mash, Lance, Finn and Dot, since she knows they won't try anything with you. When she feels threatened by someone, she would get closer to you or (in most cases) panic.

She would definitely share Cupid Gummies with you. Like she would buy it and almost immediately run to you only to give you some. She thinks of it as a special bond between the two of you.

Lemon blush a lot around you, that's for sure. You get too close? With red as tomato face, she would slap you. She gets a little violent when nervous, it's the fact you have to accept. But who can blame her? She's so happy to have you around that she cannot control her actions.

She's like a ray of sunshine, which is why whenever you're sad, she will try to make you feel better. Sometimes when words won't help, she just sits next to you. She wants you to know she will be always here for you.

You would get a lucky charm from her. One reason is that to keep you safe, other is to have her close to you. While making a design she would try to match with your taste. Like when she made Mash creampuff plushie, she would make something similar.

Whenever she would have problems with spells, she would go to you. Perfect excuse to spend time together! In exchange, she would teach you theory you would have problem with.

As a girlfriend, Lemon is very sweet. She wouldn't have to find excuses just to spend time with you. You would be often seen together eating lunch or walkings around while holding hands.

[enhastolemyheart]

IN THE HONOUR OF SPOOKTOBER, HERE ARE SOME FIC RECS THAT WERE VERY ENTERTAINING AND SCARY AT THE SAME TIME

These fics can be a bit disturbing, so read at your own discretion. contain smut/suggestive themes. warning has been given, pls beware with your decisions.

∞ THE DOLL HOUSE | @ja3yun

synopsis: when you're strapped for cash and an opportunity arises to help you out, you're stuck in a mansion with 4 human-like dolls who do anything but sit still.

BOY WAS THIS A JOURNEY! The concept is just very interesting and i think it is PERFECT for this month. All the dolls have different personalities and their dynamics compliment each other. As you're reading the series, you might fall for jake or jay or sunghoon. nah nah honey, JUST WAIT TILL YOU GET TO HEESEUNG!! it is absolutely insane but i quite loved it! he is ultimately the alpha (please💀) and you might not agree at first but just you wait. I love how they all are so different from each other, like jake is that submissive shy one, jay is your iconic flirty one and sunghoon i believe was cold to the mc at first. and heeseung, he was just a mix of all but nowhere a sub LMAO. if anyone wondering, hoon is my fav 🤭 I RECCOMEND, READ THIS!!!!

∞ DEVIL KNIGHT'S PREY | @/dollyun

HELP SHE'S GONE 😭😭😭 I REALLY DK WHAT HAPPEND BUT I STILL WANT TO SHOW HER APPRECITAION FOR WRITING SUCH AN AMAZING FIC. IF SHE EVER COMES ON HERE AND SHE SEES THIS, HI KNOW THAT THERE ARE PPL HERE WHO CARE ABOUT YOU AND ONE OF THEM IS ME.

it was so so so interesting and horrific but very intriguing all at the same time and I truly loved her fic. ALL PARTS OF IT IT WAS JUST SO GOOD. i remember sending as ask to her saying it was nothing like what i usually read but I enjoyed all through out. I don't remember much but I loved the 'devil games' it gave like mafia irl but no one does anything. in this fic, hee was my fav. ever since he was introduced (i believe he was silver mask), you could just sense the main character energy from his character and the way he talks to mc. there was something about her writing and it was jus very alluring how each character's story was written. my fav was the maze scene (ifykyk). If you love dark romance books, you would've loved this one. TRULY LOVED THIS ONE, I WOULD'VE SAID YOU SHD READ IT BUT WE CAN'T ANYMORE SOO-

∞ I WOULD GIVE UP HEAVEN IF I HAD TO | @drunkhazed

genre. step-siblings AU, pwp, dubcon, love triangle, fluff smut humor angst etc

it's not really as dark (now that i think about it maybe not dark at all) as the other two but i do think it's perfect to read during this season. ik ik it's not one but two step brothers and ppl hate it but hey, give this one a chance, trust me. im not a fan of step-sibling trope myself but this blew my mind. the whole time you read it, you forget they are step-siblings and you have to lowkey remind yourself. i like the plot, it honestly felt like watching a movie and i loved the humor. in this one, its sunghoon. he was just the type to tease and be cocky and behave all push and pull but im all for it. heeseung was sweet and cute, but sunghoon's character definitely dominated over hee's for me. the paris trip was everythinggg it just gave so much potential to sunghoon and he was just all swoony and ughh. IF YOU DON'T MIND THE STEP SIBLING PART, I RECCOMEND YOU READ THIS.

[calware]

personal headcanon time 😦 iiii recognize that andrew hussie probably did not sit down and say "im going to write all of these characters as aromantic" but i like to interpret them in that way based on things they say and do in the text as well as their roles within the narrative. obligatory disclaimer Sorry if i'm misinterpreting the text i hope this all makes sense

john: aromantic, does not want to be in a romantic relationship. the type to date someone for 1 week in high school if someone asks them out

jake: somewhere on the aro spectrum, perpetually on-and-off-and-on-again with dirk with random flings in between. wants to be in a relationship with dirk (until she doesn't) but doesn't feel as strongly as dirk does. it's complicated (obligatory "i think that the line about wanting to be alone forever is born more out of self loathing and instinct to isolate rather than genuine lack of desire to be in a relationship" this reading is based on other things)

aradia: aromantic, does not want to be in a romantic relationship unless it's in a "i want to play pretend with a random person for two months for fun" kind of way (not what was going on with sollux when they were 8), chooses to genuinely spend a significant portion of her life with certain people she's close to

karkat: aromantic. cannot distinguish platonic affection for friends from romantic attraction. gets stuck in situationship purgatory. pulling his hair out wondering when he's going to start feeling the same way people do in love songs

"but calware" said nobody "don't you like [insert ship with one of these characters i've reblogged art for in the past]?" to answer your question a) i like allo interpretations too from time to time if i see good arajade art on my dash i will reblog it 👍 b) i feel like i have an unconventional approach to "shipping" where to me all it means is that i enjoy exploring the dynamic of two characters in a relationship (not every kind of relationship obviously), romantic or otherwise, functional or otherwise, etc. i "ship" dirkjake even though i think they would break up 50 times. i "ship" davekat even though i dont think karkat would fall in love etc

[tenjikufag]

OO SHOULDVE ASKED AGES AGO BUT

Thoughts on the other male dungeon meshi characters? Shuro, Senshi, Chilchuck, Kabru, etc?

Also would like to hear about the female cast too, if that tickles some fancy to your brain to spoot (spit) out about them too :}

I adore all the men in this series, cmon they’re all so edible and tasty. My personal faves (outside of Laios) are Chilchuck, Mithrun, Thistle, and ofc Senshi. (When it comes to the men specifically!)

These characters all have very different personalities so I’d probably make a whole hc post or even relationship Drabble post for them some time in the future. I have lots of fun and nasty cute thoughts about them. But to satiate you momentarily before I get to those, I’ll give you a one or two hcs about them.

read below the cut, as usual. sfw. not proofread

Chilchuck

Man is a jealous guy, like JEALOUS jealous. He can’t help it. Even he thinks to himself how childish it is to have these feelings as a grown man dating ANOTHER GROWN MAN. It’s not something he outwardly expresses either, it’s hard to decipher him being jealous or if it’s just a bad day for him. (To him, it’s both.) under his breathe he’s muttering threats and such towards whomever is taking your attention or flirting with you- maybe they’re simply too friendly for his liking. Maybe they brushed your arm or shoulder while talking and it takes everything in him to take on the Not Half Foot at your heels. Even if it is another half foot he still wouldn’t outwardly act on it- he knows better and knows he needs to learn how to deal with these situations and emotions.

Mithrun

He is not one for physical affection, privately and obviously in public. But, he’s come to enjoy sitting infront of you while you card through his hair and thrum your fingers on his neck. Gently prying apart the small, loose knots in the strands he’s gotten throughout the day. He can’t help but lean into you, with his eyes closed with the softest smile to pair with it while you massage his scalp, moving down to gently circle or tap the soft skin on his neck. You could be talking about your day, talking about everything or anything, or maybe even nothing. The feeling of your hands so lovingly passing over the tension stored in him lets him fall asleep quite easily these days. It’s unknowingly become a routine for the two of you. When the two of you reunite at the end of the day, he’ll find you and sit infront of you regardless of where you are. And he sits there, not once has he ever had to ask and by gods he wouldn’t ever want to ask.. but luckily for him, you’ve grown to enjoy the intimate routine.

He’s comfortable. He never knew such a simple thing like a scalp massage could ease so much tension in his body and mind.

Thistle

Enjoys doing your hobbies together. Whether it’s baking, cooking, sewing, crocheting; he is more than content to sit beside you and either watch or partake in the activity. Sometimes the two of you will chat while doing it, listen to whatever music you happen to be into- maybe he’s sharing his own taste of music with you- and other times, like when he’s watching, it’s a nice time for him to relax in the presence of someone he actually enjoys and finds himself comfortable with. You don’t expect anything of him, and it lifts an unknown weight from him. It’s a safe space and time for him, with you, in these moments, he doesn’t need to worry his pretty little head about anything.

Senshi

Weirdly enough, in my head, he will not let you cook. You’re his significant other and he wants to feed you! He barely lets you eat out aswell. Even if you enjoy cooking, he’d much rather you tell him what it is that you want or tell him how to do it. You can be his sous chef but to him, when it comes to you specifically, this is an intimate act of love for him. Being able to satiate any cravings or wants in regards to food fills him with nothing but pride.

Must remember to be mindful if you happen to enjoy cooking from someone else if you’re away because he will always find some way to make it far better than however whoever else made it. Acts of service, like making food and meals for you, is his love language.

—

As for the women, I ADORE Marcille, Fleki, and Tade. Even though I don’t see myself writing for female characters (aside from maybe platonic plot lines in fics) I do like them a fair bit!

[aballadforbarbatos]

the brothers discover fanfic historical romance about them on the shelf

(separate)

inspired by an established zhongven idea i had with my friend where venti writes romantic stories about the two of them together and it gets really popular in liyue to the point of there being an actual book club and hu tao and childe and enjou and xingqiu are all super into it and zhongli doesn’t actually know that venti’s behind all this

i never did write the part 2 to that immortal post. maybe that will be next. also don’t think too hard about the privacy laws or anything just accept that it could be possible lmao

you needed a bit of extra cash. drawing on the brothers’ unique knowledge of things (satan’s romance books, mammon and valuing things, etc.), you publish very popular stories about dating them. you think you might expand to diavolo next.

(long post ahead)

LUCIFER

diavolo makes a special trip all the way to the house of lamentation just to hand him this book

in front of everyone

the brothers are snickering away, but you look on with interest.

“that type of book doesn’t interest me, and even if it did, i don’t have the time to read it.”

diavolo doesn’t take no for an answer and insists, saying that he NEEDS to hear his thoughts on it

so lucifer sighs and takes the pristine book, but he doesn’t get to reading it until he goes to bed.

“i wouldn’t act like that.” (yes he would)

he hits the middle and after that, it’s all over. you immediately become the protagonist, and he devours the pages faster than satan could ever hope to

reads it again. and again. and again; finding little details that he missed before, mammon accidentally got dirt on the cover while he was sneaking around lucifer’s room, and lucifer tossed him out a window

“glad to see you’re enjoying the book,” you say to him at some point, winking at him. “you know, a little birdie tells me there’s a sequel coming out soon.”

doesn’t quite catch on that you’re the author, but you can be damn sure he bought that second book too

MAMMON

bought it

didn’t think about what people might think of him

brags about it

“what if people think you’re a loser for buying your own romance book” he visibly wilts

you scowl at the speaker, and then say “mammon i think you’re so cool and brave for buying the book! i’m out of money but i was looking at buying it too!!”

silence. the jealousy is thick in the air. why did you want to read a romance book about falling in love with MAMMON, MC?

anyway, mammon stutters over his usual “well yeah why wouldn’t you”, then settles into his room to read it and escape his brothers’ piercing stares.

he is astonished by how the story portrays him. is the author a greed demon? no, not even the lower demons of his sin know about this.

DEVOURS the book. as soon as he realises the MC is lovely and kind, he immediately sticks you in the main spot. he’s the fastest to do this out of all the brothers

he rereads it the most, too. again and again and again, and then he remembers you said you were interested in it, so…

awkwardly hands you this dog-eared copy of a mammon love story, you smile so brightly up at him that he thinks he might collapse

you read his well-read book and can tell all the parts where he got emotional, from the tear stains to the crinkles in the page. this book is the one you were most gentle with, since he’s your first and all…

knowing he enjoyed it this much gives you a high that lasts for weeks, and the idea for a sequel!

LEVI

sees it on the shelf.

wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole

you shove it into his hands in the end and tell him that everyone’s reading theirs so he may as well join the party (nobody else knows this information)

well… if everyone else is, then…

shocked. amazed! shocked that it portrays him so nicely. amazed that it DOESN’T make him seem like a loser!

well there’s probably only one person that thinks of him like that, so…

he puts you as the main character, but doesn’t make the connection

feels very happy reading about pretend-you’s feelings towards him! wow, MC, could this be how you really feel?

…maybe?

puts it in a special place when he’s finished and has a giddy smile on his face for days after reading it

you decide you adore this expression

you’re sad to see it go

you tell him that you’ve read it and you’re so happy that it looks like there’s going to be a sequel

the smile returns! with a big blush because why the in the hell were YOU reading it?!

now you just need to think of an idea…

SATAN

if anyone’s going to find those books first, it’ll be satan.

in fact, he finds them during their early days, before they’ve made any real traction

sends someone else to go and get it for him though

he can’t be seen buying a romance book about HIMSELF??

speed reads it under the pretense of studying

as soon as he starts, he immediately puts you in the main character’s spot

it is NOT the trash he was expecting, it is like sitting by a peaceful brook with the birds chirping on a warm day

hands it to you. “READ THIS. and then tell me what you think.” you don’t ask why he’s reading a romance book about himself

when you do tell him what you think it’s full of author insights, and then you realise that sharing thoughts with him as given you an idea for a sequel. you make up some crap about how the ending points to another book

he’s overjoyed

with your newfound cash, you take him out to dinner to celebrate the release of the sequel when it comes. which you “read” in full view of the other brothers.

ASMO

another one that buys the book in person

also the one who bought satan’s book for him, so he just picked them both up at the same time

he’s not worried about it being associated with his image; he thinks it’s cute!

and also way better than he expected it to be????

he doesn’t read it in one go, but it’s always on his mind

it doesn’t take much to put you in the MC’s spot; they smiled at him, he was reminded of you, and suddenly you were just in the book! crazy

finishes it. gives it a public endorsement (his brothers think he’s crazy). starts a book club!

and of COURSE you join it, because “of course i’ve read it, how could i not?”

not only is the group positively massive, when a sequel is published, they put on a massive party to celebrate

you truly feel like that book is your greatest accomplishment

BEEL

it catches his eye while he’s waiting for satan

he was promised a bought lunch and he’s sure as hell going to get it- what’s that?

the thought that people might find it weird does not even come into his head. he doesn’t care

he buys it and then promptly forgets about it until a month later when he sees it on a high shelf in the kitchen (he got distracted)

dusts off the cover and reads it while he waits for one of his brothers to cook dinner. has a side snack anyway though, and gets crumbs all over the pages. you smile fondly when you see this

beel is mesmerised by this book. it takes him a little while to get into it, but he keeps reading because there’s not really anything else he could fit in. BOY is his patience rewarded!

between kissing this main character and them gently reassuring him and treating him exactly as- hey, wait a second.

anyway, he totally loves it. reads it all the way through dinner, but nobody tells him to put the book down, even though satan gets told off for it all the time

after dinner he says he’ll do cleanup and then immediately wants to talk to you during it. you kind of have an idea what it’s about

he’s the only brother that catches onto the author’s identity

you wrote the books, right?

yeah… i didn’t want to get a job but i was also low on grimm, so…

thank you. i really liked mine.

yeah? did you put me as the main character? i know the others did, so it’s okay to tell me! :3

BELPHIE

buys it just to mock it

tells everyone he’s going to mock it, too

he’s the last one to buy his, and everyone that’s finished reading theirs just look at him disbelievingly

the MC is so lame, he says; satan’s head whips around and hisses, forgetting that the MC in his book (which he sees as you now anyway) may not be the same as in his book

he does settle down properly and read it though, in the attic

he starts off by reading it in bad faith and points out something the main character says that he thinks is stupid

thoroughly used to his behaviour by now, you brush it off and repeat the line back to him, effectively you-ifying the main character

oh. oh this book is suddenly so good. devours it. rereads it to make up for the parts he lost out on.

feels really bad for dissing it early so he makes a social media post promoting it

your bank account is getting more money than mammon can drain it! you thank him with a kiss on the cheek. he has no idea what it’s for

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

One massive difference between the western vs JP TWST fandoms that I haven't seen anyone else talk about is that the Japanese fandom seems to dwell in "grimdark" territory while the western one tries to see the best in these characters. From my glimpses into the Japanese fandom, they seem to see these character's darkness as the main appeal. That's reflected in their fanworks, since yandere works or things that dive into their dark sides are more popular there. While there is plenty of yandere content in the west, it seems more like a niche than the most popular way to portray the characters in fics where as in Japan that seems to be the norm on Pixiv. The JP seem to LOVE their grim dark fan theories WAY more than the western one. The western fandom seems like the opposite. Works seeing their humanity, them being decent partners, etc is the norm. Thought?

“I can fix him” vs “I can make him worse”—

Mmm, I have many thoughts on this but before I get into them I want to clarify some things. This is so everyone reading is running with the same definitions and thus can better understand (and perhaps contribute to) the discussion.

Firstly, “grimdark” can refer to any and all materials which people may find disturbing, amoral, and/or violent. Grimdark is NOT just yandere content. Although yandere content is an example of grimdark, not all grimdark is yandere.

Secondly, I want to dispel the notion that “grimdark” and “seeing the best in the characters” are opposites. They are actually not mutually exclusive; it is entirely possible to have the two overlap. For example, it is common for assassins to be after Kalim’s life (which is dark). However, Kalim himself is very cheery despite being cognizant of this (which is not dark, he is able to see the nest of this situation and is often praised for being a spot of sunshine in the cast). There are also much darker takes while staying true to Kalim’s caring nature, such as fandom works which portray his big heart (a strength) as a detriment, causing him to fall into deep paranoia and/or guilt. For the purposes of this discussion, I will still refer back to those two original viewpoints, just be aware that they are not truly “opposites”.

Lastly, the ask is phrased such that it suggests that dark content is “the norm” in Japanese circles. In actuality, the content you see is dependent on personal biases and what the algorithms feed you based on your likes and communities. While it’s true that perhaps Japanese fandoms have more dark content than the western fandoms, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is “the norm”. It is still considered niche, it is just that the fandom culture of Japan is more open-minded about these depictions, as well as fans’ choices to filter out dark content if they do not wish to encounter it. Western fandoms are very different in this regard. Rather than ignoring content they dislike or find disturbing, western fans tend to adopt an attitude of openly renouncing that which they dislike and, at times, calling out those that do enjoy that kind of thing. It is this social stigma and pressure within western fandoms which creates a less welcoming space for dark content to exist and to be publicly shared. Rather than saying one type of content is “the norm”, I think it’s more accurate to say certain types of content are deemed as being “acceptable” or “unacceptable” depending on the fandom culture.

Now then, as to why the western fandom in particular tends to favor works that show the TWST characters in a favorable light rather than focus on their darker aspects? There are many possible explanations for this:

Cultural differences in fandom spaces. I already mentioned this in the opening paragraphs, but it warrants repeating here. Japanese fans are much more reserved in how they express themselves and tend to keep quiet relating to content they dislike or don’t care for. Western fans are more outspoken and may actively “call out” what they dislike. This is typically observed in collectivist vs individualist countries, as conformity with the group/not causing disruptions to the group harmony and standing out and being one’s own individual are opposing ideologies and values.

Japan’s culture is one that stresses the importance of politeness and being proper. The country has strict social expectations of people and especially women (which makes up the majority of TWST’s fanbase). It is only in the realm of fiction where Japanese women are able to freely express themselves and to explore subject matter deemed socially inappropriate, however dark it may be. Fandom is their creative outlet. Meanwhile in the west, it���s the opposite. Overt uniqueness is more acceptable overall, but there is also a present effort of policing online content, often in the name of social activism and inclusion. This makes sense for western countries, many of which sport much more diverse populations than Japan.

Going in with the certain expectations of the game. Many western fans mistook Twisted Wonderland for a dating sim when its marketing materials first released, maybe due to a language barrier. This set them up for the wrong expectations about romancing and potentially “fixing” a villain, even when the game finally came out (due to residual feelings; I know for a fact there are still a handful of fans who want TWST to have a dating sim spinoff or wish the game had been a dating sim from the start).

Changes made in the localization.

I’m not sure what the ratio of westerners playing EN to JP, but the official localization made several changes which “blunted” some details or changed the context of some characters’ stories. For example, Jamil is no longer a “servant” but an “employee”, Kalim is his “employer”, not “master”, and Jamil complains that his parents will be “so mad at him” when he is asked why he doesn’t rebel against the Asims whole the consequences are made much more explicit in JP (his family will be thrown out onto the streets). Cater, Floyd, and Idia have also notably gotten a lot more memey dialogue that was not there in the original. These softened versions the characters may make western fans more likely to see the a less severe backstory or have goofier interpretation of certain characters.

Popular western media’s interpretations of villains. A lot of western media nowadays tries to redeem the bad guys. For example, in many young adult and adult romance fantasy novels, the love interest is often presented as a misunderstood bad boy that has a change of heart because of the protagonist. Disney themselves is also guilty of “softening” many of their more recent villains and giving new backstories to older villains to make them more sympathetic (Maleficent, Cruella, etc). Compare this to “classic” era Disney villains, who are just evil for the sake of being evil. These will naturally inform the general public’s views on villains. (It is also to be noted that Disney villains and specifically their evilness are extremely popular in Japan. They are adored for being fun characters, not necessarily admired for being bad.)

Disney’s reputation, especially in the west. The company is closely associated with fairy tales —and, more importantly, with magic and happy endings. This, too, may contribute to western fans wanting to look on the “bright side” of things and wish for happy endings for characters that are, in fact, part of the Disney brand. The Disney message is perhaps strongest in the west due to having its origins there:

The age differences between the Japanese and the western fandoms. The western TWST fandom skews young overall whereas the Japanese TWST fandom is older (which is why a lot of TWST merch you’ll see is expensive household goods and fashion; this is to appeal to working Japanese women). As I mentioned in the previous point, this means younger audiences in the west may mostly encounter media which presents villains in a more sympathetic light, or at least much earlier (which leaves a stronger impression). This makes them more inclined to view other media in a way which is more flattering for the villains even when they are dark or morally ambiguous in canon.

Younger fans may also be not as informed and thus lack some perspective, which means they may have more limited views. A 15 year old wouldn’t have as much life experience as a 20 year old—that’s not a bad thing, it’s an objective truth that has an impact on their perspective. They may see things more simplistically or see easier solutions to complex problems. Younger fans may, for example, be able to identify circumstances as being traumatic or unfair (such as the case with Jamil’s past and Leona’s desire to introduce new technologies to his home country) but may not understand the full ramifications (ie why Jamil cannot just leave or have Kalim to speak with his dad about it, how difficult Leona’s plans would be to implement as well as the social pushback due to the harm the advances could pose to the environment). This leads to more of a lean to positive content, as dark content would inherently mean problems are much more difficult to resolve and have more factors to them than what was originally considered.

I want to also point out that younger fans are especially concerned with what their peers may think of them, and so they may feel too embarrassed to dabble in darker content. Some dark content may also not be perceived as appropriate depending on the fan’s age. Alternatively, some fans may just not feel comfortable exploring those ideas (and that’s totally fine!).

Western fans project onto/relate to the characters they love. I’m not saying that Japanese fans don’t do this, but I feel like western fans tend to do this to a VERY strong and sometimes parasocial degree (which has its roots in comfort character and kinning culture, things which largely do not exist in east Asian fandoms). Like… western fans can relate to a character so deeply that any criticism of that character can feel like a personal attack on them, the fan. Likewise, if that character is presented as having flaws or doing questionable things (even if it is canon), the fans that are strongly projecting onto the character may feel that they themselves are flawed or somehow “bad” too. This can lead into trying to defend or justify the character’s flaws or actions. Maybe a fan that has shared trauma with a character sees them as a proxy and want to see the character (and thus, themselves) in a positive way or in good situations. In eastern fandoms, it is more appropriate to consider the character a separate entity rather than relating to or projecting onto them.

The western rise in moral justification for the content one consumes. This is a big one, and it has been alluded to in some of the other points. There is this belief circulating in western fandom spaces that “the content you consume reflects your real world values and morals”. So… if you believe that (or are in a social space where it is believed) and happen to like evil or morally grey characters, what does that imply about your own character? Does that mean you are morally bankrupt or that you condone bad things? Personally, I don’t think so but I understand why this way of thinking could make people feel ashamed. They may avoid looking at “dark” interpretations of a character and instead focus on wholesome feel-good content so that the content they consume reflects “well” on themselves. In other cases, fans may try to twist the bad points of a character to make it “morally okay” to like them.

That’s everything I could come up with off the top of my head!! I hope this was interesting to read and maybe helped you see the international TWST fandom from a new perspective. With that, I’ll leave you with this relevant Wreck-It Ralph quote: “I’m bad, and that’s good. I will never be good, and that’s not bad. There’s no one I’d rather be than me.”

[ahoyrcmanoff]

A SHORT STUDY ON KLAUS HARGREEVES. 🃏

— based on the s4 tarot cards scene.

(hi! tbh I have no idea if this has been done yet. I’m finally out from the shock of this shitty ending lmao. Only seen a thing or two about this topic, talking ‘bout the Hargreeves’ fate… but i wanted to give it a deeper thought, ‘cause I just haven’t stopped thinking on that specific scene where klaus does a reading, and what each card meant for his character specifically, so, I decided to do this for fun & because I have my good knowledge on tarot cards. enjoy.)

Okay! So, the scene starts with Klaus sitting in the van, just passing time by doing a small reading with his cards. Which, not only gave us a brief look into the future for the Hargreeves’ fate, but it also gave us a look into who Klaus Hargreeves is. It shows us how his character could’ve been developed, what they could work at as a person (if they hadn’t erased a certain couple of scenes). And it is honestly sooo on point with their personality.

• We start off with Card #1 — The Lovers.

This is the first card that comes out. A classic. And obviously, we all go to the same thought when seeing this one specific card, but if you watch closely you can see much more in it than just a couple. Klaus jokes about it, saying; “that’s obvious, I haven’t been laid in months.”

And sure it’s a fun joke. We all might think the main thing that is the talk about this card (love, couples, lovers, etc). And damn my mind also went to Dave. But it has a deeper meaning.

This card talks about self-love. Something we know Klaus struggles with. Sure, they are a very confident person in their body, they care for their appearance, but he also despises himself for their usual low points. For letting it out on his family, all the stealing he did, the times he didn’t accept help, the times he felt like he wasn’t important or that he was a disappointment. The Lovers is the card of the search for self-love, for confidence, of being your own soulmate, in a way. This person has a tendency to fall in love quickly, but they have to be careful — the mountains and the snake represent the obstacles to reach to that desired love. Which, hell, Klaus had to go through considering his true love (Dave) is from another time and couldn’t be free. Romantic love will be easier to find once you reach into that self-care/self-love. The angel does represent that not everything is lost, there is a chance for love, for a certain couple.

Yet— we don’t see that happy ending for Klaus on the screen.

• Card #2 — The Tower.

What there is to say about this that isn’t obvious? This card represents pure chaos. Klaus says it himself; “Loss of self-control.”

It is also the card of change. Ringing any bells yet? All the siblings went through a big change on those six years without powers. And Klaus’ was impressive, he spent three years sober, now lives with Allison and Claire, and had developed a germaphobia.

If we get the negative sort of change, The Tower brings a misunderstanding, the way something that shouldn’t be will be forced. (Klaus getting his powers back, then when he sees how it will be inevitable to fall into old habits again as soon as he gets home and gets into the argument with Claire). But if we get the positive side, we’ll also get strength against the adversity, some optimism. (Which, hey, he managed to escape from the building and then from a goddamn tomb, it showed huge strength of character from someone like Klaus to do that.)

Now! If we look into the future with that reading scene being the starting point — there is even more change. Watch the card, there’s two characters jumping out of the window, away from the fire and darkness of the tower (one’s mind). There’s also some doubt, but it is something inevitable, you have to escape. It represents a freeing or liberation, a crisis, a rupture of some sorts. It can be shown in the other siblings as well, as we saw during the season.

But for Klaus specifically — he got freed from the constant fear, and got his powers back after dying. Again. Which, once again, wasn’t his choice but that is where the chaos starts. Right after that, there comes the fall in his sibling relationship with Allison, and once again the liberation, where Klaus finally stood up for himself. They are in a crisis, because he thinks he will fall into old habits. Because he thinks it’s inevitable as soon as the ghosts appear.

But with change, comes an end. A realization, an escape… In the deleted scenes, we see how Klaus decides to go to A.A. after Allison and Claire help him out of the grave. There’s this loving moment, where they let the fight behind and they go back to being a family. And this also shows strength from Klaus, because after so many years, he is willing to accept the truth. He talks about his struggles with addiction, opens up, shows his development during those sober years, says how he regrets on letting it out on his family (which surely means specifically Ben because he was the one to see Klaus on each fall, and then they never got a chance to have a serious talk because even Ben’s ghost is gone). And finishes up by saying he is an alcoholic, showing that development. Despite everything, he gained psychological strength and decided to accept the help, to deal with his problems and stay sober.

• Which brings us to Card #3 — Ten of Swords.

Klaus is *very* clear when this card comes out. “The card of death.” He says, and then immediately put everything away, scared. And yes, it did show that he would die, to later come back to life — as we saw when he got shot and the siblings didn’t have any other choice but to give him the marigold. But once again, there’s always a deeper level with Tarot.

Well, there’s something about the Swords. They all talk about the mind, thoughts. The path of the swords is to learn through experience.

Klaus Hargreeves has gained plenty of experience in various topics throughout the seasons. Starting off with how much their powers developed over the years, how much they trained on season three. How emotionally developed he had always been. How each experience gave him a new thing to learn. And despite everyone’s thoughts, Klaus does learn. But he just keeps facing shit and sometimes has to hit the same wall to really learn first.

There is a certain insecurity in the swords, a lack of level, that is also shown on the other two cards that Klaus took. But before he learns, he has to hit the same wall, has to face the chaos, has to hit rock bottom.

And that is what this card means exactly, hitting rock bottom. We’ve seen Klaus hitting it a couple of times, but this was the drop that was needed to fill up the glass. When this card appears in a reading, it’s hard to advise the person, why? Because this person has auto-destructive tendencies. Sounds familiar? Klaus has had those tendencies since he was a child. We saw it. It started off with their addiction, then with hitting dangerous places, the constant dying, the way they haven’t really gotten into serious relationships, how he always chose the thing that would explode in his face. So, anything that happens could cut the stability that this person may have gained. Which is why Klaus kept falling into the same patterns over and over throughout his life.

But — with an end, there’s also a new start. With death also comes a reborn, literal death and reborn for Klaus, because of his powers. It shows that the person couldn’t escape their problems anymore, because the thoughts (the swords) they have been trying so hard to ignore, sneaked on them and killed them. (Once again, a bit literal for Klaus). One has to face their problems to come back. There is a need for transformation, like a butterfly, or like the Phoenix that comes back from their ashes.

And honestly, this would’ve been so much more clear if they actually kept the Klaus’ scenes they deleted. Where he embraced the transformation, accepted his problems and searched for a solution. Where he could get a closure, a hint of hope.

Anyway, if you can’t tell, I genuinely love this sweetheart and I think they deserved so, so, so much better than the ending they gave him. It doesn’t take much but be observant on how interesting of a character Klaus Hargreeves is but unfortunately this fell into the wrong hands, because they couldn’t give a character with so much depth a good final. (And all the Hargreeves for all the matter! Justice for my fav siblings). If anyone actually takes the time to read through this, thank you. This was for fun, out of love for the show, love for Klaus and love for tarot all combined. <3

[galedekarios]

Idk if you’ve been asked before but what are your thoughts on EARLY early access Gale? The Gale that has bandages on his arm in some early promotional art? There’s an old Auntie Ethel vicious mockery line for him: “I can smell what’s under those bandages wizard! You’re all rot and ruin.” I always wondered if the orb was originally going to have nastier side effects. Like it was making Gale fall apart slowly OR maybe Gale was trying to become a Lich to better handle the orb before being abducted by the mind flayers so he’s in this half alive and undead state when Tav meets him. I feel like that last one would explain the necrotic damage he emits when he dies better. Anyways those are just two tiny details that I roll around in my mind from time to time. I might be thinking too deeply about it. Maybe the writers just wanted to figure out a way to show how much the orb was hurting Gale and the bandages were a start but for some reason they decided against it.

i loved early access gale. there were a lot of uncharitable reads / bad faith takes about him back then, ranging from him being the secret bbeg, the ultimate and guaranteed betrayer, the absolute, to being myrkul because he had a triangles on the robe he was wearing (no, i'm not joking), etc etc etc.

personally, i always loved his character, though, and found him the most interesting and intriguing out of the companions.

overall, i think that he's not that much changed - however, as with all companions and a lot of the npcs, some things have been whittled down or away entirely by larian due things like fandom feedback, but that's a discussion for another time.

i don't subscribe to the lich idea myself, because i think that's not something that gale would want for himself for a multitude of reasons. having said that, however, i always enjoyed this theory:

so, early access gale had this key art, which is still one of my favourites:

left hand wrapped in bandages, the almost stone-like texture of what little you can see of his skin.

adding to that, as you also mentioned, ethel had these vicious mockery lines for gale:

Auntie Ethel: I can smell what's under those bandages, wizard. You're all rot and ruin.

and

Auntie Ethel: Come to greet death early? You'll be a lovely spectacle.

to add to this, this was the way gale talked about the orb and what he thought it was, as well as karsus:

Player: I was wondering about that “mighty lord” you told me about in your story. Gale: Ah, yes. Karsus Karsus was perhaps the most powerful wizard that ever lived. The child-who-would-be-a-god, the elves called him. And he tried. With a spell of his own devising he endeavoured to usurp in one fell swoop the power of the goddess of magic.  Mystryl, she was called then. Imagine what it must have felt like. To be a god. To know yourself to be untouchable. To be mistaken. As Karsus aimed his spell at her she began to unravel, and with her, the entire Weave. Too late did he realize what he had unleashed. It would have been the end of everything had not Mystryl sacrificed herself.  Gale: The goddess of magic is all magic. By dying, the entire weave was lost, and the spell that challenged a god failed. It was the end of Mystryl, the end of Karsus, and the end of an entire civilization. As the child-who-would-be-a-god was turned to stone, his empire came crashing down around him. The floating cities of Netheril were no more. An event that came to be known as Karsus' folly. Player: So at that moment in time, all magic was gone?  Gale: For a spell. Mystyl was reborn as Mystra. Upon her return, the Weave returned with her.  Gale: Now, so many centuries later, I tried to follow in the footsteps of Karsus, not to destroy Mystra, but to prove my love for her. I tried to control only a fraction of the magic that was unleashed that fateful day. I merely sought to return one tiny diamond to an imperfect crown. Gale's Folly one might call it. History. Repetition. It's the way things go.

some of this is still in the game.

more lore about karsus's folly:

Unfortunately, his choice was a terrible mistake, for one of the responsibilities of the deity of magic was to regulate the flow of magic to and from all beings, spells, and magic items in the world. Lacking the ability to do so properly, magic surged and fluctuated. With her last remaining bit of power, Mystryl sacrificed herself to block Karsus's access to the Weave, causing all magic to fail. The flying cities of Netheril plummeted to the earth. The severing of the link also killed Karsus and transformed him into stone, and the last thing he saw was his entire civilization being destroyed because of his actions. This was to be known as Karsus's Folly. The stone form of Karsus eventually landed in a part of the High Forest, now called the Dire Wood.[8] The city of Karse was built around its base. Karsus was never accepted as a petitioner by any god, nor did he go to the Fugue Plane when he died. Instead, his soul was bound to the Material Plane. Those with experience in pact magic could call up his vestige, where he appeared as a giant blood-red boulder,[5] like the one found in the High Forest where his petrified form landed.[8] Blood burbles up from the top of the stone, trickling down the side facing the summoner, pooling at the base. [x]

there are also lines of gale referring to this corruption he carries within as a "taint" and a "shadow", corrupting him "within", affecting his blood as well (another thing that carried over to release).

i think what might have been originally planned (and again, some of this did carry over) is that the orb not only affected gale's magic, but also his body even more severely (it still does to an extent in the release version even though this part is very, very sadly almost entirely glossed over).

putting all of this together, i think that by absorbing a part of that magic unleashed on the day of karsus's folly - the failed magic, the severing of it, karsus turning into stone, petrifying him - might have affected gale in a similar, albeit weaker fashion.

"history. repetition. it's the way things go."

karsus's folly.

gale's folly.

perhaps as the game continued this petrification might have spread, from his hand, up his arm, to his shoulder, and on, either by leaning onto the darker aspects, or by the treatment failing (the consumption of powerful pieces of weave).

maybe that concept was then turned from petrification, to a sort of corruption/rotting that ethel referred to in her lines.

either way, it would have been interesting to see, for sure.

[itspointydumbass]

My Problems With Veilguard

I've put up a lot of positivity, but I'm getting further in and I have. Issues. Under the cut because not everyone is gonna want to read negativity.

I don't know how to explain it, but getting further into Veilguard, I still like it, but it's just like. I don't know. It's fine. It's fun. But I don't feel satisfied the way I wanted to. There's a lot of lore I feel is missing, a lot of loose ends that aren't getting tied up because they only carried over, like, three of my choices. The more I'm playing the more I feel like I should be wearing a full clown outfit because I waited ten years for this game and the moments that make me feel something (which I've posted about - Minrathous vs. Treviso, Bellara's backstory etc.) are getting outnumbered by intense disappointment. There's a lot of backpedalling going on here and yet I still feel like I need to defend it because the problems with this game have very little to do with being "woke" like some people are claiming. I have to be 20x more invested in this game than I actually am because a lot of the comments are just wah wah it's woke and that. Isn't the problem.

The romances feel bland. I enjoy slow-burn, but it's going at an absolute glacial speed, and it's actually painful.

I barely feel connected to any of the characters. They all got these really interesting introductions, only to fall flat on their faces and be pretty bland from there on out. I think part of the reason is that you can't talk to them out of your Regularly Scheduled Cutscenes. In Inquisition and Origins, you were able to have these off-the-cuff conversations that made the world feel more real and lived-in. You could ask questions of your companions, could agree with them, could disagree with them, could gain or lose approval from your chats. In this game, outside the cutscenes, all you get is them talking to each other. Rook is a spectator to their chats, and it makes me feel disconnected from them.

I'm being handheld through certain parts of the story. Taash's story has so much potential, but at this point I feel like I'm being spoon-fed explanations. Instead of working through a character's story, I'm being told what non-binary means. Over and over again. Again, there's so much potential! Their relationship with their mother, with their culture, with their gender could have been handled so well, but so far it's falling flat.

I know not everyone likes the dialogue wheel, but I always have. Maybe it's the neurodivergence in me, but give me too many choices and I start to agonise a little. I like the fact they've brought back the DA2-style Purple!Hawke sort of responses. I like still having things from Inquisition, like the sad responses and the stoic responses and so on and so forth. Gives a bit more personality to Rook. But some of the replies are just... the same reply in different fonts? Is it just me? Like. Huh???????????

The stakes. Every time the tension gets ramped up, it somehow manages to fall flat again. I'm left with a feeling of that's it? every. Single. Time.

I don't know. I just feel very little need to continue with the game. It's been out for more than two weeks and I still haven't finished it. I've played Stardew Valley 1.6 more than I've played Veilguard. And I'm really pissed because I WANT to like it more. I want to feel more than this is fine about a series I really, really love. But I felt more connected to ANDROMEDA than this. Andromeda had issues, but it wasn't pacing issues and it wasn't nearly as. Just. Dull.

I don't know. Ten years, folks. Ten years.

[not-poignant]

Hello, I was wondering if you have any tips for how to start getting into writing?? I’ve always wanted to write the stories in my head down but I struggle with writing and am not very good in general haha. When I read your books I get so filled with inspiration but feel like it’s too late for me to start ( even though logically I know I’m still quite young, but being in my final year of university feels like I’m running on quicksand ).

When reading Falling Falling Stars for the first time, it was like being shown a new type of love, being shown that has changed me as a person, which is why I’m reaching out.

Thank you for your time and for sharing your wonderful stories.

Hi anon!

People can learn how to write - especially for themselves - at any age. In fact sometimes it's easier to start when you're a bit older, when you've read and experienced a lot more stories and have an idea of the kind of things you enjoy reading.

It's important mostly to just be patient and gentle with yourself. You don't have to sit down and write a contained story, free yourself from the idea that you have to write a chronological/sequential complete story when you get started.

Start with the things you want to see most. Say there's a show where you just want two characters to hook up. Write a page of that. Not even the reason why, just...start with what you're imagining.

At first it might not be exactly what you're hoping for. There will be lines you like, and dialogue you think 'oh yeah this is kind of what I wanted' etc. that's okay. Think of it like...when people start out in art, it's not what they imagined yet, but that doesn't mean it's bad! It's a 'sketch.' It's good to do lots of writing sketches too.

If you find you enjoy writing things that you've always imagined and wish you could read, practice other things too! You can look around your environment and write 'how would I describe where I'm sitting if I loved this place more than anywhere else in the world' and then write 'how would I describe where I'm sitting to an alien' or 'how would I describe how this place smells, or looks, or sounds (practice listening for the sounds outside too, it can be meditative!), or feels to the touch.'

You can do those 'sketches' anywhere - in cafes, in restaurants, on public transport, on your notes app at a friend's place, at a family dinner after everyone's eaten and you're just chilling.

And then often without thinking about it, you will use those skills to breathe more life into the things you want to see most in your writing. Instead of just a one page hook up, you might write four pages where you describe the bedroom, how things feel, what the 'mood' is etc.

All you need is an urge to see certain things in the world and wanting to write them down. Put down random lines of dialogue. If you imagine two characters arguing, or hugging, or making up, write down somewhere quickly: 'These two characters hugging' to inspire you later. Maybe something specific about it makes you happy. 'They're hugging but this one is grabbing the other one's jumper/sweater really tightly.'

Writing for me is a sequence of moments, and while I write chronologically / sequentially now, I didn't used to! I gave myself permission to write scenes because I found it freeing, because if nothing else, then I have a scene of something I always wanted to see in the world. Maybe I do nothing more than just read and enjoy it sometimes, well, that's what I wanted - to write something I wanted to see in the world!

Anyone can do that, anon, and age is seriously no barrier to that. Writing creatively is one of those things that, like wine, tends to age/get better with time, whether you're practicing it or not. Learning more about the world, other people, ourselves, and the things in it, reading more, watching more film and TV, that actually enriches our imaginative landscape, and that's what fuels writing (even if you don't have an 'imagination' in the classic sense).

Writing creatively isn't about writing 'books' - anyone can sit down and write a moment, and you can too. And if you don't like looking at a blank page, just put down a sentence. Even a sentence from another story that inspires you.

My favourite writing advice to defeat a blank page because it always makes me laugh is:

Write the worst sentence you possibly can. Like, go out of your way and make it bad and silly.

'What a dumb brown rug.'

There, you no longer have a blank page! And you can definitely write a better sentence than that!

'He hated that rug, the colour reminded him of mud, and it didn't suit the room at all.'

'He rubbed his shoes on the brown rug, locking his hands together, twisting his fingers and hoping no one noticed him.'

But you know, 'what a dumb brown rug' is fun too. :D

And ultimately, you just have to try and have some fun with it <333

[cherries-in-wine]

My thoughts on Colleen Hoover:

okay hear me out: colleen hoover is for the people who skipped their fan fiction phase.

Hi just a warning this contains spoilers for colleen hoover books and English isn't my first language so I apologise for any mistakes. These are just me sharing my thoughts feel free to disagree just please don't be mean about it.

So I read a few of her books because I love torturing myself and just wanted to feel something (also my cousin was obsessed with her) and honestly I don't regret it because now I have valid reason shit on it. 

Just fyi I'm a teenage girl in high school so I'm definitely in her target audience, and here's what I've gathered:

None of her main characters really have a personality. they feel more like shells that the reader can self insert themselves into. The books aren't really about two people getting to know each other and falling in love it feels more as a bunch of tropes and generic scenarios thrown together. I think this is one of the reason booktok girlies act with Colleen Hoover the way I did when I found out fanfics exists. 

It also just reads like fanfiction? like because there's not much to dwell on and they're so easy to digest you can finish them in just a few hours. plus the main characters just feels like y/n: a shell to self insert yourself into, dead/abusive father, just normal girl who finds herself in these situations etc.

Here's the thing about fan fiction though: the reason why it's so fun to read is because you already know the people/characters in it so you can get right into the scenarios and imagines because they don't really need any background or development. 

But the difference is when you write these books you have to develop these characters and introduce them to the readers otherwise I'm just like "I don't even know these people so why the fuck would I care?"

Comparing her to fanfic is honestly an insult to fanfic writers because at least they have the decency to tag their posts properly (calling the abuse, abuse dark themes, dark themes etc) plus they're just so much better.

Colleen Hoover fans will say that she brings up difficult topics in her books in order to defend her but here's the thing: writing about difficult topics doesn't exactly exempt you from criticism + she doesn't even write about them?? they just feel like lazy add ons to spice up the story and add some drama. if you're gonna write about difficult topics you need to discuss and write them properly not just use them to further the plot.

I don't like any of the love interests either. 99% of them are just abusive, piece of shit bland boiled chicken ass people with the unsexiest names I've ever heard of.

Also a lot of these have very much women hating women undertones? I feel like it's the author's misogyny being reflected in her books (extra heart breaking coming from a woman herself). It's very much "you're not like the other girls you're different" kinda themes.

I thought maybe people just enjoyed it because of the smut but the smut is SO BAD oh my god I wanted to kms.

My thoughts are a little all over the place right now (they always are) but maybe i'll update if I remember any more points

thank you so much for reading mwah <33

[johaerys-writes]

Hi! I’m pretty new to the world of Achilles and Patroclus (I read The Song Of Achilles last month) and I just saw your post about your love for them. When you said “there's just so much stuff out there about them (tsoa, hades game, the iliad, a bunch of other myths and adaptations, non fiction books, academic papers etc)” I was wondering if you could touch on the other myths and adaptations part maybe? I’m not exactly sure where to begin there but I would appreciate any guidance you could give!

Oh boy I don't know where to start either because there's a LOT. I don't want to overwhelm you so I'll just list a few key myths and adaptations off the top of my head:

Adaptations

So as far as adaptations go, I will include works where both Achilles and Patroclus show up and that are inspired by the Iliad.

Hades Game: I'm pretty sure you're already familiar with this, just mentioning it just in case!

Aristos the musical: it's a musical as the name suggests, and it revolves around Achilles and Patroclus' lives from Pelion all the way to Troy. It's really lovely and has made me emotional on numerous occasions and I love revisiting it every so often! It also has a Tumblr account: @aristosmusical

Troilus and Cressida: this is Shakespeare's take on the Trojan War and it's quite interesting, not really faithful to the Iliad but offers a sort of different perspective on the characters and the events that led to Hector's death.

Achilles (1995) by Barry JC Purves: it's a short stop motion film using clay puppets, it's on Youtube and it's only 11 mins and I think it's worth a watch! I find it very compelling visually and any adaptation where Achilles and Patroclus are lovers is a plus in my book 🫶

Holding Achilles: this is an Australian stage production by the Dead Puppet Society, I really enjoyed it and I found it an interesting blend of TSOA and Iliad Patrochilles, which also featured some cool new elements that I hadn't really seen before. It used to be free to watch for a while but now I think you have to pay to watch it, there's more info on their website.

The Silence of the Girls: a novel by Pat Barker, it's a take on the events of the Iliad mostly through Briseis' eyes, I personally didn't really like the book or the characterisations but hey both Achilles and Patroclus are in it so it might be worth a read.

There are some other novels I've heard of where Achilles and Patroclus appear (A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes, Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane) and also a TV show called Troy: Fall of a City but I haven't read/watched them so I can't really rec them

Myths

Most myths revolve around Achilles, there aren't that many with Patroclus I'm afraid, but here are some of my favourites:

Achilleid by Publius Papinius Statius: this is an epic poem about Achilles' stay on Skyros disguised as a girl and his involvement with Deidameia. It's interesting but I'd personally take the characterisations and events in it with a grain of salt because Romans were notorious for their unsympathetic portrayal of Greek Homeric heroes but it's still a cool thing that's out there and free to read online.

Iphigenia at Aulis: a tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides, it's basically the dramatised version of the myth of Iphigenia's sacrifice in Aulis which predates the Iliad, there are many obscure versions of this myth but Euripides' sort of updated version is my favourite, I will never shut up about this play!! Lots of a nuance and very interesting portrayals of Achilles, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Clytemnestra, Iphigenia and pretty much everyone in there, well worth a read.

Lost plays: there are several plays in which Achilles appears but that have been lost or survive only in fragments, but two of my favourites are Euripides' Telephus and Aeschylus' Myrmidons. Telephus takes place before the Trojan War, while the Greeks are on their way to Troy. I really like Achilles' characterisation in the fragments that remain and also the fact that he was already renowned for his knowledge of medicine and healing despite how young he was. The fragments that survive from Aeschylus' Myrmidons I think are fewer but the play was extremely popular at the time it was presented to the public and it sparked a lot of controversy re: Achilles and Patroclus' relationship and who tops/bottoms so I think that's kind of funny lol.

There are lots of other obscure little myths about Achilles that I've picked up by reading various books, papers and wiki posts on the matter and that are just too numerous to list here, but what I will mention and that I think concludes the myths section of this post pretty neatly is that the Iliad and the Odyssey are not the only works about the Trojan War that were written, merely the only works that survived. The rest of the books in the Epic Cycle have been preserved either in fragmentary form or in descriptions in other works, and I think the Epic Cycle wiki page is a good place to start if you want to get an idea of what each of those books contained.

I hope this helped! 💙

[monmelia]

Monmelia Analysis Part 1: Challenge, Timing & Soulmates (20x03)

Fourteen years ago, my love for shipping began with Brittany and Santana from Glee. They were my first ship—foundational to my experience as a closeted teenager—and while they might not have been perfect, they were everything I needed at the time.

Now, in my thirties and confident in my sexual identity, I didn’t expect to feel that invested in a ship again. I’ve enjoyed seeing other wlw couples on screen, but none ever stirred the same level of attachment—until Monica and Amelia from Grey’s Anatomy (Monmelia) came along. Their dynamic brings me back to those early days of following every hint of a storyline. Watching them, I find myself excited by the possibility of watching a meaningful, slow-burn romance unfold.

I love writing, and I love analysing, so I figured while Monmelia are still in their early stages, it’s a good time to start up an analysis blog of my own. Back in my Brittana fandom days, I used to love reading stuff like this, soaking up all the content I could get and living off the mere breadcrumbs the writers gave us. This feels no different. I plan on writing a blog per episode (where they feature) and just giving my potentially delusional but hopefully insightful thoughts on all of their interactions/scenes etc. But like I said, I love analysing, so if there’s anything I miss that you want me to analyse, just ask! I’m excited to go on their journey with them, so if you’re reading along too, enjoy, and hopefully the writers are kind to us!

So taking it back to the start of Monmelia, all my feelings and observations are below.

As a long-running character on the show it makes sense to start with Amelia. She seems to be a controversial character amongst the wider Grey’s fandom, but having binged all of her Private Practice backstory and really getting to understand her, she’s undoubtedly one of my favourites. She’s loyal to her loved ones, resilient to the core, super caring and incredibly misunderstood. Her history with love has been pretty tumultuous, and I, like many others, just want to see her settle down and find her person. 

“I have fallen in love so many times in my life, and it feels like a roller coaster. It feels thrilling and consuming and sickening and desperate, and this did not feel like that. This... I think I felt seen? I felt known. And, I didn't fall in love... I kind of slid into it, like two puzzle pieces that just kind of fit.” - Amelia Shepherd (18x20)

Taking Amelia’s own analysis on her love life into consideration, it’s safe to say her relationships have always been somewhat chaotic. Despite best intentions, the relationships haven’t provided the grounding stability she so desperately needs. At the point when Amelia makes this observation she is talking about her relationship experiences prior to Kai Barley. Relationships that were fuelled by passion and urgency, often amplified by her own emotional struggles and history of addiction, which brought both intensity and instability into her romantic life.

Amelia’s reflection on her relationship with Kai highlights a different kind of connection—one based on mutual understanding, acceptance, and emotional safety. She highlights the feeling of being “seen” , indicating a love that acknowledges her as a whole person, flaws included. It suggests a level of emotional intimacy and stability she hadn’t experienced before, where she feels accepted rather than overwhelmed. The metaphor of “sliding into” love, like “two puzzle pieces that just kind of fit,” captures a sense of natural compatibility, a relationship that feels right without force or drama. A kind of love that is comforting, subtle, and enduring, contrasting with her prior experiences that were more about immediate intensity.

We of course know that this relationship with Kai didn’t work out for Amelia in the long term, but I think it’s important to discuss, as it shows Amelia’s growth in her concept of love. Instead of chasing exhilarating but destabilising relationships, she finds herself pursuing a love that feels effortless and affirming—a connection that brings peace, mutual respect, and a sense of belonging, rather than an overwhelming rush of passion. However unfortunate it is that it didn’t work out, it still feels like a turning point in Amelia’s personal journey with love. 

Admittedly I’m not a huge fan of Amelia’s relationship with Kai, and I feel Kai led Amelia on and that Amelia looks at the relationship through rose tinted glasses when making that statement, but my own personal feelings aside I want to look at the relationship focusing solely on Amelia’s part in it. Because although Amelia describes it as a love that doesn’t make her feel desperate, we see her exhibiting needy behaviour towards the end of the relationship when Kai is moving to London. As soon as the move is announced, Amelia’s sole focus is on finding a solution to help Kai stay, without taking Kai’s desires into consideration.

“From the minute I told you about London, which is the biggest career opportunity of my life, you have made it about you. There were no words of encouragement or congratulations. No acknowledgement of how hard I worked for this.” - Kai Bartley (19x15)

And listen, I get it. It’s not that Amelia is being intentionally selfish, it’s that she’s so crippled by her deep fear of abandonment, an issue that has shaped her relationships and reactions throughout her life. For Amelia, the prospect of losing someone important triggers a defensive, almost desperate response to hold on tightly—a reaction that often leads her to prioritise her own emotional needs over her partner’s happiness and success. And again, it’s not that she doesn’t care about Kai’s success, but the abandonment is at the forefront of her brain, and so all she can think about is providing solutions to prevent that from happening.

Another layer to this dynamic is Amelia’s tendency to seek validation and stability through her relationships. She craves reassurance that her partner will stay, particularly after facing so much upheaval and loss in her life. This leads her to focus on her need for closeness, security, and continuity in the relationship rather than allowing space for Kai’s achievements and aspirations to be celebrated. Her behaviour in this situation highlights a recurring struggle to balance her own needs with those of her partner—a theme we’ve seen in her past relationships as well.

I guess my overriding point here is that I don’t think Amelia has met a partner that has been a true equal for her yet. It’s been more about how they’ve made Amelia feel, and less about how Amelia has added value to their life. She frequently looks to her partner to provide validation, security and love instead of doing the inner work necessary to cultivate this herself. She becomes attached quickly, often without considering her partner’s needs or how she can contribute positively to the relationship. 

For instance, with Owen, Amelia’s trauma and issues around motherhood led her to rely on him for emotional support, but she struggled to communicate openly, which hindered any real connection. Her fear of vulnerability meant that instead of showing up for Owen in the way he needed, she frequently pulled away, avoiding conversations about her trauma, motherhood, and her real needs.

Similarly, with Link, Amelia found someone steady and reliable, and she leaned on him during a time when she was navigating pregnancy and the uncertainties of motherhood. Yet when the relationship demanded a deeper level of self-awareness and mutual support, Amelia’s insecurities resurfaced, leading her to withdraw. She questioned whether she wanted the stability and family structure Link offered, revealing her ambivalence and a lack of personal clarity. Rather than growing with Link, Amelia leaned on him as a source of comfort and stability without fully committing to the relationship or working through her underlying issues.

And then with Kai, whom Amelia felt “seen” and “known” by, her attachment quickly became about what Kai could do for her emotionally, providing her with a sense of affirmation. When Kai’s career goals and reluctance about parenthood clashed with Amelia’s desires, her initial reaction was to convince them to stay rather than supporting Kai’s achievements or seeing things from their perspective.

And this dynamic illustrates a common theme for Amelia: she seeks out relationships as a means of avoiding loneliness, filling emotional gaps, or validating her self-worth. The result is often an imbalance where her needs take precedence, leaving little room for her partners’ needs or her own personal growth. 

For the record, I love Amelia, and I’m absolutely not saying she’s the problem in all of her relationships. Believe me I could talk at length about the various failings from her previous significant others, but this blog is focusing on Amelia and Monica, and so I think it’s important to reflect on where she’s at when Monica comes into the picture. 

Because what I want for Amelia more than anything, is to see her confront her traumas and insecurities independently and build her self-worth from within rather than relying on a partner to provide this for her. I want her to do the work so she doesn’t need to be dependent on others to feel whole. And then I want her to find a lasting, healthy love who challenges her and embraces her flaws, and loves her for exactly who she is. And I want her to do that for them in return, and to show up for her partner in ways I know she’s so capable of (because duh, she’s so damn loyal and caring and loving), because her own insecurities will no longer be in the way.

And this is exactly what I think Monica is going to be for her. And it’s the reason why I love them so much and why I plan to analyse every little moment, because call me delulu, but I’m so sure the arc is setting them up for this dynamic. I’m sure that Monica is going to be Amelia’s end game, and she’s going to enrich Amelia’s life in ways we can’t even imagine right now (and vice versa).

And I’m sure of this, because we’ve already seen snippets of this, because at the time of writing this they’ve just aired 21x05 which was so pivotal to their story IMO, but this is an ep by ep blog so more on that later.

But in essence, we already saw growth from Amelia in changing her concept of love during her relationship with Kai, but with Monica I feel we’re going to see even more growth in terms of a truly balanced partnership due to the fact Amelia is going to shift the emphasis of finding fulfilment via someone else.

Because when we meet Monica in 20x03, Amelia is already working towards being in that space. She light-heartedly tells Meredith that she’s got a cat because she’s given up on finding a human soulmate. This is important because it shows that since her fairly recent breakup with Kai, Amelia has opted to do something for herself that will meet her emotional needs, outside of a romantic relationship. It would be easy for Amelia to seek happiness from a meaningless rebound or jump into another relationship, but instead she decides to heal and directs her energy on doing something for herself.

The other important factor of that scene is the timing. And timing is something I feel will be discussed a lot in this blog. Just as Amelia is talking about giving up on her human soulmate, we get our first proper introduction to Monica as she beeps her horn at Amelia. In the context of the scene, she beeps because Amelia has taken her parking spot, but I can’t help but think that this is foreshadowing. As viewers we see Monica beep loudly right after Amelia’s statement of giving up on love, as if to say “Don’t give up yet, I’m right here!”. When someone honks their horn at you, it’s often startling and unexpected, much like Amelia’s romance (or crush for now) with Monica is. I don’t think Amelia is planning on finding love. She’s healing, seemingly working on herself and has declared she’s given up.

It’s apt (but also always the way it happens because there’s no better time for a relationship than when you’re hyper focused on yourself) that Monica would come in at this time. Nothing can convince me that the timing of Amelia announcing she’s given up on her soulmate coinciding with Monica’s first scene isn’t significant.

I could further deep this by analysing the fact Monica is distracted on her phone. She’s not paying attention until Amelia takes her spot. She only notices the spot becomes free when Amelia takes it, and then she gets all mad at her. It could possibly foreshadow the wider dynamic of Monica being too distracted by her divorce to pursue anything with Amelia, and perhaps like with the parking spot situation, Amelia will have to do something to get her attention (not necessarily intentional) and prompt Monica to realise her feelings and make her notice. It would be an interesting future parallel if this plays out. Of course this is all just speculation and we have no idea where the writers are going to go with this. And do I think the writers put this much attention to detail into callbacks and parallels? No. But I definitely think there’s a lot of intentional set up between these two. The soulmate line at the very least. And Amelia stealing Monica's parking spot like she's about to steal her heart.

Then we get to the scene in the hospital and both Monia and Amelia are surprised to find they’re working together after the earlier parking incident. Amelia is visibly embarrassed and it shows in her demeanour, and there’s clear tension in the air, but they put it aside to care of their patient. Monica immediately challenges Amelia, she talks over her during the consult and it clearly catches Amelia off guard and causes her some frustration. Monica is new to the hospital, so it could be that she’s trying to establish her authority. It sets a precedent of tension for them in their first few scenes, but more importantly it sets a precedent of Monica challenging and pushing Amelia further than she’s used to being pushed.

We see this dynamic explored further when they’re discussing surgical options for their patient. Amelia immediately dismisses Monica’s idea and Monica retorts by telling her to take a minute to think about it. Though Amelia is initially defensive to the suggestion, and Monica is seemingly unfazed by Amelia’s admission that she’s the Chief of Neurosurgery (plus the fact she doesn’t know Amelia), we can surmise that Monica is instantly confident in Amelia’s surgical abilities. She’s confident enough to challenge her and push her boundaries, and she knows she can get more out of Amelia. When we translate that to a future romantic relationship, it’s a good dynamic to have, and I think Amelia would really benefit from a partner who isn’t afraid to challenge her and push her to go deeper than she’s used to going. 

When Amelia is reluctant, Monica notes that impatience must be her thing. From the minute I heard this I assumed it was going to have deeper meaning to their arc, and knowing what we know now about Monica going through a divorce and not being ready for a serious relationship, I’m sure this is going to be significant for them. My initial thoughts at this point are that it’s going to be a slow burn and Monica isn’t going to be ready for a relationship for some time. They’ll undoubtedly grow closer, and Amelia is going to inevitably feel some impatience waiting for the relationship to progress. Perhaps she’ll even move on herself. I feel like this comment from Monica will for sure be a future parallel in which Amelia just needs to be patient to get her girl.

Amelia later confides in Richard that she is being pushed by the new peds surgeon to consider an alternative option that has more risks. Could that be foreshadowing Monica pushing Amelia to consider alternative options to love with more risks? Because with soulmate love, of course comes more risk of being hurt. He also notably points out that Monica is a boundary pusher, and draws comparison between her and Amelia. This has to be symbolic and perhaps a sign that both of them are going to push boundaries and open up new depths in each other.

Monica’s pushing works and Amelia figures out an alternative option. Yay for cute girlfriend knowing her full potential.

“Finally!” Amelia says as Monica and Blue enter the room.

“You do know we were waiting for you, right?” Monica flirts playfully responds.

The delusional deep thinker in me wants to say that this could be another potential foreshadow into their arc. Because although we know Monica isn’t going to be initially ready for a relationship with Amelia, it could be that the dynamic switches and in true Grey’s style, Monica will realise she’s ready just as Amelia has either started to move on (albeit casually) or maybe she’s just decided to stay single and focus on herself (which tbh would be huge growth for her), Basically, by the time Monica comes around, maybe Amelia just isn’t going to be available anymore (whether that be emotionally or physically). So when they finally get it together, it could be that they both had to do an element of waiting but in different ways. So for Amelia it’s like “Finally!” since she made the first move, but maybe it’s actually Amelia who delays them actually being together, hence Monica’s “You do know we were waiting for you.” But again, this is all just speculation. It could just be that the scenes are what they are at face value and there’s no deeper meaning. But I definitely think all this talk around patience and taking time has to mean something. There’s too many references to it.

The whole episode centres on Monica influencing Amelia to take time and have patience, and the success that follows when she does that, so it’s interesting to think how this could apply to a romantic relationship between them. It’s even more pivotal given their dynamic, and the obstacles between them on both sides (Monica’s divorce and Amelia’s own issues she needs to work on).

Time is clearly going to be of the essence for them, and I kind of hope that if they do go down the route of Amelia holding them up getting together that it’s because she’s decided to work on herself as opposed to her moving on with someone else, because that would be the ultimate growth for her. For her to have Monica finally want to date her but for her to be strong enough to say no until she’s ready and healthy in her own self, just like how Monica waits to date Amelia until she's ready and had dealt with the issues that came with her divorce. That would be symbolic of the message in this episode around patience and timing and how taking the alternative longer route can lead to the more successful ending, so I hope that’s what this episode was foreshadowing.

If Monica and Amelia could translate the way they work together, communicate and find solutions as effectively as they do in surgery to a romantic relationship, I’m telling you, they’d be a dream team!

“I’m thinking you’re much more effective when you take your time.”- Monica Beltram (20x03)

Could that quote from Monica be in relation to the context of the episode with Amelia finding an alternative option to the surgical procedure? Yes. But the deep thinker in me wants to believe it foreshadows Amelia either  a) Taking her time in waiting for Monica to come around by being her supportive friend during her divorce in the meantime, b) Taking the time to work on herself before pursuing a relationship with Monica, just like Monica has done with her by not jumping into anything.

Or it could be both?

Or neither.

Even the lighter scenes in this episode feel meaningful. Whether it be the bashful back and forth of “go ahead” when they reach for the same scrub brush, the persistent challenge from Monica or the lingering glances during surgery, there’s a clear set up of underlying tension right from the start with these two.

After a successful surgery, they’re told they make a great team, and Monica glances at Amelia. Before Amelia can fully acknowledge this, she hears the door slam and Monica has left. Perhaps a metaphorical sign of things to come with Monica not being ready to embrace everything between them?

But I can’t help but agree that Monica and Amelia are a great team, and as you can probably tell by my ramblings, I think that their dynamic at work could absolutely extend to a romantic relationship. 

And I’m optimistic enough to say I think this could be the relationship that Amelia needs. But also, one that Monica needs. And I’m excited to find out more about Monica as a character. But ultimately I think it will be a relationship that is going to equally push them both to grow. A relationship that’s all about challenge and timing and patience, but most importantly, about soulmates.

So Amelia, I hope you haven’t given up on finding your human soulmate. Because Monica is right there!

I hope you enjoyed reading my ramblings, I try and make it as cohesive as possible I swear. I’ve already started writing up my thoughts on 20x04 so I hope you stick around for that, and for whatever else the Monmelia journey brings!

[multi-fandomsfreak]

A Horror Mario x reader idea:Love Confession

Plot:Horror Mario somehow falls in love with the reader after pulling them into his game. First they get to know a bit about each other, giving him the opportunity to confess his love to you (and ofc the reader would accept it, and then they kiss)

A Surprised Love Confession

(Horror Mario x Reader)

Hey there! Thanks for the ask!

Love the classic love confession. You can’t go anything wrong with it. Also just want to say something before anyone reads this. I might not be uploading for a while (probably a week at most). I’m currently travelling for my birthday which is coming up soon. So I would prefer to spend most of my time with things like friends and family. Sorry for those who put in their request I’ll still try to do them when I have the free time. I also might leave inbox open just to warn you it might take a while to do your request if you’re planning on sending it. Anyways besides that, hope you enjoy. ~Blaze/Dawn

Pronouns: Not Mentioned

Warning: ⚠️Kidnapping + Slight Spoilers For The Plot Of Mario Madness Mod⚠️

Requested: Yes/No

Characters: Horror Mario

Proofread: ❌

Credits: Art originally by Mario Madness Crew (Edited By Me) + Banner by lillymads0 (Edited By Me) on Pinterest

———————————

- Honestly I’m just going to say it your and Horror Mario’s relationship is kind of like enemies to lovers or at least something similar. I mean it does make some sort of sense. You literally got kidnapped by him because you decided to play his game and he thought he could just drag you in. You never thought you or him would fall in love with each other considering the situation you got put in. Some cocky fucker who just wants to get revenge on one person and decides to bring you into this mess.

- For some reason Horror Mario found himself interested in you. Like sure he kind of hated that you acted like what you did around him, totally forgetting the fact that he’s the reason you're like this. But at the same time he really likes it. Most people would be scared of him but you weren’t. He likes a challenge. So even though you were kind of resistant. He decided to see how close he could get towards you because why not. Not like you have a choice as far as you could tell it was just you and him.

- So that’s when it all started. He tried his hardest to get you to be closer towards him. Honestly I’d like to think he’s kind of desperate to at least be friends with you. Not in an outright ‘I need to be friends with you’ he’s not that desperate but at the same time he’s been alone for how many years thanks to daddy dearest. You can probably imagine how lonely it would get. He found himself chatting a lot with you again not really having much of an option. You found yourself listening to them mostly out of obligation but actually finding interest in the things he tells you.

- Not going to lie, you actually felt bad for him. Especially when he eventually told you how he got into this whole mess. Obviously it doesn’t really excuse what he did to you but you decided to give him a chance. Everytime the two of you were just hanging out he would tell you all the things he did both before and after he got trapped in the cartridge. You couldn’t help but get more dragged into his stories. Oddly enough his voice is kind of soothing in a way. The way he was just casually talking like he had the uttermost trust in you. In return you decided to tell him things about yourself. Horror Mario found himself smiling every time he heard you tell little things about yourself. Like what you liked, what you didn’t like etc.

- He couldn’t help but notice himself growing more attracted to you. He found himself unable to stop thinking about you. Even when he isn’t around you. He doesn’t even realize how much he thinks about you until he has a realization that he is before trying to distract himself to not think about you. But it doesn’t work. It has never worked. In fact the more he hangs around you. The worst he becomes. At this point he’s beginning to catch on that maybe he has a crush on you.

- At first he tried his absolute hardest to deny his love for you. Admittedly it was a little bit out of stubbornness. For starters he’s kind of stubborn even though he can say that he enjoys being around you he has some trouble saying he loves you. Honestly he doesn’t want to bother both you and himself with these emotions. Was he a little doubtful that you felt the same? A little. Deep down. So in response to that he starts acting slightly differently than what he usually does around you.

- I’d like to think it would be kind of obvious when he has a crush on you or not. As I said in my previous point he kind of starts to act differently around you. To him, if he stops being around you as much or tells you things and vice versa this whole lovey dovey thing he’s feeling would go away. But it only makes his feelings more obvious. You could tell something was wrong. He was being a little too quiet around you. Trying to avoid you the best he could even though there was practically unlimited space. He does feel a bit bad about what he’s doing. However, this was the first thing he came to make his feelings for you go away.

- Despite his change in behaviour you wanted to get to the bottom of this so one day before he had a chance to get away you managed to grab onto him and convince him to talk with you which admittedly made him nervous but he didn’t let you know:

+ “Is everything going alright with you, Horror Mario?” You asked unintentionally, having an accusatory tone but still showing concern. “Of course everything is alright, what do you take me for [Name]” he said trying to sound teasing while also trying to convince you nothing was wrong but you couldn’t be convinced that easily. You knew him well enough to know if something was at least bothering him and you can easily tell here “are you sure about that? You're acting differently” you replied back which made Horror Mario raise an eyebrow. “Am I? How so?” He said trying to keep a smile on his face but it was clear that what you said affected him in some sort of way “you’ve been avoiding me like I’m the damn plague. Did I do anything to upset you?” “No you haven’t. You know nothing that you do can upset me” he said trying to assure you “then did something else happen? What’s bothering you? You can tell me you know?” You said offering him the assurance in return. Admittedly this kind of put him on the spot. He sighed to himself and said “you promise you won’t judge” to which you shook your head no wondering what he had to say.

+ That’s when he said “I think I love you [Name]”. Hearing those come out of his mouth you could t help but stare in surprise “you what?” You questioned wanting to know if you heard him correctly “well…not I think, I am in love with you.” Yeah you definitely heard him correctly. Again just like in my first point you never expected him to love you. Friends sure but lovers? Now that you remember you could tell he genuinely started enjoying being around you should’ve taken that as some sort of sign but you guess you didn’t. But now that he has you actually felt happy in a way that he has. “You do?” You asked to which he let out a slight chuckle out of embarrassment “yeah I guess I do.” He said before adding on “honestly I’m not sure how you feel about it but I’d figure you should have the decency of at least knowing…do you?” He asked surprisingly, actually nervous but he tried his best to keep cool. He didn’t know if you would say yes or not. If you did then obviously it was great but if you didn’t then it would’ve made this very awkward considering your situation. Then as he began to question your answer you decided to give him a quick kiss on the lips causing him to freeze in place “does that answer your question?” You teasingly causing a slightly blush to form on his cheeks as he looks away “…guess it does” he said before bring you into a hug causing a smile on yours with a slight one on his “do it again” he said and with no hesitation you gave him another kiss as the two just stood there in each others arms while enjoying the fact that the two of you are officially dating.

———————————

[edupiii]

im distraught by the fact Murder Drones is ending, so to make me (and possibly you) feel better, here are:

Some Random MD Character Head Cannons!

Most of these are goofy silly and aren’t really that important, but I wanted to share them anyways :3

　　*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

Uzi 🦇

- uses she/they pronouns but is fine with being referred to with other pronoun sets. however, they don’t like to be referred to as it/it’s since this set was used in a derogatory way towards her when they were younger (still sometimes is)

- has autism + ADHD but is not accommodated for it in school

- her guilty pleasure anime is Ouran High School Hostclub (kiss kiss fall in love!)

- had a My Little Pony phase when they were younger and even made a pony sona. When she’s tired and can’t sleep, she puts on their favourite mlp episodes and listens to them while they fall asleep

- is a Warrior Cats kid

- listens to hyper-pop and scene music along with their usual rock, goth, scream-o and night core songs

- is a passionate artist but has kept her sketch books and digital drawings hidden from others ever since they were mocked for drawing “cringey stuff” in elementary school. They still draw when she has free time and she has become more comfortable sharing their art work again (though mostly only with N)

- has multiple fursonas

- also has a crap tone of ocs with super traumatic backstories

- loves to watch crappy horror movies because she laughs at the dumb choices the stupid human protagonists make. however if N is ever over for a sleepover, she’ll refrain from suggesting any scary movies since they know he doesn’t like horror

- they were picked on for having a unconventional name at a young age, but when she found out it was the name of a firearm, she began to believe she had the coolest name out of all of their peers

- knows all of the FNAF game and book lore and will talk about it if given the chance to

- wants tattoos and piercings but thinks they would look weird or bad on her since they’re a robot. to compensate, they occasionally will put super cool stickers she finds on her plating

- has extensive knowledge on Pokémon types weaknesses and strengths

- writes and reads fanfic

- after Nori passed, young Uzi would try to talk to Khan about mechanical engineering just so he would pay attention to them

- Uzi and Thad were decent friends in kindergarten and elementary school, however they grew apart due to their differing personalities and social groups as they got older. Uzi believes that Thad did this on purpose to preserve his popularity. Thad is not aware of this belief.

- already had intrusive thoughts before the Solver was activated, but they became more aggressive and disturbing after it awoke

- despite enjoying getting work done in silence or listening to music, they find that she works better when N is nearby talking about anything. it’s like a comforting white noise

- has a bad habit of challenging V to anything and everything. this is simply because they know V won’t back out, guaranteeing a fun yet quite spiteful competition for the two

N 🐶

- mainly uses he/him pronouns but is open to multiple pronoun sets

- has ADHD and social anxiety

- whenever he hears classical music, his anxiety spikes a bit as it reminds him of his time in the Elliot Manor

- knows how to slow dance but isn’t very good at it

- before Tessa repaired him, N was originally discarded due to his lack of boundaries with humans (aka, speaking casually to them/out of turn), and his clumsiness

- is the fastest of the DD trio

- he doesn’t really enjoy anime as much as Uzi does but he really likes western cartoons like Adventure Time, The Owl House, Craig of the Creek, etc.

- very much dislikes horror in any form (have it be in a movie, video game, book, etc)

- likes to watch nature documentaries, however he skips the bits when an animal dies or is hurt because he feels bad for them

- doesn’t enjoy loud noises or shouting, however he makes an exception for Uzi and V when they yell out in excitement

- knows an ungodly amount of information regarding dogs, wolves or just canines in general. he will start talking about them if ever given the chance

- he doesn’t always understand some things Uzi talks about but he listens anyways since he enjoys her voice and company

- brings V out to social gatherings in the bunker in an effort to get her more aquatinted with the colony and make the workers feel more comfortable around her. However his efforts are in vein since by the end of the party, V is standing against a wall gabbing with Lizzy and every other drone is avoiding her

- N has tried to learn about football so he could play with Thad and his team, but he didn’t understand the rules in the slightest and worried about tackling Worker Drones and potentially hurting them

- when him and Uzi first had a sleepover, he wandered around her room and asked about all the trinkets, plushies, books and posters they had

- draws whenever he gets the chance and gifts his doodles to his friends

- isn’t very good at fighting games, but loves playing games like Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing and Spiritfarer

- whenever at sleepovers, N tries to get everyone (usually Uzi, V, Lizzy, and Thad) to play Just Dance or do karaoke of Disney songs

- vocal stims words he thinks sound interesting

- he often feels as though he speaks too much, so he usually apologizes when talking about something he likes or just knows a lot about. Uzi and him have actually developed a thing where if he feels like he’s been talking for too long, he will give her a thumbs up to which she will respond with two thumbs up, letting him know that he’s good to keep talking and doesn’t need to apologize

- really wants to find out where all the immortal dogs had been put so he can go visit them

V 🦊

- uses she/her pronouns but she is okay with they/them pronouns too

- has generalized anxiety disorder

- when she was a worker in the Elliot Manor, she kept quiet to avoid upsetting or disturbing any of the humans around her. even when spoken to, she would speak as little as possible

- before Tessa repaired her, V was originally discarded due to her poor vision and skittishness around humans

- always found her maid uniform to be stuffy, irritating, and incredibly hard to move in, hence why now she doesn’t wear pants or anything constricting

- remembers the entirety of her Solver transformation but isn’t able to remember much of her time being possessed by the Solver

- she is physically the strongest of the DD trio

- whenever she is introduced to someone new (have that be through N or Lizzy), her first response is to try and intimidate them by saying unsettling things or bringing out some of her weapons. this is her way of judging the individuals character and helps her decide if she actually wants to be around them or not. due to this way of introduction, her friend circle is very small and many workers avoid her as much as possible

- tries to avoid affection or comfort from others as much as possible since she doesn’t know how to physically or emotionally react to it

- also try’s to avoid comforting others since she doesn’t believe she’s very good at it (she’s not good at it but she’s learning lol)

- thanks to Uzi, V now likes to listen to J-Pop and vocaloid

- whenever she is genuinely complimented she sputters a bit but will quickly respond with something along the lines of “i already knew that” or “and it took you this long to notice?”

- V is still unsettled by Uzis wings and tail as it is a continuous reminder of her own transformation. she’s become a lot more used to them being present but they still cause her to twitch uncomfortably

- doesn’t enjoy parties or sleepovers but if N, Lizzy or Uzi invite her to one, she has a bit of difficulty saying an honest no. she’ll suffer through the social interaction to make the few people she cares about tolerates happy

- unlike N and Uzi, she enjoys hunting for her oil and feels embarrassed when it is given to her in a canister. in private, she will go out and hunt for a bot or two from a different colony, however she doesn’t torture her prey like she used to

- V will occasionally put on her prom dress and strut around in it because it makes her feel good

- she isn’t very good at video games, but if challenged to a fighting game, she can’t say no

J 🐯

- uses she/her pronouns (trans women btw)

- experiences imposter syndrome quite frequently and when this happens, she will become more strict with her peers in hopes that the overcompensation will cause others to not question her authority or ability. This applies to both her time in the Elliot Manor and her time being the DD trio leader

- acted as Tessa’s main assistant at the manor, helping her keep on schedule and debriefing her on the days tasks. despite her attempts to keep Tessa on track, J found both herself and her human companion getting sucked into whatever nonsense Tessa wanted to do

- before Tessa repaired her, J had been originally discarded due to her unwelcoming attitude and overly strict demeanour

- J likes to draw but she doesn’t/didn’t often have the free time to sit down and doodle

- has the most difficulty remembering what happened at Elliot Manor since she is the most in line with her original programming

- is the main strategist of the DD trio

- would practice her monologues when she flew alone and would try them out on unsuspecting prey

- pitched the idea of keeping count of kills to V, which created a not so friendly competition between the two. N attempted to join but would forget to track how many kills he got during each hunt

- once on Copper-9, she found herself getting homesick fairly often. despite her workaholic tendencies, she misses the days of goofing off with Tessa

- J has a large skill set when it comes to her arsenal. V prefers her claws and blades while N prefers his blades and guns, but she doesn’t prefer one weapon over the other(s) because she is well versed in using all of them

That’s all for now!

　　　　　　　･:*+.\(( °ω° ))/.:+