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theresattrpgforthat · 2 months ago

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THEME: Bittersweet Futures

Today’s recommendation is all about games that bring us into speculative futures, from the highly plausible to the completely fantastical. You’ll find giant bugs, machine animals, and eco punk anti-fascists in this collection of games.

Autostede, by Kettle and Clock.

You are a Drover. Your mechanical companion, your “Autostede,” is all that keeps you safe against the deadly plants and roving wild stedes in the wilderness between towns. And you keep them running. Together, you can take on the world, which is good because the world is a dangerous place and its your job to keep the small, separated towns safe and connected.

Autostede is a tabletop roleplaying game Illuminated by LUMEN in which you play as Drovers, the few who choose to modify their Autostedes into weapons capable of surviving the harsh wilderness between towns.

Actions taken with the ‘stede interact with their wishes, turning every roll into an ongoing conversation with your companion, where you come together to find the best solution to a problem.

Autostede feels very much inspired by Horizon Zero Dawn, with a bit of a western twist. Character creation involves two parts. First is Drover Creation, which is attached to your mask, an air filtration device that also grants special skills and points towards one of the three main stats as a strength for you. The second part is your Stede, a character sheet with a 4-section hex grid, with each hex representing attribute bonuses, passive abilities, and modules that can serve as weapons, power generators, extra limbs, and so on.

While the game is based in LUMEN, there’s definitely pieces of it that feel unique, such as your mechanical steeds, and the way skills are used in the game. Each character has access skills that are generally useful, but also can do things that feel a little unhelpful, such as “bewilder” or “consider”. These are Recovery skills; most skills are Spent when you use them and can’t be used right away again after you’ve used them, but Recovery skills can be used to refresh your options, in a sense. These balances of skills feels like a great way to introduce pauses into what might otherwise feel like a hectic game, encouraging your characters to demonstrate weaknesses or narrative moments that are more about the character than what the character is doing.

If you love building custom mechs but still want a lightweight set of rules, I definitely recommend Autostede.

Paratype, by megasomamars.

"The world ended long ago. It doesn’t matter how; pollution, nuclear fallout or some cataclysmic event, no one really knows. What they do know is that it didn’t take long for the bugs to show up. Giant insects terrorize what remains of humanity, leaving survivors scrounging for what little resources they can get.

For most, life in the wasteland has become fast, dangerous and insectile. Thanks to science, some individuals have even found a way to splice their DNA with that of these mutant invertebrates to develop strange new adaptations of their own. These hybrids are humanity's newest area and last hope. Now all that’s left is to survive."

Paratype is an interesting little hybrid of a game. The basic rules involve rolling to hit a difficulty level, with rules for both advantage and disadvantage. However, the game also includes a special roll called the Risk roll, which involves rolling 2d20 and taking the result that is the farthest from 10. This is great for situations where you want either a fantastic success or a deadly failure.

Characters have four general stats, with sub-stats that represent specialties, which reminds me of World of Darkness or Genesys games. The inventory system takes inspiration from Mausritter, consisting of hexagonal shapes that can be filled with different size items. If you buy a backpack, your inventory expands!

Finally, the Health of your character is measured in both Hit Points and Stress points. You lose hit points, and gain Stress points. Running out of HP = death, while hitting max SP leads to your character going “feral”, which makes your character virtually unplayable. I think the explanation in the lore for this is a DNA splice that has changed your character to make them better survivors. I also feel like it carries echoes of Trauma in Blades in the Dark, or Corruption in Urban Shadows, except that in Paratype, SP can be healed a little easier.

Light Eaters, by blindink.

An interstellar encounter brought a Light to the earth, corrupting reality and leaving humanity in ash. The last city stands against the inevitable, remnants of the pre-existing mortal Authority desperately clutching for power. Degenerates stalk the wasteland with insatiable hunger, encircling the dying carcass of order. You are the misfits, the should-not-bes, the first and last signs of apocalypse. Born from the end, you are Light Eaters. In your wake, nothing will ever be the same.

Light Eaters is a campaign-style role-playing game for three or more players, telling the story of the last city hurtling towards an inevitable end. Players take the role of Light Eaters, near immortal post-human beings watching helplessly as humanity as we know it comes to an end, fighting back against the Authority and the effects of their own Degeneration. They decide for themselves what matters, and what they take with them into this new world.

Light Eaters uses 6-diced dice as resources, which you can place on slots in 4 different move categories in order to set yourself up for action scenes. You can only assign 4’s, 5’s and 6’s: 2’s and 3’s can be re-rolled, while 1’s inflict conditions or allow something called Chaos to rise. Your characters can work as a team, sharing dice and distributing Conditions evenly, and you can also oppose one-another, attempting to disrupt each-other’s rolls by spending personal resources.

The general game play appears to consist of an over-arching problem, with various levels framed as scenes. Each scene will include an obstacle, often in the form of opposing NPCs. These NPCs carry Facets that can be damaged through the actions of the PCs, and each Facet consists of descriptive words that represent powers and personalities that will affect the NPC’s choices. Over time, Chaos will build, triggering new events every time you reach a new level. When Chaos reaches level 4, the game is over; narrate what happens based on the events that have happened so far.

This game looks like a great option for players who want stakes that raise higher and higher, and plenty of ways to interpret their special powers; You can get a taste of this game by checking out an ashcan scenario, called Light Eaters: Thunderfuck, a scenario with pre-generated characters and a problem that each character is motivated to solve.

Bug World, by alfie meyer.

Maybe the apocalypse could have been averted, but it wasn’t, and here we are, in a brand new world. this isn’t your cold, nuclear winter, sparse and dead kind of post-apocalypse. the end sent the world on a new course, brimming with life - just not quite as much human life as before. ok, barely any. in the super oxygen-rich atmosphere of the earth today, insect life has thrived. it only took a few decades for bugs to reach incredible sizes, and now, about a century-and-a-half after the disaster, gargantuan insects are a normal sight.

from a ladybug the size of a dog, to millipedes that might as well be trains, to horned beetles with skeletons big enough to use as shelter. bugs are huge and they are everywhere. the remaining humans have domesticated some, trained others, made wary peace with some intelligent groups, and carved themselves out sections of the world to live.

Bug World is a Powered by the Apocalypse game in that mechanically, it carries a lot of the hallmarks: playbooks, stats that add modifiers to moves, and graded success. It’s also literally a post-apocalypse: the world is broken and dangerous, and the players are scavenging to survive and learning about the past in the process. However, I think in comparison to Apocalypse World, the moves and goals of the characters are less integrated; in Apocalypse World, a character is motivated by lack of resources to intimidate, insinuate, and barter with the other inhabitants of their settlement for more. In Bug World, you are instead motivated to work together to go searching for the things you need to survive.

The Distant Shore, by The Ignis Court.

Transhumanity's empire has been sundered. The Machine Minds they had relied too heavily upon have left them, and Earth too has disappeared. The Settlements across the Sol System have been left scattered and isolated in the black. As megacorp, fascists, and Psionic Tyrants begin movement to take advantage, an entity known as the Distant Shore has manifest from Ceres, and its caustic light has begun tugging at the psyche of every thinking being.

Lucky then that the Machine Minds saw fit to offer you a parting gift: an Ancile, fragment of the Machine Minds. Their nature symbiotic with your own names you Psion, and one capable of great and terrible power.

This is the Distant Shore.

The Distant Shore is a very interesting example of how your characters’ backgrounds and the lore of the game are built into the process of character creation. For example, you must choose a character background that will place you on the outside of the system of power, and each character must also contain an Ancile that gives them incredible power while also makes them dangerous.

The system itself uses d20’s, with a 10 as a threshold for success. However, how well you succeed is determined by your character’s skills - if you are Untrained in a skill, a success is still partial, and if you are Trained in a skill that aligns with your background, you cannot fail. Your training also determines critical points of your backstory. For example; if you are Trained in Engage, name a fight you didn’t win and what it cost you. I love that these kinds of tie-ins ensure that the players will learn what they need to know about the setting without overloading them with information.

The designer also has an adventure document for this game called No More Tourists, if you need a place to start.

Why We Fight, by Stop, Drop & Roll Games Studio. Why We Fight is a solarpunk narrative TTRPG where you play a crew of eco-punks fighting fascism to build a brighter, greener future.

Your Crew will journey through the remains of a post-civil war country to save lives, reclaim nature, create a community of compassion, and beat back the oppressive forces that threaten the chance for a new start.

But most of all, it’s about learning about each other, and the things that inspire us. It’ll take close co-operation and a diverse set of skills, but together, we can make change!

Why We Fight can be played solo and GM-less, with the elements that would normally be GM-ed attached to randomizers to help the group construct missions together if that is what you so desire. The game is focused on a post-apocalypse that highlights many concerns about the consequences of an increase in fascist-leaning governance, which means it isn’t necessarily escapist, but it might give your table the space to talk about elements of the future that cause them anxiety. It might also give you a chance to demonstrate agency in situations where you normally don’t.

Character specialties are distributed among mental, physical and social categories, and feel pretty standard when it comes to a list of character skills. The group works together to construct a mission, using dice to determine elements such as opportunities, locations, and various situations that may cause complications. Play happens over the passing of a day, with different modifiers attached to specialties according to the time of day. I think this might be interesting way to add complexity that encourages strategy when it comes to plotting out your next moves.

Finally, travel between conflicts and other scenes serves to flesh out the world and add depth to your character’s experiences, using roll tables to describe how small changes in the world give your characters reasons to hope.

For Further Reading...

Post Apocalyptic Community Recommendation Post

Nuclear Radiation Recommendation Post

Fallout Recommendation Post

#bittersweet futures #post apocalyptic #indie ttrpgs #tabletop games #game recommendations #dnd #indie ttrpg

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edgy-ella · 3 months ago

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Overall I liked the Sonic 3 trailer, but there’s a couple things about it that have left me pondering over the nature of video game adaptations as a whole.

As I said in my initial post, the one thing that really stuck out to me about the trailer was Sonic being seemingly commissioned by GUN to find and detain Shadow rather than the plotline we all know from SA2 where Sonic is wrongfully accused for Shadow’s crimes (some fans interpret this as a deliberate coverup on GUN’s end while others see it as a genuine mistake). That makes up a huge part of SA2’s plot and a majority of its most iconic levels. City Escape, Metal Harbor, and Green Forest simply don’t happen without Sonic being persecuted and arrested by GUN first. Given the way Eggman and Gerald appear in the trailer, I think it’s safe to say that the similarly iconic scenes of Eggman blowing up the moon with the Eclipse Cannon and Gerald’s video diary where he vows to wipe out humanity with a colony drop won’t show up, either.

It’s got me thinking: why aren’t most video game film adaptations treated the same way that book adaptations are?

Most of the time when people adapt a famous book into a movie, the book’s core narrative is left intact for the film. They may cut some scenes for time, but overall, it’s the same story with the same major plot beats.

This is not always the case for many video game movies, especially the Sonic movies. The first movie had basically nothing to do with the series—you could copy paste any furry into Sonic’s shoes and the only thing that would change are a few action setpieces. Sonic 2 is way, way better, but it still mostly pulls random bits and pieces of Sonic iconography then stitches them together to form a narrative. Big parts of the original Sonic 3 & Knuckles story are cut out, most notably Angel Island. And like, for those movies, I think that’s fine. There’s not exactly a lot to pull from in the Genesis games they took inspiration from, so I don’t mind them mixing things up a bit.

But why continue to take that approach for Sonic 3 when Sonic Adventure 2, the one game they’re undoubtedly taking the most inspiration from, already has a perfectly fine story to adapt?

I still think that SA2 has the best story of any Sonic game, partially because the lack of a hub world gives the whole thing very cinematic pacing. Honestly, you could cut or abridge some of the emerald hunting stuff and turn in SA2’s story as is for a movie and it’d work. All it would really need would be some minor adjustments to make it a little less janky. I’m definitely not the only one who thinks that, too. SA2 is a golden cow among Sonic fans, as well as one of the rare 3D Sonic games that a lot of non-Sonic fans will praise. People like this game and they like the story. Why isn’t it being adapted properly?

In a weird way, I’m reminded of Netflix Death Note or those Resident Evil movies from the 2000s that just did whatever they wanted for years on end. Adaptations that pulled from its source material every once in a while, but mostly do their own thing. And that bugs me! SA2 has such a strong story, it sucks to see them tamper with it.

I can already see some of you saying “It’s an adaptation! They’re allowed to make changes!” It’s the style of adaptation that bothers me. It’s the difference between Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 and Brotherhood. I wanted the SA2 movie to be treated more like Brotherhood, not the rewritten 2003 adaptation.

#sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #sonic movie #sonic 3 #adaptations #writing

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draconscious · 4 months ago

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RP GET TO KNOW YOU QUESTIONNAIRE.

NAME?: Dan!

PRONOUNS?: he/him

MOST ACTIVE MUSES?: Right now, Pike Queen Lucy over at @coiledqueen has the braincell (for the record, I blame @noitxll 😏)

RPG CLASS I'D BE: Bard or fighter! Or the frog from Chrono Trigger. Frog freakin' rules.

FAVORITE COLOR: Orange!

FAVORITE TYPE OF THREAD: I love love love experimenting and trying out all different types of threads, shifting between muse and genre. Over time, I think I've most come to enjoy writing intensity...in fighting, in tension, or in love. Action will always be a winner in my book, but I also really like writing that drills down into the details...simple conversations or interactions that allow me to explore more of the characters and the world(s) that they live in. (Yes, this is why I typically write so much LMAO)

FAVORITE THING ABOUT MY MUSE: My Clair is so much more than the angry badge-refuser who you first see in-game, and that's solely because of all the conversations, threads, and brainstorming that has happened with others since I first picked her up more than seven years ago now...she's evolved so much, and if you're reading this, THANK YOU. This community has really inspired and informed her growth over time. (I will always love building minor characters up into their own full-fledged selves, and I'm grateful that I have a supportive space to do just that. 😊)

HOW YOU LIKE TO RP: honestly? I like to establish a scene or loose plot and go from there. if things get intense, I'll make it a point to check in with my writing partner more frequently--but I love quickly landing on a dynamic and setting, and then seeing how the interaction crescendos over time! I love a quick-hitting interaction as much as I love a slow buildup, with many narrative twists and turns. I'm adaptable. 😉

(I do tend to write a lot, but that's only because I'm big on leaving my writing partners multiple threads to pull on in their own replies. I always want to leave you with enough to work with, while also letting you steer the story in your own way...that open-endedness is super important to me!)

FAVORITE PLOTS:

conflict (fighting, tense/intense situations, team-ups in the face of danger...give 'em all to me!)

sprawling adventures, even if I only have the bandwidth for a few at a time OTL

small, casual conversations about deep stuff. I am always game for some character exploration.

Moments that lead to becoming friends, or closer friends! (A little romance every now and then doesn't hurt either. 💖)

as I said above, I'm always looking to push myself writing-wise--if you have an idea that you want to try, just ask!! (I promise to do the same.)

WHERE YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM: honestly? above everything, sports. I love sports. I love competition, and watching the very best clash against each other--there's no rawer tension or emotion--and the storylines it produces are unmatched. all of my muses, to some extent, are chasing after something with all their hearts, or maintaining excellence at the top of their games...they love competing, taking everything that life gives them. they have lost before, but they always get back up because they love to win.

A good book or show can also really influence me, too! I'm currently working my way through some Dimension 20 DND campaigns. (Tabletop has been a major boon to the creative me in 2024.)

FACT ABOUT YOU: I love card games (MTG, Pokemon, Yugioh) and was my local game store's 'in-store champion' in MTG for a few years. (The title didn't really mean anything but I got some pretty dope playmats and discounted product out of it, which is a win in my book!)

I also love hiking. Frolicking, some might say. It's good.

tagging: YOU stolen from: literally everyone LMAO [HEIST COMPLETE]

#ooc #(LETS GOOOOOO)#(queued.)

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lilalilan · 4 months ago

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I started re-watching the SyFy adaptation of American Gods and got about like 5 minutes in and it feels like they didn't get what the book is about . They lean too far into the American imagination to be able to do a good adaptation of a story about the American reality I think.

Like the "coming to America" story of the Vikings in the show feels like it takes it's inspiration more from the violent Game of Thrones influenced Viking show from the mid 2010s than any actual history. I don't know historically accurate either version of the story is, but the one in the book feels grounded in a way the one in the show doesn't.

Like yes this is a story about the myths and beliefs and stories that exist in America. But I think they're leaning too far into being and spreading those stories to be able to be a good adaptation of a story about them. It'll be interesting to see if this holds true as things play out, and how this show stands up as a work of art in it's own right

#american gods #i remember this show being a lot of flashy visuals and not really being able to follow the plot of it #and while I just finished re-reading the book so I'm following the plot okay #it does at least for now seem to be a lot of flashy visuals without much substance to them #we'll see how it plays out #also they give the whole game away with the “Odin is a god of battles and war” line and having them all fight like that #the whole joy of the book is how beautifully the pieces come together over time #and it feels like the opening scene just missed that point

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council-of-beetroot · 1 year ago

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✏️Hetalia Fanfics Writers Ask Game✏️

1. Do you write solely for Hetalia or do you write for other fandoms

2. Favourite character to write

3. What characters is the most challenging to write

4. What character do you want to write but haven't

5. What do you keep in mind when writing a particular character

6. What ships have you written for?

7. Best comment or Feedback on a fic?

8. What is your process when writing

9. Strange things you've had to research for Hetalia fanfiction

10. Do you write canon verse or AU

11. Do you write historical Hetalia

12. What's a time period or historical event you have either written or want to write

13. What character took the most research

14. Any fic writers that inspire you or you look up to?

15. How many fics have you written

16. What fic is your favourite? Which one do you want to disown?

17. Do you write rarepairs

18. Where do you find inspiration?

19. Longest fic

20. Shortest fic

21. What fic has the most kudos why do you think that is

22. What fic of yours deserves more love

23. Any fic that was received differently than you first expected

24. What frustrates you about writing for the fandom

25. Have you written anything you would have never thought you would write in a million years

26. Any Hetalia AUs that live rent free in your head

27. What headcanons are essential in your writing?

28. Do you write series of fics or are your fics standalone works?

29. What is your strength when writing

30. What is the biggest challenge when writing

31. Do you write for any of the top ten ships on AO3?

32. Most tagged additional tag?

33. Which character have you statistically written the most?

34. Have you written Nyotalia, Gakuen Hetalia, 2p etc?

35. What makes your characterisation different than others

36. Do you have playlists or character boards for inspiration

37. Do you use images as inspiration

38. How do you feel about using accents in fics

39. How do you feel about using foreign language in fics

40. Have you received fanart for your fics or have drawn for your fics?

41. Country names, human names, both or depends?

42. What appeals to you about the characters you write

43. What appeals to you about the ships you like

44. Longest time you've worked on a fic

45. Fastest you've written and published a fic

46. Are you a fast writer or slow

47. Where do you write?

48. What do you write in ? Paper, Docs, Scrivener, etc?

49. Do you get your fics beta read?

50. What is the best writing advice you've received

51. Best writing advice you can give

52. What is the biggest obstacle you find you have to overcome when writing

53. If you use human names do you go off canon/fanon or use your own? For characters that don't have a widely used fanon name and don't have a canon human name what do you use?

54. Do you take inspiration from cultural experiences in your own culture or from experiences in other cultures

55. Any obscure historical or cultural references you put in fics

56. When did you start writing

57. How would you define your writing style

58. What genres do you write and what do you prefer?

59. Is your style similar to canon or different

60. Any Nation OCS?

61. Other OCS?

62. Have you written your home country?

63. Have you received criticism or hate for your work?

64. Do you show people parts of unfinished pieces of wips

65. Do you discuss fics and ideas with other people while writing?

66. What medium would you want to see an adaptation of your fic in?

67. Favourite line in a fic?

68. Show us a bit of a wip

69. Have you written anything on the more spicy side or do you stick to more family friendly stuff

70. Fluff, angst, both, neither?

71. Favourite group to write i.e. FACE, BTT, Allied trio, etc

72. what do you want your readers who don't write to understand about writing?

73. Do you write humorous works? How would you describe your style of humour

74. What draws you to Hetalia?

75. Ask anything

#hetalia fandom #hetalia world series #hetalia world stars #ask game #hetalia fanfiction #hetalia

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ladyniniane · 4 months ago

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Author Questionnaire Tag Game

I was tagged by @aninkwellofnectar. Thank you for tagging me, it was really fun and interesting!

About me

When did you start writing?

I think I was 12. I have always been a daydreamer, making scenarios in my head. But I started writing for real at that time. I wrote little stories, inspired by my favorite fictional universes, in a notebook. However, I started writing seriously at 19 with my first original short stories. I then went on to write my first novels and short stories before going back to fanfic and then to original writing again.

Are there genres/themes you enjoy reading different to the ones you write?

I read a lot of historical fiction. (And I realize that the more time passes, the less fantasy I read. I'm still reading it, but I'm extremely picky).

My fictional worlds are inspired by historical settings. But historical accuracy isn't my goal (and I'm not writing historical fiction in the first place). My stories are my playground and I'm doing what I want. If I want to change and twist things, put women in roles they didn't have at that time/setting, no one is going to stop me.

If I write fantasy, it's because I enjoy the freedom and range of possibilities it gives me.

Is there an author you want to emulate, or one to whom you're often compared?

Tanith Lee. I wish I could write as beautifully as her, with her lush prose and atmospheric settings. Plots weren't her strong point, just like it is the case for me --'.

Anyway, read Tanith Lee. She has written so many works that you will certainly find something that you like.

Can you tell me a little about your writing space?

I'm either writing on my desk or seated on the couch. That's pretty basic.

I'm writing on my laptop, but I take some notes in a notebook.

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

I read/watch things that inspire me or remind me of my projects. I do some research. I also imagine my characters in different situations and see where it goes. I also brainstorm and just focus on what I want to write to see things more clearly.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

I think! More in a diluted than obvious way, though. For instance, I've always been in awe of the beauty of summer nights in Corsica, being able to walk outside and see all those stars in the sky. It shows in the way I describe the night and starry skies.

Are there any recurring themes of your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Coping with grief, loss, mourning, absence and transformation. Life and death. Resilience. Finding a light after a long road in the darkness. Finding the will to live on. The beauty of the mundane. Finding a community and a purpose. Self-acceptance. Self-reliance. Overcoming one's fears and limitations. Breaking free from the chains of the past.

I'm not surprised at all! They reflect my personal experiences and my hopes.

My Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favourite character?

Zoé, the protagonist of my Byzantine-inspired novel project (title: Zoé, dame du palais/Zoé, lady of the palace). She's in her late twenties and a widow (or at least she considers herself so since her fiancé died before their wedding).

Coming from a dangerous border region, she's a skilled warrior. As she moves to the capital, she's presented with an opportunity to work at the palace. There, she becomes an attendant to the empress dowager and will find schemes, rivalry but also love and friendship.

She's headstrong, mature, generous and passionate, but also deeply aware of her own darker sides. It's better not to be her enemy.

I love her for her adaptability and the dual role she's able to play, being both warrior and court lady. She's savvy, world-weary and experienced in all areas of life.

Which of your characters do you think you’d be friends with in real life?

I think I would get along with my OCs Gladys and Maeve! They are both cheerful and sociable so it would be easier for me.

Which of your characters would you dislike most if you met them?

Some of my stories have pretty awful parents, so it would likely be one of them.

Tell me more about the process of coming up with your characters.

I wrote about it here.

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

My stories are almost always centered around a female protagonist. She has the ways to fend for herself in this world (both physically and intellectually). She's the heroine of her story and she isn't defined by a love interest.

The cast of my stories is largely female. There are important male characters, but they aren't the majority. I don't do it on purpose, it's just the way it is.

And as I've said before, most of my characters deal with some form of loss.

There are also strong bonds between mothers and daughters or with a female mentor.

How do you picture your characters?

I have a pretty solid idea of what they look like to the point I can draw them. Sometimes I'm helped by faceclaims, sometimes not.

My Writing

What’s your reason for writing?

I write because I need to. My life feels empty if I don't. I have a vivid imagination and I can't help but make stories in my head. I'm also writing for escapism.

But I'm also writing in the hope of being read one day and also connecting with like-minded people through my writing.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

First: when I see that I properly managed to convey the feeling/meaning of a scene. I'm also happy when people tell me that a scene had a lasting impact on them.

But what I like the most is when people tell me that my stories touched me/made them happy/feel good. Life is pretty difficult as it is. So I'm proud of being able to bring a little joy/escapism!

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work?

I want to be thought as someone who writes memorable stories with compelling characters.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I have been told that my writing is immersive. I'm able to convey the atmosphere of a scene, the feelings, emotions and to paint vivid visual descriptions.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I'm proud of what I've achieved so far. I think my writing flows well. I'm proud that I kept going and stopped listening to the hater in my head.

I'm a perfectionist, so I'm never completely satisfied. Sometimes I can't help but wonder why I write. But at least, it challenges me and motivates me so I can improve.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

Yes. I know, I wrote earlier that I hoped to be read. But that's not the only reason I write.

I also write to find joy and to make things more bearable. So yes, I would still be writing. Because I can't imagine a world where I don't write. It's a part of my daily life.

And besides, some of the things I wrote have been almost completely ignored despite all the energy and love I put in it. So I know that being read is never guaranteed.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? if it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

I purely write what I enjoy (and I mean, I wrote a long OCxCanon fanfic for a fandom where it isn't that popular). I know that my stories don't necessarily fit in a box. For now, I'm happy with just sharing them online.

I don't want to change things because it wouldn't sound like me. It wouldn't be genuine. Trying to please everyone leads nowhere.

I tag (no pressure!) @lilias42, @take-me-to-valhalla, @fuckingferalhawks, @mwezina, @lumeha, @intricatecaprice, @violets-in-her-arms-writes, @sinniel @tockamybeloved

And everyone who wants to do it (feel free to tell me if you want to be included in that sort of tags in the future, I'm looking for new writing friends :D).

#écriture #writeblr #writeblr introduction #writers on tumblr #female writers #writer stuff #writers and poets

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honeycreammilkshake · 2 months ago

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I'm sorry, call me cruel, but I'm happy the toxic gojo stans got their karma. Sukuna got a happy ending and a potential continuation while gojo didn't even get a funeral. Good. They are also coping with KENJAKU IS MUCH BETTER AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE MAIN VILLAIN sure thing, that's why nobody cared about his whole culling games scenes, his fights and how convenient that Gojo needs to be the one killing Sukuna (for being such a shitty villain, you sure want Gojo to fight him, and not kenjaku) and not yuji

yeah, anon, i get you completely.

it's clear sukuna is far more threatening of a villain. not just for his power level, but also because he's quite cunning, too. maybe not a mastermind like kenjaku was, but sukuna can hold his own and make intelligent moves as well. which is why he won against gojo: he didn't use pure strength alone, he was smart enough to learn from mahoraga in order to use cleave to Infinity itself, and thus kill gojo as well. fans were calling this unfair and saying gojo was the clear winner and gege just wanted to kill gojo off. but i think that isn't truly the case. gojo lost because sukuna had a plan. he learned new things. he adapted. gojo doesn't. for all intents and purposes, gojo relies almost purely on his strength and had too much confidence in it, unlike sukuna who knew he needed to compensate by not being at his full power and saw opportunity with megumi's ten shadows technique.

however, people are only obsessed with gojo vs sukuna because they look at it only as a battle of inherent strength. they fail to see how strategy and opportunity also come into play during a battle. they all wanted gojo to win because, to them, he loses value for not being the strongest. which, i don't mean to be cruel, but that's a terrible way to treat a character you claim to love so much: by only reducing him down to being "the strongest who can never lose" you actually take away so much more from him, such as his vulnerabilities, his flaws, his weaknesses. they don't want him to show weakness at all, unless it's for geto/kenjaku, and i find that boring. a character without weaknesses is often a badly written one who might even hurt the story, and that's what i think gojo would have done if he'd won.

he lost to sukuna, it was fair and needed in my opinion. gojo was a great character precisely because he served the martyr role and was an inspiration for the trio and the rest of the new generation to change the jujutsu world. (though we don't see too much of that change yet.) putting gojo at the center of everything, instead of yuuji (who actually serves as much more complex and fascinating character, imo) just ruins the overall story. and everybody who hated how gojo didn't get a funeral: hardly anybody else did either! not nanami, not choso, not junpei, not even yuuji when he first "died." this is the jujutsu world we're talking about: they treated everyone like tools, not just gojo. in fact, his death did the most by cementing the fact that he died peacefully, that he had trust that the fate of the jujutsu world was in good hands with yuuji and the others. people who fail to see this are claiming that gege ruined gojo's character, but in reality gege honestly put a lot of value in gojo's role.

it's annoying how a lot of supposed gojo fans are treating him like a tool as they curse gege out for doing the same thing :/

#anon #asks

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mysticinsightstarot · 2 months ago

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hii !!

Let's dive into this detailed tarot spread with all the quirky, colorful details! 🌟✨

1. Future in Career:

Card 1: The Emperor Wow, you’re absolutely slaying it in your current career situation! The Emperor is all about authority, structure, and leadership 👑. You’re either in a powerful position or on the way to claiming one. People see you as someone who’s got their act together, someone who’s in control and knows how to take charge. You’re the boss, and you’re not afraid to make the tough decisions. Your career is all about strategy, planning, and making moves like a chess master. ♟️

Card 2: Knight of Pentacles, The Lovers & Ace of Wands When it comes to challenges, you’ve got a bit of a mixed bag here. The Knight of Pentacles shows that slow and steady progress is key—sometimes, things might move slower than you’d like, but consistency is your best friend 🐢💰. The Lovers indicates there might be big decisions ahead, possibly involving partnerships or balancing work with personal life 💞. And the Ace of Wands? Well, that’s a fiery burst of inspiration, but it might be challenging to harness all that creative energy without burning out 🔥. Stay patient, make thoughtful choices, and keep that spark alive!

Card 3: King of Cups Opportunity is knocking, and it’s all about emotional intelligence and mastering your inner world 🌊💙. The King of Cups suggests that you’ll find success by being calm, compassionate, and in control of your emotions. Whether it’s leading a team, handling complex projects, or connecting with others on a deeper level, your ability to stay cool and collected will open doors. This card is all about leading with your heart while keeping your head in the game.

Card 4: Temperance Your career progression is all about balance and harmony 🌈. The Temperance card shows that over time, you’ll learn to blend different aspects of your work life—creativity and practicality, ambition and patience, action and reflection. It’s like you’re creating this beautiful, balanced symphony in your career 🎶. Your ability to stay centered and adapt to different situations will be the key to your growth.

Card 5: 10 of Swords, The Fool & 7 of Pentacles The ultimate career outcome is quite the journey. The 10 of Swords indicates that there might be a painful ending or a tough phase, but don’t worry—it’s all leading to a fresh start 🌅. The Fool is here to remind you that every ending is a new beginning, full of possibilities and exciting adventures. You’ll be taking a leap of faith into something new, with the 7 of Pentacles encouraging you to be patient and trust in the seeds you’ve planted 🌱. Your hard work will pay off, but it’s going to require some resilience and a willingness to embrace the unknown.

2. Future Spouse's Career & Personality:

Card 6: Page of Swords Your future spouse is likely someone who’s intellectually sharp, curious, and always seeking new knowledge 📚🔍. The Page of Swords indicates a career that involves communication, research, or perhaps even something tech-savvy. They’re always on the lookout for new ideas and aren’t afraid to speak their mind. This person is a thinker, constantly analyzing and gathering information.

Card 7: The Devil, Ace of Cups & The Moon When it comes to their work ethic, it’s intense! The Devil shows that they might have a bit of an obsessive streak when it comes to their work, diving deep into their passions and sometimes getting a little too attached 🕸️. But with the Ace of Cups, there’s a lot of love and emotional investment in what they do 💧💖. The Moon suggests that they might struggle with fears or insecurities related to their career, sometimes feeling like they’re navigating in the dark. This combo indicates someone who’s deeply passionate, but might need to be careful of burnout or getting lost in their own emotions.

Card 8: Page of Cups, 10 of Wands & Queen of Wands Externally, people see your future spouse as someone with a youthful, creative spirit (Page of Cups), but also someone who carries a lot of responsibilities (10 of Wands) 💪🎨. They might be seen as someone who’s constantly juggling tasks but doing it with a lot of flair and charisma (Queen of Wands) 🌟🔥. This person is perceived as a bit of a wonder, balancing creativity with hard work, and they definitely stand out in a crowd.

Card 9: 8 of Wands & The Chariot Internally, your spouse is a force to be reckoned with! The 8 of Wands shows that they’re always on the move, full of energy and ready to take action 🚀. Paired with The Chariot, this person has a strong sense of direction and willpower. They’re determined to achieve their goals and are constantly pushing forward, no matter the obstacles. Inside, they’re driven, ambitious, and not afraid to take the reins of their own destiny.

Card 10: 2 of Wands & 7 of Wands When it comes to compatibility in careers, the 2 of Wands suggests that you’ll both have a shared vision for the future 🌍. You’re both planners, always thinking ahead and looking at the bigger picture. However, the 7 of Wands indicates that there might be some challenges—perhaps competing priorities or the need to defend your respective paths 🛡️. But together, you can stand strong, supporting each other’s ambitions while navigating any hurdles that come your way.

Card 11: 9 of Wands & The Star The universe’s advice? Keep the faith and don’t give up! 🌠 The 9 of Wands shows that resilience will be key—both in your career and in your relationship. There might be times when you feel weary, but The Star is here to remind you that hope is always on the horizon ✨. Stay inspired, keep your dreams alive, and know that the universe has your back.

Bottom of the Deck: Page of Wands The underlying energy here is all about exploration and new adventures 🌍🎒. The Page of Wands suggests that both your career and your future relationship are going to be full of excitement, creativity, and the pursuit of passion. This is a journey of growth, discovery, and embracing the unknown. Get ready for some thrilling chapters ahead!

And there you have it! Your career is a powerful journey of leadership and balance, while your future spouse is a passionate, driven soul with a deep emotional core. Together, you’ll create a dynamic, adventurous partnership that’s ready to take on the world! 🌟🚀💼

#daily tarot #kpop tarot #tarot #tarot blog #tarot cards #tarot journal #tarot reading #tarotcommunity

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djemsostylist · 1 year ago

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ROP was never meant to be Game of Thrones which why they kept the show family-friendly and tonally, there's nothing ASOIAF about it either. Tolkien's own estate has continued to license his works for all kinds of adaptations, including the most recent hilariously bad Gollum game. Fans act as if these studios can just produce works without the legal blessing of the Tolkien estate, and even then, ROP was not allowed to use the Silmarillion. It's so obvious his estate wants to profit from these adaptations, even in limited capacities, which Tolkien fans seem to never want to admit to.

I don't mean Game of Thrones as in the sex and nudity or themes, I mean Game of Thrones in the "Show everyone talks about and is a Part of the Discourse and Conversation." They wanted to make a popular fantasy show that would be a major part of pop culture--not unlike whatever the Witcher is attempting (and also failing) at doing.

And yes, I'm well aware that ROP has the rights because they were sold to them. I do know how copyright works. I also know that the current Tolkien in charge of the estate is more concerned with money and less concerned with preserving a legacy than Christopher was. I am not unaware of these things, nor has that ever been the point of my posts.

The point of my posts has always been that I find the entire thing overwhelmingly sad and vaguely depressing. Because while yes, Tolkien did initially sell his rights early on, we also know exactly what he thought both of big corporations (he notoriously hated Disney) and also how he felt about changing the fundamental aspects of his work in order to turn a profit. We also know that Christopher Tolkien was very protective of his father's legacy, and wanted nothing more than to preserve his father's works as close to their original form and meaning as possible. My point has always been that as Tolkien's works move further and further from their origin, and as the media (tv shows and movies) developed from his works take over the public consciousness, and fewer and fewer Tolkien fans are actually reading the works which they claim to love, his works become less the things he poured his soul into, and more the thing that tv show/movie fans *think* it is. And this isn't just me saying that--I have read/listened to/seen so many fans talking about his works as huge Tolkien fans while never having actually consumed any of his works.

And because of the unique place the Tolkien holds in fantasy literature, I find this sad. Unbearably, overwhelmingly sad. Again, my point has never been that ROP fans can't like a show--it's been that when said show becomes the thing that people think is Tolkien, then we lose something fundamental about what his works so special in the first place.

I feel like the fact that my ROP posts inspire so much anger and defense in ROP fans says all that needs to be said really. (And also the fact that every time I get an anonymous post angry about my ROP posts, they always seem to have actually not read said post, or at the very least comprehended none of what they did.

#anonymous #rings of power #rop critique #tbh i don't generally tag my criticism unless it's constructive #but in rop's case i make an exception #bc it honestly might be the most insulting piece of media i have ever had the misfortune to not watch

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shawnjacksonsbs · 5 months ago

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Defining our generation, Brats.

And they didn't even love it then.

But we All love it now? Lol. 6-22-24

"We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all." - Andrew Clark

I say it all the time, it's not all about me now, but the weird part is that back when it was [all about me], I didn't even know who I was for it to be all about me.

Claire Standish: You know why guys like you knock everything?

John Bender: Oh, this should be stunning.

Claire Standish: It's because you're afraid.

John Bender: Oh God, you richies are so smart, that's exactly why I'm not heavy into activities.

Claire Standish: You're a big coward.

Brian Johnson: I'm in the math club.

Claire Standish: See, you're afraid that they won't take you, you don't belong, so you have to just dump all over it.

John Bender: Well, it wouldn't have anything to do with you activities people being assholes, now would it?

Claire Standish: Well, you wouldn't know, you don't even know any of us.

John Bender: Well, I don't know any lepers either, but I'm not going to run out and join one of their fucking clubs.

Identity

Just watched Andrew McCarthy's Brats special documentary on Hulu.

It was. . .ok. It was worth it in other ways, besides being "great" tho.

It made me think back.

You know I can probably, honestly say that I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for things, and people like the "Brat Pack".

I'm telling you right now, that my first semester 8th grade year, at a little country high-school outside of Centerview, MO in my rebellious coming of age . . .adolescence, was heavily influenced by that brat pack. Specifically, the Breakfast Club.

I was John Bender. Was John Bender, that whole time. I was Bender until I could figure out who I thought I was later on.

(Changed a few times over the years) lol no lol

In hindsight, I kinda just started to realize my own true identity these last 10 years or so, but before that, I borrowed a lot from other people.

The Breakfast Club was perfect for kids/young people from my generation.

Admit it, you identified as one of them, even if others didn't see it, you felt it.

A lot of that time shaped who I would turn out to be for years to come, even though most of it was . . .toxic(?). You'd never have convinced me of that then.

Hearts have a tendency to stay real, and stay with you throughout your life, regardless of the persona you adapt.

I still don't always feel like the genuine me, because I can't escape a lot of the shit from my past.

But my heart has always been mine, through all the me's that I've been in my life.

I'm closest to feeling like the real me now, which is far more "me" than at any other time of my life.

It's easier to align my heart, intentions, and actions than ever before.

My characteristics that are for show, which we all have, are at an all time low.

Being honest to me, which helps in being honest with others, with all of you, is at its easiest. Easiest, most sincere me, for me and those I care about . . .ever.

But I had to go through all that young dumb shit, to gain the insight I needed to be here.

I feel a little jealous and a little sad for those of you that got to arrive at this point in life, without any of that folly.

It makes all of mine that much more precious.

There's only a handful of people that probably remember my John Bender days, and I don't know if that's good or bad, but from my trenchcoat over my jean jacket to my ear ring and handkerchief around my ankle, I'm grateful.

Im grateful to have had inspired outlets in brokenness. I may not have played the hand dealt to me very well, but one hand doesn't lose the whole game.

That's all for now, this whole entry just hit me . . .nostalgically, as I was stepping out the shower on this Monday that is my Sunday.

Be kind guys, and be grateful. For all of it makes us who we are. Embrace it. You can't change the past now, even if you were/are ashamed, so. . . .embrace it. It's easier to hold your head high when you own all of it.

Until next time;

Brian Johnson: [closing narration] Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...

Andrew Clark: ...and an athlete...

Allison Reynolds: ...and a basket case...

Claire Standish: ...a princess...

John Bender: ...and a criminal.

Brian Johnson: Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.

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myverycoolproject · 2 years ago

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Research: That time I got reincarnated as a slime (TTIGRAAS)

This is my research on That time I got reincarnated as a slime (TTIGRAAS for short) written by Fuse in 2013 and adapted into an anime in 2018.

A thirty year old man is murdered in the street and dies. Suddenly, he is reincarnated as a slime creature in a fantasy world. He has the unique ability to gain powers from things he absorb, as well as their forms. He comes a cross a trapped dragon that bestows him a new name: Rimuru Tempest. Rimuru promises to help free the dragon and goes off. Rimuru comes across a tribe of Goblins that seek his help with some wolves, which he does and starts naming all the goblins and only one wolf before passing out. Giving something a name in this world, gives that thing power and allows them to evolve. So when Rimuru wakes up, all the goblins and the wolves have changed. Rimuru helps the goblins build up their town, getting help from Dwarves, ogres and even from some adventurers. Rimuru gains a human form after absorbing the body of a woman who was summoned to the world and became an immortal adventurer. After many battles and adventures, Rimuru finally accepts his new life and strives to ensure that his new nation is safe.

youtube

I’ve only watched season 1 of the show and I love it. The show is funny, action packed and full of mystery, it has lots of interesting characters that all have own stories to tell. Rimuru is super strong and faces off against strong opponents, each encounter not only making Rimuru stronger but also gaining more allies to help his nation grow. The new world is also very interesting, with lots of different races of creatures and a variety of organizations with intentions. There are also many other people who have come to this world, summoned in and given large amounts of power they can’t control. There is one part in the show where Rimuru goes to a school, where there are children who had been summoned in with power they can’t control otherwise they would do. Rimuru luckily helps save them from their power by giving each child a spirit to help control their powers. Rimuru is a very caring person, who always sees the good in people and ensures everyone is happy.

For my FMP, I want to take a lot of inspiration from this show as it is heavily similar to my idea. I think introducing other people who have been transported to the world, as either allies or enemies, would be a good idea. I also think for my game, there could be somewhere like a HUB where you sort of build a town or something as that could be cool to watch as you start off with a basic camp and turn it into a populated town.

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ink-splotch · 2 years ago

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So I have just finished playing More a haunting than a history (which is delightful and I’m planning to do it again) and thus how would you sort the cast ?

Oh, I hadn't even done this exercise yet myself. Hm.

For those new to this game, @sortinghatchats is a personality typing system that I & @improbabledragon built out. It's defines two levels: primaries & secondaries.

One of the best ways to get to "know" the system is to sort yourself or a character using our interactive sortinghatchats quiz here: https://ejadelomax.itch.io/sortinghatchats -- it's more like a "chat" than a quiz, so please explore all the options it gives you!

PRIMARY: Morals, motivations, drives -- WHY does this character do what they do?

LION PRIMARY - Internal & Intuitive & Idealist - Lions trust themselves and listen to their instincts; they tend to care immensely about doing the right thing. A Lion’s watchword: Some things are just wrong, no matter what pretty words you use to excuse them.

BIRD PRIMARY - External & Decided & Idealist - A Bird avoiding a choice that they think is right, but that feels wrong, will feel immoral. Consistency & integrity are key.

BADGER PRIMARY - External & Intuitive & Loyalist - A Badger prioritizes the people who need them the most. Concrete & practical in their morality, the "white tower" thinking of idealists (Lion & Bird) can frustrate them.

SNAKE PRIMARY - Internal & Decided & Loyalist - A Snake prioritizes the people who they personally value the most.

Burned Primaries have lost their comfort in, faith in, or surety in their moral desires -- they may no longer pursue them, or think of them as idealistic or naive -- but the desire remains.

SECONDARY: Methods, means, designs -- HOW does this character do what they do?

LION SECONDARY - Solid & Inspirational & Improvisational - A Lion Secondary hates to misrepresent themself. Their directness and honesty can capture the respect or allegiance of comrades.

BIRD SECONDARY - Solid & Situational & Constructed - Birds collect things-- skills, knowledge, tools-- and excel in the situations where those things particularly apply.

BADGER SECONDARY - Fluid & Inspirational & Constructed - Badgers work. They don't give up or take the easy way. They fit the space they're in, the need they're meeting, and they just keep going.

SNAKE SECONDARY - Fluid & Situational & Improvisational - Snakes adapt. Flexible, fluid, and clever, they can wear any face without feeling untrue to themselves. As long as they know who they are at heart, what does the rest matter?

Burned Secondaries do not defer or default to any particular method; they use whatever is at hand, somewhat like a flexible Snake or Badger secondary. However, there is no joy or satisfaction in that indifference, and they tend to have a general lack of faith in their own abilities or in their right to the luxury of choosing between methods or taking their own preference or comfort into account.

(We don't mean to imply that WHY (primaries) matters more than the HOW (secondaries) -- that's just the ordering of the sorting. A "Badger/Lion" is a Badger Primary, Lion Secondary).

For MAHTAH, though... let's sort some kids!

Chris - Burned Lion Primary, but he looks like a Bird. He’s not happy enough though to be a true Bird. He’s disillusioned and exhausted. It’s important to him to be a “good person” but he doesn’t trust his own feelings to help guide him in what that should look like. Instead, he makes pro/con lists and tries to calculate cost and benefit.

That’s a fine way to make decisions, and satisfying to some— but not Chris. He’s just hollowing out his own chest trying to satisfy some need to be good enough. Maybe if he thinks about it long enough, he can do it right, he hopes.

Certain choices in the game will help you move Chris down a path to “unburning.”

For secondary... Badger. He just keeps showing up. When you need him, he's there. When anyone needs him, he's there-- quiet, helpful, exhausted.

Gwyn - Gwyn is either an Idealist (Lion or Bird) or a burned Snake Primary. While she's friendly and bright, and she does love her friends, she's got that "coldness" that you can get from a smiling Idealist or a burned Snake. She loves her friends, but that love has little to do with why or how she lives her life. She, as she will tell you, is willing and ready to leave and never look back, because it's something she needs.

To sift her out between an Idealist (Lion or Bird) and a burned Snake, we'll look at two things:

How "okay" is she?

What was she like before, in your memories? What has changed? What were her motivations back then?

If you read Gwyn as pretty okay-- healthy, happy, satisfied -- then Idealist is more likely. She's got a lot of space in her heart. I do read her as pretty well adjusted, but I think there’s room in the prose to see her as a lot more damaged. So I’d probably call her an Idealist primary, probably a Lion (she totally makes moral calls based on “vibe”)— but I wouldn’t argue with anyone who reads her as a burned Snake instead.

For secondary, she’s a Snake. A warm, wholesome, friendly Snake who shifts and adapts to help and comfort her friends. She doesn’t care what anyone thinks or assumes about her, based on her methods, except for the people who she thinks truly “know” her (ex. Chris, Bec). Plenty of folks think she’s silly or flighty and mostly she just thinks that’s funny. At the end of the day, she still gets what she wants.

Bec - The angriest Badger Primary. Lion Secondary. Also angry there.

Daisy - Daisy is gloriously unburned, whatever her sorting is. They and Tam are likely the healthiest, happiest kids here.

For secondary, I think Bird. Daisy excels in particular skill sets— food, fancy coffee making, knowing everyone in town— but also is one of the best NPCs for answering questions and describing the world. (This is why they’re my wife’s favorite). They know a lot of things, not all of them useful, and it gives them joy.

For primary, their community-oriented priorities and interests make me err towards Badger, but I think an argument could be made for the other sortings.

Tam -

Lion primary. Bird secondary. They're a straightforward young person. They go with their gut -- it's important to them that things feel right, and they're driven to go seek their truth in an intuitive, exploratory way.

That sense of exploration and discovery ties in as well with their secondary -- a magpie's Bird Secondary, with a constant need to seek and build knowledge and experiences. They fear a cage or a void more than anything; they seek (and find) wider horizons.

Original you - somewhat spoilery, but only I think in terms of "vibe." If I had to sort the younger version of the player character, I'd go with a Snake Primary / Lion Secondary (this is why they jammed with Bec so well) that burned hard.

If you want to play MAHTAH, you can do so (for free) in your browser here:

#mahtah #sortinghatchats

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prof-peach · 3 years ago

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Hi professor!

(ooc)Wanted to say that I’ve been wanting to do a blog similar to this for a long time but I’ve never really gotten around to do this and have kinda been a bit nervous to make one. Now though, I’m in the works of planning things out and setting one up thanks to you and this blog (not a professor blog but still). You’ve been a big inspiration to me and I wanna thank you!

In the meantime though, I did want to ask, what’s your thoughts on Pokémon evolutions that happen while trading? It doesn’t seem natural to me and it does kind of confuse me a bit on how it could work like that.

I'm going to step out of Professor shoes and be a little ooc here to think about this is a broader sense, and explain how i look at them. From there you're welcome to elaborate, ignore, or use that as a basis for your own thoughts on it. Evolution via trade is just an evolution triggered by a large life change. This trigger is adaptable and poses as different thing, be it like the Anime, where we see a pokemon evolve to protect its trainer, or change forms to win an important battle, or impress a mate. Unlike games, we see this happen mid-scenario, not after gaining exp from a win or use of skill. This leads me to believe it’s the emotional state of the Pokemon that’s the true catalyst here.

In the wild, at least on this blog, I like to think of it like this:

Machamp who rule their pod, and look after their fellow machops and machokes will grow old, they eventually come to a point where a new leader must be selected. Their fellow pokemon will show their skills, and the chosen winner to take over the group will receive the dying machamp’s belt. That belt being handed over is enough to evolve the Pokemon, and for them to take their place as the new leader, with their new improved stats.

Onix tunnelling along underground may accidentally stray into a vein of the same rare metal that we produce metal coats with, enough of that metal will trigger their evolution. They may actively search for it, or it could be an accident.

Alakazam outsmart each other for fun, if they get smart enough, they too could just evolve out of accumulative experience.

A Pokemon risking itself to protect its family, trainer, or friends, can use its energy stores up (if they have enough of course) and force the evolution. If we see Pokemon rejecting and deciding not to evolve even without stones and items, then the theory stands that they can suddenly decide to tap into that power.

I believe in general there are a multitude of ways for Pokemon to evolve, not just the set in stone (pun sort of intended) ways we see in the games. For example, eevee. It’s evolutions are triggered by location. Flareon live in hotter climates, and flock to volcanoes, hot grassy plains, sweltering jungles, and even hot springs in some areas. They bring their young. Their young then evolve too eventually, through time spent in the area. No stones involved. You could argue there’s Firestone’s in the area perhaps, a vein underground? Sure. Maybe? But there also might not be.

Do we also ask the same questions of friendship evolutions? How do you measure that? What’s the unit for friendship? Feels to me like another evolution through life experiences, not all that different from a trade (leaving one trainer to join another, a pretty big event for anyone) if you ask me. It’s just like...I don’t know, it feels like a lot of evolutions are aided by items, are more successful with items, or would be a sure fire way to achieve it, but quietly, subtly, all Pokemon must gain exp and skills through simply living. For doing regular normal stuff day in day out. After a while, that energy equates to the stones, or the trade, or the item, and the Pokemon evolves without any fancy method.

Humans and trainers figured out how to speed run growing battle-ready Pokemon partners, to win money, stay safe, become famous, even commit crimes. We say Pokemon in the wild handling items or doing tasks and they just happened to come into contact with the right thing, and evolved. We now mass produce held items to aid this. Could argue there’s a strong financial reason for the lack of talk about ambient evolution as discussed above.

Gotta remember too, these were marketed video games, meant to be sold and to make money. The games would implement mechanics like evo-trades, to bring excitement to kids who had only one of the games as a kid, to get them to trade with other people who might be able to help them get those elusive evolutions for the games completion. Back then they developed this evo-via trade methods to encourage social gaming in children, amongst other things. It was widely thought of as a bit of a gimmick from what i've gathered. For this reason I’m a little flexible with the mechanic as a whole, it feels like a neat thing for kids to discover when trading Pokemon back when it was first brought in, Googling answers wasn’t so much of an option, you use to have to get a guide book, or ask someone who knew how. On average kids had to find out either by chance, or by word of mouth. It made people want to interact. Don’t we all have memories of our fav evo trade finally being ours when playing? It’s a great bit, people enjoyed it.

Take what you will from this, I got a little too into it, I think a lot about these things, but never have a reason to write it down....or try to haha! I'm glad you got going with your own blog, it's really nice to see so many people give it a go. We can all do with more content, and why not make what we want in the pokemon world right? its a lot of fun, creative, and can bring joy to others too. I see no down side.

#pokemon #prof.peach #peach talks #ooc #sort of #long post

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cryptiql · 3 years ago

Text

smoke signals

pairing: dabi/m!reader

warnings: smoking, mentions of anxiety and abuse, but otherwise okay. please do not read forward if any of the listed warnings might trigger you in any way, and stay safe <3

words: 6.5k

a/n: this is my first ever mha fic and the fact that i decided to do dabi first shows i have some massive balls but i'm giving it a try! if he seems ooc at all or i get some facts wrong, please lmk and i'll fix them. (heavily inspired by smoke signals by phoebe bridgers—would recommend listening to it or any of her other songs while reading)

dabi found the meaning of life in a simple strum of chords; a melody twisted by melancholy tunes that resonated deep within the gates of his mind. they haunt him—either by breaking his conscious from a much needed rest to bring him tossing and turning in the damp air of the loft, or making sure that he stayed wide awake during the late hours of the night and well into the creeping day. the lyrics are so surreal that he has to sit down and contemplate their meaning like an english teacher would to the color red, but they're painted saccharine and drip with honey flowing from the mouth that sings them and he hates it. he hates that he's wasted moments better spent wrecking havoc just to understand that stupid little ditty that clings to his heart like a leech. but this song did not come from his own craft—no.

dabi had known the putrid stench of sweat and vermillion blood when the flames licked at his skin, breaching the coarse flesh of his palms to rain hellfire upon all those who dared oppress him. he could weave lies with knots that would take years to unravel, and set whole cities ablaze with a mere finger. clawing oneself from a well built to drown them in their trauma does tend to leave scars on ones hands, and dabi's body was practically a canvas for mutilation, so he could consider himself an expert on the matter. he could attempt to make such a song by strapping in with his many hours of free time and diligent persona, but his hands were not made for music; neither delicate, sonorous tunes or dark, grating strains. they were made for war.

so if anyone had asks, "no" is his answer. "i don't play." and yes, it is while he's drumming a rhythmic beat that he claims this to be true, but the last thing he thinks about is donning a set of drums during his free time. he's far too distracted by the image of your taper fingers curled around the neck of your guitar to consider anything else.

the gentle but keen plucking of chords startles him from yet another ridiculously long-winded spiel by shigaraki, and dabi swallows a strangled groan behind his grinding teeth. it's in his head, now, and so far the only thing that has succeeded in reaping it from his memory—if only for a few minutes—is the blood stained battlefield that he's found himself fighting on far too many times this month alone.

what's he complaining about, though? it's not as though he minds getting down in the dirt. in fact, he's ecstatic to dig his claws into any gruesome ordeal so long as it benefits him in some way, so why is he so invested in this little to and fro game of twenty questions with the likes of you; someone as significant in the world as a paperclip without paper to hold? why come back, despite there being nothing in it for him besides a series of migraines?

not from you, a voice answers from inside. you're an absolute pleasure.

dabi nearly snarls at the confirmation that his own mind is turning against him, and as he does this, a plume of smoke erupts from his lips, billowing and curving to create intricate patters before dissipating into the atmosphere. a second time. a third. a fourth drag from the cigarette has completely obscured his face from anyone's view, and he relishes in the instant of privacy it gives him. however, it has also blocked him from seeing everyone else in the room, and while he normally would have considered that a blessing, it appears tomura has had enough of it.

you get headaches because you smoke too much, comes a second voice; yours, scolding in a way he'd only expect from a worried mother. dabi only has a split second to register it before shigaraki's head pokes through the fumes, red eyes alight with rage and lips pulled back into a snarl.

"would you quit doing that inside? it's fogging up my brain and i can't think straight." he grates.

"strange—i assumed there wasn't a brain in there to fog up in the first place." tomura's nostrils flare and dabi's pride spikes.

"besides, you came in here and looked directly at me as i was smoking—why didn't you ask me to stop then?"

"i was telling you with my eyes, idiot. you should know when it's time to either take it outside or put the damn thing out. there are ashtrays for a reason, and not everyone here wants to inhale that shit." he interrupts their intense staring contest only to wave his hand to clear the smog. now he can see the rest of the league clearly (oh joy, he thinks) and gives an indignant grunt when spotting toga at the bar table, covering her mouth and nose as a pitiful aim to block her lungs from the smoke. twice, who had unfortunately used up the last pack of his own cigarettes that morning, leans forward to take a whiff, exhaling soon after with satisfaction.

kurogiri stands at his usual spot behind the bar, seemingly unaffected as he idly scrubs away at grime infested glasses, while sako lounges at the opposite end of the room. his mask is on, leaving dabi to wonder if it's been like that all day, or if he just recently put it on to better fend off the fumes. he doesn't really care, whatever the case.

after a beat of silence, dabi wets his lips to respond, a lopsided smirk growing on his features.

"oh, i'm sorry your frail body hasn't adapted to a bit of vapor in the air. and with that flakey skin of yours, it's no wonder you're extra sensitive—"

shigaraki's hands come flying through the next waft to slam against the tabletop where dabi's feet lie, causing it to wobble and creak in protest. the ravenette doesn't even flinch as the harsh, raspy words are spat in his face.

"if you're not going to pay attention, then leave. actually, i'd prefer you do that either way."

and dabi would have happily disregarded his request if not for the faint ringing in his ears, rising higher and higher before receding back into his skull like the tide. a scowl morphs its way onto his once vacant expression as he puts pressure on his temple, rubbing softly where his eyebrows knit together. just for today, he'll indulge his so-called boss's whims. the piercing screech that emits from below when he pushes his chair back does nothing to help with the ever-growing headache, but it hardly matters now that he's headed out the exit. he's able to catch the last fragments of shigaraki's raving before the door closes, leaving him to stand amid the tumult of the city in all of its glory.

the alleyway is dark with looming shadows, but people are still milling about, so dabi considers himself lucky for already being dressed in his disguise. he flips his hood up, pulls the surgical mask over his nose and quickly slides on his sunglasses for good measure before slipping out into the traffic, sometimes going with the flow and then weaving past those moving too slow for his liking.

right now, his patience is a mere thread; hair thin and on the edge of snapping whenever someone bumps his shoulder. their negligence is infuriating, and he's tempted to roast them into a charred, mangled mess then and there—the consequences of blowing his cover be damned—but by some miracle, he manages to refrain from doing so. it takes about five minutes for his temper to shorten to the length of a matchstick, and he knows that one more shove will be what strikes it. dabi pauses for a moment to crane his neck, allowing the sea of people to flow around him like a stream to a rock as he searches for an alternative route. it appears as though he'll have to take his chances with the crowd until he hears the repetitive ringing of a bell and a man's voice calling for passengers to board. public transport was risky, what with him being a menace to society, but he can't possibly be the single most shady dressing person on the train, right?

he wouldn't bother answering his own question when daylight was burning, so dabi pushes himself from the swarm and leaps for the streetcar just as it begins pulling away from the stop. there's a shuddering jolt before the passengers settle in for their departure, and as his palms squeeze the metal railing in response, he notices the peeling red paint clinging to the car's exterior and finds himself staring at it for a ludicrous amount of time, not thinking about anything in particular.

the rickety trolley is semi-packed with civilians, none of whom regard his presence with anything more than a noncommittal glance. good—that makes his job ten times easier. to his chagrin, it runs over more than a few opposing train tracks or crudely paved bumps in the road, and this causes the whole cart to jostle before stilling completely, the process repeating itself over and over.

the knowledge that his trip to the outskirts of town is a short one is the only thing that calms his nerves.

when dabi finally arrives at his destination, the sun is gradually descending from its peak in the sky, and the clouds are more like wispy tufts than the luscious, cotton candy lumps they were just hours earlier. overhead, the baby blue hues turn to shades of opal; a forewarning of rain. the feelings of irritation and malice from earlier are still bound to him like chains that threaten to snap him in half when drawn too tight. the crippling weight causes his feet to drag along the gravel path at a sluggish pace, his own hot breaths fanning against his face from behind the mask. if anyone actually lived out here and they were to see him, their first impression would be that a living corpse had just waltzed onto their property. it was just his luck, then, that you were the only person out here, and by extent, the only one not deterred by his appearance.

even so, dabi's mind kicks into gear. was this a good idea? he doesn't even know why he came here—he just needed a place to blow off steam and his body had already made the choice on its own. this isn't any different from all the other times, though, and he can't ignore the fact when it sits in the pit of his stomach like an anchor. you're always the first person he goes to at times like these (dabi subconsciously rules out the man working at the local 7/11 who sells his liquor cheap, though he's still appreciative of the bottle to numb his thoughts). that tells him more than he wants to know.

your house is quaint, like those old country cottages he sometimes sees pictures of, and squats on a large, grassy mound of earth surrounded by heaps of rocks and sand from the neighboring beach. it merges with a towering lighthouse, and dabi notes that there must not be any sailors due to make port yet, otherwise the light would be on. the second thing he takes in are the flowerbeds sitting under your two front windows, and how they look withered and close to death.

"i wanted to add some color, but i can't keep plants alive for shit." you had said, huffing in amusement to yourself as you tended to the weeping alliums. "succulents are the only exception."

a small pot of them sits on the windowsill, but they seem to have gotten to big for it; the rubbery leaves spilling over the cracked rim. he hardly registers how much of a stalker he must look like until he stands on your welcome mat, peering through the dirty glass panes to find you nowhere in sight. the lights aren't on, so he can only see the outlines of furniture when bands of light stream in to reveal them.

sitting back on the balls of his feet, dabi curses under his breath. it's not like he was expecting anything. how was he supposed to know whether or not you were home when you had no way of telling him?

"jesus, patch!" a shout startles him from his brooding, but he doesn't let it show as he looks towards to ocean. you're hauling yourself over a large rock to wave him over, wearing a familiar grin. so that's why he couldn't see you. dabi makes careful work of leaping over jagged stones and threatening to bake any nosy seagulls as he makes his way to where you sit, with your favored instrument slung over your shoulder. the ghost of a smile graces his lips when he recalls how you would have scolded him for being mean to the birds, but that was before last week.

"pesky fucking bastards—they keep shitting on my music sheets!" another seagull waddles into your vicinity, only to squawk in distress as you shoo it away with your foot. "i wonder if this is natures way of telling me to quit while i'm behind. . ."

after breaching the treacherous terrain and nearly scraping himself in the process, dabi squats on the stone beside yours, looking up at you with hooded eyes. you meet his gaze with nothing short of merriment and a shake of your head.

"if someone had seen you, you would have been arrested on the spot for being a peeping tom." you chuckle, combing a hand through your hair with a smirk. "what? you lookin' you catch me in the nude or something?"

dabi scowls, choosing to ignore the question rather than give into the bait. as if i would be satisfied by looking at anyone but you in that state. he swats the air as if it would drive the notion from his mind like a bothersome fly.

"in the middle of fuck-ass nowhere? i'd never get caught."

"aw, don't be like that. if you really wanted a peek you could've just asked." the mocking tone in your voice spurs him to smack your thigh, which earns a hearty laugh in reply.

"ooh, don't treat me so roughly, or i might begin to like it!"

dabi has had more than enough experience with your flirtatious tendencies, and he feels he should have gotten used to it by now, but his heart still clenches every damn time. the worse part? he can't say that he minds. you don't give him a chance to respond, but dabi hasn't a clue what he would have said, so he lets you continue, watching intently as you rifle through your bag to fish out a guitar pick. shifting into a crisscross position, you perch the guitar on your lap and begin tuning the strings, idly talking about how uneventful the past days have been. dabi pretends not to have heard that it was because he wasn't there to visit, and instead gives his attention to the lighthouse in hopes that you won't see the faintest of reds dusting his ears.

five minutes pass before you actually start playing, and even then, it's only a few experimental notes here and there that help you build towards the perfected melody.

it's too sweet for his taste; dabi swears that's why his stomach turns so ferociously and prompts him to lean against the boulder to his right for some sort of stability. he won't even humor the idea that it's because of the way your lips twitch into a near half-smile before melding back into a concentrated frown the moment you strike a wrong cord. an embarrassed flush captures your cheeks as you study the music sheets, briefly pressing down on them when a sudden breeze flutters the pages. the pencil that was once tucked behind your ear now sticks out from one corner of your mouth, a flash of pink and orange melding together when you go to absentmindedly gnaw on the wood.

many more minutes fly by, and you've long since abandoned the new tune just to pick up an old one. dabi's back straightens at the first set of strings you pluck, and he recognizes them as the same ones that have been playing on repeat in his head since the day you met.

dabi's heart hammers in tune with every footfall that slaps against the pavement, tearing through the small pools of water that grow with every second. it hasn't stopped raining since the chase began, and there isn't an inch of him that hasn't been soaked through. still, something good must come from this little dilemma—the burning sensation that clings to his arms has almost settled down. the silhouettes of trees merge with inky blackness when he blinks, and he reaches with trembling hands to wipe the droplets of water clinging to his eyelashes.

a yellow square of what assumes to be light shines in the distance, contrasting wildly adverse to the darkness that sweeps him up from under his feet and pushes him forward. the sound of police sirens has been reduced to a mere memory in the time that was running, but he isn't about to risk going back to the league's base in fear of a stakeout waiting to get the jump on them. besides, why stop there when the possibility of shelter awaits him?

the bottoms of dabi's shoes are slick with mud, and blades of grass have snuck their way under the cuffs of his jeans to scratch at his skin. the sensations paired with the numbing cold are beyond uncomfortable, but he won't have to worry about that once he gets inside—that being if the person inside doesn't put up a fight.

he'd expect them to be mad if they did anything except that, no matter how welcoming the house looked. dabi's instincts tell him that someone out this far from the city doesn't a have a lot of connections, and thus killing them wouldn't cause an uprising if it were needed, but the minute he grips the doorknob, a thought occurs. if they have a quirk, its power could level my own or even surpass it. . . he grits his teeth. but like hell i'm going to let them win.

the hesitation vanishes in an instant as dabi turns the knob and thrusts himself inside, wielding a blue flame in his dominant hand to further illuminate the room. the wind is so fierce that it pulls the door shut for him, and the villain finds himself staring down the unperturbed figure of another man, perhaps around his age, hunched over a stove and glaring at a steaming kettle. they lock gazes, and almost immediately, the kettle gives a high pitched whistle. you look away first, lifting the pot and turning the burner off whilst opening the cupboard overhead to pull out two mugs, both of which adorn ugly christmas-themed patterns that dabi wishes he could forget ever seeing.

his glare hardens when you move to the table in the far corner and begin pouring what he assumes to be tea, taking one cup into your own grasp and leaving the other at his own disposal. your one mistake is grabbing your phone from the counter, but when dabi's flame enlarges, you hold your arms up in defense. then, before he can even formulate a proper threat, you toss the phone to him. he catches it easily and observes the dark screen, masking his astonishment with a more sinister expression.

the only other move you make is to drape yourself across a cushion on the window seat with an acoustic guitar in hand. you look more relaxed by the second despite being cornered by a dangerous criminal, and dabi has to refrain from voicing his shock when you address him with an almost bored tone.

"if the tea isn't to your taste, there's more in the cabinet. shower is down the hall to your left, and there's a spare bedroom upstairs to the right. do whatever the hell you want, just don't burn the place down or touch my freddie mercury records."

dabi is stuck to the spot for one of three reasons, he determines. one, your attitude has surprised him into a stupor that not even hiw own will can break. two, his refusal to believe that you're handling this situation in a calm manner is really just his defense mechanism kicking in, and he won't move until proven that you won't do anything when his back is turned. and three, you're quirk is similar to that of madusa's and you've successfully turned him into a fleshy mannequin.

"if you're worried about me calling the cops, what you're holding is the only working phone here. the power is out due to the storm, so my landline is dead, and the nearest form of help is a crippled old widow five miles west. i'm not going to risk running when i'm up against someone with a quirk."

dabi considers everything said, but never once allows his fire to dim. he took the surrounding area into account while making his escape, and he can see the landline is in fact out of service, so the male's assurances checked out. hell, the light source that guided him here was nothing but an old-timey oil lamp. the fact that you're quirkless does him a great amount of good as well.

with cautious steps, dabi makes a beeline for the bathroom, but he stops halfway to stare at you again. you respond by quirking a brow and kicking your feet up, something akin to mischief in your guise.

"i can take the shower with you since you're so afraid i'll make a break for it." you drawl, and dabi snarls, a fowl cuss bubbling in his throat as heat crawls its way up his neck.

"why, with a blush like that you might not need any drying off~."

dabi decides that he's had enough and storms down the hall, already peeling off his dripping clothes and and silently promising that he'll burn the guy to a crisp if he so much as tries to catch a peek. he can hear you calling out in hilarity even as he slinks into the shower and attempts to drown you out with the static-filled haze that captures his senses.

"the name's, y/n, by the way!"

try as he might, dabi had never been able to keep from coming back. now the reason why has been revealed to him on a silver platter, and he won't even spare it a glance.

your soft singing snaps him from his reminiscing as he stretches his legs, stifling a groan when something pops as not to disturb you. while digging through his pockets for a cigarette, he stops momentarily for fear of forgetting how to breathe when he lays his sights on you. you're in your own little world; everything else—him included— seems to have disappeared as you play from the heart. you need no standing ovation, no adoring fans or fantastic lightshows. you've said it once, that fame and glory mean nothing to you, and that you have all you could ever want or need right here, nestled in the beachside view of what you call home.

"and i have you." a cool breeze ruffles your dirt stained overalls as you reach up to wipe a bead of sweat from your forehead. the sun beats down on you, never shining half as bright as your smile, and the shore kisses the boulders with waxing and waning waves of aquamarine; frothy, foamy masses washing up with it to carry lone strands of seaweed. "otherwise i'd go mad without your company."

okay, that was lie. the truth is right there, practically spitting in his face how much of an idiot he is for trying to deny it, and dabi is glaring right back at it. he feels like an impatient kid on christmas eve, sneaking glimpses of gifts under the tree and feeling like he's committed a felony after getting caught. and you do catch him.

"penny for your thoughts, patch?" there it is—that stupid nickname. it's always been laced with mirth when you call him as such, but now it's replaced by genuine curiosity. and is that a hit of concern he hears? you study him with pursed lips and stony features that gradually morphs into that of concern when the silence stretches on. dabi forces himself to sneer at you, and something stirs inside his chest when you don't flinch.

he hates it. he hates you.

dabi nods to the sky, a guarded noise building in the back of his throat as he tugs on his earlobe.

"s'gonna rain." your jaw visibly clenches, but you humor his evasive habits just like you always have, looking to the clouds, which have darkened considerably in the last hour or so. it's around this time that the weather patterns become more unpredictable, but you've noticed the distinct lack of rainfall in spite of the gathering storm brewing overhead. you could sit out here for a while longer without much activity in the sky, and it would take more than a little shower to drive you inside, especially when you finally had the chance to enjoy some quality time with dabi. you notice the way his shoulders droop and the tension from his facial muscles all but disappears when he sits amidst the smell of fresh salt water and unpolluted air—the weight of his past slowly but surely ebbing away. you'd like to hope you have some part in that. oh god, do you ever hope.

you plead to whatever omnipresent being above that he's not just here to hit a blunt without getting reprimanded for it, or that he's making these daily visits out of pity.

"nah. it's been like this for a little while—looks like a storm will hit, but then it passes before it even begins." you sling the guitar back over your shoulder and gather up your music sheets, eyeing dabi from your perch. you're challenging him now, and normally you would never dare force him to speak if he didn't want to, but something about his aura is off. you can sense it in his words; the very air he breathes; and it compels you to hold him close, if only he would let you.

"so, you gonna tell me why you're avoiding the ques—" a deep rumble interrupts you, and dabi lets out a sigh of relief that you're thankfully too distracted to hear. a single drop of water hits your nose, followed by another, and another, and—

"you were saying?"

"oh shut it." you don't get to finish speaking, for a crack of lightning strikes the far end of the beach, scattering sand in every direction. you just barely manage to scoop up your belongings before sliding from the rock, but your footing betrays you and send you stumbling to the ground. dabi is there to catch you, wasting no more time in hauling you to your feet and rushing you as carefully as possible through the jagged maze. he can't refrain from smiling when you splutter a string of profanities pass poorly hidden laughter, an unmistakable "FUCK ME!" spilling into the cold evening when you accidentally stub your toe on a particularly sharp stone. it's pouring within seconds, and no sooner do you reach the doorstep do you both realize how sopping wet you are.

the last thing you think of is your chattering teeth, however, when you see dabi's spiky tufts of hair dripping with residue and his electric blue eyes gazing into yours. what you do think is that for the first time in your painfully ordinary life; your twenty three years of mediocrity and progressive isolation from the world around you; you have found the single person who understands your struggles and has chosen—for some unfathomable reason—not to abandon you. you wish you could say your parents were the same, but you also have scars from a distant childhood that brought you to this place.

this old lighthouse is your home, yes, but dabi is your sanctuary. he might as well be a god by how often you worship him from afar, wondering if ever you'd be so lucky; so eternally blessed; as to call him yours.

you don't register that he's opened the door to let you both inside until a cozy warmth envelopes you. no, wait, that's dabi's fire. it should terrify you that the same man who threatened you with those flames is now at arms length, but you trust him not to hurt you in any way, and so you lean into the gentle licking of heat on your skin, humming in content as your shivering comes to a halt.

dabi's fear of burning you diminishes when you flash him a grateful smile, a whisper of thanks echoing across the walls and pummeling his heart without resistance. he averts his eyes with a curt nod, a feeling like molasses weighing down his tongue and drowning the words he wants to say.

"you're welcome." is all he can muster.

half an hour later, your guitar is drying by the hearth and the two of you are huddled on the window seat, nursing cups of coffee and watching the storm in a comfortable silence. you haven't blinked in a while, meaning you've wandered off the tracks of consciousness as suspected, and pretty soon, you start singing quietly to yourself; the deep crooning used as background noise to your aimless meditation. dabi nudges your calf with his foot and is rewarded with a brief quirk of your lips and a nudge back. he doesn't have the patience nor the brain power to decipher how long this goes on for, but it doesn't matter.

this is fine. the image of red hair and a tall, intimidating figure invades his train of thought, and dabi curls inwards on himself. this is fine.

but it's not.

trembling, he places his mug on the table before retracting back into his seat, clasping his hands together. he tries visualizing the ties of his life coming together to form a rope. the fingers on his left—memories from his past—linking together with those from his right—memories made with you. his palms connect, bringing instant relief with the knowledge that he's here now, practically nestled between your legs, out of harms way. you're both fine.

dabi takes the swelling anxiety and pretends to crush it within his fist; clenching and unclenching it until his peace of mind returns.

"penny for your thoughts, patch?" you ask again, still in somewhat of a trance. this time, dabi answers.

"why do you call me that?"

you're caught of guard, half expecting him to ask why you haven't turned him in to the authorities. you've seen him without his disguise, you know his name, and for the past eight months you've been socializing with him like normal human beings do. that's more than both of you could have said in the past. of all the burning questions, he chose that one? "i've heard 'patchwork' and 'staples' and just about everything in between. why shorten it to patch?"

you gape at him, opening your mouth, then closing it, and so on. the pitter patter of rain against the window has ascended into relentless pelting. it sounds like gunfire to dabi; assaulting his ears in floods; but to you, it's nothing more than a waterfall hindering your view of the ocean. the deep breath you take seems to put more suspense in the atmosphere than needed, and it makes dabi's heartrate quicken for an entirely different reason, yet he makes no sign of stopping you.

"because my first thought whenever i see you is how much you remind me of a doll." oh. what?

you can tell by dabi's reaction that that wasn't what he was expecting, so you gesture for him to wait. he isn't sure he likes the forlorn expression you're wearing.

"typically, when kids first get a doll, they treat it like glass and make sure to tend to it with love. other times, doll owners are reckless and tear them apart just to stitch them back together like nothing happened. you use that camouflaged to blend in with the public, and i'm lucky enough to see what's under it. . .but sometimes i wish you'd keep the mask on so i don't have to see you upset."

upset? a fizzing sound erupts from his palms that he struggles to put out. he's not upset.

"don't try to hide it. you're always scowling when you think i'm not looking, or when you forget i'm even here, and i know it's because someone broke you without the intent of fixing you up."

once more, red clouds dabi's vision, and he moves to stand up.

"you had to clean up after their mistakes because no one else would, but instead of reusing the bits and pieces of your old self, you burned them. you destroyed any and all evidence of who you used to be and now you're patching yourself together with parts that aren't your own, because you don't want to hold onto what happened. though, something tells me you still haven't let go, otherwise you wouldn't be so angry."

"you don't know that!" he snaps, but he knows it's not true.

your hand closes around his wrist, and dabi recoils with such strength that it yanks you from your seat. dabi doesn't want you to let go, no matter how much he thrashes in place, because the sensation of your skin on his grounds him. somehow you know this, and you give a comforting squeeze to his pulse.

"but that's not all i see. because dolls are beautiful, and it's the ones who still love them after they're broken that they need the most. no one's told you they think you're beautiful, have they?"

dabi shakes his head, refusing to meet your gaze even when you cup his cheek with your free hand tilt it towards you. every touch is filled with hesitancy; feather light and more intimate than anything dabi has ever witnessed, let alone experienced personally. with the way you hold him like he's water in your hands, your eyes overflowing with a love he hasn't known in forever, dabi knows he won't find another feeling like it. you're not the embodiment of good—at least not by society's strict standards—but at least you can sit there and say you've committed a crime. you've never bloodied your hands by hurting others, much less gotten a thrill from doing so, and that's why he pulls away. he has to, because dabi is a harbinger of war, and if he holds you any closer it will only be to kill you.

he says something; a snarl mixed with a broken plea that he prays will make you stop; and you do. his silent victory doesn't last for long, though, because then you're using both hands to cradle his face and fuck, the pads of your thumbs grazing his scars feel like heaven. "won't you let me be the first?" how could he say no? how, when the taste of honey and whiskey is so addictive that he's already drooling into the kiss and willing to beg for more; when your mouth slots perfectly with his and dabi begins to wonder if he's stumbled right into the scene of a cliché wattpad story. the idea causes him to huff out a growl, and although neither of you can talk, he can imagine how strongly you must want to poke fun at him for the action. he can feel you smirking—the smug little bastard you are—and dabi ponders how long it will take to reduce that attitude of yours until you're submitting to him.

not yet. he chastises himself, completely unaware that you're currently thinking the same thing. dabi kneads the flesh of your hips through your jeans while you comb your fingers through his hair, gasping sharply between bruising, wet kisses and keening when he leans down to nurse your lips with soft pecks afterword. you're still trying to process the fact that you've coerced this devious criminal into making out with you in the pale glow of your seaside residence, but for the moment, you need not concern yourself with the details. you've forgotten all about dabi's ego and how this whole situation is no doubt feeding its flames. his grip on your waist is making you too delirious to care.

"fuck." dabi's breath is staggering when you finally pull back, an aura of clarity and desire hanging between the two of you.

"y-yeah. . .that was. . ." you can't produce a word, or even a paragraph to describe it. you know you're going to hit yourself later for admitting such a banal phrase in the midst of what could be classified as your very first kiss, but that is neither here nor there, and you would rather suffer an agonizing death than let dabi find out that he stole your first. you're too preoccupied envisioning all the other firsts to come, so you don't notice the way he stares at you like some precious jewel, but his fingertips brushing your bottom lip succeed in snapping you out of it.

"hm?"

dabi goes quiet, contemplating what to say as the thunder moves abroad and the rain comes to an end, leaving the house in a numbing state of tranquility.

"why not call me doll, then? it'd be easier."

you chuckle in response, playing with the hairs at the base of dabi's neck and making sure not to miss the way he melts into the affection. "i thought that'd be moving too fast." and dabi; still drugged from your kiss and what he can only hope is love; rasps out a genuine laugh, cupping your jaw with a tenderness that makes your knees weak.

"you offered to take a shower with me the night we met, and you think a nickname is moving too fast?"

you stick your tongue out at him, and dabi resists the urge to grab it, even if it's just a bluff.

"would you have let me call you that anyways?" you ask, something hopeful ridden in your tone. dabi feigns consideration as he looks to the ceiling, snickering when you smack his chest. eventually, he murmurs what you audibly hear as "brat" before resting his forehead on yours, an impish glint in his gaze.

"no."

you turn your chin up at him, giggling when he nips at the skin. dabi knows just as well that your attempts at escaping him are halfhearted, so he encircles his arms around your waist tighter, delighting in the flush that paints your cheeks.

"then i think i'll settle for my love, or darling, if that's alright with you."

dabi can't fend off the blush for his life, but he's not afraid if you acknowledge it. he can get you back easily, and he plans to. "fine by me, doll."

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