#also minor hilarity:

[jplupine]

Not me going feral after Alice in Borderland S2. Chishiya, sir, please you're too much

[captn-trex]

words in my mouth

Wolffe x F!Reader

word count: 3.7k

description: you never felt that your friendliness had made a positive impression on the ever elusive, always stern commander wolffe, but that all changes when he overhears a drunken game of truth or dare.

warnings: kinda grumpy/sunshine I suppose, a little fluff at the end, drinking, minor injury detail

a/n: was supposed to be working on my tech oneshot but... I got sidetracked. I also tried to make wolffe less toxic than how he's sometimes represented. grumpy king <3

“Hey Commander!” You chirp cheerily, passing the man in question in the hallway. You know you won’t receive any such a response from him, but you were nothing if not persistent. Sometimes, it was just fun to see his glare and the grinding of his jaw.

Truthfully, you didn’t do it to wind him up, you secretly hoped that one day he would relent and smile back at you. Though that was not in his nature, and perhaps you wouldn’t care to try if it was.

His eyes found yours at the mention of his title, and his teeth instantly ground together. You offered a sweet smile and a wave but his eyes held your gaze with a glare that was so equally lazy and irritated that you almost found it endearing. You were sure no one got under his skin like you did, and that's how you liked it.

“See you later!” You grinned as he walked past, clinging onto his glare so long that he was looking over his shoulder by the time you looked away.

You were stationed on Coruscant with the rest of the 104th for a few weeks at the moment. Usually, you worked aboard General Plo Koon's flagship as a strategist, which was how you got so many opportunities to irritate the broody Commander. You worked closely with him and the General before they were sent off on their missions.

The first time you had met Commander Wolffe, he was so taken aback by your friendliness and positive attitude that he had looked to his General, hoping for some kind of support. Seeing how confused it had made him, you just couldn't resist doing it every time you saw him outside of meetings.

Wolffe was thankful that you kept your overly-sweetened demeanour to outside of meetings, and it was when you became focused and as serious as he was during them, that he truly appreciated your role as a strategist. He wouldn't admit it to you, he hardly had to himself, but he secretly preferred your friendly off-duty persona.

He knew that you were friendly with everyone, but he got a certain thrill every time you went out of your way to say hi to him, to offer him that million-credit smile with the cutest spring in your step. He would be remiss to not realise how beautiful you were, everyone in his company had made at least one comment on it before, but again, he'd never let on.

Wolffe gave no indication of these thoughts and feelings that he kept close to his chest, in fact, he actively worked against them, glaring at you as he just had and not answering your questions that felt like they were meant to taunt him. You drove him up the wall, but in a way where he would lie awake at night and hope to run into you the next day.

Safe to say, you had no idea. No one did.

Though it wasn't long before your own affections came to light.

That night, you had been press-ganged into playing pazaak by Comet and Boost, both of them playing on the same side against you. You had groaned about how unfair it was, but by this point you were all drunk enough that it didn’t matter anymore. If anyone had walked in, they might not have even realised it was pazaak you were playing, you were all playing that poorly. Since you had lost all of your credits to the two clones - unfairly, as you kept reminding them - you were now playing for truth or dares. If they won, you picked truth or dare, and so on and so forth. Hilarity ensues, for them.

You lost another round, but you were past caring now.

“Alright. Truth this time” You sighed.

Comet grinned lazily, “I have a good one”

You rolled your eyes, “So, you mean, it’s actually bad”

“Shhhhh” Boost pressed a finger to your lips haphazardly, “Let the man speak”

You pushed him off, “Lay it on me”

“If you had to kiss one of us clones, who would it be?” Comet leaned forwards as he relayed the question.

“Ooh, that is a good one”

You laughed instinctively, “I’m not answering that”

“No. The rules dictate you must answer the question” Boost slurred.

“The rules?” You chuckled, “I think we lost our grip on rules a while ago”

“Cmon” Comet almost whined, pushing at your knee.

For a moment you placed a finger on your chin, pretending to think really hard, but then it was shortly over taken by a smirk as your brain brought forth exactly the clone to answer the question.

“So there is someone then!” Boost pointed at your borderline mischievous look.

“Keep your voice down!” You hissed at him, swatting his accusing finger away.

“You’ve got to tell us now” Comet insisted.

“No. I’m not saying”

“Okay well we’re just gonna start guessing and see how you react” Boost sat back in his chair, “Well there’s me, Comet…”

You rolled your eyes affectionately as they continued to list off people from their company. It was almost worth it to let them do it to see if they remembered everyone, but it was getting a little tiresome at the same time.

“Alright, alright. I'll kriffing tell you” You finally relented. Somehow they hadn’t guessed right yet.

The pair sat across from you leaned in with the biggest grins plastered across their faces, and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes again.

“I guess I don't hate the idea of making out with the Commander” You said coyly, as if you didn’t know how insane that was going to make them.

They both let out a borderline scream, Boost even jumped up from his chair for a minute. Your laughter forced its way out of you from their reaction.

“So what you really mean is, you’ve already thought about making out with the Commander” Comet asked with a knowingly raised eyebrow.

“Alright, that wasn’t part of the game” You shook your head, sitting back.

“Come on” Boost whined, and it cracked you easily in your drunken state.

“Fine. Maybe I have. So what?”

If either of the clones grinned any wider their faces would surely have split in half.

“So that's why you're so friendly with him, you have a crush on him” Boost laughed loudly, and you jumped to cover his mouth, but just a little too late.

“Will you please be quiet!” You hissed, and they erupted into even louder laughter at your reaction.

You grumbled under your breath and moved back, picking up the bottle of spotchka and pouring them both another cup.

“I’m making sure the both of you don’t remember this tomorrow” You mumbled.

Regrettably, both Comet and Boost were fully operational with no hangover and a complete memory the next morning, unlike yourself. You didn’t have a particularly low alcohol tolerance but the sheer amount of straight liquor that you drank last night was catching up with you. You had an agonizing headache and felt so foggy that you didn’t even know you were walking past the Commander. He called out to you, and you realised you had been walking down the corridor with your head in your hand as you looked to the floor.

“Are you… Alright?” He asked hesitantly, the words feeling unfamiliar coming from him.

You cleared your throat and smoothed down your hair slightly, hyper-aware of your less-than-alive looking appearance. You had really hoped not to see him today. Your eyes found his, his one natural eye holding a certain level of concern that turned your stomach.

“Yes sir, just… Drank a bit too much last night is all” You spoke, and your voice was more hoarse than you were hoping.

“What were you drinking? You look awful” He crossed his arms, looking down at you with his usual frown.

“How kind of you to point out” You chuckled, “It was spotchka, Boost and Comet convinced me to play pazaak against both of them”

“Well that was a mistake” He said flatly, his eyes moving to something behind you.

“Yeah, I can see that no-”

You were cut off as someone shoved your back harshly, sending you flying towards the Commander’s chest. Luckily, he saw the incoming attack and grabbed your shoulders before you could make impact. It was the first time he had ever touched you, and if you weren’t so angry your brain might have lingered on the warmth you could feel through his gloves.

You whirled around, looking for the culprit, and as expected, there stood Boost and Comet, snickering with each other.

“You’re going to regret that” You seethed, and their eyes widened, running away as you leapt at them.

Wolffe watched you sprint after his men, and failed to suppress the small smile quirking his lips. He had a little idea of what that might have been about.

Over the next couple of days, you had to keep your wits about you, particularly when you spotted Wolffe in the vicinity. You were constantly looking over your shoulder, as you had now been shoved number of times, being sent careening into the Commander. You apologised profusely each time, then turned around to whack whichever one of the two menace clones had done it this time. Wolffe couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed by it, in fact, he almost looked forward to it.

He would grab your arms to steady you, and the wide-eyed look you gave him each time was enough to set his insides alive. One time, when you really hadn’t been expecting it, he had grabbed you by the waist, and somewhere in the altercation your hands ended up splayed against his chest plate. Your eyes went wide as always, and in addition, you cheeks flushed a deep red and your mouth hung agape. You couldn’t seem to move or say anything for a moment, only being snapped from your trance when Wolffe had raised an eyebrow at you. That interaction had only earned you an earful from Comet about how ‘down bad’ you were.

Even now as you walked into an important meeting, you couldn't get it out of your head, and the fact that Wolffe was stood waiting for you with the General was no help. The reality of your silly crush came crashing down on you. It wasn't just some fleeting fancy, this affection for Wolffe had been festering within you, and you had only been intensifying it each time you goaded him.

His eyes followed you as you walked inside, settling yourself at the central holotable and looking into it despondently. His eyebrows drew together in a frown as he walked towards you.

“Everything alright?” He asked as he rested on the holotable beside you. You jumped at the sound of his voice, looking up only briefly when realising who it was.

“Yeah, yeah” You replied non-commitally, causing Wolffe's frown to deepen.

“You sure?” He asked again, bringing his hand to your shoulder. You instinctively ducked away from it, stepping away from him, your body feeling like it had been struck by lightning.

“I'm fine” You managed to peep out.

Wolffe let his hand hang in the air for a moment, before he quickly brought it to his side again. What was he doing? He didn't touch people. He didn't double check if people were okay. But why had you moved away? Did he not overhear you right the other night? Was it someone else's name that you had said?

He could feel an embarrassed blush scorching his ears as General Plo Koon joined you both at the holotable, which he mostly did a good job of hiding. You, however, were doing a poor job of acting normal, and Plo Koon looked between the both of you suspiciously for a moment.

“Has something happened that I should be made aware of?” He spoke and you were pulled out of your mind that was purely filled by screaming thoughts.

“No sir” You shook your head, “Let's get to work”

Wolffe had always applauded your professionalism, and he was never more thankful for it than in that moment.

You had scampered from the command room as soon as the meeting was over. You didn't want to think for a while, so you had gone to your workstation in the hangar, hoping to rid the Commander from your mind.

Thus far, you had been unsuccessful.

You were trying to solder together two wires, but your hand kept slipping, your mind absolutely preoccupied by the few touches that Wolffe had allowed you in the past few days. Well, most of them had not been allowed, but the most recent one, the one you could still feel burning at your skin…

You grunted in frustration, just as Boost came strolling by with a wide grin.

“How’s it going?” He asked, spurred on by your glare.

“Not good. No thanks to you” You grumbled, looking back down to your work.

“Oh come on, it's just a bit of fun” He said, taking a seat on your workstation.

“For you. I can’t say I enjoy being pushed around all too much” You said pointedly, giving him a withering look.

He just shrugged with a grin, “I think you do really”

You huffed, continuing on with your work despite the distraction. At least your mind was off of Wolffe now. You weren't thinking about the feel of his hand on your shoulder, or your waist, the strength of his grip, this intensity of his gaze… oh kriff, who were you kidding.

“Boost I need you to-”

Before you could even register who's voice it was, Boost was pushing your side into the Commander. You cried out as the soldering tool stabbed and burned into your other hand suddenly, drawing blood and cauterising the wound all at once. It was a mess, and Boost immediately began apologising.

Wolffe sighed agressively, righting you again, “I'll patch her up, you best kriff off now Boost”

There was no room for objection in his tone, and Boost slinked off with another apology, and guilt weighing his shoulders.

“Do you have a medkit here?” Wolffe asked as you rested your back against the workstation, holding your hand closed with the other one.

“Bottom drawer” You said, unable to meet his gaze, unable to focus on anything but the searing pain in your palm.

He retrieved the medkit and opened it up, setting it down on the desk and taking off his gloves, “Alright, let's see it”

He took your hands in his, and that's when your breathing stopped. His hands were unexpectedly soft and gentle, pulling your hand away from the wounded one and opening it up. There was blood smeared all over your palm and fingers, but all you could focus on was Wolffe. The feeling of his hands as they cleaned you up, the gentleness of his grip and the lack of a scowl on his features.

“So are you going to tell me why the boys have been doing this all week?” He said, looking up to find you already looking into his eyes when he had wrapped your hand.

You huffed a bit, “I don't know, because they're idiots, mainly”

Wolffe hummed thoughtfully, “So it has nothing to do with the conversation I overheard the other night?”

You froze completely.

“What?” You managed to peep out, but it was barely above a whisper.

Wolffe’s lips curled into a small smirk, “Something about… not minding the idea of making out with me?” He jogged your memory teasingly.

You could feel your heart beating faster and faster, your insides constricting and your throat drying up. He had heard exactly what you had said.

“It was just a silly game we were playing” You tried to play it off but Wolffe wasn't having it.

“Mhm” He hummed amusedly, “A game which - if I'm not mistaken - has the word ‘truth’ somewhere in the title”

You had to rip your eyes from his at that point, it was becoming too uncomfortable, and you could feel the blush creeping up your neck. He stepped forwards so that his boots were touching yours, his chest almost against yours.

“So you're saying you haven't thought about it?” He asked, his voice in a slightly lower register, giving it a slightly gravelly tone.

You gulped. “No, I havent” You lied through your teeth, but you were never good at that, and it was given away by the quiver in your voice.

“That's a shame” Wolffe mumbled, and your eyes snapped back to his, slightly widened.

You were sweating at this point, your body feeling like it was on fire with his so close by. Wolffe just smirked knowingly.

“Ah, so it's true, you really do want me to kiss you?” He leaned forward a fraction more, his chest brushing against yours as he placed one hand on the bench behind you, the other finding your waist.

You were burning up under his gaze and now his touch, unable to think clearly.

“I feel like you're putting words in my mouth” You spoke breathlessly, clearly flustered as you looked between his eyes and anything around him in a panic. Wolffe just chuckled, gripping your waist tighter.

“I don't think I am darling”

By then, he was only a hairbreadth from your lips, and all the composure you still had was hanging by a thread.

“Commander, what…?” You trailed off, you couldn't make sense of the situation. You had assumed he found you completely irritating and just plain didn't like you, only holding it together in meetings because he had to. But now, with his breath mingling with yours, you were left confused.

“Do you not want me to kiss you?” He asked sincerly, his face moving back slightly and eyes flicking over your face for any sign that you didn't want this. Your eyes closed at the feel of his hot breath on your lips and you let out a shaky breath.

“I…” You couldn't muster up any words, your brain wasnt functioning as it should. The only thing you could get out, was “Why?”

He chuckled lowly, and your eyes opened to see the skin around his eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled fondly.

“Believe it or not, I don't find you anywhere near as annoying as I pretend I do. In fact…” He said quietly, brushing a piece of hair behind your ear before settling his palm against your cheek, “I might even like you, just a bit”

Wolffe could see your eyes sparkle at his words, “Really?”

“Really” He said resolutely.

You couldn't help but smile up at him, that winning smile that he so loved.

“See, how could I resist a smile like that”

You blushed and looked down shyly, unsure how to deal with this kind of attention from the Commander. You were used to him being cold, not necessarily ignoring you, but just not engaging with your friendly advances. That, you could deal with, but this, was something else entirely.

He tilted your head up again with a finger under your chin, “Not like you to be so quiet. Something on your mind darling?”

The pet name rolled so easily off his tongue despite how strange it was to hear from him, but the more you became intoxicated by his presence surrounding you, the more right it felt.

He's right, usually you had something to say. A quick joke, a quip, a small compliment at the very least, but nothing was coming to mind. You could only look at him and hope to convey everything that your mind wouldn't bring forth.

Your eyes naturally flicked down from his, trailing along his mouth that was so close to yours, and back up to his cybernetic one. He was so effortlessly handsome, in a way you didn't see with the other clones. Perhaps his eye set him apart, or perhaps it was his usual attitude. You didn't know, but with him pressing you into your workstation, there was no way that you'd figure it out right then and there.

“Wolffe” You whispered, the name causing his eyebrows to raise. You had never called him by his name, not once, and that was certainly not lost on him.

“What is it, Mesh'la?” He said lowly, his head tipping forwards to lightly press his forehead to yours. Your breathing evened out at the comforting gesture.

“Kiss me” You whispered, your lips almost grazing his.

He grinned, speaking almost as quietly, “I thought you'd never ask”

Then his lips were on yours.

He held your waist tightly as his lips moved in perfect harmony with yours, melding together in a dance of quiet passion. You had never been kissed with such reverence, such intensity and yet such sweetness. His lips captured yours as if they were made to fit together, and they had finally found their purpose in meeting. The kiss didn't last long, but all that needed to be confessed was laced within it's lingering aftertaste.

Wolffe pulled away, his grin no longer taunting in anyway, but just one of genuine contentment. His thumb stroked your cheek gently as he held you to him with his other arm.

“Was it everything you hoped it'd be?” He asked, rubbing his nose against yours slightly.

You chuckled softly, a smile parting your lips, “It was way better”

“Better?” Wolffe raised his eyebrows slightly, “So, in your wildest dreams I was a lousy kisser?”

“That's not what I meant” You frowned a little.

“What did you mean then?” He asked with a growing smirk.

“Just that it was really grea-” You paused, observing his amused expression, “You knew what I meant” You rolled your eyes affectionately, earning an amused huff from Wolffe.

“I did” He mumbled with a smile, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead, “I just wanted to hear you say it”

[emeritusemeritus]

hello! absolutely love your writing and so happy to find someone who likes the weasley twins too! :D if it’s not too much trouble, i’d like to request a little drabble with fred where the reader adopts a ginger cat and fred finds it funny? thank you! <3

Hi Anon! Thank you so much, we are all definitely Weasley Twin lovers over here! It’s my pleasure, this was really fun to write 😂 hope you enjoy! 🖤

Warnings: minor sexual references, brief talk of curses, fluff and humour, a million ginger jokes, mentions of future kids.

Word count: 1.1k

Ginger Root

"Hey baby," Fred shouts out as he steps through the door to the flat above the shop on his lunch break, instantly loosening his tie and popping open the top shirt button that was slowly choking him.

He briefly waits for you to reply but hears nothing, so he goes looking for you. He's hoping that you'd made him something to eat for his dinner, though of course he didn't expect it if you. The shop had been ridiculously busy this last week and the thought of having to stand and make something to eat in his break hour seemed too far of a stretch for him. He's also hoping for a cuddle, needing to feel you back in his arms for a little while whilst he can, and even more hopefully he wonders if he can convince you to cuddle naked, horizontally on the bed.

He freezes upon walking into the living room, seeing a single ginger cat sat proudly on his sofa. It's comical almost how he freezes at seeing the seemingly harmless cat, looking around the empty flat as if there's an audience waiting for his reaction that he was being pranked.

He walks slowly over to the cat, approaching it with as much caution as he would a hippogriff, squatting down beside the content kitty that barely flicks it's eyes over to the intruder, sitting pride of place in Fred's usual spot.

"Okay," Fred says seriously to the cat, their faces only inches apart as he gives the kitty a questioning look, attempting to level with the feline. "You've either been cursed or you've never told me you were an animagus in the, what, 10 years we've been together?" He waits a moment for any feedback from the cat but hears nothing.

"Give me a little meow if you've been cursed and I'll fix it right away."

"Meow."

You laugh as Fred jumps at your sudden noise, falling back onto his haunches after losing his balance in surprise, arms scrambling to stop himself and failing miserable, which only adds to the hilarity of the situation.

"Godric woman," he grumbles, mock-clutching his heart as he gets up using the coffee table as leverage. He looks towards you and you smile widely seeing his heated cheeks, the look in his eyes devilish as he seeks revenge, especially as he eyes what you're wearing.

You're leaning on the doorframe, wrapped in a fluffy white towel fresh from the shower and enjoying every second of seeing Fred recover from your unplanned prank. His eyes are focused on your towel, the little tuck hidden within the slope of your breasts and the smirk on his face looks almost dangerous as you try and figure out his next move.

"But your lunch!" You squeal as he lunges as you, lips first attacking your neck.

"It can wait," he mumbles, finding his roaring appetite for food suddenly replaced by something else.

"So you found him, or her?"

"Him... I think," you say, pulling a fresh Tshirt on as Fred buttons up his shirt, leaving the tie off for now.

"He was shivering in a box next to the leaky cauldron... I couldn't leave him there Freddie." You hoped Fred wouldn't be mad, that he'd understand your desperate need to rescue the poor little kitty.

"I know sweetheart," he says with a small smile, eyes gentle with understanding.

You walk ahead of Fred as you both made your way back to the living room, pausing briefly to scratch the little sleepy cat on the sofa before you stepped into the kitchen to pull yours and Fred's pre-made lunch out of the fridge. He kisses you as a way of thanks as you both take a seat on the unoccupied sofa and eat the lunch you'd prepared earlier.

"Have you named him yet?" Fred says, taking a massive bite out of his sandwich, hardly able to talk with his mouth full of food. You pull a face of disgust for a moment at his lack of eating etiquette but drop it once you look upon the cute cat app curled up on the other sofa.

"Not yet, still thinking of options," you say, mentally running through the admittedly short list of monikers you'd come up with on the way home.

"Well with that hair he's definitely a Weasley," Fred beams, "very on brand."

"Think your mum will knit him a jumper for Christmas? Or a little scarf?" You joke, earning a snort of laughter from your boyfriend as his delighted face takes another large bite, thankfully not speaking through this one.

"What shall we name you little Weasley?" You say, looking upon your new friend.

"Well it can't be George, s'got two ears," Fred mumbles through a devilish smirk.

"Fred!" You say, scandalised by his words, though you can hardly contain your chuckle that follows only moments later.

"What about Minerva?" You can, casting your eyes towards Fred to watch his reaction, seeing him nearly choke on the last bite of his sandwich at your suggestion.

"Marmalade? Keeping with the ginger theme."

"Garfield?"

"Eh?" Fred frowns, missing the joke entirely.

"It's a muggle thing.. oh! Thomas O'Malley!"

Again Fred gives you a bewildered stare that makes a giggle slip out of you.

"Muggle film, the ginger cat. We could name him after him!  Abraham Delacey Giuseppi Casey Thomas o malley... Weasley."

"Or we could not," Fred says blankly.

"Ron?" You ask, trying to glance at the cat's face to see what else would spring to mind.

"No, it's too clean," Fred jokes, nodding his head towards the cat.

"Squash? Cheddar? Pumpkin?"

"Stop naming food!" Fred calls out with a laugh before he pauses, clearly thinking. "Wait I like pumpkin! Pumpkin Weasley?"

"Our first child," you joke, throwing your legs over his as you lean back on the sofa. You knew he'd have to be going back to work soon so you'd take what you could get.

"Great we can name our children after root vegetables," Fred says with a mock roll of his eyes, big hands coming up to stroke your legs as he pulls them deeper into his lap.

"Ginger's a root vegetable, they'd fit right in," you beam, looking at your boyfriend's fiery locks, secretly hoping that whatever children you'd have would share this certain characteristic.

"Oh yeah! Meet the twins, parsnip and turnip," he jests, laughing as your eyes widen in horror at his words, knowing that it would be just your luck to get your own mini version of George and Fred.

"Who said anything about twins?!"

"Maybe we'll just stick with the cat then," he smirks, joining your gaze towards your new best friend, realising that it might not be a bad thing after all to expand your family.

"We'll start with Pumpkin."

[kpop-stories-21]

Gunsmoke and Leather | Collab Masterlist

Paring: ATEEZ x Reader

Summary: Eight online friends meet in person for the first time and plan to have a wild weekend. However, things quickly go awry when they are kidnapped by a notorious biker gang. Hilarity, misadventures, and perhaps even feelings ensue.

A/N: This is a collab between myself and seven other members of @cultofdionysusnet . It stemmed from a dream I had (as most of my ideas do) and I thought it would be fun to make a collab out of it. Also, this is my first time hosting a collab, so I'm extra excited!! The deadline for this collab is the end of the year, so make sure you check back often to see when a new entry is posted.

WARNING: All stories in this collab will be 18+, so minors please DO NOT INTERACT with any of the stories listed below

MDNI banner courtesy of @cafekitsune || Collab banner made by me

0. Prologue - written by @mint-yooxgi || Read how it began here

1. Title Incoming - written by @pyeonghongrie || Read Aries & Hongjoong's story here

2. Title Incoming - written by @sanjoongie || Read Nix & Seonghwa's story here

3. Title Incoming - written by @nebulousbrainsoup || Read Eris & Wooyoung's story here

4. Smoke and Guns - written by @kpop-stories-21 || Read Elara & Mingi's story here

5. Depths of Chaos - written by @galaxystardragoness || Read Rhea & Jongho's story here

6. Title Incoming - written by @anyamaris || Read Aurora & Yeosang's story here

7. Title Incoming - written by @mint-yooxgi || Read Calypso & Yunho's story here

8. Title Incoming - written by @yoonguurt || Read Larissa & San's story here

[theragethatisdesire]

much ado about nothing masterlist - plug!eren x reader series - 18+!!

Between being an English professor and a graduate student, your time is valuable and often stretched thin, and does not include room for many "extracurricular activities". When you come home one day to find your roommate picking up from the local dealer, however, your dedication to your hectic schedule wavers. ⚘ i'm SO excited to finally share this series. i've been fangirling over this eren by myself for way too long and i'm super excited to bring you guys into the loop.

please find the best fan art of all time made by my bestie @fictional-d-supremacy for this series linked HERE

ALSO my lovely moot @animakemecry made a playlist, what the fuck?? so cute!! please find that linked here for listening <3

DISCLAIMER: this series contains MATURE CONTENT that is intended only for those over 18. if you are a minor or ageless blog, please do not interact.

content warnings for smut, alcohol and drug use (duh he's literally a drug dealer), some slight toxicity, and historia being your adorable bestie throughout the series

here's the ao3 link for anyone who would prefer to read on there!

Chapter 1 - courtesy of historia, you land your sights on the cute drug dealer that services much of campus. your common sense wins out...until you have a few drinks at girls' night, that is.

Chapter 2 - eren invites you and historia to a kickback with his friends. hilarity and mind-numbing sexual tension ensure.

Chapter 3 - eren's gotten under your skin, but you've decided that a one night stand should solve your little obsession, and eren's not one to deny you.

Chapter 4 - historia and sasha finally get to find out if all the rumors about eren are true. you learn a little more about eren's past thanks to sasha's sex drive. eren is the king of bad timing.

Chapter 5 - eren, still reeling from a mysterious text he received, meets you at paradise, the local club. he debates the meaning of the word 'friends' and you drink too many vodka sodas.

Chapter 6 - you deal with the fall-out of your night at paradise. sasha goes back on her word. floch...floch just sucks.

Chapter 7 - you and eren have your first official fight. restraint proves futile, and you leave yourselves with a lot to think about once the morning comes.

Chapter 8 - eren and you have finally committed to a no-strings-attached arrangement, but the holiday season makes everyone sentimental, and the two of you aren't immune.

[shaunashipman]

would love to see brothers-in-law chim and tommy having a great time together as friends! i feel all tingly when i try to imagine madney, jee, and bucktommy meeting for a family bbq or picnic or day at the beach, just chilling and doing things together. also with maddie and buck talking about their men, while chim and tommy talk about their buckley. bucktommy babysitting jee would be incredibly adorable as well! i am begging on my knees to get at least one scene of them all together in s8.

I would die for a scene where the buckley siblings are being Them™ and chim and tommy are just 😍 over their respective buckleys. like it's such a good set up with chim and tommy already being friends. like we can gave some gold with buck and tommy having some minor fight/issue, and buck goes to complain to maddie and tommy complains to chim, and then maddie and chim complain to each other.

or some hilarity, with tommy planning something for buck and getting chim's help, so chim has to keep it a secret from buck, except buck is always at madney's house talking to maddie, because buck is planning a surprise for tommy, and maddie promised to keep it a secret, so she's trying to keep it from chim, so nobody realizes they're both planning something similar for the same time.

(and maybe that thing they're planning could be a proposal 👀)

[daemon-in-my-head]

I'm still on my elf Durge BS cuz lord the angst, the twisted irony, its just so hrgnh.

Childhood Durgetash is cute, but what about young adult durgetash? Fresh out of HoH Gortash who hears about that established Bhaalist leader just for them to be an utter BRAT cuz they're still very much "um actually I'm a minor in my own culture and head so damn u Orin" constantly using the fact that they're """"technically"""" not an adult in their culture as an excuse for literally everything.

Or the whole drawing of the Veil bit? Have it happen while Gortash is there. Make Durge break into a million little pieces, cuz the drawing of the Veil is accompanied by grief and loss and trauma, the grief and loss Gortash will soon feel himself when Durge is ripped away from him. Make him comfort or laugh about Durge just to suffer the same soon enough.

Neither Durge nor Gortash had any responsible adults in their lives so now they have to become responsible adults themselves with 0 reference and watch it go to shit but somehow it still works and they grow together still. Added hilarity cuz Durge should know all this shit but has actually 0 idea and is just like "yeah well gotta head out, make money, buy milk, use send once you've wrapped up here."

A Durge that constantly taunts Gortash, saying they're older just to be utterly and thoroughly confused by the concept of taxes. Or buying/renting real estate. Cuz they never in their century had to, and whatever the fuck Gortash is doing just confuses the hell out of them whereas Gortash is just taunting them back now cuz they may be older but they have 0 life experience whatsoever.

Or a durge with that simple elven mindset, looking at tacky devil in disguise Gortash and having a fucking aneurysm like "take it off or I'll firebolt your ass out of it" (the one upside to Durges disappearance is that nobody critiques Gortashs cloak anymore.)

Also just something about these nice and elegant and eloquent elves being utterly insane and everything an elf isn't supposed to be. Watch them at a banquet be the perfect stereotype (cuz that's all they know) of an elf and back in the temple or black keep they're a feral cat or smth dropping random body parts on Gortashs desk a la "dear I've brought u smth". Just utterly unhinged and anything but noble or elegant or eloquent for that matter. In public their speech is all frilly and back at home they're cursing like a sailor threatening the universe over the mildest inconvenience.

[chaos0pikachu]

Filmmaking? In My BL? - The Horror Influences of Dead Friend Forever

Okay off the bat I'ma say that this isn't me definitively saying these specific films or tv series are what inspired 100% DFF. I simply do not know what stuff the screenwriters were pulling from influence wise when writing the script, nor what the director was pulling from when directing the series, with 100% flawless certainty.

Rather, this is a chance to talk more about horror, from films, comics, visuals, and sub-genres and how these various mediums are what I see in the fabric of DFF's horror makeup. Also, general point, this post will be discussing minor spoilers of: Scream, DFF, and Girl from Nowhere. So like, be aware~~

This post is partially inspired by an ask from @italianpersonwithashippersheart in which the anon had mentioned Scream.

I couldn't really respond to this in detail before cause I hadn't watched the series, but I have now and I can say that the show is very thoroughly nothing at all like Scream. I'm not confident in much - other than my inability to reach the top shelf at the market - but I am confident in saying that lol

But this got me thinking, what type of horror IS DFF? I've seen a lot of folks say it's a slasher, and I both agree and disagree.

Horror as a genre is vast with sub-genres, it's probably one of the most universal and popular genres globally, and every culture has their own horror legends, cult classics, mainstays and shlock.

So that's what I'm going to talk about in this post, the slasher genre, why I don't think DFF 100% can be boxed into that sub-genre, what type of horror I think DFF is, and the influences I see in DFF's filmmaking and thematics.

So if we start anywhere, we gotta start with Scream (1996) since that's a comparison I've seen being made a lot.

The main reason I disagree in the comparisons to Scream is that Scream is considered a work of satire first and foremost. Through the power of capitalism and franchising, it's also consider a "whodunit" series.

“Scream” is the first movie of its kind to execute a satire genre within a horror movie, which is one of the most iconic and memorable elements of the film. The original movie makes many references to other well-known horror films and mocks them, while simultaneously leading the same plot points. [...] Although the following films in the “Scream” franchise do not follow as much of the same mockery of horror films, they are still considered to be satirical because of their use of mockery toward the movie franchise. “Scream 2” mocks film sequels and “Scream 3” mocks film trilogies." (source)

[sidenote one of my favorite examples of satirical meta horror is Wes Craven's New Nightmare]

DFF isn't satirizing anything in horror, it's almost entirely self-serious. Sure there's a couple of moments of hilarity - dick biting, and scooter snatchin' - but overall the show plays things pretty straight (gay sex notwithstanding). I've seen some folks claim it's subverting horror tropes, but I don't see that either (would be interested in discussing that tho cause I'm curious).

I get why people make this comparison though, Scream is a 27 yr old franchise, and probably the most relevant slasher franchise currently. The new Halloween movies were...cute but aside from the first Halloween (2018) the rest of the reboot franchise had diminishing returns; each film made less than the previous, and received lower critical scores.

However, Scream has actually grown as a franchise in the States in terms of box office draw. That said, Scream is actually not a huge earner overseas, Scream IV (2023) earned more than 60% of it's box office revenue domestically. In Thailand, according to reports, it only earned about 300,000 (compared to other international territories like Brazil where it earned around 4,600,000).

So I don't think DFF is pulling much from Scream in terms of setting, tone, or story. I do think the show most resembles Scream in directorial style, specifically in the imagery of the Killer's design and in the slow-crawl mask reveals that have happened so far.

[very obviously spoilers for all the scream films watch at your own risk etc, gif by @my-rose-tinted-glasses]

So what is a slasher film or story?

"A slasher movie is a horror sub-genre that involves the murdering of a number of people by a psychopathic killer, typically via a knife or bladed tool (such as a scythe).

In general, the horror genre is known for its fear, violence and terror. It will typically feature a menacing villain, whether it be a monster or a supernatural evil spirit, for example." (source)

Other common but not inherent secondary characteristics of a slasher story will include: young adults as central characters, sex (typically as a means of punishment "sex gets you killed"), the killer is motivated by revenge, lots of gore and/or violent kills and a "final girl".

I point out common but not inherent because the main tenants of a slasher story is the overall body count, female protagonist and a mysterious (typically masked) killer.

For example, in Scream (96) Ghostface is motivated by revenge, however in Halloween (1978), Texas Chainsaw (1974), Prom Night (2008), You're Next (2011) and Wrong Turn (2003) the killers are not.

If there is a western horror franchise or film that the setting of DFF more closely aligns with, it's Friday the 13th (2009). Which was a sequel/reboot to the original Friday the 13th (1980) starring Tumblr's own Jared Padalecki as one of the leads (that was an interesting year as Jensen Ackles also starred in a remake of a classic 80s horror film My Blood Valentine).

In Friday (09) the bulk of the story takes place at a mansion styled cabin in the woods near Crystal Lake owned by one of the characters rich parents. Jason eventually hunts down each of the characters, killing them in various ways, and they even find his home with a shrine to his mother there. There's also like, a lot of sex and nudity in Friday (09) none of it fun or sexy as it's pretty, unfortunately, misogynistic.

Being in an isolated area, like the cabin in the woods in DFF and Friday (09) is also not a requirement within the slasher sub-genre.

Many slasher films, especially American classics during the genres 80s peak, actually take place more often in suburbia rather than in isolated locations like the woods. Which reflected real world anxieties from predominately white communities and a turn towards more conservative politics of that era in America.

"Those same well-kept neighborhoods and quiet backyards of my childhood were also the battlegrounds of the ’80s horror movie, a radical pivot in the genre’s history. The decade’s opening years were bracketed by the kidnappings of Etan Patz (which inspired the Missing Kids on a Milk Carton program) and Adam Walsh (which inspired his father John Walsh to later create the TV show "America’s Most Wanted"). Combined with the conservative turn in crime and punishment law brought on by the Reagan administration, horror appeared to turn from the supernatural curses of the decade before ("The Exorcist," "The Omen") to a homegrown product of our own sins. Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger are psychotic loons but also human beings who come not from afar but from down the street. The possibility that one of them could be lurking just beyond the sliding back door of a sleepover birthday seems too darkly delicious to pass up, a fictional killer standing in for a warning your parents and society gave you about “stranger danger,” real-life evil lurking in the dark." (source)

Isolated settings, while can be a setting in slashers are more often found in psychological horror films: The Strangers (2008), When A Stranger Calls (1979, 2006), Hush (2016). Also the Evil Dead (1981, 1987, 2013).

[The latter has it's own interesting history of wanting to be psychological body horror, to horror comedy cult classic, back to psychological body horror. Honestly if any franchise has influenced the "horror set in a cabin in the woods" it's Evil Dead, which is paid major homage to in Cabin in the Woods (2011).]

Sooooo is DFF a slasher?

Hm, for me, yes and no. Slashers require a high body count and pretty gory deaths. So far we've only had 3 deaths, only two of which were even committed by the killer themselves and not even by their own hand (ie directly).

For me, the slasher elements of DFF exist in the directorial styling of the film, meant invoke a classic slasher film but that's not where the true horror of the story exists.

I'm a big slasher fan, so I'm not trying to discount the sub-genre at all, lots of slasher films are good, and when done well, they're truly scary. But they also tend to be straight forward in design, the fear comes from the feature of being stalked by an unseeable and unstoppable force infiltrating what should be a safe space (your home, your school, your neighborhood, your camp grounds etc).

Which is why slasher films are also the most common horror sub-genre to be parodied (Scary Movie franchise) or made into horror comedies like Freaky (2020), The Final Girls (2015), Happy Death Day (2017), and Totally Killer (2023).

[sidenote slashers have this in common with the zombie sub-genre of horror as zombie films in America have also tended in recent years to be horror comedies or horror action like: Little Monsters (2019), Cooties (2014), Zombieland (2009), Pride Prejudice and Zombies (2016)]

I'd argue that DFF is much more in line with psychological horror than slasher horror. Because it is anything but straightforward and also has a strong emphasis on relationships and isolation as does most psychological horror.

Films like: It Comes At Night (2017), Us (2019), Perfect Blue (1997), A Tale of Two Sisters (2004), The Forgotten (2017), Dark Water (2002) all have similar elements in terms of tone as DFF.

The isolated setting, the allure of the mundane normality being a veneer for the violence lurking beneath the surface, the existence of the paranormal, the use of drugs to increase fear, the unsettling paranoia, and slow burn crawl towards all the characters being unteathered from themselves, the growing distrust between them and their loved ones, the plot twists and turns, the emphasis on human relationships and the horror that comes from those.

The backstory with Non is what pushed the show past slasher horror to psychological horror for me. Because Non's "downfall" as it were, feels more akin to the slow burn psych horror rooted in a lot of Japanese, Thai films/tv shows, and modern A24 style horror films.

The horror of Midsommar (2019) doesn't come from jump scares, or violence, but in slowly watching the protagonist grow more and more unteathered, mistreated, gaslit, more and more with each passing moment, slowly inducted into a horrific cult and being able to do nothing to stop her descent.

A big influence I saw in DFF was Girl from Nowhere (2018); the school setting, the crimes committed by a group of students against a singular student, class exploration, structural violence, the exploration of retribution are all topics explored in the first season of Girl from Nowhere.

Even the series trailer for GFN and the pre-release trailer for DFF are similar in production design and tone:

Titled "BFF" the two-part finale from season 01, is about a high school reunion, where a group of now established adults come back together for a party (their reunion) only to be confronted by their past via Nanno (the shows protagonist for lack of a better term).

Through Nanno we learn about the chars past misdeeds in high school - bullying, physical assault, stealing, the works - and their current crimes as adults. As more and more layers of the truth, lies, and betrayal are revealed, the friend group begins to crack, fracture and turn against each other, growing more and more paranoid and angry.

Nanno tells the group that they've also all been drugged with poison and there's only one vial of antidote left, the "friends" all horrifically murder each other in order to get the antidote. In the end, no one survives. EXCEPT, it was all a mass hallucinate and the group wakes up, remembering everything, and quietly leave one-by-one. No longer friends, no longer not-friends, everyone forever changed by the experience.

It's an unsettling ending that leaves things open ended. This group of friends were responsible for the bullying and death of Nanno (she's fine she's like immortal or something I'm pretty sure GFN was partially influenced by Tomie by Junji Ito) and they simply refused to acknowledge what they did to her, nor talk about her, eventually forgetting she existed until forced too through a traumatic retribution by Nanno herself.

[Nanno from Girl from Nowhere, Tomie from Junji Ito's Tomie series]

DFF has a lot in common, from my perspective, with GFN in terms of tone, themes and even parts of it's story.

Nanno isn't doling out "justice" she doles out retributions, punishments, sometimes they're outright torturous. Whether the recipients "deserve" these punishments or not, is really up to the viewer. The show does a good job of showcasing a wide variety of characters who are unrepentant, sympathetic, and somewhere in between. The fears it plays upon are more slow burn, it boils the characters rather than setting them on fire like slashers do.

DFF is similar in this aspect, it boils the characters. Watching Non's story, you already know at the start it's nothing good. We know from the first flashback something bad has happened to Non, but it's not really something, it's many things - so many things - that have led to whatever tragedy the main group must pay for.

It's these compounding factors one after another that brings Non to a boil, and the same thing happens with Tan/New. The horror of DFF is more about getting under the skin, causing the characters discomfort by forcing them to confront the sins they've committed (is there anything more horrific than being seen? Especially if you ugly?).

I mentioned Junji Ito in reference to Girl from Nowhere, to say Ito has been influential on horror feels like an understatement. His series Tomie has been adapted into 7 different Japanese films, he's won 3 Eisner awards (the highest award you can win in America for comics publishing), along with a slew of awards in Japan, his series Uzumaki has been referenced in super popular anime like Jujustu Kaisen.

A big factor of Ito's work is body horror and psychological horror. His work unsettles, and is very visceral. Since Uzumaki was referenced in DFF I think rather than being influenced by specifically Uzumaki (which DFF doesn't have much in common with in regards to general story) I'd argue the show is more influenced by Ito's desire to unsettle.

[from Uzumaki], 1998]

Also potentially to take symbols of piety, faith and protection (the temple, the cross at the chars high school) and turn them into places of horror for the characters.

Like Ito did with the spiral motifs in Uzumaki, said Ito in an interview:

"The "spiral pattern" is not normally associated with horror fiction. Usually spiral patterns mark character’s cheeks in Japanese comedy cartoons, representing an effect of warmth. However, I thought it could be used in horror if I drew it a different way." (source)

[I am also begging y'all to check out Junji Ito's book Cat Diary it's hilarious, even more so b/c his style of art is so rooted in horror]

I think DFF is actually very Thai in it's exploration of what's unsettling and horrific to youth culture in Thailand currently. The feeling of haplessness, judgement, an inability to exert control over one's circumstances, mental health, consent, bullying, these were themes and topics explored in both seasons of GFN but also some of these were explored in The Whole Truth (2021) a Thai horror/mystery film.

There's a scene in The Whole Truth in which one of the protagonists school friends secretly films their younger sister getting undressed without her knowledge, and when caught, the classmate threatens to release the clip publicly and claim the sister is "a slut". One of the protagonists is also bullied at school - including by this disgusting classmate who they still consider "a friend" - but puts up with it in order to be in a friend group at all (this bullied char also has a physical disability which contributes to their mistreatment at school).

I think DFF is exploring a lot of these same topics but most of the characters are just gay this time around.

Okay I'm losing steam here a bit, this has gotten very long, but overall I'd argue that DFF is much more psychological horror than a slasher, in terms of it's tone, and story. Whilst invoking slasher imagery in it's directorial style.

That said it's much more in line with Thai and Japanese horror than American horror in regards to it's themes. If the series was going to be boiled down just to the basics, I'd quantify it as psychological horror mystery.

And those are my thoughts on DFF and horror, I guess lol I'm not 100% satisfied with this but god damn I'm tired this took forever lmao if y'all made it this far, bless and stay safe out there cause the ship wars are wildin out in these parts.

Check out other posts in the series:

Film Making? In My BL? - The Sign ep01 Edition | Aspect Ratio in Love for Love's Sake | Cinematography in My BL - Our Skyy2 vs kinnporsche, 2gether vs semantic error, 1000 Stars vs The Sign | How The Sign Uses CGI | Is BL Being Overly Influenced by Modern Western Romance Tropes? | Trends in BL (Sorta): Genre Trends

[like these posts? drop me a couple pennies on ko-fi]

[sansacherie]

I get the strong vibe that when people try to earnestly describe Alicent Hightower as “plain”, they do it because she doesn’t have the Targaryen beauty of silver hair and purple/lilac eyes, It's pathetic and dishonest but it wasn’t until recently that I remembered how much it reminded me of people who argued in the past that Sansa’s beauty was “diminished” when she dyed her hair brown. 

Like Alicent, it’s not only dishonest because the Vale chapters simply don’t endorse that idea, but it is also a little funny how these people kinda demonstrate their sense of classism (the hilarity made more so given how readers tried to inaccurately frame Sansa as the only classist Stark sibling and tear her down because of it) because “Alayne” is the bastard daughter of a minor upjumped lord. But in the same chapter where Sansa describes "Alayne" as "pretty", you have numerous characters (twice in the case of Myranda) calling "Alayne Stone" beautiful.

[thedrarrylibrarian]

Have you ever had a day that just went completely to shit? That was the entire month of November for me. I had planned to have this Happy Hour ready then, but between work and home life and hosting for the holiday and everything else...a ball had to drop. I was so disappointed, because I love doing Happy Hour and I love speaking with the creators who help with the guest fic recs.

@ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm could not have been more gracious and understanding about postponing his rec. I always thought his artworkand fics were lovely, but being on the receiving end of the his kindness makes the works even lovelier to me. I love that even in moments of violence, he portrays characters as vulnerable and soft, the gentleness of moments of solitude, and the joyfulness of the mundane. If you haven't checked out Joy's art before, I cannot recommend it enough.

So after waiting for several months, I am finally so excited to share his incredible fic rec. Our first Happy Hour guest rec of the year is by the lovely and gracious @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm.

Outside of things that become fanon, we all travel the worlds of transformative works building up our own personal sense of canon. A lot of that process is wish fulfillment and self indulgence on little pleasures and minor vanities, which is what carves out this perfectly molded comfort that we all shelter ourselves in, what comes together to broadcast our unique wavelengths of bliss. But there is also another part of the process, one that I find myself unconsciously engaging in at times, which is an attempt to rewrite, rewire, recolor the places in which the source material has dulled, or to find cracks and fissures for interpretations that will allow me to engage with the source more meaningfully in the long run while honoring the directions in which I’ve grown and changed. There’s been a lot of work in the Harry Potter fandom that took on the form of a kind of hermeneutics, or that used the setting and characters as a kind of convenient vehicle to make a point about The Real World, in a way that sometimes makes it feel like we, the naive and spirited readers of the source material are somehow distant from the world and must be gently pulled back into it in the language of our distraction. Harry Potter and Welcome to the World of Grey was the first AU retelling of a larger segment of the HP canon where I felt like I was encountering something completely new, something that had the distant shape of these previous approaches at first glance but that, right from the first page, has that almost physical pull of the complete and precious new. 

Harry Potter and Welcome to the World of Grey by @sobsicles (456,640 words, rated E)

When Harry fails to keep his anger at bay and Voldemort possesses his mind, the events that follow lead him down a long road to realizing the world isn't as black and white as it seems.

Chaos, hilarity, and tragedy ensue with a Dark Lord being honest all the time, a rival becoming something else, and a world demanding to be saved. Featuring frightened Death Eaters, deep conversations with a monster, Pureblood traditions being ridiculous, and the fight to do the right thing with no true options.

Harry's life just gets more and more bizarre with each passing moment.

Or, the one where Harry's life gets split in half, and he has to figure out how to bring it back together.

The summary is immediately gripping, and I’ll leave the reader to discover the shapes of the AU on their own, but the basic premise of the story is that Harry, at the end of 5th year, does something he would never do in the book, and that as a consequence of (?), or despite (?) or alongside (?) this, him and Voldemort begin to, on a relational and intellectual level, engage in a way that would otherwise be impossible. This story works on so many levels, all of them incredibly crafted and so masterfully sustained over the behemoth length of the first installment. The Harry in this story is funny and young and troubled in the most delicious ways all the while wading in and out of the crushing solitude of predetermination (and also maybe just humanity). I generally read exclusively fics in which they’re adults, or at least on the brink of adulthood in 8th year, but the author has crafted such incredibly convincing teenage characters in both Harry and Draco here that by the end not only do they both end up under your skin but they also become these people that sit alongside you, whose adolescence you’ve literally gone through as both a sympathetic spectator and as a mirror of them, drawn into the irresistible sweet delights of their love, the painful bonding of people captive in their lives, the hope of the future born out of surviving something together. 

There is also a tendency in fics to paint the adults of the HP world as traitors, because that’s what the majority of them are, and this is something I also usually engage with. In this fic, while we maintain that the state of the world and the fates that befell all our favourite characters are largely the result of a kind of treason of goodness and responsibility, we also get to have these incredible deep insights into why each adult character is the way they are, through relations made possible only by this unlikely scenario that the author proposes. We also get to have the warm joy of seeing a child empathize with (and pity, and comfort, and teach) people who they owe nothing to, and this is an absolute treasure that shines brighter as we move through the story.

Finally, as this is Happy Hour, apart from all the things I’ve briefly mentioned up there that make this fic a delightful and comforting experience that I constantly go back to, I wanted to talk about a strange way that made this story become my source of comfort. This story made me like Voldemort. Not the terrifying and irredeemable one from the books or the movies. There’s this feeling that I have about fics and fandom, and I think it’s shared by a lot of people who’ve been around for a while, and it’s that these characters and settings and storylines are almost… nebulous things that always existed in us and around us and that we had maybe some slight hope for, but that were first snatched out of non-being and formed by the source material authors. This is also just how art and creativity is, in general - an antenna that beams signals and sometimes someone gets the whole message first. And you grow up and sometimes things are shaped by the source material to make you think oh I’ll feel this way forever and then of course you change your mind, but this was more like an intense, emotional journey in which I realized there was all this personal negativity that I’d always shove into this concept and this being - and that when I encountered the newly formed shape that this author’s Voldemort takes on, my resentments and my fixed darknesses, once unmovable and heavy at the bottom of this big thing in my life, were suddenly things I could walk up to. That the previously unapproachable veil of evil - which is simple, and undebatable - had lifted, and suddenly I could decide to do something else with them, to pick them up and carry them or throw them away, or live alongside them as awkward housemates until suddenly the shame and fear they represented wasn’t something I had to run from. So for happy hour, I picked a story that made me, and continues to make me, engage with not only happiness but a kind of lasting adult joy that comes from letting something come in and help you redraw the city lines of your own story. It’s very precious to me. I read the entirety of this fic in two days next to the crisp Adriatic sea, but I’ve reread it in many settings since then, and it’s always made me both hungry and full in the way that good home cooking does. I hope it does the same for you too.

[deancrowleycas]

...

I accidentally had a pole dance performance at a swinger party today... so I would say the Misha coding is still going strong

(honestly though these things hilarously keep happening to me somehow also MINORS DNI)

[crown-eats-rocks]

live action avatar pros/cons

my opinion. mostly for me just to gather my own thoughts on this

pros:

zuko was so sassy i'm obsessed. so teenage girl core and i loved it

sets were awesome when there wasn't a green screen situation

the 41st division being zuko's crew. i went feral

zuko sitting next to iroh at lu ten's funeral and just the depiction of their relationship in general

roku being a silly little guy- there was more on his personality

the costumes were pretty cool in general and true to the original

the cabbage guy

sokka being more of a big brother (+ that scene with hakoda saying he was disappointed in sokka. angsty but i thought it added to his characterization)

oma and shu being lesbians!!!!! that was so cute

yue's characterization- i feel like they added more to her it was nice

sokka and hahn being friends instead of rivals

the actors. idk i felt like the casting was good and all the actors did a good job of representing their characters with the questionable writing

cons:

aang didn't even learn waterbending???? i'll let it slide but still

katara's development as a waterbender was kinda choppy- at the beginning she was awful and then she was a master??? girlboss but there was no middle ground

also i feel like her character was a little 2D compared to the original

they left out a lot of aang's character (running away to escape avatar duties, lying about being the avatar, being chaotic??? live action aang was too calm for me. that bitch is crazy let him be crazy)

yue's goddamn wig

when i tell you this is SO petty but i thought mai's hair was too fluffy. this is so minor but i always thought her hair would be all sharp and sleek and i love fluffy hair but idk

they left out pakku being engaged to gran gran????? what the hell guys. this takes away from my theory that gran gran specifically sent katara to the north pole to kick his ass and the hilarity of gran gran being so opposed to marrying a guy she literally went across the world

badgermoles seeing with feelings rather than vibrations. that was corny

i mentioned this before with aang and katara but the characters felt a little oversimplified to me idk

[quitealotofsodapop]

Answering all three of these asks by @latvian-spider in one post cus they reference the same one.

Referencing: MK's birth & later the Twins

Answer 1:

MK's birth worsens a pre-existing weather event. Macaque has minor wind powers (a ref to another Macaque character in JttW) in addition to his shadows. So when Macaque goes into labor, his latent powers of wind + shadow activate, creating a burst of magic to "protect" him that worsens the regular rain and wind outside. Think regular autumn rain turning into something like Florida. Luckily its more "annoying" than "deadly", but the force of the winds surge during contractions. The Megapolis weather station is confused af trying to control it.

Answer 2:

Connected to the answer above; SWK is heavily associated with earth and stone. Some theories even suggest that his stone egg was one of the stones used by Nuwa (creator of humanity) to patch the hole in the sky, and/or was spawned by the earth goddess Hou tu (considered an entity equal or even higher than the Jade Emperor). So when both SWK and Mac are having the twins, SWK's earth powers start acting up and creating similarly annoying earth tremors. Not fun.

Answer 3:

I absolutely adore this idea for Guanyin, especially since there is a chapter in JttW where she's not "looking her best" and it is hilarous. I feel like she flew into Megapolis via her own cloud, thinking it was just a normal earth storm like predicted - only to get tossed about by the magic high winds, and look royally messed up once she actually makes it inside the shop. Pigsy just staring as she slams the door behind her.

Guanyin: *panting, soaked with rain, hair tossed everywhere, makeup ruined, gifts she brought have been jumbled* Pigsy: "Uh... you ok there?" Guanyin, out of breath: "Where... baby... and parents?" Pigsy: "Through the kitchen, go up the two flights of stairs and through the door on your left." Guanyin, shuffling across the room: "Thank you, Chef Zhu." *walks up stairs* Tang, just recovered from fainting: "...that was Lady Guanyin." Pigsy: "Yup." Nezha, chilling downstairs with them: "She's here to bless the baby." Tang: "You think she'll stay for dinner or...?" Guanyin, calmly walks back down stairs sans gifts: "Baby and parents perfectly healthy. Nezha, your brothers say hello. Namo Amitabha." *braces herself and walks back out into the storm, gets carried off on her cloud like a plastic bag* Pigsy: "I ain't sayin' nothing..." Tang: "If we did, nobody would believe us." Nezha: "She has attended more..." *thinking of his own* "...interesting births." Sandy, from the stairs: "Hey guys! A nice lady just dropped off a bunch of gifts for the baby! You didn't let her go out in that storm did you?"

The gifts Guanyin brought included the traditional sheaths of rice (food blessing) and a vase of pure water (medicine and pain relief for parents and baby). She also smuggled in a bunch of gifts from other immortals who knew about "The Egg" - Lao Tzu sent welding googles in case the little guy had lazer eyes like his dad.

[afreakingdork]

Weak Spot - Chapter 68

RotTMNT Donatello x Reader

Well looks like someone is having fun in this week’s chapter art by @aimike17

Warnings: Aged-up Turtles, Romance, Meet Cute, Villain Donatello, Cussing, Crushes, Xenophobia, Fear, Intimidation, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hurt/Comfort, Love, AFAB Reader, Vaginal Sex, Sex Rough, Sex, Penis In Vagina Sex, Creampie, Teasing, Scent Kink, Sexual Tension, Breeding Kink, Multiple Orgasms, Cunnilingus, Fellatio, Marathon Sex, Somnophilia, Bondage, Feral Behavior, Feral Donatello, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Public Sex, Dom Donnie, Human/Turtle Relationships, Turtle Noises, Roleplay, Sexual Roleplay

Synopsis:  A love story of villainous proportions! Though it hadn’t come easily, as these things rarely do, you found yourself in a whirlwind romance with a handsome and mysterious mutant. His idiosyncrasies had been easy to ignore as attraction grew into something more. However, will love endure when the unknowns about him end up being far darker than you ever considered?

It feels like a hundred years ago but credit where credit is due @hijinxensues They are all the genius behind the hilarity of the dick and nip nop actions you will see below. It's so wild to think about how much time has passed since we talked about it to now. Also apropos the author of The Cloaking Brooch Dilemma would be such an inspiration for this chapter! Please note that The CBD is on indefinite hiatus!

Fem!Reader References/Warnings Below Cut

Also available on Ao3

First 💜 Previous

LAST WARNING FOR THE 🍋 UNDER THE CUT. MINORS DNI!

Fem!Reader References/Warnings: slit, labia minora, uterus, oviduct, egg laying terminology, egg stuff, some forceable entry, and pregnancy mentions

You knew on paper that planning a wedding was a nightmare. You had friends and family who had gotten hitched over the years, but you had been just removed enough. You hadn’t felt the effects of the stress and instead saw glimpses of breakdowns. It seemed a miserable affair for what was touted as the supposedly happiest day of one’s life.

It might have put you off had you not had your mate.

Donatello was a ferocious beast when it came to planning. Not just from his years of strife, but his mind itself demanded that everything have a place. It left you able to bask in the fanfare of getting engaged, while he went about dark bidding. While you giggled and showed off your band, he was often busy. It left you free to schmooze with offered lunches and infectious catch-ups.

You weren’t coy in talking about your mystic ring, whether you were believed or not. The aura you had felt coming off of it was the very life essence of your betrothed. A yokai custom that had somehow come over from the humans they despised, it basically went that with this ring you were promised to one another. A drop of blood had been devoured by the band and in doing so it became tied to Donnie. The ring was then passed off in representation of a bond and would be made complete when the opposite ring was similarly prepared and the two were pressed together.

It would link the wearers and extend their connection beyond the physical object. Not quite a spell and yet another thing Donnie despised about mysticism, he saw the merit. You’d be able to know each other were alive and well no matter your distance without a second thought. You’d have an inherent sense of where the other was even if you were separated. Wellbeing could be checked with a blink of an eye. It was all advantages, but you could only think of one thing.

He had finally found a way around your moratorium against trackers.

You’d joked about it as such and it had momentarily struck Donnie completely crestfallen. You immediately walked back your comment with apologies as such a trick had clearly not occurred to him. It was too late to diffuse his particular band and until it was matched with another, the reversal ritual could not be completed. He’d almost called the whole thing off until you got through to him, by simply taking his face and catching his eye.

He melted for you and you told him his reaction was proof enough of his change.

You reminded him you originally barred him from it due to his obsessive use.

You never felt controlled by him.

If you ever were, it was always done in a playful way and stopped if you even mentioned a line.

You loved him.

You could also feel him whenever you wanted now. He was wrapped around your finger in a literal sense. Not intrusive, but a reassurance, he hung back when you were busy. The moment you even sort of thought of him, often as it was, your ring resonated warmth. It was his very presence close to you and you’d spent a few nights after the proposal just holding your own hand. It echoed not a heartbeat, but his soul itself and with it his every emotion. When he was asleep it drifted like a lullaby and if anything difficult crossed his mind, you could now literally sense his struggle. An interesting evolution of the way you were already in tune with one another, you imagined it might be for better or worse, but that was also what you wholeheartedly promised him.

He was with you and you couldn’t wait until he could carry that same piece with him.

You were ready when around two weeks, you felt him both through your ring and his person when he suddenly lifted up out of a mountain of digital screens.

He turned to you with a wilted body before he reenergized simply because he willed it.

He then walked up to you and you were given three option screens.

Wedding date.

Wedding color scheme.

Wedding theme.

You moved carefully around each of them to lay a huge thankful kiss on Donnie’s lips.

He took it before collapsing into the couch and pulling you right back in front of the selection in the process.

“We start here.” Donnie coiled around you to further replenish his strength.

You settled against him. “You realize you don’t have to do all this.”

“That will be the last time you say that.” He butt his head against yours and you squeaked as he barely withheld the knock. “This is an opportunity. Perish the thought that I will do anything other than conquer this task.”

“Not a challenge.” You reminded him and cuddled close so he couldn’t headbutt you again.

He chuffed sharply. “No. It is a delight. One of my biggest projects to date and one purely of my own desire?” He churred from the thought alone.

You tackled him down into the cushions, but he staunchly righted you.

“Decide. You’ve had time. You must have been considering such.”

You pinched him lightly. “I have, but don’t be so pushy.”

“The question was one thing, you have agreed and must marry me.”

You gave him his patented look.

A grumble started in his throat but he squashed it. “I’m not clarifying entrapment.”

“Not this time? I can back out then?” You laid on your sarcasm obviously.

“No.” His beak rose. “If you try I will play my own card.”

“Is it a secret?”

His eyes shifted with thought before they landed on you. “You’ve seduced me, led me on.”

“Oh, so extra petty. You’re going for guilt” You leaned on him.

“For what you’ve done to me?” He cocked a brow.

You kissed him.

It wasn’t a distraction.

He must have known because he finally relented.

You both sank down against the couch and made out without particular heat. A mellow joining, you coupled until the presses tapered off. Curled up together, you sat and breathed one another in. Eyes open, you skimmed hands and tested how your prints matched to his. He not so covertly brushed your ring a few times and you knew he liked the obvious mark that told others you were spoken for. Pressing into the thick of his cheek, you came away and told him your hopes for the wedding.

You wanted it to represent you both.

You wanted a guest list of those most important.

You wanted this to be a celebration.

You wanted to share your love with your loved ones.

From there you both branched off discussing options. You spoke long time thoughts, things you’d seen work at other weddings, and options that you assumed weren’t possible. Donnie noted them all both mentally and in a running list in those dialog boxes he manifested. Colors were paired and shared in swatches and you narrowed it down to only a few groupings before you moved onto something else. Finally deciding there was no real need to rush and you were annoyingly at the mercy of venues only if you kept Donnie back from sabotaging another’s date, you picked a window about a year from now.

Donnie was ecstatic to make your usual anniversary, your truly official one.

You shook your head at his stubbornness. “How’s planning gonna go? I know your excited, but I don’t want you to do this all alone-”

“You are integral.” He spoke and with a flick of his hand, you watched a thousand question boxes appear.

You sank down in fear.

He chuckled and they burst into pixel dust. “We manage. They are already algorithmically sorted by importance, be it date or necessity. Everyday you will make less than a handful of key choices and preparations will continue, leaving neither of us overwhelmed.”

“That sounds… too easy?” You checked with him.

“I imagine there will be every inconvenience possible.” He met your eyes with excitement growing in his.

“You are too into projects.” You gave up with a grin.

“I’ve already seen a term: Bridezilla?”

You laughed. “Donniezilla!”

He growled into your ear and rolled you over so you were beneath him.

-

You wanted to say it got bad only because people kept asking. A topic of conversation that sprouted the moment the intrigue of your engagement wore off, it was either when and where or how miserable were the wedding preparations going. You’d give an ‘it’s going’ to placate the question asker, but in all actuality, you had been having fun. Donnie crushed irritating vendors with his villainous might and had a blast doing so. S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. had joined the foray and had only requested that he not be the flower boy. Donnie had given him a noise of disgust at the mere mention and told him curtly that he was to be the best man.

Your son had literally short circuited much to yours and Donnie’s concerns.

When he rebooted he was his usually rambunctious self and set off for his own research and planning. Knowing they were going to have an absolute disaster of a bachelor party was something you couldn’t wait to see. You imagined you would be doing so via news network coverage of an unknown entity terrorizing the city and requested tapes. They would go into the world’s funniest wedding album and you were otherwise left to your planning.

Coral took her own best person duties with a severity that rivaled S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.’s. You were going to have your own reel whether you liked it or not. She was strangely as adept as Donnie in planning, but in a different way. Her methods were nonsensical and her planning of a bridal shower started with something about hiring the right talent and everything else would fall into place. Such person was a psychic with a larger than life personality who had forecasted doom upon all those in relationships and paired up the rest. You had gotten to live in your own high school drama for an evening and it had been oddly hilarious even if Hypno had declared a nemesis of the psychic.

You only had to stop him from making her disappear in a variety of ways about six times.

Time continued to march on and things were being secured left and right. The venue was acquired as one of the first objectives and everything after that was filling it. You met with those ordained to marry you in interviews that had supposedly been for them, but had quickly turned into ones orchestrated by Donnie. Colors were picked and then every item for embellishment fit along them in a complementary or contrasting way. Digital builds of the rehearsal, the ceremony, and then reception all painted them stunning.

Donnie, true to his word, was not only happy, but appeared untroubled by all the intricacies of planning. He had some work at home, but had been trending toward the lab as of late. Something about the time of year for projects, you visited him for a few lunches only to be surprised by Spencer. Donnie’s Senior Demonstrations Advisor looked about as haggard as an actual bride in a collapsing chapel.

“You aren’t married?!”

You only glanced at Donnie.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the invite, I am going, but you have to understand! Donatello is being willfully ignorant of the fact that I vouched for his supposed matrimony to the government!” Spencer looked like he wanted to shake you in Donnie’s place.

You were now staring at your partner.

Donnie had a smile to his aura, but not on his face.

“It’s my neck on the line when they find out your pass has not actually been valid this whole time!!” Spencer looked a moment away from cracking.

You’d done your best damage control, but the man needed a vacation above all else. It was only later that evening that you questioned your betrothed about revealing the secret to which he’d been similarly blasé.

“Marriage invite rule of thumb is that one should invite overseers and closest colleagues. Spencer fits both descriptors to an extent.”

It had been a softening moment for your heart and you hugged Donnie. He never pushed you away, but he seemed put off by the source of the affection. Donnie had always spoken of Spencer’s utility to his business and he didn’t seem aware of the larger implications that he liked the man, no matter the capacity. As much as he put him off with his synthetic attitude, Spencer had helped with Genius Built’s continued success and Donnie only kept around those who were useful, with a single caveat: he had to be able to stand them.

Whenever Spencer finally reached that conclusion you imagined you were going to be cornered again, this time with near explosive tears of happiness.

Your fiancé’s section was always going to be a lean one and you couldn’t help, but notice he’d picked up texting. Something you yourself had been more as of late because you had reconnected with those in attendance, you had an idea who it was, but didn’t want to jinx it. The whole invitation matter had been discussed and the difficult attendees had been mentioned with surprisingly short interest.

Mikey was coming to the wedding.

He was undoubtedly your friend and while working out the initial guest list, Donnie had just assumed you’d be inviting him. The youngest Hamato’s name had been written right under Hypno’s, but speaking on it at large had been skipped when Donnie mentioned plus ones. Neither of you wanted to invite Warren and most of your time had been spent trying to decide whether or not it was worth it to put his name on an invitation.

Leo had been the bulk of the conversation. If you were celebrating what made the two of you whole, then it was an annoying admittance that Leo played a large role. One of a menace, he had inadvertently been the reason Donnie was finally honest with you about his past. Leo appeared as some harbinger for nearly every one of your relationship evolutions. His existence was an antagonistic one, but as it currently stood, it was hard to imagine he would bring more.

It was decided he’d probably be Mikey’s plus one and it was left at that.

That left two Hamato and Splinter was simply too raw a topic for Donnie. Your partner was in the mind enough to admit the old fool would probably enjoy seeing the marriage, but it was without asking that Donnie had tapered off there. You hugged him and told him that you would make a point to share the wedding video with the rat man after and with that Splinter was left off the guest list.

You then moved on to discussing the interpersonal relationships with your family. You could tell Donnie knew you were staring at him with intent as he’d ignored one, very large man from the notes, but his persistence in asking about your cousins made you relent. You offered the details of who should be sat where and, with that, your first pass of the guest list was created.

You hadn’t forgotten.

It was too poignant.

An omission that was painfully obvious.

Donnie was texting.

You said nothing about the vibrations that zipped throughout your apartment and in a certain way that reminded you of when you first had started texting Mikey. An unsaid testing of waters was a difficult one to name. For Donnie, it was more so and you respected his privacy. You knew he’d come to you when the time was right and this was something he needed to work out himself.

You felt his smile before you saw it.

It was a small bubbling that tingled in your finger with happy pops that differed greatly to the ones you earned.

You’d tucked a finger to brush your ring before looking over to your partner.

He sat with a form of affection on his face that said he’d been impressed.

He had a friend.

One that you didn’t supply.

You chewed your lip and when he took a deep breath out of the move, you were ready for him to address you before he actually did.

“I have a lunch appointment this coming Saturday.”

You meant to leave it.

You were going to let him have this.

The most you could offer was looking away from him.

You loved him so much.

“Tell Raph I said hi.”

Donnie made a little noise of surprise and you didn’t speak on it further.

It took several minutes, but he eventually approached to kiss you in thanks.

-

“I consider this our final test.” Donnie spoke from where he stood across from you in the bedroom.

You chewed on a giggle and nodded.

He took the air of levity and twitched his lips to keep them in a serious line. “With this we will clear up a final question.”

“Of course. We have to know.” You responded and your voice warbled with sarcasm.

“As you know these were graciously donated by Raphael last week, but I had been working on properly setting them.”

You bobbed. “Oh…! Things have been so crazy I didn’t even ask how the AIA was?”

Donnie tipped his head graciously. “The exhibition on the history and future of public spaces was fascinating.”

“How’d Kaleb and Raph get along?” You smiled at Donnie’s choice of groomsmen.

“Well. They each have lacking expertise in certain areas, but enough intrigue that it was a fruitful experience for all.”

You squirmed to stay in your spot.

Donnie gave you a sly grin. “Impatient, dearest?”

“We’re getting married in like two weeks, I’ve barely seen you in the last month, and when we do it’s all been catching up so…”

“Final preparations to attend to…” Donnie mused and cradled a chest in hand. “Both for the wedding and work as we will be out of the country soon.”

“We’re not going forever. Two weeks is nothing after what we’ve pulled. Your company basically runs itself and I’ve been back in my old position for months.”

“Don’t downplay your new job title.” Donnie teased.

“Same work, new name.” You stared back dryly.

“Which reminds me, was this considered a wedding gift as it is necessary for the honeymoon?” Donnie jostled the chest and finally stepped toward you. “I have an algorithm set to analyze guests for thank you notes and will need to adjust Raphael’s if so.”

“I think Raph gave this to us as a gift gift, not a wedding gift, but I’ll ask Mikey to double check.”

Donnie nodded his appreciation. “Without further ado.”

You flexed your fingers as if you had some great performance to execute before you tucked your digits to lift the box’s lid.

Within it there were two pieces of jewelry set on the plush purple interior.

One was a necklace with two bands that strung themselves to hold a green gemstone on prominent display while the other was a similarly designed arm cuff.

You removed the latter first and took your time applying it to Donnie’s bare bicep.

He watched you with sweetened affection before you released him. He then daintily took the necklace and set the box aside before approaching you. Lifting your head for him, he applied the necklace clasp and traced around to your front to make sure the neck;ace lay comfortably.

“Ready?” Donnie took his original position.

You had a full view of one another. “Ready.”

You both lifted your arms in time.

Yours to your neck and his to his arm. “Three.”

“Two.”

“One.” You both pressed your stones.

For a moment, your vision darkened as a tornado of mystic energy swirled around you. A whipping without wind, the cocoon then fell away and you found yourself looking down. There was a point of plastron jutting sharp from your chest and you reached up to touch what was undoubtedly a pectoral scute. “Donnie…!”

“Softshell.” Donnie spoke warmly.

“I am?!” Your gaze shot to his face and your jaw dropped.

Standing before you was the unmistakable human version of your fiancé. His same eyes evaluated you from above his familiar chiseled jaw. The bulk of his neck then dipped, gnarled with one type of scarring, before it perched upon shoulders that had one side marked with another from your mouth. It all topped his muscular torso. Just as you predicted, he was carved marble. From tight pectorals that gave way to beefy thighs, he was what you assumed people pictured when they thought of godly bodies.

Moving into him with awe, you reached up to skim his body, but paused to check with him. He nodded for you to go ahead and you saw a twinkling in his eye. Similarly moved, you brushed over the skin on his abdomen and trended toward his thick arms. His markings were absent, but the punctured skin from his experiments created paler starbursts of epidermis damage. You traced them lightly until you caught his five fingers hand. “You’re handsome.”

“More so?” He joked and made it obvious he was reaching up with his free appendage.

“Different kind.” You told him before making it obvious you were looking down the length of him. “I’m glad we both stripped beforehand.”

His cock poured from him in a soft and loose dangle.

You licked your lips and resisted touching it to instead come up and adjust the only thing still the same on his person, his cloaking brooch cuff. “What about me?”

“I haven’t seen past your species.”

“You haven’t looked?” You chuckled and sent your gaze to his face.

His hair fell loose and wild around his cheeks and it floated as he shook his head.

You reached up to cup his cheek and couldn’t help but miss the scaley catch of his skin. “I love you.”

“I love you.” He spoke in a rush and bent to kiss you.

You tried to judge what height was lost.

It seemed little based on his bend, but there was something between his legs that you thought was a few inches short.

His lips met yours and you were immediately struck by how you actually lacked the same. You had always considered his to be a pucker, but with your anatomy changed that wasn’t exactly the case. The sensation broke you both apart, where you saw the same confusion on Donnie’s features.

It came with a raise of his brows.

They were now caterpillars on his face.

You reached up and skimmed over them and your partner fully shivered away from you. 

He had an arm up in defense before he smoothed out his forehead in a face smacking swipe.

He shook out and looked down at his hands.

Either muscle memory or something else had his index finger glued to his middle and his third stuck to his pinkie for a V-shape.

“Sweet, you okay…?” You stepped closer and reached up to cup his hands.

He held the pair away from you for a moment before he let his appendage fall into yours. “Startled.”

You nodded. “You’re safe. We can turn this off whenever.”

“This is a cosmetic change. I’m still me.”

“You are.”

“I can feel the hair follicles!”

“You have all kinds of hair now. Arm hair...” You moved a hand to skim one.

He shuddered again, but this time did not flee. “Should I be able to feel them!?”

You looked at him with a curious blink.

You knew you had lashes.

You could feel them.

They were also nothing like they were.

The distinct lack made blinking not feel as clear.

He gave a forced grunt.

The noise no longer came easily to him and wound the taut of his body.

He shuddered again and sent irritation down at you. “I understand the biology.”

“I know.”

“I know exactly how nerve fibers are laid out!”

“Donnie, I know.”

“I did not think that sensation would translate!”

You squeezed his hands. “Don.”

“Mysticism.” He knew the answer and spat it. “How infuriating.”

“Let’s take a break from you.” You tilted your head in a movement of learned cuteness. “Would that help?”

“Yes.” He agreed all too quickly.

“Where’s that mirror?” You knew exactly where it was, but spoke the statement so he’d know your intention as you took a step.

Your heel left the ground much later than the rest of your foot.

It, in fact, dragged and you stumbled slightly.

Your appendage moved wide and you spread your toes for extra grip.

You only had two in the front and tensed in an unsteady positioning.

Donnie’s arms came around you in a floating hold in case you fell. “Bigger steps.”

“Bigger feet.” You remarked and then tried walking again.

You could feel how you stomped as if you were wearing shoes that were too large.

It pained you with a sort of embarrassment as you moved over to the mirror.

A bald version of yourself greeted you.

You looked like a smaller version of Donnie.

Turning side to side and forgetting how strange your body felt, you saw how your plastron hugged your torso. It nipped your thighs as you moved and it felt as though you were wearing an enormous tactical vest. The front didn’t feel as different as the back, but a faint tiny row of spines marked the center of your carapace in a formidable row.

You reached an arm around to touch them.

You had a similar reach and flicked a finger in a bounce against a few of them to feel how sharp they were. “You should have these?” 

“Longer, but yes.” He watched off to the side to keep from being in the mirror himself.

“Would these hurt me?” You looked at him. “Or, I guess you now?” 

Donnie sneered lightly at his hand before he moved to touch your spines.

You shivered with the odd dulled, but clear feeling of them as he ran a weighted finger up.

A kiss came to the side of your head. “My skin remains unbroken.”

You shared the moment of pleasure before looking at yourself again. “I’m all green.”

You could feel Donnie weigh his earlier illogical statement about feeling his hair and kept his mouth shut.

You sent him a knowing look. “I don’t have those purple markings.”

It piqued his interest and you saw him search you.

“Actually… you don’t have them either.” You watched him halt before he looked at his own body for the first time.

Starting right at his bicep, he flexed and prodded the skin where they used to be. “Odd…”

“Why would softshells be purple anyway? I get like Leo’s marks and Mikey’s, but yours…?”

Donnie had a deep frown. “I am… unsure. They were an oddity I was forced to accept. Raphael has since mentioned that they glow when ninpo is in use.”

“Does Raph have marks?”

Donnie looked more frustrated. “No.”

“Weird…”

Donnie rolled his eyes.

“Mysticism.” You spoke for him.

He hummed and slid a hand over the flat of your plastron.

You leaned into his touch to get more of it. “It is dulled.”

He nodded and moved closer to trend further down.

Your upper mons was now covered by a literal plate.

It felt odd to feel how it pressed and moved against your body.

It was one with your skin, but something else entirely.

You imagined Donnie wanted to inspect further when he suddenly yelped.

You caught him stumbling away as your head moved faster than you thought possible. You got to see how he tried to catch himself on the heel that should have been on the back of his foot. There was nothing and his feet flew out from under him. You made it right to his side in another feat of heightened speed, but not fast enough to catch him before he fell on his ass for another screech.

“This flesh is so weak!!” He snarled.

“What happened?” You offered a hand.

He caught it and you were able to help him up with some ease.

Was he lighter or were you stronger?

“This!” He scoffed and threw gesturing hands to his crotch.

His dick hung an innocent pillar.

“It’s just… out!” Donnie griped and wiggled his hips so it flopped. “This is inane! A horrific biological function! A patent weakness!”

“Yeah, hitting guys in the dick is a whole disarming thing.”

Donnie’s nose scrunched. “Horrific!”

“What happened though?” You reached toward his member.

He turned away from you and stomped a few steps. “Your carapace!”

“My…?” You looked up from where you were now reaching to the empty air.

“There are faint spines around the edges. My length brushed such!”

“The edge?” You had to reach and feel the uneven texture. “Huh, I guess that would sting. Did it rub?”

“Yes!” He whipped back to you and his cock slapped his thigh. “Fuck!”

“That couldn’t have hurt!”

“But I can feel it!” Donnie huffed.

“It’s sensitive! It’s a dick!” You responded with an incredulous laugh. 

“A sex organ should be inside!!” He seethed.

“Donnie!” You continued to titter. “We haven’t even gotten to the balls!”

“Testes!” He shouted a correction. “Now there is some biological precedent! The cooling of sperm to a suitable temperature! Otherwise their placement within the body would inhibit numbers!”

“They’re also more sensitive.” You approached him with open hands.

He didn’t flee. “I am not saying they should be outside, but at least there is a reason!”

You touched a hand to the center of his chest and made it obvious you were going to reach between his legs.

He was highly strung and fury oozed off of him and through your ring.

You puckered your mouth for a hush, but it came more as a breath of air as you needed to round your lack of lips more.

Donnie watched on, undeterred until you barely brushed his balls.

A sagging pair upon shriveled skin, the whole of him wound before he flailed away from you and toward the bed.

It caused you to stumble back where you had to admit that extension of your foot was great for catching yourself.

“I hate this!” He turned to you after he had a stable grip on the bed.

You could see his butt from his rotation and it didn’t look as remarkable as the rest of him.

You meant to muffle a chuckle, but what came out of the reverberation in your throat was a trill sound.

It stole all of Donnie’s attention.

You blinked and had a hand raised toward your throat. “That felt weird…”

“The structure of your larynx differs.”

You breathed in and out once before you tried to summon a mating call, but it came out as a stunted squeak.

Donnie bobbed with a single puff of laughter before he turned to sit.

You watched him have to squirm a few times to get used to the cheeks he was perched upon.

He visually walked through the steps to calm himself before he offered a hand.

You took it in a careful show and came up to him. “Let’s stop.”

He shook his head.

“You sure? I heard you. You hate this.”

“I hate the vulnerability.” He clarified. “I don’t dislike experimentation with you.”

You were careful of his legs as you moved to kiss him.

Once then twice, his hand then shifted to skim your arm. In a slow coaxing, he brought you closer and you moved to crawl up him with intense attention. Keeping as far from his cock as possible, he edged you both onto the bed until you were straddling his leg and kissing him down into the mattress. You felt a tickling in your throat even though your neck wasn’t caressed. A hand curled around your thigh and its fingers stretched to brush your tail when something shook your vision.

It rumbled inside your head and you broke away along with the sound.

Donnie had a smug smile on his lips.

“I churred.” You told him and smothered the smarmy look on his face with a kiss.

“I hoped you would.” He explained.

“I’m calm though… Why didn’t it happen before?”

“You’re not used to slipping into it. You think to conjure sound, the methodology is different.”

“Ah…” That made enough sense.

“May I examine your sex?”

He hadn’t even tried to sugar coat his clinical interest. “Buy me dinner or something first.”

He chuckled and pet your shell in a pleasurable way.

You gave a few churrs, but they wouldn’t flow easily out of you. “H-have to r-remember how to do this for you…”

“You taught me.” He spoke and moved to apply pressure to your side.

The connecting plates between your shell and scutes had different types of nerve endings and you ended up rolling right over off of him. Laying on your carapace, you tensed at the feeling of lying on your spines. They shifted easily under you, but their bend seemed connected to your skeleton itself. A nervous chirp squeaked off your lips and Donnie appeared overhead painted in concern.

“Does it ache? The carapace curvature can be eased with some pillows as a prop.”

“N-no… it’s just weird… It’s weird.”

“You’re okay.” Donnie spoke with a similar reassurance that you had.

Soothing digits brushed your arms until you could feel slack urge you.

Giving in, you meant to lay your head back, but your neck snapped too far from the height of your shell.

Donnie grabbed a pillow to tuck under you.

You made a stressed sound as you sank into the object.

Your partner moved in a worried way and nosed reassurances into your cheek.

It was an odd triangle compared to his beak.

You missed him, you thought then.

A bubbling thought, it appeared without pretense.

He was still him, but it was different.

He was different.

You were different.

You ached and the concern must have passed over your features.

“Are you alright?” He slid a kiss down to your choker in demonstration.

You didn’t confirm or deny and instead moved to garner more comfort from him.

He gave it by laying onto his side and allowing you space to curl into him.

You tucked against his chest and it felt oddly squishy as his arm came around as a protective bar. He continued to stroke your arms until worries slid from your jellified state. A few affectionate proto-chirps warbled warmly from you as you bumped and nuzzled against him. He took them all with a peppering of kisses and you lifted from him to look down. He followed your gaze and you made it obvious as you hiked your legs up to spread for him.

He didn’t take you up on your offer and returned to pouring on his affections. 

He warmed you both outside and in through your ring.

You found his hand and tucked his fingers so he could feel the band.

“I don’t know what I yearn for more: having an official title of our bond or being able to feel what you are.”

“You noticed?” You nudged him.

“Notice how you hold it? Notice how you feel what I do and then turn your attentions to me?”

You felt a mating call expand your throat but it came out a shell of itself.

He did his best to mimic it. “I cannot wait.”

“Donnie…”

With a few more nudges he was placing kisses along your shoulder.

Your heart swelled. “We’ve been at this for a while. You’ve seen me. You’ve been touching me. Does that mean-?”

“I am propelled by your voice alone.”

You blinked wide at him.

He appeared to relent and concern creased his brow. “My sense of smell is dulled. The remaining leave little…”

You gripped his forearm.

He sighed deeply. “I do look, but you are not… you.” He gazed into your eyes. “You’re here, but you are not. You don’t feel the same. I don’t feel the same, but if ever you had lingering doubts on how I prefer you…”

You squeezed.

“As you are. I want you as you are.”

You kissed him.

He had latent concern, but soon melted into it. “The scientist in me wants to continue, but even logic urges me to hurry.”

“I’ve been ready.” You bumped your knee to his in a show that you had long presented.

“Probe you suddenly?” He scoffed.

You chuffed in a gruff noise that sounded like his.

“Never.” He spoke warmth into your ear. “I like that we’ve tackled this. You must know.”

“Me too.” You told him. “I miss you too.”

He moved over you and pushed his forehead hard into yours.

This time a mating call came easier. “We cleared it up, then. Our last question.”

“If there ever was one.” Donnie sat up.

You watched him.

It moved his will and you saw the tender underbelly of his affection. “I appreciate the reassurance.”

“You know I do too.” You grinned at him.

“You admitted yours.” He trended down your plastron with a feather-light finger and made it clear he was going south.

You squirmed in preparation. “We love each other.”

“We do…” On his knees, he was slow in taking your hips and pulling you.

Your spines tugged strangely as you were spun around. He set your lower shell against his thighs at first until the sensation had him lifting you back up. He then pulled a sheet up over his lap as a barrier before setting you back down. It left your legs dangling on either side of his body and he tipped his head to explore your slit.

You looked up at the canopy in preparation.

He ghosted your tail and it brought a wiggle to your hips.

He set you back on the bed and moved to lie on his belly. A whole ordeal with his cock in the way, he eventually settled on dragging you down the bed where he was bent over it. His hips against the mattress so only his torso was laying atop it, he was between your legs where he prodded lightly at where your sex was.

He laughed.

First a biting puff that tickled your thigh before he rose all the way up with it.

You scrambled onto your elbows and searched him with exploding embarrassment. “What? What is it!?”

He waved at you as he tried to calm himself. “You-you-!”

“Donatello!”

He cleared his throat hard. “Your body is as stubborn as you!”

“I don’t…?”

“You're barely wet.” His grin was all too wide.

You kicked him.

It connected with his abs and he grunted at the force.

“Shit, sorry!”

“No plastron…” He coughed out.

He shook his head and a slight pride appeared even through his wince.

You gave him a hopeless look.

He stood and continued to have puffs both to catch oxygen and latent giggles until he approached your side to kiss your head.

You pouted.

He opened the nightstand and got lube which he showed you before moving back into his original position.

“Jerk.” You grumbled.

“I appreciate your honesty.” He was all mirth.

“I could still be wet and it wouldn’t mean anything! It just happens!”

“True…” He ran his hands along the inside of your thighs.

The start of a moan caught you.

“But it didn’t…” He pressed a kiss into one before prodding your slit again. “How does it feel?”

He’d switched to a single hand and you wondered about the other as you sank into your pillow. “Pretty similar. The tail is more sensitive than the outer… lips, but it’s still a sensitive area.”

He hummed interest and scissored his fingers to part you.

It felt a little more exposing then the usual sensation and you told him so.

He took an obvious note before his other hand appeared with a warmed wet finger pressing your hole.

You gasped.

“There’s no obvious labia minora.”

“N-no …?”

He shook his head before he let his cheek lay against your leg. “No.”

You meant to ask more, but his finger tested your hole as if waiting for it to grant him entrance.

A similar but different erogenous sensation to what you were used to had you rolling your hips minutely in time with him.

When he finally sank a digit in, he allowed you one flexing adjustment before his body surged forward. Using his strength, he hoisted himself up and spun his entire arm around. The twist sent his digit up into you and with a curl you knew he was searching for your g-spot.

He pressed upwards against your body, but didn’t find it.

It felt good, but you had a clear enough mind to look down at him.

He had obvious irritation with a tinge of intrigue painting him.

“Don-nie?” You pushed your hips against his hand.

“Your anatomy is shifted.” He had the faintest complaint to his voice. “Mine too. I don’t have near the same reach.”

“Your fingers are super long.” You gave a faint moan as he probed straight down to his knuckle.

He gave a little growl that you thought might be his growing anger until you saw the type of heat on his face. “You know what this is?”

“W-what?” You felt trapped.

His other hand came up and he pressed his palm hard into your lower plastron. “There’s a chance your oviduct is hyper elongated…” He stopped suddenly and his expression felt like it scalded you. “I bet you have a magnum-isthmus junction! Fuck!”

“I don’t…!”

“Eggs!” His teeth audibly snapped. “You will now produce and hold eggs!”

 “A-ah!” Your voice broke as he shoved another two fingers in suddenly.

“I want to breed you, fuck. Fuck!” He lowered so he could see your sex and you felt him tug. “You’d hold my clutch. How many eggs? Oh…!”

“Donnie! Wait!!” His other hand shoved a finger in and this time he obviously tried to wrench you open so he could see inside. “Ow!!”

In an instant he was up and away from you.

He nearly fell over with the same folly as earlier, but he remembered and threw his weight forward to keep from toppling.

You pulled your legs up to the safety of your body.

“I’m sorry.” He rounded the bed to your side. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry! That was not-!!”

“Instinct?” You reached for him.

He pulled you right into his chest and his chin dropped onto your head. “Instinct. Feral instinct. I apologize. Y/N…!”

“It’s okay…” You hooked an arm around his. “You’re okay. It stung, but it wasn’t so bad.” 

He panted around you.

You rubbed his arm and felt a bubble of interest.

Under the guise of leaning your head into him, you pushed him slightly.

It gave you a glimpse down his body where you saw his cock.

It hung a limp shape off of him.

You shook with the force of an amused chuff.

He shifted his hold to check you. “Y/N?”

You meant to quell him, but an awkward laugh leaked the moment you opened your mouth.

He dropped to his knees beside the bed to put himself at eye level and searched you.

“Your body is too honest.” You responded and felt some tears in your eyes.

He was gentle in moving up to wick them. “Y/N…”

“You’re not hard.” You told him. “What was your plan to breed me?”

“I’m not…?” The verbalization helped solidify the meaning and it was his turn to check his junk. “I’m not.”

You craned to peer over the bed. “Nope.”

“I don’t… know?” He sent confusion up at you.

“What was it like?” You curled your legs behind you to look over him.

He loosened a little and slumped against the mattress. “In all honesty, all I pictured was eggs lined up within you, seen via ultrasound.”

You cupped your hands over your mouth to stifle a laugh.

Your mate managed a glare.

“It’s just…” You swallowed more giggles. “Not the sex to make them, you pictured a sonogram?!”

He groaned loudly and buried his face into the bed.

You pet his head and tested his hair against your fingers.

He seemed to like it at first until you snagged him then he swatted at you until you were safely released before he rose up. “So asinine! I have no proof either. Even if we were to see if you had such an oviduct, it would be purely cosmetic! You don’t have any of the necessary genetics to create eggs!!”

“You got so caught up in the euphoria of pregnancy that you forgot everything else.”

He whined loud and stared up at you. “I truly apologize.”

“You’re fine.” You moved to kiss his head.

He searched blindly until he found your hand and held it.

You squeezed in turn.

It took several resting minutes before he surfaced. “Did you want to probe me?”

“I’m not sure you can handle it.”

He bobbed with agreeing amusement.

“There is one thing I want to touch.”

“Anything.” He rose up and looked a bit weary.

You coaxed him into your arms and pulled him onto the bed.

He came with a gangle of limbs, but eventually was laid out across your lap.

You ran curious and heavy fingers over his stomach so it wouldn’t tickle him.

He didn’t exactly seem to like the feeling, but he did appear to relax as it wasn’t a negative sensation.

Testing his belly button as it was a new and strange feature, you then moved upward towards his pecs.

Your goal in sight, you admitted to yourself just before reaching it that you were still a little bitter about what had occurred during his heat.

This would be a form of retribution, but not a painful one.

He had no idea what was coming when you bent forward to kiss his sternum.

He gave a bit of a dreamy sigh and what you imagined was the increased sensitivity and then in a flash you moved up and latched onto one of his nipples.

He squealed with the pitch of a pig and bucked you clean off.

With the force of his whole body, the bed bounced and the latent saliva you left behind must have chilled the bud because his hands shot up to wipe his chest off in a flurry.

Scraping his pecs and then covering himself up as if he were indecent, he sent horror in your direction. “Why!?!”

You tried to look innocent, but you were clearly staving off cackling. “Didn’t it feel good?”

“No! It felt weird!!” He shuddered straight into a gag. “Your tongue! I could feel exactly where your tongue went!”

“That’s how skin is…” You tucked your hands under your chin and craned your elbows to your legs to watch him with twinkling joy.

“You like that!” He spit it like a curse at your person.

“Feels good when you do it.”

He shivered again and had to flail his hands.

You watched on with a smile. “Cute.”

“Blech!” He stuck his tongue out at you. “I’ve had enough!”

“Changing back?”

“Yes!”

“I feel like there’s a ton of science you didn’t accomplish. You have two holes now, don’t you want to-?”

“No!!!” His face tipped unhinged. “No, thank you! You have been the only one to penetrate me and even that was done a single time. If it is difficult in my body, it is impossible in this!”

You laughed outright.

He came over and shoved an angry digit into the gem at your throat.

It wasn’t uncomfortable and barely offset your giggles as your vision disappeared momentarily.

When you returned, your mutant softshell mate was stewing in front of you.

“Donnie!” You spoke as if he was there anew and offered out your arms.

He glowered at them only in one sweep before he shot forward with need and scooped you up.

You wrapped around his head and he buried his beak right into your chest.

He gave a mating call loud and proud into your very ribs.

You kissed the top of his bald head. “Missed you.”

He pulled from you only long enough to reply, “Missed you. Welcome back, my heart.” He then pulled you straight into the sheets and placed as much of his big body onto yours to bask in your person.

💜NEXT💜

Give me a shirt that says I heart my betas @tmntxthings and @thepinkpanther83

[likes-words-and-shrimp]

~2023 Symphonia Fic Recs~

Wanted to start off the new year (a little late, haha) with some fic recs for Tales of Symphonia! This is going to be focused on fics that were specifically published/updated in 2023, so some of these stories will vary in length as well as in rating, and you'll most likely see some repeating authors. A small disclaimer: I like to read stories that are in-line with my general preferences and likes (such as fave ships and characters) so I'm admitting some bias in these recs, but I also believe these fics are very much worth reading and want to share them! Much of this is also from the top of my head, so apologies in advance if I miss some additional fics!

Each will be a link to the story and author, rating and word count, and with a very brief summary of the fic. These are in no particular order.

With that, let's go! All fics are under the cut! (And just past New Year's Lloyd):

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And A Sense of Guilt I Can't Deny by AdeptArcanist (G, 1.7k) - Frank was never the sort of man to consider himself extraordinary. He was just another boy who grew up under Iselia’s auspices, taking the peaceful days for granted. He never expected that he would be the father of the next Chosen. A character study revolving around Frank Brunel, his upbringing under the Church, and his connection with Colette. A beautiful fic that gives more of a voice to one of Symphonia's overlooked minor characters.

Passed between these hands of ours by Umbry2000 (G, 3.2k) - The passing of joy from one person to the next, like stones pressed from hand to hand. Lloyd and Colette meet with a young member of the Chosen lineage and teaches her how to skip stones, interspersed with wonderfully written flashbacks to them as children. Takes place post-canon.

Wings of the Dawn by FrostGlaive (T, 56.9k) - Yggdrasill is determined to have his Angelus Project completed. In a frantic bid to save his son, Kratos tries a temporary measure. But plans never go as intended. A canon-divergence fic where Lloyd is captured in Welgaia by Yggdrasill, his key crest then removed from his Exsphere by Kratos. A very interesting take where Lloyd is unwillingly put on the enemy side and has revelations differently from canon.

Rewind by ignitible (T, 20.9k) - "A person’s memories is tied to their time. -- There will be nothing for them to remember." A post-canon fic that mixes in an adventure/mystery plot with the age regression trope in such an engaging way. Begins with most of the party searching for missing persons in the Shadow Temple before they get separated-and discovering who gets hit with the trope is half the fun in reading to find out! Currently an ongoing fic.

Forever and Always by kimberriez (G, 6.6k) - Lloyd was raised by a blacksmith, he knows all sorts of things about metal, about craftsmanship. What he can't quite figure out is why Kratos has a wedding ring, and what about it looks familiar. A dad reveal, set right after Colette is kidnapped in Ozette. A canon-divergence fic that plays with the timeframe of when Lloyd realizes who Kratos is, and gives some really touching interaction between the two as a result. Part of a series of different dad reveals.

stargazing by almost_home (G, 2.3k) - Lloyd invites Genis for a sleepover. Pre-game. A small and sweet fic about Lloyd and Genis as children, spending time together at Lloyd's home. Overall a really adorable portrayal of their friendship.

Like Starlight by MannaTea (T, 5.4k) - Aithra Brunel is sixteen when she accepts the oracle and her new title: Sylvarant’s Chosen of Regeneration. A really beautiful and tearful story centering around one of the past Chosens of Sylvarant, particularly detailing about her journey and the tragedy that ultimately befalls her.

A Good Luck Charm by sistaofpeace1 (G, 1.3k) - A simple trinket turns out to be far more meaningful. A cute feel-good Kratos/Anna fic with Anna helping Kratos fight off some bandits, as well as Kratos not knowing what a mistletoe is. Hilarity ensues, leading to some nice fluff.

just down the dirt road by Baron_Ali (G, 1.1k) - Memories and nostalgia shrouding his childhood home give Lloyd pause; Colette sets her dork back on track. This story takes place one year after Lloyd and Colette's Exsphere journey, and delves deep into the difficulty of the quest and how it's beginning to weigh down on Lloyd and his confidence in tackling it while Colette reassures him. An incredibly sweet and warm fic that has a lot of lovely imagery in its storytelling.

The place of our dreams (let's go there) by holy_kami (T, 6.3k) - He probably thought he did a good job of hiding his pain from them, but Colette was all too familiar with feeling alienated because she was so starkly different from everyone else. In fact, she and Zelos were more alike than anyone else she knew. A Zelos and Colette fic that takes place before and after Zelos' betrayal. Incredibly great introspection between both of their roles as Chosen and how it brings them both an understanding of each other.

complications you could do without by almost_home (G, 3.7k) - Raine is injured in the Temple of Ice, and Zelos has a rough time with it. A really fascinating fic about Zelos experiencing past trauma when Raine gets injured. This story does a great job portraying his dynamics with the entire group overall, along with a touching scene between him and Raine for a bit of closure.

Heart Beats by Umbry2000 (G, 1.7k) - She counts the steady beats of his heart, and promises to always protect him. The style of this fic winds around Colette and Lloyd's physical interactions, and written in such a genuine way that leads to a bittersweet ending. A great mixture of fluff and angst.

Vita by MannaTea (E, 4.1k) - Half-elves can now attend formal schools as well as teach in them. They can join the church, attend the theater, walk into any medical facility and receive treatment, and practice medicine. But they cannot marry humans. A Regal/Raine fic where Regal's own unique healing magic is put to good use while he and Raine meet secretly. Takes place in the backdrop of a vote where it would be decided if half-elves and humans can get married, making for a suspenseful and emotional story.

The Great Interdimensional Curry Quest by VSSAKJ (G, 1.1k) - Filled with a burning yearning for the universe’s spiciest delicacy, Symphonia's Spice-Loving Gnomelette leaves the Temple of Earth behind, setting off on a journey through time and space (and other Tales of games) to treat his taste buds to even hotter and heartier meals. This story technically spans over other Tales of games, but is focused on the silly gnomelette from Symphonia that demands something spicy from the party. Just a really fun fic where this NPC travels across different worlds and dimensions for the spiciest food in existence!

A Cowgirl Comes-a-Ridin' by Night Sky (E, 7.3k) - They called them Lloyd the Kid and Colette the Angel. A notorious couple wanted by the authorities in all of western Sylvarant. Slipperier than a snake in slime oil and luckier than a mimic chest in a seemingly looted ghost town, these two had the highest bounty on their heads in the west: One million gald reward for each. Dead or alive. As the title implies, a really hilarious but also sexy fic set in a Western AU, taking place while Lloyd and Colette are out on the run and settle for the night. Both are adorable goofballs just having a good time with the writing style making this such a fun ride to go on. Also, Sheena is the sheriff tracking them down!

Break Open the Sky by MannaTea (M, 102.5k) - What kind of “Hero” of Regeneration would she be to leave an infant to fend for itself? Someone had to have left it here for a reason. The question was, of course, why? But as she lifted the little thing carefully into her arms, the motion reminding her of nights so far in the past, now, the why seemed almost tragically clear: this baby was of mixed blood. A Raine-centric fic (with eventual Regal/Raine) where she must take care of an abandoned half-elf baby that was left to her. An incredibly well-written fic that deals with Raine's issues of abandonment and past trauma, combined with a good deal of worldbuilding for Symphonia and examining the still-thriving deep-seated prejudices for half-elves.

Pretty Ribbon by CamTheYaoiFan (G, 492) - Presea grapples with the intricacies of female friendship, and wonders why she fumbles even more around Colette. But Colette is patient and kind, and Presea finds herself feeling especially drawn to her. A very cute little fic about Presea navigating her feelings for Colette and what she means to her. Perfect for a short and sweet read. Includes fluff and also some fanart in the story.

Snow Angel by amuk (T, 1.1k) - Colette was clumsy. Sheena had known this for a while now. Every place they’d ever visited had a Colette-shaped imprint. Yet, for some reason, she thought that teaching her how to skate was a good idea. A really light-hearted Sheena/Colette fic where the two go ice skating together. Clumsiness happens, but for a really great and romantic effect. Expect sweet fluff.

sings the tune without the words by MannaTea (T, 23.3k) - 4,000 years after the events of Tales of Symphonia, our heroes have been reborn. This tale belongs to Lloyd and Colette. A Lloyd/Colette multichapter fic that takes place in a modern AU, but with the twist that it's also a reincarnation AU! Follows along Lloyd and Colette's lives from childhood to old age, with some familiar faces along the way, with both uplifting and tragic moments in-between.

A Held Note by fowl68 (G, 11.5k) - Dirk poured tea for their ghost. She never sat with him, but she would drift closer, drawn in by his voice and conversation. She talked, sometimes, endless questions about her baby and where was her baby? She never absorbed the fact that her baby was sleeping in the bed just upstairs. A story that examines the 'what-if' scenario of Anna and Martel being wandering ghosts during the events of Symphonia, interacting with the cast during different points in their lives, from childhood to adulthood. A really introspective look at how their deaths affect Symphonia's story overall.

Mirage by Umbry2000 (G, 2.7k) - The role given to Colette Brunel had been that of the Chosen. It was a role only she could play. And she played it to perfection. An introspective-fic about Colette with an incredibly well-written look into the pressures of her role, and how it affects her even after the events of Symphonia. Has some brief Lloyd/Colette as his presence helps her break from the shell she's built around herself.

Rather Be Happy by Phylarologist (T, 4.6k) - Lloyd and Colette take a break from their Exsphere-gathering journey to have the worst date imaginable. Just as the summary explains! But with the added angst that eventually occurs near the end and the very reasoning for why Lloyd and Colette are on a bad date. A wholesome fic with that dash of hurt/comfort.

Missing the Ground by sapphose (G, 1.9k) - The group's journey to the Temple of Earth is interrupted by a long detour to the Toize Valley Mines. Can Zelos and Regal face what awaits them on the southeast continent? This fic is part of an ongoing role-reversal AU series with Zelos as the Chosen of the declining world. The story is a brief look into his journey, where Zelos is already losing some of his humanity, as well as dives into his dynamic with the party. A really intriguing portrayal of Symphonia's worldbuilding if the situations were reversed.

Strangely Sacred by fowl68 (G, 19.6k) - The power of the Summon Spirits takes a toll if you're not careful. Sheena can't always afford to be. How the party learns to support each other. Each chapter of this fic examines Sheena's bond with a Summon Spirit and their power--but is also a really wonderful exploration of Sheena's dynamic with each party member, using the Summon Spirits as the connection. Very well-written one-on-one character interaction.

Formative by sykilik101 (G, 6.3k) I am who I am because of you. And, maybe, you are who you are because of me. A story that examines Lloyd and Colette's relationship at different points during their childhood years together. Beautifully captures the nuances of their friendship and blossoming feelings for one another, all while learning about what the Chosen role entails and how Lloyd gradually goes against it for Colette's sake.

Oblivion - We are all monsters here by KujaTribal (M, 25.5k) - Kratos had Lloyd during the ancient war and Lloyd sacrificed himself in order to protect Martel. Several thousand years later, Kratos rules over both Tethe'alla and Sylvarant and Zelos is set on the journey to regenerate the world. An AU where Zelos as the Chosen is sent on a journey, but with a twist! The entire story is extremely canon-divergent, where a lot of characters are shifted into entirely new roles. (For example, Forcystus and Magnius are Zelos' best friends and have major roles, and Zelos is a half-elf!) Very fun to read just to see how familiar characters are set-up in this new imagining of Symphonia's world. Currently an ongoing fic.

To Those Left Behind by LiaLox (T, 5.6k) - A collection of short stories on what it means to feel time flow differently, on what it means to love, to leave, and to be left behind. This collection has two chapters so far, but they both examine some unique themes and characters in the Symphonia universe. First chapter is told from Phaidra's perspective and her realizing Kratos' identity from her deceased sister's letters, while the second chapter focuses on Emil from Dawn of the New World and his future with Marta.

Innocent Little Secrets by KujaTribal (G, 1.1k) - Raine shares a tiny little secret. A very adorable Zelos/Raine fic that takes place during canon. Both Zelos and Raine show a little of their vulnerabilities to each other that leads to some really great fluff. Another great short and sweet read.

The Unexpected Dog (Protozoan) Father by shibabunny (T, 2.9k) - A few months after Kratos and Anna settle in Luin, the couple, along with Lloyd and Colette, who are now engaged and in town visiting the older couple, discover a pile of puppies surrounding Noishe. And some seem to have an uncanny resemblance to the loyal protozoan. This is a really adorable fic taking place in an Anna-lives AU about Noishe having puppies. What makes this fic really engaging is how much Kratos doesn't want to give away the puppies, showing a very soft side of him! A super cute read.

--

And that's a lot of recs! If you'd like to check out any of the above fics, definitely give them a read and leave a kudos/comment. I haven't read every fic that was made in the past year either, so you can always check AO3 for more fics!

...And if you've read this far! I'll throw in an extra bonus of some of my own fics that I wrote in 2023 and particularly like for anyone's interest.

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Being an angel is pretty inconvenient, huh? (T, 36.1k) - Lloyd had never been too fond of his wings. But they were still useful, and convenient when they needed to be. It only made sense to use what he had. Until his wings changed one night, and became permanent, with real feathers attached to bone. And they were heavy. A Lloyd/Colette fic spanning seven chapters, focusing on Lloyd's mana wings and their transformation into permanent ones. Deals with some brief body horror, party dynamics, themes of change and acceptance, and an eventual happy ending.

To Sow the Seeds of Love and Adoration (T, 8k) - Tabatha knew that a doll that failed in her purpose must be discarded. She was flawed, with a voice that continued to halt and assess every syllable, with a body that refused to house the soul of the woman she was made in the image of. Focuses on Tabatha both before and during the events of Symphonia, along with a look in to her and Altessa's close relationship. Was an art/fic collab with @frayed-symphony which is included in the story!

Resemblance (G, 2.7k) - During a rainy day in Asgard, Kratos takes up cooking for the party. Colette notices quite a few things. Just as the summary says; Kratos cooks for the party, (specifically seafood stew!) Meanwhile, Colette makes a few connections between him and Lloyd throughout. Lloyd also gets caught in the rain.

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Thanks again for reading and hoping for a great 2024!

[divinityunleashed]

Welcome to the RP Blog of DivinityUnleashed! A multi-fandom story based Roleplay Blog, fans of multiple fandoms and amongst the multiverse can come to witness story telling, hilarity, chaos, dashboard shenanigans and everything in-between!

Built using the foundations of the Neptunia franchise, this blog's characters are focused on an altered version of the Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise's characters and world, with multiple fandoms converging to create a diverse and story-rich environment!

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Formally known as protagneptune!

Male Writer, 18+, Several years of Roleplay Experience!

Multifandom RP & Crossover RP!

Permanent Starter Call!

Open to interactions from anonymous users!

I have a Discord where I store all my world lore and character profiles!

I also am in the process of building a Website for this too!

Majority SFW Content with minor NSFW elements, mostly to do with humour and wits, nothing too major! If anything major does occur, will be marked with #suggestive and any starters on this will start off with the Read More.

Semi-Literate to Literate | Adaptable Writing Style!

All artwork used are property of their respective owners, including icons! (Icons used are tagged by #divine icons)

Banner and Profile Avatar was put together by me!

Inbox is open to muse questions, mun questions and starters/meme/munday prompts! Tag for that is #divine meme

Fun is number one priority here!

No knowledge of Hyperdimension Neptunia or any fandoms represented is required in order to interact with me!

Lore crafter! I write lots of lore and like to make my own spin on things with lots of story arcs! I make lore posts using #divine lore and #divine character profile

If I forget certain threads with people, I am not losing interest! I cannot stress this enough!

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Hit the reblog button to spread me around! It helps out a ton and the more connections we can establish, the more story plots and fun times can be created, both in and out of threads!

Let's have a good time here guys, let's mingle and craft stories that people will love, build a world full of content, twists and turns in every step, and above all else...

To have fun!