#and giving me the opportunity to yap about something that makes me happy

[zara-renata]

sylus who? i want your ocs :D

This is SUCH a sweet ask. I was l ike the little wet eyed happy emoji when I received it!! Dragon age, ME, and LADS under the cut.

To be honest, I haven't really had OCs for years. Probably my first ever OC what my inquisitor from Dragon Age. She was a depressed, nug-hunting Dalish elf archer rogue who fell in love with Solas and had her heart broken into pieces by him lol.

And then I had Eris Shepard, my Shepard from Mass Effect, who was a Butcher of Torfan, red-sand addicted sniper/shotgun infiltraitor renegade who fell in love with Kaidan Alenko's pure heart and didn't think she deserved him. My first ever fanfiction was writing Kaidan's grieving process after the beggining of ME2 after Alchera.

Can you see a pattern?

Currently, I think the OCs I have are just various MCs. Like, for the Sylus series, MC has heavy abandonment issues because of like, ending up in the shelter with no memories and then Caleb dying, and low self esteem because of what I imagine as Gran not being equipped to raise two traumatized children and not getting them to fucking therapy. They derive their value from being useful to others, and after Caleb dies, has a lot of survivor's guilt that makes everything else worse--they feel like they have to keep living even on the days when there doesn't seem to be any point in order to honor Caleb and Gran not surviving. Sylus and MC's therapist have their work cut out for them lol. Sylus's MC also loves plants and lovely delicate things but also beautiful things hurt their heart because they've never considered themselves as such.

For Sylus oneshots, I sort of write MC having issues that Sylus is really good at handling/comforting, so avoidant attachment style, very high distrust of others, introvert, self esteem issues, in various degrees of severity depending on my mood and idea. I think in the future it would be very fun to switch things up and write Sylus's MC has highly confident and competent, but very distrustful of him because of how they met and resistant to his attention because she/they can't believe that he's genuine after everything that happened. He'd have to work much, much harder to get close. I was talking to @wearysparrows about writing law and ethics professor sylus and the one student who never shows up to his lectures in a hybrid style curriculum where you can attend lectures remotely, and she always aces the exams and blows his mind with how brilliant her answers are, and he is so irritated that she never shows up in person for him to like, talk to her, that he just starts 'showing up' at her part time jobs, one of which is stripping, and I think it would be fun to make her insanely wary of him but very confident in contrast to most of the Sylus MC's I write.

For Caleb's MC in the wholesome apple boy series, MC is just a wreck without him. He's the only support figure she ever had in her life, and felt utterly abandoned after he left for Skyhaven and became so unavailable for reasons he was unable to talk about. Then when he dies, her feelings are so complicated: the survivor's guilt, the unfair feeling of being abandoned AGAIN, the regret of having wasted time whenever she did get to see him after she cut him out of her life. just self-destructive, waiting to die kind of scenario, accidentally gets a boyfriend because he's so persistent and she just does not care anymore, he's a distraction. Then caleb comes back like a bulldozer lol. She's so furious and so heartbroken and so happy he's alive but she wants to tear his throat out and shelter him from anything that could ever hurt him again. They're going to be insane together.

And then I think of more canon Caleb's MC, where she's just blindsided by the colonel and Gloomy Caleb, and refuses to let him treat her like she's incapable of looking after herself, and she sees him for who he is: self-harming, thrill-seeking because he feels dead inside unless MC's around, disordered eating, thinks of himself as only a tool whose sole purpose in life is to keep her safe, doesn't see others as human, only (like himself) tools to use to fulfill his purpose. His bone deep need to have value by providing for her. So I would like to write the dynamic where she's confident and well adjusted because he took such good care of her growing up and was such a good attachment figure, and she turns around and cares for him instead.

hehe anyway i hope this is what you meant? thank you so much for being curious and asking, it was so thoughtful!

[ollylotl]

I WANT TO HEAR YOUR DAKOTA N VYNCENT THOUGHTS SO BAD please tell me about them.....

oooh dakota and vyncent…, where do i start. i warn you i don't normally do like. character analysis writing type posts? so please excuse if it's bad.

they have perhaps the most strained relationship out of the prime defenders. but that's not necessarily a bad thing. it's really compelling. they're very similar but also very different at the same time. and maybe this is why they can sort of grate against each other sometimes, but is also why they are such good friends who can rely on each other.

vyncent grew up living a life that, while not necessarily comfortable, he was familiar with. he was happy and he had a support system in the greats and his parents. that got ripped away from him very suddenly and he got dropped in the deep end of a world entirely unfamiliar. meanwhile dakota (from after his parents death onwards) had a very difficult childhood. he spent many years without a support system - his parents gone, his aunt struggling herself and not able to care for him as he needs. but he's had time to learn to deal with that. rockfall/new haven is where he's grown up, and he knows it like the back of his hand. so they're both struggling but like in opposite ways? where vyncent has been okay for most of his life but now he hasn't had a chance to adjust, while dakota's been going through it for longer but that means he's been able to adjust and is familiar with the rules of this world.

they also have opposite ways of coping with bad things / tackling their problems. dakota shuts down. vyncent lashes out. dakota is determined to never take a life. vyncent comes from a world where fighting to the death is normal. dakota not only trusts, but idolises heroes. vyncent has been nothing but let down by them and doesn't trust them at all.

i think about that scene in season 1 so much where they're at mark's house, and tide has been taken, and dakota's just shut down. vyncent starts yelling at him because he's lost everything he had in this world and can't afford to just stop like that. it's just the perfect example of how their opposite experiences and coping mechanisms cause them to clash.

more extremely, when william gets killed. dakota completely breaks down, while vyncent starts attacking even more furiously. then vyncent is like. almost pleading (? you could say? not sure if thats the word) with dakota to just get up and fight because he can't do this alone. he can't do this without dakota. he couldn't have done any of this without dakota.

but in perhaps the more simple ways, they're quite alike. they're the epitome of dumb teenage boys. i mean, they'll just break into a duet on the train. they goof off together - the shopping cart race, that one scene in the gym in season one.

so. like. they lean on each other. they both don't have much to rely on. but they have each other. i think vyncent was probably, even if its a large part subconsicous, feeling betrayed when dakota left over the s1-2 timeskip. likewise how dakota felt betrayed over the bino and mark thing / mal amulet / belltech, etc. etc. but they stick together. no matter what they go through they get out of it, and they get out of it together.

so. okay apologies for taking so long to say so little. essentially what i like most about dakota and vyncent's friendship is that duality of relying on each other both out of necessity and because they're the only ones who really get each other, and also having the energy of like. "hey bro how many slices of pizza can i fit in my mouth at once. hey bro bet you cant backflip off of this building. hey bro let's do a karaoke duet of breaking free from high school musical"

as vyncent himself said in late season 2. they're brothers. (falls over and sobs)

[have-you-seen-my-sanity]

Hi! Can you write a fic where Steven and Marc are jealous of each other about who loves the reader more and who's better in bed? Maybe they could confront reader too

pls make it smutty if you're okay with that

Hello!! <3

Let's see who's better

Steven Grant & Marc Spector x fem!reader

Warnings: Jealousy, p in v, soft dom Steven, oral fem!receiving, smut, nsfw, happy ending.

Steven just got out of the bathroom after a refreshing shower, your sleeping form caught his attention.

"She looks so beautiful asleep. Love her so much." Steven smiled.

Meanwhile Marc felt the need to take part.

*Me too, buddy.*

Steven turned to look in the mirror, seeing indeed Marc with a cheeky smile on his face.

"I love her more."

*No I do.*

"Not a chance mate."

*I met her first.*

"Bloody hell, Marc."

Marc just gave an arrogant smirk.

"If you think that, then let's just ask her."

*You challenging me now, buddy?*

"You bloody bet I did, mate."

*Did you bump your head?*

"No, of course not! Did you?"

Marc and Steven were so into arguing, they didn't notice you waking up.

"Boys? What are you yapping about?"

*Great, you just woke her up.*

"You're the worst." Steven scoffed, returning to the bedroom. "Sorry love, Marc and I were just uh, making bets..."

You raised your eyebrow "Sounded like a sudden deep hatred."

Steven shrugged. "You know how we can get sometimes."

"Yeah, sometimes you two are acting like an old couple." You chuckled.

"Are we that bad?" Steven fiddled with his fingers, making a nervous expression.

"No! You're simply too innocent, Stevy!" You laughed, getting out of the bed and hugging him.

Steven was actually surprised, but he loved the affection from you. While you hugged him, he turned to look back at the mirror to see Marc's face.

Marc's mouth was opened in a surprised manner, he raised a finger as if he wanted to say something, but for once he couldn't come up with anything.

Steven shot Marc an arrogant smile, Marc's jaw clenched and he crossed his arms, looking offended.

Steven couldn't help but laugh a bit.

You nudged his foot with yours. "What's so funny?" you asked with amusement.

"Marc's offended like a child because I emptied all of his aftershave." Steven lied but played it cool.

You snorted before bursting out in laughter. "Wait what?" you gently pulled away. "Poor guy, but he will get over it." you chuckled.

"You're right, he will get over it." Steven said, his tone was laced with pure amusement and arrogance. He glanced back to the mirror, seeing Marc narrowing his eyes dangerously and scowling back at Steven.

"Is he pissed now?" You asked.

"Not even Khonshu would dare mess with him now, pissed is not even close." He lied.

"I never expected you to be so cruel Steven, maybe you should make it up to him." You smiled before heading over to Gus to feed him.

*Yeah you heard her. Make it up to me. Give me the body.* Marc said in their shared headspace.

Steven saw you heading to the couch, flopping down. He took the opportunity to get back to the bathroom again.

"No, I'll stay with her."

*I'm the main. I get to choose.*

"Not now."

*Fuck, who did something to you?*

"You did."

Marc scoffed.

"Steven!? You pissing off Marc again?" They heard you call out.

Steven just left the bathroom and sat down next to you on the couch.

You raised an eyebrow. "Damn, what's up with you two today? Who did you kill?"

"No one." Steven replied a bit nervous.

"Stevennn! Speak with me, what's wrong?" You straightened, turned to face him and crossed your legs.

Steven took a deep breath. "Which one of us do you like more?" he asked carefully.

You tilted your head, giving him a confused look. "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope, hundred percent real."

"Not gonna answer that. I love you both."

"Let's say you have to save one of us, who would it be?"

"You two are one body, it's a two in one, that means I'll save both of you." You shrugged. "Now spill it, what's happening between you two?"

"Alright. Marc and I were arguing on which one of us loves you more." Steven sighed.

"And you two really thought I'd only love one of you?" You asked.

*Hold on. Steven ask her who's better in bed. This way she can't come up with the one body excuse.* Marc told Steven, who looked back in the direction of the bathroom.

"Oh my god..."

You figured Marc must have said something to Steven "What did he say?"

"Well, he uh... he asked who's better in bed.." Steven stammered.

You shot a flabbergasted look. "For the protocol..." you squinted your eyes and raised one finger, "you two wanted to know which one I love more. Now it looks like you finally accepted and made peace knowing I love both of you," you paused "and now you want to know which one fucks better?"

Steven nodded.

"Hell no, I'm not gonna answer that."

"Because that one body argument you made doesn't count for sexy time, right love?" Steven smiled teasingly.

"You are unfair. Both of you." You wagged with your finger.

*We got her. Now we have to see who's better.*

"Don't be shy love. Speak." Steven grinned.

"Fine. But I will make it fair. So don't even think about being upset."

"Alright." Steven agreed.

"Marc when I had a rough day, you when it's a normal day."

*Interesting...*

"Really?" Steven teased.

"Happy now?"

"Think you're able to choose?" Steven scooted a bit close.

"Nuh-uh, don't you fucking dare." You uncrossed your legs, scooting back.

"I bet this will make you rethink." Steven gently grabbed your ankles, pulling you close to him, hooking his fingers under your sleeping pants and pulled them down along with your panties.

"Steven?"

"No no, don't think, just focus on me, yeah?" Steven spreaded your legs and leaned down between your legs.

"W-wait not- o-oohh fuck..." Steven didn't even let you finish, he dipped right in, lapping at your pussy, licking and sucking like a starved man about to die.

Steven was licking so intense, your thighs snapped shut around his head.

"Feels good yeah? Wait till I fuck this cunt." Steven moaned against you, his tongue thrusting into your hole as deep as possible.

"What's gotten into you, Steven?" You slured out, already feeling your orgasm building up.

"You. Just you." He smiled, his hand coming up to rub your clit.

"Oh fuck! Steven you're so good!" You're already seeing stars, Steven's demonstrations on you we're almost too much.

"Can feel you getting tight around my tongue." Steven's hand came up, rubbing your clit, determined to bring you over the edge.

"Shit! Steven I'm about to cum!" You cried out in pleasure, your eyes rolling back as you couldn't take it any longer, gushing your juices into Steven's mouth.

"Yeah that's it, love." Steven's greedy mouth slurped every last drop of your orgasm up. He got up, licking the remains of your juices from his lips.

"Ready for another one?" He asked teasingly, kneeling between your legs, you could already see his hard cock straining.

"You're driving us mad, y'know that?" He reached down, pulling his raging cock out and positioned himself on top of you.

"And I bet you like it right?" Steven grabbed and lined his cock at your swollen pussy.

"Wait so you two are just kidding?" You asked, still slightly out of breath.

"No, that's real. But you like seeing us jealous, hm?" Steven pushed inside you, already setting quite a fast pace.

You let out a gasp at the overstimulation. "You're starting to get as dirty as Marc." you chuckled.

"Yeah? Good." Steven teased, he slowed down a bit, aiming for deep and hard thrusts.

"Oh god, Steven..." Your eyes fluttered shut, Steven hit your spots with each thrust.

"Told you, love." He teased, rolling his hips just right to make your mind go cockdrunk. Steven continued to switch between slow and deep thrusts and hard and fast ones.

You felt your peak build up once again, tightening around Steven's cock. He felt it and sped up, hitting all your sweetspots as he felt himself getting close too.

"Stevennn!" It wasn't long before you clenched around him and drowned his dick in your juices.

"Fuck, feels so good.." Steven moaned, releasing himself into you before stopping his movements.

"Are you happy now?" You chuckled.

"Only if you say I am the best." He teased.

"Fine, have it." You spoke without thinking before your eyes widened and you remembered Marc as your mind came back to it's senses. "Shit."

"Good answer, thanks love." Steven smiled. "Marc, better accept it."

*Nope. I didn't even had my chance yet...* Marc spoke lowly in the headspace.

You got up, put only your panties back in and made your way to the bathroom to clean up. You didn't know where Steven went, but as left the bathroom and were about to pass the bed you heard a voice.

"Honeeyy." Marc's voice hit your ears sharp. As you turned around, he was already there.

"Hi." You played it cool.

"Hey there." Marc gave a dirty smile.

"Let me guess, you want your piece of the cake now?"

"Yeah. After that we'll see who's better." He stopped infront of you, leaning in close. "And now, get on the bed, spread your legs and let me fuck you stupid."

You obeyed, laying down on the bed, slipped off your panties and opened your legs.

"You two are the worst when you're jealous at eachother."

Marc stepped between your legs, reaching down to run two fingers along your folds, making you whimper. "Means your pussy's getting spoiled."

"Funny."

"Yeah." He joked.

Marc was already hard, he couldn't wait any longer, freeing himself and positioned his cock at your hole, nudging you with his tip. He entered slowly, making you gasp. "O-ooh fuck, Marc..."

"Mhh-mm.." He hummed, slowly starting to roll his hips. The pleasure came back, causing your head to fall back.

He grabbed your hips for leverage, slamming his cock in and out of you. "Can you feel yourself getting cockdrunk, hm?"

"Can't help it." You slured with half your mind drifting off into numbness.

"That's my girl." Marc praised, pulling his cock almost all the way out and slamming right back into your depths.

"Ohh my ggod!" You moaned, arching your back.

Marc leaned down "Honey, I want you to say I'm better in bed if you wanna cum." He demanded, using your current state of mind for his advantage.

You couldn't say anything, the only thing you could do, was moaning.

He chuckled. "Can't think straight, huh?"

You shook your head, getting louder as Marc set a fast pace, hitting the spots deep inside. You gripped the sheets, biting your lip as you tried to say what he wanted in order for him to make you cum.

"You're b-better M-Marc..." You moaned, feeling desperate to cum.

"I'm better?" He increased his pace, feeling his orgasm approach.

Your pussy tightened around Marc's cock. "Yess, please let me cum!"

Marc grinned. "Such a good girl for me. Now cum on my cock."

As if on command, your pussy clamped down on his cock, squeezing tight.

"There you go, baby." He groaned, releasing his cum into you.

Marc stayed inside you while catching his breath, and then pulled out of you. "Fuck... now you may take a shower." he chuckled.

You panted, taking your time to catch your own breath. "I earned that shower."

"Looks like you did." He nodded, tucking himself back in and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Made up your mind yet?" He ruffled your hair, smirking down at you.

"You share. Get used to it, you and Steven. I'm not a fan of choosing." You sat up on the bed.

Marc let out a breath, looking at the mirror in the bathroom. "Fine. Steven wanna quit this shit and just accept it? Boss lady demands it."

*Yeah, let's get this over with. But hey, we spoiled her.* Steven chuckled.

"You're right." Marc grinned.

You just raised an eyebrow. "Hey you two, what are you talking about."

Marc looked at you, his hands moved to gently pull you up. "Nothing, we agreed we will be friends again. No more fooling around. Now go get your shower." He gently ushered you before he softly smacked your ass.

You, amused, shook your head at them, making your way into the bathroom for your well deserved shower for the day.

[pretty-little-mind33]

DAVE WITH A FELLOW NERD FEM!READER

Ask: hiii, i have a dave lizewski request. it would be so nice to see headcanons for dave dating a nerd like him, except shes more quiet and sarcastic. like she and dave r the epitome of loser in the body of a hot person lmao. we need more loser x loser representation in dave fanfics HAHAHAH. hope this makes sense 😭😭😭

~ loser x loser is so real. i hope you like this! it's short and sweet 🫶 ~

• Dave knows he's a loser and sure, sometimes, it bothers him but mostly? Mostly he doesn't mind. He likes the things he likes! (Plus being Kick-Ass does make him feel better about himself—he feels badass!)

• You also know you're a loser but unlike Dave, there isn't really any time when it bothers you. You have your friends and you're happy! So what if you're a little weird? Being weird is fun!

• Of course, neither you or Dave are in any way ugly—which makes things easier. Still, people don't ask you guys out because they're intimidated by both your niche interests and quirkiness.

• You met Dave in class when he'd sat behind you and asked for a pencil. You handed him one with small cartoon figures of various comic characters, not thinking much of the interaction, but for him it was as if an arrow had stuck his chest.

• Love at first sight!

• Or just a really really really deep infatuation.

• He asked around about you, which of course ended up fruitless because no one is school knows much about you. You're shy. And anyways, the ones who do know just say you're guarded and that he shouldn't mess with you.

• Dave wasn't planning on messing with you! He just wanted to talk and ask you about comics (he's overjoyed to find out a girl seems to like comics like he does! A cute girl!)

• When you finally talk to him, you're directly sassy with him. "What do you want from me, Lizewski?"

• Dave's cheeks turn pink and he's blushing SO hard. "I- thank you for your pencil—" Of course he'd forgotten to give it back but he hands it to you now, his hands shaky, "I- I also like comics. Do you like DC? Marvel?"

• Your eyes lit up. Opportunity to talk about something you love?! YES PLEASE.

• Boom! Immediate friendship! You guys go on little dates to the comic book store (platonic in the beginning). If you're an artist, he likes watching you draw fan-art and if you're a writer he'll read your fanfiction lmaoo he's supportive like that.

• Dave will also cosplay with you if you're into that (only he won't cosplay as Kick-Ass, which you think is a shame considering he'd look soooooo good in the suit 😏😉)

• Your first kiss? Awkward af. If you have glasses, 100% your glasses hit his and he freaks out. You both mess it up but in the end you end up laughing SO hard.

• He's really sweet to you and his friends all joke that you and him are like the IT couple—but for nerds. He'll flip his friends off but kiss your cheek.

• Dave loves that he can ramble with you and you listen to him without complaining. He's SO comfortable around you because you're so similar.

• You both kinda feed into your interests and delusions and have the BEST laughs. He's really your best friend!

• Friends to Lovers duhhh 😜

• Dave would do the cringey/cute holding hand in the back pocket thing from movies and shows…yk the one! You'd pretend to hate it but secretly you'd love it and you want him to continue doing it!

• Dave is a big movie nerd. So movie nights every friday, including drive-in's if possible (you drive lol). He's also a big movie talker so he'll yap and yap but you don't mind.

• And if you do you'll throw popcorn in his face to shut him up.

• Overall, bbg is so boyfriend material for a nerd!reader! He just gets you and he's a silly guy who wants to make his gal happy 💞

[maoam]

What do you think of this post

https://www.tumblr.com/saski-uchis/740996293540954112/an-analysis-on-sns-and-their-fans-treatment-of?source=share

I stopped reading when op brought up "the truth about itachi?" panel as proof that Sakura can't be judged for not knowing. But okay, I will explain this in more details AGAIN.

1. The difference in how Kishi portrayed Naruto/Sakura reasoning with Sasuke

Naruto's reasoning why Sasuke shouldn't go to Orochimaru: "He will kill you." Naruto is concerned for Sasuke's well-being.

Sakura's reasoning why Sasuke shouldn't go to Orochimaru: "Revenge won't make you... ME happy." And Sasuke says "I knew it (yappari)" because he realizes Sakura is making this about herself. That's why that line is isolated with Sasuke in the background.

She specifically claims she understood what Sasuke meant yet she compares her pain to Sasuke's entire clan being massacred and taken from him, and takes her own parents for granted.

Then when it doesn't work, she starts to confess her feelings (why the hell she always looks angry when she confesses?).

And then she completely flips on her arguments. So much for "revenge won't make you happy" like she cares about Sasuke's happiness. Unlike with Naruto, whose arguments were very simple, Kishi chose to portray Sakura in this insincere and hypocritical manner. This is a writing choice.

He actually says in Japanese "I knew it (yappari), you really are annoying." Notice how Sasuke always uses "I knew it" with Sakura, it's because his first impression of her being ignorant, selfish and childish was correct. So despite him giving her chances his first impression continues to be right.

2. Naruto's reasoning stays the same

Kishi acknowledged that Naruto didn't quite get Sasuke yet at this point, but his intentions were good nonetheless. He just didn't want Sasuke to die/throw his life away.

3. Kage arc and how Kishi again portrayed Naruto and Sakura differently:

Yes, Naruto reacts like this at first.

Kishi showed that Naruto did care and did understand Sasuke's love for his clan. He also showed Naruto was completely fine with letting the massacre be exposed. He did not care about how it would make Konoha look, even when he didn't know it to be true yet. Kishi wrote this for a reason. Kakashi then stops Naruto.

Sakura, who supposedly "loves" Sasuke, heard how much Sasuke loves his clan, was aware that Itachi had been killed, yet she didn't bother to ASK Sasuke, something Naruto was planning to do, why he is now acting the way he is since Itachi had been killed. She just didn't want to feel guilty about the promise between her and Naruto (because her ego really made her believe Naruto was only chasing Sasuke for her). So she decided to kill Sasuke.

Sakura then hears all this (after her failed attempt to kill Sasuke) which means that there is more to Itachi's case than meets the eye, and that Sasuke thinks Konoha is responsible for what happened to his clan. Yet she still doesn't ask anyone what all that was about because she does not care. Her main motivation was always to get into Sasuke's pants, she never cared about Sasuke's feelings or him as a person, that's how Kishi wrote her. The fact op used this last panel to defend Sakura is baffling to me. She was specifically given an opportunity here, and she just shrugged it off.

4. Portraying Naruto and Sakura differently yet again:

Sakura is given the chance to understand Sasuke wants CHANGE and yet does she care?

Nope, she starts yapping about her feelings and how things can go back to the way they were if Sasuke just stays with her, completely discarding Sasuke's desire for change. Which mirrors the confession she made in part 1. Kishi was showing how she has not changed in ways that matter. She is still selfish, and she still doesn't listen/nor care about Sasuke's feelings. This is why Sasuke calls her annoying yet again.

But Naruto, regardless of the shitty ending, does want change. He was shown over and over again to want to change things for the better. You can't possibly use Boruto to deny this part of his character.

Guess who again discarded what Sasuke wanted and asked to come with him on his journey he wanted to take alone, just for romantic purposes? Guess who later CHASED Sasuke just to be with him, once again discarding his wants?

"Naruto forced Sasuke to come back to Konoha" no he didn't. At no point did Naruto say Sasuke needs to live in Konoha. He let Sasuke leave at the end, and didn't force himself with him because Sasuke wanted to go alone.

People who act like Sakura would be revolutionary when Kishi over and over again showed that not only does Sakura not grow as a person, she also does not care about Sasuke's feelings or change.

Same way, Kishi had Shizune tell Sai that Naruto is not chasing Sasuke only for Sakura's sake. Yet Sakura still thought it was just for her, and thought her confession would make Naruto stop chasing Sasuke, and was shocked when Naruto said the promise doesn't even matter. Sakura constantly discards the information she receives because she just does not care if it's not about her relevance or her being together with Sasuke.

"People celebrate Naruto for doing the same things they hate Sakura for" no we don't, we just read the manga and understand what Kishi was trying to tell, hope this helps.

[portraitofalinkonfyre]

Emergency request? I’m not sure if this will count as an emergency request but I’ll let you decide if it does. Anyway, this year has been hectic so far. I started a new job at the beginning of the year and now I’m needing to find a place to move. While I did find a place, I’ve severely underestimated everything that went into buying/ moving. There’s SO much paperwork, and it’s LONG paperwork too, so many additional costs and expenses being thrown at you left and right on top of the down payment and closing costs, not to mention that I’ll still need to get utensils and furniture while still having enough for bills and mortgage. The whole process can take months to go through, too. Thankfully, I’m blessed that I’m not doing it alone, but it’s still been greatly scary and stressful and sad and exhausting and exciting at times. It’s a whole roller coaster of emotions honestly. And I think I’ll have to leave my childhood cat with my parents, too.

Anyway, sorry for the long yap. I know many people experience this, but if this counts as an emergency then I’d like to request a little moving out/ in fic. I’ve been overwhelmed lately and I haven’t really even thought about who I wanted it to be with even while writing this. Honestly, I’ve been kinda a Dark simp, way before linked universe, but I’m not sure if he’ll make a good fit for this (though I think he would make a good house husband, having someone love him for once would change him and I will forever die on that hill.) I’m kinda thinking about something sweet and cute about the reader and them buying a place and moving in together, whether it’s just slice of life stuff, cooking together, decorating together, etc. If Dark doesn’t work for you, then I’d be happy with Wild or Twilight as well. I just know they’d make good house husbands! Thank you so much, though! If everything goes well with the current repairs and paperwork and finances, I’ll get to start moving out in March!

Omg no this totally counts!! I'm not at the moving stage yet because I'm still in college, but I totally understand the stress that comes with transitioning to a new place. Don't ever apologize for sharing your feelings, and I truly hope that everything works out for you in the end. You've got this!!

(Also it's no problem to write for Dark. I haven't done him before, but I did a fair bit of character study for this request, so thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to practice my skills <33)

Our Way Out

Pairing: Dark Link x Reader

Warning(s):

Notes: Honestly I had tears in my eyes when this was done. Partly inspired by THIS lovely work <33

Masterlist

You weren't sure what exactly had drawn you to the house on the hill. It was small, pale in color, and the floorboards had definitely seen better days, but it was home, and that was all that mattered.

The deck creaked under your boots as you stepped to the front door, fumbling around the interior of your satchel for the key, which was a bit hard when it was absolutely stuffed with various vegetables, but you prevailed, raising the small item to the light before using it to open the door. Ever since moving in two weeks ago, your boyfriend had always teased you for letting it loose in your clothes and other belongings, but he could go suck an egg because you were an adult, damnit!

"I'm home!" you called, stepping over the foyer and into the home. Shutting the door with a thud, you bent to place the satchel down and begin the arduous process of removing your boots–

–until a pair of arms curled around your waist and a heavy weight settled on your back. Your stomach flipped when something nuzzled the shell of your ear, and a rumbling baritone filled the small space.

"Did you get the carrots?"

"Big and thick," you flashed Dark a sly grin over your shoulder, resisting the urge to grab a gentle handful of stark white hair and pull him in for a kiss. Fortunately, the allure of a good joke was too much, and you giggled cheekily: "Just how you like it, right?"

There was a huff of breath, accompanied by a nip to your ear, but not even an act of Hylia could keep the amusement from his tone. "Actually, I believe that's–"

"Shut your mouth," you interrupted with a guffaw. "Admit it: you fell right into that!"

Silence.

Boots half-on, you turned in his grasp, allowing your back to be pressed to the thick oak of the door. Dark skin, pale hair, eyes that glowed with the ferocity of a thousand bloody moons, and the first thought in your mind when you looked at him was nothing short of beautiful. Dark's ears perked when you cupped his cheeks, thumbs stroking over smooth flesh. Unlike so many others, he wore his scars on the inside, bared secrets shining in blood-bright irises.

For a beat, nothing was said.

Dark's lips ticked up. "I think I'd prefer a different kind of falling."

You couldn't help the laughter than bubbled from your throat. "Pfft– shall I get the bandages?"

"You wound me," he said, pointing in that faux way you loved so dearly. His arms loosened, hands coming down to rest on your hips. He didn't squeeze or pinch or try to entice you into some other salacious activity, but you knew he was feeling you all the same. That was fine; his hips were better anyways.

Still, you grinned, never one to resist the allure of a terrible joke.

"Want me to kiss it better?"

His smile was diamond-sharp and twice as pretty.

"I'd love nothing more."

"No."

"But–" you hefted the portrait–an heirloom that had watched over your family for the past few centuries–into your arms in an attempt to make him waver. It did not. "–it's an heirloom! It's too pretty to go into storage!"

"Absolutely not," your boyfriend's glare narrowed until his eyes were mere crimson slits as he viewed the item with what you could only describe as unadulterated hatred. Gods, he could be so dramatic sometimes. Who gave a fuck if the Hero of Time was depicted in one of the corners?!

You set the portrait back on the ground before Dark got the brilliant idea of punching the offending depiction into the stratosphere, cleverly maneuvering it behind you before turning to face him once more, arms folded across your chest. "How about this: we cover him. I've got rags. And tree sap."

"You truly believe tree sap will fix this?" he all but hissed, leaning ever-so-slightly to the left to shoot metaphorical daggers at the portrait

"That's rich

"It's him," oh dear, you knew that voice, the one he used when he was about to go full demon.

"It's a tree!"

"You're a tree!"

You pinched your temples. What in Hyrule was he trying to do, intimidate you?? After literal years of knowing each other, it would take more than his 'scary' voice to faze you. A lot more. "Then why are you the one always getting wood in the morning?"

Full stop.

Dark blinked, the frustration bleeding from his expression faster than sand in a hourglass. His mouth opened, then closed, and you felt an unexpected flash of pleasure when he seemed completely and totally without a rebuttal for that one. It wasn't like you were making things up, either, considering he was the one who woke you up with all the subconscious humping. Who knew the evil (you begged to differ) reflection of the famed Hero of Time could be such a... well, you couldn't quite conjure a term to describe his lust, but it was great. And addicting.

Cheeks darker than his name, Dark's brow furrowed as he fought to regain control of himself and, by definition, the situation. "You... I... we are not keeping that."

You raised a brow. You didn't budge. "You wanna bet?"

His eye twitched.

"I don't like this," Dark hissed, fingers intertwined tightly with yours as he tugged the hood of his navy cloak even further down his face. Being the 'scourge of Hyrule' wasn't necessarily a well-respected title in Hyrule, so you had to take extra precautions when going out to make sure he didn't get challenged to a duel in the middle of the street or, worse, denied premium discounts on account of the whole 'being evil' debacle, though it was a bit of a shock seeing your boyfriend snap his fingers and instantly become a mediocre white man so you two could traipse through Castle Town like the troublemakers you were.

"Link, I'm sorry, but you don't like anything," you whispered back without any heat.

"I like you," he said without missing a beat.

"Aww!" you exclaimed, clapping a hand over your heart, startling several passersby in your excitement. "Oh my Goddesses, honey, I–"

"Don't mention it."

"–was going to ask for the rupee pouch so we could get candles, but I like you too."

He looked ready to rebuff your statement, until the works sunk in a bit and he raised a hilariously black eyebrow, brown-black eyes narrow in confusion. "Candles? Why?"

"It's so we don't stumble around at night if one of us needs to pee," you explained, feeling quite proud of yourself for thinking ahead. That, and how pissed he had gotten two nights ago when he awoke hours before the sun and discovered you had 'vanished without a trace', though watching him skid through the front door, sword in hand, on your way back from the outhouse was unfairly hilarious once you realized some eldritch horror had indeed not taken refuge in your home.

Dark's pale nose wrinkled. It looked strange when his skin was so... pasty, but you loved him nonetheless. "You forget that I don't need to perform your Hylian..." he grimaced but not at you. "bodily functions."

"But I do, so we're getting candles," you said, gently pulling him in the direction of the Bazaar, which you hoped to whatever deity was out there actually was in stock because, hands-off as he may appear, Dark had the terrifyingly-sweet tendency to stop at nothing to get something when he truly thought you wanted it, and you really didn't feel like watching him vault over the counter to threaten the clerk. Again.

"Then let us buy these accursed candles," he said in a tone that sounded more griping than anything, but the way he was holding hands with you told a very different story.

You grinned, laughing softly when he leaned in to press the softest peck to the apple of your cheek. "Don't worry, we'll be in and out of there before you know it."

Three hours later, you were beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. What had originally been a quick run to the Bazaar had devolved into a full-blown shopping spree involving nearly half the shops of Castle Town. Dark, despite his whining, was a surprisingly good sport when you strong-armed him into picking between two multicolored futons, convinced him to rent a horse and cart to carry home the spoils, and most importantly, offered a full sentence of advice on what rug would fit your newly-acquired home.

By the time the sun began to dip into the orange horizon, the cart was nearly sky-high, piled with all sorts of furniture and knickknacks. Grunting, you hefted the last of the shield mounts up and over the edge, clapping your hands together in satisfaction. Your boyfriend, who had been amusing himself with hitching the poor horse to the cart, turned to survey the damage. His gaze slowly traveled up the frankly impressive mountain of items, then dropped to you.

"Happy?" he asked, though there was no judgement behind his eyes. he genuinely wanted to know if you were satisfied, and it made your heart stutter in your chest, though you masked it with a big grin.

"Very!" you exclaimed, walking over to wrap him in a tight hug, uncaring of the fact that you were quite literally in the middle of the street. Granted, it was a lot less crowded than before, but that didn't mean there weren't children around to regard your purchases with wide, sparkling eyes, or adults to do the same, but instead for the respected purpose of gossip. As you pressed close, cheek practically molded to his chest, Dark's hand came up to pet your head, smoothing your hair down in a way that had you practically melting in his arms. His eyes were uncharacteristically soft as he gazed down at you.

"Good."

Without warning, he scooped you into his arms, hopping onto the driver's ledge of the cart and taking the reins--ignoring your yelp of surprise–gently snapping them to get things moving. "Ah, ah, don't move," he chided when you attempted un-wrap your legs from his waist, wrapping an arm over the tops of your hips to keep you pressed firmly against his front like a errant animal. "You're perfect where you are."

Dear Hylia, you were pretty sure the entirety of Castle Town was watching you ride, butt first, through the streets, which was definitely not how you wanted to be remembered should you return-- ah, and now his forearm was dropping perilously low on your backside. "Link."

"Yes?"

You buried your face in his shoulder because, Goddesses, the bastard knew what he was doing. "I'd really appreciate if you didn't feel my ass up for all of Hyrule to see."

A haughty sniff was his answer. "I have no idea what you mean, beloved."

You pinched his thigh. "Eyes on the road, hun."

"My eyes have not strayed."

Yeah, sure.

You huffed and, a second later, the arm returned to its previous place over the tops of your hips. "Better?" Dark asked softly, and you could have sworn he sounded vaguely apologetic. The town was beginning to fade into the road, giving way to familiar forest, and a sense of comfort washed over you.

"Much."

It wasn't that you didn't like being touched by him, but the position was already enough and, honestly, you really didn't want to draw attention to either one of you, lest someone realize that, beneath the black hair and even blacker eyes, he looked eerily similar to the Hero of Time.

"I love you," you murmured, turning your head so your lips brushed the skin of his neck. A soft shiver wracked through him when you pressed a soft kiss to the pale flesh.

"And I you," he responded without missing a damn beat, sneaking a tender peck to the top of your head. "To the end of time, and beyond."

"Charmer," you teased, cheeks pinking; he had this way of surprising you at the most random moments, and it was one of the things you loved about him.

"You bring it out in me," said Dark Link, scourge of Hyrule and your terrible, wonderful lover. His body was warm against the buffering chill of the approaching dusk, and you found yourself snuggling closer to escape the wind, mind straying what you had planned for later.

"I was thinking tea, for when we're home, and you can help me get all the stuff inside. We've got enough ingredients for soup, too. How does that sound?"

"I'd love nothing more," he responded, skillfully guiding the horse down the narrow path to your home, which you had chosen specifically for it's closeness to civilization, yet significant distance from the main road, which maintained the illusion of solitude. "And after?"

Dear gods. He was insatiable. You bit your lip to keep the laughter at bay. "We could... christen the futon?"

"And the dresser, I'd expect."

"Naturally," you shrugged. "But if I get butt-splinters, you're dealing with them."

At the mention the words 'I' and 'butt-splinters', Dark paused. "...Perhaps we shall have to return for a mat–"

You cut him off with a laugh.

"Hey."

It was dark out. A beam of silvery moonlight streamed in through the window, casting an almost ethereal glow over your boyfriend's face. He had shifted to his regular form as soon as your feet touched solid ground, and you couldn't have been happier when it only took two short hours to drag everything inside, though the approaching night had forced you to be lazy and retire early to recuperate–christening the futon would have wait, likely when it wasn't in the middle of the dining room with a thousand other things stacked atop it–but when you cracked your eyes open to find him very obviously watching you sleep, you couldn't help the concern that befell your expression.

"You're awake," he rumbled, voice heavier from disuse. It was a well-known secret that he didn't need to rest like you did, but he was usually more... discreet when it came right down to it.

"So are you," you reached up to rub your bleary eyes as they adjusted to the lighting. Dark shifted so he was on his side, fully facing you with a fist propped beneath his cheek, sheet pulled down just enough to reveal a very generous peek of his chest and stomach. You could have sworn the red in his eyes was pulsing. "You didn't have another dream, did you?"

It was yet another well-known secret that, when he did find it in him to 'rest', it was often plagued with things terrible enough to have him shooting up with a breathless gasp, then jumping from bed to stalk the home for enemies. Most times, you could get away with wrapping him in a tight hug, but there was never complete certainty, so you had begun asking.

But Dark merely shook his head, watching you with a neutral expression. "No," his voice, still rough from 'slumber', rasped. "Thinking."

"Of?"

"You."

Aw, really? How sweet! You found it in yourself to smile, scooting up the pillow to copy his pose, the last traces of exhaustion still clinging to the back of your mind. "Me too," you admitted softly, keeping your voice low so as to not disrupt the fragile air between you. 

Dark blinked. He hadn't been expecting that answer. "Truly?"

"Have I ever lied to you?" You asked. It was a joke, because, really, you hadn't, and he knew it too. You let your hand drop from beneath your cheek, scooting forward until you were a hairs-breath from each other; eyes searching, hearts yearning.

Inky arms wrapped around you: one slid to cradle your head while the other traced the divots of your spine through your tunic. Soft breath fanned over your skin, and it was with no shred of hesitation that your leg slung across the curve of his hip over the thin sheet. I would die for you, whispered his eyes, because he would always be a man of action than words.

Me too, you hoped the kiss you planted on his nose conveyed.

His grip tightened. You allowed a laugh to bubble from your throat. "We're not sleeping tonight, are we?"

"Not unless you want to," Dark said smoothly. He didn't sleep, but he understood that you had to. Usually. The way he stroked your back was giving you ideas that dared not be ignored. 'For you, I'll wait an eternity' went unsaid.

And, when he kissed you–like a lover, like the only person in the world–you believed it.

Y'all have no idea how close I was to writing smut 😭

[waffleboyy]

Ik this sounds odd but if you could do more of those long ass posts just yapping about stuff from the show that you find interesting, I would love that :3

Wow... You are the kindest. I love you. /p THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE AN AUTISTIC PERSON FEEL HAPPY EVERYONE TAKE NOTES /J

Okay ehem... I'm just gonna dump all my crap here since you gave me the opportunity. (thank you hehe)

I'm so so interested on fairy world and how everything works. Like if boy fairies give birth does that mean they have periods? If it's kind of swapped where female stuff is with the guys and the guy stuff is with the girls, does that apply for gender roles too? Clothing? Jobs? Are men supposed to take care of the children while the woman work? Because Wanda still has ta-tas, so not all of their biology is swapped like a typical human. But wouldn't the men also need to have larger hips to give birth if they do it like a typical biological woman? So are they like?? What?? IDUNNO!!! Or is there something different...down there?? LIKE A TENTACLE also how tf was Goldie born I feel bad for the father lol

Like is there a patriarchy? A matriarchy? None of it?? Are they all just seen as fairies and nothing else? Like the sex is just : fairy. (And sometimes other fairies can give birth)

is there some hierarchy as well, because what about leprechauns? There's a clip of Cosmo implying that Santa's elves are like a inferior species to fairies as he basically calls them gross. (or maybe he's just racist, IS THERE RACISM??? LIKE SPECIES OF MAGICAL BEINGS WHO GRANT WISHES ... RACISM???) is fairy world like pangea? Are there states? Countries? With different customs like humans?

How do you BECOME a fairy god parent? Is fairy god parenting seen as a super cool, higher up job? Like being a lawyer that's super impressive? Or just average? Or does EVERYONE have to be a fairy god parent? Probably not because the tooth fairy is there, and Peri was gonna like work under her. WHAT HAPPENS if a fairy god parent abuses their god kid? How would anyone find out? Would Jorgan know? He gets alerted I guess when someone's up to no good, but surely a fairy could hide it?? ....

Also privacy??? What happens if a god parent poofs out of the room for a bit, and returns back to their god kid and they're taking a shower?! I like to think that their Wands stop working, or they can't teleport to their god kid when they're like using the bathroom, in the shower, doctors exam, etc. Or just when a god kid has a need to be alone the wand will like know, and will stop working, the only exception is if the kid is in physical danger. (Don't ask me how the wand knows okay... I imagine it like wanders hat from wander of yonder, if you know the show)

And I think that's all the questions I have... I want to knowww I WANT WORLD BUILDING!!! GIVE ME WORLD BUILDING!!!! RAHHH!!! STOMPS ON THE GROUND AND SCREAMS

[covetyou]

a dress up!Joel interlude

tomorrow (29th May) I'll be posting the next part of dress up!Joel, lovingly titled ghosted.

in the meantime, have this interlude of sorts that I've been sitting on for weeks (and honestly thought I posted back in April, whoops.)

main masterlist ⋆ series masterlist

rating: Explicit (18+ only!) word count: 969 warnings: more brotherly shenanigans, sex toy talk, mild relationship angst, alcohol consumption summary: Joel's egg hunt couldn't have gone worse, and so he confides in the one person who has his back no matter what - his baby brother.

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Shooting the shit with his little brother wasn't something Joel Miller ever thought he'd enjoy. But, with age and maturity, there wasn't anything quite like sipping cold beers in his backyard, his brother yapping away about work, or girls, or the playoffs, or just about anything else, as they relaxed at the end of a long week. Tommy could talk, and Joel could listen, and that's how it'd always worked.

"Hey, you still got that thing I gave you," Tommy suddenly asks, after giving Joel a blow by blow of his latest conquest - some blonde he met at a bar and didn't even know the name of.

"What, this pain in my ass? Yeah."

"Very funny. Nah, I mean that ballpedo thing. Turns your balls into a torpedo."

"Balldo."

"Yeah! You still got it? If you ain't usin' it, ain't no use in it goin' to waste."

Joel lifts his beer, the condesation leaving a dark ring on his jeans, and takes a sip, averting his eyes from Tommy.

"Still got it."

It was stuffed at the bottom of his sock drawer upstairs. After Christmas, and his uncomfortable walk back home with the thing still strapped to his balls, it took him a little while to pry the thing off. The lube he'd spread over himself was turning tacky combined with your juices, and wetting it just made everything too slippery. But, eventually, he was free, and he cleaned the thing up and left it to dry, as if there would be any opportunity to use it again.

It was a happy coincidence that Sarah was with her mom again on Valentine's day, and your calendar for that day was empty - he noticed when he was fixing a drip in your kitchen sink. Given you enjoyed Christmas, he thought you might like something else too, and he was happy to be right. On Easter, he was going to leave a note for you for his little egg hunt, hoping you'd wake up Saturday morning and make your way over to his place to find the final prize.

He hadn't expected to get caught, and he hadn't expected things to be left as they were afterwards. Now the memory of all of it left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Can I go grab it? I'll take it off you."

"Nah... nah it's okay," Joel says, with a non-commital wave, as Tommy stands, taking a few steps to head inside.

"C'mon, if you ain't usin' it, I can take it. Mom never teach you to share your shit?"

"I'm always sharin' my shit with you, I said no," Joel shoots back with finality, unable to stop himself from mumbling into the rim of his beer. "You wouldn't want it now anyway."

Tommy was never one for being quick to catch on, and for that Joel was grateful. Though, maybe this time he underestimated his little brother. Tommy still makes a move to head inside, likely to rifle through his shit to find the toy he'd given Joel so long ago, but he stops in his tracks before pulling the patio door open.

"Holy shit," is all Tommy says. "Holy shit."

"You remember you're an asshole again?"

"You used the fuckin' ball thing?!"

Joel's silence says all Tommy needs to know.

"You gave yourself a dick for balls and you didn't tell me? Fuck I've been wonderin' about that thing ever since I gave it to you. It good?"

Joel doesn't really know what to say. He doesn't want to say anything - he wants to keep his fuck up with you his own tragic little secret, but now the balldo's out of the bag, he can't exactly dodge the question. Tommy was a persistent bastard when he wanted to be, and Joel knew that he was going to be extra persistent with this.

"It... yeah. Yeah, it was good."

"Wait... fuckin' wait a minute. This mean you got a girl?!" Tommy's face lights up as he asks, and Joel can feel the color drain from his. "You got a girl and you didn't bother tellin' me? You wound me, brother."

Shaking his head, Joel takes another swig of beer, hoping it'll wash the memory of the taste of you from his mouth. It doesn't.

"Nah. Didn't get the girl."

"You fuck it up that bad?"

As much as they could piss each other off, they always had each other to fall back on. Usually, of course, it was Joel picking up the pieces for Tommy, but there was an unspoken agreement between them that meant no one was keeping score. No one owed anyone anything, they'd always be there for each other, whether it was one time or a thousand times. So, against his better judgement, Joel tells Tommy everything and, for once, Tommy listens.

"Only one thing I don't get," Tommy muses when Joel finally finishes with a sigh. "If it was a misunderstanin', what the fuck are you doin' here with me, and not over there with her, explainin' yourself?"

"She told me to leave. I don't wanna intrude any m-"

"You broke into her fuckin' house, brother, think you're long past that."

Tommy slides the patio door open, half inside, half outside, and looks back at his big brother.

"Take it from an asshole who knows - doin' nothin' ain't gonna do shit. You don't get the girl, you don't get your shit rocked. Talk to her. You got nothin' to lose. If she don't want anything to do with you, nothin' changes, and if she does, well... you get the girl, and you get your shit rocked."

He hated to admit it, but Tommy was right, and Joel had never felt so fucking stupid that he didn't come to the same conclusion sooner.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow he'd make this right.

[okaysonny]

so we all know that lookism more about action and fighting and we only have little romance in the webtoon… Do you think that ptj should add more romance in it? as of now we only have 4-5(??) canon ships (warrenxsally, miraxzach, sinuxyeonhui, vivixxiaolung, etc) personally i think i would like to see goo,vinjin and jake with a love interest that’s just for me tho, 😵‍💫😵‍💫what’s your opinion on this (sorry if i sound lanky i don’t know english that much)

Glad u asked. I'll be taking this opportunity to YAP. *hands you an essay*

do i think ptj should add more romance? yes! 😄

do i want him to be the one writing it? 😧 no

jk! (kind of) it's just clear romance isn't his forte. and that's fine! i actually don't think any of the canon ships are bad...aside from one 😑 i just don't feel strongly about them. YES I WILL BE ELABORATING

warren x sally: i don't care about this ship, because i don't care about these characters! cute, but...warren is a plain jane and sally's character got dumbed down after hostel arc imo

zack x mira: awww the first lookism pairing 😄 the library + cinema hang out in the beginning was so adorable ^_^ but 500+ chapters and they're still not official like alr...

also we don't see much of mira's character outside of fuelling zack's development. she went through a lot with the cult and the school camping arc...but we don't really see how she felt? so erm

sinu x yeonhui: honestly, no strong complaints. like that's parents! i would've liked to see how sinu started liking her, but that's if i'm really nitpicking

vivi x xiaolung: 😑 i was mad as HELL when they got a happy ending. even if we take away her diddy parties, he was literally brainwashed + fought to the death to become her guard?? xiaolung worships vivi because he doesn't know anything else! he doesn't know a normal life! so this is already problematic to begin with

and why the fawkkk was jake like "nooo xiaolung you'll make her cry 😠" like why would jake gaf?? 🤣😭 oh that made me cringe SO BAD! and howww is he saying all that as they're falling off a building i'm crying...i headcanon he just said this so xiaolung would make the fall softer in those 2 seconds so he wouldn't die

bracing myself for a moment where big deal has no strength and xiaolung pulls up and says to the enemy "don't get it twisted...we're not friends, but i have something to repay him for" ptj i'm familiar with your game.

+ mitsuki x ryuhei: looks like it'll become a thing but i HOPE NOT! they're both trash but at least ryuhei is likeable...my pookie deserves better :/

okay sorryyy back to the actual question.

yes i do want romance because it's cute + a change of pace is always good 😄

ptj defo has more romance lined up, just not for the moment.

if i'm thinking of the character closest to getting romance rn...i'm saying eli 🫡 rn he's just chilling with his fruits and is healing because he has that forgiveness from heather's mom

+ i think he just craves love and affection in general </3 ALSO...eli being the one to say he's worried about crystal at the start of busan arc was 🤨 definitely intentional when you remember his crush on her. make of that what you will...

men who i think are getting romance way down the line:

daniel - well...pretty obvious! it's zoe or no one. ptj only uses jay x daniel for queerbaiting ❤️

vasco - still has that thing with leon lee.

jake - ptj can show the contrast between him and gapryong in relation to women. anddd development where he doesn't feel tied to only being #1 + starts to forgive himself for his actions and yada yada. jake getting romance will also give funny scenes of jerry/big deal doing the absolute most + minseon meeting her.

and jake just exudes bf material! everyone wants to see it. ptj knows everyone wants to see it. i think it'll happen 😄

jake is a very big character though. do you make a female character to be his love interest or unexpectedly pair him with an existing one? but i think there's only 2 girls i can see him with. maybe 3 but the last option is very bad.

btw i'm not 100% against making new women and eventually pairing them up with the guys. but i just know ptj will do this in a way that's very CRINGE and OBVIOUS

johan - wheather with lua or someone else. this ship would piss me off less if lua wasn't banished to the sewers of all places 😭🤣

anddd johan is also healing + chilling in school. so he's in a better place for all that too. plus cute scenes of her meeting his mom/him asking her for girl advice like c'mon

hudson - i just have a feeling ❤️

and that's...really it imo. too much of anything is never good. not everyone needs a love interest! 😅 will ptj do their love lives justice? i have little faith, but we shall see...

and since you mentioned them anon, i'll give my opinion:

vin jin - he just has too much self growth to do. this the same guy who said he hits girls when they're ugly 🤯 it could happen, but it should happen after he redeems himself by apologising to duke + trying to be a better person.

and yeahhh you could have a love interest help him realise all that but 🙄 it's way better + more impactful if his redemption is from his own efforts.

goo - i just can't really see it sorry 😭 but we don't know much about goo, so maybe i'll change my mind after seeing his arc + actual goal in the story.

the only thing is figuring out where/when to put romance in lookism when you have that massive genre shift. i know ptj is stressedddd

[jadeoru]

hey…. you guys probably saw this coming… but unfortunately i return with bad news..

after about a month of trying to figure something out, ive decided to go on an indefinite hiatus.

stupid sappy yap ahead

unfortunately, i made this account at a point in my life where i was really struggling with my mental health. at the time, i was really hyperfixated on haikyuu, and i found that reading and writing silly little fanfiction provided me with so much comfort. tumblr brought back the spark i had lost so long ago. it really played such a huge part in the beginning of the improvement of my mental health. you helped me get out of a bad slump, and i will forever be grateful for it.

after a while, things got normal again; better. i started being a person again, and involving myself in so many different things. im currently in three fucking plays and a musical right now!!! im in a fucking band and we’ve been killing it!! if early jadeoru saw this she would literally die!!! anyways, the point is im happy. im really fucking happy with the way my life is going. i have gotten so many incredible opportunities that i never thought id get. its been amazing!!! but unfortunately, during all of this, my love for everything that started this account slowly started to sizzle away. i no longer have a huge obsession with the things and characters i wrote for, and writing started to feel like a chore. it saddens me, but ive really just moved on. 2025 is going to be such an insanely busy year, i know i wont have as much time to write as i used to. so im making the responsible decision to put jadeoru on hold. trust me, i really miss the good old days ☹️ but i need to move on. i need to focus on my music and acting careers, which once sounded so out of reach - theyve finally actually begun. i want to make the most out of it, and just enjoy living!!!

IM NOT QUITTING!!!! AND I WILL DEFINITELY BE BACK - i just dont know when !

i love u all so so so much including my mooties MWAHHHH IM GONNA MISS U GUYS PLSSSS KEEP IN CONTACT WITH ME IF U DONT ALREADY SEND ME A DM AND ILL GIVE U MY DISCORD!!!!

jade out!

[manygeese]

ok I know it’s been a while but we’re back at it again with the Sally and Esperanza au (inspired by @poppitron360)

basically if you missed the first one, Leo and Esperanza move to New York, Esperanza meets Sally and they fall in love 🥰 when Leo and Percy are eight and nine respectively, Gaea swallows them up, they go to CHB, Leo gets claimed instantly, Percy has to wait until 3 years later when he gets the TLT quest and saves his moms from the underworld

ANYWAYS! What would HoO look like in this AU?

The first thing I’d change would be who gets the Hera Swap Treatment™️. And ALSO! Who would be in the Seven in general. I think, instead of Percy (to enforce the familial tragedy lol make him suffer), Reyna would be in the Seven. So in this AU, Leo and Reyna get swapped.

So the Lost Hero trio would be Reyna, who wakes up on this unfamiliar bus with no clue where she is but a gut feeling something is wrong. Annabeth, who is searching undercover for her boyfriend’s brother (AKA her partner in crime). And Piper, who also has no clue what’s going on but is really bummed that the people she thought were her best friends don’t seem to know her anymore.

Really interesting opportunity to discuss Reyna’s connection to Rome, since Bellona doesn’t have a Greek equivalent. Who would she be claimed by? How would she fit in? When they hold campfires, does she feel a distinct sense of camaraderie that she’s longed for for so long?

Also, concept: Reyna, Annabeth, and Piper stop by the Jackson-Valdez household before making their way to California. Percy’s just like “sure, you can crash for tonight. Gods know you’ll need the rest (and my mom’s special blue cookies for good luck)”. But Piper’s just like “what HAPPENED? Why is this apartment so SAD?” Like the happiness has just been sucked out. Esperanza isn’t even there, she’s at the garage, pretending like her son is at home. Sally is looking through baby photos and stress writing and doing a million different things because maybe by the time she actually thinks about her son he’ll be in her arms again.

The Son of Neptune (or Son of Vulcan, in this case) trio would be Leo, Jason, and Hazel I think because I have a distinct image of Hazel and Jason having awkward cousin vibes. Like, “their older siblings play Mario kart together on Christmas so they’re friends only because of proximity” cousins. And Leo’s over here doing horribly crooked cartwheels to lighten the mood.

I have Thoughts about Son of Vulcan in this AU omg. So many Thoughts. Jason and Hazel finally getting each other when they kill Alcyoneus together, while Leo is fighting for his life to free Thanatos and kill all these freaky-deaky monsters. Jason and Hazel freaking the fuck out when Leo chugs gorgon blood like it’s whiskey. Jason and Leo finding Hazel standing on a rock surrounded by cereal babies. Hazel side eying Leo wondering if he’s her old crush from grade school back in the forties. Just. Son of Vulcan trio.

Another thing, I think these two books should happen at the same time because I think it’d be interesting to let both of the swapped heroes integrate more. Like, give me fearless leader Reyna whipping her (tween) troops into shape, but Camp Half-Blood just being like “dam this lady’s super cool but she needs to chill the FUCK out. stop training my eight year old brother in sword fighting he’s gonna kill me the next time I have to wake him up early”. Give me an unconfident Leo learning to be a leader after being in his brother’s shadow.

also I yapped to @puzzled-pegasus about this so here you go

[laura1633]

hi! when preloved max gets pregnant again, do you think he'd have trauma because he was abandoned during his first pregnancy and how would he and charles handle this? i love the fic so much 💕💕💕

Thank you so much for asking anon, I love talking about this little universe and I am so happy you enjoyed the fic.

This was something I actually thought about quite a bit when thinking about their future. Obviously Max trusts Charles but there will be fear around being abandoned again when pregnant, especially because he just doesn't know why his previous alpha left him 🥹

I don't think it will quite hit him how much trauma he still has around the abandonment until he is actually pregnant. Once the initial excitement settles a little and he starts getting morning sickness and stuff like that he will worry that he is too much of a burden and probably try and second guess if that was why his first alpha left him

I expect there will be a lot of sessions with Jonathan his therapist to talk through his concerns and these would be on an individual basis but also sometimes with Charles present.

Charles would reassure Max every step of the way and would make sure he is always talking about future plans so Max knows he is safe and loved. I think he would be adorable and attentive and just surround Max with so much affection and reassurance.

Picking out the nursery items would be a huge thing for Max because last time he picked everything out and then never got to use anything. It's something they would do gradually together.

One thought I had was that Oscar and Arthur are likely to get pregnant first and so Max will be able to see (at least secondhand) what it is like for an omega being pregnant when they have a loving alpha by their side. And then I imagine Oscar is going to be an amazing support system to Max through his pregnancy to help settle him.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to yap about this au!

[yuurivoice]

since you love to write, does your job ever feel like actual work? Kinda like that saying “if you love your job, you’ll never work a day of your life.” Kinda question.

also, how much free time do you normally have?

It felt like actual work from pretty early on. The moment I crossed over from doing it for funsies to sometimes taking commissions I didn't really feel strongly about for money, it was work.

I've had to drag my ass into the booth and record on days when I couldn't even take care of my basic needs because of ADHD struggles, and that sure felt like work.

I've had to write like absolute dogshit and just accept it because I had deadlines and people waiting on me. That felt like work.

I've had to spend hours breaking down different shots needed for visual projects, like a caveman painting on a wall for a renaissance artist to reference. That definitely felt like work.

I've had to deal with community moderation, personal betrayals of trust, harassment, goddamn pr crises, tax nightmares, and shipping hundreds of orders by hand. That was work.

That old cliche of if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life is a crock of shit. But all of that being said, even though it is work, and even though it can be really difficult sometimes?

Wouldn't trade it for the world. There is no other calling for me, my heart is not satisfied if I am not telling stories, and for some reason the universe decided that this was the path forward. I didn't plan on it. I never loved voice acting, but I learned to. I wish there was less bullshit over the years that robbed me of my joy. I wish I wasn't fighting my brain for so much of the time I've been doing this.

But the good will always outweigh the bad.

It's a dream fulfilled. I never needed or wanted to be some sort of massive sensation, or have broad renown or appeal. I didn't need to become a best selling author, or create a hit video game, or do anything like that. I am happy that I've found even a small group of people who love to get lost in my worlds, or spend time with my characters, or hear them get railed in pumpkin patches.

I get to experience the magic of creating something I didn't know was within me. Again and again. Projects like BitterSweet, Shattered, and Echoes of Evalas are precious to me because of the wondrous feeling creating those stories gives me. They could all flop, and I'd do it anyway.

I was creating art when no one was ever there to listen or watch. In that regard, it's never been work. It is a function of my existence. I was made, raised, and shaped to tell stories. It's the one thing I can do. At a table of friends, an audience of hundreds, or on long drives by myself. It's like breathing. It just happens.

Being able to call it work is a privilege. I'm thrilled that I've got the chance to work. I'm happy that I even have the opportunity to have days where I have to push myself. Because it has given me more than I've ever thought it could. I was on food stamps living with family under constant threat of getting kicked out. I was lonely, isolated, and scared of the world. I was considered lazy.

Finding my lane, getting traction, and thriving was something I considered out of reach. I was ready to tap out and accept that I just wasn't quite right for life. Like maybe I just didn't have all the right parts. I was okay with it, even. I was tired.

So yeah. It's work. But I spent a long time desperate to find work I was suited for, and with a lot of recent life changes I've removed many of those points of friction that would make it tough to work. So I'm thrilled.

And that, my friends, is what happens when you ask a professional yapper if they love yapping. 😂

As for free time, it's hard to say. So much of what I do being my own boss and shit, plus creative stuff just constantly churning in my brain, I struggle to clearly define what is and is not "free time". I basically have to be on call. At any given moment something might need my attention, or creativity comes knocking. It's hard to completely disconnect.

I've done a good job of getting into the office about four times a week. That has helped me find some sort of balance, but even recent writing I've done was on my laptop at my little breakfast nook having coffee.

I think the big thing is, I can create my free time whenever I need or want to.

Anywho, this is why you don't open Tumblr when you wake up to pee in the middle of the night because then you spent 30 minutes staring at your phone writing a whole ass essay. I'm gonna go get out of bed and make something awesome now. 💖

[confusion-est]

hello let's have a friendly scholarly debate ala academic and protégé

i definitely feel some choices were rather weak, the beast bite could have been his own consequence due to actions he took, but there's definitely a more realistic (somehow, in our werewolf story) feeling to the "wrong place, wrong time", as that is, indeed, how most tragedies are, but an action and consequence would be far more satisfying narratively, and his scholar aspects were woefully underutilized by this narrative too, besides a concoction section that i don't even think is possible to fail, while sarmenti's second fight leaves you on 9 stress intentionally, so every move feels like a tense "oh no what if i did this wrong"

the choice to use damian as the torturer is one im absolutely behind, we see one of the torturers escape in the original comic and i love the "oops! all damian!" aspect of where the story's going, even if it does loop back around into comedic rather than tragic, for me at least, and gives further reason for his discharge from the church if he's similar to the fanatic in his zealous violence (i.e. beyond the control of the church)

they definitely failed to utilize him being a scholar like alhazred or paracelsus and did go for the cheapest option (wrong place wrong time), but it's, technically, the most realistic. however, i think the reason it feels as weak as it does is entirely due to the lack of narrative curiosity on what the creature was, so we're not left strung along by subtle hints, it's just "it bit him and now he's a Beastie". there's also a failure to go into the nature of what he has, with how it appears that this is a transmissable disease rather than curse or concoction, especially with the academic's own trapped abomination in his study

they do, however, do very well with spectacle, and the cutscenes did absolutely get my heart pumping, plus the moment of being sure you failed only to see "RESIST" become your only option was absolutely wild in the moment, even if the initial fight leading up felt less polished than, say, either of dismas' fights. it seemed to be purely a buildup to that spectacle of the transformation, which is understandable in a way, but still, as a paid dlc, then i'd want even the less important segment (human segment) to be just as tense as sarmenti's and just as well done as dismas'

overall? i think it is of a decent quality, with high quality animations and fun barks and personality, but the story is, unfortunately, quite weak to get there, even if i did enjoy it for the most part.

what do you think?

(Hi, I just wanted to say thank you so much for sending me this ask, it made me really happy and excited, since it gave me the opportunity to yap a lot. I agree with a lot of you say and you did make me rethink a couple of matters so thank you for that! I still wanted to share some of my insights, so I'm sorry if this is a little disorganized/chaotic.)

True I would not mind The Beast manifesting due to bite if it was a consequence of something. Yes, one could argue him wandering into the moor with no safety precautions is the consequence, but that's about as brutal as telling a child they got ran over by a truck while riding their bike because they did not wear a helmet. Really, I feel The Beast gets introduced too fast. I know they've only got 5 chapters to cover important story aspects, but I feel the story would flow better if it started with an introduction of who Bigby is/what he does (like how Sarmenti's story introduces him as a busker, how Audrey's story introduces her as freshly wed into money and how Paracelsus is introduced as a daring student, etc.) I believe that would also lean better into wrong place, wrong time if we still went with "well he just got bit while gathering herbs", because then by chapter 2 he would be in grave danger already - like first chapter we get a serene introduction to his alchemical woes and such and second chapter you get a sudden catastrophe - which is also a common trope and something that does happen irl. It would still feel somewhat weak, but the realism would've been retained… Although I'm not sure his story needs realism of that sort? I mean, I think art is allowed to exaggerate events, feelings and personalities to create a more compelling, intense and mostly interesting story. Sure, him suddenly getting bitten is realistic, but it's just not compelling. It's not fun, it's not intriguing. People don't read tragedies (which Bigby's story is) to just say "aw damn that's kinda sad", they read those to engage with a character, to understand them and feel their sorrows. To connect and to go through a sort of catharsis by sheer empathy (at least that's what ancient tragedies were about and I think the sentiment is still mostly retained). Sure the bite being such a random event adds normalcy to the whole situation, but nothing else and imo weakens the entire story overall. It'd be much, MUCH more interesting if The Beast was effect of his experimentation, his pride, his curiosity. Would be even more interesting if The Beast was originally the "intended" effect - something similar to Jekyll and Hyde , where Hyde was originally created as an outlet for various socially unacceptable desires. Those could be interesting, because you could get themes of pride, dehumanization, lack of attachment and you could generally create a discussion on what makes one human and such.

I generally feel like The Beast is as painfully underutilized narratively as Bigby's background of an alchemist. Like yes, he gets bitten by what I assume is another abomination, survives, The Beasts hunger gets him in trouble and then gets him out of the same trouble. Sure it's there and Bigby practically does not exist without it (I'll get to that when I talk about barks), but…. It's hollow. There's nothing really, it's just kind of a shadow that lingers. And sure, that could be interesting if handled well, a cautionary tale of intense paranoia, but it's not even that, because The Beast can be a tangible being that causes havoc and destruction. It exists as less than an animal I dare say. In DD1, there was a bit of ambiguity around The Beast, a lot even. Bigby was an unreliable narrator when speaking of it, often contradicting himself (depending on an affliction he would claim a different amount of control over it - for example a Fearful Bigby would speak of how little control he has over it, while Abusive Bigby would claim to be able to bring it out any second he wants to). So basically we didn't know if it was part of him or a completely deattached entity, save for shared body. We didn't know if it was sentient or not, we didn't know if what Bigby mentioned of it's whispering was true or his own imagination/paranoia playing tricks. It was, by virtue of the unknown, eldritch monster, that unexplainably attached itself to Bigby. And that was compelling! That was interesting, because Bigby himself was a very flawed person with a lot of desires, wants and regrets! It was fun to look at these and wonder what is their problem. It was fun to think of their shared dynamic, if there was any and again questions about self, what is a 'me' and generally ego. DD2 doesn't offer any of that pondering because it very plainly explains - it's an infection caused by a bite of the animal. That's it. There's nothing to ponder, save for origins of The Beast, but considering the state the world's in, you can probably just say "corruption" and leave it at that. It's just. So plain and boring, it makes me mad honestly. A lot of DD2 stories attempt to expand the lore of preexisting characters, add them new depth and such, and while I can recognize this attempt despite some failures, in Bigby's case it's a total disaster, I feel the lore got shrinked, not elaborated on.

I cannot however agree on inclusion of Damien, I honestly think it was unnecessary, but it also comes from my issue of how I understood Damien in DD1 and how drastically he was changed from that in DD2. Frankly, any of his appearances in DD2 feels like a caricature and not in a self-aware way. Gonna go on a bit of a tangent here, but DD1 Damien feels like such a misunderstood character. Yes, he is a fanatic, he is absolutely delusional and deranged. But he doesn't do it out of pleasure of flesh, in fact quite the opposite. He often describes pain and suffering as a burden that only he can bare and that it's something he wants to take from others. He doesn't see pain as privilege or desire, but something necessary to get enlightened, to ascend, to essentially be a good person. He associated self-punishment STRONGLY with being good. It's also a matter of him being a beggar before the revelation, someone who kind of wasted away and did not contribute to society. Someone who was rejected by it and could only try to take a little, just enough to survive. In that context him becoming so frantic and insistent of only HIM being able to take all the beating and not sharing the suffering, it almost reads like shame. Like he needs to punish himself. Like he needs to give back and be useful. Yes, he's weird about it, but at core he seems to be struggling with just existing. The purpose is so important to him that losing it again means death essentially. And again, it's not that he physically enjoys pain.

"Must the burden weigh on my mind as well as my body?" "Clear this mind. Clear this mind. Clear this mind." (this specifically is said when damaging himself) "I hesitated upon the path. Let the blood soothe my faith!" "What I once feared, I have become!"

Like. He clearly is not exactly enjoying himself in the common sense, but feels the intense need to push through, because if he starts feeling any fear and chickens out of this life, he'll go back to being a beggar. A corpse. A nothing. He will become nothing. And that fear (ironically) of another fate awaiting him is so awful, he'd rather suffer over and over. Feeling something over nothingness. Another thing to note is that during Final Missions if you choose him as the sacrifice he says "I've waited long for this! DON'T TAKE IT FROM ME.". He doesn't even see value of his life as it is, but a death so noble, a pure sacrifice would free him from it. He would be complete, carrying the ultimate burden of death. Also yes I do understand he can hurt his teammates during affliction and criticizes those who deny pain, but that's why I say he's deranged. He at core is a good person, but he still does some uncharitable deeds, again, in belief he helps. Which adds another layer to him imo.

And going from that kind of character to what we see in DD2 just feels like a parody. He's cruel and does not see pain as purpose, as freedom and right to exist, but as punishment and only that. What's worse is that Torturer implies (as well as his SoR text) that he enjoyed slowly torturing people to death. What he once would've taken as his, as a very dear gift of existence, a proof that he's not rotten yet, he now does just inflict of others cheerfully. It's almost comical how evil they try to write him. His first shrine does also mention that he simply sees pain as power rather than something dear and I dare say intimate to him. They made him so hedonistic for no apparently good reason. Like I do not mind character retcons and changes in characterization if it's for the better (like the character was originally boring, so they retcon some details to add depth). In Damien's case I feel that completely backfires. Again I understand the desire to change character, but my question is why? Why change a character that was already well established and honestly beloved by many people. Of course, most didn't notice how tender Damien could be in his rants about Light, but I did and it feels frustrating to see the character so watered down. And to see him repeatedly appear in other characters backstories is just a strange choice. In vestal's case he should've backed out the moment he saw The Light and that's bypassing the fact that he would probably not beat the shit out of her, but start by a conversation. A manic and insane rambling of a conversation, but a try nonetheless. Same for Bigby, he wouldn't get instantly to beating, seeing he's already wounded, mistreated, malnourished and such, but again start with rambling. With hope. Not with lash. And about the church discharge, I honestly think it's a bit weird framing that church is the "timid" one as he explains. Churches kind of have a history of corruptions, don't they? I feel like him being expelled would not need a reasoning, but also I think there are a lot of interesting ways you could go about "they didn't want him here" that go beyond "he's a little too freaky".

I know this is a very subjective/personal preference, but because of this Bigby's shrine impact is much lessened to me.

I do absolutely agree about the RESIST! part tho. As much as this is my least favourite shrine, it did have the best (imo) moment. It's good, it's tense (especially that the fight can be failed) and it really does feel like a catharsis (something I earlier mentioned that's core to the genre of tragedies). It feels good to see it in action, it's a natural "breaking point" of the story and that animation is wonderful. Really, visually RH did a lovely job with the visuals and the peak. But yes the fights overall do feel a bit weak (earlier mentioned by you concotion "puzzle" honestly feels more like filler than anything…).

As for the barks I have mixed feelings. I feel like some of them are good and feel in character, while others seem to drill in very hard how pathetic and sad Bigby is. Which I guess is not that majorly different from how he is in the first game, I just feel he has a little less bite. Like first game didn't shy away from showing him as wanting and somewhat needy while still wounded, here it's just misery and wishing for suicide (which I admit could be interesting if pushed further, that having a paranoia of bad things happening so strong it ruins you). Mind you I have not seen all of them so I may be wrong on this.

Overall I can't agree on the DLC being decent, I would say it's rather mediocre, at least from the Abomination standpoint, with a bit of highlights that honestly kind of make the dlc.

[kaizoku-musume]

Mayday Hayday Gift Exchange

I had the absolute pleasure of participating in this years' Ikeseries gift exchange hosted by @olivermorningstar and @lorei-writes, and I got the wonderful @tulipsaisle for my giftee. She has a wonderful OC that was fun to write about and I hope I did her justice. Thank you all for the opportunity to join in on this amazing experience!

Fox Fashion

Shiloh scratched the tabby cat’s back, taking a break from running her stall at the day’s slow peak. It was so heartwarming for her attention to be rewarded with purring delight and affectionate head bumps.

Paying attention to the cat also had the added benefit of Shiloh being able to ignore Nokto Klein.

“Shi-loooooh,” Nokto sing-songed as though he’d not been yapping for the past five minutes about his latest conquest at some ball he just attended. Couldn’t he have picked a more interesting topic? It’s not like Nokto wasn’t a great storyteller: the way he could draw in a crowd as he utilized his honey-smooth voice and descriptive embellishments was near unparalleled, but he so often wasted his talents by telling tales no one wanted to hear, least of all Shiloh.

“Did you hear something, Minou?” Shiloh cooed at the cat, “All I heard was the wind. If only it would blow its hot air somewhere else, huh?”

“Come now, I’m sure there are better ways for me to put my mouth to use than just blowing air, hmmm?” Nokto purred. Shiloh clucked her tongue and turned her face away so he couldn’t see her red cheeks. She always struggled to think up a good comeback when he toed the line of vulgarity like that.

“Be honest, dear,” Nokto said, angling his body to try and catch a peek of her face, “is a cat you see every day really more interesting than a prince specifically stopping by to visit you?”

“Oh, of course not,” Shiloh waved Nokto off. She took a small toy mouse out of the pocket of her dress (it was worth  making friends with the best seamstress in town) and tossed it on the ground for Minou to play with. “If Licht were to stop by, I’d be happy to sit him down for some tea and snacks.”

“Just Licht?” Nokto prompted.

“Well, there’s also Leon, Jin, Yves,” Shiloh counted on her fingers as she listed everyone aside from Nokto, “I heard Prince Keith is a good conversationalist and knows a lot about flowers, I wouldn’t mind picking his brain about them, and there’s-”

“I think I get it,” Nokto said dryly, “so foxes rank pretty low under cats with you.” He reached out to boop Minou’s nose, causing the cat to scrunch her face adorably. “What am I going to have to do to make you change your mind?”

Shiloh raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief. “Do you really think you can compare with Minou’s gentle sweetness? Her precious curled feetsies?”

“I don’t think any human can compare to that,” Nokto admitted. That was suspicious. Usually he didn’t give up so-

“But I can show you a different kind of pleasure that’s just as delightful.”

-soon. “Unless you’re talking about the pleasure of silence, I’m not interested,” Shiloh said, dusting her dress as she stood up, ready to refocus on her shop.

Nokto laughed and said, “I’ll get you to admit my charms one day, Miss Hayes.”

* * *

“Ugh!” Shiloh groaned as she fanned herself with her hand, “Why can’t spring last longer?” Maybe she should upgrade from an outdoor stall to a shopfront-then she’d have more than just shade to protect herself.

At least she wasn’t suffering alone. Nokto had shown up minutes ago, having heard the same thing from Celine, the seamstress, about a surprise showing up around now. And Nokto wasn’t any better in the heat than she was. “I can easily say this isn’t my preferred method of working up a sweat,” he agreed, asking for the second time, “Are you sure you don’t want to close up and go to a cafe? I’d never imply you were anything other than a delight to look at, but you’re turning a shade of red that even I normally can’t get out of you.”

“No thanks,” Shiloh stood her ground, though there was a part of her that couldn’t deny being tempted, “but if you can’t handle it, I won’t think less of you for needing to escape to safety.”

“Such a kind offer. But I’m not callous enough to leave you out here all by yourself. Why, what if you were to feel faint under the-” Nokto sputtered a bit when Shiloh frantically shushed at him to be quiet, flapping her hands in his face. She’d just spotted Celine’s surprise trot around the corner.

“Oh. My. God!!!” she shrieked, taking in the sight of Minou in the most adorable little getup Shiloh had ever seen. Never in a million years would Shiloh ever imagine she’d see Minou in a dress, but here she was, watching the tabby proudly prance over to her, wearing a tiny, flowery-there were roses! And junipers!-green sundress, perfectly sized and aimed at making Shiloh lose her mind with cuteness overload.

“Well, that’s certainly something,” Nokto observed over Shiloh’s gushing, “That must have been a struggle, to wrangle a cat into that outfit.”

“It’s worth it,” Shiloh declared in awe, “she’s the most precious thing I’ve ever seen. And such a good idea! How many people would jump on the idea of outfits for their pets? Celine could start a whole line of clothing for pets-the fabric and labour costs would be much lower, too. Oh, she’s brilliant!��� 

Nokto watched on as Shiloh began muttering about the process of the fashion industry and how it can accommodate Celine’s project. “This is what gets you going, is it?” he chuckled in amusement, “Regular clothes just aren’t enough for you anymore so now you need a tiny version to get excited over?”

Shiloh cut off her rambling, a hand on her hip as she addressed Nokto, “When a new line drops, I’ll be all too happy to talk your ear off about it. Don’t for one second think I’ve given up one of my big loves in life. But come on!” she gestured toward Minou, who was in the middle of grooming herself, “I challenge you to find anything cuter than a cat in a dress.”

“Sounds like a tough challenge,” Nokto said, a sudden gleam in his eyes, “what do I get if I win?”

That didn’t sound good at all. Shiloh eyed Nokto warily, wondering what the tricky fox was up to. But it wasn’t like she could take it back-withdrawing now would just make it look like she thought Nokto could actually do it. She would have to face this head on. “If you can succeed, I’ll take you up on one of your non-sexual! invitations.”

Nokto’s grin made her immediately regret her words. “Sounds like a deal. I hope you keep to your word.”

Ah, great. Shiloh blamed her poor decision on the awful heat.

* * *

Well, today was the day. Nokto had messaged Shiloh to let her know he was ready to show her something cuter, and Shiloh could only hope that he came up with something perverted; it would be a pain to deal with, but at least she lose and be dragged along on whatever plan he had up his sleeves. All Shiloh could do was count down the minutes until the time Nokto promised to arrive, her eyes boring holes at the street corner he should come down.

She’d wracked her brain, trying to think of every possibility available, but when Nokto finally rounded that corner, she realized nothing could prepare her. Shiloh slapped her palm over her mouth to stop herself from bursting out laughing at the sight before her.

“Well?” Nokto twirled for her, the hem of the dress he wore flaring out with the motion, “What do you think?”

“Wh-why?” Shiloh wheezed behind her hand, still struggling not to laugh despite the realization that the dress actually looked good on Nokto. He’d gotten it tailored to his measurements and picked a colour that went well with his skin tone, so he was clearly taking it seriously . . . kinda. Nokto hadn’t passed up the opportunity to be as, well, slutty as possible: the dress was a slinky little number, the neckline was cut as low as physically possible, and there was a slit along his right thigh nearly to the waist, revealing pantyhose of all things! Why was he like this?!

Nokto struck a couple of unnecessarily sexy poses, “Because it’s clear that the only thing cuter than a cat in a dress is a fox in a dress, wouldn’t you say?”

Shiloh had a lot she wanted to say, such as “but you’re not an actual fox” and “then why didn’t you wear a cute dress?”, but none of that mattered more than telling him, “There’s no way this counts.” Nokto just smirked, like he was prepared to debate this all day if he had to, and Shiloh knew, with a dawning sort of horror, that she’d sealed her fate the moment she set up that condition.

Maybe she could still get something out of it if she convinced Nokto to wear a dress to whatever party he wanted to drag her to-at least that would give her something positive to look forward to in the face of her crushing defeat.

[ghostherlig]

I actually dream of the day u write something bi-han/shang tsung omg...

ohhhh those two... they are so toxic in my mind fr- not that that's going to stop me from writing them, i do enjoy playing around with those relationship dynamics- esp since in my mind there's such a power imbalance between the two of them

the long-short of it is, bi han and shang tsung feed each others egos and bi han is very dependent on shang and his view of him to function well in their alliance- and shang uses that to his advantage at every turn bc all it takes to get bi han to change his mind is to plant a seed of doubt- aruashdfkjs

alternate version of them being a bit sweeter but possibly even hilariously like mk11 aftermath sindel and shao khan- literally "what bones of his shall i break for you, my love?" "mm. surprise me. <333" like that kind of so in love but toxic and cruel to literally everyone around them LMAO-

i am going to yap abt them for a moment bc i do have Some Personal Headcanons about the lin kuei and shirai ryu and shang tsung and how that all plays out post-mk1--

in my mind, kuai and tomas almost immediately separate from the lin kuei and form the shirai ryu in secret, cutting all communication with bi han-

and in my mind, bi han isnt happy about that, he does miss his brothers, even if he never admitted it to himself before that moment- it's also a personal hc of mine that bi han wouldnt have been such a shitty brother if it werent for the relationship he had with his parents- in my mind bi han was forced to spend a lot more of his time with his father and got to see things that kuai and tomas had no idea about-

think azula and zuko- bi han is his father's son, and his father used that to mold bi han into his version of the perfect warrior, and bi han shaped his expectations of himself and his brothers around that image as well

so, when kuai and tomas break off of him and "betray him" in his eyes, he's upset about it.

but he also gets shang out of it, and i feel like there's a golden opportunity there for some ✨One-Sided Codependency✨

shang tsung helps feed bi han's ego and personal security, which bi han needs now that he doesnt have anyone else to do it for him, and shang uses that to direct bi han where he wants him to focus. shang also uses the power he has over their alliance to get bi han to prioritize protecting him versus prioritizing the strength of his clan.

if they arent going to be toxic to each other, i feel like bi han would fall HARD for shang's intelligence and cunning. shang is so smart and he uses it for his own benefit, but bi han sees the practicality of it too and it just makes him crazy-

shang tsung would fall in love with how brutal and efficient bi han is- like bi han is very one-track-minded and shang can appreciate the brutality he approaches problems with.

and the two of them together? shang's mastermind with bi han's determination and brutality? they're a pair to be reckoned with, and it's terrifying- shang builds the groundworks for something evil and bi han gives him the men and the efficiency to get it done nearly overnight-

they both adore each other for their strengths but also see how they compliment each other and it takes a while for either of them to make a move but once they do their affections and relationship becomes so casual that it almost seems like it's always been that way...

god, thinking about them too hard fr... idk how quickly i'll be able to write smth for them but i will be thinking abt them for a while now, LMAO- i am sick so it might be longer than i'm hoping for, but i do have a few ideas in mind now.. arugrughaskdjf mk men ruin me 😔