#and of course i appreciate the chance to talk about stuff i might not usually talk about

[04tenno]

Well goddamn, Daigo. I can only guess that was a part of his all-around terrible behavior that emerged when his world felt like it was crumbling. Of course, though, that’s still an awful way to act. It reminds me of the substory for him in 0 when he’s being a much more toned down kind of awful to that lady, and Kiryu points out that it’s not normal for him to act that way. It’d be interesting to see how he’d be with woman when he’s more levelheaded.

If you don’t mind me asking, what are your thoughts on Daigo and possibly being gay, anyway? It’s an area of intrigue for me in a way I can’t properly explain 🫠 Maybe due to being queer myself I wind up thinking about stuff like that.

Choosing a heartthrob type actor who doesn’t seem to do a lot of stuff like Yakuza and has a multitude of suggestive photo shoots makes me wonder so much. He’s not the usual choice compared to a lot of the other actors here. And what they used him for in the original version of Ishin is also just ???? There’s too much stuff in this series that my brain hooks onto and rotates endlessly. Even when it’s a character that doesn’t get thought about much 💀

Sorry I’ve been rambling so much. I really appreciate what you’ve shared with and done for the fandom, and it really gets my curiosity going.

How Daigo acts in Y0 is definitely in line with him ending up that way, because he's clearly begun to internalize certain beliefs about how he should act and what what he should want. It's very much not normal for a kid his age even if he doesn't fully understand it.

So, you know, there's stuff to chew on, but at the same time constantly showing that a character's hit his "lowest point" by having him victimize a female character gets old, and I'm glad Yokoyama stopped relying on that as shorthand.

I'm queer as well, so I think it'd be pretty cool! A huge draw to the series for women and queer people is the homoerotic subtext (which is, on occasion, text). And the subtext with Daigo really is intriguing, of course in terms of what we've talked about with Mine and with women, but also with Shinada and with Nick, for example.

When I've got the time I'd like to talk about it in a separate post (or in an ask to Snap in all likelihood lmao) but I'm like, 98% sure Mine just assumes he's gay and it's incredibly funny to me. Mine is certainly not Free of Projection, but still.

I honestly think Daito fits the casting pattern, though! There's at least one standout "heartthrob" in the cast of most of the games since faceclaims were introduced. Out of the actors I'm familiar with, Shota Matsuda (Kenzan), Hiroki Narimiya (Y4), Daito (Y5 and Ishin), Arata Iura (Y0), and of course Takuya Kimura, Shosuke Tanihara, and Hiroshi Tamaki (J1 and LJ) all had that reputation; even Tsutsumi did in the past. I think there's an understanding that the female fans are here to stay and are worth catering to.

Uhhhhh only tangentially related on the topic of queerness and faceclaims, honorable mention to Peter (Dead Souls) who is just straight-up one of Japan's most well known gay and GNC performers. Honestly. Slay. I love that he got to work with RGGS (even if, as usual, he plays a villain...)

With Ishin, it's definitely an interesting case, because with how Takeda and Todo are portrayed, it carries implications for whoever is "cast as" those characters. Because there's the acknowledgment Hayashi and Awano are, y'know, fruity, and there's also the acknowledgment Baba and Zhao could believably be desirable to gay men.

I suppose it kind of had to happen though. While Ishin does a LOT of original things with its concept, Takeda has to be Takeda, and Todo has to be Todo. In real life, Takeda did prey on younger members of the Shinsengumi (some believe Hijikata had Saito assassinate him after receiving complaints of this), and if one wanted to acknowledge that within the main story, well, Todo is the youngest captain.

In terms of casting, I think it's a mix of being dead-set on having an "all-star" cast (for the time) and needing the cast to fit "the image" of who the historical figures were. So Todo would naturally need to be someone who's boyishly handsome (even though Baba is 30 lmao). And hey, turns out we've got a really well-liked character that fits the bill right there in Y5, which was the best-selling RGG game by far in Japan until (I think) YLAD.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Just the Two of Us: Helping Hand

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Character: Steve Rogers

Summary: you meet someone you never expect at the grocery store.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging ❤️

You sway back and forth holding your few staples. You wait patiently for checkout, happy enough to do so as you avoid the typical awkward interaction of the checkout lane. Some might dread it, but you prefer self-checkout. It spares you the face-scalding small talk with the cashiers and you’re certain they don’t hate you for it either. 

The man at the machine just ahead of you hisses and tips his head back. He takes a deep breath and sets his chin straight, scratching his blond hair as the machine beeps at him. He seems frustrated by the scanner as he waves a jar of peanut butter back and forth over it. 

“Come on...” he mutters then stops to look around. The attendant is at another machine, helping a woman key in her produce. “...should just leave it...” 

You watch him as he turns back to the screen and taps it in exasperation. There’s something familiar about him. In a city this big, odds are you could see the same face a dozen time in the same day and not know it. 

“Um, excuse me,” your bag of sourdough rustles as you tiptoe slowly close, “do you want some help?” 

He turns to you and you’re stricken as you recognise him at once. It’s Steve Rogers. Captain America. The homegrown hero of New York! 

“I’m so sorry. I know I’m taking forever here,” he pushes his hair back. It’s a mess from his anguished scratching and combing. “I’m trying, I swear.” 

“Here, er, do you mind,” you balance your armful as you near. He steps back and shakes his head, “you got a better chance of figuring this dang thing out.” 

“Alright, no promises, but I used to work retail, so, I think I can,” you carefully set down your groceries at the edge of the small metal shelf of the self-checkout. “Peanut butter, please.” 

He looks down at the jar then hands it over. Your fingertips brush as you take it and find the barcode. You angle it down and the machine scans it right away. He groans and puts his palm to his forehead. 

“Of course,” he sniffs. “I promise I’m not a total disaster. I thought this would be faster.” 

“It’s fine, I don’t mind,” you smile. “Least I can do for the First Avenger.” 

He visibly cringes, “right.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” you shake your head. “I wasn’t... meaning to... do you need help with the rest?” 

He nods and looks down. Now you feel awful. You didn’t mean to embarrass him. You take his bunch of bananas and key in the number then weigh it. You put it aside and finish with his pulpy orange juice and a can of ovaltine... Ovaltine? 

“Right, I think that’s it,” you gather up your stuff. “You’re all set and there’s a machine free so I’ll get out of your hair.” 

He slips his fingers into his pocket and slides out his wallet, “thanks. Appreciate it.” 

You sidle away and claim the next machine. You scan through your bread, cans of salmon, six-pack of muffins, and the little odds and ends. You unfold your reusable bag and put each inside before you pay. 

“Ahem,” the deep noise draws you away from the pinpad. “Hey, uh, I’m sorry if I came of... rude. It’s not you. The dang machine just—got the best of me. It’s not you and I mean, you were just being nice. And helpful.” 

“Really, it’s no problem,” you smile as you keep your hand on the debit machine. 

“I know but I almost made it one.” 

“No, it’s nothing,” you turn back to finish before the machine times out. It thinks as he lingers close by. 

“You’re really nice. I don’t deserve that. Captain should know better,” he says. “But I do prefer Steve.” 

He holds out his hand as you swipe your card free and tuck it away. You shove it back in your purse and face him. You take his free hand and shake it as you offer your name. “Nice to meet you, Steve.” 

“You, too.” 

“Um,” you look behind him, “don’t wanna be in anyone’s way.” 

You quickly snatch up your bag and hurry out of the checkout area. He follows you with long but easy strides. As you pass through the door, he’s only a step behind. 

“Look, I’m sure you have somewhere to be,” he says as he catches up. “But, uh, could I carry your bag or something? I feel like I owe you.” 

“Oh, no, it’s not very empty,” you assure him. “But thanks!” 

“Hmm, well, how about...” he looks around, “coffee?” 

You follow his gaze across the street. You’re not really in a hurry but you didn’t plan to be sitting down at a cafe. Your leggings a loose sweatshirt aren’t exactly trendsetting. 

“I mean it, you know, it wasn’t anything at all.” You insist. 

“Yeah, but how many nice people do you meet around here, huh?” He asks. As if to make his point, he grabs your elbow and angles you away from the edge of the sidewalk as the man behind you nearly walks right over you. “Gotta admit, you’re the first friendly face I’ve met since I got out of the ice and that was a while ago.” 

“Uh, wow, that’s sweet. I suppose a coffee won’t hurt,” you say. “And I know what you mean, I’ve been here two months and I don’t know anyone. I thought a made a friend but she stole my shoes and never called me back.” 

“Really? Someone did that to you?” He flutters his lashes in disbelief. “That’s rotten.” 

“I suppose she really liked them. Besides, they weren’t very practical. Kind of uncomfortable so really, she did me a favour,” you laugh. “One thing I learned, the city moves fast and you gotta keep up with it. So, I just keep going. As best I can.” 

“Hm, well,” he turns with you as you reach the crosswalk. “I think we wear a different size so I promise, I won’t steal those.” 

You glance down at your knockoff Uggs in purple and snort, “oh, you think so?” You move your foot closer to his and compare the difference with his large leather shoes. “I think you could squeeze in.” 

He laughs, a rocky rumble that fills you with warmth. Or maybe you’re a bit starstruck. If you had any friends, you might just brag to them that you met the Captain. You guess you’ll just have to savour it to yourself. 

[quizzicalwriter]

Hi! Idk if you do headcanons but if you do can you do boyfriend headcanons for Dallas? It can be up to you to make it general things or just smut related things.

Dating Dallas HC’s

Despite what you may think, I don’t see Dallas being an overly possessive boyfriend. You two go about your business and that’s that, but the moment he catches someone flirting with you he’s bounding over and making sure everyone knows you’re his. Beyond that? He’s alright with PDA, but he’s not about to make out in front of his friends, that’s private stuff.

He’d let you wear his jacket, necklace, rings, everything. He loves seeing you in his clothing, and he’d certainly notice the moment you aren’t wearing one item that you usually do - and it’s not even for the reason you think, he’s just worried you’ll lose his stuff and he’ll have to find another one.

He has no problem remembering birthdays, anniversaries, all that jazz. He loves surprising you by remembering important dates for you. But the moment you ask him if he remembers someone you met last week he’s pulling a blank. He’ll remember eventually, but he sucks at remembering faces.

You ever need something but don’t have the money for it? Dallas does! Don’t ask where he got it, most of the time he doesn’t remember or doesn’t want you worrying about him - he doesn’t know which is worse and he ain’t about to find out.

On the topic of money, if you tried to pay him back he’d act personally offended and never accept the money. I’m talking full-on mouth dropping open, loud scoff, all of it. You’re his girl, why the hell are you trying to pay him back? Just give him a kiss or something.

Loves driving you places, and lets you control the music in reasonable amounts - meaning, you cannot play the same song over, and over. He’d let you get away with three replays max before he’s groaning and turning the radio off and tossing the mix out the window. He’d apologize afterward and buy you a new cassette.

I do not see him being a kind driver, the man has road rage and you’ve seen it. There have been multiple instances where you’ve ducked into the passenger seat and whisper-yelled at him to shut up - he never does.

The man is like a corpse when he sleeps. You want him to move over? Good luck. You’d have a better chance rolling over onto him to get sleep, he wouldn’t wake up either way unless you pushed him from the bed.

Speaking of sleep, if you’re ever cold and plaster your morgue-like hands against his back, he will shriek. His back will arch, his legs will shoot out, and he’ll throw every curse known to man your way as he moves away from your hands - your hands still end up warm.

His friends are his family and he takes their opinions seriously, I can see him genuinely fretting over their view of you if he cares enough for you. Hell, he’s got feelings for you, of course, he’s going to want his family to like you. They will, it’ll take a while to get used to their form of joking, but you’ll be at home with them and it’ll make Dallas smile.

On the subject of family, Dallas doesn’t mention his much. He might if you’re close enough, but you’re likely to get bits and pieces as time goes by until he’s sure you won’t leave either. When he finally tells you about his upbringing it hurts your heart, you’re both mentally spent by the end of it and you promise him to never mention it unless he does first. He appreciates you for it.

If you stay over at his place often enough he’ll try to make the place look more presentable. Mainly rearranging stuff that he hasn’t touched in months, maybe buying another set of bedsheets. You notice every time something changes in his room and whenever you mention it he’s happy to talk about it, even if he tries to play it off cool.

He watches you sleep, not so much in a creepy way, but it’s something he loves to do. If you talk or snore in your sleep he will imitate it in the morning. In the moment he finds it cute, but he’ll never admit it.

His version of helping you cook breakfast, lunch, or dinner is standing behind you with his chin on your shoulder, or leaning against the kitchen counter with a cigarette between his lips. The man can’t cook, maybe he could, but he likes watching you cook too much to try - that and the one time he tried to help he burnt the shit out of his hand.

If you smoke he’ll light your cigarettes or share his own, if you don’t he’ll appreciate you standing beside him while he smokes, but he ain’t gonna force you to be near him when he does - just don’t nag the man, he’s been smoking since he was a kid, I don’t think he could stop even if he wanted to.

Whenever he smokes he’ll blow the smoke to the side, always ensuring it doesn’t blow in your face. But, if the smoke follows you he’ll murmur some cliche line like “Smoke follows beauty.”

Any music he’s into he will show you in a heartbeat. He thrives on showing you things you haven’t seen yet, whether it’s movies at the drive-in he’s sneaking you into, or a cassette he snagged from a nearby store - either way, his eyes watch you for any reaction.

Definitely considers going on a walk or eating food in Buck’s T-Bird a date. You’ll have to specify what you want if you want anything different, otherwise he’s content with the routine. If you ask for something different he won’t take offense to it, but he might chide you for it.

Words aren’t his forte, actions are. He’ll try his best to be kind, but he’ll occasionally slip and might say something rude. If you can shoot back your own sarcastic quips it’ll make him swoon, he loves nothing more than someone who can fire back at him.

Likely won’t tell you that he loves you for YEARS. You can say it first, he’ll nod and likely kiss your cheek or forehead in return. You know what he means, but he’s not the type to say it until he feels absolutely certain about you. Dallas knows how he feels about someone rather quickly, but he’s wary when it comes to love. He wants to mean it, mean it in a way that scares him.

The first time he tells you he loves you will be when you’re asleep. He’ll continue doing that until one day when he randomly springs it on you. It’ll likely be around a cigarette, but you’ll be able to tell from his eyes how deeply he means it. Don’t expect him to say it often, but know that he always feels it.

A/N: This is so short, I’m so sorry. I’ve never done headcanons before, so I hope this was good! I think about Dallas’s character so much that I actually had a bit of fun with this! This is a late night post for me, but I finished it up and figured I’d post it for y’all anyways. Thank you all for the continued love and support you’ve shown me and my work!! I appreciate you all more than words could ever describe! <3

[obeymematches]

hey i saw your hc requests were open,is it okay if i ask for the love languages of the brothers?it could also be the the way they show their love if you dont like the first one lol.love your stuff🦓

hiii whatsup it's been a while!

tumblr changed so much since the last time i wrote HCs it is making me upset as I'm trying to edit this post pls bare with it

How can you be sure they love you?

Lucifer:

● He is the most straightforward with his words when it comes to expressing his feelings for you. There are no ambigous expressions, no metaphors, no nothing, just simple "I love you"s, which he isn't afraid to tell you every morning and every night from now on.

● You also receive gifts sent / given by him, though he isn't so good at thinking of new ones so it's usually a boquet of roses, fancy chocolate or some kind of jewellery.

● He hardly ever lets you go anywhere alone from now on! Someone has to be with you at all times. No arguing about it!

● Please don't expect lots of quality time together. Even if your presence is the only peace he gets throughout his entire day. He spends as much time as he can with you but it is out of his control. Sometimes you do get a couple of hours with him, sometimes it's 20 minutes a day. Don't take it personally, of course you are on his mind every day, of course he would spend more time with you if he could. (He's not going to like it if you tell him "if he wanted to, he would")

● Please touch him, he is starving for intimacy. Just make sure you keep it lowkey in front of his brothers & Diavolo. Everyone else is okay to see PDA.

●Appreciates your acts of service and he generously rewards you for it but don't expect him to do the same for you, unless you really struggle with a task.

Mammon:

● You're not going to get no privacy from him. Top #clingiest demon in the world.

● He is very unaware of this, but he keeps touching you, sometimes subtly sometimes not so subtly. (He sits so close to you that your shoulders and legs touch, wraps his arm around your waist whenever he gets the chance, etc.)

● He also gets you rather expensive presents from time to time, where he gets the money for it is a mystery though. (He been working a lot to treat you right okay!!)

● However, he sucks at expressing his feelings with words. 0/10 do not recommend. Good luck and don't give up, evetually he might tell you he is most ardently in love with you.

●Doesn't really do acts if service either. Maybe sometimes.

Leviathan:

● All of a sudden he is much less talkative around you. First you think he just doesn't like you for some reason. You thought it was going fine but... well.

● The situation escalates when he writes you a love letter, telling you everything you wanted/needed to hear. With spoken words he is not so good, fumbles a lot, forgets where he was at, but his letter is on point.

●The best way he lets you know about his feelings is through quality time. He makes sure the emphasis is on quality and not quantity! He can become really funny when he tries to!

● Acts of service happens in game mostly.

Satan:

●Very much into quality time with you! Indoors or outdoors doesn't matter as long as you spend time together.

● Gets nervous from PDA, don't do it often... when no one else sees you he is absolutely mesmerized by your touch though.

● He is one of the best with words; expect poems, books dedicated to you! Also tell him how good if a man he is, loves to hear it!

● Not very much into acts of service, very independent kind of guy and expects the same from his other half.

● He is also not much into gifts. Doesn't believe in money doing the loving instead of the person.

Asmodeus:

● The king of touch and reassuring words! Down for this two anytime and anywhere!

● He appreciates anything you do for/with him but expect PDA and sweet nothings the most.

● Of course if neither of the 2 works for you he can do anything to make sure you feel loved.

● The only one who can make you feel loved to the bone no matter what your love languages are. He doesn't have a weakness regarding these kind of things.

Beelzebub:

● I think he is an acts of service kind of guy. Does the dishes for you, gets you dinner, stuff like this.

● Also likes to be touched but strictly in private! Gets so nervous if anyone sees.

● He tells you he loves you often and isn't afraid to tell you why! Though "I love you" as a full on sentence is a bit rare from him... he puts more effort into it... like "You are the kindest person I know and I love you so much for it."

● He also gets to spend lots of QT with you. Watching a movie, going for a run, he is down for whatever.

● Not much of a gifter himself but truly appreciates if you give him gifts. Might cry a little.

Belphegor:

● You get to spend QT with him most of the time. Also becomes very possesive of you so you get little to no privacy at all.

● He tells you he loves you often but sometimes it sounds a bit.. off? Like he doesn't really mean it?

● Not much of a gifter either... rarely when he knows you'd like something specific he'd get it for you but as I said it's rare of him to do so.

● Big on touching you, however. Like Mammon, he'd be very close to you the entire day. If you move away he is moving with you.

● He barely does acts of service eventhough he lowkey expects you to do some for him.

[istadris]

On the Koopalings and Bowser

I never know on which foot dance when it comes to Bowser's relationship with the Koopalings.

On one hand, yes, Bowser being a tired dad to 8 kids with most of them being adopted is cute (and a nightmare for me to handle in fics), and I respect and appreciate fanworks including that. I also understand that Nintendo retconned the familial bond and most Mario fans are used to the Koopalings being considered Bowser's family.

On the other hand, I didn't grow up with material where they are Bowser's kids, most of my exposition to them were games where they're his lieutenants, with Junior as Bowser's only son.

It so happens that I love complex relationships; found families that are difficult to define and don't fall neatly under the usual family labels; ambivalent feelings about a parental figure who clearly isn't your official parent.

With that said, hear me out on how I see the Koopa royal family dynamics :

Koopas can reproduce either with a partner or through parthenogenesis, birthing on their own a near clone of themselves (although if you ever call a Koopa kid born this way a clone in front of their parents, they're likely to beat the shit out of you and everyone in the vicinity will agree the reaction is justified, if a bit overemotional). Because laying an egg and providing for a baby all by yourself is very demanding, Koopas reproducing through this method go into a very intense nesting/brooding mode, basically turning off every function that isn't "take care of youngling" and becoming very aggressive.

When Bowser decided to have Junior (and morphed into a very broody Giga Bowser), everyone in the castle stayed clear from him...which facilitated sneaking into the castle for a bunch of half-feral orphaned Koopalings scrapping by to survive and hoping to nab enough food and money to live another day. Thankfully for them, when Bowser came across them, instead of registering them as "threat" (and eating them alive), due to how young and malnourished most of them were, his brain went "hungry baby. Must feed baby" before he dragged them back to his nest. When Bowser turned back to normal, he basically went through his day as normal, except now "normal" includes a bunch of kids.

Main reasons for this attitude :

He's Very Bad at talking about his emotions beyond "I HATE MARIO"

As far as he's concerned, the Koopalings are his kids now too. Even if he doesn't mention. If they're okay with it or course. If anyone else has an issue with it, he'll deal with them, and if they don't like it, they'll bring it up, but otherwise why make a fuss?

Kamek is the one doing the paperwork, so he's waiting for a sort of green light to put them down as his kids or something.

Kamek has been diligently dodging the question of adding 7 kids to the royal line of succession for several years now.

So for a while at the beginning, the Koopalings ended up in a weird limbo state where their status within the Koopa Troop was unclear. Ludwig, worrying the wind might turn someday, encouraged the oldest (and later the youngest) to make themselves useful. Which led Bowser and his officers and mages to give the Koopalings more stuff to do, and through the years, they gradually went up the ranks and became Bowser's Terrors and main lieutenants. Still, neatly calling Bowser "Dad" is a tad more complex than their actual feelings on the matter.

By the time Junior is 10, the dynamics go like this :

Ludwig (in his early-mid twenties) has always minded the Koopalings and is very protective of them. He's also deeply devoted to Bowser, who got them out of the gutter and gave them a chance. He's extremely informal towards Bowser and would never dare calling him Dad or even Father : it's "Lord Bowser", "Sir" or "His Majesty", and he would die for him (although not without making sure his death has an efficient, long-lasting impact useful for the kingdom). Even Bowser thinks he needs to chill.

Roy (very early twenties) is one of the only ones who remember having a dad, and it wasn't a fun experience. Still, he remembers what it was like, and Bowser being actually a decent father figure messes a lot with Roy's daddy issues. He wants to hate Bowser, especially once he's in his teens, because that's what being a cool guy is for, but even he can admit Bowser is badass. Still, most of the times, it's easier for Roy to call Bowser "Boss" and treat him as such, respect and all.

Wendy (around 16) is more than fine being Bowser's Most Specialest Daddy's Girl. She was born for this. She doesn't remember a lot from the pre Bowser life but she does keep in memory being insanely jealous of pretty girls with fancy toys, and never truly got over it. She noticed Bowser hardly refuses her anything when she calls him "Daddy", so of course that's what she uses...except when she's on the job and has to be taken seriously, in that case she falls back on "Lord Bowser"

Morton (??? either close to Wendy's age or one of the youngest, I can't decide) had no previous model for what having a dad is like. He's following the other's lead on it, but Junior calls Bowser "Dad" and Ludwig calls him "Lord Bowser" and the twins call him "King Dad" and it's Confusing. So it's Big Bowser and Little Bowser. All he knows is that he loves them both very much and the mere notion of losing them is enough to make him stress out.

Iggy (around 14) doesn't need a dad, he needs supervision to avoid blowing something up. He just loves being Bowser's "kid", whatever that entails, because he gets to mess with a LOT of people. He resorts to "King Dad", but mostly because Lemmy does it, and easily switches between "Boss", "Sir", "Daddy" and "BBB" (Big Bod Bowser. Who spent several days recovering from it the first time Iggy used it).

Lemmy (around 14, same as Iggy) is here to partaaaay. He doesn't remember anything of their life before Bowser, so for him, there's always been their big lug of a "King Dad" who needs them to bail him out of messes. He's close to Junior (due to being one of the youngest) and even if he does know Junior has a different status from him, it never bothered him and he never got trouble from pranking him.

Larry (around 14, can't decide if he's younger or older than Iggy and Lemmy) has also always known Bowser, but he's a bit more self-conscious about the situation of being sort of adopted but not officially? Usually he sticks to "King Bowser", so when he slips and calls Bowser "Dad", he usually feels pretty embarrassed, even if no one bats an eye.. He was actually a bit jealous of Junior as a kid for "stealing" Bowser's attention, but he's gotten better.

[rindouheart]

Thank you for the rules link!! So I was wondering about headcanons (or whatever you want tbh) about Reo falling for a reader that doesn't even give him the time of the day lol like reader thinks he's a standard rich boy, you know? So they avoid him at first until Reo manages to win them over. Take all the time you need of course, and thank you if you accept my request!! 💕

REO MIKAGE with a s/o that avoids him 🌿

content. fluffy hc about our fav rich boy + g/n reader!

author’s note. hi love! tysm for requesting, i hope you like this mix between hcs and a drabble, i’ve enjoyed writing them + reo is so cute i can’t.

reo mikage is a rich boy. everyone knows it.

also if he’s not that “rich kid” who just flexes around how much money he has, you’ve always been quite suspicious about his behaviour.

obviously, reo is handsome, smart and also good ad football, basic characteristics of any wealthy boy.

your friends always told you that his future is already planned: reo will be the ceo of his family’s business, he will marry someone rich and he will live the life that everyone dreams.

a lot of people in your school crush on him, for real: reo is friendly, slefless and “fun to be around”, as many students say.

honestly, you’ve never spent so much time with him, just the plain small talk when you were forced to. you aren’t really interested in getting on well with him, but still, being polite is always a good thing.

until he started to try to talk to you more frequently.

“omg, i think he might like you!” these are your best friend’s words every time reo gets near you. “you should give him a chance, for real��� and then you just shrug it off.

“hey, y/n, i was wondering if we could work together for the chemistry project that was assigned today” reo is always smiling. always.

“i’m sorry, yuri asked me to do it with her just about ten minutes ago” you answer, lying. you aren’t interested in going to his enormous house or in inviting him to your modest apartament.

“oh, sorry for bothering you, i’ll ask someone else then, have a nice day!” he didn’t seem too in the beginning.

“nagi, why are they avoiding me?”

he is determined to get to you, also if you reject him.

reo doesn’t know why he got so interested in you: it was probably because you’re the only one who tries to “escape” from him, and he isn’t able to find an answer.

he is quite stubborn, so if he wants something, he will do everything he can to get it.

he wants to know you. he wants to understand why you’re behaving like that when he’s around. he wants to know stupid stuff about you, like your favourite film or food. he likes you, a lot, but it seems that you don’t like him.

you’ve noticed that, recently, reo has been around you more often than usual.

paired with that, your friends have already created a ship name for you and reo.

why does he want to talk to me so much? shouldn’t he be interested in talking with other high-class students?

it has been three weeks since reo started to be around you more than required, but now you want to know why he’s doing that.

so, when he’s walking behind you, you suddenly turn and ask “reo, why do you keep following me everywhere? it’s quite annoying”

reo’s face says all: he’s astonished. he wasn’t expecting this.

“i’m really sorry, i just wanted to get to know you more”

you blink. why does he want to?

“listen, i know that i might look like the standard rich boy who is nice to everyone just because i want to be appreciated, but i really want to get to know you”

you just stand there, crossing your arms.

“please, give me just one chance. i’d like to try to change your opinion on me” he asks.

“okay, show me”

and then something *clicks*

also if it felt weird at first, reo always offers to carry your gym bag because “it’s heavy, i don’t want you to get tired”

small acts of service that make your heart melt.

he’s not treating you like a deity, he’s just doing what he’s good at besides football, being caring.

“i took an extra water bottle for you at the vending machines, it’s quite hot today, so don’t get dehydrated during lessons”

reo remembers everything about you. you’ve had a test this morning? he’ll ask you how it went and, if you said you might have failed it, he will reassure you.

he cares a lot about your mental and physical health. being an athlete has taught him a lot of things about that.

congrats! you now are the main gossip topic at school.

actually, you begin to appreciate reo more. he’s definitely not the type of person you were expecting.

he’s caring and sweet by nature, not because he’s rich and wants to be loved by everyone.

you now tend to open up with him more, and he’s very happy about that. reo is aware that you trust him much more than your first meetings.

“you know, i’m glad that you accepted to give me a chance”

you smile, “actually, i quite like you to be honest. i thought you were just a mere rich teenager who only thought of himself” you confess “that’s why i used to stay far away from you”

“you just ‘quite like’ me? i don’t believe you” he smiles back and laughs at your words. “however, i’m happy that you’ve changed opinion about me. i was curious to get to know you, but you always escaped in some way”.

“i like you, reo”

“oh, i see… so, would you like to get a coffee in a fancy place after school?” he asks, hoping for your positive answer.

“i’d love that” 🫶🏻

@rindouheart ‘s headcanons — 01122023

[suvidrache]

Pranks

age in bio when interacting. minors do not interact.

Word Count: 651 | Read it on AO3 | Offline Version

Author's Note: It has been a while since I've written for Simon.

Simon was always well aware of everything that went on. He had to. He was in the military. He didn't let anything get past him.

He kept his military stuff in his bag. He tried to keep it away from you, not as a secret. No, he didn't want you to know he killed people. It was a part of his job. Surely, you would have known or figured it out by now. He couldn't bear the thought of you knowing exactly what went on every time he put that mask on.

He stared out the window of the airplane. He planned on coming home to you. He took every chance that he could get. His military bag was in the empty seat next to him. The voices of people were nothing but muffled sounds as he vaguely paid attention. He just wanted to be at home. He just wanted to see you again. You were safe, and you were fine. No one knew where he lived. He couldn't help but worry sometimes. He worried that he'd come home and you wouldn't be there. He pushed the thoughts away and sat up straighter, taking a moment to gather in his surroundings. Some lady thanked him for his service, and he welcomed her before lowering himself back down and looking out the window. He wasn't in the mood to talk, especially not with strangers.

You heard the doors slam, and you walked to the door. You lived somewhere in England. Far enough away from people to not be disturbed unnecessarily, but close enough that there were people that you could interact with. It wasn't usual for a car to show up unless it was Simon, and it was. You opened the door and gave him a hug. He dropped his bags and wrapped his arms tightly around you. He kissed your head and stood there, waiting a moment. He breathed in your scent; he missed it and you. He wished that he wouldn't have to leave again, but he would. At least he got to stay home for a few months.

It was only for a few months that Simon was at home. It felt a lot shorter than that. You wanted him to stay, but you knew he'd have to go. You couldn't help but smile as he left the house. He smiled back as you both said your goodbyes, and he left. It was strange how happy you were about his leaving. Normally, you would be different. He rubbed the back of his head. Something was off about this situation. He didn't want to let it get to him. He sat on the plane, and it wasn't long before he arrived at base. He ran through the usual routine and put his mask on. He didn't know that his mask had been altered. He didn't know. That was the reason you were smiling when he left. He didn't know you had found his mask.

He walked through the hallways. New day, same routine. Soap smiled and greeted him before laughing. He couldn't help it.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Oh, nothing. I love the new look.” Soap said before heading off to some place, but not before taking a quick photo.

Many others had commented on Simon's look, and others had laughed. He didn't understand. It was when he went to the bathroom that he looked in the mirror.

The eyelashes.

You put eyelashes on his mask.

He looked down at the sink and closed his eyes. Under his mask, he smiled. Of course, you would have messed with him in some way. He smiled and looked up. He pulled his phone from his pocket and took a photo, sending you a text about it before removing the eyelashes and storing them in his pocket. It was possible that you might want them back. He wasn't sure how that worked.

© SUVIDRACHE — do not copy, translate, modify, or plagiarize my work. reblogs are appreciated!

Tag List: @eli-chris. @imagineherbrightskies. / Join my tag list here!

[ghostlyvoidshark]

hi shark hiii!!! how about something with the reader taking care of shane(stardew valley) or really any character you might prefer. no pressure, just have fun!! :>

Hi friend hiiii!!! Thank you so much for the request! Im happy you could be the first to ask <3 as a Shane lover i appreciate the choice XD I wrote it, edited it, rewrote it then hoped it was good enough. it’s just a short little story but again i hope its a decent start!

not proof read we die like lazy rats.

tw: awkward comfort for depression, talk of depression, Shane stuff

☆__________________________☆

A quiet autumn day. The trees have even painted an array of reds and yellows, the air crisp and fulfilling. You had woken up early on this day, fixing your breakfast and a nice drink to get you started. you put on your work clothes and greeted your pet with a loving pat, opening up the door to greet the rising sun. That first breath of the fresh air sent a pleasant wave through your system, waking you up from what lingering grogginess there was. The chickens just began to crow inside their coop, greeting the morning like you. And so, stepping onto then off the porch, you started your day.

It took you till about mid-day for you to take a break. You liked to get all the important things done first and then move on to the less pressing tasks like running errands and cleaning up around the farm. You started with running errands first to give yourself a small break from the same surroundings, and to have a chance to greet everyone. Almost everyone likes to be out around now.

You headed off to Marnie’s first, saying goodbye for now to your chickens and telling them to behave as you passed them on your way. It didn’t take you long, nothing you could forage catching your eye on the way. Marnie had greeted you with a warm smile when you walked in the door. “Good morning, dear. How are you this afternoon?” She set her book down to give you her full attention. She was sitting in a chair behind the counter. “I’m doing good, how have y’all been?” You returned the smile, walking up to the counter after wiping your shoes on the mat. “I’ve been good and so has Jas, but I cant say the same for Shane.” Your smile fell at that. “Oh dear, Is he okay? Can I do anything to help?” You wanted to do what you could for your friend, already used to running errands for others. Marnie smiled and shook her head with a chuckle. “You’re always caring for others. You’re a good kid, you know that?” You gave her a confused look before hufffing a small laugh and smiling. “Uh, thank you. I take that as hopefully not bad?” She nodded her head, “Yes, he’s just been very exhausted lately. He hasn’t been feeling very well so I fussed at him till he took a break from work for a day.” She threw a warning look towards the hall that led to his room, as if to make sure he really got the message. “I see, well - would you mind if I go see him? I just want to check up on him..” You fiddled nervously with the hem of your clothing. “Of course I don't mind. I’m sure he’d be glad to see you.” She nodded, picking up her book again. “Thank you.” you headed down the hall.

You knocked softly on the door, hoping it was loud enough to be heard without bothering him. There was some grumbling from the other side before a muffled “yeah?” You perked up and leaned towards the door. “Hey, it's me. Can I come in?” There was shuffling and quiet noises you couldn’t pick out before another confirmation. You opened the door carefully and stepped inside. His room was as messy as usual, he understandably struggled with his cleaning habits. You stepped around the things strewn across the floor and made your way over to his bed where you stood over him who looked up at you with misty eyes. “Hey..” You started softly. “Hey…” he replied hoarsely. his voice sounded like it’d break any minute - likely from crying, knowing him.

“I heard you weren’t feeling well so I wanted to visit you. I was worried you had been pushing yourself too hard and gotten sick.” You smiled at him, your brows slightly knit together with worry in a way that made an expression that tugged on his heart strings to make him feel guilty. “That’s not far from the truth, honestly.” He looked away from you and towards the ceiling. “At least,I know that's what you would tell me if I explained myself.”he huffed. “At least you’re becoming self aware.” You chuckle. He rolled his eyes at that. “But I'm glad you were convinced to take a break. Even if you just hold yourself away in a dark room again. Whatever you need to do to feel better.”you reached a hand out, silently asking if you could rest a hand on his arm. He shot you a glance before looking away, not moving to avoid it. So you rest your hand on his arm and gently rub your thumb across the fabric of his jacket. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He thought for a moment, thinking over all that he felt and how he could possibly explain it. He let out a sigh and continued to stare at the ceiling. He started, “I'm so overwhelmed..” He looked off to the side. “I’m feeling so much but am so … so empty. I try so hard to do the bare minimum each day I’m tired of having to do so much and get so little done just to get worse again.” He did his best to explain. You nod along with a Solemn expression, taking his words in carefully. " I've just been feeling awful.." He finally looked towards you, he felt a little calmer when looking at you. "The past few days have just seemed to be going in a downward slope. I thought ... I was getting better but It's like I hit an invisible wall and I’m sliding backwards as soon as I have hope that I'm going to make it somewhere. What did I do wrong?” He sounded so tired and hopeless. As if he had exhausted every method to get out of his situation. When it was apparent he was done you spoke up. “What can I do for you? Like do you want me to just be here and listen or try to help solve the problem? I’m not the best at it but I can try encouragement.” He thought for a moment, a little surprised by your forward news but not really bothered since he had begun to get used to you a little while ago. “I mean … if you feel like it; some encouragement couldn’t hurt..” He shrugged tiredly.”

You took a pause to choose your words carefully, not wanting to give him some spiel he’s likely heard too many times. You wanted to say something genuine and helpful. “Okay, what im going to say is going to be cheezy but give me a chance, okay?” He gave you a hesitant look but nodded. “Just because you're on a downward slide doesn't mean you aren't making progress." he sighed, looking away dramatically. “Yes, yes, I know - how dare i go for a cliche, but like I said - give me a moment to explain.” You pat his shoulder and he looked back at you with a deadpan stare - just so you knew he didn’t approve of this tactic. Unbothered, you continued, "Whether you're up or you're down you're still moving forward. You're not sliding backwards, time just doesn't work that way. You're always learning, always trying, always adding one more day to your victory board. You're not failing, just making progress.you don’t have to do something amazing or supposedly ‘worthwhile’ to say you’re doing good.You don’t have to prove yourself worthy of continuing or being here." You smiled down at him. He had a thoughtful scowl.

Taking that as a sign to continue, you did. "I was told once that depression is like that optical illusion of the triangular stairs. It’s s .. it’s not going to completely go away, you're going to have down days - you're just going to be more prepared for them and able to bounce back better. Like little kids do. One moment you're like 'this is the most horrible thing' and then come back from it just as quickly because you're prepared and have the tools for it. And, hopefully, you'll have the proper stuff you need to fix whatever imbalance you have. Like medication." He didn’t respond during your pause. He felt a bit better that they were being honest with him - being realistic about the future. But one thing bothered him. "I don't want any medicine." He grumbled. "Medicine doesn't make you weak." You snapped at him. Startled, he loo,ed at you bewildered expression. You had never been so quick to genuinely snap at him. "Medicine is a tool not an easy fix. Is a mountain climber weak for having a safety rope? Or a firefighter for having a suit or ax? It's not a quick fix, you're still going to have to put in effort. It just makes the job less of a hassle. And sometimes you can't do anything about your situation because chemicals are messing with you and you need medicine to fight it. Think of it as your sword and shield, you’re still going to have to learn how to wield them - but they make your fight easier to do than if you were bare handed." You took a moment to catch your breath from how much emotion you put into the rant. “Besides… I know you and I know you are not weak. You’re still fighting, aren’t you?”

He looked up at you for a long moment, searching your face for something. Once he got what he was looking for he looked at the ceiling again, unable to hold eye contact without crumbling. But against his wishes his eyes misted over anyways. he felt his throat tighten and his breathing shake. ‘You’re not weak’ echoed in his head. “Thank you.” he muttered. “I know it can't be easy to be my friend. To put up with my low moods.” he voiced his thoughts but you just shook your head with a smile. “It’s not a burden. You’re not a burden to me. I am here because I want to be by your side. Through this and anything else.”

He took in a sharp breath of air and looked at you with a struck, pained look of surprise. Finally, the tears began to stream down his face and he let the dam inside him fall. He put a hand over his mouth to muffle his cries. You carefully sat yourself on the edge of his bed and reached out to him. When he didn’t pull away you held him in a gentle embrace, guiding him ever so carefully to lean against you as you rubbed soothing circles into his shoulder.

“Can you please stay with me?” He choked out through muffled sobs.

“Of course.” you replied

“What about your farm?”

“You’re more important than some chores, but if it makes you rest easy everything is done,”

“thank you..”

“like I said, il’ll be by your side through this.”

[zetalial]

You know, I do appreciate AO3 a whole lot as a fanfiction archive. It's great.

...But there are certain little things I find annoying.

The other day, I think I saw it described as a museum for fanfics as opposed to a fanfiction community. It lacks any sort of forums to discuss fics on the site directly. The only real way to talk about fics is to do it in the comments of a particular work. Any broader discussion has to be done offsite.

People can make rec lists in the form of collections but there's no real way to find them. Usually if I click a fic and its in a collection I can then browse other fics in said collection which is clunky.

I should also note that this doesn't seem to be the intended use of collections anyway. Collections seem to be intended for works that are connected such as for a particular fic challenge month. I guess? Like you create a collection to add works to it and it's possible to set fics in said collection to be unrevealed which might give you the power to make someone else's fic disappear from view? I don't know, I've not experimented with it. xD Fics can be in a collection or they can be bookmarked in a collection. If they are bookmarked in a collection it won't be listed as part of that collection so if you click on a fic it won't tell you it's a part of it but if you have the collection open you can see what fics are bookmarked in it. Does that make sense???

If fics get bookmarked to a collection it's harmless of course, it's basically the same as someone bookmarking it but this does mean its even harder to find people's rec lists on the site. I can't go 'oh this fic I like is in a collection, here's a list with a dozen more fics that might be similar to it to check out' without finding the bookmark collection via other means.

People when they bookmark fics can also rec them but this seems to be only really useful as a way for a person to better organise their bookmarks. Like the only way to see if a bookmark is recced is to go to a user's list of bookmarks. Using collections to bookmark is essentially the same thing, so people can better organise their bookmark list. Just why even have this fic rec feature if no one can see it? When you bookmark a fic you can literally already add tags, comments and bookmark it to a collection.

Now, you can click on someone's profile to explore their bookmarks. This does work. Chances are, you're going to rely on an author you've read, you'll click on their profile and you hope they've bookmarked a few things. Not every author does. I'm sure a lot of readers have great bookmark lists, but I have to find their profile first. The best thing to do is click on a work's bookmarks and find a bookmark that has tags or a comment as chances are the reader has a promising rec list.

Overall, AO3 has a lot of features that theoretically make organising and finding stuff really great but in practice, it can be a real chore. Just the fact that there are FOUR different ways to make a note on a bookmark - rec, comment, tag and a bookmark collection.

Collections themselves are absolute madness. They can be open or closed which means others can add fics to your collection. Could I just add my fics to random collections? Moderated or unmoderated. You can make works in them unrevealed. Collections can have works in them and they can be bookmarked which is a different thing. You can make subcollections. Just aaaahh. Why are they like this.

Yeah there's no real way to talk to other users on the site except inside a fics comments which well each fic is its own isolated world and they're only for directly talking to the author.

[mimikoolover]

The "Feeling free" convo was my favourite part of the trailer. Honestly so far it looks like the show is exactly what I expected. Them bringing cameras, and som staff ofc, on semi spontaneous trips where they could just enjoy fun activities and each other's company before enlistment. A little escape in between their busy schedules. And they look so happy😭 That's the best part. All we could ever ask for is to see them this happy <3 Of course it's not a private trip, because they did choose to share this with us and make it into a show, it's two birds one stone. But anyone calling it just a work trip is so far off. You can tell how much this meant to them personally, and how excited they are about sharing footage with army. I might be going into delulu territory here but... I also kinda think them being so excited to gift this to us is partly because they feel very loved and validated when fans are supportive and excited over seeing them together and appreciating their special bond. I'm sure no matter how they define their relationship is it's nice to see. I don't know how much they see of fans reactions to stuff, especially not now while serving, but in the past too, it honestly seems like they love their jikook loving fans a lot. I hope they see all the love and as little negativity as possible.

also solos and shippers bending over backwards to pit them against each other, claim they're being forced into things, they're not actually close, all that bullshit, would honestly be hilarious if it wasn't so sad. like.... stay pressed stay miserable while they're out here sharing their happy vibes with those who get it like the unbothered kings they are byeee

gonna take your ask as a chance to kinda go into what I didn't end up saying in a long post if you don't mind lol

I agree with everything you said but I wanna take it a step further...it was a 'work' trip in that they knew this was going to be streamed on one of the biggest entertainment streaming platforms owned by one of the biggest companies on earth (disney). but their work is not the same as an office job or a retail job, they are artists and sharing their life, emotions, experiences through their art in multiple mediums is what they do. for example GCF in Tokyo was technically 'work' because jk ended up posting the video on a 'work' platform but clearly they were not doing what anyone considers as work in Japan. I think their trips for are you sure are similar in nature, just with the added factor of them knowing that it will go on disney+.

what I think we don't talk about enough is the context around these trips and 2023. jikook were not seeing each other as much as they're used to, that much is for sure. prior to 2023 they not only worked together but spent loads of time together outside of work which was their choice. then chapter 2 begun and jimin was working on his solo album(s) which meant that jikook were not spending the same amount of time together. take romance out of the equation and even then not seeing your best friend you're using to seeing everyday for 10 years must have been hard, especially as they don't exactly have a 'normal' life so I would argue as friends they are closer than usually friends are. we also have to take into account that while working on their solo material, they were working with many people, many new people as well, and jungkook was basically surrounded by people who were not korean and that must have been tough. like if you go spend a day in another country where you have to interact with people in another language for a whole day that's exhaustingggg af. that's why I'm glad they could do their trips between actual work. it must have been a big relief that they can spend time together again and do fun stuff which they wanted to before enlisting anyway.

I think they appreciate their bond being appreciated by us for sure. I have a (semi) delulu theory that when jimin used to post jungkook photos on twitter all the time it was because it bothered him when people would say that they're not close. when jungkook talked about doing something that we will really look forward to which we now know was their travel show, I think he meant it 100%. he only considers fans to be people who enjoy seeing jikook together and who support the content they make together.

2023 to me was very much about bts doing what they themselves want to do more than what the company wants them to do and I think it has to do with them signing new contracts, getting more say in what goes on within the company etc. in the soop friendcation is a good example. from a business point of view, was that a good move? I would argue not. tae filming with his friends who have nothing to do with bts is arguably not the greatest money-generator idea (I assume the wooga squad got paid too). it was clearly something tae wanted to do himself that the company agreed to. and that's what's funny because he could've done it with jk if he wanted (same as taekook could've enlisted together if they wanted to) and the company would've been all over that idea because of $$$ in their eyes. I always said it makes no sense that the company doesn't capitalise on jikook's chemistry and how they can work together so well and they love to do it as well. I still don't know why they didn't but it's probably to do with the aversion towards subunits within bts that comes from somewhere ??? but in 2023, when they were all doing what they wanted, we got jungkook going on lives being more himself than ever before, asking for jimin, reacting to jimin content, mentioning jimin and chatting with him when jimin was in chat, all of that, and then we got jikook travelling to 3 different places to film basically their holidays together. and yes taekook hung out too but that's not a big shock to anyone honestly. I think the private discussion is funny because it's so naive of people to think that jikook never saw each other in 2023. they most likely did but that was in private😂so obviously we don't know about it😭

when certain fandom actors call are you sure a work trip they do it because they want the underlying assumption that work means not genuine to come across and it's funny cause they want to act like because it was being filmed it wasn't something jikook did because they wanted to, when it was. they were having fun ffs not sitting in the same office writing emails all day long. they genuinely wanted to spend time together and they did.

the problem for these people is that the travel show is not a taekook show, let's be really bloody honest here. any shippers, not just taekook, would DIE to have a show like this from their ship, just like how they'd die to have their ship enlist together. jikook do stuff I've not seen any other 'ship' do and that's why people are so mad. as usual they want for their ship what jikook have together.

I'm not saying are you sure is going to be making some kinda statement because I doubt that but just the fact that they wanted to do this together says a lot. btw I'm half expecting for them to start on the 'they wouldn't have done this travel show and let their holidays be filmed if they were dating' agenda just like how they're now saying that couples don't enlist together even though they were wishing for years that taekook will enlist together lol

[alpaca-clouds]

Media in a Solarpunk world

Yeah, there is a reason I spoke about Indie games yesterday. Because I want to speak about this one thing that I have never ever seen discussed within the solarpunk sphere.

If we established a Solarpunk world, how would it change our media landscape?

Confused? Well, let me break it down.

Solarpunk is only possible without capitalism. It is simply as it is. We will not established the "sustainable living" under capitalism. We can now discuss on whether to go socialism or communism, but... yeah. No more capitalism.

But here is where the media comes in: Most media we consume right now is released through big coorporate media outlets. This is especially true for stuff like games and movies. AAA games and blockbuster movies with their budgets of hundreds of millions and teams of thousands working behind them getting distributed through other big companies at times making billions of dollars... Even most books or comics or audiobooks or even podcasts get published and distributed through companies being valued in the hundreds of millions at least. Because the attention economy is set up in the way that you have no chance if you do not have your books on amazon and your podcasts not on spotify or itunes.

And without capitalism all of that will fall away.

This will be of course most noticable with movies and games. Again, the most popular of those will have hundreds of millions in budget and are dependent on the crunch work of thousands of people on every way of the step. And of course there is this big studio system right now deciding on what gets created.

But without capitalism... You will probably not motivate thousands of people to crunch the hell out of something. Hundreds of people? Sure. Thousands? No. Not even without the crunch. Because the current system of creating this media is not sustainable. Not from a human perspective - and not from an environmental perspective.

What I am saying is... There will probably no longer be high fidelity blockbusters or the kind of huge TV productions we have seen since Game of Thrones.

And I am here to tell you... that is actually a good thing.

See, in the gaming sphere we actually see it already. There are Indie Games that are at times created on a shoestring budget of a couple of thousand dollars. And because we have some great platforms to distribute them easily with steam and itch.io, people will actually see those games and play them. Might actually end up prefering them to the big ass million dollar games.

Now, the system is not perfect, given that yes, with the exception of itch.io the shops behind it all still run under capitalism. But if you compare it to stuff like movies... It is actually already fairly democratized.

Which is also something that I would then love to see for movies. An easy way to just access indie movies. Be it the "exactly one million dollar indie movies", which are still the majority given that making movies is expensive, or actually those project done by students in their freetime.

Big cities might actually already have their "indie movie festivals" right now. But it is something I want to see more off. With a higher appreciation for movies that do not get a theatrical release, because physical big screens are limited, even if we start democratizing them. (I will talk tomorrow about what it means to democratize media.)

The internet in the end will be a big part of a solarpunk world, because it actually allows us to not only participate in society, but also will give us access to both knowledge and media.

And yes, in a smaller degree this will also impact the other forms of media. Already it is pretty possible to self-publish books or comics, but usually you will often barely get back the investment, let alone being paid for the work that went into the creation of the book from your own end.

Because chances are, that you just will not reach too many people with it. Because the big publishers will usually easily outmarket you, because they have a marketing budget that you will simply lack.

But without those central publishers existing - and work in general being differently compensated than under the capitalist system... It should be easier. Fairer. Allowing for more different ideas, for more different voices to be heard through media.

Yeah, there probably will no longer be much in terms of high fidelity special effects, because there will no longer be hundreds or thousands of SFX guys slaving away for this one big movie. But... That is okay.

Like, I will rather have a movie with a great story, than amazing big explosions, don't you agree?

[isleofair]

Hullo! As a writer, any advice or tips on writing chase scenes? 🥰 Or any fast moving scenes?

Ooohhh! 😮😮😮

First of all... I'm incredibly honored you'd ask my opinion! Thank you! 🥺🙏💚 I don't consider myself an expert by any means, but I have written a couple of chase/action scenes, and I particularly enjoyed doing that, so I'll give this a try. (Even though at the time I wasn't really giving this a ton of conscious thought, I'll admit... And I haven't, like, studied writing, or written a huge lot, so all of this could be terribly basic and obvious, in which case, I apologize in advance. 😥)

The first and most obvious things that comes to my mind (at least from a theoretical standpoint) is trying to keep up the pace/tension by using sentence and paragraph structure. I saw advice once that said one should use a new paragraph whenever you'd get a different shot in a movie, so, even if it's not a perfect 1-to-1: fast-paced scenes = usually lots of quick cuts = probably not too many long paragraphs, or sentences. Of course, this is very general; if the "beat" of the scene you want to evoke is particularly "staccato", e.g., if it's a chase on foot, maybe it would be cool to make the sentences sound a little more like pounding feet; whereas if it's a car vs a motorbike, the "rhythm-feel" of the scene might be more akin to longer, contrasting, dueling roars. (I don't think I've ever really been able to do something like this, but it would be cool!). Of course, if you have something like one or a few longer (tracking?) shots in the middle of the, uh, mental movie sequence, I suppose, those could be a longer sentence/paragraph, and having differences would help make the scene even more dynamic. Like a rubber band being plucked many times really fast, and then getting pulled for longer, to release with a bigger bang? Something like that. A long sentence or paragraph could also be the long sigh of relief after all the fast-paced tension, once the action is over.

If it is specifically a chase, I would probably try to make sure we get enough updates on how the chase is going, like mentions of the chaser gaining ground, or stuff like that. Of course, the tension can also come from this not happening, when one of the parties has lost sight of the other, but if we're supposed to be able to keep track in that moment, it's probably best not to let the narration linger on just one of the two for too long, again, just to help in not losing the feeling of urgency.

I personally also like to try and look for very dynamic-sounding or more dramatic words in these cases? Like, if, say, Keith is flying fast in a tense situation, he's not 'flying', he's 'shooting' towards something (obvious, but worth mentioning). In the same vein, it might be best to lose any unnecessary additions/descriptors that might make the narration drag out and lose steam; but I am also convinced that details help focus a scene and make it feel more immediate/real, so... finding a balance between these two things might mean, for example, using synecdoche/letting the detail speak for itself (e.g. if, say, Keith is flying after Lunatic and Lunatic shoots flames at him, just describing the flames coming at Keith, instead of describing Lunatic doing it, might be more effective).

Finally, if you write to music, put on something tense and fast-paced (once again, obvious, but I think worth mentioning!)

I can't think of anything else at the moment... and it's probably for the best, I've rambled on a lot already! 😅 Thank you so much again for asking, I really appreciate that you'd want to hear my thoughts about it, and I'm always grateful for a chance to talk about writing! 🥰🥰🥰

[doctorweebmd]

I never knew what to say about zsg because, well, there are a lot of aspects about it that don't align with my usual taste, despite its objective high quality. I mean, I'm a sfw fan 😂 That said, I'm always in awe that with your busy job, you continue to feed us so well. I'm busy too and only going yo get busier, so it's an inspiration, as longfics are what I prefer to write as well (though it doesn't come nearly as naturally, lol). And, you're right, zsg deserves to hear the love and admiration I have for it, so here goes.

To start with, the fic definitely has residence in my head, despite reading it nearly a year ago. There are scenes I still think about. I was talking about then with a friend just a week ago. Since I don't have time to read fic these days (cries), the most I can do is go back to old fics and reread my favorite scenes, and I do that with zsg, because there are such high quality, top tier moments. The "you're looking at me" "I never stopped" ??? That might be the pinnacle bkdk. I can't believe I've never seen that before in a bkdk fic? Or if it was there, it didn't hit as hard.

I know you're not so into the falling action part of a fic, but I loved the last bits with bkdk. When Baku realizes Deku's staying? Those moments they have of figuring things out are so good. And the provisional exam being inspired by Kamino was great. Really clever and a nice homage. And, of course, very nice that Deku could be a hero again.

Also, the Shinsou content is perf. I always love a side character having a big part in a ship fic and that shinbaku relationship is exactly why. (Similarly, I loved All Might and Aizawa helping Baku out.) That flashback scene where Deku calls Baku Kacchan? So good. And so smart as a flashback, because it would have been too much in the actual timeline, but where you fit it in the plot was really really clever. I also generally love a flashback--unpopular opinion, but I do.

Those were some of my biggest highlights! I hope my little disclaimer at the top isn't totally assholish 💀 I think you're just great and really admire your openness and the things you try to tackle in fics and your incredible output. I hope you're doing well <3

ahhh Anjum thank you so much for sending this!!! AHHH i'm sorry i complain on here so often i was so embarrassed i deleted the post lmao

gosh yeah especially when you read sfw stuff in general! i have this habit of writing REALLY detailed and explicit sex scenes 😳 what made you read it, in that case? (obviously you dont have to answer!)

god. every time i think about their devotion to one another i want to combust into flames. think for much LESS we had to work with when we were writing a few years ago?! the way horikoshi has developed katsuki into this passionate, level-headed, absolutely hopelessly committed to Izuku - literally never saw it coming. these two deserve peace in the end. they deserve to live a life on their own terms. they just DESERVE TO BE HAPPYYYY

urgh its Izuku's DREAM and of course horikoshi is setting him up to lose one for all, i think thats been his intention from the beginning, but his life is only starting!!! he's only 15!!! you're telling me he's going to risk his life and lose the only thing he's ever wanted?! i wonder if horikoshi used all might in his big-old mecha suit as a hint that deku would still be a hero, just using assist devices. at least i hope. this kid deserves a chance. (i dont know if you're caught up on the manga?? i'm kind of ranting lol)

adjfakldjflk;asjdlfjasdfj ANYWAY WHEN I TELL YOU THIS MADE MY DAYYYYYY adsjfaldjfkl argh you just made me so happy especially because its been a long time and i forget parts about it but TO HEAR THAT EVEN THE PARTS THAT FELT LIKE A STRUGGLE WERE STILL ENJOYABLE?! urgh i appreciate you so much thank you for taking time out of your day to reassure a complainy weirdo like me

[dreamedofyou]

OF Favourites Rankings (Halfway Point)

Got tagged by @thatgirl4815 and thought it'd be fun to do but as usual I'm a bit late, as this was supposed to be done before ep 7 aired. 😅 Ah well, I'm still going to rank the characters only up to the halfway point of the series (aka the end of ep 6) so bear in mind that this was my list before ep 7 (and it did slightly change since).

Ok, let's get into the rankings, from last to first place:

7. Boston

Said this before and I'll say it again: I enjoy having Boston on my screen because he always makes things interesting and entertaining. He's just a character I absolutely love to hate. As a person, though, he is just so rancid that he takes my last spot in the ranking and I base most of that on the way he treats his friends tbh. If this is the shit he does to people he's supposed to be close with and care about, then I dread to think how he treats those that mean absolutely nothing to him. The thing is I'm usually a huge fan of characters who do bad/toxic stuff (as you will see later on in my ranking) but they need to have reasons other than their ego for it and at the halfway point I don't see that in Boston. This might change by the end of the show, of course.

6. Cheum

I have two main reasons why she's so low on this list, the first of which being that she simply doesn't have enough screentime/storylines for me to form a strong attachment to her character, and the other being that she sometimes annoys me with her remarks. I enjoyed the conflict we got between her and April but it was so brief, I wish the female characters got the same treatment as the male ones instead of feeling like an afterthought. This is actually my one major criticism of the show but unfortunately it's a problem most BL shows suffer from.

5. Nick

I sympathise with Nick but at the same time I'm also like "you kind of brought this on yourself, my guy." The way he's either blinded by Boston's sweet-talk or just doesn't mind Boston's assholery frustrates me so much sometimes, which is why he's only nr. 5 for me. That and the fact that we don't know that much about him (yet) either. I need more to fully connect.

4. Top

I feel like this is an unpopular opinion but I think Top gets too much shit from the fandom. Yes, the reason he started pursuing Mew was shitty, but along the way he did genuinely develop feelings for Mew and imo him wanting to change and settle down is sincere. I'm a big believer in second chances if people are genuinely willing to change and better themselves, which I do think Top wants. Obviously, him sleeping with Boston (and lying to Mew) was shitty and it's one of the reasons why the nr. 4 spot is probably as high as he can go for me but I'm way more lenient there than most people because he was heavily manipulated into it by Boston and then regretted it and felt guilty about it. This isn't an excuse on my part, btw, I'm not absolving him of blame, but context makes a difference for me personally. I also think his character has the potential to grow a lot and I'm a hoe for character development (as you'll also see later).

3. Mew

Same as with Top, I feel like my opinion on Mew is somewhat unpopular, especially when it comes to his relationship with Ray. Basically, I don't think he's a bad friend at all and I believe he genuinely wants to help Ray but sometimes goes about it the wrong way (possibly due to previous experience). I think his heart is in the right place when it comes to most things and he's just like... a pretty normal dude, which I appreciate. That doesn't mean he has no flaws and can't be petty or nasty if he wants to be, however. I guess my one problem with him is I sometimes struggle to see why he fell so hard for Top specifically (what was so special about Top) because we weren't really given much of a reason. Unless it's just one of those situations where you fall for someone's looks/vibes and like that they're nice/sweet to you, and it isn't much deeper than that (because that happens to people, but Mew doesn't seem like the type to fall for those reasons). Basically, I like Mew much more when he isn't with/around Top.

2. Sand

I don't even have much to say here because I literally love everything about Sand, flaws and all. The only thing that slightly irritates me sometimes is the fact that he (unintentionally) self-sabotages by not wanting to talk about his feelings, probably because he wants to appear as if he's fine all the time even when he's clearly not. Sand is also the character I relate to most. Honestly, if it wasn't for my tendency to obsess over "broken" characters who do destructive things but are otherwise not bad people (and have a huge character development potential) then Sand would be my nr. 1. But, alas...

1. Ray

Ah, yes, we've arrived to the aforementioned "broken" character. This man has more issues than all the other characters combined and it's exactly what makes him my favourite character, oops. Unlike Boston's shitty behaviour, which is driven by ego, Ray's is driven by loneliness, abandonment issues, a lack of love, the list goes on. I genuinely think he's not a bad person, but he's self-destructive (which ends up endangering others as well) and obsessive/unable to let go (particularly when it comes to Mew), which is a recipe for disaster. He wants to be loved so badly but he wants it from the wrong person (Mew) in the wrong manner (romantic). As I said before, I'm a hoe for character development and Ray's potential on that front is off the charts. I want to see him deal with his numerous issues and grow from it as a person. What can I say, I'm just a sucker for those types of characters.

I want to conclude this by saying that there are two wolves inside me: one is a Sand Protector and the other is a Ray Apologist. They are at constant war with each other. Whichever one wins a battle at any given moment determines which of the two characters is currently my nr. 1 and which my nr. 2. That is all. 🙃

Since I'm late with this, I won't be tagging anyone but if you see this post and want to do your own ranking, feel free to consider yourself tagged.

I wonder if my list will change after the series finale.

[lizard-shifter-noms]

Broken Bloodlines Epilogue

——————————————————————————

and were to the end! an epilogue to this chaos!

wellp, time to work on arc 3 now! (that means Hiatus for a while)

have fun reading!

and as always reblogs are appreciated! (Also ASK’s are open so feel free to bother me!)

AO3 Link for those that prefer the layout there; https://archiveofourown.org/works/44627188

——————————————————————————————————

During the following three days I would have nightmares every time I went to sleep, so I ditched napping at the lookout rock like I usually did in favor of helping people during the day.

In the night though…

It wasn't pretty, while I didn't toss or turn like most people would have simply because not moving while sleeping had been so ingrained in my time as a street Bastard.

Being plagued with reruns of people dying in front of me wasn't nice, even if I hadn't known anyone who died, well Oakley kinda died?

That was another constant piece in those nightly horrors,  Oakley burning to nothing but ash, again and again and again.

After the first one I woke up to see Fable had moved to sleep beside me instead of the loft.

Seeing that calmed me at least somewhat from the rising panic and let me calm down a little.

Knowing Fable was there helped remind me that the battle was over and there was no danger anymore,  and that my friends were okay now, well, most of them at least.

Barsen’s Funeral had been crowded, very much so,  It almost looked like the entire castle was there.

Maybe it had been the entire castle, I didn't know many people still.

That was also another part of my nightmares, finding the corpse of Barsen.

Sometimes the nightmares drifted from what had actually happened to a kaleidoscope of horrifying injuries, corpses and a blood stained  riverbank that fell into itself.

After The third day of that repeating horror I went to Oakley,  just wanting something that would at least not make my entire nervous system feel like it was about to explode.

That and I wanted to ask for a compass, I'd trade it somehow.

Though of course I didn't tell Fable about the compass, as far as he knew I was just going to get a sleeping aid that wasn't alcohol.

“So you want something to stop the nightmares? 

AND a gift for your brother who is going to leave in like two days?”

I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck, yeah that might be asking a little much of him, but if he didn't want to help that was fine!

It was his stuff after all, and he had already helped a great deal with everything so he had no obligation to do more.

He whipped me gently on the head with some old scroll.

“Say that earlier next time! If he's leaving in two days you shoulda asked that sooner you dumbass! Now let's first see what I can give you for sleeping and then we can talk about the compass thing!”

I looked at him surprised, he really was an enigma, but at least he was still willing to help.

Even if I didn't quite always understand the things he criticized about what I did, and when I did them.

Though i could understand the time issue thing, i should have asked sooner but i didn't really get a chance to do so as Fable was around me a lot, and when he wasn't it was someone else.

In the end he gave me something that consisted of a thing called valerian root extract and was supposed to calm down.

After instructing me on how much to take and when we moved on to the compass gift idea.

“So what exactly do you want to do? Just give him a plain old compass?”

I shook my head at the winged man.

“I thought about painting it, like green with pastel blue flowers”

Oakley tilted his head in that Birdlike manner of his and then marched to one of the walls where three chests were set up next to each other.

“I'll look what i can find, as for you, you can go and get me an eighth of a kilo of copper, i'll need that later”

Copper? What? And what did he need that for?”

“Copper? Where am I supposed to get that?”

He just shrugged while halfway into one of the chests.

“Ask Rikaad, i bet the royal treasure chamber has at least some of it,  or go dig a mine and be really lucky”

I rolled my eyes at him even if he didn't see it.

“Alright ill as Rikaad, if he says no i'll ask for a shovel instead”

Finding Rikaad was easy, he was still busy with paperwork,  paperwork that at least had been somewhat sorted now.

After explaining what I needed it for he readily gave me what I needed, saying something along the lines of it being the least he could give me after I helped him so much.

I confusedly hid it in one of my pockets, at least I knew for a fact Rikaad would keep his mouth shut about the surprise.

Going back to Oakley I handed him the copper which was a little more than he needed but whatever.

Then he told me to look at the table and pick a design.

While I was gone he had apparently whipped up ten different designs for how to paint the compass.

From all the flowers depicted I only recognized two, a Blue Flax flower and Forget me not.

I ended up choosing the forget me not design, i liked the shape of them a little more.

Also, Forget me not as in forget me not after you leave.

Then he kicked me out and told me to come back after dinner time.

What the fuck.

Things really never made sense if Oakley was involved,  Then again he was some sort of Semi immortal magic wielder who just didn't use his powers very much.

Why the hell was I even questioning what he did anymore? 

Either it made sense or it didn't but that wasn't my problem.

The rest of the day was pleasantly boring. 

We helped rebuild a barnhouse that had gotten hit by a trebuchet and I had to heave a new support beam two stories up while in Ardua form.

I still didn't dare go around as a Giant simply because I knew that would scare a lot of people.

Fable was also there and helped,  by making more of those light bubbles so we could work on the roof even as the sunlight didn't quite reach that side of the barn.

That of course derailed the entire thing for a good hour simply because people wanted to see an Elf perform magic.

I was secretly very glad a lot of guards had come with us,  including Nea who proceeded to whack anyone who even looked mean at me or Fable with a willow stick.

Those hurt a lot, I knew from experience.

She also informed everyone she could that the Fae ban wasn't really in place anymore and the rest was just paperwork waiting for approval.

I did appreciate her even if she was needlessly violent a good part of the time.

After the sun was about to begin to set we headed back home and ate some sort of potato mash thing with stew.

Walking back to the shed I told Fable to go ahead and that I wanted to ask Oakley again on how much of that valerian stuff to take just to be sure and not overdose or something.

That was only partially true,  I would ask him again while I was there just to be safe of course.

But the actual reason for going there was something else entirely.

I really hoped Oakley was good at painting metal,  he was on paper sure, but metal was a little different than that.

Knocking carefully on the door so as not to startle him I patiently waited till he opened it and beckoned me inside.

Looking around I saw that he had shoved almost everything off the table in the middle of the room, literally, there was stuff in a heap on the floor.

The only thing still on it was a piece of fabric that clearly had something underneath it.

I could guess what that was, also Oakley really liked theatrics huh.

Eh, if he wanted to he could, it wasn't bothering anyone.

He walked over and around the table to stand behind it.

Then with a dramatic swing of his wing arm ripped the cloth from it.

“Tadaa!”

I stared at what Oakley had done with the compass, when he said he needed the copper I hadn't expected him to actually SCULPT with it!

Yes, Sculpt, on the compass he added leaves and flowers like I had asked for, but not only painted like I had thought.

The three dimensional ornaments looked beautiful and whatever paint Oakley got completely masked any trace of metal.

“You good? Or did your brain stop working?”

I blinked and looked back at oakley.

“Uh, i really thought you'd just paint it and not,  I don't even know how to describe it but I love it!”

It really was beautiful, and each of the forget me not was painted with an ethereal sort of shading.

“Yeah i can tell, your pupils are big”

“What?”

I looked at Oakley confused at the weird statement.

“Oh didn't you know? When people look at something they like,  their pupils get bigger! Quite an endearing thing really!”

I hadn't known that, well i doubted that was common knowledge or else people would fight about that as well.

“Uh well then i don't even have to say anything huh?

But really, thank you so much!”

I meant it, he had no reason to help me,  but he always did anyway even if i had no idea why.

He nabbed it from the Table and shoved it into my hands.

“Yeah yeah, you owe me a favor! 

Now scram i need to pile my stuff back on the table!”

I laughed a little at his clearly theatrical grumpiness.

It was very clear he didn't intend anything mean about that.

“I will, i will don't worry, but uh just to be sure,  and so I have something I can tell Fable, 

how much of the Valerian thing am I supposed to be taking?”

He flapped his three fingers against his forehead for a moment before telling me and then shoving me out of the door.

Oakley really was an enigma sometimes, but a likable one.

So now it was time to walk back to the castle in the dark.

I hated that part, I was fine with darkness but I wasn't exactly fond of being alone outside while there could be who knew what.

Luckily after only a few paces I heard a familiar meow and the cat appeared.

She walked all the way back with me and then kept walking in the direction of the kitchen.

I briefly wondered if she just didn't want to walk alone as well.

Making sure to hide the compass properly on myself before stepping inside, I quietly opened the door.

Slinking in, I closed it as silently as I could and walked over to the corner with my stuff.

Fable seemed to be already asleep so I went quietly to avoid waking him up.

Taking off my shoes I also hid the compass under some freshly washed spare shirts, to avoid it getting scratched I put it on the second last one and then put the other, identical, shirts back over it.

There, now there wouldn't even be a suspicious sound should I drag the cloth a bit too much while taking a new one.

Yeah that would work, and tomorrow I'd get a nice wrapping for it and the day after that I'd give it to Fable.

Two days, well technically only one and maybe a half,  and then he would leave.

I wasn't exactly happy about that,  In the past week I had grown to really like him, sure he was my brother but that didn't set in stone that we would get along.

But we did get along great actually,  especially now that he had control over his own brain again.

But I guess he was right, if he felt like he couldn't figure out what type of person he was here in Kamerasca then staying didn't make much sense.

I'd just wish he'd at least stayed for a month instead of a week.

Taking the Valerian stuff Oakley gave me and checking twice that i got the right measurement in the cup i drank it like i had seen people do shots at the bars in the city.

Surprisingly it didn't taste as awful as I had thought,  but it still wasn't on my list of liked things.

Shifting back to Ardua form I yanked some of the blankets that were strewn about closer to me and settled down to sleep.

The stuff Oakley gave me actually worked, there still were some nightmares but not as many and definitely not as severe as before.

What a relief.

The next morning I felt at least a little bit well rested so while it wasn't a hundred percent effective it did help a lot already.

The day was then over way too fast for my liking,  but I did spend the remaining time with Fable and Robin.

Arthur and Rikaad were busy with paperwork again.

During the day I also managed to get a pretty little bag in a lovely red hue.

This would be perfect for the compass!

And it was, it fit perfectly inside of it and I tied it with a neat little bow while Fable got comfy on the loft for one last time.

And way too soon the day of departure had come.

I took the hidden gift out of its stash and put it in my pocket to give it to him later.

Fable himself was currently in the Kitchen getting provisions and I didn't doubt that the kitchen staff would shove at least some sweets into his hands.

Well, this was it, Fable was going to leave.

He promised not to go without saying bye to everyone so he would wait on the other side of the protective wall of the castle.

At this point he had to be there now so I'd better hurry along.

It would feel weird to have the shed to myself again, 

though I didn't doubt that Robin would stay overnight a lot of the time.

The walk over to the gate felt weirdly long,  even though it wasn't actually that far from my place.

The oversized entrance itself was wide open, allowing for easier back and forth as I saw some other people talk to Fable.

Including Nea and Norrin as well as Arthur who hadn't really liked him at the start.

Nice to see that changed enough for Arthur to come say something as well.

Walking through the gate I was joined by Robin who sprinted after me and only narrowly avoided collision.

We then turned to Fable, who was standing in the sunlight and got a ‘friendly’ shoulder punch from Nea.

Nea then left, walking past us and waving at him while dragging a not so happy looking Norrin with her.

So that left only me Robin and Arthur to speak with Fable.

My mind blanked, what could I say?

Luckily I was given a little bit of time to think of something as first Arthur said his grumpy goodbyes and then Robin his more positive ones.

They both left then to give us some space.

“I- uh, i got something for you before leave”

I pulled the little red bag out of my pocket and held it out for him.

He carefully took it and started untying the string with only barely hidden curiosity.

“I know it's not a lot but i thought it would be nice to give you something to remember me by, even if that sounds a bit cliche”

Man i sounded absolutely stupid, this was the last time i would be able to talk to him! And I was butchering it!

Just like the day he appeared at the castle, heh.

By now he had managed to open the clumsily tied bag and pulled out the compass.

He held it like a coin in his fingers and turned it so the sun shone on every facet.

For a split second I saw his pupils get bigger, and if Oakley was right, which he surely was, Fable liked what he saw.

He turned to me.

“This is beautiful, how did you get your hands on this?

The only other compass I have is old and cracked, which is why I navigate by stars most of the time.

But I can't exactly do that at day or when the weather is bad,  so this is perfect.

Thank you”

He moved a step forward and hugged me, I immediately hugged back, almost not wanting to let go as that meant he would leave.

But there was no way I could hold on forever so eventually I let go.

I was sure Fable was about to turn away and walk off when he got distracted by a mewling sound.

The cat! What the hell?

Fable turned the other way again and bent down to pet her.

“Hello Gloxinia, here to wish me goodbye too?”

What.

Don't tell me he actually managed to find a name the cat liked.

“You named her??? Wait, how did you find a name she liked,  and what does Gloxinia even mean?”

Fable stood up again, this time holding the cat, and looked at me.

“One time I was reading a botany book and the cat decided to sit on top of the pages, a page depicting a flower whose name is also Gloxinia.

So i just tried to call her that and it worked”

I was done trying to understand anything pertaining to cat,  and Oakley, forever now.

Why even try when the answer just made it more confusing.

Fable put the cat- Gloxinia on the ground again and turned to face me.

“Well, i cant say ive ever been good at saying goodbyes,  so i guess, this is it?”

At least I wasn't the only awkward one here.

“I guess so? I'm not good at this either but I do wish you luck and safe travels! And if you get the chance, try to write me a letter?”

He nodded.

“Of course, i'll even try to send some souvenirs,  though i cant promise they wont get stolen during the delivery”

That sounded nice, just not the stealing part.

I was about to say something more when I heard someone shout from up above.

Looking up I saw Oakley, well who else did I know that could fly?

He landed a few feet away from us to avoid blasting us with the dust his wings disturbed.

“Wait just one second! I got something for the both of you! 

And I assure you you'll find it highly practical!”

What was he talking about? Well he'd say that in a minute but it probably had to do with whatever was in the big satchel at his side.

He walked the few feet left towards us and pulled out two nearly identical books.

The only difference between the two was that one was decorated with blood red poppies and the other one with sunshine yellow Dandelions.

I could guess that one was for me and one for Fable.

I was proven right when Oakley shoved the one decorated with poppies into my hands and the other one into Fables.

I curiously opened the book only to find that all of the pages were empty.

I looked confused to Oakley who by now had fished a feather and some ink out of the satchel.

“Thanks? I think, what are these for?”

Oakley just tilted his head to the side like an owl.

“Well if you open the first empty page of both of your Logos books i can show you!”

Logos book? Was this something magical? 

I still did as he said though, and so did Fable.

He dipped the sharp end of the feather into the ink and then wrote in simple letters hello in the middle of my book.

I was confused for a second before I noticed that the words had appeared on Fables pages as well.

Ohhh so definitely magic!

Wait if what was written in my book showed up in his then he didn't even have to send a letter! He could just write to me using these books!

“Oakley, this is genius! Thank you so much!”

Fable also agreed with me though he did have one question about it.

“What happens when the books are full? 

And we don't have any empty pages left?”

That was a very good question actually, would he have to come back from who knew where to get a new one?

Oakley gently took Fable's book again,  and then poured some of the ink all over the page.

Of course it appeared in my book too and both of us exclaimed in confusion.

Oakley just waved that off.

“Relax, i'm just gonna show you what to do when you ant to get rid of the old writings”

Oh, that made a lot more sense.

He closed the book and held it over the inkpot again who he had wrapped into his tail to free his hands.

Then he ran his hand along the spine of the book and tapped the cover twice.

All of the previously spilled ink dripped out into the inkpot and when he opened the pages they were empty once again.

Oakley really was a master at magic, or at the very least really creative with it.

“Ohhh, that's actually awesome! And you get the ink back as well!”

Though various kinds of Ink might mix weirdly.

The winged man nodded.

“Yes! Just don't hold it over yourself while doing that or you're gonna stain your stuff!”

Well that one was rather obvious.

“Thank you so much Oakley! 

I think that's the most useful thing I've ever been given!”

It was, also i never received that many gifts anyway so that wasn't hard to do.

Fable nodded as well.

“That will make communicating a lot easier, thank you”

Oakley made a weird salute and then flapped up into the sky once again.

“Well, see ya sometime I hope! And good journey you pale Elfling!”

With those words he was gone, he really was extra sometimes.

So now we were alone again.

What now? 

He turned to me.

“Is anyone else planning on randomly appearing?”

“Not that i know, but Oakley is Oakley so he was probably the only one”

At least I hoped so,  this had completely derailed what we were actually doing.

To be fair whatever that was it was awkward as hell.

Since I really doubted anyone else was going to appear that meant Fable was going to leave now.

Like right now right now.

“Well, i wish you the best on your journey,  and that you find whatever you are looking for”

There wasn't much to say anymore, and even if we forgot something we now had the books so it wasn't a problem.

He smiled, for real this time.

Slightly crooked with his teeth partially showing.

He hugged me again and for a moment we both just froze.

He squeezed me for a moment, which put my ear next to his mouth, And then he whispered in my ear.

“My actual name is Andariel”

Just that and nothing more, but my eyes went wide at the sign of trust he had just given me.

For a true member of the Feyfolk do not give their names out lightly, if at all.

But he trusted me enough to tell me his real name, one I knew I'd never speak out loud or write down.

For a single moment i squeezed back, vowing silently to never ever tell anyone what He had just told me.

“Thank you for trusting me, i will keep my lips sealed about it forever”

Was all i could say as my mind blanked otherwise from this immense show of absolute trust.

He stopped squeezing me so hard, but still didn't let go yet.

“I'm going to miss you little brother”

“So do i, but at least we now have those Logos books as Oakley called them”

“That man is definitely not sane”

I couldn't agree more with that, but Oakley was still an alright, 

if sometimes over the top guy.

I just nodded into his shoulder and he let go for one last time.

“I promise when i found what i'm looking for i'll come back here to visit”

That sounded nice, and until then we had the books.

I continued to stand there till long after Fable had disappeared behind the treeline and it started to get dark.

I stood there long enough for Robin to have to come and drag me back to the shed.

When I told him Fable had successfully named the cat he pouted.

But he did like the name she had been given.

It was weird to be alone in the shed, thus far almost always someone had been here, mostly Robin or Fable.

But now it was silent, and that didn't help with the nightmares.

Despite the stuff from Oakley they came back to haunt me worse than the previous nights.

A knock on the door woke me up.

“Uhh‽ whasgoin on?”

There was another knock on the door, a much more timid one this time.

Since I was in the Ardua form I couldn't really open the door, and I didn't feel like shifting.

“S’not locked”

I yawned and the door slowly opened to reveal a familiar redhead.

“...umm i just…i dunno make sure you're okay? Now that Fable is gone”

It didn't sound like that's what he originally came here for but it was appreciated nonetheless.

“mhm , im fine, space just feels empty now”

It did, and it was strangely quiet, not sure if I liked that any.

Robin just stood there awkwardly and fiddled with his nails.

“Don't keep standing in the doorway,  c'mere and tell me why you're actually up this late”

He looked to the ground for a second and then closed the door behind him before making his way over to me.

He flopped against my side face first and stayed like that for a few seconds before he answered.

“I had a nightmare”

It was quiet and muffled against my fur but still plenty understandable.

Ah, so that's why.

Well, misery loves company or however that saying goes.

“You're not the only one, you actually woke me up from one”

He looked at me.

“I did? Umm well, can I stay here? Just- just till tomorrow?”

“Sure! I don't mind, it's a bit too quiet now anyway”

He clambered over to my head and settled in the bend of my arm,  like he'd done many times before.

I wouldn't ask what the nightmare was about, but I could guess.

Since he had been at the castle during the battle the only really horrible thing he had seen was Barsens corpse.

It didn't take a genius to figure out it had been that.

“Thank you”

He curled up where he was and I settled down as well.

It wasn't that much later when I heard quiet sniffling.

Looking at the redhead I could see he had curled up as small as he possibly could and was almost silently crying.

“...I miss him, why'd he have to go like that? 

He didn't even say what he was gonna do.

And who's gonna take care of the plants now?”

He mumbled into the fur of my arm.

So I had been right then, it was about Barsen.

“I miss him too, i think everyone does, as for the plants, i don't know”

At some point a new gardener would be hired,  had to be as everything would go unkempt and wild otherwise.

Robin shuffled closer to where my shoulder connected with my neck and tried to burrow himself in there.

“...i don't wanna sleep, what if i get more nightmares?”

I could understand that, before I asked Oakley for help I had trouble not just staying awake as well.

“I don't think you'll have nightmares every time you'll sleep,  but we could go ask Oakley for help tomorrow?

He did help me with that so i'm sure he'll find something”

I tried to reassure him.

He just tried to burrow even deeper into my mane as if it was a forcefield that would keep bad dreams away.

“It's too quiet, in my room i mean, i'm used to have other people around me when i sleep and now everytime i wake up and it's silent i have a moment of horror where i think everyone else in the room is dead”

Oh, so it wasn't only the nightmares.

Right, he'd lived in the dorms of the Guard academy which he shared with Rikaad and Arthur.

It was actually very unlikely he'd ever been alone for so long so I could imagine having the quiet be weird to him.

“Well, now that's Fable not here anymore you could just have the loft? 

I don't really use it aside from looking out the window when it rains”

That and then maybe my own nightmares would also get better, even if just to have the reassurance that my friends are alive and well.

“...You sure? It's your place”

I nodded.

“Yeah, now that Fable’s gone it's gonna be lonely so i wont mind don't worry”

He hmm-ed and detangled himself only a little from my mane.

“Okay, … hey  can you uhh, i don't wanna be- im cold and i don't want to wake up to silence again, so could you-?”

The sentence was horribly jumbled and it took my tired brain a good bit to catch on,  well while I tried to decipher what he said he did move one of his hands to softly poke the corner of my mouth,  the only thing he could reach from where he was.

Ah, so like after the celebration party or during the thunderstorm then.

“Like during the storm? But only if you're sure”

He nodded, having moved to now be more next to my head.

“Mhm, i can hear your heart like that so i know i wont wake up thinking people died again”

That did make some sense in an admittedly weird way.

If he was tucked away like that there would be no way for him to wake up alone.

“Alright, shoes off though who knows what you stepped in”

He obliged and tossed them towards the door where they landed in the middle of the floor two meters apart from each other.

Yeah, sure, that worked, but I wasn't gonna put them away now he could do that himself tomorrow.

“Alright then, ready?”

I asked him tiredly and he nodded while tripping over himself to get more in front of me instead of next to my shoulder.

I bent down and took his entire upper half into my mouth before he even had a chance to completely right himself up again.

He seemed confused for half a second but then gave an amused sound.

It was late and I didn't want to take forever so I quickly tilted my head back a little and let the ginger slide all the way in.

I paused for a moment in case of the small chance that he didn't want to anymore.

No protest came which didn't surprise me since he was always strangely okay with this.

Well i was partly to blame considering i kept enabling him,  but as long as he didn't get the same idea should he ever stand in front of a Dragon or whatever it was fine.

I softly swallowed and he slid halfway into my throat.

For a moment he made a strange movement and I stopped confusedly.

But after a second I noticed he was not in distress and instead was trying to tickle me,  probably as revenge for nabbing him up from the floor like that.

It was largely ineffective, if anything it just felt a little funny, so I swallowed again and he was now completely squished into my throat.

Another swallow and he was fully inside the storage pouch where he slipped around a bit to get upright again.

“Are you alright?”

He stopped moving for a moment.

“Hm? Yeah i'm fine, a little upside down, but-  uhh thank you,  i just- i didn't want to be alone so thanks”

I could practically see in my mind how he was fiddling awkwardly with his hands as he said that, but it was nice to know he was alright.

Maybe now we could both get some sleep without any unwanted disturbances.

“Good to hear, I think we should both sleep now,  if anythings wrong you can just wake me okay?”

He sleepily agreed after turning ‘upright’ and then settled down.

He must have been really tired, well so was i.

Laying down and using the arm without the bracelet as a pillow I closed my eyes.

Shortly before falling asleep I hear Robin mumble something that I could just barely translate to ‘you're warm’ before I joined the dreaming world.

For the first time since the battle there were no nightmares as I slept, 

just a small and protective warmth.

———————————————————————————

PREVIOUS / OVERSIGHT

ARC 3

[chibipsycho-v3]

Okay, here’s some fun stuff completely unrequested! I got to thinking about the Uberbots a lot today (thanks to some specific folks *ahem* ¬  ,¬ ) and I made some general/dating headcanons for each of them~ It’s not much, but these are my interpretations of them and what they’re like with you. Enjoy!

Uberbots x Reader Dating Headcanons

The Photographer

The Photographer is an Uberbot that tends to enjoy peace and quiet, preferring to quietly tinker with his photos and darkroom. Though any time you come around, it's a welcome change of pace. You're the only one other than the Uberbots that can disturb him without upsetting him.

Sometimes he has difficulty articulating a thought- he appreciates when you slow down or wait for him to figure out how to say something. He gets a little embarrassed when he trips up like that, so he greatly appreciates that you accept that part of him seamlessly.

Totally has photos of you- while some are candid and taken while you are just relaxing with him or doing some idle task, he knows that taking photos without your knowledge is rude. So he'll ask if he can take pictures of you, especially when you both venture into the forest.

His love languages are quality time and acts of service! You are one of the only persons the Photographer knows that he can just... sit with, sometimes in silence while both of you do your own things. He appreciates your presence all the time. And while he can't manage some of the tasks you need to do, he tries his best to help with the ones that he can. It's not uncommon to find that he's done some of the chores to take the pressure off of you.

The Archivist

The Archivist is a very studious 'bot that loves her work, but tends to get lost in all of the files that litter her space. Sometimes you have to remind her that life is not all work, which she appreciates. After all, she gets to spend time with you instead!

Music resonates with her for some reason, you can catch her humming something idly almost any time. Usually it's some classical piece, but occasionally she branches out... particularly if you show her something you think she might enjoy. Then you can hear her hum it for a few days afterward.

Definitely studies you when you're not looking. The way you move, the way you laugh, the way you react to stimuli... It's all research, she swears.

Her love languages are verbal affection and physical affection! There's no end to the pet names for you: dear, dearest, darling, sweetie- she's even called you 'lovebug' on occasion. And if you were fine with it, you bet she'd cuddle you while flustering you with sweet nicknames and praises. Uhn-uhn, there's no getting away from the Archivist's love; you'd better learn to accept compliments and little static smooches with grace!

Unfinished Boss/Blank Canvas

Blank Canvas (or just Blank) is a curious sort of 'bot. He's a bit like Stim in that he wants to see and experience new things, now that he's been given life. He's not quite good with words yet (he has to search for the right one sometimes) but he loves to talk with you about anything at all.

Show him your hobbies! He loves to hear you explain them, no matter how technical you get. Chances are that Blank will pick up on at least one of them and join you in it... and he's pretty good at it once he gets a handle on it.

Unsurprisingly, he actually enjoys art. Though he seems to favor abstract art more than traditional... Maybe it has something to do with his face resembling Picasso's later pieces.

His love languages are gift-giving and physical affection! He finds lots of little interesting things in his gem-land home and he saves them to give to you. He's fascinated with you in general. He's going to poke and prod you until he works his way up to holding your hand, petting your head and hugging you. Unless of course, you're not cool with that. In which case, he will keep himself from touching- but you may have to remind him a time or two. You're just so interesting to him!

G0lly

Oh gosh, G0lly is the cutest Uberbot, help. She gets excited a lot and tends to interject conversations with fun things that she's discovered- and maybe just now remembered she wanted to tell you. She is the embodiment of, 'I didn't mean to interrupt you, I just randomly remember things and get really excited.'

That's not to say that she's ditzy or vapid, though; she's actually very smart! I mean, she does have the entirety of the internet at her disposal. Whatever she or you want to find out, it's only a search away! That said, you'd better not make her search anything... untoward. The other Uberbots might throttle you for destroying her innocence.

She does have a sarcastic streak that shows itself from time to time, it's always a fun surprise when she quips something unexpected.

Her love languages are verbal affection and quality time! G0lly literally has a thesaurus in her head. She's going to call you every sugary-sweet nickname until she finds one that sticks, and you'd better believe that she's going to find every word to tell you what you mean to her, even if they're in different languages. Also there's nothing she loves more than to scour the internet for fun videos for the two of you to watch, cuddled up and giggling together.