#but happy it’s getting any sort of adaptation because I do love it so :D

[comickergirl]

As promised, titles and creators for the above manga! Starting from upper left, we have:

Shio no Machi by Kiiro Yumi based on Hiro Arikawa’s SDF Trilogy of novels

Ookami to Revolver by Yuu Suzuki

Called Game by Kaneyoshi Izumi

Ookami no Musume by Yuki Kodama

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts Heir: White Rabbit and the Prince of Beasts by Yuu Tomofuji

And while we’re here, some other Good Shoujo Updates: Yen Press licensed the fantasy manga by the Apothecary Diaries author (The Failure at God School, I think is the title?) AND Usotoki Rhetoric is getting a live action TV adaptation WOOOOOOOO*

Eyyyyy Sacrificial Princess spin-off was licensed! Here’s a pic from a draft I was going to publish TODAY featuring various manga I’d love to see get English licenses. XD

[mazeinthemiroh]

hi, you wrote skz x a puppy like s/o but what about skz with a black cat like s/o

stray kids with a 'black cat' s/o

genre: fluff

warnings: none?

please like and reblog if you enjoy :D

chan

he's so golden retriever coded so you guys are a combo people wouldn't expect. if you think of the way chan acts with minho, that's sort of your relationship in a nutshell. he's so affectionate and loving towards you and while you are not as outward with your affection, you accept it with confusion but openness. he loves how catlike you are and will continue to think you're adorable af.

minho

you guys are a power couple. also, people are kinda intimated by you both but that's alright because you only have eyes for each other so no one else really matters. you guys are so sexy together jdbfhsifoewiy giving each other knowing looks from across the room and smirking at each other when someone you don't like starts speaking. idk you're both icons.

changbin

an unlikely duo but it works. he will make fun of your aloofness and make it his mission to bring you out of your shell. not that you're shy, just that you keep to yourself and are quite reserved in social situations, while binnie is a social butterfly. but genuinely, he likes how your personality compliments his and he's hella attracted to how confident you are in yourself.

hyunjin

hyunnie is attracted to all sorts of different people. he too is quite independent and needs his alone time, so he is fine with you being like that too. but you two are together, he brings out the much softer side to you mainly cos he's freaking adorable. each other's company is enough for the both of you and you don't feel you're missing out on any social events because neither of you is too keen on them to begin with!

jisung

he was extremely attracted to you from the get-go. he liked how mysterious you are and thought of you to be a bit of a question mark when he first met you. so he made it his goal to try and 'figure you out', and has done a pretty good job since. despite having different personalities, you both have the same sort of humour and get along more naturally than other people do.

felix

this ray of sunshine absolutely adores you, despite being slightly intimidated when he met you for the very first time. felix has the type of personality that you are drawn to, as well as want to protect. while he has a more innocent approach to life, you want to make sure he is happy and free to express himself how he wants. you're like his number 1 protector as well as the other members lol.

seungmin

he's such a puppy-dog and is the cutest boy ever, we know this. but i can see this relationship work well because, even though minnie has the characteristics of a dog, he has a witty and sharp mind on him too. so he can keep up with your sarcastic remarks and cynical outlooks just as much as anyone else. he's very good at adapting to different types of humour!

jeongin

my favourite pair, not even gonna lie about it. he appreciates and admires your independence and likes the fact that you can share comfortable silences that never feel awkward. you both prefer each other's company to going out with a massive group of people, so you go out on regular dates just to bask in each other's comfortable presence.

[ultraflavour]

Character-first Fantasy TTRPGs

Games like Lancer, Gubat Banwa, ICON, Draw Steel, Daggerheart, even Fabula Ultima sometimes get described as "4E Inspired."

I think that's true in a broad sense, but there's something deeper that connects all of these games that 4E doesn't have, and that's a respect for the narrative journey of the characters.

None of the games I've listed have the traditional "Death Saving Throw." You never have to tear up your character sheet because a Skeleton got a lucky Crit in the first combat of the game, and the Bard didn't have Healing Word prepped.

Each of these games either give the player mechanical choices to choose how close to death their character ever gets (Lancer, Daggerheart, Draw Steel) or they make the consequences of defeat entirely narrative (Gubat Banwa, ICON, Fabula Ultima).

World-first vs. Character-first

I was having difficulty putting this categorization to words until I read a post from makapatag, the author of the aforementioned Gubat Banwa. In that article, he lays out a way of thinking about OSR games as being "World-first," as opposed to games like D&D, Exalted, and Lancer which are "Character-first." In World-first games, the character is never so powerful that they can override the dangers of the environment. They have to adapt to the setting to survive.

I understand the allure of this type of play, especially from the GM's standpoint. But at the same time, I find that I am most comfortable when I am at least sharing in the direction of the narrative. When the game has rules that put the players' characters in the driver's seat of the narrative, it lessens the burden on the GM to tell a story, but expects more of the players in return.

Bizarro-OSR

So in this way, "Character-first Fantasy" works as a sort of "Anti-OSR," a celebration of powerful PCs running roughshod in a fantastical sandbox. Not exactly a "New School Renaissance" though, because these ideas aren't necessarily new.

I think this style of play describes how a lot of people approach D&D 5E, since it has a lot of rules that describe abilities and spells that make the players increasingly harder to corral as they gain levels.

At the same time, I think games like 5E and Pathfinder have their feet planted too far in the past to consider either of them to be truly a part of this genre. Both have very punishing death mechanics that can turn seemingly easy encounters into painful death spirals that lead to torn-up character sheets.

The Only Time I Was Ever Happy

I can't stress enough just how much it changed the game to play a Warforged for the first time in D&D 4th Edition. In that edition, Warforged have a rule that they can never roll lower than 10 on their death saving throws. That meant that unless they were being actively attacked while knocked out, they would never just "bleed out."

When I didn't have to worry about losing my character, I could take risks that I thought a "Superhero" would take. It led to me getting my ass beat mercilessly, on many occasions, but I think that's what a hero would do: They would take on any amount of suffering if they believed it would make the world a better place for the people they loved.

Power Fantasy?

You could maybe classify this style of game as being strictly based around Power Fantasy. But I think it's more about the rules supporting the player's exploration of their concept than strictly being about overpowering every obstacle put in front of you.

In any game that is trying to tell the story of a character, there have to be ups and downs. I don't think it's either necessary, or even good for the players to always win. But as long as the mechanics of the game aren't punishing you for being defeated, you have more freedom to push yourself for the sake of the narrative.

Some people derisively refer to this style of play as "Superhero" fantasy, and I don't think that's necessarily incorrect, but... It's also fun. There's nothing inherently wrong with letting your players romp around in giant robots, as long as they acknowledge the responsibility they've just been handed.

When you play in a very punishing adventure or system for the first time, you realize quickly that farting around will get you killed. Enjoy sitting out the rest of the adventure because you tried to do a skateboard trick over that Iron Golem, smarty pants.

It makes that feeling of power in a more Character-centric game that much more rewarding. But you also realize just how hard it is for the GM to keep you reeled in. In these games, it's very important for open collaboration between the GM and the players. It's really hard for the GM of a Character-centric game to plan a narrative when the players can constantly kick down the walls of the setting that are supposed to be constraints to them.

Rules-Medium?

One of the biggest changes D&D made in the leap from 4th to 5th was an overhaul of the rules that left a lot more room for narrative improvisation than 4th Edition or even Pathfinder.

That's not to say that these games necessarily need a rules-light approach. The important thing connecting them is that the rules support the fantasy that the characters represent. If my character is good at fighting, I want mechanics that help to reflect that in the game world, without resorting to handwaving.

For this reason, I think a lot of more "fiction-first" games in the PbtA or FitD mechanical genre get disqualified here. They tend to focus a lot on the narrative consequences of the interactions between the characters and the setting, and frame the players' powers less as "tools to conquer the setting" and more as "prescriptive ways to move toward your goals in a narrative-appropriate way." Does that make sense?

For a true rules-light approach to this budding genre of ttrpg, I would check out any game in the LUMEN system family of games from Spencer Campbell at Gila RPGs. I'm excitedly anticipating my Kickstarter copy of Infinite Revolution from Gwendolyn Clark to arrive, I think that game is going to really kick ass.

Well, Anyways

I wrote a lot of this on not a lot of sleep. My mind has been racing, trying to put a lot of these ideas to words. The aforementioned blog by makapatag really helped to put a lot of my thoughts about the current (and future) state of Fantasy into focus.

It's entirely possible, also, that this idea is not new. I'm sure there's someone out there who has had the same thought as me, and my lazy ass never actually tried to find their writing. Instead I just wrote it out again, because I'm a huge PIECE OF CRAP.

Anyways, sleepy tea is kicking in, good night.

[flowersandbirdsflyingfree]

saw one of the matchups and just had to try :3 I love the premise and it seems super fun

im around 5'9" and white as a ghost so i get sunburned a looot.. pretty round shape overall, nothing much to write home about. i have kinda wavy ginger hair midway down my back, which is usually kinda messy. i never really wear makeup or do much to alter my appearance.

in terms of clothes, i don't have a set style. leaning a bit gothic with a lot of black and lace, but it really just depends on the day. skirts are definitely my favorite thing to wear, especially long ones. i do take some pride in my appearance and try to keep myself looking nice, but i dont worry myself with overthinking it.

i have no clue where my strengths lie,.. im pretty good at thinking of things objectively and finding patterns which isnt exactly a strength but it's definitely a plus. im also sociable and adapt well to other people. but on the other hand, i struggle with interpersonal relationships and realizing what i come off as on top of general awkwardness. fear of moving forward is also a large weakness of mine, since i dont like making large decisions. i can also be jealous when people close to me pay attention to others sometimes.

im not a picky person when it comes to partners, as long as they like me, im happy with that. someone who doesnt mind clinginess and likes to talk to me is my ideal partner.

i draw quite a bit and also enjoy learning about topics im interested in. im the type of person who always has wikipedia open to learn about various things. i also really like one-on-one time with others, especially when talking with them. i enjoy cartoons as well :D

HELLO THERE!

I match you with:

Postal 4 Dude

You’ve got Dude hooked to you since he first laid eyes on you. You’re all around a beauty to him, but his favorite is your lacier/goth-adjacent outfits. They compliment you so well!

He hasn’t quite nailed being someone most people can get along with. So, he does look to you to be a sort of ambassador whenever you guys are meeting new people somewhere. But he too prefers one-on-one time. It’s less stress to worry about everyone else. Plus, he just wants to focus on you!

If you ever worry a lot about moving too fast in a relationship, have no fear. Dude will gladly take it easy with you. There’s no rush and he knows to respect your boundaries. You could never be awkward to him because he’s so mellow. His zen-like aura will help you feel at peace. Or is it the second hand smoke?

He’s the kinda guy you can lean on at any given moment and he will always embrace you. Even if he was in a bad mood. You always got someone who’s more than happy to see you.

Dude likes cartoons too! They range from either slapstick classics like Tom and Jerry or trippy adult comedies like Xavier: Renegade Angel. Either way, he’s down to watching whatever cartoons makes you happy

[piracytheorist]

Hello! Basically, a thought came in my mind and i thought I'll share 🐱🐱

I absolutely LOVE spy x family and I'm desperately waiting for new manga chapters and anime adaptations frfr

But... is it just me or is the story progressing too slow?? I know you've seen only what the anime has covered so far, but pls do tell me what you think about it's pace! I think it's priority is to be this happy-happy(help is this even a word😭) anime and the story def gets sidelined due to that, ofc i love cute anya and everyone but I need more development!!

Hi!! Feel free to share any time!

I can't talk about the manga because even though I've gotten some spoilers here and there, I don't actually know how its pace has been. What I can say though is that I feel there was some sort of... "pause" between the Doggy Crisis Arc and the Campbelldon arc. Like episodes 16 to 20 (and the respective manga chapters) are undeniably fillers. If I dare to make an assumption about Endo's thought process for them, is that he had a solid idea of how to develop the story up to the Doggy Crisis arc, then saw how popular his manga was getting and went like "Oh shit people like this I have to prolong this. I need a bit to come up with the rest of the plot and development so have a few fillers for a few weeks thx."

I don't know a lot about the upcoming arc in the next anime season, but I have heard that it's pretty packed with action and development. What I miss a lot, especially seeing Yor's screen time overall in the first season, is more focus on her. Like, it's almost criminal how little time and focus she's gotten, and I'm right here expecting much more of it in the second season 👀👀

All that said, I think one of the themes of the story is itself the slow progress. Operation Strix is a long-term mission, and the family dynamics need time to develop. When you see how disciplined Twilight is and how detached from his feelings he's become, it would seem a little rushed to just have him go like "Wow I love them I guess" from one arc to the other. It needs slow build-up and development. Fanfic can be as quick-paced as one wants it to be - like, I've written a time loop fic where Twilight realizes, accepts and embraces his feelings for his family by the tenth repeat of the same day. I'm not one to talk XD - but the theme of the canon story itself is to take things slow. We're meant to focus on the family moments because it's what humanity is build for. Sure, action and fight scenes look cool in fiction, but Spy x Family seems to be the kind of story that goes like "Humans are meant to live in harmony with each other" and while war themes or action scenes can be used to show how war and violence can corrupt even the best of us, at the end we're humans and we're brought into this world for calm and peaceful moments with our loved ones.

I don't know if that's satisfying for you, it's perfectly fine if it isn't, but from what I've gathered from the anime episodes and the spoilers I've gotten here and there, heavy action and tension don't seem to be what Endo wants to make a note of. It's what we do in the between and how more of ourselves we are within a loving, peaceful environment. So in all my effort to not be patronizing, I'd say you should try to lower (or at least prolong) your expectations about a quicker pace in the story. For all we know developers have seen what a cash cow this story is and are pressuring Endo to prolong it so they can milk it for all it's worth. This can be either a good or a bad thing, depending on how it's handled. My one hope is that he won't get too tired of it before he has the chance to take it to the next stage (like bring on Identity RevealsTM and Feelings RealizationTM) and conclude the story. For his sake, if nothing else.

Thank you for sending in! I realize this can be a bit of a complicated matter, but I'm interested in talking about it :D

[goddevouringserpent]

tagged by @miseryscrowned to take the "Which D&D class suits your personality?" (or, in this case, your OC's personality) quiz. took me ages because I have been so busy & stressed out I am starting to lose track of time, but wat ever we stay silly and take things as best as we can take them~

putting it under a cut because I chose not one, but two OCs for this, and as is often the case with me I started rambling and this got long as hell, lol.

in light of the DLC release date announcement, I'm back in WOTR mode and rotating my beloved wrathful girlie at washing machine speed, so!

picrew credit

Kaija (she/they), my most developed Knight Commander. who, yes, has a canon class, or... sort of canon? IDK, she's a Sword Saint/Vivisectionist, but I've been contemplating a different build for the run I'll do once the DLC comes out—probably will still be martial heavy, but we'll see... anyway, I just wanted to see what class she got assigned based on her personality LOL

and the result was:

Rogue

You’re a practical and unusually resourceful person with big dreams that may or may not involve copious amounts of money or treasure. You’re ambitious, you know what you want, and you’ll do whatever you can to get it. Some people might think you’re selfish, but you know it’s important to take care of yourself first. You thrive under pressure and you might have a bit of a mischievous or chaotic side.

Arcane Trickster subclass

Some rogues enhance their fine-honed skills of stealth and agility with magic, learning tricks of enchantment and illusion. You’re an adaptable person who likes to cultivate a range of skills and interests. Once you decide to pick up a new skill or hobby, you’re more than willing to put in a little time and effort to learn how to do it well. You like to feel competent and powerful. You’re not always the most direct person and you may sometimes hide your true thoughts and feelings behind lies or misdirection. Some people might not know what to expect of you, or you might be a bit misunderstood, but you’re capable of a lot more than some people give you credit for.

and I'll admit the result really surprised me at first because I've never seen them as the roguish type—she is quite literally built like a wrestler, roughly 190cm tall, contains multitudes of rage & does not have a single subtle bone in her—but upon reflection I can definitely see it, especially considering how the test openly states that it assigns a class based on personality, not mechanics. the descriptions given match really well, too; INSANELY resourceful, ambitious, materialistic, selfish, chaotic, adaptable, hates feeling powerless/needs to feel like the strongest and most powerful person in the room at any given time, rarely if ever shows her true feelings, often underestimated or not taken seriously despite being more than competent enough to deserve a different treatment... so yeah, fair, she would make a really good rogue! might keep that in mind for the aforementioned new build plans hehe

also: fun result considering one of the characters I ship Kai with—and who is essentially her "endgame" pairing in terms of being a healthy, loving, long-term relationship—is Woljif... who is an Eldritch Scoundrel 🤭 meant for each other~

--

then, because I am equally as excited about Shadow of the Erdtree releasing soon (June release dates for both DLCs, in fact... I'm gonna eat GOOD this winter break 😌), my Tarnished Yunia! aka the other she/they I have been spinning in the vortex of my thoughts 24/7, and who hilariously enough could not be more different from Kaija if they tried lol

art credit (and also sick as hell modern fit design credit)

Yunia got:

Cleric

You’re dedicated, caring, and probably a sucker for happy endings. You spend so much time helping other people that you might forget to take care of yourself. You’re very idealistic and have a strong sense of faith in your beliefs, which may be actual religious beliefs or just your personal moral code. You like to be prepared for a variety of situations and you may have a bit of a protective side.

Nature domain

Gods of nature are as varied as the natural world itself; from inscrutable gods of the deep to friendly deities associated with particular springs and groves. You feel comforted by nature and you’re drawn to the outdoors. You want to do as much as you can to take care of our world and you wish other people would take environmental concerns more seriously. You might come across as a calm and easygoing person most of the time, but you can have a surprisingly vicious side when someone violates your principles. You’re not afraid to confront harsh truths and you generally have a practical and realistic outlook on life.

Cleric tracks, it's a ridiculously good fit for her thematically—their entire Character Thing is passionate devotion towards the House of Caria (and later, to Ranni & her ideal for the Age of Stars) which overrides even their most basic self-preservation instinct at times and is pretty much, like, the core of their identity. so in a D&D AU, Yunia being a cleric of the Moon goddess Ranni would work out extremely well: following her dogma to a letter, doing everything in Ranni's name and to serve her earthly purposes, drawing from that very faith and dedication to find their own power and way in life, hopelessly in love with Ranni but shh don't tell anyone

Nature domain, on the other hand, I did not see coming, but the description works... ish? like, I'm not sure Yunia is particularly concerned about environmental issues in their source material LOL (even if there is quite a lot of shit to be concerned about, but that's probably on account of the Lands Between being an absolute shithole at the best of times <3), but in a modern AU I could definitely see her going for something like Environmental Sciences, yeah. being a protector-type with very firm beliefs is, again, a core part of their personality, & it's more likely they'd find themself working with flora or fauna because she is just Not good with people at all lol

(the part about having a "surprisingly vicious side" is 100% true though and I hope one day I can write any of the fics involving her I have planned, because that would be SO much fun to delve into :3)

--

tagging @hate-not-wanting-a-name (Zimka and/or Fixer? Zimka and/or Fixer maybe? my beloved little guys perhaps? 👀), @takers-flames, and UUHHH whoever else wants to do this, feel free to say I tagged you / mention me in your post so I can see! I'd tag more but I'm pretty sure that most of my mutuals' OCs already have assigned classes lmao 😭

[twotangledsisters]

What do you think were some of the hardest choices to make when writing Two Tangled Sisters (or anything you want to talk about), and which ones just sort of came naturally? Anything that surprised you yourself? Anything you wish you could go back and change? What are you proudest of?

Wow, so many good question!

Okay, hardest choices... The hardest are probably unpublished at the moment, because, well... not every character will survive season three... So far we've only had a very minor character death (RIP Weasel) but there are certainly going to be some that hit harder later in this season.

As for stuff that is actually published... Probably Cass and Caine being a thing! I absolutely love them, but I wasn't sure if anybody else would. And I was very scared that them getting together would end with me losing a lot of readers. I know how people love their ships after all! It's part of why they take such a long time to get together, several whole fics of just them hopelessly flirting and thinking about it. I definitIe had quite a few moments of 'maybe I shouldn't'. But ultimately I did and I'm very glad about that!

Choices that came naturally!

The main one is probably just the family dynamic between Frederic, Arianna, Rapunzel, Cassandra and Eugene. I never really made any difficult choices about the direction it'd go in, everything just sorta of happened.

Cassandra and Eugene fell into their natural state of bickering.

Rapunzel and Cassandra had their sister dynamic.

Arianna made the decision to keep both girls as an official part of the family.

Even Frederic and Cassandra's bond kinda formed on it's own. In fact, I have notes for season 3 written before much of season 1 and it shows Cassandra and Frederic's relationship as A LOT more distance. Showing how I didn't plan or expect them to do so well, they just did! And I'm happy for them.

Anything that surprised me!

Arianna's declaration of 'After years of searching for it's lost princess, Corona now has two!' in the very first Tangled Sisters fic, caught me fully of guard! Changed the entire route of the series in the best way possible though.

Frederic and Cassandra forming the tight bond they did wasn't something I expected until quite far in!

Cassandra and Caine also I didn't see coming until a bit later!

Amaris! Eugene's ancestors who has a tendency to visit him in his dreams also just kinda happened and now she's a recurring character who whenever I write her I adore!

This fic surprised me and catched me off guard all the time! But I think everytime it does I just love the fic even more!

Things I wish I could change?

Well... not much, thankfully! Definitely some missed opportunities. Like I realised the other day while chatting in the comments that Cassandra should have given Lance her book on raising a child and given him a lesson. It would have been adorable and hilarious!

Rapunzel should have told the King of Koto about how Eugene's actually a prince of the Dark Kingdom when he claimed he was nobody to talk to him.

I forgot the fossil exhibition in Vardaros! There was supposed to be a fossil exhibition!

And other small things! But out of the big stuff... I can't think of anything I'd change.

What are you proudest of?

Cassandra and Caine! Probably because I was so nervous, seeing how excited readers are whenever they get a chapter just warms my heart!

Also, New Dream getting engaged before the series ends so they get to refer to each other as fiances for the entire third season! Very important.

And just the development of characters, the way they change and adapt yet still hold pieces of their past... I just feel like the characters change a lot without it ever feeling sudden and that's something I'm very proud of!

Anyway, that's enough rambling from me.

Thank you soooo much for this ask! It was amazing and really got me thinking about the series!! I hope my answers were interesting to you :D

[swordshapedleaves]

Once again I have opinions on new seasonal anime no one asked for!

Thoughts on the 14 new shows I tried under the cut.

Shows I'm Excited About

My Happy Marriage

It's an arranged marriage romance with magic, though there wasn't any magic overtly present in the first episode. It has these relatively subtle references to fairy tales that I really like and the animation is really gorgeous. Looking forward to this one!

Zom 100

An office worker is so burnt out that the actual zombie apocalypse is a fresh change of pace. The energy is great and the animation is gorgeous. I love zombie media that's aware of zombie media. I also really like the OP, which is the same group that did the OP for Yamada 999 last season.

Shows I'm Optimistic About

Ayaka

This show looks like the anime adaptation is a fantasy BL visual novel but is apparently an original IP. I dunno why the MC's dead dad's will banished him to a childhood of trauma off island only to return when he's just old enough to start dating but I hope it's so he can end up smooching some of these color coded magical boys.

Dark Gathering

It's spooky! I feel sorry for any ghost fighting show that's going up against the second season of Jujustu Kaisen but this one seems way more of a creepy comedy than an action show so hopefully it finds its own niche and excels there.

The Gene of AI

As someone with memory problems this first episode made me super uncomfortable! It's doing what good science fiction should do, which is using future tech to tackle uncomfortable philosophical questions, but it remains to be seen if it addresses them thoughtfully. I will say though that the idea of someone who loves me crying uncontrollably because the fact I forgot a new recipe for scrambled eggs means I'm not really the person she knew really hurt. I have genuine fears about my memory problems ruining relationships and seeing it done so ham-handedly feels bad. Definitely gonna keep watching though because at least it's interesting.

Helck

This is a fantasy anime about a big strong muscle guy who is trying to become the King of Demons. Even the first episode couldn't pull off any visual appeal so I have low expectations but I'd like to have a fun time cheering on our Conan rip off who's going off script by trying to join the side of the demons.

Noble Farmer

This is a series of shorts by and about mangaka Hiromu Arakawa of Fullmetal Alchemist fame. She is the scion of Hokkaido dairy farmers and is passionate about her roots. The first episode felt like it was paid for by a dairy farmers association but Arakawa is so charming I don't even mind.

Undead Murder Farce

This show has great vibes and a fun premise. All the yokai and oni and such are being eradicated as part of the Meiji restoration. A couple of them are trying to survive and also solve a murder of sorts. The vibes are great but the animation is kinda mid.

Shows that Cater to my Bullshit Specifically

The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior

That name is awful but the Otome game villainess reincarnation micro genre is my jam. This villainess cries a lot and I'm hoping for a good time as all the people who were her enemies in the game fall in love with her.

Sweet Reincarnation

I love cooking shows and also fantasy stories so when they get smushed together I'm almost sure to have a good time. This feels like a less clever Ascendence of a Bookworm in a lot of ways. Person is killed by their specific interest falling on them, only to reincarnate into a world where the thing they love is very expensive and out of reach at their current status. So they simply use their knowledge of our technology to reorder society in a way that allows them to feed their special interest. This time it's a pastry chef who loves sweets instead of a librarian who loves books. His new name is Pastry.

Stuff I Tried That Didn't Make the Cut

Am I Actually the Strongest?

His sister is obviously the reincarnated Demon Lord. Looks boring.

The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today

It's like Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid without the charm or the sex appeal, plus the camera work is weirdly unsettling.

Reborn as a Vending Machine, Now I Wander the Dungeon

This one was also boring. It was one of the first shows we tried this season and I've already forgotten it for the most part.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades

Magic school with a 20% death rate, and one of the freshmen this season is a Samurai. I might watch a second episode if I have time to kill but there just wasn't anything really exciting in this first episode to get me past the Harry Potter but Edgier vibes.

[goosevampwritesstuff]

Gonna do this for Verin :3

A: Will honestly do just about anything with Princess, but is especially soft for small domestic things like sharing meals together, going for walks/horse rides, or just sitting in a room together and reading

B: (will be using my design for Tamia as reference) Physically, Verin really likes Princess’s hair and the way she holds herself when she’s comfortable. He sees Tamia with a curly yellow bed head and thinks she’s the most beautiful thing in the whole world. On a personality level though, he truly admires how strong and adaptable Princess is in her own way, a trait which manifests physically after she turns as her vampiric strength actually ends up rivaling his own.

C: (this actually happens in ch8!) Mostly holding her and reminding her that he’s right there for her. If it’s extreme, he might use magic to try and bring Princess back to him, but he generally tries to avoid this since he doesn’t want to cross any boundaries.

D: Picture the most sappy, tooth-fittingly sweet domestic shit you can. Kids, a nice house (private royal estate), the works.

E: Outside of the bedroom? Equals, always. In the bedroom.. 😏 well that’s a different post

F: Verin is the sort to always try and work an argument out peacefully. He’s been alive for centuries and is a highly skilled diplomat. When he and Princess do have disagreements, they work it out as a team; them vs the issue.

G: He tends to notice the smaller gestures more than the big ones 😅 but he does eventually notice, and is always grateful

H: The secrets he does have are mostly in good fun (hiding holiday presents type stuff) or things he just hasn’t had the opportunity to tell Princess about yet. For example, it takes him a couple decades after getting married to finally be able to tell Princess about the things that happened to him when he lost his parents; the traumas he endured as a young King and the mistakes he made.

I: Verin definitely changed Tamia. She was fairly timid before meeting Verin, but quickly learned how to use her voice once Verin helped her find it. In return, Princess brought a joy back to Verin’s life that he had been missing for a very long time. With her help, he learns how to take care of and love himself again.

J: He doesn’t get jealous easily, and in fact is perfectly fine if Princess flirts with anyone else, so long as she has a conversation with him before doing anything more serious than that. The exception is Charles; he is no longer allowed to sleep on the bed in Verin’s room because Verin gets jealous when Tamia cuddles the dog and not him 😅

K: You bet your ass he’s a good kisser 🥵 this man was able to make the (at the time) very shy Princess openly crave his touch with one kiss. The man has a fuckin TALENT

L: This one is tricky because like.. it was an arranged marriage situation lol. But Verin is very open and honest about his feelings for Tamia and has been from the start. If he had like a “formal” declaration of love though, he’d probably end up on his knees to show his sincerity

M: Fuck yeah he wants to get married. For how he would have proposed if his marriage wasn’t arranged, see above lol. But yeah, he grew up watching his parents in a happy marriage and he very much wants the same sort of thing. For how the marriage would go: he’s a King. It’s gonna be a royal wedding. (Read ch20 for deets 👀)

N: ��My Princess” “My Queen” “My Dear” “My Love” My Treasure”

O: Oh it’s obvious when he’s in love alright. Small kisses and touches whenever possible, smiles out of nowhere, unless he’s preoccupied with something else big, the man is simping.

P: If it isn’t like.. a formal public event, he’s pretty open about showing his affection for Princess. Non-tongue kisses in public are very normal for him and in slightly more private situations he’ll go as far as letting Princess sit in his lap and kissing her neck.

Q: Aside from having fangs? 🥵 His magic allows him to better detect the emotions of the people around him (Vampiric magic is weird af compared to other inate magic types) so if verbal communication becomes difficult 👉👈👀 he can still sense Tamia’s comfort level in a given situation.

R: Classic romantic type man right here, although fully willing and able to adjust based on what his partner prefers. Generally avoids grand public gestures because royalty is always being watched but otherwise pampering is what’s on the romantic menu :3

S: Verin is the biggest support Tamia has ever had. Since Viralta is ruled by two people equally, he does everything he possibly can to make sure his partner in both love and career is supported.

T: Routine is usually what he goes for, he enjoys the certainty of it, but every so often he’ll toss something new in the mix just for a little fun. And if that thing ends up working really well, it gets absorbed into the routine.

U: My man’s literally got empathy magic so yes. The only difficulty he really has is when the other person is feeling a specific way that Verin doesn’t have a word for, but even then he can still feel it he just die know what to do with it

V: Considering that he was willing to risk actual WAR for Princess, I’d say his relationship with her mean a lot to him 😅

W: Tamia thinks it’s the twins who keep eating her sweets stash while she’s sleeping: it’s Verin. When she finds out she just laughs at him for a minute and then helps him establish his own stash so he doesn’t take from hers.

X: Verin and Tamia basically cannot keep their hands off of each other they are STARVED

Y: Mopes in a hot bath and/or loses himself in his work so he doesn’t think about it. It gets easier for him as time goes on and he processes the trauma of losing his parents and his brother, but he always eagerly awaits her return.

Z: See above, man would literally break a centuries old tradition of peace just make sure his love is safe and happy. If it can be done for her, he’ll probably do it.

Fluff Alphabet!

Inspired by the NSFW Alphabet by @fairy-tail-babes.

Feel free to use for your own writing Blogs!

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

N icknames - What do they call their s/o?

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

Y earning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lenghts for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

So: Send me a character and one/several letter(s) and let’s get started!

[thesunicarusfellfor]

Hello!! Do you think you could do a part 2 of my request? An maybe a lil bit of angst with fluff where the reader comes to the mansion crying because someone hurt them?( Maybe techno or dream? Possibly jack manifold? 👀) Hopefully that's ok I just love the way you write it's so good plus it makes my day whever I read :D hopefully your day or evening is going good

<3

imhereforfan-fic : Omg can you do another yandere tubbo x reader x yandere ranboo romantic relationship please? Maybe where they get kidnapped by the dream team? Oh and adding on to my request can it also have some cuddling towards the end haha I’m touch starved and crap lol but can it a full length fic Okay okay okay. So. I'm so damn happy people loved this fic and I got two requests that I can easily add together. I hope neither of you minds too much having your requests mixed together ^^ I deadass wanna cry from how many positive reviews I've received from Too Sweet. ALSO. I'm a little wary of making romantic fics for characters Ranboo and Tubbo so I'm gonna play with the platonic marriage, just making it really fluffy and affectionate. PS: THIS ISNT AS FLUFFY AS I WANTED IT TO BE SOOOO OOOOPS. AAAAND. TOMMY ONLY TOOK ONE OF DREAM'S LIVES IN THE FINAL DISC WAR

LIKELY TO HAVE MANY ERRORS DUE TO BAD WIFI AND LACK OF SLEEP TW: Knives (+injuries that come from knives), kidnapping, taking of canon lives, Dream being power-hungry, minor panic attack, referenced strangulation.

Part One

Too Sweet (For This World) Yandere!C!Ranboo x F!Reader x Yandere!C!Tubbo Part 2

A few months had passed since you had moved into the mansion and some... How ended up involved in Ranboo and Tubbo's marriage, as well as being Michael's mother. At first, you were quite unsure about being a wife or a mother, but you saw how happy you had made the three boys and realized how happy they made you in return. In the beginning, neither of them wanted you leaving the mansion much without either of them, but then Ranboo started to notice small and minor declines in your physical and mental health. This caused him to panic and study your symptoms for a few days straight, to the point where you didn't see him once and you were genuinely scared he had lost his canon lives to the point where you kept checking your right wrist constantly for the message confirming Ranboo's death. But thankfully you never got it. When he had figured out what was causing your health to be less than absolutely perfect, he had spoken to Tubbo about letting you out of your room more often and getting you the sunlight you needed. It took a little bit to convince him, but once the goat hybrid learned that you could, or even would, become a lot sicker, he decided to allow you to go outside without them, as long as you stayed within Snowchester. You met a man the first few days you were out, who wore white glasses with blue and red lenses, and a headset with a mic, although he ran away from you the second you introduced yourself as Ranboo and Tubbo's (platonic) wife. Foolish had quickly become your friend around the same time though, which caused Tubbo and Ranboo to be a little unsure because of how he made you laugh and smile, but they noticed how you always kept him at arm's length with friendship and almost physically. Sure you didn't mind too much when he gave you a friendly side hug or pat on the head etc, but you were never really the one to initiate the contact unless you had to. Thankfully he didn't mind your awkwardness around strangers, trust issues, or lack of social exposure, so Ranboo and Tubbo didn't have to threaten a literal god. After saying goodbye to Michael for the day and putting him down for his nap, you got dressed into something more appropriate for travelling the snowy lands that Tubbo owned. Ranboo had to go to a Syndicate meeting, and Tubbo was working more on some buildings around Snowchester, saying something about prepping things to attack Dream who apparently escaped from prison? Not sure could've been rumoured or could be true? You had no clue honestly. You trusted Ranboo and Tubbo to protect you. The crackling of a few pine branches caused you to lift your eyes from the icy water below to turn your head. Walking out of the bushes were three men and one woman, pushing their way through the branches decorated with freshly fallen snow. One of the men was your crown-wearing platonic husband, although dressed up in an outfit you had never seen before, although not too far off from his normal get-up. Ranboo had a long black cape with golden edges and a high collar, held up together by a golden chain. His vest was now a deep royal purple with an eye of ender pin clasped on his tie, and his pants were half purple half black with golden designs sewn in. Beside him was a short female with shoulder-length pink hair and nicely done dark purple and black makeup. Her outfit consisted of a thick and warm lavender sweater with dark purple pants. On her hip was an enchanted netherite sword with a diamond-encrusted handle. You were quick to recognize her as Niki Nihachu, the baker who had lived in L'Manberg, but you hadn't heard much of her since the Pogtopia war. Off to the side, was a man you recognized easily as you had only seen him a few days ago when Ranboo invited him to see Michael, Philza Minecraft. His outfit wasn't too different from what he used to wear when he was a resident in the country, except for the black and gold cape and a black mask covering the bottom of his face. Then... The sight of the final male was the one to make you visibly react. A tall and buff male with a golden encrusted netherite

chest plate and a velvet red cape with gold accents as well. There was a rather majestic crown on top of his long braided pink hair and his dark eyes were narrowed behind a set of cracked glasses... His gaze pointing directly at you. Technoblade. Giving a shaky gasp, you stood up from your spot on the edge of the dock and turned to face the visitors. "Where's Tubbo," Techno growled softly, watching as you visibly trembled under his gaze. "Techno, mate. You're scarin' the hell outta her." Phil put his hand on his middle son's shoulder before stepping in front of him, blocking him from your gaze. "Hey, (Y/n), can you tell us where Tubbo is? We just have to ask him some things." "I'm here." An almost unfamiliar voice came from beside you before a hand was placed on your shoulder. When you looked over, you saw the goat hybrid with the coldest look you had seen him wear yet. "(Y/n), please, head into the mansion." Without another glance at the piglin hybrid, you quickly scurried towards the wooden mansion, faintly hearing the worried buzzing noises of your enderman husband in the distance before you slammed the large door shut. You almost ran towards your's or Michael's room in the basement, but then realized if any of them saw you heading down there, Michael's safety could be compromised. So, you quietly sat down in the living room and curled up on the couch, trying to keep your breathing stable as you fought to keep your mind off of the fact that the man who had almost killed you was standing a few feet outside the door of your home. You pinched your eyes shut and wrapped your arms around yourself, trying your best to simulate the hugs you would usually receive from your platonic husbands after a nightmare or a panic attack. ".../n)." "../n)!" "...(Y/n)!" With a terrified gasp, you flung your arms above your head to shield yourself from any oncoming attacker but only felt a gentle touch on your knee. It took a few seconds to muster up your courage, but you slowly brought your arms down and opened your eyes to come face to face with Tubbo, who immediately sat beside you and wrapped his arms around your shaking frame. After an hour or so with your face buried into Tubbo's shoulder, you felt another pair of arms wrap around you, causing you to look up and see Ranboo burying his face into your hair, "I'm so sorry... So sorry... I didn't think they would come to Snowchester..." You murmured a small, "it's okay," to him as you sat up a bit to return the hug for a few moments. Tubbo got up, murmuring something about going to get you a snack and a glass of water, knowing you must've been hungry or thirsty from panicking. After a few moments, Ranboo let go of you and briefly explained that Phil had given him some potions to help Michael adapt to the overworld, and he needed to give them to him. He rested his forehead against yours affectionately for a few seconds before turning towards the bookshelf and walking down the set of hidden stairs after opening the secret door. Once he shut it, you shuddered and rubbed your arms to get rid of the cold chill that had suddenly washed over you. Frowning slightly, you looked around for the source of the sudden cold, only to freeze as you saw the door cracked open, allowing the snow and cold wind to slip in. Ranboo wouldn't have left the door open... "Sorry kid." A deep and growly voice came from behind you, causing you to spin around and come face to face with Technoblade. The tall tusked male watched your expression go from confusion to horror in less than seconds, "It's nothing personal. Really. I just got a favour to pay off." A scream of terror escaped your lips before everything went black. "Hey, Michael!" Ranboo crouched down to greet the small zombie piglin child as he held a few potions of varying colours in his long arms, he set them and a thermos filled with a hot drink down on the table. "I got some new drinks for you to try today! Philza made them a little extra sweeter than last time." The small child squealed and made small tippy tap noises with his

hooves against the quartz flooring before he sat on the chair. He watched as his tall father sorted through the bottles carefully before uncorking one of the light red ones. Before he could pick up the small pipette, there was an almost unearthly shriek that came from the top of the stairs. "(Y/n)!" Ranboo screamed, unintentionally startling Michael, but that wasn't his main concern as he sprinted out the door then teleporting up the stairs and pushing the bookshelf door with his sword drawn and gleaming with enchantments. In his peripheral vision, he saw Tubbo dash out of the kitchen with his axe drawn and bloodlust in his eyes. Glancing around, the only thing the two men spotted was moonlight and snow spilling through the open door. Tubbo ran out without a second thought and screamed your name at the top of his lungs as he spun around, searching for any sort of sign that would give away your location. Ranboo decided to start looking around the mansion, even though part of him grasped that you wouldn't have screamed without reason. "She's gone..." Tubbo whispered, standing in the doorway, the moonlight creating a dark shadow over his wide eyes. "Footprints are leading to and away from the house, but they disappear on the docks..." Ranboo stayed still, a violent growling noise bubbling up in his throat before escaping past his lips as both his eyes turned purple. He threw his head back and took a breath to scream all his anger out, but froze upon hearing sad whimpering. He turned his head and saw Michael standing at the top of the hidden stairs, whimpering and shaking quite violently. There was part of Ranboo that refused to move, but his brain seemed to flick onto autopilot as he walked over to the child and picked him up. "Sorry... Michael... Something happened..." "Mama?" "...Mama... Won't be home for a while..." "Wake up!" A voice growled before something sharply came in contact with your cheek, shaking you awake. Your eyes shot open and came into contact with... A smiley face? "Aha... Sleeping Beauty graces us with her gaze. It's about damn time." A harsh grip landed on your jaw, making you realize there was a dull throbbing pain in your head. "Huh... Dre... Dream..?" You whispered, barely recognizing the white mask that helped destroy your home and turn it into nothing but a crater. "W-What?" His mask was lifted up enough to the point where you could see his mouth curved up into a sadistic smile. "You, my darling pawn, are just the piece I needed to make life easier for me... I just need to raise the stakes enough for them to be... Well... Stakes. I'm sure you understand." You went to move your hand to slap the gloved hand away from your face, only to give a small whine of pain as you felt a tight pinching on your wrists, making you realize that they were shackled together and likely chained to a wall. "What are you talking about you psychop- Ah!" He tightened his grip on your face to the point where you knew there would eventually be dark bruising. "I don't think you're in a position to be calling the king any names, pawn." Screams and shrieks of pain bounced off of the blank stone walls as the two people standing outside of the door put their heads down with their eyes closed. "You still sure he's doing the right thing, George? Are you still sure... He's the good guy in this story?" "You know better than to question him, Nick." "Don't call me that."

(Y/n) (L/n) was slain by Dream using Nightmare. Life: 2/3 (Y/n) (L/n) suffocated while trying to fend off Dream. Life: 1/3

"He just took two of an innocent woman's three lives. Just to use her as a hostage to make Tubbo hand over the nukes and to force Ranboo to follow his orders... He's a stranger, George. This isn't Dream anymore... Don't be stupid." Sapnap lowered his right arm that he read the messages off of and looked in the direction of his former best friend. The screams of agony were almost haunting as they echoed through Snowchester as silence fell down upon the entire Dream SMP. Shock slipped through the veins of everyone who read the message that appeared on their right wrists. - "I'm gonna kill him..." "I'm going to activate the nukes..." - "Techno... What did you do." "I owed him a favour. What he does after that is none of my business." - "...Isn't that Tubbo and Ranboo's wife?" "Yeah... She was my friend..." - "Tubbo's definitely not happy about this..." - "Ah... Atta girl..." Dream murmured in a mock soothing voice as he gently dragged his knife threateningly along your cheek. "Y'know... You would look better... With a smile." He leaned closer to you, the drawn-on eyes of his mask staring into your dull and tear-filled eyes as a stinging pain came from the corner of your lips. "Sh, sh, Relax... They're just shallow cuts, they won't even leave a scar. I'm not a monster." Time had passed quickly, but also excruciatingly slowly. You had no clue how long you had been down here, or how long you had been dead in between respawns. Dream just didn't seem to be leaving you alone. "Now..." He flipped the switchblade closed and threw it in his pocket before tremours shook the earth below and around you. "What the fUCK?!" He growled deeply before the door slammed open. "How did they even find this place!?" The door was blown off its hinges with a loud bang, causing Dream to duck out of the way of the flying piece of scrap. Light flooded into the room as you shut your eyes tightly, your ears ringing from the explosion. Once your eyes got a little bit adjusted, you opened them and saw five figures in the newly widened doorway. "Let's just say... It was an anonymous tip." "Sapnap?! You dare betray me?!" The black-haired male fell silent as he turned around and walked out, putting his hand on the shoulder of the tallest silhouette in the doorway as he walked by. Once you got completely used to the new light, you began to recognize the figures. Tommy, Tubbo, Foolish, and Ranboo. Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo immediately ran forward and started a barrage of attacks on the masked psychopath while Foolish ran over and began to work on the chains binding you to the chair. After getting them off of you, he silently picked you up as you turned your head to look at the blond, brunet and monochrome boys. Dream's mask got knocked off and was thrown across the room as he was pinned below a growling Ranboo, whose skin looked almost purely black from your angle. Tommy was off to the side, rummaging through Dream's equipment, he already got his revenge when Dream was put into prison, this was Ranboo and Tubbo's revenge now.

"̷̛̲̪͝Ỳ̵̧̖͒̉o̸̟̔̆û̶̩̟̍͊'̸̧̺̎̉ṟ̷̰͘ế̴͍̰̎ ̶̤͆̎̒g̶̭̋̇o̸͍̐͑i̸̼̟̾ņ̷͊̈́̈́ĝ̷̰̤̈́ ̵̘̉t̵͖͠ȯ̸͎ ̴͎̐̈́r̸̰͙̾̑͝e̸͚͌͑g̴̛̗̦͑ř̷̳̳̱e̵̲̿̕ṫ̶̨͓͗ ̷̢͊E̷̬̪͒͊͂V̷̟̒͝Ë̸̜R̷͐̄̏ͅ ̶̲̟̤͗͋t̴̝̎o̵̖̐ư̴̞̾̇c̶̡̙̐h̵̹̜̣̒͂̂į̴̙̤͠n̴̤̼̻̅̚ǧ̵̹̙̌͜ ̵̥̞̏m̶̱̳̦͗̌y̴̱̮͒̒̄ ̶̮̈͑͆f̸͉̽̄à̵̹͠m̵͕̓̅͋í̸͇̩͔̿l̷̰̫̳͗͑y̸̡͌̊́.̶͓̇͝"̸̡͆ ("You're going to regret EVER touching my family.") Ranboo hissed lowly before he and Tubbo began applying weight to the sword pressed against the speedrunner's chest. You shut your eyes tightly for a moment before you felt a bottle press into your hands, causing you to re-open your eyes to see Foolish trying to hand you a healing potion. You eagerly took a small sip from it, feeling the small slices on your cheeks form back together and the pain from the bruises around your neck vanishing completely.

Dream was slain by Ranboo and Tubbo using Ranord

There was a clattering noise before two sets of footsteps running in your direction. Slowly tilting your head in their direction, you saw Tubbo with dark bags under his eyes and Ranboo with plenty more scars on his cheeks from tears. You were pulled from Foolish's arms and brought down to sitting on Tubbo's and Ranboo's laps, their arms completely wrapped around you. The goat hybrid was nuzzled under your chin while the enderman's face was buried in your hair. "We should have come sooner..." "We shouldn't have even left you alone in the mansion..." "I'm sorry... I should have never left the manor..."

[aziraphales-library]

I’m really not sure how to word this, but can you list me some fics with like... a gimmick? Or a trope? As the basis of the plot? That’s not the best way to word it because it doesn’t have to be gimmickey or tropey, but just... You know, a plot that’s interesting... that starts out with a situation... unusual circumstances?? Am I making any sense? Like I’ve read the stuff that’s easily tagged like spells, fake relationship, soul mates, ect, but just fun, different stuff like that?? Sorry...

First of all, I want to apologise for the super later reply to this ask. I found it sitting unanswered in our drafts. To make up for it, here is an extra long list of gimmicky, tropey fics that i absolutely love!...

i've found a way (a way to make you smile) by curtaincall (T)

Crowley worked in Sales. He had never intended to work in Sales. It had just sort of happened. One moment, there he’d been, a newly minted university graduate off to change the world, exquisitely useless Philosophy degree in hand, and now here he was, having sauntered vaguely downwards into a Hell that consisted mainly of cold-calling new customers and sucking up to existing ones. AU based on The Office.

A (not quite) tinder date by NohaIjiachi (M)

“Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry—“ A man said, breathless, plopping himself down in the chair. He sounded like he ran a marathon. “Got held up at work— I couldn’t even check my phone! I’m so terribly sorry!”

Aziraphale would’ve beamed, at that. He would’ve immediately declared that it was no problem, these things happened, so no worries at all— Except the guy currently catching his breath in the chair in front of him was definitely not his missing date. That was unless he’d decided to shave his beard, make his hair grow magically, and dye it red.

“I—“ Aziraphale croaked, confused. The man tipped his chin down, glancing at Aziraphale above the rim of his darkened glasses with a surprising set of honey-coloured eyes, and winked at him. Aziraphale closed his mouth. “I— It’s quite alright. I’m glad you, huh— Could make it—“

Win a Date With Anthony J. Crowley! by Caedmon (E)

Crowley is a world-famous rock star who sells out arenas. His name is synonymous with 'rock-n-roll', and he thrives on the spotlight. When he agrees to raffle off a date with himself for charity, he's expecting to meet an overzealous fan that wants to wear his skin and very well might try to roofie him. What he's not expecting is to be instantly attracted to the quiet man with the unusual name who shows up for the date at the Ritz... and he's certainly not expecting for Aziraphale to have no clue who he is...

You’ve Got Kudos by curtaincall (M)

Aziraphale and Crowley both write fanfiction. As it happens, they both write Good Omens fanfiction.

Of course, neither of them would ever admit this to the other.

(A love story told primarily in AO3 comments)

The Best Laid Plans by hope_in_the_dark (T)

Ezra Fell has sworn off romance forever and is perfectly content with his books and his tea and his ugly wardrobe. At least, he is until a handsome stranger hits him with a car.

it’s a new craze by attheborder (T)

CROWLEY: I try not to make a habit of gratitude, but I must give our appreciation to everyone out there who’s been listening and subscribing to The Ineffable Plan. AZIRAPHALE: Ooh, yes, we’ve become quite popular, haven’t we? CROWLEY: Yeah, just hit number eight on the advice charts … No advertising at all. AZIRAPHALE: Mm. How … miraculous. CROWLEY: … Aziraphale. You did not.

***

Crowley and Aziraphale are very possibly the people least qualified, on the entire planet, to start up an advice podcast.

But what else is there to do when the world isn’t ending anytime soon, you’re technically on indefinite sabbatical from your lifelong careers, and you need a plausible excuse to spend more time with your best friend who you’re definitely not, absolutely not, maybe just a little, actually maybe overwhelmingly in love with?

happiness, more or less by TheKnittingJedi (M)

Renting a flat is all fun and games until you fall in love with the ghost haunting it.

An adaptation of the 2005 romcom Just Like Heaven.

on the same page by Chekhov (E)

Aziraphale Z. Fell is a rising star of the spiritual literary genre - the next Eat Pray Love guy - and his version of Chicken Soup For the Christian Soul is flying off the shelves. It's not that he's not grateful, but it's one thing to enjoy a career in writing and another completely to be pigeonholed into a specific genre, so much so that you are almost forbidden from writing anything else. So yes, maybe he has a bit of a secret. An outlet for his less... appropriate urges. And yes, if his typical readership got word of the sort of paragraphs he could put out on a particularly inspired night, they might suffer some form of heart attack typical for their age. But all of that is well hidden, and there is absolutely no way anyone would ever find out about his Arrangement with A.J. Crowley - the most debaucherous romantic fiction author of the decade. That is... until they have to pretend to be married to each other.

The Whole Damn World Seemed Upside Down by WyvernQuill (M)

"I just wish things were different," Crowley says... and the universe happily obliges.

Stuck - perhaps forever - in a reality in which Shadwell is the first Wiccan MP, Pepper's only aspiration in life is to be a dutiful wife to someone, and his beloved Bentley is a rusty VW bus, Crowley is slowly learning that "different" doesn't necessarily mean better...

But how long can he bear to live* in a world where Aziraphale hates him?

*Not that he has any other option. The Death of this world can't see blood...

The Annual Tadfield Cheese-Rolling Festival by summerofspock (T)

Disgruntled newscaster Anthony Crowley is forced to cover the annual Tadfield Cheese Rolling Festival...again. Only this year he's accompanied by a new producer who he can't seem to get his mind off of even though he's swiftly realizing he has far bigger problems. Namely, the fact that the Tadfield Cheese Rolling Festival refuses to end.

- Mod D

[ren-c-leyn]

Happy STS Ren! Just read Ch. 4 of Shackles of Time. Please tell me how in the world you write such amazing character dynamics and dialogue! If you have any tips to share, I'd love to hear them :D

And a happy sts to you too, hyba! I hope you're having a good one thus far.

So, I'm not entirely sure how I do what I do with the characters and their dynamics. I'm one of those writers who has very little control over their characters. I believe it was @writingonesdreams I told once that I don't know a character until that first time they laugh at something I wanted them to do, rip the reins out of my hands, and then steer the plot the way they want to go, and that affects the dynamics and dialogue and my approach to it.

But I'll happily share my general process for creating the dynamics and dialogue with you, and maybe it'll help you find something you can adapt to your own style? My own writing style is really chaotic. Fun, but chaotic. ^^'

I'm putting it under a read more since it ended up being a lot longer than I was expecting. ^^'

When I start a story, I start with the key characters I know will be there. For the Plight of a Sparrow it was only Sparrow, for Forgotten Gods it was Silver, Reuven, and Kitan; for The Shackles of Time it was The Time Keeper, Wyndulin, Merle, Arlen, and Night; and so on.

When building those characters, I keep it pretty open ended and flexible for change, but I set out the basics. Why are they a key character? What kind of person do I want them to become? Maybe a few quirks that came up in the random thoughts and daydreams that sparked the project to begin with.

Then, I take these characters and I tie them together to form the basis of their dynamics. Like A and B are best friends, but B and C will become rivals because of something that happened in the past, but A and C will find common ground over something that happens in the future.

Here's some examples of how that worked out in practice: Wyndulin and The Time Keeper I tied together by making them co-founders of the guild and former party members. That's the basic bond, the core of what I built their current dynamics on. I followed that dynamic to the conclusion that he would be protective of her since she's super secretive and would act as her voice and the face of the guild.

Now Merle, Arlen, and Night don't have a shared past, so instead I tied their future dynamics together by deciding that they'd be three rookies trying to join at the same time and would be roped into becoming a single team.

Now, in Orion's Oblivion, I used a mix of past and future dynamics. So, I tied Orion and Jinx together by deciding Jinx would take over Orion's ship and demand her help her with her revenge quest, or abandon the ship forever. This created an antagonistic relationship between them from the get-go. Spark got added to that dynamic as the sort of mediator between the two since her past set her dynamic with Orion as a sort of mom friend + voice of reason and Orion as the grumpy idiot who insists he doesn't need help but listens to her anyways.

Now those created dynamics have a lot of wiggle room and have a habit of changing during the actual writing. Like the Time Keeper and Wyndulin, the romance aspect of their relationship didn't come out until that scene in chapter 4 that you pointed out, with them holding hands and him kissing the top of her head. In the main trio, Night was supposed to be the sort of leader of the team and be more playful with her interactions, but that's not at all how she turned out when I started writing her.

Then, there's the additional chaos of my writing style that I can't account for. Notice how the list of characters I said I planned ahead of time is very short compared to the number of characters that are actually in my projects? That's because everyone else you meet in the story invited themselves to the party. I have no preset idea of what these characters are going to be like when I write them, and no clue what their dynamics with the other characters will be before their first interactions and I find their story thread and weave them into the story.

Zephyr, for example, was originally a sort of throwaway line in the rough draft that came to life while I was writing the published drafts of The Mentors chapters. He told me that he wanted to be in the spotlight, that he was working with Glenn, and that Glenn was his sweetheart and that was that. He existed, he was Glenn's partner, and he was Glenn's lover before I really had time to process that I had a new character in the guild. (Not that I regret it, I love him and his dynamics with Glenn and the main trio <3)

As a result, a lot of my dynamics form organically. I'm literally learning how my characters fit together as I go, just like if I was a reader. So I have to be flexible, and a lot of things get fixed between the drafts to account for me figuring out the new comers and how they fit in with the original characters.

I think that's it for how I build dynamics.

As for dialogue, I don't have a set process for it. Most of it just happens as I'm writing as a result of the characters' personalities and voices. It is something I practice a lot since it's one of my favorite parts of writing, though, so it comes pretty naturally to me at this point. Particularly sassy banter.

If I were to give tips for improving dialogue, I'd say pay extra attention to how different people in your life word things. I find that even in my social circle everyone has a different way of speaking, though there is a lot of overlap due to regional/personal overlaps.

Noting things you like about how other writers work with dialogue helps too. But don't feel pressured to only study other books. I found that movies, visual novels, comics, and other mediums that can't use a lot of accompanying detail words tend to have to focus on their dialogue more, and that can be really helpful to study.

Similarly, noting things you don't care for in how other bits of dialogue was done and why will also help you build your own dialogue. Like if you find a line in a movie stiff or awkward, try writing it down and seeing what it is about it that made it stick out as awkward.

Practice, of course, is a big one. You can study all you want, but practice is where you'll best learn to apply these things.

I also find reading my dialogue out loud can help with tracking down flow issues and problem spots, but I do that with most of my editing. Something about hearing the words out loud seems to make things pop out more than just reading it.

And then I think the most important tip I can offer, which will also help with dynamics, is start with your characters as individuals. Strong dialogue and dynamics need a strong base, and your character as an individual is that base.

In terms of dialogue and perspective, I'll pick out different greetings or little phrases depending on what God/Goddess they follow, the region they're from, and how formal/casual they are. I'll make up swears and insults based on the same criteria and just that will help separate out who is speaking in a long conversation.

To further help build the distinct voices, I will pick out personality traits, things connected to their profession, hobbies, and other things like that to hone in on and I'll filter their perspective and dialogue though it.

Like Kitan is unsure of himself, and it comes across in his speaking and internal monologue with a lot of 'I mean...', 'like', and 'I wish.' He also has a keen sense of smell and hearing, so those senses come into play a lot with what he notices and focuses on.

Emlyn is very direct and confident, and as much as she loves a good joke, she loves her work more and I think that comes across pretty well in how she deals with the other characters. The 'stones weep' exclamation is apart of her dwarven culture, however, and another dwarf who comes up later uses the same expression.

Perhaps the most extreme example I have of this method, and the one that built the foundation for the previous two examples, is Sparrow from The Plight of a Sparrow. Since she loved a game based on the world she was reborn in, she's constantly comparing and contrasting the game and the 'real' version of that world. She adores the beauty of the world, laments the lack of coffee, is horrified by how magic truly works, terrified when she's faced with real monsters and bandits, and is constantly kicking herself over not reading the scattered bits of lore that had been in the game. The entire time, she's searching for hints about where in the game's timeline she is so she can find a way to save her favorite characters from their bad endings. And she has a cute way of swearing, using terms like 'x button' and 'spacebar' instead of any actual swear words. You see this a lot more in her internal monologue than how she speaks, since she purposely tries to speak in a way that hides that she's going through all of this.

Now, in terms of dynamics, it affects how they respond to other character's personalities, quirks, and behavior. It also affects how long it takes for them to warm up to other characters, how they bond, that sort of thing.

For example, in Forgotten Gods Silver worships Cordial, a God of hospitality. As a result she uses food and drink as a sort of shield against harm, but Reuven and Kitan aren't familiar with that god or his law, so they don't pick up on the significance of her offering them lunch or tea and think she's just being friendly. So they both pop in repeatedly, kind of ruining her plans to become a hermit, but over their conversations during tea and lunch she slowly warms up to them as she comes to terms that they aren't like the people of her hometown.

And that's it, I think. The entire process behind my dynamic and dialogue building that I consciously do. The rest is just... what appears on the page as I write and a lot of editing work.

Thanks for stopping in. I hope you have a lovely day ^^

[allthatglittersisnotgoldrush]

HELLO!!! I can’t believe it took me my 2nd rereading of the series to realise you guys had an official Tumblr, but I’m just here to gush over how much I adore this AU! It has to be HANDS DOWN my favourite rendition of Silm fanwork— I looked forward to working my way through all 400+ fics during a rather tough month every night, so it was serious comfort content for me!! There’s really nothing else like it 💓

The amount of research, planning and depth that goes into each piece just never fails to astound me. I especially adore the spotlight you give to characters like Gwindor (what a guy), Caranthir, Estrela/Arien— and truth be told sometimes I forget characters like Sticks aren’t in the canon verse lmao. And! Seeing Melian’s Chinese culture written in the Doriath fics was a pleasant surprise too; it really resonated in a personal way with me that I’ve never seen explored in any other way before so that’s just one of the countless things that make you guys’ AU so goshdarn *special*

Plus I could rave for HOURS about just how beautifully complex Maedhros is (and continues to be… Pharmakós! Pharmakós!) as the AU’s gem (best booooyy), or all the intertwining character relationships... I am speechless. Literally. maybe for the best bc asks probably have word limits but I DIGRESS

I look forward to each and every update, and I’m so SO excited to see what lies in store!!! I’m slowly but steadily sorting my way through this blog but if you don’t mind me asking, do you guys have any canon designs of the cast? I would love to do fanart if I can find the time but am also TERRIFIED of inaccuracies, so I hope you don’t mind me asking! Still, keep up the brilliant work and thank you again for this absolute blessing to the Silm fandom 💓

That you are rereading the AU MULTIPLE times is simply the best compliment we could ever receive. Hopefully our next 400+ fics get you through the next ten years or however long it takes us. Every comment and kudos and bookmark are noted and appreciated.

Also, can we congratulate you on flawless taste in characters? Estrela and Caranthir and Gwindor are among our author-favorites to write for, especially since our adaptations of them feel so personally developed at this point. It's hard to remember sometimes that Estrela is the literal sun in Tolkien canon, or that Gwindor and Maedhros were never friends.

As for Maedhros, it seems fair to say that he's the central character, the primary protagonist of this retelling, and we strive to make him interesting and tragic and funny and poignant and [very hot] and so, yes, a gem. Thank you for loving him! Not a day goes by in the authorial groupchat when we're not talking about him. For a while his physical action necessarily stagnated because of his injuries, but we did our best to keep his character growth forward-moving, and use the time (ahh, The Healing Year, was it like half the AU or something? :D) to develop many relationships that were set up early on.

Now, for an apology that this reply is so belated: you asked if we had canon designs for the cast...please don't be terrified to make your own fanart! We are so honored when anyone creates anything, and you're welcome to draw as much or as little on the descriptions in our fics when doing so. If you go through the fanart tag on the blog, you can see the variety of interpretations that other generous fans have shared.

Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and this lovely long ask. Promise we'll be seeing more of Melian's Chinese culture in Pharmakos! Happy reading :)

(PS- Mythopoeia here to add on that yes, please!!! Feel free to draw all characters however you imagine them, it is so much fun for us as writers to see how readers see what we have written! If, however, you still do want any additional specific information about specific characters, feel free to send more queries and we shall answer as best we can, with the caveat that even from each of us three some descriptions could be slightly different—we don’t coordinate as much on physical descriptions of people as you might think, beyond generally having the same vibes I guess, haha. Best example of us working together to give “canon” description reference to an artist is the beautiful painting of Maedhros, Estrela, and Gwindor that@arlenianchronicles made last year :) Basically just have fun with what we have made and we are honored by anything and everything you do! Thanks again for reading and for sending such an amazing response, truly a highlight of the whole month for us!)

[allyce-11]

Okay another Hogwarts AU that nobody ask for but i did anyway :D 

Let me introduce the mystery trio! and the reason for the headache of many teachers! 

So I love Gravity Falls, and I saw people before making their own AU with them in Hogwarts, so I just wanted to do my own and have a bit of fun! Here are some of the important parts I thought about the story in general.

(clarification: Bill is OOC for obvious reasons because he is a human here, not a chaotic psychopathic demon… He is a chaotic hyperactive troublemaker, with pretty grey morals but not, you know evil.

And I'm NOT writing a fanfic about this, why? because i can't write :D but if any of you feel like doing one because i inspire you with this bunch of nonsense, i will love to read it so please send me a link.)

Okay this is a long post so put yourself comfortable! 

- The twins are muggleborn but the Stans are wizards so when their parents discover that they are magical they send them to live in Gravity Falls so they can adapt a bit better.

- Gravity Falls is mostly a magical town but still has some muggles. (the people there think is a tourist town and basically explain any weird thing that happen there with the locals searching new ways to attract tourist with their “magic and mystery town act”)

- The twins go to live there at the age of 9, when they start to show signs of accidental magic, two years before starting Hogwards.

- Bill is an orphan. There is an orphanage just outside Gravity Falls.  A catholic orphanage at that, and let's say that when Bill started to make weird things happen around him… well, they didn't like it, they thought he was possessed. He gets punished, the staff and the kids ignore or fear him calling him a “demon”, all in all not really healthy for a small kid…   He started to leave the orphanage and run to the forest, the forest has weird things like him so he likes it. 

- Then one day he and Dipper run into each other (because of fucking course Dipper go to the forests even if its dangerous and he is a little kid, because who is gonna stop him? his responsable guardians?) and who would have seen this coming? They became fast friends (two lonely kids, wizards, that love the forest and are a bit of nerds? they got no problem getting along) Dipper eventually brought Mabel too and the mystery trio was born. 

- The three of them became really close at the point that Bill was more in the Mystery Shack that in the orphanage (though he has to go back regularly still, because you know, he is still they problem and all) 

- Eventually the Stans managed to adopt him so he could live with the twins (this happened at the end of three year.) The guy was there all the time anyways and Stan got a soft spot for the little bastard. The orphanage was just too happy to get rid of him. 

- Stan gets expelled in his fifth year. He runs the Mystery Shack as a tourist trap for muggles and sells some not so legal things for wizards.

 - Fords gots 12 NEWT and becomes an inventor, he works for the ministry and does all his experiments in his lab in the shack. 

 - The twins and Bill knew that they probably wouldn't end in the same house but promised to keep being just as close. 

- Dipper got into Ravenclaw, he does good in the majority of his classes but his best subjects are Transfiguration, Potions, Arithmancy, and Care for the magical creatures. (He chose Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and Care for magical creatures.)

- Mabel got into Hufflepuff, her best subjects are Charms, Herbology and Care for magical creatures. (she chose Care for magical creatures and Divination) her worst subjects are Potions. 

- Bill got into Slytherin and his best subjects are Defence against the dark arts, Astronomy, Arithmancy and Care for magical creatures. (He chose Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and Care for magical creatures.)

-The three of them became animagi in fifth year (in secret) Obviously Dipper make sure they do everything right and get the other two to be serious because “guys if we fuck this up in any point we can end up in some sort of half transfigureted animal so you are taking this seriously or i swear i gonna drown you in the black lake!” [Dipper is a dog (Border Collie)] [Mabel is a rabbit (lop)] [Bill is a wolf]

- The Mystery trio go to the forbidden forests rather frequently (they got caught half the time and get in trouble but they keep doing it)

- Mabel keeps putting patches and glitter in her robes even when the teachers take them away the next day the girl appears with more, it reaches a point where they just give up. 

- Bill and Mabel play quidditch, Bill is a beater, and Mabel a chaser. They can be really competitive, Dipper has no interest in quidditch and does not like flying, he only goes to support his friend and sister. 

- I see Bill and Dipper getting together in their, idk fifth year maybe? but you can also see it like a platonic close friendship.

 Mcgonagall: Why is it when something happens, it is always you three?

Dipper: Believe me, professor, i've been asking myself the same question for years  

(something explode somewhere)

Snape: Mr Pines! Where is Mr Cipher? 

Dipper: I don't know! why would i?!

Snape: …

Dipper:..

Snape:...

Dipper: three floor, boys bathroom.

Okay i gonna stop it here because this is long enough, if you read all of this, you have a place in my heart wow thank you. 

PS: (For anyone curious:

Ford: Ravenclaw

Stan:Slytherin

Wendy: Gryffindor 

Pacifica: Slytherin

Grenda: Gryffindor

Candy: Ravenclaw

Soos:Hufflepuff

Gideon: Slytherin 

Robbie: Slytherin )

[starry-skies-116]

Software Instability- Chapter 6: "Afraid"

Something had happened when those words were uttered- muffled and garbled and punctuated by static, but he still heard them, all too clear in his ears despite everything.

The robot glanced around at his family- their eyes have the light of love or pride to them no longer. Instead, they are cold, calculating and unfeeling, ripping out various, terrifying weapons that struck a primal sort of fear and need for survival into him, creeping deeper into him.

“You’re…” he manages out. “What’s happening? Did I do something wrong? I did everything right, I think…”

Silence, before he feels a hand on his shoulder. The movements stop. “Nothing was supposed to happen. This wasn’t supposed to happen- you’re not supposed to be alive,” No-Cookie man huffs out. His heart skips a beat.

Not supposed to be alive…?

“Wh-what do you mean…?” the boy’s voicebox glitches and fritzes as he speaks.

Deep and tired blue eyes stare back at him, exasperated and somewhat, somehow displeased, brows furrowed at him. “You’re not supposed to think. You weren’t supposed to be excited about your birth- your creation. You weren’t supposed to show emotions, or joy at having all five senses. You weren’t supposed to feel anything at all- you are an entity made of code. You were supposed to grow, change, learn and adapt to your surroundings, but not like this- you weren’t supposed to gain consciousness, gain awareness. You gained sentience and you deviated from your code- that wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Not supposed to… what did No-Cookie man mean? Did he disobey Big Sis Priya and his family and friends all this time without even knowing…?

His chest constricts, ribs crushing themselves with morbid realization.

No… no! Stupid, stupid, stupid- you were supposed to be a good boy! An obedient child! You were supposed to make them happy so you could live with them and be happy with them!

The boy glances down at his hands. The thump-thump of his heart speeds up- the yellow glow of nervousness comes back, ringing like a dull ache in his yellow temple.

“You gendered yourself upon your creation because of us mistakenly using human pronouns to refer to you. You hungered and tired as humans did, and you felt pain when you fell down,” Big Sis continues, much to his shock. “You took after my habit of vocal tics in response to certain unexpected events- you observed and you subconsciously copied. That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

It wasn’t…?

“You weren’t brought to life- you’re fake. You’re don’t have a name, have a face. You’re a machine, and nothing more. An object- a toy. Had there not been any errors, we would’ve sold you back to one of Fazbear Entertainment’s assembly lines for the purpose of entertaining kids. You weren’t programmed to feel- you weren’t programmed to be alive,” one of the men-in-black say, pulling out the same unfamiliar instrument of destruction the robot had tossed behind him- a stupid decision. “Do you understand me, you piece of plastic? You are not real- you are not alive.”

Yellow turns to orange, then magenta, then back to orange again. He didn’t get it…!

“I don’t understand…!” he replies, frantic, dread rising and swelling from within. “I’m… I’m merchandise? A product… to be sold? To be used? No, I… I thought…” he whispers. He thought? “I thought I was alive… I thought I was born!”

He was an object- merchandise to be sold and brought and used and damaged as people pleased. He was found and was free to be used and abused.

He wasn’t programmed to feel… he wasn’t programmed to feel.

He wasn’t programmed to be alive. He wasn’t real.

He was not supposed to be alive.

“D… don’t…” he whispers out- words had left him, only desperate pleas lingered. “Guys…” he finally squeaks out, pathetic, small, helpless. The endless, cold red of fear climbs up his body and illuminates the room.

“There’s an error in your systems,” they respond in unison. “We’re going to dissassemble you and analyze you to find out what went wrong- then, we’re going to resume the reinitialization process and have you sent to a Fazbear Entertainment warehouse to be branded and sold.”

So… he murmurs to himself, fear overtaking him by the minute.

None of this was supposed to happen?

The boy wasn’t supposed to be hungry- supposed to be tired. He wasn’t supposed to be real- to feel pain- to bleed and breathe and cry as his friends did… what was wrong with him? Was his existence wrong? Was him awakening so joyfully to life wrong?

Was he defective, useless? Was he weak?

Hands clap themselves over the robot’s ears- he doesn’t know until later that those are his own, trembling and quivering with a desperate plea to live, oh god please he wasn’t supposed to be alive but something in him wanted to live. “No… no!” he exclaims, feeling his back hit the cold glass as dread creeps up his body. “This can’t be…! This can’t be happening! I am alive, I was born! You told me…!”

“That was a lie. A test. You weren’t supposed to believe such things- it’s not in your programming. You’re a walking computer with arms and legs that’s capable of so many things- you’re worth a fortune, we can’t take any risks,” the woman with the higher-pitched voice expresses.

Not in his programming.

Not in his programming not in his programming what the hell is his programming.

“No no no! No, no, I can assure you, you see, I… I feel- I feel perfectly fine!” he exclaims, diving out of the way and backing himself away from his friends as far as possible. “I passed all the tests and I’ve met all the requirements, didn’t I…!”

His LED flared once again with a sharp pain ricocheting through his temple- yellow, red, red, yellow, orange, then red, then yellow again. Back to red.

Didn’t I…?

“I’m sorry, dear,” Big Sis’s soothing voice replies, doing little to calm his pounding heart. “Whatever this is, this isn’t supposed to be in your programming. Defective products aren’t something our clients or higher-ups will accept- we’re going to get a hell of a lot of complaints going to corporate, we might even get fired over this!”

The hell you mean defective! What is worth a life, a soul? He wanted to scream.

Instead, he pleaded, the conflict in his head pounding like inescapable voices and noise- a sense of self-preservation like an entity that’s wailing, terrified and hurt from within. “I’ll shut up!” he exclaims. “I’ll be good, I’ll keep quiet, do every single thing my owners ask of me! I’ll never say a word about this exchange, I’d never risk your careers, I’d never hurt you! You’re my friends, you’re my family!”

Again, a pause before one in the crowd scoffs out a laugh. “You’re not supposed to have a family. You’re not supposed to be alive.”

“Please!” he begs- something wet fills his eyes as he is backed up against a familiar, thick glass panel- the outside of the room he woke up in. “I was just born, I was just fixed, you can’t disassemble me, you can’t kill me! I beg of you, please, I just want to live!”

He didn’t want to die- the cold, enroaching black of oblivion neared further and further with how much closer they were getting to tearing him apart.

The LED was red now- an endless red, red red red. Servos hot and burning with primal red.

Tears- hot, thick, liquid and actual tears were running down his face, coming in the masses- no matter how hard the robot willed himself to be strong, they wouldn’t stop, why wouldn’t they stop, stop crying, damnit!

“I’m scared!” he cries, practically wails over the sound of sharpening tools and whirring machinery hellbent on his death. “You’re scaring me, please! I don’t wanna die!”

Everything is scared. I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared.

Scared and red and scared because I’m going to die I’m going to die die die I don’t want to die.

SYSTEM ERROR: CRITICAL OVERHEAT, STRESS LEVELS 99%

99% became 100% became 1896281937% became 132% became 1̷͓̓9̶̦̑0̷͎̾0̷͎̅9̴͉̋1̴̞͠r̵͔͘ŷ̶̰5̴̖͝4̵̘̕2̵̘̌7̶͚͒2̶̩̚u̴̖̔1̷̯̓ȳ̶̪ḏ̸̌e̵̖͒q̷͉͗`̵̱̉8̴̦̆ě̴͉f̴͕̀ẅ̸̪́e̵͙̋g̷̲̾v̸̤͝%̸͍̀.̵̧̔

The rope snaps- the peonies bloom.

He looks back up again, the room doused in the burning glow of a scarlet red, eyes looking upon him not with cold unfeelingness, but with terror, life flashing before their eyes as tears glistened on their lashes, threatening to spill.

I’m going to live. I’m not going to die no matter what!

“# .. # -- / --. --- .. -. --. / - --- / .-.. .. ...- . -.-.-- #”

[blu-joons]

DATING BTOB A⇴Z HEADCANON ⇴ Im Hyunsik

A ⇴ AFFECTION

Hyunsik loves to use his shoulders to make you feel tiny in his hold, he’s always nice and tight with his hugs, and will use his long chest to be able to stretch around and often press a kiss against your cheek as well.

B ⇴ BEFORE DATING

When a figure stood beside you at the bar, you instantly tensed up, especially so when they asked what you were drinking. Your eyes nervously looked across, drawn to the smile that he wore and the offer of a drink on him as he pulled his wallet in exchange for being able to get your number from you to put in his phone.

C ⇴ CONFESSION

Hyunsik’s confession ended up being a slightly tipsy one during an evening with the boys. Although he professed to being a good drinker, even this was slightly too much for him, letting his mouth run away with him. You thought when he first said it that it was a bit of a joke, but when Eunkwang told you that that really was how he felt about you, you calmed him down by letting you know you’d talk about it more in the morning.

D ⇴ DATES

The two of you did just about anything when it came to your dates, you both were up for trying new things, however simple or crazy they might have been. Hyunsik had two very different sides to him when it came to dates with you, whilst he could do the gentlemanly act and take you to dinner, he could also turn into someone very competitive, especially if your date was sporty, and do whatever it took to make sure that he won. Either side, you adored, and always had a great time whenever you were on a date with him.

E ⇴ EXPERIENCE

He’s very aware of how observant his fans are, having been caught up in a rather strange incident previously, and so he’s very cautious about how he handles your relationship to make sure not too many hints are dropped that the fans might pick up on. He doesn’t want to put you into any harm, and so he makes sure to avoid your social medias and workplace so that no one can trace him back to you. He’s learnt from seeing how other relationships have unfolded to make sure the same doesn’t happen to your own.

F ⇴ FIGHTING

If there’s one thing that frustrates you about Hyungsik, it’s that he often switches off and doesn’t listen to the things that you’re saying to him. You’ll often call out his name to get his attention again, trying to keep yourself calm and not get too frustrated that he didn’t pay attention to what you were saying to him. Arguing with you is not something Hyungsik enjoys either, he’s got a lot of pride, and the last thing he wants is for someone else especially, to see that his relationship isn’t as perfect as he portrays it. He works hard on making your relationship seem good, and so arguments are always kept for at home.

G ⇴ GETTING TO KNOW HIS FAMILY

He’s a gentleman, and incredibly patient too, so Hyungsik will wait only until when you’re ready to introduce you to his family. He’s in no rush, he doesn’t see you going anywhere and so once you’re settled and confident that you can make the best first impression, then he’ll take you across to meet all of them.

H ⇴ HOME

When Hyungsik is working until the late hours, you’ll often invite him over to your place so that he can rest as it’s a lot closer to the studio than his place is. Although neither of you are yet to officially move in, you tend to spend most nights either at your place, or his, depending on how the situation is unfolding.

I ⇴ “I LOVE YOU”

Hyungsik was the first one of the two of you to say those three special words when you went out to dinner one evening. He was determined to make it a romantic occasion, slightly different from most of your other dates. In fact, the whole evening took your breath away, but that was most definitely the icing on top of the cake.

J ⇴ JEALOUSY

He had a tendency to jump to conclusions a little which often let him a little jealous over certain situations. Although he was a confident guy, there was still an element of doubt that often crept in when he saw other people a little too close to you. Pride often got in the way of his jealousy too, Hyungsik couldn’t help but step in and pull you away when he was feeling jealous, only to usually realise that he’d gotten the wrong end of the stick or interrupted a rather important conversation for you.

K ⇴ KIDS

Although the future was something that Hyungsik didn’t worry about too much, he was open minded when it came to talking about it and imagining how things may be for the two of you. He never put a number on how many kids you’d had and didn’t want to pinpoint exactly how he’d be as a father, instead he wanted to look forward to when it happened and picture all sorts of scenarios that might unfold.

L ⇴ LAUGHTER

Hyungsik was confident that he could put a smile on your face in almost any situation, he knew exactly how to make you laugh, using his time in the band to learn how happy people were around him. He’s incredibly positive, which will often leave you smiling, even when you’re thinking the worse, Hyungsik is there to remind you that good things could happen and that there’s no reason to dwell on things. Serious environments are not for him, and so when things feel a little down, he’ll pick it straight back up and make plenty of jokes until everyone’s got smiles back on their faces once again.

M ⇴ MISSING

He’s not someone that will switch off when he misses you, instead Hyungsik will do things that keep you in mind, which can keep him happy too. He’ll often look over old photos and videos, laughing away to himself backstage as he remembered the memories you’d made. For you, he’d often send you gifts or voice notes to make sure that you were thinking of him too and doing so with a smile on your face rather than getting upset over how much you missed him. He could never just forget about you on tour, his only job was to make sure that he remembered, but that he did so with happy memories in mind.

N ⇴ NICKNAMES

You’ll love to tease him, often referring to him as a ‘show off,’ for how confident he was. If you beat him at a game, that would definitely be when you’d use the nickname to rub it in his face that you were the winner.

O ⇴ OBSESSION

He was obsessed with your hold; he loves feeling your arms wrap around him whenever he’s coming from behind or the side to pull you into his chest.

P ⇴ PDA

More than anything else, Hyungsik is aware with his affection, adapting quickly to most situations. If you need to be protected, he’ll do it in a heartbeat, but if you’re more relaxed and just want to hold onto his hand, he’ll extend it out and swing your arms around, always pushing the boundaries and making you laugh.

Q ⇴ QUESTIONS

You’re forever having to ask Hyungsik if he’s really listening to you when he switches out of a conversation. Most of the time he doesn’t realise he’s doing it until an object flies across the room and wakes him back up again.

R ⇴ RANDOM FACTS

Hyungsik is well known for his tattoos, but he’ll have another that no one knows about, except for you. His tattoos get plenty of attention from the fans but hidden at the top of his leg will be another small tattoo, that no one would ever be able to see on stage, dedicated to you. He loves that no one knows about it, and that it’s with him always, without having to answer any questions or explain the meaning behind it.

S ⇴ SEX

You never quite know what to expect from Hyungsik during intimacy, some evenings he can be a complete gentleman, romantic and loving with his touch. Other times, if his confidence is feeling high, he’ll be a little rougher and dominate with you, letting you know that he’s in charge. Either way, he always makes sure to take care of you, and if you’re not happy at any point, he’ll change what he’s doing instantly.

T ⇴ TEXTS

He’ll often text you little surprises, letting you know he’s waiting to pick you up from work, or to unlock the door because he’s bringing food round. He’ll always pop up with a text, waiting to spend time with you.

U ⇴ UNIVERSE

The two of you were very much a team, your relationship was one that many people would watch in awe of how sweet the two of you were. Not only did it do Hyungsik’s pride the world of good, but it made you feel very secure too.

V ⇴ VACATION

Wintertime had always been Hyungsik’s favourite time of year, so with a chill in the air and plenty of snowfall, he loved to go away with you and have fun. He loves the cold, and even though you aren’t the biggest fan of it, seeing how happy it makes Hyungsik will make it at least bearable for you to be out in it.

W ⇴ WHINING

There are definitely times when Hyungsik will whine at you, but you love to pretend that you’re not listening to get back at him for all the times that he doesn’t.

X ⇴ XXXXX

He’s always very powerful with his kisses, Hyungsik isn’t someone that will pepper kisses or be particularly delicate with his touch, instead he’ll be quite bold and linger with many of his kisses. He’s not someone that’s for quick kisses that can often be left without meaning, instead he’ll make sure that each kiss is filled with meaning, and love, and make sure you’re never left wanting more from him.

Y ⇴ YOU

You were the one that kept him grounded, and always made him feel at home.

Z ⇴ ZZZ

He sleeps a tremendous lot, you’ll often find him napping around the house at various points throughout the day, but he can never sleep as well as he does when you’re there for him to lay upon and relax with.

---

Masterlist