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changbunnies · 8 months

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Crave, Part 2 (18+)

♡ Pairing: Romantic Demon!Hyunjin x Human Fem!Reader

♡ Genre: supernatural au, demon au, age gap relationship typical in monster fucker fics, coworkers to lovers and love triangle vibes :')

♡ Word Count: 6.5k

♡ Summary: "The more a thing is perfect, the more it feels pleasure and pain." - Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy. In which Hyunjin, a demon from the nine circles of hell, finds himself impossibly infatuated with the very human he once set upon himself to destroy.

♡ Warnings: this is a part 2! read part 1 here, more immoral behavior and thoughts + ideas from hyunjin ofc, supernatural abilities, themes of possesiveness and jealousy, more talks of sinful acts / feelings from the perspective of a demon, reader's age is not specified but it is implied to be at least mid twenties.

♡ Notes: sorry ya'll it took longer for this to come out than i intended, i wasn't feeling well so i was resting ;v; and tbh i still don't feel well but i really wanted to keep writing so i powered thru to get this done!! this part is story focused but dw, explicit smut is coming next <3 the focus here is building up their relationship so that the smut feels like a natural development and they aren't just instantly in love lol i hope you enjoy it!

♡ Disclaimer: please read responsibly, and remember that this work is fiction and meant strictly for imaginative fun. the idols used in fics are more accurately faceclaims and personality outlines for imaginary characters, and should not be interpreted as factual representations of existing people.

How do you make a human fall in love? A question that is perhaps simple in theory, but Hyunjin hasn't wooed a human in centuries, and much has changed since he last blended in with society. In the modern age of technology, sin is at the most rampant it's ever been. The common man can access all manner of sin from the palm of his hand with a single device, and it has made the act of integrating into human society an unnecessary practice for demons.

There's a plethora of human sin to feed from at any given moment, and obsolete is the need for a demon to blend in with the humans that walk the earth, no longer required to be a snake in the community garden just waiting for their moment to strike and consume. Though an outdated method to obtain their wants, integration with humans can still be done, if only the demon in question wishes to do so- and as Hyunjin has come to realize, he does if he wants to win over the object of his desire.

Despite how long it's been since Hyunjin walked among them, he wasn't ignorant of modern human culture; he still had to be well-informed if he wanted to be effective and efficient in sowing the seeds of sin in feeble minds, after all- his work in the second circle required such knowledge, and it was also a benefit when it came to deciding which soul he would drink from to sustain himself.

He knew perfectly well how to use most modern technology, knew how to dress in a manner that was unique to his own tastes but suited the trends of the era, and whatever "pop culture" knowledge he lacked, as it was called by humans, he could blame it on things such as "preferring to stay off social media," or "not watching much tv or playing much games," and most would take it as a fair, reasonable enough excuse, even if the person asking questions of him could not relate to his answer.

In the last century especially, most of Hyunjin's public outings were limited to a few hours at most, spending that entire time scoping out who'd sustain his cravings the most. Nightclubs in particular were an easy place for Hyunjin to get a quick fix of the lust he needed, sustaining him well enough when his preferred love-drenched lust was still being built to its peak.

Despite all his experience in human matters, there was something that posed a problem for him initially. Since moving into your lavish suite, you worked from home- a luxury Hyunjin assumes you have from a high ranking position within whatever company you work for (especially if this is the kind of place you can afford to live in on a single salary.) But if you only ever left the house long enough to run errands, how was he supposed to meet you organically? And further still, how does he meet you in such a way that makes contact with you consistent, that makes you want to talk with him and be in his presence?

He could, theoretically, stage a meeting, pretend to be a neighbor entering the building at the same time or "accidentally" bump into you while shopping for something he has absolutely no use for, only to then charm you the moment your eyes lock with his. The problem with that approach is that charming you defeats the purpose of what he wants; for you to have genuine, real love for him, and only him. And asking you out after meeting you just once, in a situation where you have no reason to connect with him further, could be uncomfortable or off-putting in the eyes of women. What woman likes to be hit on by a stranger while she's grocery shopping?

Hyunjin's human form is attractive, sure, but looks can only carry him so far when it comes to making a woman fall for him. His appearance is useful for one night stands, but he needs to show you more substance than that if he wants you to desire him beyond the physical- and he was sure based on his observations of your character that you weren't vain or superficial enough to fall for him based on looks alone.

Thankfully, he didn't have to ponder on these questions for much longer, because only a few short days after you finished all your unpacking and decorated your apartment to your liking, you returned to work. He could tell easily enough what your destination was when your routine suddenly deviated; for the first time since moving in, you had turned on a repeating alarm for 6 A.M, and your choice of business casual clothing and subtle, office appropriate makeup told him all he needed to know.

Hyunjin followed you there, naturally; presence hidden, lingering in the shadows with the intent to best establish how to infiltrate your work environment. As he expected, you held a high ranking position inside a corporate office- head of human resources for one of the many subsidiaries of some conglomerate Hyunjin had never heard of, as typically there is no need or reason for him to be well versed in human's business dealings.

Becoming someone you work with directly would be the best route, he was sure. Whether on equal ground or as someone answering to you on a team, it was the option that gave him the most opportunity to create a connection with you, and maybe be the start of one of those sappy office romances that humans seem to enjoy in their media.

It was fine if there were no employment openings- it'd be simple for Hyunjin to create one by exerting his influence over a human's mind. He'd pick out whomever you liked the least, someone who bothered you either overtly or simply by being an inefficient worker, and he'd take their place. He could plant the idea of a career change, a desire to move across the country, or simply get them fired should the gentler, subtle approach be deemed too time consuming for Hyunjin's taste.

Of course, Hyunjin knew jack fucking shit about how your job truly works or what would be required of him if he was on your team, but that was fine too- it would be easy for him to fake his performance when necessary, and charm any who questioned his work abilities. He wouldn't enjoy lying to you directly if there was ever a need for it but, well.. The ends justify the means, don't they? And while he wouldn't charm you for love, certainly it wouldn't hurt to do so to make him appear a better worker than what he would be in reality, right?

No matter what his hypocritical justifications were, he’d do anything necessary to make you his, even if it meant having to lie at times. It was a foreign feeling, being conflicted about lying when typically lying came second nature to a demon, but he supposed his infatuation for you is what makes it feel different. Is that why truth was considered a godly virtue? It was the first time in his life that just the thought of lying, before it could even be an act done in the first place, felt.. wrong.

Maybe because on some subconscious level he recognized that love woven from lies isn’t true, no matter how much he’d wish it to be. Even if you fell sincerely in love with him, would it still satisfy him to have gotten there based on tricks and lies? When he determined that the answer to that question was a firm “no,” he vowed he would do his best to keep lies far from his lips when it came to you, even if that made his goal more difficult to achieve. Strange, how this was easily the most human he’d ever felt.

In a way, it is almost natural to feel this way, to be met with internal conflict for the first time in ages; most demons are born directly from human sin, after all. What is he, if not the physical manifestation of a human who has fallen from perfection? More powerful than a mere human though he was, his proverbial soul still held an innate inclination towards sin, the struggle with temptation and decadence inherent to his very being, as hypocrisy and corruption went hand in hand with sin, hand in hand with the very human condition he would oft wrongfully deny he felt.

And that wasn’t the only human emotion that came to him when he watched you at work for the first time. Most of the morning was spent rather uneventfully, Hyunjin’s time dedicated entirely to scoping out the environment and determining where he’d best fit within your corporate world. He observed the people on your team, who was designated where and what their duties were, keeping track of what feelings and opinions you had for whom, looking out for who he would be able to effectively replace.

Without warning, he sensed it, felt it, tasted it- love, seeping out of your pores, heart suddenly alight and a smile that should be reserved for him lingering on your lips. Jealousy pricked Hyunjin’s skin before he could even fully process the scene before him, a deep fondness in your eyes as a man that Hyunjin could only assume was from another department approached you with a smile of his own.

Shit. It was expected that he would find out who you loved eventually, but he didn’t anticipate that it would be here, in the very environment he was setting up to be the stage for your romance with him. The man asked you questions and talked in ways you’d expect to hear between friends or coworkers- “how’d the move go?”, “are you settling in well?”, and “you should invite me over sometime!”

It was the last statement that made Hyunjin’s eye twitch with suppressed anger, not much liking the idea of the person you’re in love with being alone with you in your apartment. Every time you giggled at something he said or blushed when the man held your gaze, it nearly made him sick with envy. Fuck him, he didn’t deserve you, Hyunjin thought, I'm better than him in every conceivable way, that should be me.

This man didn’t love you the way you loved him; Hyunjin could tell, could feel the platonic affection that radiated from him. And instead of being happy about the implication that Hyunjin would have no rival for your affection when he pursued you in earnest, it almost made him more pissed off. This guy didn’t even know how fucking perfect you were, didn’t seem to notice the way your eyes sparkled with affection, how your heart raced when he hugged you, or the bashful smile that lingered when he invited you to share your lunch hour with him.

He’s a complete fucking idiot for not being head over hells for you- you, who’s only sin is lust, who is beautiful, intelligent, humble, and positively radiant in presence without even realizing just how much value she truly has. It’s okay, he has to remind himself, it’s a good thing his one-sided rival doesn’t share your sentiment; because when Hyunjin shows you how beautiful you are, treats you with the reverence you deserve, your heart would surely shift to beat for him instead. He’ll make sure of it.

You let out a sigh as you comb through the next resume that found its way to your desk, exhausted from the amount of interviews you've conducted today. This was probably your least favorite aspect of your job if you were being honest; being the head of human resources put you in charge of all recruiting efforts, scanning through countless applications to determine who was the best fit for the company, but you never enjoyed doing it.

It always makes you feel guilty to determine someone else's worth based on a flimsy piece of paper and interview first impressions, where nerves are almost always at their peak as the person sitting across from you makes their best conscious effort to impress you. It is also not a job you can delegate to someone else on your team, unfortunately; your place at the top of the HR department made all hiring decisions entirely up to your own discretion. And apart from the guilt of knowing you couldn't hire everyone that walked through your door, it was so tiring to go over the same questions multiple times a day with a myriad of strangers.

Hwang Hyunjin was the name of the last person you'd be interviewing today (much to your relief) and you hoped he'd be the person to wow you in the end, as you have lukewarm feelings to who you've met thus far. Despite the impressive credentials on most resumes you reviewed, none of the people you'd met seemed to be a good long term fit for the company; some of them would likely only be good as temps, needing to be let go unless they showed substantial improvement in the areas they were lacking in.

It was a terrible thing to judge someone based on whether or not they were able to calm their nerves or had enough charisma, but when working for corporate conglomerates you can't afford to be meek. It was okay to be shy and reserved in your personal life, many people in the office were, but for the sake of professionalism you're required to have the ability to put meek tendencies aside. If the interviewee couldn't speak with confidence, then you had reason to believe they'd crack under the daily pressures of speaking with representatives of other departments or when handling sensitive negotiations.

Unfortunately, you don't typically have the luxury of giving applicants the benefit of the doubt or the ability to give them the opportunity to change your first impression of them. You take a glance at the clock hanging above the door to your office, opposite of your desk; it's just a few short minutes until you meet your last applicant, and you pray he'll be the person you've been looking for. Despite how desperate you are to fill the hole in your team after Mina's extremely abrupt resignation and move out of the country, you still don't want to hire just to fill the gap she left- you want someone capable and confident on your team.

You take one last passing glance at the man's resume, making sure you're familiar with his education and work history, not wanting to be mistaken on any of the details listed. A short succession of knocks are heard on your door a few moments later, and you look up from the resume you're rereading to see Nayeon opening the door just enough for her head to come into view. "M-Ma'am, H-Hwang Hyunjin, uh- he's here for his interview," she speaks in a timid voice, face flushed the brightest pink you'd ever seen on her.

Your brows furrow ever so slightly in wonder and concern at her out of character demeanor; Nayeon is among the most confident and well spoken employees on your team, and you've never known her to stutter or appear so off kilter. "..Right, send him in," you say after a moment, wondering if her attitude shift is due to the stranger you'd be meeting shortly; if that is the case, you'll have to talk to her about it once the interview is over- you wouldn't want to hire someone the people on your team are uncomfortable around.

She nods and opens the door further, the silhouette of the taller man coming into view just slightly behind her. "Right in here," she mutters, stepping to the side and motioning for Hyunjin to enter your office. It becomes immediately apparent what the reason for Nayeon's abnormal behavior is; Hwang Hyunjin is easily one of the most beautiful men you've ever seen in your entire life.

Black hair that just begins to touch his shoulders tucked neatly behind his ears, a few strands left untouched to frame his face, accompanied by wide circle glasses that seem to further enhance his beauty. He's dressed well, his suit modern and sleek but not overly formal for the setting, his accessories tasteful and understated, as they should be in an office environment- just a simple, long chain necklace and small, almost dainty hoops on his pierced ears.

The reason that a man this gorgeous would even be applying to work here when he could easily make a fortune being a model is beyond you. You're quick to correct the initial surprise on your face, hoping that the man you'll be interviewing didn't notice how struck by his beauty you were when he stepped in. And how could you even know that he did notice you had a reaction to him- and not because of any overtly obvious expression of attraction, but because he could hear the beating of your heart with his inhuman ears, its steady rhythm taking a sudden, erratic jump the very moment he first stepped through the door.

Nayeon is quick to close the door behind Hyunjin once he has stepped fully inside your office, leaving you in privacy for what will likely be the most difficult interview you have ever conducted, and not for the reasons you would've otherwise expected. "Have a seat," you speak clearly, as if your heart wasn't stuttering just mere moments ago, motioning for Hyunjin to take one of the chairs sitting opposite of your desk. "Pleasure to meet you, Hyunjin," you say after he's taken a seat, politely holding out your hand to shake his.

"Likewise, ma'am. I'm grateful to be considered for this position," he responds with a smile so effortlessly charming that you have to once again remind yourself that this is a professional setting and you shouldn't be thinking about how handsome the potential new addition to your team is. If you were a worse woman with lesser morals, you'd hire him on appearance alone- his flawless skin, plush, soft, almost inviting lips, and the little mole that sits daintily under his left eye are all positively bewitching to look at.

You collect yourself after a brief mental scolding, deciding to get straight into the most pertinent questions you have once he's settled in his seat, opting to waste no time in getting straight to the point. While this approach does make the interview more tense for the applicant, you find it best to go about it this way to make sure they're truly ready for the sort of discussions that will be expected of them should they get hired. You don't expect perfection, but more accurately determination- if they can maintain a confident air about them under pressure, that's typically a good indicator to you they'll be a good fit for your team.

Equally, you don't mind if they stumble over their words a few times throughout the course of the interview as long as they show the ability to bounce back from any slip ups. Error is expected at some point, as we are all human- you just want to assess their ability to come back from a mistake when speaking, and to see if they are able to maintain their composure in situations that may not be the most ideal or comfortable.

The ease at which Hyunjin answers your questions has you convinced that he's perfect. He speaks confidently, coming across as self-assured and charismatic, not at all stuttering or faltering when you ask him to speak candidly with his own words. You appreciate a well rehearsed answer of course, but you like to ascertain whether or not the person you're considering for the job is able to maintain confidence when not using an internal script or reciting their memorized resume.

Some struggle to do so, losing confidence in themselves the moment they are expected to go off the cuff, while others find it to be a trick question of sorts, as if you're baiting them to say a flaw that would place them out of consideration for the position they're applying for. What you value most on your team is adaptability- it's okay to falter for a brief moment, as long as they are able to collect themselves quickly and continue where they left off. And Hyunjin's ability to do just that is utterly astounding.

He has an almost effortless sort of confidence and charisma about him; something unique and special that you don't often see, a state of being that isn't learned, but rather is innate to who he is. Even when he briefly pauses or lets out a small "hmm" as he thinks about his answer to your question, it never feels like he's struggling to find his answer- more accurately, it seems that he already knows what his answer is, and is just pondering on the best way to phrase it before speaking.

It seemed that even his unrehearsed, unfiltered answers were nearly perfect, his ability to speak leaving you almost in awe. Truly, in the year and a half it's been since you were promoted to head of human resources, you'd never conducted an interview where the person you were speaking to seemed this effortlessly natural and comfortable in what is otherwise a tense situation. Honestly, you'd be a fool not to hire him right on the spot- his ability speaks for itself, and you're confident that any weaknesses he has can be corrected quickly and easily with more experience in the work environment.

So you congratulate him, smiling as you once again hold out your hand and welcome him as part of your team. And Hyunjin smiles too as he takes your hand in his, knowing that this is just the start of what is his grand plan to make you his.

In the months it’s been since you first hired Hyunjin, he’s come to learn so much more about you than he did just lingering around in your apartment, and with that has come an even deeper appreciation and desire to have you. Your good nature, which he knew you had from little interactions at shops and cafes, was now able to be fully seen by him- from the way you cared about your team, treated them like equals despite the fact that you were their superior in rank, and how you encouraged and fostered true friendships between everyone on your team.

You held so much sincere care for everyone around you, and you lead with compassion and kindness at the forefront. If someone was sick, having an off day due to mental health, or simply felt the pressures of life weighing them down, you always met them with compassion, encouraged them to get better, and never made them feel bad about themselves for any small slip ups that occurred while they were struggling with something.

Of course, in this line of work it’s vital that they show up always ready to do their utmost best and show others the best versions of themselves, but you weren’t some militant manager that expected people to always be at 100%. It’s unrealistic, and hypocritical to expect perfection, so instead you always did your best to accommodate them when they were low, and that consideration resulted in your coworkers and employees having a great deal of respect for you, and caused them to always put in their best effort.

By extension, your care for your team resulted in equal care towards you, and it seemed they greatly missed you when you were absent due to your move. They had fine enough leadership while you were gone, sure, but it wasn’t the same without you- the one who made them feel comfortable, secure, and made them want to perform well at their jobs. What Hyunjin felt watching you was something akin to pride- and it was strange, as he had never felt pride for someone else before, usually not even for himself.

He just liked seeing you succeed, if he had to guess; he liked knowing the woman he desired was not only beautiful in body but also in soul, just as he suspected her to be when he first came to put aside his anger and truly know her for who she is. What a happy accident it was, that he happened to be gone when you finalized your move to suite 13; because otherwise how would he ever have known what it was like to care about someone other than himself? To understand what it is that makes a human God’s greatest creation?

He gets it now, he thinks- why God prioritized humanity, why he loves them despite how flawed and drenched with sin they are. And again, it occurs to Hyunjin how hypocritical he was before, and continues to be even now, how foolish it is for him, the very embodiment of sin, a being who is supposed to uphold depravity and ruin, to be infatuated with you, who is the very image of benevolence.

Hyunjin got to see so many new sides of you, sides that didn’t make themselves known within the 4 walls of your apartment, sides that made him fall for you more and more. A demon can’t experience love the way a human does, but he thinks this is the closest to love a creature like him will ever have. Obsession, longing, desire.. Isn’t that all a manifestation of love? Perhaps one does not need a true heart and soul to experience what love is, maybe all that one really requires is feeling.

Most sins are a feeling- lust, pride, envy; all are an emotion you feel strongly within your gut, a natural reaction that cannot be prevented from pricking your skin or making your stomach twist. It’s innate, woven into the DNA of every creature with higher understanding. With all that mind, who is to say a demon can’t love? Maybe it won’t be felt in the same way a human feels it, but if love is a feeling, and sins are a feeling, then what truly prevents him from knowing love?

As equally as he learned about you and himself, he also learned about the man you had developed feelings for- Yunho. According to Nayeon, who was apparently a wealth of information when it came to the subject, you met Yunho in college and have been friends with him since. You grew quite close in your time studying the same major, and as fate would have it, you both ended up working for the same conglomerate after college.

While you ended up here, promoted to head of the department when the opening became available, Yunho worked for a different subsidiary within the same building; so while you technically worked for different companies, you shared the same CEO, and had ample opportunity to meet and talk during the company lunch hour and maintain the friendship you had in college.

Well, he imagines you would’ve still been friends with Yunho regardless of where the two of you ended up in life after graduation, but still seeing him daily certainly didn’t help you get over the college crush you had on the man. And you had tried to move on- you’re not stupid, you know Yunho doesn’t feel the same way as you, but your relationships never worked out as you’d hoped, and you’d always be left still battling your unrequited love for your best friend.

Though you are always professional, it was obvious, at least to the other women in the office, that you had deep feelings for Yunho. They could always tell in the way your face changed when he was near, displaying a timid smile that only ever showed up for him, the flush on your face subtle but recognizable to those who knew you well.

And by extension, it became increasingly obvious to the rest of the office that Hyunjin was down bad for you, and hated seeing you with Yunho. His face too always changed when Yunho arrived, though in an entirely different way from you- Hyunjin would be positively seething with jealousy, always failing to mask the frown of disapproval when Yunho stepped into your office to talk and invite you out for lunch outside the building.

And Hyunjin, who was always a gentleman anyways, was even more so when it came to you- holding open doors for you when walking somewhere together, carrying stacks upon stacks of heavy paperwork so you wouldn’t have to do it, memorizing the way you liked your coffee so he could get it for you and you could focus instead on your work. The only time Hyunjin ever wasn’t smiling, it was when you were giving your affection to Yunho, and it was painfully obvious how bad he wanted you.

If Hyunjin was trying to keep his feelings a secret, well.. He failed to do so at every turn. Everyone in the office could tell how he felt, and while they would never admit it, most were just waiting for the day he’d ask you out, as it seemed to be more and more inevitable that he would. Some who had been your coworkers since long before you were even promoted and knew of your unrequited feelings, hoped that Hyunjin could be the person to finally give you the happiness you deserve.

Even you yourself began to suspect that Hyunjin liked you as more than a friend or coworker, because why else would he go so out of his way for you? Why else would his face change whenever he saw Yunho? You can still remember the way his smile dropped when Yunho stepped into the room when you were having lunch with your team, how Hyunjin subtly clenched his teeth and tightened his fists, how he’d practically glare at the man before replacing his expression with the most forced smile you’d ever seen him have for the sake of professionalism.

Were you being delusional? To say Hyunjin is fucking gorgeous is an understatement- he’s practically ethereal. And while you wanted to move on from your stupid school girl crush on Yunho that continued to grip you all these years later, wasn’t it too much to fantasize about Hyunjin being the person to finally make you happy? He could have anyone, and you couldn’t understand why he’d want you of all people when he could easily bag someone more impressive than you.

You did well for yourself, but you didn’t consider yourself particularly desirable.. Maybe years of unrequited love and failed relationships made your confidence tank more than you realized, at least when it came to love and romance. And while there were other couples in the office, you worried it’d be unprofessional of you to date someone who you are technically the boss of.. Shouldn’t you be more concerned about the power dynamic instead of worrying about whether or not you were desirable enough for Hyunjin to want you?

God, you really needed to get your priorities straight before you did something stupid; and certainly you were just reading too far into things. But still, while your feelings for Yunho didn’t go away, you still couldn’t deny that your heart would race whenever Hyunjin smiled at you, couldn’t ignore how goosebumps would erupt on your skin when his hand lingered on yours as he handed you a perfectly made cup of coffee, couldn’t help but linger on the the thought of what a perfect lover he must be.

As if sensing you were thinking of him, you hear a knock on your door, breaking you out of your thoughts and seeing Hyunjin crack open the door. “May I?” he asks, and you smile politely with a nod, motioning for him to enter your office. “Hey Hyunjin, what’s up? Need something?” you ask and he shakes his head, sitting on the chair in front of you. “Nothing work related, though I do want to ask you something,” he replies, and immediately your mind wanders to delusional territory again, though you quickly try to shut it down.

“What is it?” you ask, trying your best not to fill your brain with the thought of Hyunjin making a move on you. Be professional for God’s sake. “I was wondering,” he starts, looking at you with that charming smile that is so natural to him and you always have to stop yourself from folding over, “If you don’t have any prior obligations today, would you like to have lunch with me?”

Oh no. He’s adding fuel to your delusional fire. “Just us?” you ask, trying to mask your hope or the way your heart is picking up speed. You really want to be chill about the invite, but you really can’t help but hope the invitation means something more. He’s perfect, how could you not? You’re only human, after all. Isn’t it natural to want someone this fucking beautiful to want you?

“Yes, just us. You don’t have to consider it a date, but.. I would be happy if you did,” he smiles, head tilting to the side in an almost playful display, and your heart jolts. He’s not just playing with you, right? He wouldn’t, would he? But you have to ask, “You make it sound as if you want me to consider it a date. Are you saying you like me?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, ma’am,” he replies without hesitation, confidence fully on display. It’s as if the possibility of you saying “no” has never crossed his mind. Well, you’d probably be confident too if you looked anything like him; you don’t imagine he’s been rejected often. And well, you certainly won’t be the person to hit him with his first rejection either; you’ll have to ask a third party to handle the necessary paperwork if things go well between you and Hyunjin, as the head of the department can’t approve and oversee her own consensual relationship agreement, but it’ll be worth it, you think.

After all, if someone this beautiful and seemingly perfect wants you, why deny yourself the opportunity? Even if it doesn’t work out, maybe he’ll be the person to finally help you get over your stupid crush on your best friend that’s been going nowhere for years. Apart from his beauty, he’s always been chivalrous and attentive towards you, a true gentleman in every sense of the word. And even if it's only for a brief time, you think he can make you feel happy, desired, truly cared for.

You’re about to tell him you’d love to, when your door unexpectedly clicks open, your eyes moving past Hyunjin to see Yunho standing in the doorway. Hyunjin immediately scowls, having half a mind to rip him apart once the day is over, though he does his best to temper his aggravation. Can’t let himself lose face in front of the one he loves after all; he’s not sure you’d still be up for a date with him if he displayed his jealous, possessive tendencies this early on (not that he did a very good job of hiding them to begin with.)

“Shit, sorry- am I interrupting a meeting?” Yunho asks, and Hyunjin rolls his eyes, turning his gaze back to you instead. “No, nothing like that,” you answer, shifting your gaze back to Hyunjin, who for the first time looks concerned that you’ll turn him down. It’s subtle, but his eyes are softer, nearly pleading, though he tries his best to not display the desperation that lies underneath- the desperation for you to affirm that you like him too, that you want to go on a date with him, that you want to give him a chance.

“Oh, good,” Yunho sighs in relief, knowing that sometimes your work bleeds over into the lunch hour. He glances at Hyunjin, a slight frown forming on his face. He’s never spoken to the guy, but Yunho would have to blind to not notice that Hyunjin hates him for seemingly no reason. “Well, uh- I’ll let you get back to whatever talk you’re having. I’ll see you for lunch when it's over?” Yunho asks, and you can see Hyunjin swallow, hands tensing as he waits for your reply.

Please don’t reject me, his body practically screams, and you almost can’t believe that the confident man that you know is looking this nervous over potential rejection because of you. “Thanks, but I’m actually having lunch with Hyunjin today. Maybe next time?” you answer, smiling at Hyunjin to reassure him that yes, you are going on a date. No, you won’t be picking Yunho over him, despite the history that lies there.

Relief instantly spreads through Hyunjin, and he returns your smile, his confidence returning as if it’d never left in the first place. “Oh,” Yunho blinks in surprise; that’s.. unexpected. You’ve never prioritized someone else over him before. Huh. He feels.. strange. Jealous..? No, that can’t be right. Why would he be jealous? Hyunjin stands, offering his hand to you, which you accept before you stand yourself.

“Are you ready, ma’am? I know this cafe you’ll just love, but we have to hurry if we wan’t to make it back before the hour is over,” Hyunjin smiles, turning away to face the door, and subsequently, an almost bewildered looking Yunho. You miss the way Hyunjin shoots your best friend a smug, almost triumphant smirk; a smirk that says I’ve won, she’s mine. And even as Yunho watches the pair of you walk towards the elevator, hears you tell Hyunjin he can call you by your name when it’s “just the two of us,” suddenly he feels incredibly stupid.

Even as he’s left standing there, watching the elevator doors close with just the two of you inside, he can feel his gut twist as Hyunjin shoots him one last smirk, one that affirms something Yunho is just now realizing- there was a reason Hyunjin hated him. All this time, Yunho was a rival for love, and he just lost the race without ever having actually participated.

He scoffs, laughing at himself in near disbelief. What an idiot he’s been, and what a moment to realize it. He knew you had a crush on him, but what did he expect? That you’ll always be there, just waiting for the day he’d finally miraculously return your feelings after all these years? Of course you’d move on eventually; and maybe Yunho didn’t want to admit he found your infatuation with him to be a comfortable ego boost, now hit with the epiphany that his newfound jealousy over the loss of your affection is ugly and twisted.

And truly, Hyunjin had him beat. Somehow, he knew that this was the end of your feelings for him. How ironic it is to lose due to his own complacency, his expectation that you’d always be there no matter what relationships you found yourselves in. How arrogant and selfish he’d been, assured that no matter whom he slept with or pursued, you’d be there just waiting for the day he’d finally ask you out. And now Hyunjin has you, and he’s certain he’ll never let you go.

#skz x reader #hyunjin x reader #skz smut #hyunjin smut #skz imagines #skz scenarios #mdni + divider graphic credit: @cafekitsune

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gunnrblze · 13 days

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pls yandere keegan hcs....🙏🙏

Sorry this took so long my dear! I’ve not written yandere shit in a millennia, so if it’s corny I apologize💀 also this turned into a little drabble rather than hc’s. MDNI, 18+, dark fic

big TW below the cut: obsessed,possessive Keegan, reference to violence/murder, stalking, manipulation, reference to sexual activity (no actual sex/assault), home invasion, kidnapping, drugging, mentions of being tied up/caged. it’s dark & fucked up, that’s the warning, please heed it don’t come for me

He sees you one day, his heart melting and his cock throbbing in his jeans. You’re so pretty, so precious, and he feels something light him up from the inside out. He wanted to have you. All to himself. He figured you probably didn’t even know how lost you were, not until he stepped into the picture. He was retired from the forces now, he’d been looking for a new project anyways. This would be your rebirth, that’s the way he saw it at least when he decided to follow you home that day.

Scoping out what he’d be working with, your home, how many entrances and exits there are. The neighbors, if you have any roommates/family, pets, alarm systems, etc. To his sheer pleasure, you lived totally alone. He’d change that soon. Don’t worry, honey.

You had a couple ring cameras set up, child’s play, nothing he couldn’t get past. Not that he really cared, of course. He’d have you any way he could get. He’d just hate to have to involve anyone else with his affairs, lest he need to find a more permanent solution. Cop killer isn’t a good look, but if they sniffed around, they’d get what they’d get, he figured.

Taking you would be easy, that wasn’t a problem. He was a silent, experienced man, you hadn’t even noticed how he’d been following you home for the past week anyways. How he’d sit in his truck across the street and watch your figure move around from behind those curtains that were way too sheer. Hell, if he wasn’t planning to rehome you, he’d have to get you new ones. People could see you like that, sweetheart. People that don’t deserve you. Ones that you don’t belong to.

It didn’t matter, really, when exactly he took you, you’d be living a new life with him anyways. He’d already set up such a nice, cozy little spot for you in his basement. He’d snuck in one day while you were at work, he had to know more about you of course. And he knows your favorite color now, so all the blankets and pillows he bought just for you will suit those tastes. He knows your favorite snacks and drinks, he’ll want you to be comfortable of course, especially when you resist at first.

He made sure to memorize all your products, too. So when he helps you wash your hair, you’ll be using the right shampoo. And when he lets you bathe, you can have your favorite scent of body wash. He loves the way you smell anyhow, that scent was wafting off you when he accidentally bumped into you at the grocery store a few days ago.

All the things you enjoyed, he made sure to make a mental note of them. Music, clothes, books, games, any and everything that you filled your space with. He couldn’t believe how lovely you were. Such a beautiful soul, no? You’d be the best addition to the new home and land he’d purchased after retiring, the acres and acres of property, free of any imposing neighbors.

He’d left your home in the exact condition it was in before he broke in, of course. He’d disabled your cameras through your WiFi router, not the best home surveillance, he reckoned, but he had something much more up to the task on his property. Thank god for military training, no? You didn’t even seem to be too concerned when he watched you come home that evening and check them out yourself. Going back and forth between the app on your phone and the camera near your front door in an attempt to figure out why the connection had cut out for a couple hours.

It almost killed him to watch you get so frustrated before finally giving up, going back inside to simply fix your WiFi. He wished he could tell you that sooner rather than later, you wouldn’t have a problem in the world. He’d take them all from you, give you any and everything you need.

He was expecting a fighter, of course. From what he learned, you had an attitude, didn’t take much shit. That asshole in the mall parking lot got an earful when he almost rear ended your car last week, fucker tried to blame it on you. Thankfully he didn’t, but Keegan took care of it anyway after you left.

Had you noticed the missing man on the news was that same guy? Did you realize what he’d done for you? Nobody would ever get to speak to you like that again, sweetheart. Not when he’s around to take care of you.

He packed extra rope in his truck just for you, just in case you were a smarter cookie than you looked. You can never be too careful, always underestimate your enemy, some of the lessons he’d learned during his career seemed to apply here too. Not that you were an enemy, god no, but you’d certainly consider him one for a while. He was just thinking logically, of course.

Thankfully you still had that spare key in the planter next to your front door from when he’d checked for one the first time he went to your house. He thought it was cute, really. How you figured putting it somewhere else, rather than under the mat, was safer.

He wasn’t stupid enough to take you during the day, but he could’ve. He just figured the darkness would hide his figure more easily. It was almost pathetic, how he walked right into your house without making a sound. He knew you were in bed already, part of your night routine. He felt a little bad for turning the WiFi off again when you were in the middle of your show, but it lured you out of your bedroom, thankfully.

Although it was for the best, he understood that you were scared when he silently cupped a hand over your mouth and locked an arm around your waist from behind. So he made sure to replace his hand with the rag very quickly before you fainted in his arms.

It took him a bit longer to get you into his truck than he’d initially planned. Finally getting his hands on you, laying your limp body down on the living room floor to brush the tears off your cheeks, he almost couldn’t stand it. The sight of his sweetheart, finally in his arms, looking too peaceful for words. He wasn’t one to get distracted, certainly not during a time like this either, but he didn’t account for the time it’d take him to get himself under control.

He had to excuse himself to your bedroom for a moment to jerk his rigid dick off into a pair of your dirty panties. He’d hate to drive with a hard on of course, especially when you’d be waking up around the time he arrived home. He didn’t want to be distracted while he brought you inside, considering you’d no doubt be more combative.

And it’s a good thing he knew how to think ahead, because your wrists were already raw against the rope as he dragged you through his front door. He hated to see you cry, hated the way the gag was soaked with your tears and saliva, but he tried telling you it was okay. You didn’t listen of course, flailing like a fish in his arms as he walked down the basement steps. But he’d wait. He’d wait until the day you thank him, until the day you reciprocate his love.

Until then, you can stay shackled to the wall. Please, just don’t make him put you in the cage again. Really, there’s no need to bite, sweetheart.

#call of duty ghosts #call of duty ghosts fic #keegan russ #keegan russ cod #keegan russ call of duty #keegan p russ #call of duty ghosts keegan #call of duty keegan #cod keegan #keegan russ x reader #keegan russ x you #cod ghosts #call of duty #dark fic #gunnrblze rambles #gunnrblze writes

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dnalt-d2 · 7 months

Text

So we've got a new update on the Admin Situation, and this one's…A little complicated, to say the least.

Basically, Quackity has stated that he is opening the server tomorrow to welcome the new Korean Creators, but for the time being, there will be no NPCs, including the Eggs. He's also temporarily laid off nearly, if not all the workers he has, including the people doing the Twitter Updates.

And apparently many of them found this out through the stream, much like we did. This seems to be the biggest point of contention for many people, and I'll admit I'm not happy about it either. The only justification I can think of for this is that he didn't want people to find this all out second-hand from people who potentially don't have the all the information. But even with that, I think they should have been made aware before us, even if it was just by a few minutes. That wouldn't have been ideal either, but it would've been better than not knowing at all

The person who brought this forward initially, Lea, has stated that she knows for sure that "Jay" (The person who made the unauthorized update before) was fired, but to her knowledge, some of the other Admins who caused the problems are still employed. I think this might be one of those things that she doesn't have the full scope of information on, since we were also just informed that pretty much all the Admins aren't currently employed. We do have to keep in mind that she's getting this information from someone else who is apparently still in contact with the team. However, it's obvious that even some of the Admins who weren't initially fired aren't entirely in the loop, which means she wouldn't have been getting all the information either. So I think we need to take some of the things she says moving forward with a grain of salt

I'm not saying she's lying by any means, but when you have limited information to work with, playing a game of telephone to get that information isn't always gonna be that reliable

On top of all that, a lot of people seem to be in agreement that Quackity may have implied that money was being embezzled from him and Quackity Studios. I'm not going to say much on that, since it's TECHNICALLY speculation. However I will at least say that it doesn't seem entirely out of the question, and I wouldn't be even slightly surprised to learn that this was the case

Regardless of how it happened, there was a loss of funds, and this loss of funds means that the server has to start slower than before. Hence the absence of the NPCs on the server, and the current stop on Twitter Updates. It sounded to me like he's planning on bringing people back slowly, making sure they're paid for their roles from here on out. And as the financial situation stabilizes, we'll likely see more Admins return to their roles

I want to believe as of now that things are improving. If they weren't, I believe we would have heard about it by now, from the other Admins. We've already seen an Admins in charge of one of the Twitter Accounts say something, and I'm sure we'll get more news like that soon. But we would have DEFINITELY heard if absolutely nothing was going on. I don't think it's fair for the Admins to have not been notified beforehand, and I think that should be the next problem to fix for sure. But the way I see it, what's happening now is a step in the right direction. It's only the first of many, and not even necessarily a big step, but it's a step nonetheless

Once again, I want to remind people that we aren't going to see these changes being made until we're shown them. People can try to tell us what they know as they find it out themselves, but for all we know, they're only showing the bad parts of what's going on. We should really take any future information, good or bad, with a grain of salt as well. It's easy to say things are getting better or worse, but I think we should wait until we see the changes for ourselves and go from there

(I also wanna say that I've seen speculation from a few people, mostly on Twitter, that "Jay" is probably just Quackity trying to cover his tracks and make a scapegoat for what's happening. But with the information we have, that seems incredibly unlikely. Lea didn't know who he was when he first made his unofficial statement, but her recent tweets imply that she knows who he is now. And considering that she's the one who brought all this up to begin with, I HIGHLY doubt she'd keep quiet if he was actually Quackity)

So now, again, all we can do is wait, and continue giving our support to the people who need it. I want to believe that things can get better. I want to believe that Quackity is trying his best to improve things

Try and stay positive, everyone. Even if the server isn't the same as before, we'll be fine. Even if QSMP shuts down entirely, we'll be fine. At the end of the day, people's health and mental health is more important than a Minecraft Server, and if you feel like your mental health is being impacted by what's going on, please take some time for yourself. Worrying constantly over something we have zero control in isn't going to help anyone. If you need to take a step back, please do so. And when you're ready to come back, we'll still be here, even if the QSMP isn't. We've built a great community, and it's been incredibly fun being a part of it. And I sincerely doubt it's going away, regardless of what happens next

So make sure you take care of yourselves

#qsmp #qsmp quackity #quackity #qsmp admin situation

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heyitschartic · 9 months

Text

I've seen a lot of people complain on tumblr about how Worm fanfic is nothing but altpower Taylors. It's not a complaint without merit, I've been hearing it since 2017. Hell, it's something I complain about a lot too. It's true, the fandom is filled with crappy altpowers that really add nothing. But to an extent, I always feel I should push back a little against it.

Even if I do advocate for just writing your own thing, there's a really good reason so few people do. There are a good amount of Worm fanfics out there that use original characters, niche characters, or do a wild take on the premise. Not a ton, not the majority, but a good amount.

But nobody reads them.

Rank is probably one of the best stories in the fandom. Long, filled with original charscter's, and with an interesting focus on a PRT officer working in San Fransisco. It's got an amazing scope, working from when Leviathan attacked Kyushu all the way to Gold Morning and has so many brilliant setpieces and bits of world building. It's earned its spot as one of the best, if not the best, story in the fandom.

It pulled in a paltry amount of comments and likes over the years it was being posted.

I remember when I first entered the fandom, there were already people warning new writers that, while it would be cooler if you wrote about someone other than Taylor, that you'd be getting a fraction of the views. And it sucks yeah, but it's the truth. I've seen a lot of writers over the years get discouraged because stories they love and put a lot of time into just get ten likes and maybe one comment an update. A good friend of mine will only pre-write her OC stories because the absolute lack of interest is so disheartening its caused her to just give up in the past.

And it's not like people who critique Worm Fanfics for being filled with shitty altpowers even really read this stuff. Say what you will about the Cauldron discord, but it's one of the few places I've seen people push HARD for others to read this niche weird stories, and even then there's pusback or luke warm reception. It's sad to see people talk shit about altpowers, but just not really check anything else out but that in the first place. It's just as bad as if you were only reading them.

Check out stories trying something original! Luz Mala, Rank, Agent of Cauldron, City of Bones and Teeth, Diary of a Professional Knock-off, Fault, Lend Me Your Ears, Mouse Trap, Sunspot, Nightcrawler, Raccoon Knight; and those are just the ones I can name off the top of my head! There are a lot out there waiting for you to find!!!!

And how to fix it? Well, I'm not sure if there is a fix. If anything is going to work though, at least be the change. If you aren't someone whose actively reading and commenting on new fics about OC's or similar, well, what incentive is there for people to write them? Sure, a love of just creating something might push you to post, but if you feels like you're just shouting into a void, it might feel better to just not shout at all.

If you want people to write good stories, give them a reason to actually do it.

#wormblr #worm fanfiction

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infamous-if · 1 year

Note

I remember you mentioning that you're doing a rewrite of the demo before chapter 3? What do you mean? Will it be different?

It's not a rewrite in the sense that I'll be changing anything, mostly polishing + fixing errors + adding variables I know I'm going to need down the line. I also tone down my prose in order to reflect the inner-monologue of the MC, but some passages make me itchy and I want to improve them lol.

I would call it less changes and more additions, so there might be some more scenes or passages/lines I would say to the demo. The beauty of a WIP is that I can always add more.

I just want it to be as prepared as possible before chapter 3 and beyond. I'm already thinking about it and it's making me buzz, mostly because I know things really start to push along with the routes and story. I'm just ready to get to it!

I don't think I'll ever be able to anticipate the full scope of all the variables I will need for chapters that will come out, say, months from now...but just enough :)

#inbox

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radioappleheadcanons · 7 months

Text

QPR RadioApple scenario

Alastor manages to drop enough hints to Lucifer that he’s in a deal he doesn’t want to be, and Lucifer brute forces his way through it to free Al. Lilith can tell that something has happened she just can’t tell what. She decides to check up on that while she’s visiting Charlie to scope out the situation.

Charlie is thrilled to have her mom back. She expects her dad to be too, and while he is glad to see her, it’s not the reaction either woman was expecting. Charlie insists that they work it out right away and Lucifer just gives her a tight smile and says “Char Char, I love you Mom. Always have, always will. But I’ve also come to realize that we didn’t have the healthiest relationship. I do want to fix things, to be a family again. But for that to happen, there would have to be changes both your mom and I would need to make, and I just don’t know if that’s going to happen. So, I’m just… on guard so that doesn’t happen.”

Lilith is, of course, very upset by this because their relationship was fine! Sure, it was tense before the split, but they had millenniums together that were good. She demands to know what these changes would be and Lucifer bites his lip before explaining. “We can’t be each other’s only support. We need to have relationships and connections outside of that. You had your band, but you got mad anytime I tried to make some. You yelled that you should be good enough, and lashed out when I asked why that was the cause for me and not you. You wanted to be the sole support for me, but you weren’t there when I needed you. I didn’t understand your passions and your drive, you didn’t understand my depression and how it affected me.”

Lilith starts to protest, and Lucifer cuts her off. “You didn’t even like that I had a relationship with Charlie Lilith. You were angry that she could make me smile and seem more like myself than you could. It never even occurred to you that I was faking it. That I was still empty and wanted to vanish into nothingness, but that I was trying to be strong for our daughter.”

Lilith is quiet, because, well she hadn’t considered that. Charlie is even more upset now because while she had started to put some of this information together (mainly the last part) she hadn’t expected this. But she tries to put on a brave face, “We can work through that though, right? Mom, you know there’s nothing wrong with Dad going to other people for help. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. And dad, Mom wanting to be your support is because she loves you too.”

Lucifer, who was watching his shadow (read, staring down Al who is hiding in it) turns to look at her, pursing his lips. “No, and yes, duckling. I’m not sure if we can work through it. Not all at once at least. But yes, I know it’s because she loves me. However,.” His eyes dart to the shadow again, “there is one more thing we’d have to consider. It’s one thing to ask that she let her have friends and that I make sure she doesn’t feel like she’s being replaced. It’s another to ask her to accept that I…. have recently entered into QPR. And if she doesn’t accept that, that’s okay. Because it’s a lot. But it's also not okay for her to ask to be to end said QPR so I can be with her.” that just opens a whole other can of worms because neither Lilith nor Charlie really understands what that means because a QPR is something that is super personalized to the people in it.

Lucifer hopes that Charlie will understand how important it is to him, even if she doesn’t fully understand it and help back him up, but Charlie is too busy freaking out over the fact that 1) apparently her dad’s been in a relationship with someone and hasn’t told her and 2) this might keep her family apart. Lilith is just ticked off about #1, and it turns into an all-out fight.

Alastor decides to finally step in, because Lucifer is clearly getting overwhelmed by this and because of who it is, he’s not going to do anything to really stop them.

This proves to be a bad idea, as Lilith realizes what must have happened to the deal and starts yelling about that as well. Charlie is now under the impression that Alastor only comes to the hotel because of her mother (which is, not wrong) and also that her dad may or may not have forced this QPR on Alastor. Lucifer is devastated by this accusation, and Alastor loses it. Like, flings them back in a fit of rage, has Charlie by the neck, threatens to kill her if Lilith makes one wrong step. Lucifer is just paralyzed in shock. “Alastor!” Is all he gets out, and Alastor waves a hand in his direction. Charlie is dropped into a chair, and Alastor gets in her face.

“Let’s make a few things very clear, child. First of all, your mother is hardly a good person. She left you and your father so she could cozy up with Adam in heaven. The only reason she is back is that she needs to find a way to convince them to let her stay now, he’s gone. Second, while I did originally come because of her orders, I stayed because I had started to care.” He spits the word out like it's poison. “A foolish thing to do, I knew. If only I knew exactly how stupid of a mistake that was. Caring for people who defend monsters while accusing innocents of being worse is always the worst move. And that brings me to the last point. Your father has never, ever, used his position to force anything on anyone. He is a perfect gentleman, and it’s one of the things that draws me to him the most. There is no expectation of kissing, sex, anything! No, the only expectation is that we carry on as ourselves.”

He pulls away, still in his demon form. He glares at Lilith and snarls. Lilith takes a step back because she wasn’t expecting him to dare face her.

“You are pathic. You should be ashamed to call yourself a mother. All you’ve ever done is hurt that girl. How Lucifer still has it in him to love you, I will never know.” He takes a step towards the king and scopes him up in one hand. “I believe that Charlote said she wanted you out of her hotel, did she not? Well, then we shall leave. A week should be enough to think things over, I believe. If you still want us gone by them, we’ll stay away.” His smile shifted from strained to cruel. “Though I would also consider that losing us means losing Nifty, Husk and both our towers.” Charlie is still just staring at them, trying to understand what she’s seeing.

Surely Alastor isn’t cradling her dad to his chest. Her dad is silently crying, curling up to the Radio demon. This isn’t happening, it makes no sense. When it’s obvious that she isn’t going to say anything, Lilith starts to speak.

The men are gone in a puddle of shadow before she can get a word out.

Lucifer is having a horrible time at his place, a full-blown panic attack, crying, the works. Alastor is trying to help, but he really has no clue what he’s doing. He’s also not in the best state to be trying. Eventually, they managed to calm down enough to get food and water and crash into one of the king-size beds in a guest room. They don’t even really touch as they sleep, just curl up next to each other.

Meanwhile, Charlie is also not having a great time. Vaggie practically busted down the door after Alastor took her dad and left, and as much as the princess wants to tell her girlfriend what happened, she can’t. She’s still trying to work through it.

That’s all the thoughts I have on the matter for the moment. But I will do part two, and there will be a happy ending.

#qpr radioapple #💚 aka mine #charlie morningstar #lilith morningstar #long post

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deathbxnny · 16 days

Note

may i request a Yanqing x magical girl s/o head canon or one-shot please and you can decide which one you what to do also i got this idea from watching Madoka magica and magica record

Hey there, moot! I decided to make this into a longer headcanon thing with the ideas you gave me, so I hope you'll like this and thank you for your request!!<3

Content: Magical girls reader, slight angst, mentions of injuries, near death, Jing Yuan is considering retiring, fluff, sfw

Reader is asked to be female but no pronouns are mentioned!

((Not fully proofread))

You met Kyubey on a casual, normal day. Nothing was out of the ordinary, and for a moment, you thought you were dreaming when you saw the odd white cat creature happily speak to you. It asked you if you'd like to be a magical girl, and whilst the appeal of it did excite you at first, something deep down told you to decline Kyubey's offer. But unfortunately, that didn't make him go away.

Instead, he simply followed you around as you went about your duties as a healer and medic in the Xianzhou. Your abilities weren't really special nor good enough to be notable, but they got the job done for any minor injuries your boyfriend Yanqing got during training. You didn't really pay Kyubey any mind and continued to reiterate that you weren't interested, even when he claimed it could make you stronger and everyone finally appreciate and notice you the way you always secretly wanted! But alas, you weren't sure if the secret consequences that came with that were worth it.

Things changed, however, when Yanqing showed up at your doorstep gravely injured. He had been patrolling alone and got surprise attacked by a mara struck soldier. He was pierced with his sword before he could deflect the hit, and that left him with a large wound on the side of his body. You were the first and only person he thought of going to for help.

You panicked, knowing that such a massive injury was way out of your scope of fixing. But you knew it would be too late for him if you ran off to get help now. This left you with one option in your mind as you turned to Kyubey, who was calmly resting behind you, waiting. Yanqing was panting heavily and bleeding out on the floor of your home. You had no other choice. You had to make a wish and become a magical girl to save him.

And so, you wished for a strong enough healing ability to save his life.

Kyubey granted your wish happily, and after transforming into your new magical girl form, you found yourself holding a blue soul gem and spear, which seemed to be your weapon of choice from now on. You had no time to ponder either, however, as you went right to work and healed Yanqing right back to normal. He was weak and about to fall asleep by the end of it, but the confusion on his face was clear. Since when were you able to do all that?

The general was just as confused and asking the same thing when you stepped into his office with Yanqing practically being carried on your back. Your new magical girl outfit and soul gem left the man speechless, yet he decided not to question anything anymore and just be happy that Yanqing was okay.

Once said boy woke up, he definitely asked you a million questions about your new abilities and just in general how you even got to this point. He was definitely worried about the soul gem and the issues that may come with it... but he wasn't against it and instead just felt guilty that he had to make you choose such an option in the first place. He'll make it up to you by protecting you and keeping a good eye on that sly Kyubey.

#honkai star rail #honkai star rail fanfic #honkai star rail x reader #honkai star rail x you #hsr x reader #hsr #hsr yanqing x reader #hsr yanqing #Yanqing #yanqing x reader #honkai star rail yanqing x reader #honkai star rail yanqing

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bettsfic · 4 months

Note

Adventures in plotting….

To have some structure and not get bogged down by decision fatigue, I decided to outline and do some pre planning before starting on a writing project. However, I noticed that I start thinking about the logistics of everything to the point where I break the story or at least what excited me in the first place and spend months plotting one idea to the next not finishing anything.

I saw in a previous ask that you recommended to just outline until you find a story that you can’t help but write <—paraphrasing. But I fear that I will never finish a project this way because of this patterns and how much time it takes me.

I guess my question is, how to not break your story when planning or plotting?

i don't think you can actually break a story. you can only take it in a direction beyond your skill or interest in completing it. if you plot beyond your skill level, the only fix is time. it may take a few months or a year or five years but eventually you'll pick it up and go "oh shit, i know how to do this now" and your future self will thank you for doing all this planning for them so they can just hit the ground running.

if you plot beyond your interest, it means the outline has breached its scope. a detailed outline can only get you so far, because when you start writing, the process of discovery drafting will veer you away from it, and the work is then reeling it back toward the outline, or changing the outline.

because i have terms for everything, the terms i use for this are "big mind" and "small mind." you cannot have big mind and small mind at the same time. decision fatigue in writing without an outline comes from putting too much work on small mind. breaking your plot from outlining is putting too much work on big mind. the fix is to give them shifts. big mind clocks in and does as much as it can thinking of big picture things like conflict and rising action and working toward a resolution. but as soon as big mind gets tired, it has to clock out so small mind can clock in. small mind focuses on getting words on the page. and sometimes small mind, being second shift, fucks up the morning shift for big mind by deviating from the outline, and big mind has to clean everything up because it is the far more responsible one of the two. big mind and small mind are forever in a battle of passive-aggressive shift changes.

sometimes one of them takes PTO and you go through a long period planning stuff you don't end up writing, or writing stuff you don't end up finishing. there's nothing really to be done about this except for waiting for the other one to come back from vacation.

so tl;dr when you feel yourself getting close to breaking a project by over-planning it, let yourself clock out from thinking big picture, reset, and clock back in to get some sentences on the page, even if they're headed in the completely wrong direction.

#writing advice #plotting #process

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bonefall · 1 year

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i remember seeing one(maybe two(?)) of your posts about gods and how humans used to have their own gods (iirc there was also something about how humans interact with nature but i forgot)

but i saved it to read later because i needed to sleep but now i cant find it and I'm starting to think it was a dream ksksjsjsj

I remember that post! I still think about it. Thinking about leeches made me get really emotional about ecology lmao.

Leeches rely on human livestock. Many trees live longer when coppiced and pollarded. Moorland is a biome that thrives through management, if the gorse is left too long, it simply scorches the land to ash.

I just... god it's so beautiful. How humans are part of nature. The connection between culture, religion, and land. We're not separate from it, humans are a keystone species and this part of the british ecosystem evolved to accommodate early hominids.

Since that post I've learned a lot more, to become more furious at the exploitation, extinctions, and botched management of the ecology of this region.. But that's exactly it. Botched.

There's nothing inherently evil about humans and the only reason why it can't go back is because that's being PREVENTED by selfish interest. The problem is unsustainable agriculture and bad building practices, by way of greed or by ignorance.

Ignorance we can fix. Greed we can beat. It'll never be the same and that's okay!! It's not too late to MAKE IT BETTER!

Initially I'd approached the spirituality of the project as making the gods "beyond" the mortals in the setting, like older things of some pristine, bygone era. I now believe that's actually a bad mindset. What are gods? What is religion? An extension of ourselves. The collective dream of human belief.

You're part of nature. Spirituality is a part of you. Nature is part of spirituality. All of these things have an affect on each other... or, they should.

And, y'know, I know it's Battle Cat Fanfiction, it's inherently a bit silly. But, funny as it may be, it's my art and my passion.

So anyway with humans and the clan cats, I really write clan cats like small hominids with a carnivorous diet. It's looking at canon and going, "Yes And," because they absolutely don't write with realistic biology in mind haha. I hope that I'm teaching people some cool things about this environment. And I hope that I can get people to think about the changing nature of culture.

In this setting, I think that humans used to have many gods of their own, and there still exist many beyond the scope of the setting. But in this region, human spirituality is being severely neglected. Various cultures of cats are keeping these sorts of beliefs alive, right under humanity's noses.

Big ramble but... *Shrugs.* Just stuff I think about sometimes.

#bone babble #Really more of a bone ramble I guess lmaoo

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noodyl-blasstal · 5 months

Text

Not that kind of apocalpyse!

Sometimes you might ask yourself, “What if Taakitz kissed in the historical fish castle during the zombie apocalypse?” Well I answered it.

Happy Birthday @ceilingfan5!

Read below or on Ao3

“There’s someone outside!” Lup shouts from her spot at the periscope.

Fuck. Of course Taako was going to have to deal with this on his watch. The trouble always waited until Magnus was busy flexing somewhere else and Merle was off doing unspeakable things in the garden.

“Someone, or something?” He asks. He tries not to let the weariness creep into his tone, but Taako’s so tired of this bullshit. First he got called in on his first day off in weeks… months? Who fucking knows any more; then he got zombie apocalypsed; and now everyone’s trying to eat him and not in the good way. Not that there’s any chance of boning down with anyone in the near future because he’s related to, or may as well be related to, everyone he knows is currently alive - well, apart from the peppy idiots on the radio who keep advertising their ‘zombie free wonderland’, but Taako doesn’t trust easily and whatever they’re selling seems too good to be true.

“Cha’girl said what she said.” Lup doesn’t move away, just adjusts the scope.

“People?”

“Person, singular, a guy I think.”

“Are you definitely sure he’s people?”

“Are you definitely sure you want to keep asking me?” Lup doesn’t pull her eyes away from the periscope, but she does give him the finger. It’s artful really, her spatial awareness is a thing of wonder.

Before he can think, Taako opens his mouth to pretend to bite it off, it’s reflex as much as anything, but he closes it gently, doesn’t snap his teeth. That bit is a lot less funny than it used to be. Watching a loved one nearly get chomped will do that for you.

“Can I see?” Taako asks instead of answering, he’s not going to do anything completely out of character like admitting fault.

“Hang on…” Lup turns the scope side to side. Fuck.”

“What?”

“Shush a minute.” Lup hisses.

Ah yes, telling Taako to shush, the thing that works every time. “What’s going on?”

“Shit! Run, dude, run” She mutters.

“Lup! What’s happening?”

“Biter.” She turns the scope slowly. “Two… At the moment. I don’t know if he’s seen them.”

“Do you want Taako to…?” Taako gestures at the ladder up to the harpoon gun.

Lup stays fixed to the scope but still manages to nod. “Be ready, see if he needs it. He’s by the unfortunately shaped hill, but he’s moving fast towards the tree that looks like it’s doing a high kick.”

Taako climbs up the ladder into the ramparts and pulls the shutter back from the slightly-wider-than-intended crenellation (thanks to Magnus’ enthusiasm). He zeroes in fast with Lup’s directions. There’s definitely two of them, if not more, lurking behind the dude as he walks. Taako hopes he’s aware of them. He could be, the guy’s walking with purpose. He’s glad, Taako hates dawdlers, not least because he used to be one by choice and now he has to zoom everywhere because he’d like to keep living actually please and thank you.

“You didn’t tell me he was hot!” Taako bellows down to Lup. A crime of the highest order, frankly, it’s been a while since Taako’s had anything good to look at and he could have been looking much faster.

“You can’t see him well enough to know if he’s hot or not, he’s too far away.” Lup yells back.

The guy turns his head in their direction. It’s a nice face, a really nice face, that he’s working with there.

“See! Hot!” Taako refuses to let her get away with this on a technicality. He knew in his bones the guy was good looking, Lup should have too. He sticks his tongue out in her direction. She might not be able to see him, but she’ll know.

“He’s coming this way.” She shouts up.

“What?” Taako looks back, using the wildly inaccurate harpoon sights that Barry was definitely getting round to fixing (it was for the best he left them alone at this point, Taako automatically adjusted for it now.) Hot boy had changed trajectory and was heading their way. “But there’s… fuck!”

Taako slides the harpoon to the side, sees the biter who was lurking on the guy’s tail. Shit. It’s close, too close. He jumps up and bellows with everything in him. “Hey, hey handsome! Watch out!” He’s too hot to die.

They make eye contact and this is it, this is the thing they wrote about, that they sing about, that’s on the TV. It’s electric, it’s perfect, it’s…

“Run you absolute dickhead!” Lup bellows from beside Taako. He needs to get her a bell. “Stop staring at my idiot brother and run!” She elbows Taako and mutters. “Idiot.”

The man shakes out of it and glances round in time to see the biter on his tail. Taako hears the faint “Oh fuck!” on the wind as the guy starts running. Thankfully in the direction of the drawbridge. Shit. The drawbridge.

“We need to let him in.” Taako says, urgently.

“C’mon.” Lup’s already heading for the ladder.

Taako scrambles after her, slides down the ladder, and lands in a roll. He jumps up and does the ‘tah dah!’ arms, but Lup’s already gone. That’s fine, he can appreciate his own talents, he doesn’t need adoration from the masses or anything.

Lup yanks on the lever that releases the drawbridge and the portcullis raises at speed, narwhal horns raising up to hang like as many sharp teeth. They’ve saved them all a few times.

“Go go go!!!” Taako yells, hopefully encouragingly. He’s sure not going out there, but shouting he can do.

“I’m going to get my gun.” Lup mutters.

The man’s close, really close, when the zombie lurches out from behind the tree. Not high kick tree, it would never betray Taako like that, one of the bog standard ones. One of the ones he’s going to burn down because it just killed Taako’s new boyfriend. It’s fine, he’s allowed to get ahead of himself, this dude’s going to be nothing but a ‘what if’ now.

The zombie grabs the man’s arm and tries to bite his hand, the guy twists away, punches it in the face, gives it his best shot. Of course he does, he’s got something to live for, he’s trying to survive, trying to make it to Taako. The biter grabs his ankle and drags him to the floor.

Two spears take down the other zombies before they can reach the man and join the feast.

“I can’t get a clean shot.” Lup says mournfully beside him. She glances round, then walks carefully forward, spear gun raised.

“You have to stop doing that.” Taako hisses and steps along beside her. He’s trying to have a moment here, to give his dying future husband the reverence he deserves. They were going to adopt so many cats. It would have been beautiful. He’s not in the mood to be spooked.

“Counterpoint, you have to work on your awareness.” Lup nudges him.

“No need when I have you, sister mine! Taako’s all good.” He walks carefully beside her, remembers to step over the crack in the resin flagstones left after The Incident.

Lup does the face she does when he pretends he’s not training (he refuses to give up the possibility of being blase about the zombies, even if he’s been doing endless crunches, and parkour, and whatever other nonsense Lup and Magnus insist is going to save their lives, at night when no one’s watching. Well, apart from Agnes, but if he wants Taako to ever bake the cookies he likes again he’ll stay quiet.)

They’re close enough now to see that the zombie’s still gnashing, but the guy’s clearly fighting back. Maybe he’s not a goner yet?

“Maybe we can… you know, help?” Taako glances round and can’t see any others nearby.

“He might be infected… I guess I could…” Lup’s mouth tightens into a hard line.

“No! Don’t help him dead, like, help help!” Taako steps closer gingerly. As he gets into range of grabbing and pulling the biter off, it shudders and goes still. There’s no movement underneath it either. Of course. Brilliant, fucking brilliant. “Just Taako’s luck. The first hot guy cha’boy sees since the apocalypse apocalypsed, and he immediately gets himself chomped.”

Lup pats him sympathetically on the shoulder. “Next time ‘Ko”

“You think I’m hot?” The man asks, rolling the un-undead corpse unceremoniously to the side.

“Fuck!” Lup and Taako jump back as one.

“Stay there!” Lup aims the spear gun squarely at his head. “Did you get bit?”

“You have to tell us if you did, otherwise it’s entrapment.” Taako adds. Because why shouldn’t he have a little fun, honestly. He winks, so the guy knows Taako’s not going to be waving any spears at him… well unless he plays his cards right…

“Who enforces zombie entrapment law?” Hotboy asks as if he genuinely cares, as if he’s passionate about legal rights and wants to make sure the lawyer provided is up to the job. He probably does care. It’s the end of the world and Taako meets someone who’s hot and funny and willing to play legal zombism so of course Taako’s also going to have to put him down or, more likely, watch while Lup does it and try not to cry about it until he’s alone in bed later.

“You’re not allowed to distract us with legalese, that’s also entrapment, probably.” Taako adds authoritatively.

The man smiles brightly in his direction. “I didn’t get bit.”

“Prove it.” Lup’s aim doesn’t waiver.

The man sighs. “My name’s Kravitz.”

“What does that prove?” Lup makes a ‘get on with it’ gesture with the gun.

“I usually like to make sure a guy knows my name before I strip in front of him.” He doesn’t break eye contact with Taako.

“Taako.” Taaok stares right back. He’s not a looking people in the eyes guy, but this? This is competitive looking, and if there’s anything Taako loves it’s winning.

“I’m Lup and this is gross, break it up right now!” Lup sounds genuinely disgusted. Good, honestly. He’s been living with her and Barold since this all started, he deserves at least a little revenge for his trouble.

“But you said…” Kravitz’s hands still on his leather jacket’s zip.

“I said prove you didn’t get bit. Like, show me your hands and arms and the bits that were actually anywhere near the dead guy. The medic can fully assess you after that.”

“Fine.” He shows her his hands and his collar bones, and his arms, they’re nice arms. “But what if I got bitten earlier?”

“Did you?” Taako asks quickly.

“No. But I could have been and you wouldn’t know. Someone should check.” Kravitz glances at Taako.

“Cha’boy will do it. You know, to save you having to, Lu.”

“Uh huh, sure, yeah, a brave sacrifice. Now move it, both of you, I want to get the drawbridge up and the portcullis down.” Lup finally lowers the spear gun.

“Portcullis… So… uh… I did want to ask.” Kravitz begins gingerly as he walks across the bridge and into the castle.

“Uh huh.” Taako tries to look like he couldn’t possibly imagine what Kravitz is about to ask.

“I couldn’t help but notice…” Kravitz says gently, carefully.

“You noticed something?” Lup asks sweetly, as she begins to turn the crank.

“That you’re in a castle.” Kravitz finishes as the portcullis falls into place and the drawbridge is lifted.

“It’s not a castle!” Lup and Taako say as one.

“It’s not a castle?” Kravitz asks, warily eyeing the fish themed portcullis.

“It’s so much more, Kraveroo. Welcome to SeaBlaster, we’ve got fish, and the things you use to squish… them.” Taako does his best business smile, the one that they paid him slightly above minimum wage for, and does an adequate job of jazz hands (those didn’t come cheap.)

“It’s not really squishing though, is it?” Kravitz asks, like that’s the only problem with anything that’s happening right now.

“Hey, hey Kravitz, just to check, the only problem you have with the aquari-museum we now live in is the tagline not quite making sense because most of this stuff is used to stab and not squish?”

“No!” Kravitz says indignantly. “Whales also aren’t fish. There’s no way the harpoon you were at was used on anything that wasn’t a marine mammal!”

Lup snorts.

Taako groans. “You’ll get on well with Angles.”

“Who’s Angles?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“But I…”

“Ssssh.” Taako pats Kravitz’s shoulder reassuringly. Plenty of time for that.

There’s a long beat of silence as Lup begins to stride back to the staff room. Or, well, the common room as they call it these days, it’s homier, apparently.

Taako inclines his head and Kravitz follows obediently. Good to know.

“So how long have you been here?” Kravitz asks, falling into step beside him.

“This doesn’t seem fair. You’ve already had a load of questions.” Taako looks at Kravitz and smiles, just to be sure he knows it’s a joke.

“You can ask some things.” Kravitz looks positively overjoyed at the prospect.

“How’d you kill it?” Taako asks. He didn’t hear a gun or anything.

“Er…” There’s a long pause.

Taako stops dead. “Kravitz?”

“No wait, it’s not weird.”

“If you have to say it’s not weird, Taako’s inclined to think it’s gonna be weird.”

“But I said it wasn’t!” Kravitz protests, as if that has ever worked.

“People are asking a lot of questions that my “the way I killed the zombie wasn’t weird” tshirt already answered… C’mon, just tell Taako.”

“Staked it.” Kravitz mutters.

“You fucking what now?”

“I staked it.” Kravitz over-ennunciates, spitefully, Taako loves it. Can they keep him forever?

“My question stands.”

“I used a stake. I staked it.” Kravitz shrugs nonchalantly like that’s not completely ridiculous. “You use what very much looks like a historical whaling harpoon!” He adds, as if that’s relevant right now. He’s right though.

“You just…” Taako mimes stabbing Kravitz through the heart. It’s slightly more dramatic than it needs to be, sure, but how often does a guy get to go full Dracula-murder?

“Obviously not, that doesn’t work. I…” Kravitz steps towards him and mimes stabbing Taako through the eye. It brings them close, nearly touching close.

“Show cha’boy again? I missed it.” Taako leans forward.

Kravitz looks confused for a second, there’s a beat where Taako thinks he’s pushed his luck too far. Before he can apologise though, Kravitz is cradling the back of Taako’s head with one hand.

“Like this.” He says softly, barely a whisper, as he fuels whatever is crackling between them and brings his fake-stake wielding hand towards Taako’s eye.

“Urgh, quit it!” Lup yells back at them and flings the door to the common room open. “Taako’s got a…” the door swings blessedly shut before she can finish her sentence, but Taako can hear the chorus of questions immediately rumble up in response.

“Er… you wanna shower? Before you, you know, meet the gang?” Taako gestures expansively at the door which is currently rattling. He can just about hear Magnus’ protests and mentally thanks Lup (or whoever it is) preventing him from barrelling into the hallway, hugging Kravitz to death and asking him a bajillion questions before without giving him a chance to answer. It’d still be better than Merle appearing though.

“You have one?” Kravitz sounds suspicious.

“Are you trying to say Taako smells?” Taako tries not to be offended, but it should be obvious to anyone he has a shower. The apocalypse has never looked so good!

“No!” Kravitz’s indignation is reassuring at least. “I just… It’s…” He peters out.

“Been a while?” Taako asks, giving Kravitz a deeply un-subtle once over.

“Not for lack of wanting.” Kravitz replies, and the want is palpable.

“Taako can definitely help you out there, handsome. Don’t you worry. If Kravitz wants, Kravitz can get.” Taako hopes he’s inflected exactly enough emphasis to be sure Kravitz knows which page they’re on. The sex page of the sex book. “It’s this way.” Taako leads Kravitz down the hallway and towards the stone staircase to the aquarium. They figured the geothermal heat would be good for bedroom temperature as well as the tropical fish. It was a solid bet. “So, how’d you end up with stakes?”

“Is that a fish tank?” Kravitz’s attention is immediately gone. He’s pressed to the tank and marvelling at the clownfish darting around and Taako hates each and every one of them because Kravitz should be looking at him instead.

“Taako wasn’t kidding about the ‘aquari’ bit in the welcome spiel, my dude. We’ve got fish, we’ve got historical fishing weaponry, and all of that comes with a ridiculous part fibreglass, part stone, largely fish themed castle. Buy now for the low low price of spending the rest of forever here, or at least until the bugs eat all the zombies to death or whatever.”

“I’m sold!” Kravitz says, worryingly enthusiastically, as he presses himself to the fish tank viewing window. It’s disgustingly adorable and Taako hates himself for the way his stomach clenches in the ‘going over a bumpy bit of road and loving it’ way.

“So… how’d you get the stake?” Taako refuses to be deterred from finding out.

“Whittled it.” Kravitz says too quickly.

“Why?” Taako asks. There’s something here, there’s a string to pull at and he’s gonna.

“You know, end of the world.” Kravitz flaps his hand dismissively.

“C’mon. You can tell me, the shower’s just over here.” Taako opens the door to his quarters. Well. His ‘office’. They all just picked their favourite and took over. Taako’s is set a bit further away from the others and had a bathroom next door which is now an ensuite, because there’s not a chance in hell anyone’s coming back for this place after, and if they do they’re gonna be owed so much back pay that it wouldn’t be worth the counter-suit for the wages to try and make him repair the wall.

“Here’s the bathroom.” Taako nudges open the door and wishes that he’d spent literally any time cleaning his room in the last mmm… day…s…week… It’s fine. It’s the end of the world, you don’t have to be neat and tidy when humanity’s clinging on by a thread. Not that he was before, but Kravitz doesn’t need to know that. “And here’s a fresh towel.” He shoves one at Kravitz.

“This smells like mint?” Kravitz says like Taako’s magic. Taako could get used to this level of adoration.

“It’s antimicrobial.” Taako says, because apparently apocalypse flirting is letting the guy you like know your towels don’t have diseases.

“But how did you get it?”

“Hydroponics.”

“How did you…” Kravitz starts to ask.

“Not questions for Taako. I deal in fish and harpoons, you’ll need Merle for garden questions and I can guarantee that he’ll answer with more detail than you want and you’ll regret it as much as everyone else does when they ask.

“I don’t mind getting to learn new thing.” Kravitz sounds worryingly interested.

“It’s not about the plants, well it is… but not, you know… in the way you want… it’s not about the things you want to…” Taako squinches his face up remembering The Onion Incident. He hasn’t cooked with them since.

“You’re making it sound like it’s a sex thing.” Kravitz laughs heartily, poor sweet fool. Taako’s silence clearly speaks volumes. “Wait… you mean…?”

“Anyway, here’s the shower.” Taako says quick, loud, and brokering no further vegetable sex questions. He refuses to let Merle ruin this for him. He points at it, just in case Kravitz somehow missed the cubicle, and starts to leave.

“Wait!” Kravitz says quickly. “You needed to check me out!” Kravitz grabs Taako’s arm as he turns away. “I mean… you know, for safety.”

“Well, if you insist.” Taako steps inside and closes the door behind him. “For safety, of course.”

“Of course.” Kravitz says smooth as butter. Then immediately fumbles his zip in a rush to get his jacket off.

“You okay there, Kemosabe?” Taako tries not to laugh.

“I’m fine!” Kravitz’s voice has the slightest hint of desperation. “Absolutely fine. I’m trying to get naked in front of the most handsome man I think I’ve possibly ever laid eyes on, which is, may I say, an achievement at the end of the world as we know it, I knew guys who had access to, you know, stuff.”

“Ah, stuff.” Taako says wisely, trying very hard not to flick his hair dramatically and show Kravitz just how correct he is.

“Stuff.” Kravitz continues. Tugging at his zip again. “... and now I can’t get out of…” he gives a dramatic wiggle “...this stupid…”

“Let me.” Taako steps forward. “Taako can look after you.” He looks Kravitz dead in the eyes as he slides the zip down slowly, and thanks fate that it actually works. He probably could have dragged the jacket up over Kravitz’s head, but this way is so much better, this way means Kravitz is looking at him like he wants to eat him - in the good way. The good good way.

“Thank you.” Kravitz says, close, very close. Close enough for Taako to breathe him in and…

“Wait… shit. Hang on. Is that <i>garlic</i>???” Taako immediately abandons all thought of getting off, because if this is what he thinks…

“Er… I can expl…”

Taako pats at Kravitz’s chest. “There!” He thrusts his hand into the jacket’s inside pocket, hopes he’s right, he’s rewarded with a tight white bulb.

Garlic! It had been months, months, since Lucretia overwatered his stash and killed the last hope for flavour. He still hadn’t forgiven her. “I could kiss you.”

“You can if you want.” Kravitz looks so earnest, so hopeful, that Taako does, presses his lips firmly to Kravitz’s, brokering no room for confusion. He wants this, he means this. It’s intended as a quick thing, a temptation, but the way Kravitz melts into it though, the way he pushes himself forward into Taako, it’s delicious, it’s intoxicating, it’s… deeply uncomfortable.

Taako pulls back. “How much stuff have you got in here?” He flicks the jacket, then his hands are on the buttons of Kravitz’s shirt, working away, before Kravitz can reply. “Why is this cross so massive? It really digs in.” Taako lifts the ridiculously sized, heavy, solid silver cross that’s hanging round Kravitz’s neck and lets it drop again. Maybe he loves Jesus? Although he also seems pretty into boning before marriage… hmm.

“Er…”

Taako pulls Kravitz’s jacket open to reveal a series of inside pockets full of stakes. “How many of these did you make?”

“I… uh… Look, Taako.”

Taako reaches into the external chest pocket and pulls out a vial of clear liquid. “Small water bottle, my guy. Couldn’t find anything else to drink from? Glass doesn’t seem practical.” Taako narrows his eyes.

“It’s…” Kravitz looks panicked. Taako should have known he was too good to be true. “It’s good for the environment…”

Taako raises an eyebrow at him.

“...and also It’s a back up.” Kravitz smiles, winningly. It doesn’t work.

“Why do you have so many of them?” Taako pats at his pockets again. “Wait, is this more garlic?” It is… four more bulbs. Kravitz leans in as if he thinks Taako’s going to kiss him again. He does, obviously, because garlic at the end of the world is garlic at the end of the world, and it would be rude not to.

It’s distracting, the kissing, he definitely means to ask more questions, but also Kravitz is so handsome, and so… there. It’s been a long time. Taako pushes the jacket off Kravitz’s shoulders, it lands, loudly, but means it’s much more comfortable this time when Kravitz pushes his chest against Taako’s. It’s only natural that Taako slides his arm to Kravitz’s back, pulling him closer. The noise Kravitz makes when he does it tells Taako he’s just as desperate for this, for connection, for the press of bodies, for hot breath and moaning in a context unrelated to someone who’s recently dead and trying to bite your face off.

Taako drops his hand lower… “Kravitz, what the fuck?” Taako steps back, holding the stake tucked into his back pocket.

Kravitz sighs, heavily. “If I tell you, can we keep doing that?” He gestures between them in what Taako assumes is supposed to be an approximation of the heavy petting he’d very much like to get back to.

Taako raises an eyebrow.

“It’s not weird!” Kravitz protests too much.

“We’ve talked about this. Remember? You’re making it sound weird again.”

Kravitz squinches his face up, then shrugs. “I’m a vampire hunter.”

“What?” Taako doesn’t even know where to start with this one. Usually he’s got words, he’s full of them, they’re happening without checking in with him first, but he’s bereft, devoid, left wanting. In multiple ways. Is being unhinged a deal breaker for him? Taako’s unhinged. At least the guy’s prepared, dedicated to his imaginary craft.

“So…I told you…” Kravitz’s face is inches from his again.

Taako’s tempted. Sorely tempted. But he should probably definitely ask at least two more questions so Lup doesn’t shout at him later.

He places his hand firmly on Kravitz’s chest and definitely doesn’t cop a feel in the process. “You’re a vampire hunter?” That’s one. Nearly back to hot-boy-make-out-session followed by maybe-moving-things-to-the-shower-if-it-goes-well time.

“Yes.”

“And you think vampires are real?” Taako asks as gently as possible.

Kravitz steps back this time. “Hang on. Wait. We’re in a zombie apocalypse!”

“Vampires aren’t zombies.” Taako says with confidence, there’s not too much he knows about zombies short of the whole ‘they don’t get back up if you harpoon them in the head’ thing, but that’s one of the other facts he’s got.

“Obviously not.” Kravitz says, like Taako’s stating the obvious.

There’s a moment of intense eye contact. Kravitz nods as if what he’s just said was in some way conclusive, point proving, debate winning.

“Exactly.” Taako says. Because yeah, zombies aren’t vampires. “Wrong kind of apocalypse.”

“I didn’t think it was a vampire apocalypse.” Kravitz looks indignant as if Taako’s being ridiculous here. “I’m familiar enough with biting to know what’s gone wrong here.” He gestures expansively to the whole of everything.

“Sure…” Taako’s lost again.

“I was a vampire hunter before the zombies happened.” Kravitz says, as if that’s the same as Taako’s Underwater Fun-gineer role. Taako’s clearly still looking at him blankly because he adds. “You can’t believe in zombies and not vampires! I bet you thought biters weren’t real before this too.” Kravitz had a point, a good one. Fine, Taako can believe all kinds of things for him.

“Did that… pay well?” There. Okay, maybe now he believes in vampires because a handsome man said they were real, but he asked three questions, three! Lup definitely can’t shout at him.

Kravitz levels him with a confused look. “I had a day job, Taako. It’s just that I also do this… did this. They’ve fucked off since, well…”

There’s a long pause while Taako processes. “So, just to clarify, you’re… you’re a vampire hunter without any vampires in a zombie apocalypse?” Taako tries really hard to keep his voice straight, he does. He’s unsuccessful. Wildly unsuccessful judging by the look on Kravitz’s face. It’s positively stony.

Taako tries desperately to choke the laughter back. “Just… one more time.” His voice is thicker than normal, but he thinks he just about manages to play it off as regular. “One more.” He adds.

“No.” Kravitz’s bottom lip does something dangerously close to pouting. Taako wants to pull it between his teeth, but he should probably ease off anything biting related right now.

“Go on.” Taako bats his eyelashes, he may as well go for broke.

Kravitz’s nose twitches. “Fine, fine! I’m a vampire hunter in a zombie apocalypse and all the vampires fucked off.” He says huffily.

Taako’s mouth quivers as he presses his lips together, but he can’t stop the snort that escapes. That’s it, there’s no hope, he’s howling, tears streaming down his face, doubled over and wheezing. “S… Sorry.” He gasps out. “I… Fuck. No… no vampires… zombies… wrong… wrong thing.”

“I guess…” Kravitz says slowly. “I guess when you think about it that way…” He lets out a small chuckle. “... it’s… it’s pretty funny.” And then Kravitz is laughing too and they’re leaning against each other, propping each other up as the ridiculousness washes over them. It’s stupid. It’s perfect. Taako’s going to keep him, he can definitely stay.

The laughter subsides, eventually. One of them stops and then they set each other off laughing again over and over again. Taako wants to pin the memory of it to his wall so he can look at it whenever he wants.

“Were there many, you know, before?” Taako’s curious. Why can’t vampires exist?

“Yes. Yes there were.” Kravitz’s face is stony again.

“But less when you…” Taako mimes staking Kravitz through the heart dramatically.

“Yes… Yes. Less when I…” Kravitz grabs Taako by the thighs, pins him to the wall, and pretends to drive a stake into him.

Taako’s not unwrapping his legs from Kravitz’s waist any time soon. “Do it this way often?” He looks down at Kravitz and smiles as coyly as he can manage, which he’s assuming isn’t very.

Kravitz noses Taako’s chin. “Not really.” He presses a line of kisses across his jaw. “I was just showing off.”

“Speaking of showing.” Taako says, drawing his hands over Kravitz’s biceps, strong, good, very good. “I believe I was supposed to be checking you out.”

Kravitz looks puzzled for a second before he catches on. “Of course. Yes. Very important health and safety process. I’ll have to put you down.”

“I’ll live. Probably.” Taako sighs. Then decides he’s at least entitled to some aerial kisses while he’s up here. “Actually, wait no, hang on.”

It’s good, it’s very good. It takes a while before Kravitz starts getting wobbly and Taako starts worrying about them collapsing into a pile of horny limbs because there’s no easy way to explain those injuries. He taps Kravitz’s back. “Okay. C’mon. Inspection time. I’ll warn you, I’m very thorough.”

Kravitz groans, and lets him down. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

Taako helps him out of the rest of his shirt, stops to give him some more kisses when another bulb of garlic rolls out. He helps to shuffle all the stakes onto the jacket so they stop rolling around the floor. He helps kiss Kravitz’s collar bones when they look lonely.

“Taako.” Kravitz hesitates, hands on the button of his fly.

“Uh huh?” Taako doesn’t even pretend to look him in the eye, surely they’re past that point now.

“I was thinking…”

“Dangerous thing to do.” Taako lifts his eyes from Kravitz’s stomach and tries to focus on something that isn’t thinking about running his hands over it, grazing his nails through the hair there, kissing his way downwards.

“I have another safety concern.” He says, so earnestly.

“Uh huh?”

“How do I know you haven’t been bitten?” The corner of Kravitz’s mouth lifts as his eyebrows raise in challenge.

“You make a compelling point, handsome, I guess you’d better inspect me too.” Taako’s top is off before he’s finished talking.

#Happy birthday Larissa!!!!#Everyone go say happy birthday to them #Also - I cannot tell you how much fun I had thinking of this stupid world #But tell me I'm wrong - would Taako not use a historical whaling harpoon in the zombie apocalpyse?#Would Merle not be desperately figuring out how to grow onions to fuck?#Did you see that Kravitz has a lead on some vampires - he just doesn't know it yet!#TAZ Fic #Taz #TAZ Balance #Taakitz #Taako #Kravitz #Lup #Noodyl Writes #Zombie apocalypse AU #Why wouldn't there be an aquari-museum in a half resin half brick castle?

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sankttealeaf · 2 days

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OC DEEP DIVE QUESTIONS

thanks for the tag @adorablebanite <3 tagging @kaleido-scope-lady @quacaserous @beecreeper @theviridianbunny & anyone else who wants to yap about their oc :3

What common/uncommon fear do they have?

Do they have any pet peeves?

What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom?

What do they notice first in a person?

On a scale from 1-10, how high is their pain tolerance?

Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure?

Do they come from a big family/are they a family person?

What animal represents them best?

What is a smell they dislike?

Have they broken any bones?

How would a stranger likely describe them?

Are they a night owl, or morning bird?

What’s a flavor they hate and a flavor they love?

Do they have any hobbies?

Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprise?

Do they like to wear jewelery?

Do they have neat or messy handwriting?

What are the two emotions they feel the most?

Do they have a favourite fabric?

What kind of accent do they have?

handing you the questions here to make life easier, i'll answer for rue under the cut :3

What common/uncommon fear do they have?

fear of being abandoned. (she's just like me frrrr). pre-tadpole rue forms very strong attachments (see: her father. gortash.) and after being left alone many times before in her youth, she really struggles with the idea of being tossed aside

post-tadpole rue has a big fear of forgetting everything again. she's made lovely memories and writes down everything she does in extreme detail in case she ever wakes up without them again

Do they have any pet peeves?

people being too loud. she gets really bad headaches and will yell at people if they are being loud for no reason

What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom?

1. the current book she is reading

2. a warm jumper in case she gets cold

3. her diary

What do they notice first in a person?

their eyes. easy to work out how they're feeling and useful to exploit later on

On a scale from 1-10, how high is their pain tolerance?

10. i like to think there's been many times while travelling that rue has definitely broken an arm and she doesn't realise it until it starts bruising up (and then she reluctantly goes to shadowheart and asks her to fix it)

Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure?

fight. when in doubt, fight your way out! her go to tactic in game is to intimidate others to get what she wants but if that doesnt work? start a fight. physical or verbal, doesnt matter

Do they come from a big family/are they a family person?

rue doesnt remember her upbringing but she had two foster siblings (both older than her!) she's very much a found family person. has a lot of issues with herself and the thought of being a mother, but happily adopts arabella and yenna (as well as the tiefling children from the grove) along their travels. i like to think yenna visits rue and gale in waterdeep as she gets older.

What animal represents them best?

cat. despite her being dog coded, she is a cat character to me. likes her space, a little nervous, gets the zoomies

What is a smell they dislike?

one of gortash's perfumes. it was thick and rich and had a horrible musky scent to it that kept making her sneeze. so he changes to the nicer, milder vanilla and rosewood :3

Have they broken any bones?

yes. turning into the slayer requires a lot of bones to crack to allow room for growth.

How would a stranger likely describe them?

off-putting. weird. quiet.

Are they a night owl, or morning bird?

night owl!! rue does NOT like mornings. pre tadpole she will sleep in until noon if the world lets her. post tadpole she is a napper. gale comes home from work and finds her napping in the living room with the evening sun on her

What’s a flavor they hate and a flavor they love?

hate: anything overly sour.

love: salty things (adds extra salt to gale's food and he has a heart attack)

Do they have any hobbies?

too many!! post game rue has a lot of hobbies she picks up to keep the Dark Thoughts At Bay. she loves gardening, pottery and embroidery the most!!

their home in waterdeep is covered in things rue has made. hanging up in the living room above the fireplace is a painting of tara rue did that she absolutely hates but gale adores. he frames it and his mother has asked for one as well.

Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprise?

she cries (of happiness). i like to think the first year after the absolute crisis is over, gale plans a big surprise party and everyone's there. rue comes home from getting groceries, sees all her friends in her home and just bursts into tears.

Do they like to wear jewelery?

yes! she loves earrings (changes the little swords gortash gave her as a gift a few years after his death, but keeps them tucked away as a little reminder of him) now she has little star ones that she adores! (a gift from morena)

Do they have neat or messy handwriting?

MESSY!!!!! she's just like me fr!! pre & post tadpole, that girl has such bad handwriting! sometimes she cant read it herself :')

What are the two emotions they feel the most?

love and guilt.

Do they have a favourite fabric?

she loooves a good velvet. warm and fancy and reminds her a bit of gortash

silk, too. again, reminds her of gortash.

What kind of accent do they have?

she's tav 4 in game, so i guess a little posh? i think ive described her voice as "sophisticated" before. soft and gentle spoken which adds to the creepiness of the horrible things she says :)

this was so fun!!! i love yapping about rue. girlie lives in my head rent free :) please help me get her out!!

#; tag game #oc ; rue #bg3 #the dark urge #i love her so much #my little baby #my sweet girl #also spoke abt her during the game & after bc i feel like we know her pre-tadpole well enough

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desultory-novice · 1 year

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Nintendo Dream #6 RtDL DX Interview Part 2

Here’s the translation-summary for the second half of the RtDL DX interview with Kumazaki and the team, continuing from last month!

...Sadly, it doesn’t come close to answering all our questions. (The True Arena remains a mystery... :sob:) And I get the feeling Kumazaki’s going to continue to be very staunch on not giving away any hot lore deets/timeline information. Ever. But I like that he continues to encourage speculation!

Anyway, read below for the whole thing!

Q: I'd like to ask about the sub-games

-Nishi says since they were deluxe-ifying Kirby Wii, they wanted to enhance the parts of it where everyone could have fun together. The discussion of increasing the amount of sub-games and making them more extravagant led to the idea for Merry Magoland. Due to the desire to have many different generations enjoy them, they pulled popular games from a variety of classic titles and made them four- player.

-Kumazaki says they paid attention to including a variety of play experiences when selecting sub-games, so the experience of playing each doesn't overlap with the others. Man-power wise, it wasn't possible to put everything in, but looking back on it, he says, they miraculously included all their first choices on the initial design document. Ten felt like the right number for this "deluxe" game. They were even able to include some new ones, give them all a unique feel and make them all four-player. He notes as a director on Ultra Super Deluxe (Super Star Ultra) he was in charge of every sub-game there and how difficult it was to design games that used both screens and touch capabilities.

Q: I'd like to ask which of the 10 sub-games everyone has the most feelings associated with.

-Tani says his is Egg Catcher, being the first sub-game in the Kirby series. It was very difficult and so there was some debating about making it more accessible... in the end, they slowed it down some to make it easier. But as you increase in difficulty, it gets about as hard as the original game.

Q: In the original, King Dedede throws the eggs, but here he's an ally. How did you go about solving that problem?

-Tani says that after thinking about it, they gave that role to a robot. It allowed them to re-include the Dedede robot from the Wii version's sub-game, Scope Shot.

Q: Kirby catches the eggs in their mouth, but Meta Knight has a mask and Bandanna Waddle Dee doesn't have a mouth. How did you go about solving this issue?

-Tani says that after thinking about a lot of options they settled on baskets. (laughs) He mentions that Dedede is taller than the other characters so the position he would catch the eggs at would be different. So they fixed that by putting the other characters on raised platforms.

-Watanabe says his favorite is the new game Magolor's Tome Trackers. Because it's Magolor's theme park, they made a sub-game where Magolor takes a big role. The rules are fairly simple, but that gives it lots of replay ability. But there are also fun changes to the conditions and the way it plays by Magolor showing you the back of the book instead or only the color, or taking time before giving you a hint. "My bad! Looks like I showed you the wrong side of the book!" he says, in Magolor-ese, to describe how the gameplay maintains these characterful "Magolor" elements.

Q: Magolor has become a really great character capable of anything now. (laughs)

-Kumazaki says Magolor has grown into a character that can do things they can't have other characters do, something of a rarity in the Kirby series.

-Nakanishi says his favorite sub-games are Checkerboard Chase and Smash Ride. Both can be tricky to control just right, but that makes it more exciting to play with others, and he was very happy they got remade for this game.

-Ninomiya chimes in about Samurai Kirby. It was a sub-game he'd always liked, and while there was some thinking needed to decide how to make it work with four players, its even more exhilarating to win in this version. And that goes for the online version as well. It works with motion controls so you can really pretend to be a samurai.

Q: Samurai Kirby 100 is a game you can play online against others but only once per day. Pleas tell us more about that.

-Kumazaki says most online games involve hanging out in the lobby, chatting with friends, and its very fun. And while the Kirby series has been making attempts at online play with Super Kirby Clash and Dream Buffet, he wanted a game that you can play with no waiting, just a quick, casual investment you could play without any fear.

It's a simple one button game, but they decided, rather than that just being something you could play online, "Wouldn't it be awesome if you could engage in a 100-person battle royal?!" and that was how Samurai Kirby 100 came about.

-Watanabe says they aimed for a goal where you could decide who was best in all the world in a snap. And because it just requires one button press, anyone can have an easy time playing it. It ends quickly too, but they put a lot of effort into the presentation of the game because of that. And you get to see something special if you get 1st place, so he hopes people will keep trying it every day.

[The Symbol of Peace in the Kirby World]

Q: There's an orange butterfly flying near Kirby and King Dedede in the opening and ending movies. Is that the same orange butterfly that has appeared in other titles?

-Kumazaki says that in regards to the story, many times they put much more priority on the game design aspects. But in order to expand upon the world's setting (or if it will make the series as a whole more exciting) they scatter these little seeds that make you think up these deeper connections.

Q: So you're looking/focusing toward the future

-Kumazaki says that the world of Kirby, in order to stay diverse with each entry, has many parallel world elements and unconnected timelines, and he cannot clarify for us if that butterfly possesses the same role in different entries. But that there are elements left in the game that those who want to enjoy the story more can ponder on.

Q: I see.

-Kumazaki says Meta Knight has his airship, the Halberd, that sank in the end of Meta Knight's Revenge. But in a later game, Kirby Squeak Squad, they bring back the sinking Halberd as it's laying at the bottom of the sea in this game. And that there are new stories that can arise from pulling out past story beats like that. Slipping these things in softly can allow those unaware of these to experience the depth of the series' story as well, keeping these elements alive, without interfering in the enjoyment of the series' gameplay.

So if you're unfamiliar with the orange butterfly, it can be a symbol of peace, representing the calm before the adventure kicks in, or the mood of the ending. There are many different points of view you can see it from. Kumazaki wants both those unfamiliar with or not that interested with the story to be able to have their own takes on it and take in the story as they wish.

Q: There's lots of theories/questions though. (laughs)

-Kumazaki says if you play lots of Kirby games then play RtDL DX, you may definitely be thinking "Wait, is that?!" And the fact that the butterfly avoids touching Dedede's head directly but stopping on the flower instead... we make little considerations like that.

[Magolor Epilogue where Magolor is the star]

-Kumazaki says the original had The Arena and Extra Mode, which is generally the right amount of volume for a good Kirby game, but since so many people have already played RtDL, they wanted something unknown, like there'd be if this was a new game - something new to enjoy. They also were thinking up something that included a different style of play than that of the main mode.

Four plays is the crux of the game, so you can play as four Magolors in the Magolor Epilogue too, but this is also an adventure to raise up a weakened Magolor and make him strong again. He focused on adding that growth/development part to the "fun, four player action."

-Watanabe says, regarding the gameplay systems, they included mechanics where you could develop the player character as you pleased, something that they haven't done much of in Kirby. It linked up nicely with the story of Magolor picking himself up from losing his powers, easing you into the story nicely.

Q: It's fun to raise characters up like in an RPG

-Watanabe says that outside of connecting the gameplay to the story, another reason they chose this style of gameplay was to make a wide-audience game that anyone could play. This mode unlocks after you've cleared the main mode, so there is a bit of a difficulty curve, but its also balanced so that players who don't like action games can proceed via powering Magolor up enough. We aimed for something playable for action game veterans and newcomers.

Q: By the way, is it possible to complete this mode if you don't power up Magolor at all?

-Watanabe says yes. The challenge stages require specific power ups, but you can play to the end of the game ignoring those. He's done it himself, he says. It's very difficult though, so if you're confident in your skills, please, make the attempt!

-Nananishi says its the kind of challenge they can include because its post-game content. Kirby and the Forgotten Land's copy ability upgrade system was well-received. This game's system is a bit different, but Kirby hasn't really been a series with elements where your abilities change as you grow, so they look forward to how these different elements will be received.

Q: Why did Magolor's outfit turn gray?

-Kumazaki says they made it white to show how he'd lost his powers after "a certain fight." It visualizes how he's lost all his energy. He's not going to elaborate on the series timeline, but there are things in RtDL DX that lean toward connecting the various stories.

Q: So, he's out of energy?

-Kumazaki says the other reason he's dressed in white is that in RtDL, there are these dimensional rifts that allow you to travel through a variety of worlds, and so Magolor's clothes are white to make you think "Oh wait, does it mean this?!" There's a bit that hints at this, so I'm happy if you complete the epilogue and are able to feel "Aha! So that's why he's dressed in white!"

<LATE EDIT: Sooo, I was in a rush when I wrote this and didn’t double check even though it pinged something in my brain (Bad Dess. Always double check!) but there is some implication, notably in the fact that Kumazaki corrects the interviewer gray > white and some obscure/older meaning behind the word “white clothes” that they’re also meant to be funerary garb.>

Q: By the way, you can play as four Magolors in multiplayer mode, but is this magic or some other established ability to split oneself?

-Kumazaki says that in Star Allies's post-game content, Heroes in Another Dimension, Kirby can transform into the Dream Friends themselves. Because it's otherwise very hard for Player 1 to play as the Dream Friends in Star Allies, so he wanted a special kind of game experience where you could control them all at the end. Lots of unusual things occur in the space known as Another Dimension, but... they realized it would cause less unease if you could just be four Magolors rather than Magolor somehow being able to summon Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight, and Bandanna Waddle Dee to journey with him. It also makes it more of a Magolor Epilogue because its only Magolor.

Q: It's sure something to play with four people as four Magolors. (laughs)

Unlike with Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, where Kirby is divided into four by Dark Meta Knight at the start of the adventure, nothing happens to cause this. We just wanted to emphasize the fun of playing together as four Magolors gathering power and growing. This is just something conceived of to be unique and fun to this game.

Q: On the note of the four Magolors, tell me about being able to play as four Kirbys of differing colors.

-Kumazaki says the point of the multi-color Kirbys is so that everyone can be the main character. We had something similar in Star Allies with the helpers, but outside of Kirby, those are generally controlled by the CPU to help out and add elemental abilities.

Q: The helpers give off a strong impression of being support to Kirby during Kirby's own adventure.

-Kumazaki says that in contrast to that, the multi-colored Kirbys are distinct for letting everyone be the main character, and everyone play as Kirby. It's a difference of theme. To match up with the theme of the game, everyone can play as a Kirby of a different color. Because the helpers are identified as helpers, they're really support roles that exist to fulfill a need in the series.

[Kumazaki looks back at 30 years of Kirby]

Q: It's been a packed 30th anniversary.

-Kumazaki says with the goal of making the 30th a big celebration, they worked together with teams and departments outside of just Japan, all toward this one goal, and that he was glad they did. It was very difficult of course, but everyone put their all into "Let's make the consumers happy!" and "Let's make this 30th huge!" It was thanks to this clear goal that Kumazaki and everyone else was able to keep moving in the same direction and that everything was done with excitement and that you can feel the team's energy.

Q: You released three vastly different games this year.

-Kumazaki says for him, the biggest challenge was making those three games. It wasn't just because it was the 30th or to release a new Kirby title, but because they wanted to make the very best title they could that they were able to release three titles exactly on time for the 30th. But the Music Fest, that was definitely prepared especially as a 30th anniversary celebration.

Q: It was really impressive that you made that happen.

-Kumazaki says that he feels as if Kirby has grown much larger thanks to all the events packed into the 30th anniversary celebration. Kirby was 9 years old when he entered HAL Laboratory (2002) so it was just before the 10th anniversary. Now it's been 20 years and you see Kirby in all kinds of places. Kirby dolls hanging on students bags, Kirby merchandise for sale in storefronts, and Kirby prizes at gaming arcades. He says that back during the 20th anniversary, it was still somewhat rare to see Kirby merchandise around. There are many more opportunities to see Kirby in games and elsewhere in just these 10 years. From the first entry to Kirby and the Forgotten Land, not just in Japan but all over this wide world, support for Kirby really has grown. He felt that with the scale of the Music Fest, compared to the orchestra concert celebrating the 25th anniversary just five years ago. The deep feeling that Kirby is loved by so many all over.

Q: You worked person-to-person with the sound staff on the Music Fest while making those three new games, right?

-Kumazaki says it was incredibly difficult. (laughs) The peak of difficulty was Dream Buffet's development falling right when the end of production for the Music Fest was happening. I was listening to songs from the Music Fest in one ear and BGM tracks from the games with the other. We'd made the plan to announce Dream Buffet on stage during the Music Fest, so I made those announcement preparations with the feel of "We're working on it RIGHT now!"

Q: You did the voice of King Dedede for the HAL Laboratory Dream Band King Dedede Fest" didn't you?

-Kumazaki says about that, they didn't rehearse his part in the song before the event. (laughs) After hours at Kirby Cafe Tokyo, they did rehearsal and recording all in the short space between then and opening the next day. "I'll do it!" he thought to himself as he joined in, thinking it would please the fans.

Q: With the release of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, the scope of what a Kirby game is has increased, and many people are looking forward to what's going to come out next.

-Kumazaki says as new ways of play are discovered, evolutions and enhancements on types of play increase as well, with things like additional growth parameters but they generally want to see player's growth and proficiency at the controls of the action games they play. The scope of the games has increased, but push it past a certain line and it really would become an RPG, and that action (the genre) and learned proficiency are very important to Kirby, so he's going to continue thinking about that balance going forward. Which is quite challenging.

Q: That brought us the "Magolor Epilogue" right? Magolor did no talking on his own, the whole story till the end was communicated in that fashion. Very well done.

<They're talking about the fact that he doesn't talk to anyone else to explain the story or his feelings while you're playing the game, yet you still understand the narrative. Obviously, he still has some dialogue when you power him up.>

-Kumazaki thanks the interviewer, saying that with an action game, its good to have a story you can read between the lines. And, he adds, the reveal that Magolor('s ears) was dark brown/black underneath his hood was always there from the beginning of his creation.

Q: Lastly, please share let us hear your enthusiasm as we move into the 31st year of the Kirby series.

-Kumazaki says that the 30th anniversary came about because of the hard work of staff and most of all, the cheers of so many fans. The games, the music fest, the events and merchandise. FL is the series first main line 3D action game, Dream Buffet lets you compete against others online, and now this game, a deluxe remake of an 11 year old 2D action game, so there's a great variety of Kirby for the fans to enjoy.

That the team had been feeling this after the 20th anniversary, but with the growth of the staff, while they were able to deliver almost non-stop Kirby titles, presenting nothing but traditional 2D sidescrolling action titles alone might put the series in a rut. That's why with much work, they try to change up the world, the graphics, and the style of play, but the series needs even more variety going forward. Now, at the 30th anniversary, the team has gained so much more experience and are ready to challenge new types of play. It's a big thing to deliver a diverse lineup of titles. But there are still things left undone and new challenges ahead. They don't want to be limited to just mainline titles and specific staple genres and are making preparations to deliver an even more diverse Kirby series to the world. Please look forward to what the new Kirby series will continue to have in store!

#Kirby #Kirby series #RtDL DX #Magolor #Merry Magoland #long post #Dess Text Post

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happyk44 · 1 year

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Look. I know that like. Pluto is not the god of business and that wealth is not equivalent to business but like 1) the meaning of wealth has changed over time and differs among people and I'm pretty sure now when you think of wealth and wealthy people, you think of people who own fortune 500 companies and know what stocks are, and 2) I love the concept of tired businessman Hades/Pluto who just wants to spend a quiet day with his spreadsheets and a pencil, and not have to deal with whatever nonsense is currently being drummed up by his employees

Anyway -- Nico's wealth being generational due to his grandfather (and I want to assume that politics was a family thing so likely also before him) vs Hazel's wealth being hard earned, which, at least in the current age, means business know-how and being able to file a tax report and reconcile a balance sheet sheet and understand excel (I might be slightly projecting here lol)

Hazel being almost an obsessive accountant, monitoring bills, income, every single expense and penny off the street vs Nico who knows the value of things, like antiques, stuff with history. He can do surveys of property, anything that has the potential to be passed on. He's good with valuing a will - splitting assets between family members. Or managing a trust, devising different funds for the future. I think he's probably very good at looking at the long-term. And thus pretty good at noticing when someone is scamming another person with the whole "it'll be cheaper in the long run" thing, or "it'll increase in worth over time".

And since generational wealth is mostly familial, I don't think all of it has to be specific to monetary value either. Emotional wealth, the value something carries emotionally, is also something he can sense. A cheap wedding ring passed down from generation to generation could be more valuable than a standard cut diamond bought today.

Like he could look at old vase on sale at Goodwill for $2 and know it's monetarily cheap, but emotionally it's valued in the thousands. I think it could be kind of cool for things that carry high emotional value and were a part of a family's lineage for generations, if he could touch them and see the history behind it - but that doesn't really fit in with the scope of his current powers or the general theme of the Underworld so :/

They're both good at investments as investing is kind of the core of wealth management and plays a big part in building generational wealth these days, although, I'd gather that Hazel is probably better at it.

Nico, however, is very good at being able to calculate future value of a long-term investment (at least 20+ years).

Hazel can calculate future value of any kind of investment - short term fixed deposits, long and short-term investments, property changes (she absolutely hates house flippers, especially when they change or cover all the older original work, because it cuts the value down so much more than they realize), other stuff that has slipped my mind because my brain is stalling, etc.

Hazel's your go-to for reviewing the split of assets during a divorce. She's extremely meticulous and can track down even the most hidden of accounts. She's also the one you want to talk to about getting the most out of filing your taxes. She will go through every single one of your purchases, no matter how minor, to find a loophole she can work with to shave even only a couple cents off.

(disclaimer: bermuda does not have income tax so i have no idea how filing taxes actually works, other than the two canadian tax classes i took over five years ago as part of my degree)

Hazel can also assess depreciation somewhat automatically. Someone trying to choose between types of equipment can go to her and be like "which one will depreciate in value faster if I do X with it" and she'll look and point and if you ask her why, she can sprout off some nonsense at the top of her head without thinking - like percy with sailing, or my hc about jason/thalia and their inherent diplomatic schmoozing skills.

However, unlike them, she maintains understanding of what she's said when she's exited the environment, either because the power just does that or because Hazel is an amazing busy lady. if you casually said "hey hazel, between X brand and Y brand, which will drop in value faster" she'd have to think about it because it's not really "business" related.

In that sense she's also REALLY good at noticing trends. most of it is subconscious - what brands are becoming more popular, what clothing styles are losing touch. I put this in a previous fic, but she's very receptive gemstone trends. She can tell which stones are moving up in popularity and which are going down. In my headcanon about her business with Walt, this is very useful.

Her ability to notice trends, especially from a monetary standpoint, also helps with her managing stocks, and allows her to invest in high interest but riskier equities with very minimal loss (trends aren't set in stone, you know? Sometimes things happen and everything sudsenly shifts)

Plus back to the whole wealth is conflated with succesful business these days concept, putting Hazel in charge for just a day can boost a business's ability to turn a profit. In just a few hours, she can have all major flaws analyzed.

In New Rome, if someone is opening up a shop or whatever, they'll ask Hazel to review their plans because she can immediately point out all the issues and devise a better way to go about things. A couple times she's just taken them gently by the shoulders and said in the kindest voice ever, "This is going to fail. Do not put money into this." Sometimes it's the business concept, sometimes it's the person behind the concept. They either listen or they don't and if they don't, Frank is there to listen to all her complaints about them going against her advice.

Also - as an U-turn back to the splitting assets in a divorce concept, I'm not sure about pre or post-nuptial agreements. I think pre-nuptials are pretty straightforward in a "this is what im bringing in and want to keep separate from marriage" kind of thing, which Hazel could handle easily. I know in both cases it's important to declare all assets - which again Hazel could easily handle.

Post-nuptials are probably more of Nico's thing because at that point the assets in question have become merged and become familial, and much of generational wealth is in the idea of building wealth to leave behind to your family so they may have a better opportunity to build wealth to leave behind, etc, etc. Especially since post-nuptials, I think, are typically created after children are born, and those are the people who wealth is supposed to be left behind to.

This also kind of plays with my idea that the underworld is inherently familial/communal - as a person cannot bury or perform the proper funeral rites on themselves. Plus the Cocytus is the river of lamentation (aka grief and sorrow) and I imagine some of that comes from the people left behind, crying over their lost loved ones.

Also I think the idea that children of Pluto are resistant/immune to monetary greed. Since Hades was never technically the god of wealth, and was only conflated with him over time (to which, I would imagine some things and behaviours began to pop up, like they'd always existed and then becoming Pluto in the Roman era just solidified that conflation), his kids don't really have this innate resilience, but their dad is also rich and loves them, so their ability to fall prey to it is lower.

Oh! Oh! And Hazel can inflict plutomania on people, which is a word I discovered just now that means "the excessive desire for wealth". I don't know how this would be helpful but idk - social wealth is something I found popping up a lot so maybe if Hazel needs information on something that a person won't give, she can utilize plutomania to inflict a desire for social wealth in the person to get them to spill the information

(Social Wealth is about connection and network, having a sense of belonging and trust essentially. Someone with a lot of social wealth will have a lot of connections versus someone with no social wealth)

(oh yeah in my hasty google search to fact check my understanding of generational wealth when I started this post yesterday, I discovered there are many types of wealth. The number kind of varies from result to result, but essentially the 4 mains ones are: Financial Wealth (obvi), Social Wealth, Time Wealth, and Health Wealth (haha, it rhymes). But anyway yeah. Not sure how it could all loop into her without making her too all powerful but like. Hazel is also super cool and deserves to be godlike in consideration so 🤷‍♂️)

I love that when I started this yesterday it was a lot more clear cut and then I came back to finish it and ended on a ramble 😂 I do not have the energy to go and tidy everything up into something more coherent and uniform so this is what it be 👍

Oh, also, Hazel is amazing at gambling and poker. Nico is also good at poker but that's because he's reading people's souls to figure out their tells. Hazel is good at it because she attracts cash money and therefore always wins. That's why whenever anyone plays poker or places a bet with her, money can't be involved.

#happy talks pjo #nico di angelo #hazel levesque

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