#can you guess which characters I've hinted at?

[bonzos-number-1-fan]

TMAGP 38 Thoughts: German Lessons

It's another guest episode this week and much like the last one of those it's only co-guest written. This time it's Jonny and Amber Devereux of Tin Can Audio, who has done a lot of things I'm not familiar with. I thought this episode was really solid though so I'm sure it's great stuff. The statement is very Archives to me, but the rest is very Protocol and it's really picking up pace. Just good stuff all around.

Spoilers for TMA , and TMAGP episode 38 below the cut.

We start as all good things do, talking about Colin. I'm holding out hope for the eventual Colin read incident because I do miss that man in this show. I love that Alice doesn't cave to Celia's bullshit. There isn't much to really dig apart here. The mentions of alchemy and the specific elements aren't particularly meaningful outside of their reinforcement of those themes. But it's plot development which is all good stuff.

While Celia for sure deserves the attitude Gwen deserves better than that though, smh Alice.

ALICE Well, it looks like Freddie was originally made in Berlin, back in the late 80s, maybe early 90s. There’re a lot of references to someone called “Friedrich”, who I think might have been the original programmer.

While it is pretty funny that Friedrich might have named his app after himself in leet, might be worth mentioned that Dr. Welling's first initial is F and we don't know what that stands for currently. He's currently been on the periphery of things but has been their more than just a throwaway character would've been. So there could be some sort of connection there.

ALICE Colin was certainly thought so. He was trying to find out more from a contact over there, some guy called “Heinrich Unheimlich”. GWEN I’m sorry, “Heinrich Unheimlich”? ALICE Yeah. What? GWEN Alice, do you speak any German? ALICE No, not as such. Why? GWEN Unheimlich. It means… Creepy, weird. I don’t think it’s a real name.

This bit is a fairly big deal IMO. If you've read a lot of my stuff you're likely aware of my theory about what DPHW means. If you aren't this is a fairly large hint that I am on the right lines there. Very briefly I think DPHW stands for Death, Pain, Helplessness, and Weird and is a rating system for incidents. The reason I think it's those things is because we know from the ARG that the German version is TSHU. Those meaning Tod, Schmerz, Hilflosigkeit, and Unheimlich. The translations are all pretty direct with the exception of Unheimlich which would generally be more like uncanny rather than weird, but uncanny is also much more in line with Magnus' use of the weird as horror.

On to the incident and, man, I liked this one a lot. Just some good old fashioned weird stuff happening. I don't think it was super creepy or unsettling, it didn't surprise me or have me on the edge of my seat, but it was thoroughly enjoyable through and through. It's a somewhat novel twist on the bogeyman archetype and everyone likes a good bogeyman scary story. It's also very German and as has been made very explicit in this episode that's a big deal for the world building here. It's come up a lot before, and was all over the ARG, and is central to a couple of core mysteries. A German "external" in the form of Mr. Cat Eyes is also exciting to see given the origins of Freddie. Germany clearly has had a lot of problems in the spookem department. There are also some implications here about a network of spooky people doing spooky things so I'm curious if this will come up in the future. The ending gave a "time to join the family business" sort of vibe to me that I'm hoping will come back around.

Mum said that she thought it was an old toy, maybe from East Berlin. I guess maybe it’s because East Berlin was also old.

As I've talked about the ARG before in these but of note here is that a large portion of it was dedicated to an East German diaspora newsgroup, and we (members of StatementRemains+ Discord server, not me personally) ended up traveling to a Berlin bookstore to find some documents. Which is to say they've been playing the long game on this one and if season 3 was a whole new cast of German characters it'd make a lot of sense given its foundations.

For those curious about the rhyme, it's roughly this

Heinrich Unheimlich, will you play with me? Heinrich Unheimlich, are you in the hallways? Heinrich Unheimlich, oh, are you in sight? Heinrich Unheimlich, don't eat my parents.

in English. I was going to make it rhyme but then I ran out of time.

First off, it's great that Alice continues to not buy into Celia's "don't investigate my crimes" bullshit. Secondly, I'm really liking how much this episode is advancing all sorts of threads. Now we've got Gwen following up on that Starkwall offer which is another element from the ARG that now seems like it's pretty vital to the foundation of where the show started. All great stuff.

GWEN Meaning I know the risks! Besides, those are properly vetted externals who have signed an agreement with the British Government to-

Need a loicense to be spooky if you're Bri'ish.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet and Terminology Sheet

Klaus Watch: C'mon this was prime Klaus territory. I've not forgotten about him.

DPHW Theory: 2153 isn't super interesting all in all, although it is also the DPHW of last week's episode. Which is fun. What's actually interesting is that they said the word "Unheimlich" nine times and Gwen translates it was "Weird". Which is further reinforced by the last episode she was in and her talk about balancing W and Mr. Bonzo, who is similarly a bogeyman-esque character. Albeit through a very different lens. I've not had much doubt I was right about this even from ep 2 but it would be wild for me to not get at least a little excited about this like this. It's probably the first major hint that I was on the money outside of how the numbers lined up.

CAT# Theory: My transcript had it as CAT1 so I had a whole thing about it but it's actually meant to be CAT13 which does mean I don't super care.

R# Theory: AB seems a little high. There is some evidence here in the diary and the mother's actual disappearance but nothing obviously weird like with RedCanary's eyes. B seems more apt to me. Assuming I'm right about it, I mean.

Addendum: So apparently my transcript was wrong on this too and it's actually meant to be ABC, assuming that's not an error of some sort (in or out of universe) I'm not 100% sure what to make of that. It's just weird. It's the first time we've seen them break from an apparent scale and implies these are non-exclusive categories, but also it makes there being an S even stranger because you could just add a D for something that falls outside of its scope. Very, very strange indeed. More data required on that one. Or someone can ask Alex about it.

Header talk: Carousel (Toy) -/- Disappearance (Parent) is a pretty explicit description of things. Hard to add much to that one.

[ailius-suffers-through-art]

started binge playing the professor layton games and managed to make it to last specter so have some memo pad doods

[primofate]

"Where'd you get that bruise--Oh," in which your Genshin lover gets a good look at the first hickey he left

Warnings: please excuse mistakes as I'm on a time crunch and also sleep deprived, suggestive but still safe for work, humorous in some parts

Other works in this series: (You say I love you for the first time)

Characters: Aether, Albedo, Alhaitham, Ayato, Cyno, Dainsleif, Diluc, Itto, Kaeya, Lyney, Neuvillette, Scaramouche, Tartaglia, Tighnari, Wriothesley, Xiao, Zhongli, gn!reader  

Aether

gets flustered

"Uh-Umm... Maybe, you should..."

he wants to say cover it up but who is he to tell you what to do?

Starts to second guess if he really gave you that

Will start to think about the events of last night and deflates with embarrassment

Finally points it out, feels kind of bad that he left a mark

"It's just...distracting...I'm sorry if it hurt,"

Albedo

stares at it for the longest time.

There's a half smile, half amused look on his face, like he wants to be happy about it but doesn't want to be too obvious.

Just chuckles and points it out without any shyness whatsoever

"It's rather obvious, but do with it what you will,"

Comes up with some sort of concealing potion to help you hide it

Brews about a 100 of 'em

Alhaitham

Sort of does a double take, looks at it for a few seconds then looks you in the eye

"I'd advise you to hide it,"

he really only says that to keep things professional when the two of you go out

but in the next second he snakes a hand up your arm with a small secret smirk between the two of you

"However, I can't say that it won't happen again...Specially when..."

He recalls the events of last night at this moment, and it seems as if he's staring into your soul. He breaks away from you with a slight hum.

"...I best be going now."

He leaves you confused, but he only hurried off because he felt an urge to give you another one then and there.

Ayato

chuckles to himself

"Well, there's no hiding that I enjoyed myself,"

but gives you helpful suggestions on how to conceal it or at least make the colour less obvious, like putting ice against it, or something.

Speaking of ice, you can simply get it from the kitchen but Ayato is a tease... "I suppose my dear sister can adequately help you with that...Though what, pray tell, would you tell her?"

You kind of shrug and say that you'll tell her an animal bit you.

Ayato is amused "An animal," but there's a twinkle and hint of lust in his eyes. "Yes, perhaps that's what I become when it involves you. The statement isn't exactly a lie,"

Cyno

is silent. Not sure if he's happy about it or horrified.

Feels like a crime cause it looks like a bruise.

Does not say anything for a good minute because he simply doesn't know what to say and is talking to himself in his mind

Like Was I really the one who did that? Last night must've been...

Snaps out of his stupor when he's reminded of the events and clears his throat to catch your attention.

"Y/N...You...I...I've managed to leave a mark...on your neck..."

You absentmindedly touch it and let out a small ohhhhhhh in understanding

Clears his throat again and looks away, pretending to be busy with something. Flustered and doesn't know what else to say.

Dainsleif

Eyebrows involuntarily raise up at the marks.

Points it out immediately

"My dear, it seems that I had a favourite spot last night," and taps on your neck to let you know what exactly he means.

"I can conceal it with a little trick of mine, if you don't mind," he says he can make it invisible to the ordinary eye but some "special" people can see it, so...

"I suppose if you run into the traveller that you'd have to be honest about it. Hm? No, I don't quite mind if they know of our relationship,"

Diluc

is surprised, then apologetic

He didn't know is fully aware how rough he had been last night

Apologizes with a slight tint of red on his cheeks and can't seem to pry his eyes away from it.

"My apologies, Y/N. It looks like I was rather...careless...last night. You should wear something with a collar today...or perhaps, my coat?"

Is seriously considering repenting about it

Itto

"Whoa--"

Is legit about to throw hands but then remembers

"Oh yeah. I did that." while scratching his head bashfully

No shame about it afterwards, even has the gall to say

"I'm surprised it doesn't look worse! It was pretty wild last nig--"

You have to cover his mouth to save yourself from embarrassment

Kaeya

smirks and leans in close to brush his fingers against the hickey.

"It isn't the most flattering of marks but... it gives me quite the sense of accomplishment,"

winks, deadass tries to give you another one right away.

"How about we try that again? Just to even it out on both sides of your neck,"

is only half joking

Lyney

mischievous laugh

is more happy about it than shy, embarrassed or apologetic

"That wasn't very nice of me wasn't it?" but is still smiling

"Unfortunately I don't think I have any magic tricks up my sleeve to fix this one,"

Grabs and hugs you by the waist "I guess we'll just have to stay in, the two of us, until it's unnoticeable"

always looking for an excuse to spend alone time with you.

Neuvillette

clears his throat almost immediately when he sees it, like he choked on water

"Y/N," he starts rather sternly but falters and takes a few seconds to think.

"May I suggest wearing a scarf today?" is awkward about pointing it out so goes the roundabout way. You're so confused because it's the middle of summer.

"Well," he coughs once to try an explain to you. "I didn't have all manners of restraint last night...You were simply...irresistible,"

points it out by gently thumbing at it

Scaramouche

shit-eating grin at the sight of it

Doesn't tell you to cover it up, most likely wants you to go parading around with it.

"Tsk. What's the harm if people ask? Just be honest and tell them," he's just fucking around with your head now

but snatches your wrist and looks you straight in the eye with a confident smirk "And be sure to tell them who gave it to you. That'll teach them to back off,"

Tartaglia

laughs but is slightly apologetic

"Couldn't hold myself back, I'm sorry. How can I make it up to you?"

You tell him that the next time he leaves a hickey, he should leave it somewhere where it's more concealed.

"Oh?" sudden glint in his eyes. You might have said the wrong thing. "No take backs, Y/N,"

I think you know what or where he's thinking about

Tighnari

Doesn't say anything at first but immediately whips up a remedy for it. Some sort of green paste that helps with inflammation.

"Here," and hands you the bowl of herbs. "For that,"

He doesn't point at it but instead eyes it rather obviously

He also watches you put the paste on "Alright, just leave it for a few minutes and it should heal wonderfully,"

He doesn't exactly feel guilty but he's more worried that people will look at you weirdly.

"I suppose I'll have to be careful next time," with a sigh.

Wriothesley

laughs but bashfully face palms and tilts his head backwards

Recovers quickly and smiles apologetically

"Sorry love, couldn't hold myself back it looks like," lovingly takes your face in his palms

Can't hold his smile back "But can you blame me? I'm not gunna hide that I was way too excited,"

Suggests you to put a bandage of some sort over it.

"I'll try to be careful next time, but no promises,"

Xiao

Freezes while looking at it

For a split second is confused where you got such a mark but then flusters himself when he remembers it was from him.

"...Y/N..."

seriously does not know what to say

stands there staring at it that you finally just check in the mirror yourself. He hears you gasp and he kind of winces to himself and now feels a little guilty.

"I...didn't mean to hurt you,"

You quickly tell him it doesn't hurt, but you were just surprised.

Thinks for a moment, then mumbles, you can barely hear him "...So it's alright to do it again?"

Zhongli

chuckles, not shy about it. just amused.

"It's no one's fault except my own. I merely wasn't paying heed to how...carnal...my desires were,"

he again chuckles as he explains.

"Not to worry darling, I'm sure Bubu Pharmacy has something to remedy it. I'll be back with it in tow,"

brushes his fingers against the hickey as some sort of apology and promise that he'll fix it

End

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Here’s the Masterlist

[slapintoaslimjim]

requited love

how the mha characters would react to finding out you also have feelings for them

includes: i.midoryia, k.bakugou, s.todoroki

a/n: this is part one, i'll be making part two with Kiri, kami, and sero soon :3

----------------------

izuku midoryia

-found out by uraraka just randomly dropping in her sentences about how you always talk about him

-"yeah y/n mentions about you two hanging out to me a lot, she also called you cute!" "wait whAT?!"

-but, he doesn't want to jump to conclusions and make a fool out of himself in case if he's just reading into it too much

-cue him stressing himself out over it to the max

-because what do you mean the person he's crushed on since his first year at UA likes him back?! no she might not.. okay but she does because she talks to uraraka about their hang outs all time and called him cute!

-yeah, its an internal battle for a while

-i've mentioned in a previous drabble that he is the type to write a love letter. so yep! you guessed it!

-he's writing that letter for you

-BUT! before he gives it to you, he manages to get a somewhat concrete answer if you actually like him from uraraka

Katsuki Bakugou

-he already knew lol

-he's a highly observant person, and as your friendship grew he watched as the way you act with him is so different (to him) versus with your other friends

-its the way when he talks your full undivided attention is always on him, a soft smile on your face, too

-or when events happen around campus, your first instinct is to invite him with you

-or how you're constantly checking up on him and making sure he doesn't over do himself when training

-you didn't do this the first few months of the friendship, and it can be very easily overlooked by the others and it is but he notices these subtle things

-and when you two are hanging out alone, that tough, hard exterior that he had, crumbles

-you become his kryptonite, and he has a hard time for a while accepting the fact that he has feelings for you too, beyond platonic

-because why did that hug you gave him make his heart palpate? Mina is constantly hugging everyone, including him, and that never happens with her

-because yes, katsuki may struggle with his feelings. but he's not an idiot. he knows the difference between romantic and platonic

-and what he feels, he knows it's not platonic anymore

shoto todoroki

-he suspects it, but doesn't think too much of it at first

-he's dense, yeah. maybe bad with knowing and spotting romantic feelings. but, he does realize how you act with him

-because you're a bit more forward with your actions and words to him (because lets be honest, if you're not, he's not going to get the slightest hint)

-''awe the suit looks so good on you, sho! you look so cute!" "..huh..?"

-or your excuse to constantly be around be at some extent, always hugging him or wanting some sort of skinship with him

-which he slowly but surely opens up to the idea with you

-and izuku is the wingman for both of you; hearing both of your stories about each other and offering advice the best he can

-eventually izuku just blatantly tells him that you like the boy while he's talking to izuku since shoto is obviously conflicted

-"todoroki.. y/n does like you. you're not looking too deep into it" "........"

-time for him to steal his daddy's card and take you on that date he's been mentally planning

[undreaming-fanfiction]

My brain refuses to sleep, so more drabbling! Probably modern-ish AU?

Steve makes a career for himself as a re-decorator (or de-decorator, as he loves to call himself). His clientele are those celebrities who rose to fame so quickly they have plenty of money, but they don't have time to make their houses feel like home. They just bought penthouses and mansions and now live in homes that are fancy, but they feel like hotels.

Steve is there to fix that.

One of his clients is the hard working rockstar Eddie Munson whose life path went from a trailer park to couch surfing to living with 4 people in a tiny apartment, then suddenly tours, hotels and boom! He has a house that looks like an IKEA prop.

He doesn't hide his distaste at the pristine condition of the place (yes, Eddie has a cleaner). "Oh god. A beige carpet?" he scoffs and he sounds so bitchy Eddie decides he likes him already.

He likes him even more when Steve puts on reading glasses. Damn.

Over coffee, they discuss what Eddie wants. Except Steve doesn't just...tell him. He doesn't give him any hints. He just keeps asking about Eddie's favorite colors, what movies he likes, does he have hobbies apart from music? Can Steve see some of the items that bring him comfort?

And Eddie's surprised. "Shouldn't you, like...be telling me what I'm supposed to want?" he asks the gorgeous man who almost wails when he sees the vase with fresh flowers ("This is the third place in a row that has this fugly thing! Is it like a status symbol? Uh, tasteless.").

And Steve just stares at him. "Uh, Mr. Munson?"

"Eddie."

Steve nods. "Eddie. Why should I have any say in what you want? If you ask me what's practical, easy to clean, what bounces off light well, that's another thing. But in matters of taste...you're the boss. You live here, I don't. (Pity, Eddie thinks) Now, let's change this place into somewhere you actually like staying, hm?"

They spend the whole afternoon talking. Eddie opens up about what he loved before the touring and expectations from his agent took that from him. He talks about the Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons, fantasy in general, and Steve listens, makes tons of notes and asks questions that make Eddie's heart bleed, such as "and who is your favorite Lord of the Rings character?" and "you mentioned elves, dwarves, orcs, wizards...so what is your favorite group?" and "which DnD class would you be then? I guess a bard? Is that too obvious?". Now, Steve doesn't know much about these things, but learns quickly and works with the info he has.

They walk through the house again, with Steve making notes and wincing at transgressions against humanity or at least against his taste in things ("Oh ew. EW. Glossy finish on a kitchen counter? What is this, a future crime scene?") and Eddie feeling equally amused and curious. Eddie orders dinner for them, it goes something like:

"I don't know what would be appropriate, any preferences?"

"Eddie, there's no time or space when pizza is not appropriate."

"What about a funeral?"

"It puts fun in a funeral."

"Touché."

They follow up on a bunch more things. Steve notices Eddie fidgeting and asks him like the mindreader he is if perhaps the place is too clean for him. "Minimalism is what everyone's trying to push," Steve says, not without sympathy, "but it's not for everyone. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you seem like a person who'd love a more....personal, cluttered space."

And god, Eddie feels so seen. He tells Steve about all his favorite books and trinkets that he lost during a horrible earthquake in Indiana, so when he moved to the city it was just some clothes and his two guitars. Steve makes so many notes. "I've seen quite a lot of collectibles for your beloved trilogy," he says with a hint of a smile. "Is that something you'd like in your home?" Eddie can't nod any faster.

They talk about the budget (Eddie just scoffs at that, for the first time in his life money is not an issue), Eddie's absolute no go things ("No more vases, please! PLEASE. Also maybe the one room that can stay as it is is the studio, there's no decor"), if he has issues touching any materials, if he wants to keep any areas in the house neutral for visitors (he doesn't). Then finally, he asks Eddie if he wants to be more consulted or surprised.

And Eddie, tired and surprisingly relaxed from talking to Steve, just grins and says: "Surprise me, big boy."

Steve just smirks and makes one more note. "Oh, I will, Eddie."

...

Eddie goes on yet another tour for a couple of months, which is the ideal time for Steve to start working on the house.

Steve sometimes texts Eddie random choices, such as "Rohan or Gondor or both?" or "what's the best pub in the Middle Earth?" and Eddie usually trips over his feet trying to get to his phone after concerts to see if maybe he has another message from Steve. He learns bits and pieces about the man as well - he has a younger brother, Dustin, who is into the same stuff that Eddie is. Sometimes it goes like this:

STEVE: What's the best battle in the LotR movies?

EDDIE: The Ride of the Rohirrim, duh!

STEVE: Dustin says you're wrong, it's the last stand at the gates of Mordor.

EDDIE: The disrespect to king Théoden!

And finally, the big day comes. Eddie meets with Steve at the door. From the outside, the house still looks boring, but that's what they agreed on. At least for now.

But there's one notable difference and Eddie gasps when he sees it.

"I know we said no changes on the outside," said Steve sheepishly, "but I took the liberty to make one slight change."

Where the door used to be bland and white, it is now carved with silver etchings. It replicates the Doors of Durin. Eddie loves it.

Steve smiles at him. "Speak friend and enter, right? Dustin told me. Anyways, are you ready?"

Turns out, Eddie wasn't ready. Steve took all of the shiny and sterile surfaces and turned them into something beautiful.

The kitchen is now in warmer colors, brown and green, imitating the Green Dragon inn, plaque included.

Guest rooms have been changed, each to represent a group or a nation of the Middle Earth. Eddie thinks his uncle will love the Rohirrim one.

No more vases are to be seen, but Steve got potted plants ("almost immortal, as long as your housekeeper waters them once a week or so").

Eddie howls in laughter when he sees that Steve somehow managed to disguise all his security cameras as tiny eyes of Sauron.

The bathroom is inspired by the Rivendell, with soft tones and nods to Elvish architecture.

Eddie's bedroom resembles the Shire, with round shapes and homely motifs.

But Eddie's absolute favorite is the living room.

The only things that remain there that he bought are the massive TV and his stereo system with records. The rest though...

Gone is the ugly and sharp couch that looked like a geometry exercise. The new one is large and comfortable, with a couple of armchairs to finish the cozy feel. The coffee table and TV stand are more rough looking, with decorative ironwork. And then, around the room and on the walls...

"Oh wow," whispers Eddie and Steve beams at him.

There are collectibles and figurines that young Eddie Munson would have killed for. A replica of the Narsil hangs over the TV. It's cluttered but tasteful, still easy to clean, but Eddie always has something to touch, to play with.

And then he spots the bookcase and actually sobs. "What the fuck, Steve?" he asks, but there's no anger, just awe. "How did you know?"

The bookcase is full of Eddie's most beloved books, all that he told Steve about and more, but it's not just that. These aren't just pristine new prints - Steve managed to get both those and well-loved used copies. Most of them are the same editions that Eddie had before the earthquake. He runs his trembling finger over the back of the Hobbit and it feels like home.

"That was the hardest part," says Steve and leaves Eddie to rummage through the books, the old DnD guides and used comic books. "But I assumed you're sick of new and shiny. In fact, most of the collectibles are already used as well. They have some history. As for the books, uh..." He scratches his neck, embarrassed. "I will be honest, I don't read much. Dyslexia and some issues with the eyes, although audio books are making it more possible for me now. So I had to ask Dustin for help. We looked for editions published before the earthquake. I hope we got some of them right?"

Eddie just mutters "Sorry, I'm about to do something really unprofessional now" and pulls Steve into a bear hug. And Steve reciprocates.

"Fuck, this...this is everything," says Eddie into his shoulder. "How did you do this? Are you magic. You must be magic."

Steve grins. "I take it the surprise was a success then?"

Eddie finally pulls back. He would have loved to keep embracing Steve for a bit longer, but boundaries. "A total one. Wow. I mean. It's a lot, but so good. SO GOOD. How can I repay you?"

"You already paid me, Eddie."

"You know what I mean!" Eddie points and the books and apparently also a DVD collection he now owns. "This must have been so much more work than you normally do, no? I doubt every client has you memorize the members of the Fellowship."

"Not just that, but also why Sam is the best," Steve smiles at him and fuck. Eddie might be in love. "It was more than usual, but I loved it, Eddie. That's why I like my job so much, helping people find themselves again. You don't owe me anything. Although, if you're offering..."

"I'm listening."

Steve runs his fingers through that majestic hair. "So, I didn't tell Dustin that I was decorating the house for you, but he's a huge fan of your music. Like, massive, has every album, has been following your career from the start. And feel free to tell me it's too much, you are my client after all, but...he'd love to meet you. Over a pizza, maybe? The plain ham and cheese one you like so it doesn't have too many flavors?"

And Eddie melts. Because Steve still remembers his pizza choice from months ago, even though this definitely wasn't in his notes. He decides there and then that Steven Harrington is a national treasure.

"Sure, big boy," he smiles at Steve, and hopes he didn't imagine Steve leaning into the touch. "How about you invite him over for a movie night or something? With pizza of course."

It looks like Steve could kiss him, but he doesn't. Not yet. That only happens a week later, when they bump into each other in Eddie's kitchen when they scramble to make more popcorn for Dustin.

Steve stays the next night. And maybe a few after that. Always in a different themed bedroom.

They travel for work a lot, but when they are both in Chicago, they always meet in the Green Dragon kitchen, cuddle in the bed that would be far too large for a hobbit, and in the night, Eddie wraps himself around Steve and whispers: "My preciousssss."

And Steve can't really complain, because it's his fault that his boyfriend has re-discovered his dorkiness, so why would he mind?

[littleeyesofpallas]

So, with the new legends there's a neat way we can take a guess at some of the time frame. Although it's largely aesthetic and hard to gauge the intended historical parallels of, the not-Eiffel Tower at the center of the city could presumably have been completed in the late 1880s like the real thing. Interestingly that places it pretty concurrent to the construction of the Hokkaido Government building in the 1870s that served as the basis of the Galaxy Team HQ in the first Legends game.

But with the keywords being "urban redevelopment" the setting could only possibly be Haussman's renovation of Paris that took place from the 1850s-1920s. So given that the tower is already standing, that places Legends Z-A between 1889 and 1927.

And I doubt it would play into the setting of a Pokemon game but I think it's neat that it would mean taking place firmly in the 3rd French Republic, as that's not typically the most romanticized period of French history. (Kind of shocking given just how much Japanese pop culture loves to fixate on the Ancien Regime and Rococco architecture.) It's right at the height of the French Colonial empire and their rivalry with the British... Even if they don't address the history directly, certainly not the darker bits, I wonder if we'll see an ancestor of Rose* and some mention of Kalos and Galar's relation as a hint at the Pokemon world's equivalent of India. (Elephant, what elephant...)

*put a pin in that... Well come back to Rose later...

Also I know a lot of the stupid "leaks" that were just running with any/every rumor they could find had been talking about Celebi, despite there being no signs of it in the direct, but it's possible that the Z-A title and the fadethru of the sort of sci-fi looking city diagram into a pencil and parchment one is indicating going back in time --backwards, from Z to A, end to start.

and just so long as I'm just picking at edges of things...

The unknown are an anagram of, "POKEMON PRESENTS"(oh and the SOEYUE one at the end is just "SEE YOU") and the ""confidential"" stamp on the documents likely reads "Gokuhi" as in gokuhi[極秘]: "Top Secret," but the rest of the text doesn't seem to match either Japanese, French, or English,

Hito to POKEMON no kyouzon o yumemite[人と ポケモンの共存を夢見て]: "Dreaming of people and Pokemon's coexistence" Toshisaikaibatsu hassou MIARE CITY[都市再開発発想ミアレシティ]: "Urban Redevelopment Concept Miare City"

The obvious exception being that redacted text is clearly the romanized MIARE from the Japanese MIARE[ミアレ] and the English CITY, which is the Japanese name for what was localized as "Lumiose."

Curiously the word "Pokemon" is very clearly missing from the passage, and also in both cases there are too few "Galarian" characters for how long the phrases are in any actual language.

and finally, given some of the existing examples of handwritten Galarian in SwSh, I'm guessing the text on the big logo is as i've transcribed into the more standard Galar font, although I'm really uncertain about that second one, and a bit iffy about the big "X"s, but the little cyclone O, the V with the underbar, and the E seem certain enough.

Also there's a logo I know I remember seeing that looks like this one but I can't remember where it is or what it's associated with.... It's the logo on the Macro Cosmos power plant. Not Rose's personal logo with the stylized rose, and not the Cosmos business logo with the big star system orbital ring Cs, but the power plant in Hammerlock where you go to fight Eternatus specifically.

It would be really neat if whatever this organization is was tied back to an ancestor of Rose and Peony and the origins of Macro Cosmos somehow.

[cassandraclare]

*sighs a bit* Okay. Guys. I have been asked this question a lot, and answered it a lot. I don't know how to give a better answer — Dru & Ty&Kit share significance as main characters — so I guess I'll talk a little about comparison and structures.

First, all series have different structures. I don't think it's super useful or predictive to try to map an upcoming, unknown book series onto an existing series. In TLH the main character was Cordelia, everyone else was secondary to her, and people's roles and the significance of them altered from book to book. It was a big ensemble cast and they mostly stayed put in London especially in book 1.

TWP focuses on a smaller group of people. It also has a very different structure. In book one, Dru is not with Kit and Ty. They are in different places, both of which have their own stories that are significant to the plot. There is no way to see Place One without following Dru. There is no way to see Place Two without following Kit and Ty.

I know that TWP is a long way off. I know there are people who are very angry with me that there's such a gap, but there isn't anything currently I can do about that, or about the fact that I don't yet have the schedule for my upcoming books. That rests in the hands of several different publishers who must coordinate the release times and production schedules for four different series. I am not withholding any information about when these books come out. I simply don't know it yet.

I understand that TWP being a long way off makes for anxiety, and that those who are worried Kit and Ty will somehow be secondary are looking for tiny clues in microscopic details — micro-reading the of placement of the word "and" in my newsletter and such — that are meaningless, but I get that it all comes from anxiety. (FTR, those worried Dru will be secondary are equally anxious.)

I think there is only so much I can say. Because there's a big gap between TLH and TWP everything I do say or every image or hint about it is freighted with a weight of assumption it can't really support. Anxiety is always going to trump reassurance. And truly, at the end of the day, if you only care about Kit and Ty and find the idea of a Dru story tiresome, you will feel like they got shafted because when you absolutely hate a plotline, you will always feel like it's taking up way too much space. That's just how our minds work.

I've been doing this long enough that I know no book can survive a hostile reading. I know that Book Three of a trilogy is the one people hate until they don't. (When Clockwork Princess came out people hated it so much I considered quitting writing!) I know that it's wonderful to love a character but can also be a problem for people when I put out books that aren't about that particular character or dynamic. I know that for a lot of people, Sword Catcher and Ragpicker King are just tiresome things that have no business on my schedule because they're not Shadowhunter books. And I get it. But I also have to block it out, because I've been writing a long time, and I've gotten to a point where I know that I have to write the thing I want to be writing, because if I don't, if I sit down and try to force myself to write something I'm not feeling like writing at that time, I'll be making myself physically and mentally sick. And that's no good for anyone, really.

I suppose the positive thing is that, while this would not have been true five years ago, I am at the place where I want very much to be writing Wicked Powers. I missed these characters and am glad to be back with them. I consider this a story in which there are three main characters. And that is all I can say right now because it's all that I know.

(And this was much more of a general response to a lot of things than a specific response to this question, but I did feel like it was stuff that I needed to say. Creators are at the end of the day, just people. Sometimes we are powerless to reassure. Sometimes we are tired. Sometimes we are wrong. Sometimes we try things and they don't work. Sometimes we can't explain to you what our story is going to make you feel, because only reading it is going to tell you that. This may be one of those times.)

[atydblack]

"hands"

professor remus lupin x reader

masterlist (requests are open!)

heres an older remus x reader fic! pls send in some requests like give me a character and a kink or an idea and ill try my best to write it <3 warnings: smut, age gap, professorxstudent (consenual) MDNI

Professor Lupin sat at his desk in his office as you approached him. Your cheeks were blushed red at the sight of him staring intently at your papers in his hands.

"Hi, Professor." You spoke quietly as you took a seat next to him. You had been failing miserably at his classes to the point he's had to give you extra tutoring... not that you could complain.

"Y/N." He gives you a small smile as he places your classwork on his desk. "I understand that you've been having some difficulties understanding the material in my class?"

You nod obediently, ignoring the burning sensation between your legs as you took in his every detail. You used to be top of the class at Defence Against The Dark Arts, alongside every other class. However, since he because your teacher... you could no longer focus on your classwork.

"I see," Remus' eyebrows furrowed as he sat back in his chair, manspreading. "Which chapters have caused you the most trouble?"

Your mind grew hazy as you basically drooled at the sight of him, wanting nothing more than to place yourself on his lap and let him fuck you senseless.

"I-" You stuttered, squeezing your thighs together to relieve some sort of tension. Remus noticed this, his eyes travelling down to your skirt and bare legs. "All of it."

"Even the basic chapters?" His face hardened as you nodded. "I've been looking through your papers from previous years, Y/N... it seems to be a recent issue."

Remus shifted slightly, leaning forwards in his seat. His eyes remained fixed on yours as your cheeks grew red.

"Can I ask you a question, Y/N?" Remus said softly, one hand resting on the arm of your chair making you almost whimper. You glanced at his hand for a moment, visualising all the things he could do with it. Your eyes return to his and you nod obediently.

"Is it really the course material that you're struggling with? Or are there other reasons for your poor performance?" His expression held a hint of curiosity.

"I-I guess I've been a little distracted." You almost mumble, feeling yourself get wet at having his undivided attention.

"Oh," His eyebrows raised curiosity flashing across his face for a second. He spoke almost innocently, his eyes scanning your body once more, taking in your appearance. "Distracted by what?"

"You, Professor." You whimper, feeling completely transfixed under his gaze.

Remus took a quick breath as his chest raised and lowered again.

"Me?" You could tell he was holding back a smirk as he continued to pry and his voice darkened. "What is it exactly that you find distracting about me?"

"Y-you've just been causing some... dark thoughts." You respond quietly.

"Dark thoughts?" He couldn't hold back his smirk anymore. Your breath caught in your through as his hand moved from the arm of your chair to your bare thigh. "Can you specify?"

"Y-your hands." You moan out, opening your legs ever so slightly absentmindedly. You looked down at his hands, they wrapped round your small legs perfectly.

"What about my hands?" As he spoke, his hands travelled inch by inch up your thigh.

"W-when I see them... all I can think about is having them round my throat." You whine, his eyes widening at your words.

"Your throat?" He questioned further, squeezing your thigh.

"And other places." Your eyes returned to his and you realised just how close he was to you.

"Other places?" Remus was now inches from your face.

"My wrists... my waist... my mouth..." You noticed his eyes darken as a subtle grin crept into his features.

"Is that it?" He spoke in a dark voice and you shook your head no obedienty.

"My pussy." You finally let out and in that second he snapped, his mouth attaching itself to yours desperately.

You moaned against his lips as his tongue quickly found yours. His harsh grip on your thigh was replaced with your throat and you felt your brain grow foggy at the lack of oxygen.

Your fantasy was coming true, all those lessons sat with a puddle between your legs imagining Remus fucking you dumb was about to happen.

"Bend over my desk." Remus instructed, breaking away from the kiss.

"Y-yes, Professor." You whimpered, bending over in front of him so your abdomen was placed against the oak and your ass was facing him.

All you could do is whimper as he lifts your skirt to reveal your panties soaked in your own pleasure.

"Fucking hell, kitten." He chuckles, bringing his fingers up to your clothed cunt and rubbing small circles. "Are you always this wet for me?"

You nodded submissively and let out a yelp as he smacked you harshly on your bare cheek.

"Words, kitten." Remus spoke agressively.

"Yes, Professor." You spoke quietly. "I-I'm always wet for you."

He pulled your panties down slowly and you heard his own buckle being undone.

"You didn't think I was gonna reward you, did you?" You can hear the smirk in his voice as he speaks. "Dumb kittens don't deserve rewards."

Remus aligned himself with your pussy, not bothering to touch you beforehand to ease you into it. He grabbed your hair and pulled you up slightly so he could whisper in your ear.

"You want this, kitten?" He whispered. "Tell me you want your Professors cock in your sweet little pussy."

"I want your cock, Professor." You cry, desperate for any kind of stimulation. "Please."

Without a second thought he pushed himself into you, giving you no time to ease into things before thrusting into you.

You tightened around him as he let out a low groan, his cock filled you perfectly.

"Fuck" He muttered, not used to how tight your pussy is. He let go of your hair and grabbed your throat.

"Look how pathetic you are for me, baby." He groaned, quickening his pace. "Open your mouth."

You comply and feel two of his fingers down your throat. You try your best not to cough and choke around them but fail miserable.

"Aw, baby can't you handle it? I thought this is what you wanted?" He speaks sarcastically as suddenly he removes himself from you. You whimper at the loss of contact but he quickly turns you around so you're on your back.

"I-I can handle it." You whine, your brain foggy as he looks at you with a dark grin.

He pushes his cock into you again, this time thrusting into you at a ridiculously slow rate.

"You want me to fuck you properly, huh?" His voice belittling as you nod desperately.

"Yes, Professor."

"Then promise me you'll get your grades up," He smirks. "I don't want a dumb kitten."

"I-I'm not dumb." You whine, raising your hips to his but he quickly forces you down with his big hands.

"Then promise me."

"I-I promise, Professor." You don't have the chance to think twice as he begins fucking you relentlessly.

His mouth finds your neck as he sucks harshly, leaving bite marks all over you. You quickly reach your high, clenching around him as he finishes too, his cum spreading inside your tight cunt.

Remus removes himself from you all too quickly, pulling his trousers back up and wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

You stand to your feet, your legs weak as his cum runs down your bare thighs.

"I'll see you in class, Y/N" He smirks, grabbing your underwear from the floor and putting it in his pocket. "Get your grades up and maybe I'll think about that reward."

[disneyanddisneyships]

@gyubby99

New character alert.

Aponi dreaded coming our to family dinners.

There was always a chance she'd be spotted by someone who hated her, or worse. Someone who liked her.

Usually the people who liked her were all creeps. Or.. at least the people who would come up to her.

Her family made it better though. Specifically alastor. He always scared people away.. which came in handy when Vox's fanclub spotted her in the crowd that gathered when Vox was seen with his family.

Aponi walked next to alastor, not holding his hand because of his feelings toward public affection.

Mal said something funny and aponi laughed, making a move to respond before being cut off by a voice she hadn't heard in quite a while.

"Lillian?! Lillian CARLTON?!" The voice asked, astonished as the demon walked up to them.

Aponi tensed up.

"Jed?" She asked as she took a big gulp.

Jed was someone who seemed to follow her every time she needed a hookup.

Jed was there every time she and Jason broke up when they were alive, and somehow he appeared in hell as a lion whenever she and alastor had broken up when they first started dating.

He was.... an odd fellow. He made vulgar jokes and was pretty annoying ay times, but he was never an asshole about it.

"'Jed'? Alastor asked with a scowl evident in his voice.

"Lillian! It's been so long, triple D's!" Jed exclaimed as he scooped aponi up into a lung-crushing hug.

"'Double D's'? Mal asked with a raised eyebrow.

Yep. Boob joke. Yay.

Alastor scowled from the side.

"I uh... yeah I guess it has-"

"You've gotta tell me when we can hook up again! It's been, what, 20 years?" He asked, interrupting her.

"Pardon?!" Alastor exclaimed.

"What she never told you about me? I rocked her world on more than one occasion!" Jed smiled.

Aponi could've sworn she saw god.

"JED! I- Uhm- meet my Husband. Alastor." Aponi stated, trying to get this absolute himbo to get the hint.

"Ohhhh so YOURE the one who locked down this absolute hottie! Congrats! I've gotta say I wish you could share!" Jed stated. Clueless.

Alastor's eyes twitched. "I'd prefer NOT," he attempted to remain calm.

"Yeah I get it. I should've locked her down when I had the chance. And by that I mean handcuffs and a bed post-"

"OKAY we should be going now-" Aponi interrupted before pushing alastor away from the situation.

This was not going to go over well.

[spread-the-influence]

You can post that rant here, pookie. We'll listen 🤭

i've been resisting because i'm trying so hard to just keep this as a blog for the au and the comic itself but Wow it gets so difficult to Stfu with each passing day LMAO i feel like i should just go crazy like i did in the other blog and post my rambles without caring for The Blog's Theme

let me preface this by saying that i will do this without making references to external sources ( gooseworx's tumblr + interviews ) because i don't think you need to hear it from her to know how ridiculous it would be for ragatha to be 100% evil or 100% good .

___ So. a Theme in a story is the Central Idea . it's a concept woven throughout the narrative , and it comes up multiple times to give a Message . a Message in a story is a Lesson . it's what the writer wants to tell you through the story . essentially , think of theme as the Topic and message as The Details . the theme provides the foundation while the message provides the walls , easy peasy

let's apply this to tadc . the theme that jumps out the most , to me personally , is Community . through the fucked-upness of the circus , the thing that grounds the characters is their bonds . even though the episodes would get dark and existential , there's this underlying sense of hope because these characters have Each other .

this is where ragatha comes in ! this woman Craves a community , and that's why she's interesting . she's trying to make everyone like her — even the people whose opinions she Shouldn't care about — to the point that she would act insincerely to achieve that . but this only results in her unintentionally pushing everyone away . and well i've talked before about how her relationship with everyone has Tension .

if she was a villain ... it will Suck ! not just in a writing sense but in a narrative sense , like — if her evil plan was to get everybody on her side then she failed Spectacularly at that . but if her evil plan was to act so pathetic that no one would suspect her then move the fuck over mother gothel because THIS is the most manipulative animated villain of the 21st century

but seriously , it will suck because What Message Is There , and most importantly , how does it play to the Community theme ? oh boy oh boy the nice person is actually mean all along , guess i learned to never trust anybody — in the show about learning to trust people ????? also there's just zero buildup to it . any buildup ragatha has regarding her ' true self ' is just her being Insecure and Anxious , which very much doesn't give off villain energy if you ask me

if she's a pure angel that has done nothing wrong , however , then it's ... not going to be narratively satisfying . while i would prefer this over the reveal of her being a villain hypothetically , it will still Suck because it undermines the Tension and Buildup , if you get me . like wow cool we're getting hints that ragatha's not what she seems , only to find out that ... she is what she seems !

i'll say this setup isn't really building up to Oh she's a bad person ): or Oh she's good (: it's more like Oh this woman needs a fucking therapist we need to give her a support system asap so she wouldn't explode on us .

i'm not going to chalk this up to lack of media literacy ( because personally the phrase ' media literacy ' has kind of became a buzzword that doesn't mean anything beyond ' you're reading it the Wrong way ' which defeats the point of engaging with art ) . i just think people formed an image of ragatha from the pilot , and that was only cemented by her being the oldest woman in the circus + her fussing over pomni . she did seem like a kind caretaker looking out for everybody if you don't read into her dialogue too much . so of course when traits of her that aren't as Kind come out , it stands out .

and honestly ? i've stopped minding it as much — because if i wrote a character like ragatha i want this Exact thing to happen ! i would go HAHA you fell for the character's facade that was meant to be dismantled by the viewer !!!!

[xoxo-ren-xoxo]

Hermitcraft / Life Series Fic Recs

Because I love so many of them...

I'll split the fics into completed and updating fics, and try to only recommend currently updating fics (i.e., not abandoned). I'm going to write a little about why I like each fic and what the general vibes are - so this is also a kind of review I guess?

I've tried to @ the authors if they have a public tumblr. Sorry to anyone who didn't want to be tagged, I can remove any @ if you ask (or if I have embarrassingly tagged the wrong person). Anyway, enjoy, and I appreciate reblogs because I want as many people to see these fics as possible!!

This ended up being incredibly long so I'm putting a divider here. Click to keep reading!!! Also, fair warning: shipping ahead! Some fics will have mild sexual content, please read the tags if you are unsure <3

Updating Fics

I have already recommended Help Me To Breathe, lost in the dark (he's got a heavy heart), and There Are Monsters Nearby in this post, so I won't explain why I like them a second time, but definitely check them out!!

Death's A Good Gig by @mawofthemagnetar is probably going to be finished by the time this post gets to you, reader, but I'm putting it here anyway. It's short and sweet, one of my favourite representations of Zedaph (or, Zedeath) I've read, and just a joy to experience. If you like grim reapers and discussions of unions, this one is for you. Also I need more Zedaph in my life.

Look, I'm Sorry, Please Stop Scaring Everyone by @cat-in-the-desert reminds me a lot of a particular TV drama I liked when I was younger, which followed a similar premise. This fic follows Mumbo (vampire) and Grian (ghost) as they get up to various housemate shenanigans and meet their local magic-expert and salesman Scar. This fic is fun, but still includes a nice amount of Feelings and hinted-at Angst which I really love. It's lighthearted, but never boring.

It Hurts To Hope by Inquillitory is my favourite of the "Grian crash lands into Hermitcraft and causes problems for everyone" genre. Seeing how many fics there are with that premise, I think that says a lot. It handles Grian's weird Watcher stuff really well. Honestly, I just want to know what happens next!

killing the boy in the tv by @raspberrystruck is like a sickfic on steroids. If you want Grian with so much past trauma he forgets how to function in society, this is basically the fic for you. I really love how hybrid traits affect the characters' interactions in this fic, and how everyone is kind of messed up because of the imbalance Grian brings. It is wonderfully descriptive in all the right places!

Love Me Like I'm Dead by @daniofcrows is such a gem. You know how hard it is to find good Xisuma whump? It's impossible. I absolutely love how Xisuma and Evil X are characterised in this, and I am obsessed with the unique take on hanahaki disease which I have never seen handled in this way before. The balance between flashbacks and present day is maintained wonderfully and I cannot wait to continue reading this one. Wow.

Oh, you wanted me to do a verse? by @bugbbear is... kind of indescribable. It's horror. It's comedy. It's the apocalypse. It's boatem. Scar eats someone. One of the most interesting and unique apocalypse stories I have read. Slowly updating but worth the wait, in my opinion. This one NEEDS more attention.

So Much For Stardust by @a-plethora-of-peters is basically one of my all-time favourites. Which is a damn good achievement seeing as I don't usually read ZITS fics. Like, ever. In this fic, Skizz is a human abducted and hurt badly by aliens, now recovering in the care of good aliens who don't know how 'sentient' he is. Every update of this one makes me smile, it is wonderful. I love how the characters are written and how the different perspectives are shown. It is just great.

Solar Waltz by @raspberrystruck and aroundtheclock is a brilliant and very very sad regression fic. I love fluffy regression fics as much as the next guy, but this one just... hits different. The hurt/comfort levels are off the charts. Grian is so damn cute the whole time, while also being harrowingly complicated and sad. I am so ready for whatever comes next.

Tango's Castle of Cards by @evilrat-sabre is the one where Tango is a BUG. He's just a little guy (horror). This one is so beautifully written, with poetry-type interludes and perspective changes that really make everything feel so much more impactful. Finding out your buddy is a murder bug isn't the easiest thing in the world. I love this so much.

Traveling Thieves {Dark Fantasy AU} (series) by @amethystfairy1 is basically one of the series of all time. I know I keep saying that but it really really is. I love a good fantasy au, and I love an au with hybrids even more. In this world, hybrids are treated like slaves, but it isn't all doom and gloom for the main characters of each installment. There is a lot of hurt/comfort and the different stories feed into each other in really interesting ways. I try to read as much as I can, though I've missed a few because my emails are buggy. Definitely worth reading these fics, especially since now they're all starting to come together!

Completed Fics

Solving Counting Sheep by @theminecraftbee might have rearranged my brain chemistry a little. Another strong contender for 'fics that inspire me to kill Grian', this time with a more concrete notion of "replacement". Three is my favourite fucked up living weapon. It's so rare to find Evo fics in this day and age, too. This fic had me immediately clicking on every update as soon as I got the emails.

Rescue Fire by @imaginethat0327 is one of the most unique takes on a fictionalised life series game that I have ever read. The whole concept is explained in a realistic and easy-to-follow way, as we learn what's happening with the characters. There are several brilliant storylines happening in this one, but my particular favourites are Jimmy & Tango, Joel, and of course Scar & Grian. This fic is full of whump and, well, read the tags, it isn't always pleasant, but those are my favourite things ever. Definitely worth checking out this fic and its currently updating sequel.

don't you know about me? by takenbadgering is a wonderful comedy of errors with just the right amount of angst for a realistic setting type of fic. If you enjoy polyamory miscommunications, rave aesthetics, kandi, school teacher dynamics, and a lovely blend between grumbo, cubscar, and mumscar, this is the one.

Eventually the Birds Must Land by @milo-hypno follows a polyam ship I would have never thought of, and I cannot believe how much I loved it. This married-as-friends fic premise is wonderful, and captures the main trio (Grian, Mumbo, Impulse)'s personalities so well, while balancing them with the incredibly terrifying descriptions of the Watchers and their power. There's a lot of angst here, but it is ultimately hurt/comfort to the maximum degree. I loved reading it as it updated. Yay for gay marriage!

From The Archives (series) by @sixteenth-days was the absolute inspiration for my own Comms AU, and I will never forget its influence on me. As someone basically unfamiliar with TMA, I thought this series might be hard to follow, but it was not! I read all 57 parts in the span of two days, and I think it altered my brain chemistry. Please read it, even if (especially if) you don't know anything about TMA. The Cleo and Grian storyline lives in my head rent free. I mean it. This is horror at its finest. Also there's an audio series of this fic being released rn, which is very cool.

SUPERCRITICAL by @masque-of-plague hits different. It is such a wonderful take on the superhero/HotGuy trope, and it gets so super dark at some points! This one really takes swings at it's fictional government, which of course I love, while at the same time building this brilliantly emotional relationship between Scar and Grian. I do enjoy a bit of enemies to lovers, but the actual plot mixed into the story makes this one extra special. It is thrilling, with action that I don't get to see too often! Great work.

I am weary with contending! is one of the mumscarian fics of all time. From 'this house has people in it'-type horror, to magic gone wrong, to childhood trauma, to attempted assassination, to gender fuckery, this fic has it all. Usually I don't go for convex siblings, but this one is good enough to get a pass from me. Amazingly detailed worldbuilding alongside a brilliantly creative story.

It Spreads by @foxxology may not count as a fic, actually. It's a comic. But it's posted on ao3 so it counts. I was obsessed with this one as it was updating, honestly. It rocked me to my core. The art is phenomenal. The writing is brilliant. I love sculk.

Luck of the sea by Sleepy_Duck is a lovely take on mermaid and human interactions, with Grian as a marine life conservator and Scar as a very neglected mer. This one takes us emotionally in all sorts of directions, and offers lots of hope for the future of the characters. I heavily enjoyed this fic - if you like mermaids and marine biology, check it out.

there are many downsides to being a marine biologist by donnerstag is another mermaid fic but with a pretty different vibe. First of all, it follows what I would consider a rarepair Doc/Martyn. Second of all, reading this as it updated was a thrilling experience that nearly made me cry at certain points. I love how the relationship builds in this fic. It is honestly amazing. The whole idea of experimenting on a sentient sea creature, learning that he can communicate, then losing funding and having to save him from being dissected?!?! It's crazy. I love it.

Thus concludes my fic recommendations. I hope you enjoy at least some of these, and consider reblogging to spread these wonderful fics around <3

[melchinafan]

Massive kudos to the South of Midnight team for the attention to detail in environmental storytelling and character design! I know there's still a ton of stuff I can't even begin to guess at, but I've been able to glean a good amount just from the trailers, and it's all got me itching for more.

Some things I've been able to spot, just from these two screenshots:

I'd already kinda gotten the impression from Hazel's tattoo choker necklace and Lisa Frank-esque dolphin-rainbow tank top...but after seeing Lacey's half of a "best friends" heart necklace and jean jacket? I'd be shocked if this doesn't take place in or around the 90s. (Which is a solid choice, since it's a good way to limit having to worry about the question of cell phones.) Plus, if you take a look at their fridge, you can see magnets of the primary mythical creatures we'll run across! I listed most of them in the alt text if you can't tell what they are, but if I had to guess at the mystery cut-off one in the second screenshot...I'd say it's the Altamaha-ha from the announcement trailer. (Which I think is also maybe the purple-pink aquatic creature you can see for a split second near the end of the story trailer.) And...well, it's not visible in these screenshots, but in this scene Hazel also accidentally knocks a handmade mug off the counter. That mug has a bottle tree design on it, as featured in the game's logo and as important in-game magical elements!

Also fun is some of the detailing for Shakin' Bones:

His guitar has a Prospero license plate near the bottom (also seen on a half-sunk taxi that Catfish swims past in the gameplay trailer), which says CROS RDS (or "crossroads"). Below his arm you can see his name "Bones" carved into the face of the guitar, flanked by a couple Fleur-de-lis, and in a couple spots there's decorative blue paint (haint blue, I'd bet). Plus some short bits of bone (femur, at a guess), for both the bottom strap button and the tuning knobs. There's also a broken, rusted sawblade for a pickguard...which curiously has an elegant leafy design carved onto it. There's a similar leafy design carved along the top side of the guitar, too. Bones himself has a lot of different flora growing on him...at least two different kinds of leafy plants (small round leaves on his shoes, larger pointy leaves on his arms and neck), and some small brown mushrooms. And while I don't know enough about plants to recognize what those three might be, I'm pretty sure the flowers on his neck and side are swamp lilies. (The flower on his side is visible near the start of the announcement trailer, when you see him from behind. I'm also pretty sure I spotted some swamp lilies growing around Rhubarb's house in the story trailer, in their standard cluster form vs. Bones' unique singular flowers. Fun fact: for folks who play Secret World and remember a particular painting of some import in the Franklin Mansion, you may be amused to note that one of that flower's colloquial names is "seven sisters.")

There's also...well...these are a bit more spoiler-y, so I'll put them under a cut and try to keep it vague. But there's visual clues hinting at some secrets a few folks seem to have...

Less overtly secret, but still some story spoilers:

The most obvious thing at first glance in the first screenshot is the presence of Huggin' Molly's red yarn inside the broken wall. At second glance, and double-checking the start of the trailer to confirm the yellow paint and window style matches, this appears to be Hazel's house. But looking more carefully, one might notice that the exposed inner boards of the wall seem to have a little faded blue paint...suggesting that the house was protected with a hidden layer of haint blue (possibly in addition to the indoor wall paint that also appears to be blue), which wards off nasty critters. And with that ward literally broken, and Huggin' Molly being known in her real-world mythology to go after folks late at night, well... (Bonus fun fact: Secret Worlders may also be amused that the time on the clock in the first screenshot of this post is 10:10, as with Kingsmouth's clocks. Probably specifically 10:10 pm, not a storm-dark morning.)

And finally, a particular someone who seems to have deeper secrets:

(I linked the story trailer earlier, but the second screenshot is from the half-hour-long documentary.) The subtitles tell us this man is Laurent, and I'm curious about how significant his ear and nose piercings might be, given that he otherwise seems to be giving off airs of "responsible adult" (which typically does not permit such things). I have no idea who he is, exactly...yet his clothing choice and sense of decor are reminiscent of another design, which has shown up in the trailers and some promo/concept art that's been shared by the devs... But I'll let you dig up that connection on your own, if you're inclined to hunt down a bigger story spoiler.

[twobehonest]

Guys please I've been maybe rewriting how I would go about rewriting Heroes of Olympus (mainly books 2-3 because those are the ones that focus on Camp Jupiter the most) and how my take about the Imperial Trio (Octavian, Jason, Reyna) would go / work.

Now ngl I know if I had to follow the plot of the books we would have 0 time to actually go over any specific characteristics rather than what's really physical for most characters but shhhh

(NOTE: this is NOT the FULL post of my rewrite, this is just to get some of my thoughts out while they're still fresh. There's things subject to change :)) )

In this rewrite (and I guess AU in a sense?), Octavian is the son of Janus, and also may or may not be anemic, caused by chimerism, which is hinted at via vitiligo.

I may or may not put Octavian in the Senate, because uh, Augurs kinda do jackshit unless there's a prophecy. Also he's treated like he got no power fr but that shouldn't be the case, so I'm working out how the 3 balances of power do work.

I'm thinking that Reyna, Jason, and Octavian are trailblazers and progressed Camp Jupiter exponentially while focusing on their individual talents. Octavian, being the more politically and religiously focused one, while having the powers of Janus, (Which I've interpreted some of the power Janus-kids and legacies have are either naturally good decisions making (or being confident in their decisions) or being jackshit at decision-making in general while being able to interpret someone's intentions as well, even if they lie or not.) Reyna with warfare and such, and Jason with the more social aspects, such as responding to concerns about anything really (but once Jason is missing, this all suddenly shifts to Octavian.)

Also, apparently Janus can see in both the past and the future, I don't really know which myth Rick took from so. For my sake, let's say Octavian got born with the rarer powers of being able to see someone's past and future.

Which diverges into more things, but one of them is the eventual blackmail of Hazel, to get her to stop nagging him about Jason's appearance and give him a second. He's stressed, and dealing with the loss of Jason still while nobody is willing to get off his back. He's doing his best, he can't spawn answers out of nowhere. So, besides his best judgement, he snaps and unintentionally-intentionally blackmails her, souring the relationship between both of them indefinitely. He gets a lot more snappy, and seems to hang around people who are more quiet. Like Reyna. Who he was already friends with, and maybe Dakota (literally just a reason to have character interaction with people other than the main characters for Octavian)

[Anyways I'll speak about it more soon enough when I actually finish the entire art piece and actually articulate my thoughts about it. This was just a tiny snippet, hope you found some interest in it or something, since somehow you guys liked the Gaia using Octavian as a host AU 💀]

[aiscapades]

thinking out loud abt recent discussions in the touchstarved/obscura fandoms :) literally just my own personal opinion !!!!!

i can't stop thinking abt cirrus bc he's honestly what i want so badly for the touchstarved LIs. it's what i wanted for count lucio.

i was reading y'all's opinions abt the touchstarved marketing and your concerns abt how the game is gonna turn out, and while i was understanding, i also was so confused abt .. where this sudden concern was coming from. and then i played obscura and i was like oh! i didn't know a game could be like this! i didn't know a demo could be like this! i had entirely different reactions to the obscura demo than i did the touchstarved demo

—and yeah that's comparing two totally different games, different studios, different projects. the touchstarved demo served to introduce the characters and the world and it did that wonderfully. it's satisfactory. it's not that they did anything wrong?? but i cannot deny they gave me two insanely different reactions. i was YELLING when cirrus was doing his shit. it was like what i imagine watching trashy reality tv is like. or like watching one of those poorly-made TV movies and just enjoying the ride. i was hollering and jumping out of my chair and GAWKING at the screen. like cirrus was real and he was really saying this insane shit and i was SO ON BOARD and selecting every insane option the game gave me. it was just so wild. and it was so, so fun.

so i thought abt it more and i was like yeah. i actually see where this concern is coming from. rss keeps their stuff so close to their chest that it's hard to tell what routes they're taking, how they're dealing with certain issues, how deep the character arcs go, etc. i have no idea how fucked up their version of monstrosity gets, and for a game that is ENTIRELY about monsters and monstrosity, that definitely gives me pause. we don't know anything. they drop hints and we guess and theorize, but we don't know anything. we know leander is fucked up. we know they're all fucked up. in what way? who knows. does mhin murder people as a giant crow beast every night? we don't definitively know. we kinda assume that based on lore drops, but we don't know. but then other studios are doing semi-regular q&as and dropping information into the laps of their fans on a daily basis (lost in limbo??? hello? every day i get a notif that they've told us something new, either abt ALL the characters or about the world). idk how early obscura devs have been answering questions but they're also doing something similar. but for rss you can send in questions and you're probably never gonna hear back. you can't just ask them what song the m5 LIs would sing on karaoke night and get a response 🧍🏼 they don't do that. which isn't to say it's WRONG of them—i'm not saying they're being bad game devs by any means—but it's definitely a different way to handle game development compared to these other studios we follow.

that lack of fan involvement and information sharing is where the concern comes from, i think. at least on my part!

i mentioned count lucio earlier and i want to elaborate why. firstly, he's my favorite character of all time. i've been writing a fanfic for him for 2 years, and it's nearly 200k words (i'm taking a break from it rn). like i love lucio as a character so, so deeply. is it because of the arcana game? no, actually. it's because of the POTENTIAL his character has. it's because of what the FANS have pulled from him and shaped him into.

the arcana was on the app store. it had such strict rules about what it could and couldn't be. and yeah i can rant about how dumb nix hydra is for taking the mico-transaction phone app route, but my point in all of it is that the devs failed lucio. i think they fumbled a lot, with the other characters as well, but lucio was their watch mojo top 10 biggest anime fails of all time #1 spot.

his bad ending shows him as the new DEVIL and dictator of the world??? and we got to see none of that. his whole route woobified him to pieces. he's just a lil meow meow. he's Baby. he didn't know better. he just made some Oopsies 👉🏻👈🏻 uh oh!!

like he was the main VILLAIN of the story and they turned him into a manchild. the wasted potential of this guy is insane. and i guess i saw that and thought "i can make this motherfucker so much worse" and i did that and will continue to do that. so have his other fans. people have rewritten his route altogether because it was so unsatisfactory.

there's overlap from the arcana in the rss dev team. do i think touchstarved will be the new arcana? nope!!!! but am i also worried they'll play it safe because they think the fanbase wants conventionally loveable love interests? yeah. i absolutely see the concern. it's very real and very there. does red spring studio KNOW we want truly monstrous characters? do they? we're just hoping they do.

leander doesn't have to be just like cirrus. none of them have to be anything. but i do want them to be monstrous. i want to FEEL something the same way i feel something when cirrus orders me onto my knees. like not even in a kinky sexual way. i want to be shocked. i want to hesitate and think "what is this character doing right now? what will i do right now?" i want to be confused and shocked and pleasantly surprised and also horrified. i want the adrenaline high i got while playing cirrus's first chapter. it was like my cptsd was triggered in the best possible way (lmao).

and it's not even about that.

lost in limbo is more fantasy romance than it is horror (save for the goddamn voidbound holy fuck!) but i know that i'll enjoy the game anyhow because i love all the characters. why do i love all the characters? because the devs tell us about them. they don't even have to spoil the game. i know amon smells like chocolate and has a fake southern accent (HELLO?) and that ara can't sing. lost in limbo could be the corniest fucking game and i would still love it because i'm already so attached to the characters.

the reason i turned to lost in limbo and obscura is because my excitement for touchstarved waned. because there's just a once in a blue moon post and it's likely it'll just be a "backers have new updates!" post. which isn't said to shame rss or backers !!!! that's normal and fine and valid!!!! do that!!!! i just mean rss is BARELY giving us what we want. we're stranded in the desert dying and rss is trickling water droplets one by one to each of us. lost in limbo devs are pissing fresh spring water into our mouths at firehose speed. is rss bad for this? no. they're not doing anything wrong. but a natural consequence of their marketing strategy is that fans will move on. i still love touchstarved. i'm going to play it. i'm reblogging fanart and fanfics. i'm posing the mormon leander theory. like i'm still here and still very much active but touchstarved isn't on my mind the way lost in limbo & obscura are.

ravenstar games tells me gael would fail the trial in the tale of orpheus and eurydice and i'm like holy fuck??? holy fuck!!!!!!

would ais? would mhin? i don't fucking know.

and what about elyon and sen? i know they're DLC bonus LIs and they don't need to be fleshed-out as soon as the main LIs. they can be on the back burner until touchstarved comes out. this is fair. but what about them? we know nothing other than 1. elyon is rich because of brothel money and 2. sen is an undead warden? (like a prison guard? like the ppl who watch over vere? i don't even know that for sure) (we also know their flowers but that's barely anything). meanwhile lost in limbo is sharing info about cécile and lázaro as often as their main love interests. they're not forgotten about. i can't even make a mc for sen's route because i know nothing about her!!!!!! which hurts my heart because i love sen. i love the idea of sen. it's the first time a female love interest in one of these games is 1. my type but also 2. not exactly like me (ara i love you but we are twins).

they're impersonal. they are 2D concepts we try to fill out.

maybe rss will tell us the LIs go-to karaoke song after the game releases. or maybe they won't. but there are just so many benefits to sharing that kinda thing and bonding with your fans in that way. that's my whole point. it's not "i need a steady stream of touchstarved content pumped directly into my veins 24/7 or i lose all interest" it's not that!!!!! obviously not because rss doesn't do that and i'm still here. this is my most active blog! i'm having a blast here because the fandom is sick as hell. we're vibing, doing our own thing, and it's great. but rss feels very distant. they are the senobium and we are residents of lowtown wondering when or if things will ever be different. if we're going to have a good day (lore drop or new art) or if things will just continue on as expected.

to reiterate: this post isn't about how rss is doing something wrong or bad or that ravenstar games/rotten raccoons are sososososo much better than rss. rss doesn't have to do everything other studios are doing. that's not what i'm saying. this is just the reality of what rss is doing vs other devs and how i PERSONALLY feel about it. i love them i would literally strap a bomb to my chest and demand my loved ones' credit card info to disarm it for any of these studios/games. i am a fan and i'm hopeful and i want to trust in rss so so so so badly. i want the very best for them. i want them to create a great game and be successful. i want them to be creatively fulfilled and proud of their game. on their own time, their own way. really and truly!

[andreal831]

Who's Responsible for the Monster Klaus Became? (I'll give you a hint, it's Klaus)

It's a question as old as time (or at least as old as the show): Who should be blamed for Klaus' actions because surely it cannot be Klaus? Should it be Rebekah for wanting to seek her own life? Should it be Kol for planning to kill him? What about his son, Marcel, for taking his city? His parents for cursing him? I've heard all of these, but the most common one I hear is, of course, Elijah.

I'm referencing a specific discussion, but it's one I've heard many times. We should not feel any sympathy for Elijah because he is the reason Klaus became evil, and then abused everyone he ever encountered. Not only should we blame Elijah for Klaus turning evil, but we need to blame him for all of the abuse everyone suffered at Klaus' hands. Elijah is the true evil of the show, despite Klaus naming himself as such.

The argument starts as such: Klaus was a perfect person before Elijah helped Esther and Mikael suppress his wolf side which made him turn evil. We are conveniently going to skip over the SA on Tatia at the festival. He's just a product of the time, I guess. And then to top it off, while Klaus was being perfect (despite the catalyst event they claimed caused him to go evil had already occurred), Elijah vindictively made Aurora break his heart, turning him into the complete evil person he was. Although, we cannot call him evil. We have to continue to say, "no one is born evil, they are just broken." Removing all accountability from a thousand year old man.

However, there is a fatal flaw with this argument. If we are saying that betraying someone and breaking their heart shifts the responsibility from one character to another and removes any sympathy, this should first have been used to protect Elijah from any blame.

The entirety of The Originals originates with Klaus taking his kid brother to watch the wolves turn, despite knowing better. During this event, Henrik is killed. Now, I don't blame Klaus, but if we are blaming characters for all of the unforeseen consequences of their actions, we would have to blame him. Because of Henrik's death, Esther and Mikael turn their children into vampires. As we all know, Klaus kills someone, triggers his werewolf curse, and goes on a killing spree in their town, leaving Elijah to clean up the mess as he does. But that doesn't make Klaus evil, the murders were all an accident, I guess. Based on the lack of blood on Elijah's clothes, it doesn't seem like Elijah even took the time to feed himself (an assumption, but still). Leading to Elijah losing control and killing his love, Tatia. All of this happened in a short period of time. So when their abusive parents bring up the idea of binding Klaus' werewolf side, I don't blame Elijah for going along. Even still, we see that he does so reluctantly. He saw his brother's body, which had been torn apart by wolves, and then watched his brother turn into one of those wolves and kill people they grew up with. Even after all of this, he still stood by his brother's side, not from guilt, but out of love. He comforts his brother who is covered in the blood of their neighbors.

But this is really where the logic really falls apart. Sure, maybe we argue that binding the werewolf side sent him off the rails, but let's not forget the people he killed in his village before that happened. And I'm pretty sure hybrids can control their werewolf side...

Before we even get into Aurora breaking his heart, we see Klaus and Aurora killing in such savage ways (with the rest of the family, minus Finn), that Mikael has found them. We don't really know who was doing it, but we see Aurora and Klaus taking joy in it. Do you know how much chaos/savagery they must have caused for Mikael to have gotten word before modern technology?? They were on a completely different continent than when they first started running from him. So I'd argue that Klaus was already pretty evil at this point.

The other argument is that Elijah lied to Klaus and broke his heart because of Aurora, causing Klaus to spiral. But who lied and broke whose heart first? Elijah and Rebekah made a vow of "always and forever" to Klaus based on a lie and a huge deceit. That Mikael killed Esther. This to me is the moment Klaus loses touch with his humanity. He is so ashamed by what he's done, he lies to the people closest to him. At the end of the day, Esther was still their mother and Klaus killed her in cold blood. He is so traumatized by this, he puts her body in a coffin and carries her with him for centuries!! No matter what she did, he still feared his siblings would not forgive him. So he lied, causing them to run for their lives with him.

So again, who lied and broke whose heart first?

It is not until Elijah accidentally compels Aurora to tell him what she knows that Elijah finds out about the lie. And in his heartbreak he compels Aurora. His actions are spurred on by Klaus' betrayal. And now, don't get me wrong, I blame Elijah and believe Aurora has every right to be angry at Elijah for those actions. But if we are trying to use this logic I laid out above, Elijah shouldn't be held responsible because Klaus made him that way. Klaus lied and betrayed him, breaking his heart, so Elijah had no choice but to become evil and do evil things.

This is why this logic is bad. There can always be some event or person who "caused" a character to act that way. It's called their lore. But that does not erase who they are and what they do. It does not excuse it or shift the blame.

Klaus ruins countless lives after this, doing far worse than what was done to him, and we don't see those people turn evil. Rebekah is abused by him for a thousand years and doesn't come close. But according to Klaus stans, all of their pain is just a "side effect" of Klaus' actions and Klaus can't help that. It's not like he's a grown man or anything. People have trauma, but it doesn't mean they get to do whatever they want. They are still held responsible for the person that trauma turns them into.

Also this person tried to argue that Klaus' actions weren't responsible for Elijah because of intent. Klaus didn't do anything intending to hurt Elijah, whereas Elijah acted in every way to hurt Klaus and only stayed by him out of guilt. This is just a gross misrepresentation of both of their characters. Elijah regretted his actions so much that he literally erased them from his memory. And yes, I do think part of his toxic devotion comes from guilt, but even when his guilt has faded, he does not waver from his love of his brother. Klaus is the one that weaponizes the guilt anytime he thinks Elijah may choose a different path.

Honestly, I don't get how people enjoy TO with this logic. It ruins all of the complexity of stanning the villain or liking morally grey characters. If you want to love a villain, love a villain. Don't try to turn them into a defenseless teddy bear who can't be helped for his own actions.

[sendothetaurus]

How to write good dialogue

Almost every story needs dialogue - obvious right? Well, this post is about the not-so-obvious sides of conversations. I've struggled a LOT with snappy and realistic speech, so I've made it my mission to collect some handy directives. Here is what I found:

Contents

Information Dumps

Setup And Payoff

Characterization Through Dialogue

Three Simple Questions

Four-Sides Model

Depth

About Answers

Sources And Credits

⮮ Let's go! (^▽^) ⮯

Information Dumps

Everybody knows them, everybody hates reading them. But how do we avoid them? Something really clicked for me when I understood context. If your character talks about something that happened in the past, they don't need to explain what happened. They were there. Here's an example:

"It would be nice if we at least got a B for that paper. Since I will go to college next year, I feel that this is important to me."

The speaker and the listener should be aware of the exposition (regarding their last year at high school). During dialogue, these conditions go without saying.

Setup And Payoff

Instead of dumping everything at once, let the reader guess what's happening. This is done by mentioning something that is not answered right away. Also dropping hints can increase tension.

Scene 1 "Why do you always carry that with you?" she asked and pointed at the box cutter. Her friend eyed her with suspicion. "For cutting." "Yeah, but why?" "Might come in handy sometime." Scene 2 An ice cold shiver ran down her spine as her fingers felt around the bag, searching for the familiar shape. There was nothing. The other tossed the thing onto the floor between them. "Care to elaborate?" She couldn't have known. "How could you!"

Someone definitely has a secret here that they don't want uncovered. It makes the reader speculate: Does she carry the knife to defend herself or does she plan on hurting someone with it?

Characterization Through Dialogue

The general rule of thumb is: Show not tell. If a character is shy, self-absorbed or chaotic, make them act like it. Also, readers take part in the characterization of your protagonists. Make them guess why a character acts a certain way.

"C- can I have your pen?" She twirled her thumbs and looked at the ground. "What the hell, no!" Disgusted, he brushed off his hands on the front of his jeans. "I'mma better disinfect that."

Notice how the girl is stuttering and the boy has a loose tongue. Mannerisms help identifying traits in a character. Everyone has a distinct way to speak (e.g. relaxed, polite, malignly) which makes it easier to tell them apart. Sometimes there is a difference between speech and behavior. This can be quite useful to highlight conflict inside a character.

Three Simple Questions

Who wants what from who?

Why now?

What happens if they don't get it?

These questions ensure plot consistency. For question 3 the only other outcome is conflict. Conversations thrive off of conflict and it is of benefit to have a supplicant and potential provider for a solution. It's basically intention versus obstacle.

1. She wants to be his wife. He doesn't want a marriage. 2. She is pregnant. 3. She needs to provide for a baby all on her own.

Tadaa, a conflict ensues.

Four-Sides Model

The four-sides model is a theory on communication. It assumes that a message has four distinct ways of being conveyed:

Facts -> data, facts, truth and relevance

Self-Disclosure -> explicit and implicit information about the own mindset; likes, dislikes, opinions

Relationship -> information about whether the person is liked or detested; approval and disapproval; "I assume you have [this] opinion of me"; body language

Want -> a direct attempt to influence the behavior of another person; advice, desire or instruction

Since this is highly technical stuff, I'll provide you with an example:

Customer: "I always drink my coffee black." 1. Fact: The coffee I drink is black. 2. Self-Disclosure: I like black coffee. 3. Relationship (POV of the waiter): Did I do something wrong? OR It's their fault! They ordered the wrong thing! 4. Want: Bring me black coffee.

Controlling the message through sender and receiver gives a new level of influence to an author. The relationship-level is the bottleneck in a conversation that holds the most potential for misunderstandings. I'm trying to be aware of it when I write subtext (see below).

Depth

On the nose dialogue is what we want to avoid at all costs. For this reason subtext is created in stories. Read this:

Scene 1 A: "I like you." B: "Nah, I don't like you back. You're so annoying." A: "Ouch, that hurts. I'm not sure if I heard that right." B: "We were never friends. Go away."

This is not how conversations work. Thankfully, dialogue like this is not entirely useless. It conveys what the characters really want to say. The challenge is to think of a way to not say the thing but keep a similar meaning.

The true meaning behind the dialogue is called subtext (scene 1). If I don't know how to continue after a certain line, I write down the subtext first before I decide on how to paraphrase it.

Finally, I add a fitting description of expression and body language if needed. I try to keep it short and simple.

Check this out:

Scene 2 She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I need a ride home later. Are you free?" -> I like you. "Sorry, all seats' re taken," he said without looking at her. -> Nah, I don't like you back. You're so annoying. "Uhm, okay. But I'm small. You could fit me in the footwell, honestly." -> Ouch, that hurts. I'm not sure if I heard that right. He leaned forward as if he had the urge to stand. "Ha, funny. But no, I'm not planning on doing something illegal tonight." -> We were never friends. Go away.

A character's action depends on their own intention and the other's response. I feel it is easier to keep track of what's happening behind the curtains when it's written alongside the dialogue.

Simultaneously, you can keep habits and traits in check. Does the the character apply all criticism to themselves? Are they disregarding or constantly marginalizing others? Do they worry only for themselves or solely for others? Subtext truly is the most powerful tool in conversation-writing.

About Answers

Did you know that you don't have to answer every single question? In fact, there are two other ways to show an emotion without telling it.

The first one is called sidestepping. The character ignores the posed question and carries on with an entirely different topic.

A: "Do you still love me?" B: "We should get going."

It's very obvious, right? By sidestepping the question, we can assume that the character is uncomfortable or angry with the other person.

The other way to answer is actually a bit paradoxical. Through silence, a great variety of emotions can be displayed. It is recommended to refrain from actually describing silence with words like "he remained silent", "he refused to say anything", "he never responded".

- The laptop hummed. - The birds chirped in the trees. - She felt her legs going numb from sitting in an uncomfortable position. - His eyes wandered around, searching the parking lot for a familiar face.

It feels more natural to explain the things that grab our attention when we sit in silence.

This is it, folks. That's all I could find on the topic - for now. If there's anything missing, I'd love to hear it.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope this helped ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

My sources are this and this video as well as this article.

Also a big thank you to @zoropookie for helping me with the colors ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡