#event: romance roulette

[sirhamburrger]

hello, it is me, stellar! omg omg i love your writing event concept!

anyways, here are my top five from wheel 1: tsukishima, akaashi, kita, kuroo, daichi

then here are my top five from wheel 2 (omg i hope i understood the instructions correctly): lipstick marks on shirt collars, rolled-up shirtsleeves, flushed cheeks, a calloused palm against a soft cheek, warm sheets on cold skin

aaaaand the additional specifications: fluff, gn!reader, 2nd person, reader pov

thank you and i look forward to what you write! <3 •ᴗ•

game one, the treasury’s romance roulette (borders by @cafekitsune)

congratulations, player @stellar-headquarters, for completing the game! your matchup is... the (initially) mocking and aloof tsukishima kei, with your interactions centred around rolled-up shirtsleeves. now presenting...

sleeves (tsukishima x gn!reader) || wc: 844

you first see kei tsukishima roll his sleeves up in the autumn of 2003. you’re seven years old at the playground, and you’ve just scraped your knee on the ground. tadashi’s run home to get a plaster, so it's just you and the freakishly tall kid who more often than not comes off as standoffish.

tears prick at your eyes as the sting sets in, and you dab at them with the sleeve of your oversized fleece jacket. kei crouches nearby, his lanky frame awkward against the small jungle gym.

“stop crying,” he says bluntly.

“shut up,” you shoot back, because it’s the best rebuttal you, as a seven-year-old, can come up with. ignoring your protests, he pulls you to your feet, dragging you along to the water hose fitted at a corner of the playground.

in the nick of time, you realize what he plans to do.

“no!” you shriek. “it’s gonna hurt!”

with a sigh that feels too heavy for someone his age, he pushes up the sleeves of his sweater, revealing pale forearms that catch the slanted light of the setting sun. “if you don’t clean your wound, you’ll get an infection,” he says impatiently, as if he’s talking to a three-year-old. it makes you feel small. but he’s right.

so you simply grit your teeth and wince as cool water washes over your wounds, stinging your skin with pinpricks of hurt. you blink your tears away defiantly when he looks over at you, water cupped in his hands, to see how you’re holding up.

“all done,” he says after a short while. you exhale, thankful. “take this and dab your leg dry. gently.”

you sniffle, take the handkerchief, and mumble a quiet “thanks.” he says nothing else, standing stiffly by until tadashi returns.

it’s a chilly afternoon in early spring when you see him do it again, this time in the school garden. you're seventeen now, and kei is taller than ever - his tongue is also sharper than ever. you’re tending to the flower beds as part of your gardening club duties, and he’s there, having been begrudgingly roped in by tadashi.

“you’re doing it wrong,” he mutters, watching you struggle with a stubborn weed.

you glare up at him, sweat dotting your forehead. “help me, then, if you’ve got so much to say.”

he exhales sharply, like it’s the greatest inconvenience in the world, and steps closer. he shrugs off his club jacket, tossing it over a nearby bench, and rolls up the sleeves of his uniform shirt.

you hand him the small spade and look on as he kneels beside you. or more accurately, you look at his arms. pale as ever, but they've grown toned from volleyball practice. scars dot his forearms, no doubt from the monstrous spikes you've seen him block. his hands, large with slender fingers.

you wonder how they'd feel, laced with your own.

“see? like this,” he says, deftly loosening the soil around the weed before pulling it out in one smooth motion. frazzled, you snap back into the moment as he tosses it aside and looks at you, smirking faintly. “it's not that hard.”

you grumble under your breath but feel the corners of your lips twitch upward despite yourself.

“yeah, yeah, okay.”

by the summer you’re both twenty-two, he’s yours, and you’re his.

the picnic had been his idea, which surprised you. the sun is high, the sky clear, and the air sticky with midsummer heat. you sit on a checkered blanket spread out beneath a towering oak tree, the remnants of your shared lunch scattered between you.

kei leans back on one arm, the other hand working to unroll his sleeves. he’s wearing a simple linen shirt, the fabric light but not enough to fend off the heat entirely.

“hot?” you ask, trying not to laugh at the slight grimace on his face.

“obviously,” he deadpans, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. he rolls his sleeves up to his elbows, revealing forearms with indents from his athletic compression sleeves. more toned than before. more scars than before.

but now you don't have to simply wish that you were holding his hand, and you don’t bother hiding your gaze any more. you’ve seen this gesture a hundred times before, but now, with the summer breeze brushing through his hair and the warmth of him beside you, it feels different, intimate.

he notices you staring and raises a blond eyebrow. “what?”

you grin, reaching out to run a finger lightly over his forearm. “nothing, just thinking about how annoyingly handsome you are.”

he scoffs, cheeks tinged pink, but there’s no hiding the tiny smirk playing at his lips. “you’re weird.”

“and you love me for it,” you shoot back, leaning into his side.

his smirk softens into a genuine smile, and he leans down to press a kiss to your temple. “yeah, i do.”

and for a moment, your little world is peaceful - perfect, even, with him in it.

best regards, the treasury office.

a/n: i’m currently overseas but as far as ik it’s about 2am in the phillipines (and singapore too!! as far as i know you’re the only mutual i share a timezone with) anyways i hope you wake up to this and love it!! excited for your krsn writing event as well <3

[theguildawards]

Term 2 2024 Winners!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the second term 2024 hosted by The Guild Awards! The mod-team is excited to see so much amazing fanwork and their creators recognized, as well as the love shown for this fandom!

Without further delay, here we are!

Winners of The Guild Awards for Term 2 2024

Best Action/Adventure Fiction: "Flame's Desire" by @kiliinstinct / rougescribe (AO3) Best Alternate Universe/Reality Fiction: "More than just a Fairy Tail" by @chaotickori Best Canon Fiction: "So This Is What Home Feels Like" by @spot-of-tea / spot_of_tea (AO3) Best Angst Fiction: "Redemption" by @spot-of-tea / spot_of_tea (AO3) Best Dark Fiction: "The Last of Us" by @classysassy9791 Best Drama Fiction (tie): "Accepting Fate" by Perfect Memories (FFN) and "World's End: Aftermath" by CairnCircles (AO3) Best Humor/Parody Fiction: "Magic Council Complaint Form #1024: there are mages hiding in the trash cans" by Fireflower34 (AO3) Best Oneshot: "is/was/will be" by Fireflower34 (AO3) Best Character Portrayal: "Silence" (Gajeel) by @firapolemos05 Best Romance Fiction: "Accepting Fate" by Perfect Memories (FFN) Best LGBTQ+ Romance Fiction: "Between Moon and Venus" by Woethe (AO3) Best Serial Fiction: "Taming The Beast" by @dawnwynters Best Ficlet: "Fairy Tail Platonic Week 2024 -Chapter 2: I Missed Our Shenanigans" by @fairytail-multishipper /Luminousrain (AO3) Best NSFW Fiction: “Love Rehabilitation” by annequinox (AO3) Best Completed Fiction: "Finding Forgiveness" by @teleiapotami / Teleia_Potami (AO3) Best Action/Adventure Artwork: "Team Natsu" by @astral-fairyy Best Alternate Universe/Reality Artwork: "the haters can't stop me" by @captainuranium543 Best Canon Artwork: "Red, The Colour of Life" by @pencilofawesomeness Best Angst Artwork: “Happy Rogue Day🖤🐸” by @oryu404 Best Dark Artwork: ""Acnologia Eats Irene" by @love---mandy Best Humor/Parody Artwork: "Pay back" by @shiiro-arts Best Kiss Artwork: "untitled" by @lidiscr Best Romance Artwork: "a soft Lokana" by @artsophiehml Best LGBTQ+ Romance Artwork: "causing problems and sucking face" by @phoenix-before-the-flame Best Character Artwork: "My first fashion icon was Lucy" by @hyun-illus Best Duo/Pairing Artwork: "Leave this to us" by @celestialrayna Best Group Depiction Artwork: "Team Natsu" by @ars-de-elysium Best Manga Coloring: "Fairy Tail/Lolu Coloring" by @almaween Best Redraw Artwork: "erza redraw" by @raptortier Best Overall Artwork: "Art Contest" by @pencilequipped

Congratulations to all the winners! Your awards will be ready soon! Please send one of the mods or our ask box your preferred email address so we can send them to you!

And thank you to those who voted for the Roulette Category for next term! The Roulette fanfiction category for next term will be: Best Mystery Fiction. This will be defined as: A story that has a character holding a profound secret or something kept cautiously concealed. May tend to excite curiosity or wonder in the reader, or may include something that cannot be explained.

As this term comes to a close, The Guild Awards will be taking a short hiatus. This time is always spent reviewing the process and seeing what can be revamped for the next term. We also love hearing from the fandom (ie: YOU!) for suggestions regarding any changes or additions.

We will officially be back in full swing on March 1st! We will still be around in case you have questions or concerns, but please take this time to read new fanfiction and find new fanart.

Want to stay immersed in all things Fairy Tail? Join our Discord! It's open to everyone!

You can also keep up-to-date with all current fandom events by checking out the @ftguildevents page!

As the day gets closer to the start of the next term, we will be keeping everyone in the loop when it comes to changes and updates. We hope everyone has a lovely holiday season! Thank you again for making this such a fun experience! See you soon!

~ The Guild Awards

[catboxcoffin]

Battler/Kinzo/Projection

Battler’s narrative assault & sexualization is pretty interesting to me as an inversion of sexed roles, so I’ve decided to refine and paste some of my thoughts on it, beginning with Yasu-trice. Battler repeatedly has Kinzo’s (amatory) role projected onto him, both by Piece-Beatrice directly and Yasu’s authorial insinuations. (I won’t incorporate Meta-Beatrice into this analysis for a few reasons, the main being that I don’t think she is Yasu in the same sense as the others; secondarily that she is so gratuitous in her assaults and references that it would be nonsensical to lend any nuance to it. Plus, her indiscriminate performance in the earlier episodes is what sets up such a divergence later on)

I. Episode 4

Gameboard events are a requisite to understanding the skeleton of the stories that we’re actually being shown. Given the nebulous nature of the Meta and what it represents, a tale created and decorated in-universe in an attempt to communicate is generally more useful in viewing its subjects. On that note, the end of Episode 4 is a scarce instance where we are given a physical interaction between Piece-Beatrice and Battler. As Battler stands before the balcony denying her riddles and threatening her, Beatrice doubles down on her stern insistence regarding ‘testing’ him as the Successor, yet engages in innuendo the second he attempts to physically approach her. This presents a noticeable incongruence between Beatrice’s projected mythos and Piece-Beatrice as played by Yasu. She is physically distant, reading as almost shy. She’s stepped down from being an active harasser, instead functioning passively and reactively, ungracefully shifting between goals for the conversation. She is clearly very alienated from an autonomous sense of eroticism, which is why she instead endeavors to lure it out of him (despite her performative disdain). Her drunken sexuality is framed in relation to what she thinks hides ‘within’ Battler; her musings are based on the assumptions regarding <The Head>. She arrogantly asserts that her superficial form is his type, making sure to paint it as a shallow preference she’s pinpointed. (However even this is something she already knows as a fact, erasing any chance of the ‘unpredictable roulette’ she seems to exalt. She has little real confidence in her desirability, and even less in her ability to make him remember his sin)

She continues her attempt at testing his resolve, presenting herself for her ‘new master’ to own her flesh and soul as furniture, victimize her into surrender, and, crucially, remind her of Kinzo. Because that’s what Battler is to her: a reincarnation of Kinzo, carrying his spirit and blood most strongly. And how could he be anything else? Yasu is ‘Beatrice’ incarnate, her predecessors being both swept away and brutally betrayed by Kinzo, and by virtue of Battler’s failed promise, he has done the same. Her conflict arises here: her love for Battler meshing with her repulsion towards Kinzo, and her inability to reconcile them as full people. The same assumptions about Kinzo’s relationship to preceding Beatrices that traumatize her into hatred are simultaneously twisted into a romanticized ideal, and she is continually unable to conceive of her relationships without paralleling these identities and dynamics she’s latched onto. She is an ancestral fatalist, resigning not only autonomy within her own life but puppeting her relatives’ souls as her own. They cannot sleep peacefully as themselves, and neither can an unadulterated Battler. Beatrice indirectly castigates Battler (or her idea of him blurred into Kinzo) through her earlier ramblings on the nature of love-as-lust and the cage of flesh, but later turns around and flirts with the ideas, even going as far as writing her piece to romance Kinzo directly, despite knowing she’s caricaturing her own mother’s harrowing circumstances.

II. Message-Bottle Furniture

Lovelessly—or, perhaps, in a twisted abundance of love—Yasu’s message bottles distort Battler’s entire character into something alien in his six-year absence. This is what it means for new truths to triumph over old truths. Battler, the boy who left his own family due to his indignation over infidelity and who sought the heart in every story, is suddenly a perverted beast. He is a vapid womanizer like his father and an exploiter of status and naïveté like his grandfather. Beyond his will, parodied projections of his profanity are exposed within the message bottles, existing to cement his sin as irredeemable. I believe this is both a semi-conscious self-justification on Yasu’s part (cutting out the moral ambiguity of him simply forgetting) and a way to cope with her own undesirability (by manufacturing a more ‘active’ sin, one that would require Battler to care in the first place).

(…Side Note: I like how the attempted grope of Shannon in EP1 encompasses both this hostile projection and a dance around the desire to be discovered… [Fake breasts]. It adds another layer of selfish assumption to her narrative: he was always a piece. He doesn’t solve the epitaph and he doesn’t remember her because he never had the chance.)

To reiterate, his character is degraded and he is manipulated as a plot device within the message bottles. The narrative hinges on his existence, yet he has little room to move—In fact, his actual presence is hardly necessary. He committed a sin that permanently scarred someone, and he cannot apologize. The victim no longer exists. Battler, as a concept, constitutes a motive for murder. In his absence, he is a myth.

Remind you of anyone else?

III. Kuwatrice-Kinzo / Chick Beatrice-BATTLER

This parallel creates an interesting issue. The line of descendant/reincarnation is blurred and there’s an explicitly incestuous tone, but it quickly becomes more of a foil than a mirror. Kinzo’s idea of reincarnation is pure delusion, Battler rejects it despite it being true; Kinzo is affectionately dominating, Battler is cold; Kinzo rejects his status as a father, Battler grows to accept it.

So, Kinzo’s role is subverted. This should be a good thing, right?

It isn’t. At least, not to the judge of sin.

Chick-Beatrice is not a new creation; this is a glimpse of the Beatrice that first adopted Shannon’s bud of love for Battler six years prior. At this point, ‘Beatrice’ was still individuated. She wasn’t yet mutated by the legend of the witch, the solving of the epitaph, or, arguably, her Battler-desirability complex. This, I assert, is the closest we see to a pure ‘Yasu’ in later years, as the remainder of her true self that resided in Shannon had already been compartmentalized by that point. This is why Dawn is so tragic. Battler has allegedly solved her heart, yet even in his ‘enlightenment’ he is dismissive of her. To the first-time viewer, this rejection is bittersweet: he is waiting for the ‘real’ her to return. Issue is, that is the real her. This is the ‘Shannon’ he knew, before she was twisted into a sadistic amalgam of escapist fantasies dressed up with his desires. By all rights, Chick should align much more with the ‘Shannon’ that loved Battler. The dutiful “blindness of a girl in love,” willing to wait a century to be noticed. But he doesn’t understand that, bemoaning being too late while literally being thrusted another chance to do it right. Of course this chance doesn’t apply to reality, but it never did. He was already facing a postmortem trial for his failure in life, and the end of Meta-Beatrice marks his failure in death.

Battler is fated to only ever have a paternalistic, sympathetic affection towards Chick. Even after learning the truth, it will always be Beatrice that he loves. As much is clear in his Twilight gameboard. He recognizes Yasu as a vessel, but she’s virtually indistinguishable from Piece-Beato, an actor serving as the means for the illusion and providing a sympathetic backstory. Ange was right—there’s no point in having someone love in your place.

Regardless, Battler is himself. If he’d only inherited enough of Kinzo’s blood, maybe he could have loved all ‘iterations’ passionately and indiscriminately. Kinzo fabricated connections out of nothing, he ‘understood’ the reincarnated soul, and he was willing to die before he let her escape. His overbearing, cloying affection had a certainty that I believe Yasu envied, in a way. To be kidnapped and caged forever would be morbidly romantic, to her at least. How tragically ironic that the fatalist who desired to be carried away ended up having to orchestrate the game of love&communication herself…

IV. The Head

Aside from what I’ve mentioned, Yasu has a final, strikingly obvious reason to project Kinzo onto Battler: deflection.

Yasu is a disastrous parallel to Kinzo. They share the disturbing quality of willpower exceeding their body, a flippancy regarding life and death, living in spite of frailty. They are born with and die with nothing. She too dances with the magic of the roulette, staking fate on a miracle. She too ‘met’ Beatrice as an attempt at severing her regrets in life; she too summoned the Golden Witch and received a fortune at the cost of her soul; she too felt blessed and mocked by the myth of Beatrice, after wandering half-dead in a life that was not her own. A life in which she had been suddenly given power as a prank of fate, with the included (mis)fortune of polydactyly. They were each forced to endure Endlessness, awaiting the revival of love that may never come, desperately discarding their dignity for the sake of resurrection. The epitaph chooses both Kinzo’s and Beatrice’s successor. To ‘see’ is to answer the riddle. Just as Kinzo did to ‘Beatrice,’ Yasu has sewn the Ushiromiyas’ souls onto the island with magic, allowing them neither power nor form. Both are vulnerable kings protected by their own castles, refusing to speak the truth. Their massive wealth will be distributed, but the secret tales die with them.

Yasu was afforded unbelievable power by solving the epitaph, but it ended up destroying her with knowledge she did not want. She was given the reasoning that kills love. Upon the horrific discovery that her romantic feelings not only couldn’t be consummated but were incestuous as well, it is almost certain that she would feel the same repulsion towards herself as Kinzo. From that moment, she too was lying about the true nature of her relationships with the ones she loved. She too could not curb her affection or fear in time to tell the truth. There is no path she can make for herself, as she cannot live independently of projected roles. Incapable of individuating herself from Kinzo with self-identity, the logical conclusion is to invert the roles and make herself Beatrice, and more importantly, Battler Kinzo. Then, she must pray for the miracle that someone would come and solve the epitaph, taking back the role she was so haunted by and carrying her to a better life…

[porcelainseashore]

Into the Ether (5)

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Vampire! Toreador! Leon Kennedy x Fem! Reader

Summary: At the all-night events cafe you run, you’ve become acquainted with an elusive patron, Leon, though you can never remember the last moments of your interactions together. After a harrowing encounter, a love-hate relationship develops between the two of you as you grapple with your newfound status in a world of darkness and investigate the reasons behind the untimely attacks.

Content & Warnings: 18+ Resident Evil x Vampire: The Masquerade crossover, horror, mystery, romance, slow burn, strangers to enemies to lovers, angst, fluff, eventual smut, swearing, smoking, alcohol, drug references, non consensual blood drinking, blood bond, vampire turning, violence, injury, mild gore, torture, religious themes, minor character death, RE ensemble, VtM concepts.

Author's Note: Some violence ahead.

Taglist: @admirxation @angelstargel @miss-oranje-disco-dancer ❤️‍🔥

AO3 Link

Chapter 5: Elysium

Within the next 24 hours, you had been given a crash course into vampiric, or otherwise known as Kindred, unlife. Leon taught you how to rouse the blood, something you would need to do every night before you could rise from your dead slumber. 

“Never go to bed hungry,” he warned. “You may not wake up for weeks.”

The next important thing was to use it for what he called the ‘Blush of Life’, so that you could pretend to look human. Without it, your skin was the color of ash, you were icy cold to touch and had no heartbeat. You remembered the shock on your face when you peered in the mirror at your grayish body and listless eyes. Resting his hand on your shoulder, he murmured, “You’re still beautiful to me.” You shrugged it off without a response.

Mending wounds required rousing the blood and so did using certain powers within ‘Disciplines’, but you hadn’t fully crossed that bridge yet. Apparently by focusing and channeling it through your blood, you would eventually be able to call upon the innate gifts endowed by your clan. 

Some already occurred passively for you. Like when Leon tested you by hurling a glass at your face spontaneously. You caught it with perfect timing, assuming it was just by pure luck. But he rewarded you by throwing another, which you seized again flawlessly; your reflexes working double time compared to normal. He said it was dubbed ‘Celerity’.

“What the fuck, Leon?” you seethed, before smashing the glasses to the ground.

He sighed. It was gonna be a long night.

As for the other abilities, they would come with time as you honed your craft. Leon appeared to be positively cheerful about the whole thing though. “You’re doing really well,” he praised. “I’m sure you’ll pick them up fairly quickly, especially the simpler ones.”

“Like the Jedi mind trick?” you scoffed, referring to the time he pulled that on you in the park.

Pursing his lips, he ignored your jibe and clarified cautiously, “Yes, though that would be under Presence.” 

He stretched out his back on his armchair; it took a lot out of his patience to educate you. You weren’t the easiest student to handle, seeing as how you were the opposite of what he had been like with Ada, always challenging him head-on, as if you were trying to catch him out on any slips he made. Not to mention the endless snarky remarks you doled out.

“There’s one more — Auspex, but we don’t have to worry about all of this for now.”

You huffed, shaking your head at all the strange terminology you had to put up with this evening. There were many things that depended on rousing, but that also meant that sometimes your hunger would increase. It was like Russian Roulette, you never knew when you’d get hit. And then, the topic that you’d been dreading came up.

“Feeding,” he began. “There are many ways to do it, but keep it discreet.”

“I’m sure bashing the guy on the head the other night was warranted,” you argued, your tone still fraught with bitterness.

His brows knitted into a slight frown. “It was an emergency,” he muttered, before attempting to change the subject.

Heading towards the fridge in his open plan kitchen, he opened it and handed you what appeared to be a blood bag. “If you want, you could try one of these… but they’re not to everyone’s tastes.”

You squished the liquid contents inside the PVC bag between your hands, causing it to pool on one side and then the other. Playing with your food. You shuddered. The concept was still so alien to you.

“The medical ones are almost undrinkable. However, the unprocessed ones could work, at least for you. Doesn’t really do anything for the older ones among us,” he explained, though there was a momentary pause when he noticed your discomfort.

“Hey, you okay?” Reaching out for the bag, he placed it back on the fridge shelf after you surrendered the item to him silently. “I know it’s a lot to take in right now. But, uh, we can go slow.” He swallowed anxiously, hoping he hadn’t touched a raw nerve with the subject matter. 

Gesturing towards the compartment, he mentioned, “I have a couple of these in here now. You’re free to have them at any time… or not.”

“Yeah, sure, thanks,” you mumbled, nodding despondently as you turned in the other direction. He was trying to be nice, but everything that had happened so far felt like a bad dream you wanted to escape from. You still couldn’t accept your new reality.

“Would you like to take a break?” he asked tentatively. “We don’t have to continue with this tonight, if you want.”

Clearing your throat, you waved away his concern, trying to put on a brave front. “No, it’s fine. You said it won’t be long before we’d be called in front of the Prince… and Sheriff?” The pitch of your voice rose at the end of your sentence, uncertain of whether you had used the right titles; they sounded foreign to you, as if you were living in medieval times. 

He had already explained to you the rough details of what had happened when you’d been attacked. It was difficult to wrap your head around the implications behind it, but the demonic face of your assailant continued to haunt you. Did you now have to testify in a sort of court? Would they bring you in for further questioning? How exactly did the judicial process work in this world? 

According to Leon, Kindred culture and politics were a completely different ball game from those in the mortal world. So, as much as you had a tendency to wing it in your previous life, you were way out of your league in this one.

“I’m guessing with the shit that went down, I should try to be prepared.” You gazed at Leon intently, trying to read from his expression how bad the situation was. 

There was a slight shift in movement of his lips, but other than that, nothing. Damn that man and his poker face.

“Okay, I’ll teach you what I can.” He took your hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly. This time, you didn’t pull away. “Just stop me at any point.”

He spent a substantial period enlightening you about The Traditions, the laws of the Camarilla — the sect you now belonged to, unfortunately not by choice. The first law and most crucial of them all, was to uphold the Masquerade and prevent anyone from knowing about the existence of your kind. As of now, Leon, being your creator, or sire, was responsible for your actions until you progressed on from being a fledgling to a neonate. Basically, a point in time where you wouldn’t be treated as a baby anymore. 

You began to understand that this was the same crappy autocratic system you had despised as a human, rife with contradictions. Especially when Leon proceeded to tell you about what he jokingly coined ‘Tradition 0’.

“The thing is, I can go on about all these rules, but whatever you do, don’t get caught.” He adjusted himself uneasily on his high stool, supposedly half-regretting what he had just informed you. You had a rebellious streak, he always knew that, and perhaps even liked it; living vicariously through your actions. But he was putting you in a dangerous spot by encouraging it.

“You’re telling me this?” you coughed out a laugh.

“Don’t make me regret it,” he cautioned right after, but you rolled your eyes at his remark. Typical.

“I’m just saying some rules are bullshit—”

“Glad we can agree on something,” you taunted.

“Right, well,” he sighed, the dull pounding at the temples of his head starting to grow more persistent. “Be smart about it.”

With that, he presented a burner phone and pager, nearly identical to the ones he owned. You grimaced at the old-fashioned, brick devices in front of you. One of the things Leon had iterated was the Camarilla’s blanket tech ban. He said it was a safety precaution against the Second Inquisition, or ‘SI’ for short, who’d managed to infiltrate hordes of Kindred through their carelessness. Personally, he shared his doubts about that, surmising it was more about the older generation’s fear of technology, and using the ban as yet another form of control.

“Technically speaking, you’re not even allowed to have one of these.” A slight smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth as he jiggled the phone, hoping you’d appreciate his word play. You didn’t, providing him with nothing more than a scowl.

Tough crowd, he shrugged before setting it down on the counter. “Anyway, I’m guessing your colleague’s gonna start worrying about your radio silence very soon.”

Fuck, Patrick. In the whirlwind of events, you’d forgotten about your instructions to him the other night.

“Pager’s usually for any comms from the Prince, among other more, uh, unconventional methods.” He recalled one of Hunnigan’s rats tailing him along the street with a spellbound look in its eyes, the dead drops, and the codes in graffiti at specific locations around the city, mimicking secret messages on ancient Venetian walls.

First things first though, you needed to allay any worries that resulted from your absence. You grabbed the phone, flipping it open. What was once a novel experience with Leon at the cafe now felt like a chore. You were unused to the stiff buttons, tiny screen and pixelated graphics as you punched in the numbers.

Pressing the age-old phone to your ear, the ringtone eventually came to halt, and you heard someone fumble on the other end of the line, along with a muffled shout over a wall of background noise, “Yeah, just a minute!”

“Patrick?” you addressed purposefully.

“Jesus! Where’ve you been? I tried calling you a million times; went straight to voicemail. Everyone’s been asking around for you! Did that guy—”

“I’m fine,” you cut in, stopping his rambling in its tracks. “Sorry I didn’t call earlier, I, um—” you glanced over at Leon as he eyed you inquisitively, wondering how you’d talk your way out of this one. 

“Lost my phone; think I dropped it somewhere,” was the classic excuse you settled with.

Leon nodded approvingly.

“Explains the unknown number,” Patrick inferred. “Anyway, you coming in?”

You sucked in a sharp breath. “Uh, actually, I’m not feeling so hot.” That was at least a partial truth. “Gonna take this shift off too. Tell the rest I’m sorry.”

There was a low, static chuckle. “Must’ve been a wild night, huh?”

“Come on, seriously?” you guffawed, cursing workplace gossip with a passion. “It wasn’t—”

“Later, boss,” he drawled. “You deserve it.” He hung up before you had a chance to argue any further.

“Yeah, fuck you too, Patrick,” you grumbled, slamming the phone’s cover back onto itself as Leon failed to stifle a snicker. 

He’d eavesdropped on the entire conversation. You flipped him off in response, which earned you an even louder chortle.

Both of you were interrupted by a series of beeps coming from Leon’s pager. He swiped it up in his right hand, taking a peek. His jaw tightened visibly, setting into a hard line as he regarded you with a rigid expression. 

“The Prince beckons.”

━━━━━━━━━━━

Huddling under the parasol that Leon held out to shield you from the pouring rain, you walked briskly beside him. Your heeled boots clacked along the city pavement, as you headed towards what appeared to be an inconspicuous underground shelter. Drawing closer, you saw the distinct mark of the Umbrella Corporation logo at its entrance. 

Security cameras lined the walls and an access control pad lit up by the side. Scanning his magnetic token against the reader, he keyed in a numeric code which caused a set of doors to open, allowing you to enter an elevator shaft.

“Umbrella’s involved?” you gasped in incredulity. It never occurred to you that the multinational conglomerate would be so intrinsically tied to the underworld.

Leon shot you a dour look, his brows puckered as a clear sign of his discomfort. “Yeah, the Prince is its biggest investor.”

You clucked your tongue. No wonder they’d always seemed shady. “So, this Prince… has he got a name?”

“Mm hm, Wesker.”

Given the way he had spat it out, you didn’t have to be a genius to guess that Leon wasn’t very fond of the man in any respect. It wasn’t a surprise, since to you, all corporate overlords were the same — evil, money-grabbing assholes.

“You would do well to follow my lead when we meet him,” he counseled gravely, as you reached the bottom level of the place, and stepped out onto the platform that serviced one of Umbrella’s many private subways across the city.

You were the only ones in the empty station. It was eerily silent until you boarded the automated train, whereupon a robotic voice announced, “This train is bound for NEST. Do not exit until the final destination.”

Leon’s mood seemed to grow increasingly morose the further you journeyed towards Elysium, where the Prince had his quarters open as a neutral ground for the Camarilla vampires to be entertained, relax and attend to important discussions. It just so happened that Wesker considered himself to be the greatest scientist ever known to mankind and fancied his Elysium to be instated within Umbrella’s laboratory complex. Apparently, the location had been considered unorthodox, but no one dared to challenge the Prince, instead resorting to petty complaints behind his back.

As he gave you a brief rundown of the place, who you should avoid and how you should behave, the train braked, stopping at the facility’s station. Leon’s final words of warning echoed in your ears, “Remember, you answer to me, and only me. Not to my sire, not to anyone else. Got that?”

Under normal circumstances, you would have made some flippant remark and opposed his sudden display of authority over you, but you’d never seen him this unnerved before. He steeled himself, his countenance turning stoic and impenetrable; the only remnant of who he was shone through his sapphire eyes. It was as if he had changed into a completely different person and you weren’t sure what to make of it. Instead, you chose to hold your tongue and observe the situation. Nodding quickly, you stuck close to him as he requested while entering the sterile, clinical setting of Wesker’s inner sanctum.

As you walked across an extended bridge towards the East Area, you noticed cliques of what you assumed were other vampires hanging around the pathways and the circular main shaft. Sipping on scarlet liquid in wine glasses, they whispered to each other, sneering as they gave you the side-eye.

Your ears pricked up as you tried to zero in on their hushed conversations. All at once, you heard a cacophony of voices surrounding you.

“She won’t last a week.”

“I’ll give her three days at most.”

“I heard she tasted delicious.”

“No wonder Leon couldn’t restrain himself.”

The voices were overwhelming, coming from all directions, and at times sounding right up close to your ear. You felt woozy and nearly stumbled, if not for Leon wrapping his arm around to catch you. He threw you a look of concern, but said nothing as he led you away from the crowd.

“Easy there, wouldn’t want to accidentally fall off the ledge now, would we?”

You ignored the feminine voice, allowing her silvery laughter to wash over you as you resolved to focus on the task ahead. Harden yourself, you breathed, imagining a void abyss into which your emotions could be emptied. Leon had mentioned they would try to faze you, and you knew now, more than ever, that in order to make it out of here in one piece, you’d need to place your trust in the man who had upended your very life.

From one door to the next, the way this complex was built seemed to mimic that of a spacecraft. The final set of doors swooshed open as its panels glided along the tracks. You set foot into a neatly manicured greenhouse, its lower temperature and misty atmosphere contributing to the lushness of the plants it housed. 

There was a tall, athletically built man in a full black formal ensemble, topped with a smart, matching coat, standing with his back to you on an elevated section of the room that served as a podium. His sandy, almost platinum blonde hair was gelled back tidily, and his hands, donned with fitted black leather gloves, were interlocked behind him in a military stance. He appeared to be fixated on something through a glass window below him. 

At his side stood a svelte lady with a tousled, brunette bob, dressed mostly in camouflage garb except for a striking cobalt blue tank top. She wielded a broad, heavy-duty steel machete, its surface catching the light and casting a menacing glint. A Doberman Pinscher sat obediently by her side, vigilantly surveying its surroundings.

It was only when you passed through the pathway connecting the entrance to the podium that you realized others were lurking around the shrubbery. Their eyes gleamed in a variety of otherworldly colors as they looked on with aroused interest at the spectacle before them. The vibe was tense, but you couldn't quite place your finger on the exact cause.

As Leon reached the edge of the stairs leading up to where Wesker was standing, he placed his hand diagonally across his chest, bowing in reverence. “My Prince,” he greeted, casting a stern glance at you to indicate that you should follow. 

You dipped your head in an awkward semi-bow, feeling completely out of place amid the formality of such a situation. He wrinkled his nose at your halfhearted attempt but left it at that, deciding it would work more in your favor not to make an obvious fuss over it. It was only then that the formidable man turned around to acknowledge the pair of you. His height, accentuated by the elevated platform, made him appear even more imposing as he towered over you. Although he sported a pair of pitch black sunglasses, you could still see the red glow of his eyes like burning embers behind them.

“Leon Kennedy and his newly Embraced childe.” He grinned wolfishly, though you didn’t understand what was so funny. “I realize your initiation to unlife was under… rather dire circumstances. My sincerest apologies.”

The tone of his voice seemed to suggest that he was mocking you, rather than being genuinely sympathetic to your plight. Your temper was beginning to flare up again, but when you peered over at Leon, you saw the strained look in his eyes and the tautness of his neck, almost as if he was pleading for Wesker to show some form of mercy. His vulnerability struck at your core, and you felt a sense of pity for him to be reduced to such a docile position. Biting your tongue, you quelled the simmering anger that was threatening to boil over.

“Such fire in her eyes,” Wesker tutted, smirking at Leon knowingly, though your sire remained expressionless. Holding out his arms, he welcomed you with them, “Let me have a closer look at you.”

For the first time you had entered Elysium, a bone chilling fear ran through your entire body, though it was soon replaced by the warmth and weight of Leon’s hand on your back, gently coaxing and ushering you towards Wesker with a reassuring gaze. You knew he was supporting you through this, despite harboring the same trepidation and dread within himself.

Once you were inches away from Wesker, he reached out, tucking his fingers under your chin to tilt your face from side to side under the harsh beams of light hanging overhead from the ceiling. “Hmm, not bad.” He licked his lips suggestively. “Tell me, Leon, did she taste as good as Sherry?”

Sherry? Who was—

“I am certain that Sherry is more suited to your palette, Prince.” His evasiveness carried a wisp of sadness. 

A respectable Prince never needed to rely on any of his Disciplines to incite fear and control over others in Court. Wesker, as a Ventrue, was more than skilled at Dominate, and could have chosen to use it indiscriminately. But what good is a Prince who relies on the powers of the blood to achieve his desires? A weak pushover. An idiot who should’ve been overthrown yesterday. 

Leon knew that Wesker reveled in prodding at his vulnerable spots with an invisible stick just to put him in his place. In turn, he was expected to perform this little monkey dance each time around the Prince for his acceptance. He just prayed that you would continue to be sensible; you were trying your best so far to temper your emotions and he was proud of you.

“Very well.” Wesker released your face, before signaling to someone at the back of the room. “Bring the rat in,” he summoned.

A scrawny man clad in a torn and bloodied hoodie was dragged by his chains towards the center of the room. His face had been mutilated and bizarre, occult symbols were burnt into his skin. Kicked to the ground, he sniveled woefully, scrambling to clasp his hands together as he begged, “P-please, I-I don’t know anything else, I swear!”

“Silence!” his captor roared.

Turning back to you, Wesker gestured towards the prisoner. “This abomination was part of the group that attacked your kind. They conducted what we call a Mass Embrace,” he lectured. 

“If your sire taught you well, you would know which of the Traditions were broken?” The lilt at the end of his sentence informed you that this was a test, as he peered at you expectantly.

You caught a glimpse of recognition in Leon’s eyes, as he offered a subtle smile in encouragement.

“Two of them,” you answered, crossing your fingers that you had memorized the text correctly. “Breaching the Masquerade and unsanctioned siring of another Kindred.”

A slow, deliberate clap echoed through the room. “Indeed,” Wesker commended. 

For some reason, he then decided to recite the Third Tradition in its entirety, as if hinting at something to you. “Thou shalt sire another only with permission of thine Elder. If thou createst another without thine Elder's leave, both thou and thy progeny shalt be slain.”

Before you could respond, the woman with the machete stepped forward. “I am ready to fulfill my duty, Prince.”

“Oh, Jill.” He gave her a fond side smile. “So eager for blood.”

There was a slight pause before he nodded. “Final Death. See to it then, my trusted Sheriff.”

In an instant, she leapt across the wide distance separating the Prince from the captive, and hacked off the screaming man’s head with one clean sweep. You flinched, shielding your eyes from the gruesome display as the other vampires murmured to each other animatedly. 

This was meant as a lesson. Wherever you went, you would be observed and judged, and if necessary, put down like a dog just as that vampire had been.

As the corpse was carried away, the rest of the audience took their cue to leave the vicinity, boredom setting onto their faces once again as they sauntered out. You were about to head down the stairs, when Wesker grabbed your wrist, motioning for Leon to join him as well. “Wait a moment, little one,” he cooed.

When the room had emptied out save for the three of you and Jill in the background, Wesker spoke up, directing his question to your sire, “Since you were at the scene, any guesses as to who might be responsible?”

“Well, based on the particulars of the Embrace, and their love for creating shovelheads, the obvious choice would be the Sabbat. The clues seem to point there at least,” Leon deduced logically. “The Anarchs would be fools to pull off something so bold… and stupid.”

“The Sabbat, those insolent rats,” Wesker hissed. A hint of rage tainted his voice, as he balled his gloved hand into a tight fist, causing the leather to pile and squeak. “Do you know how much trouble this incident has caused me?”

“The Raccoon City newspapers and broadcasting network have been going off their rockers about this,” Jill piped up, making her way over with her Doberman in tow. “The fire covered up any real evidence, but the Raccoon Police Department suspects foul play. They’re calling for witnesses.”

“Leon, I have come to value your experience, especially with such delicate matters,” Wesker remarked. “I want you to investigate this for me. We can’t have any more of these imbeciles popping up where they shouldn’t be. Next thing you know, the SI comes knocking at our door.”

He glanced over at you again as a calculating smile spread across his face. “Take the fledgling with you. Let this be a way to prove herself as an asset to our domain.”

“As you wish, my Prince,” Leon obliged, though you could tell that he was dismayed by the outcome.

“Jill will brief you about the case after you’ve had your refreshments,” he continued. “Otherwise, our meeting here is concluded.”

At this, he released his grip on your wrist, the imprint of his hand still visible around it. Leon took the opportunity to loop his arm protectively around your waist, pulling you snugly against him as he escorted you toward the exit. You hated to admit it, but after the overwhelming events of today, you were thankful for the comfort he provided you.

However, after settling into a private booth in the lounge on the lower level of the East Area, Wesker’s words came back to haunt you. “Thou shalt sire another only with permission of thine Elder.”

The tenet ran through your mind over and over again, until it finally dawned on you that your Embrace was by no accident. Leon had planned to turn you all along. You would have been beheaded by Jill if he hadn’t acquired Wesker’s permission in advance.

Your lips quivered as you stopped drinking the ruddy fluid from the glass that had been offered to you on the way in. It clinked as you placed it down on the crystal countertop before facing the man in question.

“You’re a goddamn liar, you know that?” you reproached, tears pooling in the corners of your eyes. 

With just one look at you, he knew that you had discovered his dirty little secret. “It wasn’t meant to happen like this. I was going to give you the choice,” he asserted, shuffling closer in desperation as he reached out to cup your cheek in his hand.

“Like hell you were!” you jeered, pushing him back by the shoulders.

“I’m telling you the truth!” he exclaimed, unwilling to let you go as his eyes darted in panic, and his expression crumpled into despair. “Please, you have to believe me.”

Suddenly, the curtains drew open as a sultry, contralto voice rang out, “There you are!”

You jolted towards the source, finding yourself face-to-face with a glamorous lady in a rouge thigh-high slit dress. Her raven black hair was styled into a sleek, angular bob cut which was tucked behind her ears. A foxy smirk played across her bold red lips.

“Oh, Leon, why haven’t you introduced us? I’ve heard so much about you.”

[dutifullylazybread]

The Baldur's Gate Master List

Rolan x Tav Fanfiction:

f!Tav (AFAB, she/her, wizard with guild artisan background)

Deeply and Immovably So - [WIP] [explicit] - [pining/slow burn/hurt/comfort/fluff/smut] - [long fic] [ch. 1] [ch. 2] [ch. 3] [ch. 4] [ch. 5] [ch. 6] [ch. 7] [ch. 8] [ch. 9] [ch. 10] [ch. 11] [ch. 12]

With You. At The Start. - [COMP] [explicit] - [fluff] - [one-shot] [slight NSFW - fade to black] - Ao3 Link

At the Tail End of Things - [COMP] [explicit] - [domestic SMUT] - [one-shot] - Ao3 Link

The Kiss Roulette:

A Drunken Kiss [ft. Rolan x Tav]

A Kiss After a Bite [ft. Rolan x Tav]

An Accidental Kiss [ft. Rolan x Tav]

A Kiss on A Scar [ft. Rolan x Tav]

A Kiss Against A Wall [ft. Rolan x Tav]

Headcanons:

Rolan Headcanons

Rolan (Established Relationship w/ Tav) Jealous of Gale Headcanons

Does Rolan Like Giving/Receive Love Bites?

Cal Headcanons

Cal Realizing That He Has a Crush on You General Headcanons / Cal Realizing He has a Crush on You as a Romanceable NPC

Nightmares that Characters Have ft. [Cal] [Lia] [Rolan]

Tiefling Bachelors w/ Pregnant Partner ft. [Cal] [Rolan] [Zevlor] [Dammon]

Dom!Zevlor Headcanons

Zevlor as a Father-Figure for Tav ft. [fem!Tav by request]

Why is Gale Ripped?

Commissioned and Gifted Art:

A Lovely Drawing of my Tav by @faerunsbest

Lovely Artwork based on Ch. 8 events in Deeply and Immovably So by @darkurgetrash

Tav and Rolan Commission based on Ch. 12 events in Deeply and Immovably So by @orangekittyenergy

Tav and Rolan Commission based on Ch. 13 events in Deeply and Immovably So by @elspethdekarios

Portrait Commission of my Tav by @pepijopa

Half Body (Waist Up) Commission of my Tav by @slumpsnail

My Tav:

My Tav's Appearance

Get to Know My Tav

Tav Character Worksheet

Tav - 5 songs/4 outfits

Random but Important to Me:

I found Ramazith's Tower on the BG3 Start Screen

An Interactive Map of The Sword Coast

Border art by @saradika

[feudalconnection]

Feedback Form

Earlier this year, we had a Feedback Form open to hear some of the fandom's thoughts on how FeudalConnection should be run, issues they've run into in the past, as well as what the mod-team can do better moving forward. Some of those issues and concerns we wanted to address publicly in case others had those same concerns.

What happened to the LGBTQ+ categories? When FeudalConnection was in its infant stages, Best LGBTQ+ Romances were staples in the list of categories people could nominate into. However, as the years passed, nominations for those categories began to dwindle. The mod-team then decided to bring them back as Roulette Categories one time per year around June to honor Pride Month and those creations. Even still, there isn't as much participation for those categories. That being said, the mod-team is very much open to continue trying to work those categories back into the fold to honor those relationships. Please note that LGBTQ+ pairings are always welcomed to be nominated into Best Romance.

Why are stories being nominated into Best Romance categories that don't seem to fit? Determining what is romantic is a subjective viewpoint, meaning that it is different for everyone and can be interpreted by everyone differently. Although one romantic/sexual relationship is not portrayed well to one person, it does not mean that same relationship isn't being portrayed well to another. The mod-team respects the subjectivity of romantic natures and will continue to do so moving forward.

What is the fandom's opinion on AI as a whole? The mod-team heard you loud and clear. At this point in time, AI is not widely accepted by the fandom and thus will continue to not have a place within FeudalConnection. Moving forward, AI will not be allowed within FC in any media, and the mod-team will do their best to filter it.

Would FC consider collections on AO3 where nominations or winners' fics could be added/bookmarked to? Absolutely! FC actually already has AO3 collections where past winners have been added to individual term collections. However, the mod-team hasn't done a great job with keeping it updated. We hope to give it a major overhaul in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled!

It felt like in the past that there was favoritism shown with categories or nominations. We hear you and understand your concerns. However, FC is not built on favoritism, as much as some people seem to believe that. The moderators have no control outside of the parameters in place as to who is nominated or wins in each category. The fandom as a whole are the ones who nominate works/creators and vote for their favorites. The moderators will continue to do our best to make FC as diverse as possible, but it ultimately is up to those within the fandom on who is being recognized.

I don't feel comfortable participating in FC because the mods don't bother to ensure the integrity of the event with things like AI art and there's no category management. It's clear you're here for the attention and fame, and not at all for an event with integrity and honor. We're sorry that you feel that way. Since FC's inception, it has always been run on the premise of integrity and honor. AI art has only recently become a hot button issue. Within FC, there has only been one issue that regarded AI, and it was dealt with swiftly and accordingly. The only reason further discussion of AI continues to happen is to obtain a better understanding of the fandom's position on the issue, nothing more. As for category management, they are mostly set in stone except for the Roulette categories, and the nominations are consistently held to the definitions of the categories in which they are nominated into. Your definitions of those categories may not line up with the definitions that are in place, but those definitions are what FC is abiding by at this time.

There seems to be favoritism and a popularity contest within FeudalConnection, as the same people are nominated each term. It has been said many times in the past that FeudalConnection is *not* a popularity contest, nor will it ever be. There are many creators within this fandom and many who create more content than others. Creating more content means more opportunities to be able to get your work noticed and recognized. That being said, the mod-team has no say over who is nominated or who wins outside of the parameters we have put in place. The fandom is responsible for how the awards turn out. FC was never created to see "who is the most popular". It is a place for creators to be recognized - those who are well known and those who have only created one piece. The real prize of FC is not "winning" but being recognized by your fellow creators and fandom lovers, who adore a piece so much that they need to share it with the rest of the world. It's a place to show gratitude for all the hard work our fandom creators put into fandom because without them, there wouldn't really be a fandom.

Several other concerns were brought to the mod-team's attention within the Feedback Form, and these did not go unnoticed! We are tucking away those tidbits to mull over further and perhaps implement in the future.

Thank you again to all of those who gifted us feedback! Remember, our inbox is always open, and if it feels as if it's needed, we will have another feedback form in the future.

Much love, - FeudalConnection

[greywoodrpg]

Welcome to the 2024 Valentine's Day Event! We've kept it small and simple this year as we've had a few big plot moments recently that introduced two new species. We hope you have fun with this interactive activity that involves ask memes and a relationship quiz!

𝔸𝕊𝕂 𝕄𝔼𝕄𝔼𝕊 - Have a little fun sending and responding to an assortment of themed ask memes! Please recall that ask meme responses are not publicly known so anything revealed is not common knowledge and may be OOC or AU scenarios.

In order to keep the dash clean, no need to reblog the different ask meme posts, simply like this post to be sent various ask memes!

Romance & Relationship Questions Kiss Roulette Attraction Meter

𝔽𝔼𝕊𝕋𝕀𝕍𝔸𝕃 𝕆𝔽 ℍ𝔼𝔸ℝ𝕋𝕊 - Open up yourself to your partner or your closest friends and family, test your knowledge and find out how well you know your loved ones hearts.

Answer the following questions in a post in our Discord's Valentine's Day Event thread and tag the person you're answering them for so they can see and respond to let you know how well you've done! Feel free to do it multiple times with different characters, for romantic partners, romantic interests, friends and family members or others that you think you know well.

What is their favorite food?

What is their dream vacation?

How do they like to relax after a stressful day?

How did you two meet? (or in the case of a family member: What is your favorite memory with them?)

How would you show them affection?

[aresielle]

Rambling

The other day I was looking for inspiration for something to draw and I see a prompt list for an event (Au-gust if someone ask). I will not do it, but some of the prompt give me ideas. Because my mind did not follow one single idea and branched very quickly in every direction it goes like that :

oh there is a prompt for princes & princesses and another one for Victorian era.

It remind me all of theses otome isekai I read this last year.

Should I do some otome isekai/ star wars cross over?

But which period?

So I began to organise my ideas.

For the people who did not know what an otome isekai is :

This is a sub-genre of isekai (transported in another world) where the main character is transported in an other world. Often it's an otome game or a romance novel or light novel. The main character is often a young woman and the world she end in is vaguely European. The architecture and costume are generally a mix of European fashion going from maybe 16th century to early 20th. This young woman will reincarnate most of the time as a noble young woman or child and her purpose will be to save the world and or save herself from a funnest destiny (death). These stories are almost always romance with different males characters fighting for the girl attention.

So … how does an star wars AU will work? The easiest way will be : take a star wars character and put it in an existing otome isekai. It's boring. And if I put Obi-wan or one of the Clone trooper in an otome isekai … it will probably end like an existing almost otome isekai : lout of the count family.

I could imagine an in universe otome isekai and transport one of the character in it. It's too much work. And I'm pretty sure there is already some fan-fiction with a similar premise.

I could take the different traditional characters archetype and force a star wars character in each slot as an exercise of the mind. I chose to do that. I think it will be fun. And it was.

The different roles are the following :

The main characters : often reincarnated as a villainess of the original fiction. It did not mater witch title her father, have she will be the «princess», half of the time the character is adopted. (And her family will drop a “she's adopted” faster than Thor when ask about Loki in Avenger)

The older brother : there is 3 cases : overprotective, incestuous or abusive (sometime it's a combination of the 3. It's about you “death is the only ending for the villainess”.)

The father : most of the time not a good one. Even if he love his daughter, he will pretend he don't. It's the kind of fictional character who will hate his child because her mother died or, if she is adopted as a replacement for the original child who disappear, he will blame her for the disappearance.

The dead mother : because the mother is always dead. If she is not dead the main character will wish she is.

The step mother : Russian roulette for a good and supportive one vs evil abusive one. No middle ground.

The cheeky maid : there is always one maid sidekick. With freckle.

The original female lead : 2 cases : evil «white lotus» (very mean girl) vs main's first fan (people will ask why it's not a girl's love story)

The animal or child pet : the cute item who will follow the «princess». Could be magical. Will be far smarter than any other characters.

The duke of the north : a brooding, cold and handsome young man, with a tragic back story. One of the love interest, most likely to be main's lover at the end of the story if it is not an reverse harem. Black hairs and blue or red eyes are very recurrent.

The crown prince : a rich, suave, charming and handsome young man, often blond. Somehow he need to win the crown. (In these stories they follow east Asian court rules. With concubine for the king/emperor and their children fighting for the crown.) One of the love interest.

The queen (dowager or not, sometime not even the queen in title) : the woman who really rule the kingdom. Like the step mother her evilness is define by a Russian roulette game.

The magic tower master : a smart and handsome young man even if he is centuries old. Often one of the love interest. Green or white hairs are common.

The pope or head of the local church : could be a love interest. If not he will probably be the queen henchman and scheme with her.

The faithful knight : An handsome and kind young man but because his social position is lower than the other ones is love is very unrequited. Most of the time he will be the only decent man.

Now we have the roles we need the periods. I will define them following the movies and TV show. (BBY : before battle of Yavin, ABY: After battle of Yavin) :

The acolyte (about 100 BBY )

The prélogie and the clone wars (32 BBY to 19BBY)

The bad batch (19BBY to 18 BBY)

Kenobi and Star wars Rebel (9BBY to 1BBY)

Andor and Rogue One (5BBY to 0BBY)

The original trilogie (0BBY to 4ABY)

The mandalorian, Boba Fett and Ahsoka (9ABY to ? )

The postlogie and Resistance (34 ABY to 35 ABY)

This is my attempt to fill the different roles.

Some choices may seems dubious. If someone want to take the concept and made their own version go with it.

[amourem]

a meta for fyodor on language and love language as well as one on immortality gogogo

FYODOR  (  on  language  )

given  his  age  and  apparently  prolific  presence  across  the  globe  -  fyodor  is  fluent  in...  a  staggering  amount  of  languages  and  intermediate  in  even  more.  obviously  -  russian  is  his  mother  tongue,  specifically  the  central  dialect,  though  he  can  occasionally  be  seen  slipping  into  the  southern  as  well.  he  is  fluent  in  all  prominent  slavic  languages,  though  spends  most  of  his  time  speaking  russian,  ukrainian,  polish,  and  czech.  on  occasion  -  he  will  slip  into  a  much  older  dialect/version  of  russian  (  referred  to  as  old  russian  /  old  east  slavic  ),  though  this  is  usually  when  he  doesn't  think  anyone  is  around,  etc.  

he  has  mastered  all  five  romance  languages  with  ease  (and  quite  enjoys  french  and  romanian  in  particular)  considering  he spent  a  good  chunk  of  his  life  reading  exclusively  latin.  english  is  another  widely  spoken  one,  alongside  farsi,  mandarin,  cantonese,  korean  and  finally:  japanese.  he  is,  however,  pretty  bad  at  writing  in  it.  his  knowledge  of  language  is  vast  -  but  he  is  by  no  means  an  expert  in  all,  and  still  speaks  most  of  them  with  a  bit  of  a  russian  lilt.  

FYODOR  (  on  love  language  )  -  aside  from  murder  and  manipulation.

i  spent  a  really  long  time  in  the  shower  thinking  about  this  one  and  i  have  decided  that  fyodor's  'love'  language  is  very  specific.  i  think  i  would  describe  it  as  a  combination  of  words  of  affirmation,  and  physical  touch.  HOWEVER  -  the  problem  is  with  a  man  like  fyodor,  he  simply  does  not  trust.  at  all.  anyone.  ever.  he  relies  solely  on  himself  and  has  thrived  that  way  for  quite  some  time.  you  say  a  kind  word  to  him,  and  his  nature  is  to  immediately  assume  an  ulterior  motive.  the  trick  is  to  get  him  to  listen  -  to  understand,  to  even  remotely  consider  the  words  being  said  to  him  are  not,  in  fact,  a  lie.  

the  biggest  one  though  is  physical  touch.  i  mean,  that's  if  he'll  even  LET  you  touch  him.  he's  killed  men  for  looking  wrong  or  brushing  against  him  in  a  grocery  store.  but  fyodor  is  gratuitously  touch  starved  and  he  has  no  idea  that  he  is  until  he  does.  while  not  particularly  tactile  -  i  do  think  that  even  he  can  find  that  literally  just  sitting  next  to  someone  he  likes  might  be  a  wild  experience.  

but  anytime  he  attempt  to  'engage'  one  of  fyodor's  love  languages  -  you  are  essentially  playing  roulette  on  whether  or  not  he  will  deign  to  accept  the  advance,  or  eat  you  alive.  

FYODOR  (  on  immortality  )

i  don't  want  to  go  TOO  in  depth  about  this  but  fyodor  has...  beef  with  his  immortality.  fyodor  is  driven  to  believe  that  ability  users  are  beings  of  sin  because  of  his  own  existence.  he  is  essentially  the  equivalent  of  having  lived  his  life  with  all  the  religious  dutifulness  of  a  saint,  looks  forward  to  going  to  heaven,  but  the  first  time  he  dies  he  just  discovers  that  god  spit  him  back  out  again  and  left  him  on  this  mortal  plane  to  rot.  each  death  warps  fyodor's  perception  a  little  further  -  until  he  comes  to  some  conclusions:

his  ability  makes  him  a  sinner,  as  he  cannot  commit  to  gods  natural  order  and  die.  it  is  also  possible  he  thinks  himself  a  sinner  due  to  some  events  in  his  past  (witch  burnings,  etc)  but  we  don't  know  yet.  additionally  -  because  god  keeps  spitting  him  back  out  again,  he  must  have  a  grand  plan  for  him.  very  well  then  -  he  will  use  his  immortality  for  good,  and  shepherd  the  people  to  a  sinless  existence  for  a  benevolent  god.  again  -  i  want  to  reiterate.  HUMAN  BEINGS  ARE  NOT  MEANT  TO  DIE  AND  COME  BACK  REPEATEDLY.  he  likely  has  not  always  been  this  warped  (but  he  is  now  evil  little  rat  man).  

anyways  -  'crime'  and  'punishment.'  the  crime?  killing  him.  the  punishment?  subsumed.  yet  fyodor's  immortality  has  brought  him  boundless  pain.  a  hundred  lifetimes  and  a  hundred  deaths  -  where  he  watched  humanity  be  it's  worst,  where  people  have  betrayed  him  ceaselessly  (how  could  he  trust  now),  where  he  has  been  miserable  but  fulfilling  his  duty  nonetheless,  no  matter  how  many  times  god  chooses  to  forsake  him.  

in  essence  -  fyodor  wishes  for  his  immortality  to  end,  but  he  has  work  to  finish  first.  

[firstdegreefangirl]

Four months of reading wrap up!

It's fine, I'm a mess, life has been a lot, but I HAVE been reading! I just ... haven't been keeping up with the mini-reviews, but I finally sat down and did them all, so you get them in a dump! February, March, April and May below the cut, all in one fell swoop.

Godspeed.

Feb 2024 Reading Wrap-Up 

Total books read: 7  Total pages read: 2,038  Days read: 28/29  Average star rating: 4.14  Bookcase Roulette Books: 2  DNF: 1 

Mermaid Inn by Jenny Holiday  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐  I LOVED this one! It was a Roulette pull to start the month, and within the first 20 pages, I was bullying my friends into reading it too (you’re welcome, Daisy!) The story absolutely captivated me, everything a small-town romance should be. She left town a decade ago, heartbroken over her high school sweetheart. Now she’s back, unwillingly, and he’s the chief of police. I mean, truly, every small-town trope, right down to bickering between the hardware store owner and the drugstore owner. And it. Is. Perfect. There are at least two more in the series, and I WILL be back for them. I can’t say much more without spinning into a detailed breakdown of the plot, but trust me. Go read this one. 

The Wakeup Call by Beth O’Leary  ⭐⭐⭐⭐(¾)  Listen. I didn’t set out to read two hotel romances back to back this month. But if Beth O’Leary writes it, and I see it at the local library, I have to find out what it is. And what it is, is delightful! This was laugh out loud funny, just the right amount of emotional, and so so so accurate for hotel work (except that their ceiling cave in was literal, and mine are almost always metaphorical). The only thing I didn’t absolutely love was how heavily it leaned on miscommunication to make the plot stick. If at any point, the two MCs had sat down for even one honest conversation, the whole story would have gone differently. Personally, I can’t stand that level of communication breakdown as a plot device, but everything else was good enough that I’d still absolutely recommend it as a solid read. 

Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson  ⭐⭐⭐(¼)  I ... I wanted to like this one more than I did. It should have been perfect for me. I mean, c’mon; romance novels, knitting, and an author I love? Sign me up. Or, actually. It was fine, I’m not mad at the story or anything. I wanted to finish it, I was interested to know what happened next, and then it was all perfectly fine. It’s cute enough, it has a happy ending, but very little really stood out to me.   

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren  ⭐⭐⭐⭐  Christmas in February! I’ve been excited to read this one for a few months, and finally pulled it off of the shelf. I’m not usually one for time-loop romances or love triangles, but this time loop romance with a love triangle is the exception. It’s fun, it’s funny, it’s festive, I had a blast reading it. What more is there to say? 

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  I picked this off my Kindle on the criteria of “it’s got to be short,” because I had tickets for an author release party the same night I started it and wanted to make time for the book I was going to get there (more on that later). It was adorable and perfect, and I wanted a full-length novel so badly, but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have worked as well if it were that long. It’s an e-mail romance that spans for years, in the slowest slowburn timeline that’s ever flown right by.  

Drop, Cover and Hold On by Jasmine Guillory  ⭐⭐⭐(¼)  This one came from the same series of Valentine’s Day shorts as the last book, the same day, still trying to finish up my shift before the book event. It was cute enough, but I was perfectly satisfied with it as a short story, I didn’t feel particularly interested in getting more of the story. 

Black Ties and White Lies by Kat Singleton  ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐ (½)  So what happened was that my favorite bookstore hosted an author event from a local romance writer. I’d never heard of her, but I LOVE my local indie, so of course I bought a ticket and went (this review is not about the event, but I will say that she says her grandma is her most loyal reader, even for the smut scenes, and I still haven’t recovered from thinking about MY grandma reading MY smut, even though I’m writing this in May). The release party was for the second book in this series, but of course I had to buy the first one too. I’m not usually a billionaire romance girly, but this one was FANTASTIC. Fun fact: it originally got 3.25 stars, but I’m still thinking about it all these months later, so I had to move it up a little bit. 

DNF: A Desirable Residence

March 2024 Reading Wrap-Up 

Total books read: 8  Total pages read: 1,926  Days read: 20/31  Average star rating: 4.03  Bookcase Roulette Books: 3 

The Rom Con by Devon Daniels  ⭐⭐⭐⭐  I grabbed this one from a library display before I realized it’s the same author as Meet You in the Middle, which was one of my favorite reads last year. It’s super cute! I loved watching Cassidy try to push against the vintage dating tips, even as they worked to keep her and her rival in orbit with each other. The funny parts made me laugh out loud, the heartwarming parts brought a tear to my eye, and in between I just wanted to know what would happen next. 

Up in the Air: A Millionaire CEO & Single Mom Romance Novella by Eden Webber  ⭐⭐⭐(¼)  Look. I was at the laundromat, I finished the knitting I had brought and my laundry was still in the dryer. So I ran a quick round of virtual bookcase roulette and it turned up this. I wanted to know how the story ended, so I kept reading, but the characters grated on my nerves a little bit. If you like pushy, overly assertive male LIs, this might be more your speed than it was mine. 

Cowboy in Her Classroom by Pam Pantovani  ⭐⭐⭐⭐(½)  This was such a sweet delight to read! I loved the characters, I loved the premise. The kiddo felt so authentic (which is absolutely a pet peeve of mine – kids need to feel like kids, not infants or short adults) and I was genuinely just as invested in her relationship with Presley as I was her dad’s. Absolutely cannot wait for the right mood to reread and enjoy this one all over again! 

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter by Jennifer Reese  ⭐⭐⭐⭐  I don’t usually “read” cookbooks, but this one is almost as much personal essay as it is recipes. A Tumblr post pointed me toward the author’s essay about bagels and cream cheese, which got me placing her cookbook on hold at the library. I love how the focus is on the balance between things that are worth making from scratch versus things that are easier/better to just buy yourself (the dichotomy between hotdog and hamburger buns was particularly fascinating). And the author includes a metric for effort with each recipe, not just cost-effectiveness, which excites me as someone who loves to be in a kitchen but is short on free time. I can make the things that are truly worth it, and fit with my schedule, but she reminded me that there’s no shame in buying things at the store either (unlike some other cookbooks I’ve read). Some of the recipes require specialty equipment or ingredients, but there’s an appendix at the back to help with sourcing, There aren’t enough recipes I’d use to justify the space to own a copy, but it’s definitely reframed how I think about the time I spend cooking and preparing food. 

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  I was stressed, I needed a comfort read, it’s just as good now as it always is, if you haven’t read this book yet you should go do that. 

Final Shot by Stacey Lynn  ⭐⭐(½)  How bad can a hockey romance be, really? Especially a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers hockey romance? But this one sure pushed the line. As with most of my least favorite romances, the whole thing would have taken three pages if the MCs had just sat down and had one single conversation about their feelings. And when they did have that conversation, the story ended. For the love of god, talk to each other!  

Jingle Ale the Way by Sarah Everly  ⭐⭐⭐⭐  I’ll admit it: I was hustling toward the end of the month and SUPER BUSY so I was looking for something short and sweet. And this fit the bill! I’ll take Christmas vibes all year round, and while it had a little bit of the Little Women hair pin/tie clip energy, it fueled the conflict well enough that I didn’t mind too much.  

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  I scored an ARC (thanks, Facebook reading group!) and had been holding onto it until I had time to enjoy it properly. Which ended up being on a night audit I didn’t want to work, when I could sit down and read the whole thing cover to cover in almost one sitting (I was 30 pages from the end when I got off work, so I went home and read the ending before I went to bed). It’s THAT GOOD. I haven’t read any of her other books, even though this one is third in its series, but I didn’t feel like I was missing any context for anything. There are Easter eggs, I know (again, thanks Facebook), but I could absolutely enjoy the story outside of them. And now I’m waiting for just the right moments to read everything else she’s ever written. 

April 2024 Reading Wrap-Up 

Total books read: 5  Total pages read: 917  Days read: 18/30  Average star rating: 3.35  Bookcase Roulette Books: 3  DNF: 1 

Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings  ⭐⭐⭐⭐  Those of you playing along at home might remember how much I enjoyed A Brush With Love, so I was super excited to get to the next book in the series! It was a fun read, but a little bit less my speed. Pregnancy trope is never going to be my favorite, and in places I found myself frustrated by how the characters were pushing themselves together because of the baby. That said, Lizzie and Rake were well-written, rounded characters, and I wanted to see them figure it out. I was definitely less invested in this one than I’ve been in other books, so it took a while to get through, but I did enjoy it. 

Falling For the Best Man by Ally Decker  ⭐⭐(½)  April was a Kindle-heavy reading month, while I worked toward getting all of my books unpacked in my new house, starting with this shortie that I drew at random. It was ... not for me. When I wasn’t reading it, I wasn’t that curious about what I was missing in the story. The MCs didn’t communicate well enough – it's hard for me to enjoy a book where the entire conflict could be solved by just one adult conversation, and this story would have ended immediately if they had discussed their feelings honestly.But it did pass some time at work, so I guess there’s that. 

Hearts on Fire by Christina Berry  ⭐⭐⭐⭐(½)  Oh, this book was DELIGHTFUL! I mean, a small-town, firefighter, cat dad romance novel? What’s not to love? I was invested, I was entertained, I was absolutely along for whatever this story had to offer. It gets into some heavy portrayals of loss, anxiety and PTSD, along with tangential mentions of alcohol abuse, so read at your own risk, but everything is handled with empathy and love. Truly, my biggest complaint is just that the story ended at all.  

Lovers at the Museum by Isabel Allende  ⭐⭐(¼)  Listen. They can’t all be winners. And maybe if you like paranormal-type stories more than I do, this might be a better read. As it is, I would have DNF’d if it were more than 25 pages. The story didn’t engage me, and I couldn’t figure out how it was supposed to work. You might like it, but I did not.  

Claimed by the Mountain Man by Carly Keene  ⭐⭐⭐(½)  This was fun and cheesy and predictable and who doesn’t love a mountain man falling for the pretty girl who runs the cupcake food truck? I usually end up reading novellas at the end of the month, when I’m busy and trying to squeeze reading time in, but they’re just less exciting for me because the stories have to move so fast, and that was absolutely true here. It felt rushed, but that’s fair for what it is. My personal tastes just lean a little more toward slow burns and/or detailed, drawn out romances. With a couple hundred more pages, it might’ve been a 4 or 5 star. 

DNF: 24 Hours in Paris. I read one chapter and I was bored, so I stopped. 

May 2024 Reading Wrap-Up 

Total books read: 5  Total pages read: 1,490  Days read: 18/30  Average star rating: 4.45  Bookcase Roulette Books: 2  DNF: 2 

Kissing Bandit by Margaret Rose  ⭐⭐⭐⭐(¾)  I bought her first book on Indie Bookstore Day last year, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. So when Margaret Rose was doing a signing at my favorite indie this year, it was a no-brainer. I’d put it off for a bit because I wasn’t sure exactly what it would be about, but I can’t pass up a signed, personalized copy. And I’m SO GLAD I did, because this was fantastic! There’s a perfect balance of the romance between the MC and the LI, and strong friendships between her and the other ladies in town. It’s cute, it’s fluffy, it wasn’t quite as perfect for me as Sink or Sell, but still an absolutely incredible read. 

The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (¾)  I’ve seen this one on shelves quite a bit lately, but hadn’t read it ... mostly because I wasn’t quite ready for the book to read me right back. But I was finally ready (for the book, and some changes in my own life), and I picked up a copy on an impromptu walk to the library near my house. It’s been a MINUTE since I read Sophie Kinsella, but the Shopaholic series are some of the first books I remember reading from the adult side of the library. This one absolutely lived up to my expectations. Her books are so honest feeling, without shying away from character flaws or the hard parts of real life. It was laugh out loud funny, and yes, absolutely did call me out on my own bullshit in a few places. 

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton  ⭐⭐⭐⭐  I read this in middle school – didn't we all – and honestly it hadn’t crossed my mind to reread for years. But the Broadway musical opened recently, and everything I’d seen about it was incredible. I mean, just ... this isn’t a musical review, but y’all have no idea how long it’s been since I listened to a cast album and didn’t want to skip a single track. The week before it came out, I decided to reread the book because I didn’t remember much about the story itself. This is now the second time I’ve revisited something I didn’t love in school and come to really appreciate it as an adult (and the second time that book has been turned into a musical ... stay tuned to see if I reread Gatsby next!). There’s SO MUCH about this book that was lost on me as a 12-year-old, from plot points to the sheer impact it had on me. I hadn’t realized how quickly it all happens: from the drive-in to the church to the rumble and the convenience store, it’s the span of like ... a week. And these characters ... they’re kids. The oldest brother is 20, trying to keep up with 14 and 16-year-old siblings while they figure out lives without their parents on the wrong side of Tulsa. It wasn’t the most gripping story I’ve ever read, but the more and longer I think about it, the more it all sinks in. And yes, the opening/closing line is even better than I remembered it being, in terms of setting up the entire book as the theme. 

You, With a View by Jessica Joyce  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  This was a blind date with a book from the above-mentioned favorite indie last summer, but I’d been waiting for the perfect time to read it. It’s FANTASTIC, probably top five for the year so far. There’s romance, there’s grief, there’s family real and found (and we all know I LOVE found family), and there’s a cross-country road trip. It’s spicy, delightfully so, funny and heartfelt, and gave me a wonderful escape from a few long days. (and no, they’re not cousins, which was never my working theory, but apparently warrants clarification). 

Unfollowed by Megan Phelps-Roper  ⭐⭐⭐(¾)  I added a nonfiction book to my reading goals for the month, and then the month was basically over. So I roulette’d something from my shelf and landed on this. I was interested in it, but a little worried because it’s LONG (and was right to be worried, I finished it at like 9:30 p.m. on the last day of the month, in a final push to hit my goal). Every word was well-selected and thought-provoking, and shined light on a story I thought I knew. It was a pretty far jump from the light and fluffy reading I generally trend toward, and also particularly difficult for me personally having grown up so geographically close to the church. I know the landmarks, I know the streets Megan is talking about, and I know exactly what it looked like to drive by a protest. What I didn’t know, though, was the context surrounding some of them, and I’m really glad I finally made time to get through this one, even though I don’t see myself reading it again. 

DNF: Parents Behaving Badly, Hotel Scarface 

[moplayspoke]

Book review for Five Broken Blades… spoiler free … 2.75 ⭐️

What book did everyone else read? I am almost convinced I am just turning into a hater because what the heck? Is it me? It must be me.

This was… just barely okay. I almost DNF’d this a few times but forced myself to finish it because the book was pretty and I was going to eat the dang words from it if I had to.

It’s hard to do multi POVs with SIX main characters without losing something along the way and that was exactly what was happening here. The characters had their traits and some background but that was basically it. They were either bland or just incredibly irritating with maybe 1-2 exceptions (Sora and Mikhail). Don’t look for fleshed out characters here because they do not exist here.

The romance in this? Primarily insta-love cringe and there was no time for serious push and pull for relationship development because we were too busy trying to keep track of who is who between all the different POVs.

It felt choppy, underdeveloped, and occasionally rushed at points to get to the end. The chapters themselves, despite each having a character roulette of whose POV it would be, were very short and flippant it to the point that the overarching story felt disjointed and almost like a first draft.

I did not really like the writing. It was too surface level for me and sometimes it almost felt fourth wall-y at points when the characters were commentating on the events at hand in their head.

The story did improve once all the MCs started interacting with each other but only slightly. It almost felt like I was watching a cheap imitation of an Among Us game trying to figure out who was going to be the betrayer in the end. I ended up naming the correct character so yay me I guess?

The ending and final reveal was where it finally started feeling like a real story and I was engaged and interested!… and then it ended. SIGH.

I’m just frustrated because I really wanted to enjoy this and after I saw the other reviews… I feel bamboozled.

This is what I look for from a good story: I enjoy more show and less tell. More push and pull between fleshed out, complex characters. More world building. More focus on just one or two characters and their relationships with those that surround them. Their experiences within their world and the challenges they face. Their triumphs and their failures. I need more substance, depth, and excellent storytelling.

[sirhamburrger]

the treasury's romance roulette... (borders by @cafekitsune) every so often, the u.s. department of treasury hosts a game of romance roulette, and you're just in luck - the next one commences very, very soon...

7/7 results received (as of nov 25). players are: @stellar-headquarters, @van1shiro, and 5 anonymous.

table of contents:

1: sleeves (tsukishima x gn!reader) (for @stellar-headquarters) 2: windows to your heart (akaashi x gn!reader) (for anonymous)

how is the game played?

in each round, players spin two wheels to determine the outcome

the first wheel determines your partner (see below for full list)

the second wheel determines what your interaction with them might look like

afterwards, they will write their results down and post them, anonymously or non-anonymously, to the treasury office.

(actually, players have been historically known to rig the game in their favour, and the treasury... doesn't really mind anymore. go ahead and play however you so desire!)

what are the hard rules, then?

only one submission per player (even the anonymous ones). only the first seven requests will be answered

top five characters, in order of choice, must be clearly stated, as must prompts, along with any additional specifications (fluff/angst/crack, gn!reader/fem!reader, 2nd/3rd person, character/reader pov, pre-/post-timeskip). nsfw requests will NOT be entertained

all results must be submitted before the deadline, november twenty-fifth, midnight est

what about the results? results will be progressively released starting from december first. all seven will be out by the end of the year latest (december thirty-first). they will be between 700 - 900 words (±100 words)

may the odds be ever in your favour.

list of potential partners (please select at least five and list in choice order):

shoyo hinata

tobio kageyama

kei tsukishima

daichi sawamura

tooru oikawa

hajime iwaizumi

issei matsukawa

wakatoshi ushijima

satori tendou

atsumu miya

osamu miya

rintaro suna

shinsuke kita

kotaro bokuto

keiji akaashi

tetsuro kuroo

kenma kozume

morisuke yaku

kiyoomi sakusa

shugo meian

haikyuu masterlist || general masterlist

© sirhamburrger 2024

[txemrn]

The Royal Romance

This blog and stories are intended for mature readers only. By continuing to read, you agree that you are 18 years of age or older.

✨- recent release

💜- writer favorites

🍋- NSFW/Suggestive Material

🧩 - Crossover

Series

*series being updated regularly will be in purple

Boughs & Mockingbirds   (Masterlist; hiatus) 🍋 King Liam Rys painfully recounts the final week leading up to the birth of the royal heir during Riley’s hospital stay-- in ICU

Deja Vu (Masterlist; in progress) ✨ After an unforgettable night with a stranger, Princess Eleanor finds herself caught in a secret love triangle between a noble and a commoner.

HOLLER (indefinite hiatus)

The Missionary's Daughter (hiatus) Rejected by the woman of his dreams, Drake Walker hits an all-time low, turning to drugs and alcohol to cope with the sins of his past. But then he meets Margot Hughes, the daughter of the minister of a local mission--and she is vastly different from the other girls Drake is used to meeting. Painfully optimistic. Overly-friendly. Self-lessly generous. She just might be his salvation, but what will it cost her?

Pour Two Glasses (Masterlist, in progress) 🍋✨ In the midst of a violent political war, Queen Riley Rys’s life is dismantled overnight, forcing her to flee Cordonia to live in hiding as a commoner with a loyal, best friend

Stay (Masterlist, in progress) 🍋 With her family facing deportation back to Auvernal, fun-spirited Reid Ambrose quits college to support her family. But as fate would have it, she accepts a temporary job as a caregiver for the royal family, an experience that will challenge her, break her, and devastate her world in the most exciting of ways.

One-Shots

A Ballroom Blitz (for MMM Luck of the Draw event)

The MissioInary’s Daughter (hiatus)

More Than Flashing Lights & Sound

Riley’s Baby(a Creepy Campfire Tale) 🍋

Royal Roulette for WackyDrabbles/ChoicesFlashFics

A Bushel and a Peck (follow-up to Wounded) ✨️

Faded 🍋

Keep Your Head Up

The Mirror (Breathe No More)

The Wedding (Watercolor Ponies)

A Day in Bed (When I Look at You) 🍋

What About Us?

When I’m With You… (Thinking of You)

Wounded

~🖤~

[keikaisara]

trying to get myself back into kaisara because I joined a fic writer's bang ~w~ the bang's theme is dark romance

the premise of the fic is that it's essentially a retelling/rewrite of events just before the death game and of ch1 but with a focus on sara and kai. I have 6 planned entries but no ending in sight -_- shrug

I cannot write anything longer than what you would consider a "oneshot" because wtf is normal continuous chronological storytelling, I like getting straight to the point; so it's going to be another oneshot series! I'm particularly excited for one entry involving russian roulette!

[rayshippouuchiha]

KHR Recs

These goodies are on FFN. Maybe some were transferred over to Ao3.

Russian Roulette by Vixen Tail

PreCanon OC born in Russia derails canon. Amazing world-building, accurate major events with mentioned divergences, slow burn endgame romance with Reborn, also she does have other relationships. I don't know how to talk about this fic without spoilers. This is a huge series, remember that. She's on the last part of the series now (vixen thinks) and the chapters are huge. I swear to God, this is the #1 khr fic for me.

Anything by wolfsrainrules and northeast.

Breathe Throught the Flames by NorthPeach

Ichigo is reborn. He has magic fire powers. And is that... a parent? Who's parenting him?

Some Say Ice, I Favor Fire by NorthPeach

"Consider actual unicorns. Dragons." Skull tried to warn you, Reborn. Hibari and Tsuna raise a dragon. Only 2 chapters but they're beautiful. Hibari loves his firstborn child and Will raise the best dragon ever.

Slip Up by wolfrainsrules

Undergoing rewrite under Slip Up Revamped. HP/KHR. Skull is Harry and the Arcobalenco learns what kind of person their "Lackey" really is.

Also on Ao3. All their fics are great. Those that aren't oneshots are not yet completed, however.

Out of this World series by Luki Fanfic

This one is on Ao3 as well. The series is about the 10th Gen plus Tsuyoshi going to a new world to build a life. There's a BNHA and a Pokémon crossover. BNHA is a more Slice of Life Humor while the Pokemon I purely Humor, not quite Crack. Pokemon does have Hibari, though.

Black Sky by Umei no Mei

HPxKHR Starts with FemHP being raised by the Black's before she gets with Xanxus. Fair warning, very long WiP fic. Also, stays with HP for a long time. Comes off with a very Period Piece since Dorea (femHP) was raised by Old People Nobility. Amazing worldbuilding. Everything slots together beautifully, from both fandoms. Also, Dorea is a single mom for a while because of Nono's bitch ass. But she does get to meet Daniella (badass grandma with a crossbow who led the Vongola during WW2, you will adore this character, she hated almost every family decision her son made)! Beautiful communication between Dorea and Xanxus, once they realize there are cultural and personal misunderstandings.

He Deserves Better by AliceVermillion

Cliche twin fic, Tauna runs away and is taken in by the Varia.

Keeping Your Character by Insanity-Red

OC's reincarnation was messed up. She ends up replacing Lambo and is aged up. Humorous, she torments Tsuna by being so blase about it all.

Don't Kiss and Tell by Luki Fanfic

Nana's family has a curse. They swap bodies with anyone they kiss. Kyoko and Tsuna take advantage of this at a young age. Great idea, both get to experience being a different gender (or rather, the expectations for boys and girls).

Generation Cross by Luki Fanfic

Ok, just read all the authors works. I hadn't realized how many of them I had saved. Tsuna dies and somehow wakes up in his mother's body with a 2 yr old him. First step, get a divorce.

Time Tourists by Caticature

Abandoned, but a great idea. Time travel to 1st Gen and they all look like kids. Misunderstandings ensue.

Harry's Housekeeping by Wolven Haven

HP/KHR Mistaken identity at the wrong/right time and place lead to Harry getting a cleaning job in the Mafia. Oh well, Harry's always been good at cleaning. P.S. Harry cleans up murder scenes! Not graphic. Timeline is during the forming of the Arcenbalenco. Skull is Teddy, who is superworried about his oblivious godfather.

Intuition Overdrive by vaporeanxglaceon

After Nono seals Tsuna's Flames, his Intuition goes into overdrive to compensate for the loss, leading to awake but catatonic boy. When Reborn arrives to turn Tsuna into the next boss, he needs to find a way to help Tsuna before anything else can happen. Iemitsu and Nana are parents who are trying their best but don't know what to do to help him. WiP, maybe abandoned. Such sweet Angst, though.

Red String by Lady Hallen

I think this one is on Ao3, too. HP/KHR FemHPxReborn Hyacinth(femHP) and Reborn have a meet cute and gets together. Super good, lots of chapters, WiP. I want to gush about it but I don't want to spoil it.

Fics by sakuradrmonalchemist

Their fics always have so much potential but seem to all be WiPs, keep that in mind. She has so many xover fics. For KHR, there are HP, YYH, Natsumes Book of Friends, BNHA, High School DxD, Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Batman, Tsukihime, Grimm, Kingdom Hearts, fate/stay night, Naruto, One Piece, Card Captor Sakura, Magical Girl Lyrical Nonoha and more!

Igneous by apathyinreverie

HP/KHR Harry/Reborn After Voldemort's defeat, Harry becomes involved in the Mafia, by being kidnapped/sold by his uncle. After a bad choice by others to have Harry recover under the safety of the Blood Wards (which no longer exist, you idiots), Harry's Flames are forcefully awakened and others try to force Flame Bonds on him. Reborn has a mission to find out if a Family knows how to forcefully activate Flames. He comes across a newly awakened, nearly naked, Sky that snap Bonds him. Very good, happens mostly in the HP world after that beginning, with future Arcabalenco popping up. Harry gets to pull off the We Are Not Amused Aura in Kingslys new MoM office with a dumbass Head Auror. It's beautiful.

Fortuna by 1458

In one world, Iemitsu left his family behind in Namimori. This is not that world. (Un)fortunately. Idiot dad Iemitsu who.... attempts to dad but has no clue how. Nana and Tsuna move to Italy with Iemitsu.

Of Organized Crime and Schizophrenia by AshGopal

Naruto/KHR Tsunade dies and expects to go to the Pure Lands. Instead, she's reborn a Mafia heiress who has a voice in her head. At least she's not alone. The Sannin are together once again. PS Ryohei and Mukuro are Sannin, too.

Not Quite Myths by Falia7

Tauna is Mythological Catnip. It starts with a unicorn and gets worse from there. Gokuderas in heaven, Reborn is ready to lose it, Tsuna is willfully ignoring everything. There's also a multinational cult in Tsunas honor.

No Ones Here to Sleep by mokona-pyuh

Naruto/KHR Skull is Gaara!Shukaku doesn't take kindly to being extracted from Gaara and yeets them into another world. Gaara is reborn with a giant Tanuki still hiding in his soul. Crackish.

Dusk to Dawn by reighost

HP/KHR Harry is reborn as Tsuna. Tsuna adpats to his new life and "Magic". Hopefully he can have a normal life. He makes friends with kid!Kyouya. Also Kyouya's family in this is amazing. If I ever write a fic with Kyouyas parents in, I'm going to beg reighost to let me play with them. Also, reighost is Araceil's amazing partner. They used to do a lot together. Dusk to Dawn is also a spinoff of one of Araceil's (deleted :'() fics.

Under Wing by reighost

HP/KHR After Sirius dies, Harry learns that he's not who he thinks. Desperate to escape dark!Dumbledore, he seeks out his birth family, the Hibaris. We get a peek at a few other fandoms on his way home. He's Kyouya's beloved baby brother in this.

Sincerely, Shattered Shards by You Light the Sky

Nana's family has a special gift. They can give pieces of their hearts away. But no one liked Tsuna's heart. Until Reborn came to town. WiP. Made me cry a bit.

The Final Boss by Sakura Hyuuga

Gamer!Tsuna, Accidental GenderBent!Tsuna! Tsuna's life becomes a game after a realistic dream where he hit yes to play. He thought it was just a dream when a prompt opened up saying only the female version was unlocked. When he woke up, it definitely wasn't a dream. She is not amused. Humor, WiP, funny 'omake' bits.

Of Steel, of Iron, of Stone by Seito

Warning:Angst, Terminal Illness. Tsuna claims he can't become Decimo. Reborn finds out why after a disastrous use of the Dying Will Bullet.

Burn Me with Fire by Shadowblayze

HP/KHR. After burning Quirrel to death, he starts dreaming of an angry man trapped in ice. With a mentor, Harry learns how to fly free. Blaise Zabini friendship

Trading Yesterday by Shadowblayze

HP/KHR With sequel, Stealing Tomorrow. Kawahira takes the Sky Pacifier after Luce's death and finds a new Sky to give it to. The remaining Arcobalenco panic and desperately try to find their new Sky. Meanwhile, 8 yr old Harry has been given the keys to his freedom, with one catch. He will die before his 30s.

Song of Truth and Light by TheSocialBookworm

Demigods are rare and feared. Someone so "No-Good" can't be one... right? Drabbles about Tsuna the hidden Demigod.

Xanxus' Babysitter by Starchains

HP/KHR. Harry ends up employed at Vongola Mansion and becomes Xanxus' personal servant. Harry refuses to let another old man's incompetence ruin a child. WiP

Kyoko by Discoabc

SI reborn as Kyoko. This is Not Ideal. Kyoko tries to get away from the future she know is waiting for r her. It goes... hrm. Well, it's certainly a different way to become part of the Underworld.

Oh wow babe thank you for these recs!!

[thevampatease]

The Vampatease’s Big Fic Rec List

Including some of my own, but shut up this is my blog, my party, and I’ll cry over my two favorite dumbasses if I want to

Requested by by one of our Shandom newcomers, but I feel like we could all use more fic in our lives!

Everything by @d1rtycha1/Admin Arrow, of course. She’s our most prolific author!

Keep the lights off, turn a blind eye by Goffy

Darius Shan refuses to acknowledge what is right in front of him.

Cirque du Freak Oneshots by Nomilily

A collection of drabbles/one-shots showcasing mainly Steve-centric plots. These short excerpts will span across both the canon storyline and a few other alternate timelines. Expect romance, domestic fluff, angst, adventures in parenting, political treaties, and more!

Lord of the Flames by orphan_account

A fic for the Festival of the Undead on Tumblr. Steve Leopard of the Cirque Du Freak Family requested Stannen with some h/c. My take on the Coffin of Fire event from Steve's POV. It's been a while since I read the books, so sorry for any inaccuracies.

History in the Making by The Vampatease

The infamous high school au arrives! Wow I sure never updated this huh

Truth or Dare by the Vampatease

A Stannen fic for y'all. ;) I don’t think it’ll be hard to guess when this takes place; I’ve always thought that Steve followed the vampaneze, got himself captured, and Gannen had to bail him out. I’ve since revised my theories of how they met, but this was still a fun idea I think

Stay by ruined shadows

Steve Leonard. It had been two whole years since the name had come up, but Annie Shan could surely never forget such a strange individual. And when she suddenly meets him again on a cold September night, what is she to say? StevexAnnie, Book 11 Spoilers

Payphone by wonker8

No song, no problem! Let’s flip the roulette called itunes…

Setting: Sometime after The River Scene (You know which one).

In Time by The Vampatease

Characterization exercise set in the pre-war planning time. Haven’t reread it in a million years so idk if it hold up

NSFW

Cultivated Adulation by Monsters Grim

Because even the blissfully ignorant and in love need to be taught a painful lesson about the dangers of sex with Steve Leopard.

Idiot Savant by Nomilily

id·i·ot sa·vant

noun

1. A person who is considered to be mentally handicapped but displays brilliance in a specific area, especially one involving memory.

2. A person displaying great intelligence or aptitude for mental endeavors but completely lacks common sense, particularly social skills.

3. Steve fucking Leonard.

What Never Happened by The Vampatease

So we all remember the beginning of book 9, right? Where the hunters are threatening to torture Steve to find out the identity of the Vampaneze Lord, and Steve is like, way too into the idea? What if that, but, uh, it turned out a little different. Steve leans into being an unhinged mess, Crepsley learns some new things about himself, and Gannen will TURN THIS SHIP AROUND IF YOU DON’T BEHAVE, I stg you two!

Please scroll along if the idea of adult Steve, Gannen, and Crepsley getting consensually hot and heavy makes you feel gross.

And here is another fic rec post someone else made so I don’t have to individually repost everything because I’m lazy!!