#genuinely both my favorite and least favorite part of any game

[apollos-boyfriend]

watching therm play the first trial and rage at the stupidity of the characters with tears in my eyes. he’s going to have a fucking breakdown when you have to prove kyoko isn’t a ghost in chapter 5

[vigilskeep]

now that you finished inquisition, what did you think of it? like favorite things, least favorite, etc?

oh man okay

things i love about dragon age inquisition:

capturing the specific feeling of bonding with a group of people you have absolutely nothing in common with because u all had to go through something long and specific together

the maps can be so pretty and in places really calming and lovely to spend time in. it does make me want to explore and i have no explorer’s instinct

i love the war table and judgements i think those are really fun features

i like that approval for many major decisions applies to everyone regardless of who you bring to specific events/quests. it feels a lot less like you have to manage that really hard, as you sometimes do in the other games and also really noticeably to me in something like baldur’s gate 3. it’s irritating when i have to plan ahead and can’t take who i want to hear from

i like how attached you can get to little npcs who wander around

i loveeeee fighting dragons and how beautiful they all are

little puzzles <3

the collectibles are also mostly fine by me i am a magpie by nature. as long as i can find them, obviously, bc if i can’t they suck and this whole game sucks

the templar specialisation is fun and i enjoyed that part of combat a lot. wrath of heaven/spell purge combo is a power trip

i thought my character was pretty :) i defeated u in the end dai character creator. may you be as merciful when we meet in battle once more

i’m not a huge crafter but being able to tint things is rlly nice

blackwall’s romance is good

vivienne is there

they let me briefly tame a dragon at the end there

things i don’t love about dragon age inquisition:

some genuine cruelty in writing the dalish in a way that feels shockingly callous to the real world cultures the writers took inspiration from

never giving the dalish or the rebel mages any kind of voice of their own and making the player do all that work if they care, which i also feel limits my roleplaying creativity

refusing to let you challenge any of the often overwhelmingly conservative views expressed by other characters without receiving only derision and disapproval. inquisition is a game that punishes you at every turn for having your own opinions, in a way that could be interesting if it was willing to truly let you develop complex or antagonistic relationships with those characters, but ends up mostly just feeling mocking when nobody ever even tries to see your side, while simply agreeing with these people always rewards you with content. origins was capable of letting you engage in discussion, and da2 let you form rivalries that mattered; inquisition, despite starring some of the most intentionally controversial characters, does neither

the game engineering conflicts against groups like the freemen of the dales or the avvar that mean nothing to the player and range from vaguely to seriously upsetting in their assumptions about who it’s normal to just start killing en masse. it’s both boring and distressing

odd, for lack of a better word “casting choices”, like having the fantasy impoverished racial minority all be white within the party while the wealthiest and most privileged are characters of colour, or for a more in-world example having the elves express the most distaste towards elves and the mages express the most caution about mages. i don’t know that i quite have the vocabulary to fully discuss why these weird me out, but it all feels... disingenuous? and chosen to forestall criticism based on real world comparisons in a game series that i wish had the nerve to openly confront what it’s talking about if it’s going to try to make any of its conflicts feel relevant

most of the companions, and indeed most of the quests and time spent playing the game, feel disconnected from the main plot. it’s hard to feel any pressure when the game tells you we need to deal with the main plot “right now!” and “get there before corypheus!” when the bulk of the game is doing other things while you’re supposed to be doing that. the majority of companions could be cut without changing anything. and when you finally want to deal with the main plot you just click to start it. it’s not engaging

the game fails to fully expand dialogue for the player character options it provided, particularly notable with its confusing chantry focus when you’ve said for the dozenth time you’re not andrastian

the 2-handed weapon whirlwind ability sound effect is an exercise in creating the worst and most grating sound effect for someone to constantly hear

they didn’t let me romance vivienne

they killed my dragon :(

[ma1dmer]

Baldur's Gate - Kar'niss NSFW

pathetic men are my bread and butter,

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex): anything you say goes, he'll kneel at your feet and ask you what can he do to help you, what do you want from him, he just lives to serve, he needs your guidance, you'll also find that more often than not, he is the one that needs the aftercare

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s): genuinely everything about you, this man is so infatuated its a problem, if you let him he'd spend hours simply exploring your body, how perfectly you are made, what a gift you are to him, his worship of you desperate and aching

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically): he is definitely the kind to want to clean you up after he cums inside of you, he'll pull out and immediately lift your hips up to his face, his tongue delving deep within you

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs): he wants to breed you whether thats possible or not doesn't matter, he always holds onto you for a tad too long after he cums, grinding his hips against yours, holding your hips up at an angle, stroking your stomach before he moves to clean you up

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?): i doubt that any experience he has had in his life really matters to how he is now, firstly being remade by Lolth herself and then being taken in by "the absolute", his old self is lost, but at least he can learn now, guide him gently or not and he is your willing student

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying): on your back, your hips lifted high in the air supported by him, either for him to eat you out or to bury his cock in you

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.): definitely more serious, if you laughed, he'd think you are laughing at him, his paranoia taking over

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.): he is pretty smooth and hairless, considering both the drow and the drider parts of him

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect): he is not exactly romantic, but he is very very passionate

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon): he wants to watch you, he wants to see everything, he'll stand back eyes trained on you with such intensity, watching your every move, shivering when you look back up to him, when you are done he'll snatch your wrist up and clean your fingers with his tongue, thanking you for allowing him to watch you

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks): body worship, praise, sub-dom dynamics, tying and being tied up

L = Location (favorite places to do the do): away from prying eyes, but he is not picky, whenever you want him he's more than happy to provide for you

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going): praise, kindness, being nice to him, call it whatever you want, he is like a starving dog, offer him some kindness and he'll follow your every wish like the kicked puppy that he is

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs): degradation, he might be okay with you rough housing him a bit, you are his saviour, you are his everything, but talking down to him makes him snap

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.): he has a big oral fixation, he is sloppy, but whatever he lacks in technique he makes up for with enthusiasm, if you let him he'll spend hours between your thighs, barely coming up for air, whimpering at your taste

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.): if you let him set his place he is fast and rough, mindlessly rutting into you with desperation, almost punishing you for his own need

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.): he loves them, but he is never good with being quick, you have to be the one to pull away if you want to get back to your business

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.): no, firmly no, he is surprisingly vanilla about things, even if in the moment it doesn't appear for that to be the case

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?): as a drider, his stamina is unnatural, and sometimes he forgets you are merely a mortal, so caught up in the pleasure and the feel of you he does not notice when you go limp with exhaustion, when he does notice he yanks himself away, apologising profusely

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?): he is not fond of them, he gets weirdly jealous, insecure about not being enough for you, angry and spiteful about it too

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease): he can not tease you, it's just not something he is capable of, he stands at your beck and call, if you say stop he stops, afraid he's displeased you in some way

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.): he is loud, he talks and groans, he whimpers and pleads for you, he cannot keep himself quiet, you'll have to keep his mouth busy if you want him quiet, kiss him, shove your fingers down his throat, anything you'll give him, he'll take

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character): he'd probably enjoy switching up your dynamic every now and then, he'd never suggest it himself you'd still have to take the reigns on that, it'd take a second, for him to be comfortable to take charge, but once he does, he'd get so into it, roughly pulling you this way and that, ordering you, calling you pet, using you like nothing more than a doll

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes): i know , i know the lore, i have a Lolth tattoo ofc i know the lore, however.......

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?): its not so much that he needs sex, its the only way he can get as close to crawling under your skin as he can, being inside you, watching you fall apart cause of him, thats what he needs, thats what he breathes for

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards): as a drider he doesn't need to sleep a lot, usually he'll wait for you to fall asleep and then its just him spending his night watching over you, whispering about how blessed he is, making sure nothing harms you

[newtonsheffield]

face blindness is totally real with baseball players lol, imagine an au where Anthony plays baseball for Kate and Appa’s favorite team and she starts enjoying watching him playing but when she meets him outside of baseball she doesn’t recognize him and starts going all protective mother hen on him for something he did and doesn’t realize she is giving a dressing to her favorite baseball player and Anthony is enjoying it

Genuinely when they have their hats off in the dugout: I don’t know who that man is! That is not the man I recognise. Sorry to that man.

Okay but imagine Anthony, after having a pretty ordinary game the night before sees a woman standing in a Bridgerton jersey when he went to get his coffee in the morning. He waited for her to notice him when they were in line together and she didn’t and now, as they stand there waiting for their orders he’s actually starting to get a bit offended. It doesn’t hurt that this woman’s absolutely stunning and he thinks it’ll be fun and flirty to go over to her and make a joke about the jersey.

“Were they out of all the others at the team store? Didn’t even have any plain ones left?”

She’s even more beautiful when she looks up from her phone, her eyebrow raised. “Would you believe, I went there with the express purpose of buying this one. Love me a shortstop, I guess.”

Anthony smirked a little, “Did they give you a discount on it? I’d be happy to reimburse you.”

“Are you one of those pathetic people that think one game means they’re done?”

Anthony’s lips parted, the realization dawning on him that she didn’t recognise him. “I… not usually.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Sure he hasn’t had a hit in two games now but let’s not pretend there haven’t been some awful calls. Some umpires obviously think the plate is 3 feet wide.”

Anthony chuckled, “I agree actually,”

“Bridgerton’s spent his whole career being touted as a hero when he does well and washed when he doesn’t hit and other people get away with much more mediocrity.”

“You seem like you know what you’re talking about.”

“You thought I wouldn’t because I’m a woman?”

“No, I just-“

“Bridgerton!” A man called out as he passed, clapping him on the back. “We’ll get ‘em tonight man! World Series is coming home!”

“Thanks man!” Anthony called back turning towards the woman who was staring at him in horror.

“Oh, my god. You’re him.”

Anthony grinned at her, “In my defense: I only meant to do a flirty, cute little bit. Thanks for telling me I’m great though.”

“You look so different without your cap on.” She gasped, “And I’m usually much… further away from you when I go to games with my Dad.”

“I’m handsome in and out of the cap, thanks.”

“I’m so fucking embarrassed.”

Anthony shrugged, “Don’t be. Are you coming tonight?”

“Nope.” She shrugged awkwardly, “Postseason is tough to get tickets for.”

He had no idea what it was about this woman that made him want to do it but he shrugged, “I’ll leave some tickets for you. What’s your name?”

“You… Don’t have to do that.”

“Least I can do for my biggest fan.”

She scoffed, “I’m not your biggest fan.”

“Oh sure.” Anthony said, “What’s you name?”

“Kate. Kate Sharma.”

“Well, I look forward to seeing you there tonight, Kate Sharma.”

He’s not sure why he feels nervous as he gets ready in the clubhouse that night but it’s the first thing he does when he steps onto the field; Look for her in his seats behind home plate. She’s sat next to a man who could only be her father, both of them in their jerseys and he can’t help but make a show of putting his cap on for her, calling out:

“Do you recognise me now?”

Her face splits into a wide smile, “There he is!”

For some reason it’s her he looks to when his song plays over the speakers in the 8th inning, two runs down with the bases loaded.

She’s staring at him, her thumbnail caught between her teeth as he adjusts his batting gloves and taps the plate with the bat before he takes his stance.

He stares down the pitcher, takes a deep breath as he waits for the ball and swings.

He felt the crack of the ball against the wood of his bat and The ball went soaring up over the outfield and the crowd roared as they realised what was about to happen just as he did.

He flipped the bat, fists in the air as he pointed to Kate, rounding the bases, soaking in the moment. Hero once again.

He felt a little stupid as he snatched the bat up at the end of the game, begging someone for marker as he scribbled on it, hoping she hadn’t left already before he scrambled out of the dug out, over the wall.

“Kate!”

She was just leaving, her father ahead of her and she turned around shock and surprise written on her face.

“Yeah?”

“I um- Thanks for um… thanks for coming tonight.”

She blinked at him, a little embarrassed as everyone stared at them, taking photos. “Thanks for the tickets. That was sweet and you didn’t have to and my Dad’s going to be talking about this forever.”

Anthony waved to her father who was watching curiously over her shoulder. “Well, I’m glad I could put on a good show for you.”

“Congrats. Hero again.”

“I wanted to give you this.” He held the bat out towards her. “I’ve been having a… yeah I haven’t been playing my best but thank you. I just… I’m… thank you.”

“I can’t take that.”

“Yes you can.” He grinned at her. “And who knows… maybe you’ll use it.”

He waved at her father again and pushed his way back through the crowd before he could lose his nerve, her voice calling after him.

“Is this your actual fucking phone number?!”

“Call it and find out!”

[ficarcheologist]

୧ ⊹₊ ⋆ nsfw alphabet 💭 feyd rautha

WARNINGS ⁞ smut, 18+, profanity, innuendo, afab reader, she/her pronouns

OPs NOTES ⁞ Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Dune characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used nor do I claim to own them. Comments, likes, and reblogs are never required but are immensely appreciated 🩷

MY NOTES ⁞ This is not my work. If you are the owner of this work and would like it taken down, please provide proof of ownership and I will take it down/redirect where necessary! Link to the fic reblogged on one of my other side blogs.

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

If you’re his wife or a favored concubine/lover, you can expect some degree of aftercare, but otherwise? He’s honestly probably halfway out the door before you’ve come back to your senses. However if he genuinely cares about you, he’ll at least clean you off and ask if you’re alright.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

His favorite body part of his own is his hands. And your neck for similar reasons. He loves watching the way his fingers wrap around your throat. The sight of that excites him like nothing else on the planet.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Harkonnen have black cum and that makes it pretty easy for Feyd to stain your body or clothes and mark his territory.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

You’re a bit shy about it but his absolute favorite act of intimacy with you is going down on you when you’re on your period. You’re so responsive, and blood has never scared him.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

About what one would expect for a nobleman his age, maybe slightly less as he focuses more on fighting.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Missionary for both the control it gives him over you and the intimacy it provides.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Deathly serious.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Shaved, perfectly well groomed. Feyd is a future Baron, and everything about him needs to be flawless.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

He’s surprised by how much he changes through the course of your relationship. He goes from despising the romantic aspects of it to craving that affection from you.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Only does it when he’s off world and can’t get his greedy hands on you.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Knife kink, blood kink, impact play, hair pulling, biting, overstim, pregnancy kink, breeding kink

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

The luxurious chambers be shares with you at the palace. But, he does enjoy a good session where there’s a risk of being caught.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Your cleavage, the sound of your voice, seeing you hold your own in a fight, seeing you smile at him, seeing you cry.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He’d be turned off by disrespect. Sass is fine to a certain degree, but disrespect? No.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Prefers giving. Loves the power he has over you to make you scream and writhe against his ministrations, the way you taste, everything about it. And he’s damn good at it.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Almost exclusively fast and rough and HARD. Very rarely will it be slow and sensual.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Sure, he’d rather take his time with you but he has nothing against a good quickie and engages in them often.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Definitely a risk taker and game to experiment with almost anything at least once.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

4-5 rounds, excellent self control so makes you come at least once or even twice before he does each go about. If he has time, he’s definitely going to wear you out.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Prefers the simpler things - like knives - but would have no issue trying out some toys on you, not so much on himself.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

If you’ve pissed him off? He can be very, VERY unfair. He will edge you for literal hours until you’re begging him to let you come.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Average to slightly louder than average. Mostly animalistic sounds (snarling, growling) and the occasional moan of your name.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Secretly enjoys the idea of you taking the lead and pinning him to the bed, having your way with him, riding him and using him.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

He’s big. 8 inches, long, thick, veiny.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Average. He’s a busy man who often has other things on his mind, BUT when he’s with you and doesn’t have any worries? It goes from average to insane quite fast.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Depends on his mood. Typically he will fall asleep pretty quickly.

[enidtendo64]

Hi!

I just wanted to let you know that I think your art style is beautiful, and it always makes my day better when I see you post something because it's just so unique!

May I ask you about your thoughts on Dipcificia (I hope I'm spelling that right), and their relationship and what their favorite things might be about each other? By the way, have you heard of Over the Garden Wall? (cuz smoetimes people make otgw and gravity falls related posts). I didn't really want to waste your time and I apologise if I did, that was not my intention :) and I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

Hi! Aw man thank you so much!

Oh I have too many thoughts about them—I’m on like a lunch break rn so I might not have much time to speak how much I want on them buuuuut I do have a relationship meme I did a while back that I can post here and explain a bit!

So, here’s the thing, I think depending on the situation/AU/whatever they might have some different things in their dynamic, but I think overall a key feature to their relationship in any setting is that there needs to be banter!

Pacifica likes that Dipper is just as sassy as she is and isn’t afraid to call her out while still having that support system she needs, and just being someone she knows likes her for her and not her money or status.

Dipper likes that Pacifica despite the haughty toity stuff and bratty exterior is a real and witty person who can be brave and cares about people (even if it’s deep down) and bc she has these nuances and isn’t an ideal like he’d made for Wendy in his head, he can actually talk to her and have a good relationship.

Ok now this one is gonna veer more into headcanons but these first two are supported by canon so! I think Dipper enjoyed heavily the fact Pacifica is secretly nerdy, or at least nerdy without realizing. Canonically Pacifica is like, level 100 at some overwatch/warcraft hybrid that I’m convinced is the GF equivalent of League of Legends, and I have a heavy headcanon that Pacifica is so naturally good at numbers and shit like the reason she’s so good at minigolf is just like she sees the angles. Which is funny to be good at geometry when your series’ big evil dude is a triangle. Also Abigale Northwest reference of her being a tinkerer/engineer. I think Pacifica would decimate him in video games or any games in general and Dipper would be both parts competitively upset and genuinely impressed.

And theeennnn this is also backed by canon: I think Dipper is secretly a huuuuge romantic, liek does all the sweet shit type of romantic. I mean we’ve seen his elaborate Wendy plots, and I think it just makes sense for a guy who likes to plan to plan romantic stuff. And maybe he’d also like for someone to do stuff like that for him in return! He might not admit it but everyone picks up on it real quick I think. Pacifica is both surprised and endeared, if not used to it since she comes from a home that doesn’t really express affection. I don’t think she’s ever had anyone actually say they love her, and then here comes Mr. 12 step date plan. I think it just makes her fall even more!

Let’s see, I also think Pacifica falls first, Dipper falls harder. Paz got a crush at the end of NWMM, Dipper would finally realize he liked her like maybe the next summer or so, but by that point Pacifica has resigned herself to having a crush she will never speak of ever bc it’s embarrassing and also she has no clue how to give and receive affection. She’s still learning! I think it differs based on the situation but for post series canon, I’d like to think they started dating/long distancing like first or second year of high school and ended up being high school sweethearts. Bc I think it’s cute!

Let’s see what else…uh Dipper confesses first, Pacifica was his first kiss but Pacifica’s first kiss was when she was younger with some snooty boy and it was unwanted and she cried bc he was being an asshole who took it from her, and her parents didn’t give af. Typical. They both start arguments, though Dipper apologizes first only BARELY. They’re both equally stubborn. Pacifica will apologize if she knows it’s her in the wrong (like idk saying please thank you and sorry) but if it’s a real, both sides hurt and got hurt, type of argument, Pacifica edges out in the “how stubborn can I be” race. And then Paz brings up the past more bc it’s the most she can reference with her sheltered upbringing, and Dipper talks more bc Pacifica is genuinely interested in his interests even if she doesn’t outright admit it sometimes but also I think Pacifica tends to have gotten used to not talking as much unless it’s to judge so she’s got a lot of shit to unlearn, so she just reacts to being spoken to more than starting the convo, if that makes sense. And then Pacifica is more sacrificial bc I do think Dipper is super giving and definitely protective (they both are but Dipper more so since he’s just canonically like that) but I think Pacifica is more the type to sacrifice way more than she can give if it means doing what’s right. Even if she hates it lol. (The bell, idk wtf happened with her there but she’s genuinely scared out of her mind about that bell and yet she’s willing to risk it all!)

Ok and then lastly! I have seen OTGW! I love that show! It’s really well animated and the storyline is sweet!

And thank you, I hope you have a wonderful night too!

[adaptacy]

Johnny Slaughter Alphabet

Read drabbles for some letters on my AO3 site! There are also more Johnny fanfics on there.

Content Warning: (MDNI), blood, dubious consent, selfish lover, everything else that comes alongside seggs with a cannibal

┌── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┐

A - Aftercare

While Johnny should have some form of southern hospitality to contribute to his aftercare, he’s also not the sweetest man. Like, he’s not against cuddles, but he’s not going to be all romantic and bathe his s/o and stuff. He exerts a lot of energy during sex so he doesn’t have much leftover when he’s done. But hey, being held in those massive arms is plenty enough to satisfy his s/o. Also, if he badly damaged them, like sliced them a little too deep or drew a bit too much blood, depending on the severity, he’d bandage them up afterwards.

~~~

B - Body Part

Both out of the bedroom (literally consuming others) and in the bedroom, the thigh is his favorite part of the body. He’s gonna be biting it, it’s his favorite spot to draw blood at, and it’s perfectly placed so that if he’s giving his partner oral, it’s right in reach. It’s also pretty easy to assume that his partner’s favorite body part is his arms. Have you SEEN them?? Like…. WOOF. They’re fun to hold onto, be held down by, be carried in, cuddle against, etc. A close second would be his butt, because that man is packing in the front and the back.

~~~

C - Cum

Obviously, Johnny loves few things more than finishing inside of his s/o. He also isn’t the biggest fan of condoms. Not because he thinks they take away from the pleasure, it’s actually a bit more twisted. He feels like they take away from his control. He wants to claim his s/o in as many ways as possible, and marking them outside and in is a fantastic way to do that. If his AMAB s/o is finishing, he wants it right back on their body. That way, he can lick it off right alongside cleaning up any remaining drops of blood from whatever bites or pinches he may have dealt out. And if there aren’t any, he’ll be sure to bite as he’s ‘cleaning’ his s/o off.

~~~

D - Dirty Talk

Favorite pet name by far is Darlin’, and I will not hear any disagreements or criticism. It is both southern and can be used condescendingly. What is Johnny if not southern and condescending? A cannibal, that’s what. And that’s why his second favorite nickname is ‘sweetpea’. Oh my god he is degrading his s/o. All the way. Like to a point where his s/o isn’t sure if he’s just caught up in the moment or actually trying to scare them. It is degrading all the way. -“Just can’t handle it, eh? Damn pet ain’t had it right yet.” -“It don’t hurt that bad. You just know I like seein’ you cry," followed by a cruel chuckle as he increases the aggression in his thrusts. (Spoiler alert: it does hurt that bad.) Threats, too, because he is the closest thing that the family has to a traditional serial killer. If he actually, thoroughly loves his s/o, he wouldn’t threaten to genuinely kill & eat them, cause… well, his s/o would know that he may not be joking. But still, other threats. - “I ain’t gonna cut you too deep. ‘Least, not deep enough to end ya.” - “I wanna see you bleed, Darlin’. Wanna taste you. Might hurt,” with a snicker after his words. (If he’s screwing a victim, yeah he’s gonna at least mention killing them afterwards.) As for his s/o… he loves hearing them beg. For their lives, for him, for more, anything goes so long as they’re begging. Bonus points if his s/o can barely manage a full sentence without it being interrupted by a sob or some other noise of desperation.

~~~

E - Experience

Okay this one is up to criticism and feedback but not for the reason you might think. He DEFINITELY has experience. That’s not the part that I need feedback on. Listen, in the game, there are multiple voice lines from Cook talking about how Johnny keeps bringing back girls and whatnot for the family to eat. ….Do y’all think he screws them before they’re killed? Like… cause, you would think that the family would be happy about Johnny bringing back dinner but they seem kinda pissed about it. What if they’re mad that he’s screwin' their food… LMAO ANYWAYS! Yeah, he has plenty of experience. He knows what he’s doing, otherwise he would not be very good at it. He doesn’t really care about his s/o’s pleasure most of the time, unless he’s very committed to them. If he’s committed to them, it’s a different story. Thankfully, because he does it a lot, he’s picked up on a few ways to make his partner enjoy it that don’t require much extra effort from him. It’s more so just like a nice side effect cause, if he didn’t have experience, he would not put in extra effort to make his partner enjoy it too.

~~~

F - Favorite Position

You know I have to bring his arms into this. I think I’d be committing a war crime if I didn’t. Full nelson. He has no trouble holding his partner up on his lap, restraining them with his arms as he puts an alarming amount of energy into driving them mad. His favorite perks of the position are: - He can see what’s happening below him and, even if he is behind his partner, he can still see their face fine. - Easy access to the neck. He might not completely cannibalize his s/o, but he will taste their blood one way or another. Rough bites on the neck are perfect for that. - His partner squirming doesn’t make a difference because of how tightly he can hold them in place.

~~~

G - Generosity

9 times– No, 99 times out of 100 he doesn’t care about his partner's pleasure. Chances are they ain’t living for long after the encounter. But on that one off chance, on the one chance that he takes a particular liking to someone enough to not want to end and eat them immediately, he might care a little bit. He’s not going to make it obvious, he’s not going to mention it, but if you compare the interactions, it’s easy to see. Most of the time it’s more of a ‘You’re cute, lets get it on real quick before I take you home to be eaten by my family’, whereas with that one person, he will spend as long as he can endure making them his. Keyword; as long as he can endure. Oh, you came four times already and you’ve lost your voice from screaming his name? Yeah, well he’s only finished once, and he’s aiming for his lucky number 3. Buckle up, partner. You’re in for a ride. That being said, he will actually be less aggressive in his threats, and he won’t inflict any life-threatening or potentially dangerous injuries. Just small nicks, bruises, and bites that draw minimal blood. He’ll make sure they’re satisfied by the end of it, though he won’t make that obvious. If he’s done before them, and doesn’t feel like he can do anymore, he’d give his s/o oral under the rouse of ‘wanting to taste them’. He definitely does want to taste them, but it’s also his silly little way of making sure all parties are satisfied by the end.

~~~

H - Hair

He’s not super hairy, but the hair that is there is quite dark, making it look like there’s more than what’s really there. He has a small happy trail, and his hair forms a small triangle at the base of his length. His legs are semi-hairy, and his arms are surprisingly smooth. Maybe it’s the muscles.

~~~

I - Intimacy

You already know how little intimacy there is in most of his pre-dinner interactions, so I’m gonna jump right into his s/o. For him, intimacy comes in the form of not inflicting deadly wounds. Tasting his s/o, whether via their blood or just giving them oral, is also a form of intimacy. Especially if that blood is from his bites. Love bites are his specialty, even if they are extremely hard bites, they still contain some form of love.

~~~

J - Jack Off

He only jacks off when he absolutely can NOT get pleasure otherwise. If he’s not in a relationship, that’s very rare, since you know this man gets more chicks than a poultry farm. In the off-chance that he does have an s/o, he’d have to be waiting for like 14-20 days before he finally gives up and just takes care of himself. He’d probably be getting off out of anger that his s/o either isn’t around to take care of the issue, or that they’re not able to, for whatever other reason. He’d be pissed that he has to do it himself, and he’d fantasize about all the ways he’d get back at them for making him wait. Yeah… if you left him long enough for him to feel the need to jack off, expect all of his pent up feelings to come in the form of a meticulously planned punishment next time you meet. His bites are a little harder, his thrusts a little deeper, his overall pace a little faster, and his words way harsher.

~~~

K - Kinks

He has plenty, I’m not even sure where to start. Honestly I should’ve done an alphabet for this. Maybe in the future. The biggest one is definitely his obsession with blood. He’s a cannibal. It’s one of two ways for him to taste a partner that doesn’t require him killing them. It’s either making his s/o bleed or giving them oral, and he’d prefer to do both. He also has a deep-rooted brat tamer inside of him. I mean, he hunts down attempted escapee victims, he’s practically made for putting people in their place. Especially his s/o. But god does he love to see them fight back first. After all, he can’t tame/break someone who’s already submitting.

~~~

L - Location

He’ll do it pretty much anywhere. He really doesn’t care. He won’t do it in front of his family, but he’ll do it around them. As in, his bedroom in the house or the backyard of the house where there’s a risk of them interrupting, but he will not outright do it in a place that his family frequents, like the living room or something. Any other public places, with strangers, he couldn’t care less about being interrupted. He’s a thrill hunter, and that doesn’t change when the clothes come off. He also would never voice this, but he highkey would love to do it in the basement. He may be selfish and all that stuff, but he knows that being surrounded by death and bones is a major turn-off for most. Still, seeing his partner helpless in such a dreadful place? Oh, brother. You know he’d be on top of that. On top of them.

~~~

M - Motivation

Power. Power 100%. He is obsessed with it. He is addicted to it. He gets off on knowing that he’s making sure someone else knows that he is above them in more ways than one. That is amplified if he gets to see his partner cry and beg, only adding to his narcissism.

~~~

N - No

There’s not a lot of things he wouldn’t do. One of those things is involve his family in any way. That is an absolute no. The family may be inbred, but Johnny does not need to resort to his family to get dates or attention. It’s also an important note to call out the difference between screwing someone he’s going to take out, and screwing someone he has taken out. To him, once life has left a victim, they are nothing more than food. He wouldn’t screw a pork sandwich, and he’s not going to do it with a dead body. Also, three ways are probably not in his interest. If his s/o even thinks about wanting to be shared between Johnny and another guy, that other guy’s head is suddenly defrosting in his sink. Same goes for girls, but he might entertain the idea for a while longer.

~~~

O - Oral

Surprisingly, despite how selfish he is in bed, he loves giving oral. (Side note, it’s not my thing personally, but he would absolutely not be turned away from eating an s/o out even if they’re on their period. I find it hard to believe that he’s okay with cannibalism and drinking the blood of his partner, but can’t handle period blood. Just a h/c.) As stated earlier, the only way he can taste someone without killing them is either via small portions of their blood, or eating them out. So those are his two favorite activities. As for receiving head, he loves it. And he is ABSOLUTELY a head pusher. That man does not care if you are choking, you’re gonna make him feel good because that’s what’s important.

~~~

P - Pace

He’s not necessarily fast, but oh boy is he rough. We all know how obsessed with his muscles we are. That man can deal some DAMAGE in the bedroom. No knives or teeth needed. He doesn’t have to work very hard to completely obliterate his partner, he has more than enough strength. So, even if he isn’t the fastest moving in the world, his roughness plenty makes up for it. That’s not to say he’s slow; he still keeps up a fine pace, frankly he could dial back on it a little bit, but he’s far from a woodpecker.

~~~

Q - Quickie

Yup. Absolutely loves them. That’s the only kind of interaction he has with to-be victims, and even with an s/o, he adores quickies. He doesn’t need very much time to break his partner, even if they are trying to be bratty. If he has the time and is really feeling it, he likes dedicating an entire night to punishment as well, but quickies are way more common than those.

~~~

R - Risk

With his libido as high as it is, Johnny is down for pretty much anything. If his s/o has an idea for something new to try, and it means he gets to screw them in order to try it, he’s game. He’d be a lot less willing to try things out that would include him having less power or taking a more submissive role, but he might make exceptions. Chances are though, he’s taking the power back pretty quickly.

~~~

S - Stamina

Listen, his endurance might be shitty in game, and while he gets pretty tired after [I'm running out of metaphors, i hate tumblr restrictions] because of how much effort he puts into it, this man can go at it for a relatively long time. He takes a little longer to finish than most, but it’s still a relatively average time. That being said, he can usually go for 2, maybe 3 on a good day, rounds before he’s tuckered out.

~~~

T - Toys

This man’s best friend is his knife, and that doesn’t change during sex. While it’s not technically a bedroom toy, he certainly treats it as such. Otherwise, he doesn’t personally own/buy toys, but if his s/o has one that they want to be used, he’ll do it. He’ll make them regret ever wanting to try it, cause he will exploit it as much as possible, but he’ll get good usage out of it.

~~~

U - Unfairness

He likes to tease his s/o, Johnny adores degrading as I’ve mentioned plenty enough, and that definitely counts as teasing. But he doesn’t just tease– With how often he’s down to, the teasing is usually followed up on with some form of relief. He’s also just really unfair during it as well- He doesn’t care if his s/o is crying from overstimulation (actually, he enjoys it), he doesn’t care that they’ve been begging for him to go a little easier, he doesn’t care that they’re going to be hurting for days to come after, he’s just living his life as he wants, and screwing his little heart out.

~~~

V - Volume

He talks a good amount, he loves degrading his partner and making sure they know their place throughout the entire activity. As for other noises, it’s a whole lot of grunts because he is an overachiever who’s aiming to be at least a little sore the next day. Nothing compared to the body aches that he’s pushing onto his partner, but he gets a good workout from it, so expect grunts of effort. He doesn’t moan very often, and when he does, he tries to hide it with a chuckle. Why he doesn’t like to moan, or be heard moaning, there’s no telling. Probably an ego thing.

~~~

W - Wild Card

This doesn’t just go for [tumblr no-no], it’s a thing all the time, but– Johnny has of course grown up around very southern people, as his family members all have a thick texan accent, and he’s never been outside of texas. Still, ever since he was a teenager, he wanted to be different, and so he started trying to sound less southern. He was in his rebel phase (when is he not?), and it actually stuck for a while. It was still very obvious that he was southern, but he went out of his way to fully pronunciate words. It actually stuck with him, though he stopped putting in so much effort eventually. He’s still far less southern-sounding than the rest of his family, but here’s the funny part. Whenever he gets particularly emotional (angry, frustrated, etc) his southern accent amplifies. He starts cutting the g’s off of certain words, sounds like he’s saying ‘fer’ or ‘yer’, etc. The same thing happens when he's making his partner regret that attitude of theirs, and whenever he gets really into it, the accent becomes really obvious and it’s both amusing and sort of adorable.

~~~

X - X-Ray

It is LITERALLY his knife. It’s a little over 7 inches, it’s got a slight upwards curve, I’m serious when I say that the package is the same shape as his knife. Like. You cannot tell me otherwise. It just makes so much sense. He’s also ripped, but we all knew that.

~~~

Y - Yearning

His libido is almost as big as his ego. Almost. It’s real close. He doesn’t require it, but he is always down for a good time. As stated in the jack-off entry, he can go up to two weeks-ish without it, but he likes to do it weekly at the minimum. He won’t be needy or clingy about it– If he’s craving it, he’s going to tell his s/o how it is, and if they refuse, he’ll get mad but he’ll be patient. Definitely going to go harder on them the next time they accept though, in order to make up for the rejection.

~~~

Z - Zzz

The over-effort he slams into his partner ultimately results in him falling asleep pretty quickly afterwards. He does his best to wait until his s/o is asleep first, and then he’ll go to sleep. He’s a pretty light sleeper though; it’s a trait he’s picked up from constantly having to be wary of victims trying to escape during the night.

[thekingofwinterblog]

How to fix Halamshiral as a Zone

Inquisition is a flawed game.

I don't think there's anyone who is going to argue otherwise.

The only question is wheter you place it higher or lower than DA2.

One of the things I think it does better than DA2, is that it managed to give every place a soul, an identity of it's own, and at least a distinct, if not always amazing storyline.

The emerald graves doesnt have a very interesting plot, but it has some spectacular side quests, and atmosphere, inculding a haunted mansion, which might be my favorite possession based quest in all of DA because it shows much better than others just how dangerous untrained mages actually are to those around them.

The storm coast tells a story of what was once an important dwarven port, and shows how it fell and was repurposed over time.

The Hinterlands shows the aftereffects of the templar mage war, as well as solas stupid plan to give cory his orb, and the mage rebellion and an actually decent time travel story.

I could go on, but the point is, I usually have at least aomething nice to say about every single region.

All except one.

Halamshiral.

Halamshiral was the single worst part of all of Dragon Age Inquisition for me, and every single time I boot up this game, it's always the last thing i do before the temple of sacred ashes, despite how bizarre the game flows as a result.

And the reason is because i hate everything about it.

I hate it's unique attempt at side quests, i hate the characters involved, i hate the Orlesians who inhabit it, and i hate how this section tries to copy what worked so amazingly well with Orzammar and Denerim during the landsmeet section, and fails every single shot it lines up.

The ONLY good thing i have to say about this, is that it's at the very least relatively short.

So here's today's question. How to fix Halamshiral?

Let's begin with the three main players.

Celene, Gasparde, and Briala.

The big problem with every single option, is that they all suck.

Celene and Gasparde are both fucking awful people without any redeeming qualities, they have no charisma, and there is no prospect of the Empire reforming itself under either of them, the way Orzammar would under Bhelen.

Meanwhile, Briala is much, much better, but the problem is that we know exactly what is going to happen here if you support her.

Maybe today elves will have it better, but tomorrow, when Gasparde is gone, or celene turns on elves again as she always does all the progress will be repealed, and reversed, along with a few purged alienages.

Its an old story that's been told before in Dragon age.

In short, there is no reason at all to care about this overall plot. None whatsoever.

There were so many reasons to care about both Orzammar and Denerim in the same situation, and every single character involved had so much more charisma than either of these would be monarchs.

So let's fix that.

Starting with Celene, take the idea of her wanting to reform the empire, and actually take it to the next level.

Celene is genuine in wanting to reform the empire, and has already taken grand, successful steps to make the entire thing much better for everyone, even elves, giving them and serfs more rights, outlawing the practice of chevaliers having a tradition of killing unarmed city elves to graduate.

But the catch is, while she is genuinely making progress, she is doing so within the confines of the great game.

Celene has nonintention of changing the great game, no plans of wanting to remove this thing that holds Orlais back more than any other, this center stone of their nobility and it's culture.

Meanwhile, Gasparde is a different kind of reformer, one that takes the ideas he had of him claiming to hate the game, and actually doing something with it.

He is far less progressive, has no love for elves, is far more warlike than Celene ever was... But unlike Celene, his ideas of reform isn't going to act within the grand game.

He's going to break it.

Unlike canon gasparde, this gasparde is hated by every single noble family in the entire empire. His only support, and it's a strong one, is the army. The parts of the army that supports Gasparde, and they are a huge part, are loyal to him personally to the hilt.

And he hates them back. He hates the game, he hates the way it cripples the empire, and he wants to change things. Like Celene he plans to break the serfs free of their chains, for the good of the nation and it's power and economy if not for any progressive reasons.

And he'a going to start with Halamshiral.

For this Gasparde isn't merely positioning men to stage a coup... He's planning to kill EVERY SINGLE NOBLE in Halamshiral. Evety man, every woman, every child there.

He's going to reform this empire by wiping out it's cancerous nobility in one fell swoop, and install himself as supreme dictator to see his reforms through, and wiping out the entire Orlesian nobility that might have opposed him, french revolution style.

And thus the Inquisitor has a dilemma.

Unlike Orzammar, where only one side was a reformer, both of these Orlesians are... But you have to choose one.

Do you choose Celene? The more progressive candidate, who wants a more peaceful Orlais going forward? But who is not willing to get ridd of the grand game to do so, thus making it a permanent risk that all her reforms will be undone...

Or will you support Gasparde, and by doing so be complicit in destroying the entire nobility of Orlais, many of whom are not guilty of the shit that Celene and Gasparde here both hate so much? Gasparde is far less likely to create a peaceful Orlais going forward... But he will have obliterated the Grand Game for good and all, a prize that might be worth this Red Wedding style bloodbath.

Meanwhile there is Briala, the elven spy who has enough influence to allow, or prevent Gasparde's plans from going through.

Here there should be another moral dilemma, quite different from the base game.

Do you convince her to aid Gasparde, in exchange for the Elves getting a duchy of their own in Halamshiral? Do you then back her up with Inquisition forces and support, forcing Him to publicly announce her as such, and trust his own, twisted version of honor to actually stick to it going forward(Something he ultimately does), or do you throw her to the Wolves the moment things get rough?

Or alternatively, do you convince her to side with Celene, and bury the hatchet? And if so, on what terms? And similarly, if she actually wants to get something out of this, you actually need to back her up... Something you may, or may not choose to do.

And voila, here you have an actual story of intrigue, massive, lasting political changes as a result of the Herald's actions, and morally grey on grey choices.

Everything that Denerim and Orzammar had in spades.

Now moving on from the plot to the actual place.

Halamshiral has no soul.

It's a french villa on a mountaintop. Whoop de freaking do.

It has no interesting murals, unique art only found there, interesting geography, or anything really to make it stand out.

Compare it to Denerim and Orzammar, and the way they fleshed out the entire city's levels of power and criminal underworlds, and you see the difference.

Denerim is a very realistic, squat, squalid medieval city, with it's buildings built on top of every single bit of available space.

Orzammar is a full on high fantasy dwarf city lit up by a lake of lava.

Halamshiral is a villa presented as a city.

How do you fix that?

There is an artist here on Tumblr who pretty much showcased what Halamshiral could have been, if they had taken the idea of the Dalish(who were the original owners) taking inspiration from native americans(amongst others), and use that to build a truly spectacular city, which has long ago been paved over, but the structure is still there.

Make it a city on the water, like the aztex capital of Tenochtitlan, a marvel of canals and stone.

Make it this Venezia like city, with canals everywhere you look, and the entire city running on water. A marvel of Dalish city building, where they took something as simple as a couple of islands in a lake, and built the most beautiful city in the world.

And rather than just limit you to the palace, instead let you actually explore this city.

Expand the entire event from one night, to a week.

Let the Herald explore the city, meet the players, interact with the nobles, become friends with a few like you could with Ferelden's bans, which in turn makes the possibility of sacrificing them for the greater good hit so much harder.

Let you choose what fancy stuff to wear to the balls and meetings, rather than have this stupid motto of forcing you to wear one, pre determined outfit like this game had for some reason.

Let you discover the places where what little Elven Architecture and art still remains can be found, and talk with the elves who still live here, the descendants after the first elves the Orlesians enslaved.

Make the plotting of Gasparde and the positioning of troops be gradual, not instantly discovered and twarted.

And at the end, if you choose to back Gasparde, you mirror that scene from Dragon Age 2, where the Templars sail across the bay, and you either step aside and witness the bloodbath you just allowed to happen, or you fight them and be recognized by the nobility(most of which are horrible, horrible people) as a hero who just saved the day.

Have the venatori plot be to kill both Gasparde and Celene, rather than their involvement mostly be about handing the player the the easy knife for the knot of which monarch to pick without having to get your hands dirty.

Also have the entire group be gathered for once. Every inner member of the Inquisition just like at Denerim.

Each of whom have their own thoughts on the events.

Who supports who? What is the right thing to do? What is better for the inquisition? Are you staining your honor beyond repair if you back Gasparde? Does the Inquisitor maybe have a breakdown after witnessing what they just allowed to happen and they walk through the gardens or rooms filled with corpses? Maybe have the scene at the end with the love interest be about a moment of them truly comforting their lover in the aftermath of it all, understanding(or not) that as boss, it's your job to have to make the tough decisions. And now you have to live with them.

Or if you wanna go the other way, this could be one of the breaking points like Origins had. If you support Gasparde, Blackwall choses to tell you to get bent, and that he will die as benefits a knight. Defending the week, and calling you out on how you are just as bad as he ever was, a child killer who's going to run away from responsibility, to pretend you are some better person than what you actually are. You're a murder. Just like he was. You are just as responsible for the blood that's flowing as he was with that carriage back in the day.

It would have been a far more impressive reveal moment for his crimes, that's for sure.

Cole probably would be the one who would be second most upset, but wheter he leaves or ultimately stays should probably be depended on your other choices and your relationship with him prior to this, probably have his personal quest be the determinating factor of what he chooses to do.

And i could go on, but point is, this would be a return to Origins choices actually mattering. There were choices that could make or break a characters bond with you. Shale would not budge regarding Caridin, Leliana and wynne would stand against you if you choose to defile the urn, Sevran would choose to betray you for his old friend if he didn't like you enough, and of course the age old choices at the end of act 3 in da2, where you have to pick between templars and Mages, as well as anders fate, and chances are regardless of what you do, at least 1 person ends up dead.

If anyone reading this has any suggestions for how to further improve this storyline, feel free to share, but regardless, i think we can all agree that this is a vast improvement of what we actually got.

[snorky]

Verbatim

Hey y’all! I’m posting another story today as well because I wrote the last story at the same time I wrote this one. I saw a particular image of Swayman with his November mustache, and I must say it suits him well (maybe I just like mustaches). The confidence he exuded at the 11/11 Bruins v. Canadiens game was *chefs kiss* and I loved it. Title inspired by the song "Verbatim" by Mother Mother, mostly the intro guitar part. I hope you all enjoy this fic, and take care of yourself!

Pairing: Jeremy Swayman x F!Reader

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: None

—

—

The chilly, familiar, cold Boston air came rolling in, making the apartment seem much more frigid than it had to be. Although it was her favorite time of the year, when alluring holiday lights were hung on street lamp posts, and the scent of baked goods seemed to linger around, the cold air was rather uninviting compared to the other joys of winter.

It reminded her of sweet childhood, full of color and happiness and innocence in a swirl of hot cocoa, dashes of marshmallows and with whipped cream on the top. As she grew into adulthood, that childhood never seemed to go away since she met Jeremy.

She shared an apartment with Jeremy, her friend since university, and it helped cut some costs off of the heart-issue-inducing price of rent in the area, although to compromise, she wanted to help with groceries and chores as much as she could.

“Hey, Jeremy—” She closed the door behind her with her foot, her hands occupied with the task of carrying paper grocery bags. “Let me know if we need any winter supplies.”

He was always a friend, first. He was someone she cared about much more than just someone she lived with and split rent. They both inspired each other to grow better, never putting one or the other down, but always uplifting each other.

Turning around the corner, he stood in the kitchen with his back turned to her, cooking up a simple lunch for the both of them. “I’ll let you know, but I don’t think Boston winter is going to be too rough this year.”

“They say that every year, until one day in the middle of winter, we suddenly get a foot of snow,” she sighed.

He turned around, placing the sandwiches down on the counter, and helped her with some of the groceries. She looked up at him and became startled, “Jeez, Swayman—” Her arms quickly grabbed the groceries that she had almost dropped. “What did you do?”

“Oh, yeah,” he chuckled. A dopey smile was plastered on his face. “Forgot to tell you that I was keeping the ‘stache for ‘Movember’ and I’m surprised that you just noticed it now.”

She felt slight embarrassment in not noticing, but it wasn’t every day that she stared at his face constantly, at least, she thought. “Well,” she paused before speaking again. “You know what, yeah.”

Grabbing the bags of produce and vegetables, she put them in a colander and began to rinse them in the sink as he put the other foods into the refrigerator. The thought of him having a mustache was new to her, especially since he was either clean-shaven or had a slight scruff. Taking a peek at him, she observed it, settling down on the idea that it wasn’t too bad.

“Do I have something on my face?” He laughed. Noticing her flustered expression, he gave her a slight smirk. “Ohh.” Closing the fridge behind him, he walked slightly closer to her. “It’s the mustache isn’t it?”

She didn’t have any romantic feelings for him on the surface, but it was evident that there was a live wire spitting sparks into the air between them.

The late weeknights when it was Jeremy’s rest days, spent on the couch with her, watching their favorite TV show with a bowl of Chipotle. Or the times when she made post-game dinners for him, seeing the genuine smile in his eyes when he looked at her.

It made her do a double-take when thinking about him, and she tried so hard to not let it get to her. For Pete’s sake, he was her friend and roommate for years. And it’d be so, wrong, in many more ways she could explain, yet it was beyond easy to fall for him.

Looking her up and down, he noticed the heat that seemed to drift to her face and neck. “Definitely the ‘stache,” he laughed as he took a step back from her, grabbing his sandwich from the counter and walking to the stools on the island counter. 

Oh, damn him. He knew the effect he had on her and she noticed it, but it felt like a jumble of mixed signals. Did he like her? Was he just teasing her? It was a whirlwind of mixed feelings and unsteady ground.

She brushed her feelings aside and grabbed one of the two sandwiches that he had made for the both of them and started to eat it, enjoying how pleasant it tasted. “This tastes pretty good,” she hummed.

“Thanks,” he responded, continuing to eat. “Tried out a new recipe.”

They both continued to eat in silence together, across the kitchen island from each other, the distance separating them. Awkward tension hung in the air as her feelings about him were slightly revealed, but not enough so that he knew something was definite. He moved his gaze from his sandwich to her, observing her like a hawk.

“I’ll do dishes, go relax after you finish your food.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“Why?” she asked. It confused her as to why he wanted her to relax, especially out of the blue. “What’d you do?”

“You got the groceries and I think that you should just rest.” He smiled.

She hummed in response, content with the idea of relaxing on the couch after running some errands. “Thanks,”

Finishing up their sandwiches, Jeremy grabbed both of their plates and placed them in the dishwasher as she went out to the living room. Laying face-down on the couch, she let out a long exhale, relaxing her muscles and body.

“Long day?”

“Your mustache is unbearable,” she groaned.

He laughed at her, “I think you like it.” Crouching down to be at eye-level with her, he paused before he spoke softly, “Tell me what’s wrong,”

She turned her head to look at him, his face drawn with light concern. “What?”

“I can see it, you have something you want to say. And it’s not about my facial hair,”

Time seemed to slow as they remained in silence looking at each other. He searched her eyes for an answer to her silence. Was it in fear? Discomfort? Annoyance?

She held her pinky up to him, a symbol of keeping a promise. “Promise to continue helping me pay the rent?”

Jeremy let out a small laugh, considering how silly the request seemed, but at the same time, an odd feeling sunk within him when she said that. “Promise.” He wrapped his pinky finger around hers tightly.

Releasing a breath she didn’t know that she was holding, she buried her face into the couch, hiding from his gaze that he kept on her. “I think I like you,” she mumbled. Her face was hot with embarrassment, a mixture of fear and shame bubbling inside of her.

“Well I mean,” he paused briefly, “I hope you do, we split rent and live with each other twenty-four-seven if I’m not on road trips.”

“No—”

“Okay, I know what you mean, I was just messing with you.” He smiled. “Please look at me,”

She picked her head up off of the couch slowly, turning to look at him, he remained smiling, and it looked sweeter than before. He had the softest, precious-happy look in his eyes, the one that she’d see after a game win, but better.

His cheeks were dusted with a gentle pink tint, his face soft. “I like you as well. In the way of me wanting us to be more than friends,”

Smiling at him, she gently cupped his face, her thumb running over his cheek. It was the answer that she had preferred to hear from him, but it seemed better than she had initially thought, and it was relieving. Her own cheeks were a rosy shade, flustered and feeling all sorts of fuzziness.

“Let’s go out and grab dinner later this evening, my treat,”

“I’m sleepy though,” she sighed.

“You need a midday nap?” He asked as he stood up. “Cause if so, I’m grabbing some blankets and joining.” He let out an obnoxiously loud yawn, which she laughed at, as he walked away to grab the blankets from the closet.

This was routine for them from time to time since they were close, but it was slightly different now, knowing that they both felt like they were more than friends. When he came back, he gave her a few blankets and then laid on the couch beside her, head in her lap.

“We’re going on a date tonight, so let’s get some rest.” He let out another yawn, which in turn, caused her to yawn.

“What? A date?”

“The best for the best,”

She smiled softly at him, adoring his genuineness. Her hand drifted to his hair, playing with it gently as he drifted off to sleep, and shortly after, she started to fall asleep as well, peacefully in his presence, together.

[midnight---hollow]

Ok i need to yap for a second

I love how well written and thought out the ipc is in honkai star rail. I feel in general we dont always get the best discussions about capitalism and giant corps because said giant corps are usually sponsoring or are creating them most of the time so there is usually bias. I just saw some of the boothill story lore leaks and im not gonna talk about them here cus leaks but it gave me real big appreciation for how the ipc is handled.

Im personally a real big fan of complicated situations in my fictional stories. Ever since mob psycho ive gained a new lens of trying to find sympathy and reason for any situation, keeping my own opinions and preferences while still understanding the other side. I feel star rail has done a great job at show casing the many sides of the ipc even if i for one really dont like the ipc and its my least favorite organization

(I feel i should also say this is an opinion piece and im not informed enough on the real life issues as i would like to be. I just want to yap my opinion out and express why i find joy in this and maybe even come back later with more research to make another post but with references and proof to explain why besides what i remember and like. If i do get anything wrong then please inform me cus i would like to learn more about this and plan to)

|Spoilers for basically all the ipc related things in hsr|

I started out hating them cus i just dont like capitalist corps and they just rubbed me the wrong way. When the arum alley event happen i was originally pissed at it because even though it was confirming my beliefs of “big corp bad” it felt cheap and like almost every other story told by a big corp trying to tell us big corps are bad. Yknow the “look at this obviously in the wrong guy dont be like him, look at him get his comeuppances in the end and ignore how we actually are alot more complicated and worse than this super evil and obvious example”

arum alley then did something i didnt expect. It gave nuance to the story. It started out with that obvious example yes but the next one wasnt that obvious, the next part of the event talked about how some workers feel they wont be able to sustain their lives as independent workers and feel they need to work for the big corps for a safe job and it started getting into the logistics of big corp vs independent business. Yeah we where fighting them but there where reasons and concerns and fears to be given. It wasnt just big corp bad it was “yeah big corp bad but here is why and here is also how its good” and it brings up the questions on what can be done so we dont need to rely on big corp

Topaz and her whole arc is another situation i find interesting. Topaz is a character i dont care to much about to be honest but i think she plays a good role in this whole ipc debacle. To me she feels like she represents someone who used the system because they needed to and made it work and flourished in the system. Her planet was basically unlivable and she lived in a capitalist waste that failed. In comes the ipc and they are almost what her world was but better for they offer to help and save them. All they need to do is sign their lives away to join the ipc and they did and their planet flourished because of it. Topaz herself was able to rise the ranks into being a cornerstone. I think her story shows both the light and dark of the ipc because they saved her planet but they only did it because it benefited them, if they didnt sign their lives away it is very likely topaz and everyone on her planet would have suffocated from the toxins and died. They had no choice but to join the system and its stated in game that topaz’s planet is one of the few that where able to be saved.

That’s probably what i like most about the playable ipc characters, it reminds us that these big corps arent just mustache twirling bad guys, it reminds us there are people there just trying to keep going and some of them are genuinely trying to do right and think what they are doing is right. Again topaz for example, she genuinely believes what she was doing was for the good of belabog. She saw a planet so similar to her own and i think she did what she thought was right and tried to help them (i dont think what she did was right but i can see where she comes from in thinking its right) i also think its showing that when she learned their was a way out for belabog that allowed them to not give their lives away to the ipc she gave in and stopped trying to convince them. She risked her own job security to allow them that right and because she didnt force an entire planet of innocent people who just got out of a horrible situation to sign their souls away (including the children mind you) she got demoted. Im not saying that she deserves a pat on the back for doing the bare minimum esp after she tried killing us, she is a rich, a conerstone, owns an exotic pet that she throws into battle and design her gun after, is a high member of said capitalist big corps, im just saying this is a very nuanced and interesting situation that i like to think about because there are so many thoughts and arguments

The whole belabog vs ipc thing was interesting in general for me because i think it was just such a good concept to bring forth the conversation of the goods and bads of big corps. Technically the ipc does have the right to want their century old debt repaid (ignoring the fact we later learned the robots where never used i think idk the end was confusing ngl) yet also at the same time we as people have a hard time siding with them when belabog didnt even know they where in debt because they where so isolated because of the stellaron and they just got out of the stellaron crisis and are trying to make their world habitable and yknow survive. We cant blame them for being unable to pay a humongous debt when these where the same people who stood in awe as march shower them a photo of their planet that she took while on the express. It creates a situation where yeah technically the giant corp has a right to take that money because its theirs but its still feels so cruel to make them have to cough it up right now with only a few days time. Belabog is basically forced to sign that deal because there is no way they could have payed that off they where doomed the moment topaz set foot on the planet. I remember talking to each of the people in belabog and getting their opinions on the matter and constantly having to rethink my stance because there where so many good points for why they should and so many for why they shouldnt. I can go on and on about this but this bit is already to long.

Aventurine!!! Aventurine aventurine oh where to start. Unlike topaz i actually like aventurine alot he is just such a well written character but we arent here to talk about how amazing him and the games writing is we are here to talk about the capitalist cooperation he is a cog in. Aventurine in a sense has a similar story to topaz but its more cruel and less happy. The ipc didnt save him, the ipc what going to arrest him and its thanks to his luck and a deal with the devil (or in this case a bet with a snake) that he was able to become aventurine.

I havent seen the writen stuff for him in his characters story because i dont have him but i will say from what i saw during the main story, something i question alot is what the ipc did during the avgin genocide. This might be a small tangent but the avgins said they had the support of the ipc. What happened that caused for the entire avgin civilization to be wiped out when they had the help of people with better weapons and armor and equipment. Apart of me is nihilistic enough to think the ipc didnt really care for saving the avgins and might have used the katakans attack as a way to know out the two groups that where causing them the most trouble but at the moment i dont know if theres anything supporting this theory so its just a crack theory

Aventurines spot in penacony is again interesting. Penacony is a prison planet of the ipc, that was taken over and turned into a party paradise thanks to the hamrony, family, and a stellaron. Aventurines goal was supposed to be to put penacony back in the ipcs control and to be honest i cant tell if thats his plan or not because of how crazy and confusing the story was (i loved it) but that being said it is another example how how grey ipc is. It isnt just a big bad corp there are people with lives and in avens case, people trying to gain their freedom with any risks necessary. I also think again the ipcs role in penacony is like belabog, very interesting, just for different reasons.

Penacony is based off America and in this case im assuming the ipc is their Britain. I feel like if you ask most people they would say that the ipc is the only group in penacony they hope fails (minus aventurine again i feel everyone wants aven to succeed even if we want ipc to fall) but i think the family being as grey as they are (basically a cult and also a representation of newer day amarica and its “its us or them” mentality in a way. I can make another yap ses about that lmao) adds an air of mystery and confusion on who we want to succeed since they are on two very different sides of the board so if one wins the other loses. It makes it feel like a fight of two big corps against each other and not really knowing who to support. Do you want to support the capitalist or the cult, pick your poison. We need the rest of penacony for me to go more in-depth on my opinion of ipc here and to rant but i can say its already making me question and argue both sides with what we have seen so far

That was fun for me. I havent ranted on tumblr in a long long time but hsr has been my recent hyperfixation and again boothill makes me crazy. While writing this is made me start to think about how much i wanted to talk about the hidden story of immigration i feel penacony is aso trying to tell. I think penacony is handling so many deep and interesting topics and im very excited for the next update. This has made me hyped to talk about the immigration stuff but i want to do reaserch and gain a proper strong stance besides “thats just my opinion.” I think this is an interesting topic and yapping about it made me want to do more reaserch on the topics of capitalism and big corps cus i hate them but i also think its important to know about it and understand there is more to the issue than just stingy old white rich people. I havent even gotten to jade yet. When we learn more about her imma have some words prob

Srry this was long but anyways cant wait till boothill comes out so i can get him and his light cone

[yuri-is-online]

c-could we have some crumbs of what Yuu and Yutu’s life was like before Yuu died? any particular moments that Yutu may remember fondly for example? 👉👈

Of course my friend, let me see if I can make this less angsty than some of the other posts (challenge impossible)

notes: they/them used for Yuu, this is part of the fyuuture kid au which can be found here and here

I want to leave exactly where in the world Yuu and Yutu are from up to the reader, but I sort of see them as having lived in a small town. They moved at least once to get away from the rumor mill of the place Yuu went missing from, Yutu doesn't have a lot of fond memories of Yuu's og hometown. He remembers it as a place where people were constantly talking about where they thought Yuu went for all the years they went missing.

Even after they moved Yuu and Yutu were considered to be weird and seen as outcasts, something I think Yuu was more upset about it than Yutu was. Until the game explains the rules of Yuu's world, in my mind it is sort of functioning off of Kingdom Hearts logic where when traveling to a different world, your form changes to reflect that one so no merfolk forms for the Octotrio's kids, no beastmen traits for the Savanaclaw kids, and no ability to use Twisted Wonderland like magic for anyone. Yutu can still tell he should have those things and it bothered him a lot.

It was a wild experience to be taken through the mirror and have his ears change or learn he was part fish.

I like to think that Yuu had a job working nights so they could spend more time with Yutu during the day, in what field I leave up to you but they were a really hard worker who saved all their pto and vacation days to attend Yutu's school events and any extracurricular stuff he decided to do. That meant a lot to Yutu, his feelings about his dad change depending on a few things but he never felt like he was lacking in support from Yuu.

Little Yutu really liked making crafts for Yuu. He was really into origami flowers for a while and still knows how to make them, though he's a bit embarrassed by it now.

Yutu genuinely likes Yuu's cooking even if it isn't good. I like the idea of Yutu and Yuu baking cakes together on birthdays, picking out a box mix and fun frosting so they can decorate it the exact way Yutu wants to. A bit before they died Yutu surprised them by baking a cake all on his own the day before their birthday, Yuu was very proud of him and Yutu was just a tiny bit smug about it.

I like to think Yuu subconsciously bought Yutu a stuffed animal that related to Twisted Wonderland in some way. A black cat, a white rabbit, a lion, or maybe even an octopus. Yutu isn't very creative with names so he just named his animals after himself, which is something Yuu would have been able to tease him about because he is very sensitive about it.

Any holidays that are significantly important to Yuu are important to Yutu as well. If you have family traditions that you passed on to him he will think of those fondly and will have told his friends, both in your world and Twisted Wonderland, about them. I like to think that Yuu might have come up with someones unique to them and Yutu since their memories of their past weren't great, so the new ones they made with their son were very important to them.

He especially liked Halloween. It's easily his favorite holiday and he used to get really excited to dress up with Yuu.

Yuu used to read Yutu bedtime stories, and he did like those, but he has really strong memories of times when they would work together to make up a story. He could still repeat some of those back to you... if you knew to ask him about them.

I am interested in hearing what sort of things you would think about Yuu doing with Yutu, or hobbies you think would be fun for specific Yutus to pursue.

[inventors-fair]

2024 Reflections: @abelzumi

I understand why a lot of wizards would go into temporal magic.

The spread of days from point A to point B has made it more difficult to do commentary, that's for certain, but that's my own fault. End-of-week retail as a transition from M-F scheduling means that the beginning is filled with promises and the end is filled with regrets. As much as I don't miss the hardcore lockdowns here in the U.S., I did relish the ability to sit inside and just write all the time without having to worry as much about work and the world. But I was much younger then.

I do wish I could spend my Saturdays waking up and just sitting down to write for everyone once more. And perhaps next year we'll see a scheduling change, or a change in commentary. One of the tenets of this Fair is that people do get feedback for their creativity, and damn if it's not hard to just sit and write some days. I'm not going to go back and count because there are a zillion documents to go through, but I reckon that I've written at least 150,000 words of commentary this year. Damn if that doesn't feel at least a little good.

Magic in general has felt like its' ups have been massive and its downs have been just as abysmal. It's so strange to see my old notebooks from a decade ago, scribbling in notes about set designs and various overpowered custom cards, the what-ifs of fantasy characters and superheroes. Now that that's a reality, the commodification of image has taken on a whole other role. Is there something to be said for the changing tides of consumer taste conflicting with the past—or are the larger trends of brand-to-brand communication genuinely dulling some esoteric "greater" experience?

I can't quantify any of that, and I've groused more than enough. But I do believe that without the custom card community, Universes Beyond wouldn't exist, and I have to resignedly believe it's a net benefit to the game. Part of Magic's power is its adaptability of action to emotion. This is what makes Sauron so powerful. Here's what it feels like to throw Captain America's shield. It's a language of gaming.

And on language and community... Muscle memory is a strange thing. When I'm writing commentary now, I can instantly type and retype the names of various submitters that have been here for what feels like, and what may be, years. I recognize styles, set symbols, patterns of design... We do see you. Even though I'm terrible at communicating on Discord most of the time, I see you. I recognize the work that's put in and the vulnerability of submitting a card for judgement.

Who am I to judge, even? Are my designs strictly better for any given contest? Absolutely not. Do I have a background in game design? I didn't even think to pursue it. Do I speak with a ridiculous amount of poetic authority that occasionally breaks into rhetoric? No comment. The point is that being inside the beating heart of this blog can feel unearned sometimes. So thank you. Thank you for the minimal authority bestowed upon me by curious, talented, thoughtful players like the one reading this right now. Thank you for your trust.

Lastly: my favorite contest from this year was for sure the Adjective/Noun combo contest from May. Definitely gonna do that again in 2025. I've been wanting to do that for a while, but the results were both strangely consistent and wildly creative.

Until time comes round to us again... @abelzumi

[tondisus]

can i get some dbh ao3 recs :0! i prefer canon compliant stuff (im a huge "he would not fucking say that!!!!" person) and any/no ships

Oh I've waited *years* for someone to ask me fic recs and I shall deliver.

Ik you technically asked for canon compliant stuff but honestly I'm the complete opposite about characters, like I look at two completely different characterizations and I'll go "oh maybe he would say both of those," I'm just generally a massive AU enjoyer.

So instead of trying to sort and struggle and figure out what to recommend, I'll just throw a bunch of stuff your way and hope at least something works!

Also I'm getting all the recs from my downloads so they're likely complete, my favorite character that I'm hopelessly hyperfixated on is Connor, I generally love a lot of angst & hurt/comfort, I'm not really into shipping and romance-focused fics that much and longer fics >> shorter fics, so my recommendations are gonna show those traits

I recommend literally any dbh fic by WayWardWonderer: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WayWardWonderer/pseuds/WayWardWonderer

They have genuinely carried my fandom experience, if I think I have nothing to read I just go back to their fics, i am so impressed how someone can write SO much great content

Accident prone: becoming human https://archiveofourown.org/works/15727149

Is a long fic post-pacifist best ending full of whump, angst, hurt/comfort, character development, just everything good. And when I say long, I mean 1.8mil words long.

Torn alliances https://archiveofourown.org/works/25009789 in which it's also a post-pacifist ending fic, except deviated Connor was shot by Markus in the church,  came back on the rooftop scene as a machine, and deviated there thanks to Hank. From there it explores what happens after in about a million words.

Sanction https://archiveofourown.org/series/2226099 is a series that also features the Markus-killed-Connor-in-church-but-he-survived-what-happens-now type story, the prequel has Connor & Carl interaction which while rare, is very precious to me in this fandom, and the sequel has some awesome angst about the Amanda takeover and it's potential consequences/meanings

Detroit 07 https://archiveofourown.org/series/1473497

Is a series that really focuses on the dpd police department and their interactions post-pacifist ending, the characters are basically built from nothing by the author so this could be a non-canon-compliant type of fic but I listed it anyway cuz it's an awesome series what can I say

Cutting ties https://archiveofourown.org/series/2738356 is a series of fics more about Connor and his struggle with deviancy and android kind, I honestly started reading this for the Connor & North friendship cuz damn i love those two and their interactions

Deviating and Solving Crime with 100% Human Detective Connor https://archiveofourown.org/works/29270769 is abt Connor being deviant the entire time but staying undercover as a detective in the DPD, super hilarious imo, loved the characterization of basically everyone, probably the longest 5 + 1 type fic I've read

File not found https://archiveofourown.org/works/32842771

Is an au fic of the game timeline where Connor is simultaneously deviant and machine, he has to delete memories of himself letting deviants go to hide his actions from cyberlife, and Hank is hostile at first, which is a fun part.

Reset https://archiveofourown.org/works/15118730/chapters/35054933 is a classic time-travel fix-it trope, 8 months after a failed revolution, Connor goes back in time thanks to Kamski and, well, fixes stuff. Sassy Connor is my beloved fr he's so awesome.

I'd probably have more recs (seeing as I have over 350+ downloaded detroit fics) and would know more specifically which ones were the more canon-compliant ones but the hyperfixation is sporadic and comes back every few years and it just came back very recently again, so I don't remember completely what all fics were about and how much I liked them (why did I not make summaries and list thoughts why past me why were you DUMB) but the ones I listed are hopefully very readable 👍

Hope you find something here you like / haven't read yet :D

[magpie-come-east]

Another one for the ask meme, Ranni 🙂

favorite thing about them

Ranni has such a depth of character she is an absolute delight.

I love that she is blunt and honest. Basically the moment you find her in her estate she admits to masterminding the Night of Black Knives. I love that she is very indulgent and permissive of the player in a way that makes it obvious she's just kind of playing with you/Rogier. I love that she's outwardly so cold and conniving. But the more you learn about her the more her naturally warm demeanor slips through. She loves her mother and protected her. She protected Rykard. Blaidd is her brother, and Iji is her childhood friend. She tries to tell the Tarnished off from becoming her Lord, because she knows the path she must take will be lonely and dark. She doesn't want to subject anyone to the ordeal she feels she must undertake. Yet when the Tarnished persists, she declares she is happy to have them for a Lord. She expressly tells the Tarnished to tell Iji and Blaidd she loves them.

Beyond that, I love her design and dialogue. She's so charming to listen to, and her sense of humor is biting and sharp. I rave about the Omen Twins to excess, but Ranni is definitely my favorite character along with them.

Lastly, her ending speaks to me as someone who isn't religious whatsoever. Now, I do not think her story and ending is an endorsement of atheism, nor do I think Ranni is an atheist character. But I find her ending to be the most realistic and true to life. The responsibility of making a better world is in our hands, whether or not we believe in a higher power.

least favorite thing about them

Literally nothing. I support women's wrongs.

favorite line

SOOOO MANYYYY

This is farewell, my dear. Tell Blaidd, and Iji... I love them.

Though he was created a vassal for an Empyrean, He was a colossal failure, on the part of the Two Fingers. Blaidd, and Iji both... Art willing to give too much to me.

Mmm yes. Truly the words of a heartless asshole that doesn't care about anyone or anybody. The AFFECTION with which she calls Blaidd a colossal failure. She knows he loves her genuinely, such that he would follow her to his own doom rather than heed his creator. It destroys me.

Oh? A dogged fellow, aren't we? Or is it merely thy habit, to talk to dolls? Fine...fine. I hadn't expected any soul to recognize me in this guise. But now the cat is out the bag, I cannot allow thee thy freedoms.

Affording thyself opportunity to grope about for the cursemark's location, no doubt? Very well... There's nothing wrong with a well-laid scheme.

No sense in arguing, I see. Thou'rt a wild one, indeed. Torrent hath quite the ruffian chosen...

Man, she's just so endearing. Scathing and clever and deadpan.

brOTP

Ranni and Rykard - my beloved scheming sibling duo.

Ranni and Blaidd - These two don't interact much. But they're both so charming individually it's impossible not to imagine the sibling bickering they do.

Ranni and Tarnished/Champion - I know I'm biased because of my own Age of Stars ER OC, but I've always generally viewed Ranni's relationship with her Elden Lord to be more platonic than romantic.

OTP

Ranni x Tarnished/Champion - Okay, just because I personally see Ranni and her Champion as platonic doesn't mean there aren't also romantic hints in there. One of my favorite moments of the game is when you find her body after she's slain her Two Fingers. You give her the ring and when she awakens she expresses that she is pleased to have you for a Lord:

So, it was thee, who would become my Lord. Perhaps I needn't have warned thee. I am pleased, however. Thou'rt a fitting choice.

nOTP

I don't have a serious Ranni nOTP.

random headcanon

Ranni targeted Godwyn (and presumably his line) in the Night of Black Knives because he was Marika's favorite child and the most prestigious of the Golden Lineage. She didn't know about Morgott and Mohg at the time. But even if she had, she would have gone for Godwyn despite the Omen Twins probably being better targets.

Her doll body is practically immobile, or it takes a great deal of concentration and skill to move it. She has to 'sleep' frequently because if can feel like her soul is just trapped in a stationary coffin of a vessel.

unpopular opinion

I believe the Age of Stars is objectively the most ideal ending to the game.

I genuinely struggle to understand why people don't like her. Like I can get people not favoring the Age of Stars, but to actually dislike Ranni? I don't understand it. I feel like if we were honest with ourselves and analyzed her 'crimes' in comparison to the other royal/Demigod characters in the game, she'd be one of the more innocent/righteous ones. But even if she wasn't, she's a fantastic and engaging character and nearly every complaint i see about her is shallow and not worth consideration.

song i associate with them

Barefoot by KD Lang

She's Got a Gun by KUURO

My Tears Are Becoming a Sea by M83

Dark All Day by Gunship

[stellar-constellations]

hi !! just wanted to pop in here to request smth as well as tell you i love your writing sm !! i cant wait for part 11 of "the alliance" comes out !! there fr needs to be more yuri content in spy x family.

also, have you ever thought of crossposting your work on wattpad/ao3/quotev ? i only say since at workplaces and school tumblr is usually blocked, and when i have a bad day im always here rereading your writing.

ANYWAYS ONTO MY REQUEST ofc its gonna be yuri x reader !! it can be headcanons or an actual oneshot, whatever you want to do, but ive always wanted to see how yuri would react to birthdays, whether it be his one or y/n's.

anyways, thanks so much for reading this. even if you dont do my request, i hope you know how genuinely happy and giddy youre writing makes me and other.

        Yuri Briar x Fem! Reader

        This can be read with or without reading my Yuri Briar x Fem! Spy! Reader series: An Alliance (part 1).

        Beware! This fic DOES contain SPOILERS for the manga and for the Yuri Briar x Fem! Spy! Reader series: An Alliance (part 1)!

        Series information: Setting is AFTER the reader rejoined WISE (so Yuri and [Y/N] are married and [Y/N] becomes an official double-spy).

   Yuri doesn't exactly like celebrating his birthday, even when he was a kid he didn't care much. The only thing he really has to look forward to that day is Yor visiting him. Other than that, he sees the day as any other day. He wouldn't even celebrate if you and Yor didn't make him every year. 

        You and Yor would meet up the day before his birthday and bake a cake together. Afterwards, you'd both go shopping for birthday gifts. 

        Yuri swears he's in paradise on his birthday. You AND Yor both spending time with him, laughing and getting along with each other? That's enough of a birthday gift for him (until Loid and Anya walk through the front door).

        Other than that, Yuri would rather spend the day relaxing off work. He'd be up to going for a walk or a restaurant for dinner, but he's a little simple.

        "Yuri, it's your birthday, we're supposed to celebrate!" you explained. 

        "I know, I know. It's just... I've never really celebrated my birthday much growing up." Yuri admitted.

        When his parents died at a young age, he didn't really have the time to celebrate when he was busy studying for school. Yor would at least make him a cake (it wasn't very good... or edible) before heading out for work, leaving him to his own devices for his birthday. He didn't have birthday parties because of how poor they were and he didn't make friends either for anyone to attend them.

        "It is my responsibility as your wife to celebrate your birthday with you because according to this ring, I'll be with you for all your other birthdays." You spoke, showing him the silver ring with the ruby on top that he bought you.

        Your words made him tear up, his face turning red as tears and snot rolled down his face.

        "You're an angel!" he exclaimed, hugging you tight enough to suffocate you.

        "I know, now let go before you kill me and I won't be here next year!" you gasped, hugging him back despite your words of "let go"

        On your birthday, he's much more energetic and fun (he's a hypocrite).

        He'd buy you your favorite flowers and cook your favorite breakfast for in bed. After breakfast he'd bake a cake from scratch using a cooking book (no, you cannot help. Go watch TV or read a book). 

        He'd take you somewhere that you like to go or that's of interest to you: an aquarium, zoo, park, flower garden, beach, sports game, anywhere you'd like.

        He would blow his entire week's paycheck on gifts for you (he works for the state, he has the money). 

        "I have a reservation for that fancy restaurant that just opened up down the road." Yuri spoke, tying the tie on his suit.

        "How'd you get that done? There was a waiting list before that place even opened?" you questioned, brushing out your hair.

        "I have my ways." Yuri smiled. 

        "I hope none of those ways involved threats and bribery." You sighed, placing your hands on your hips as you looked at him.

        "No, no, I would never!" he said in a high voice, obviously lying. "...Maybe a little."

        "You'd go that far for me?" you questioned, holding your heart as a warm fondness stirred your chest, your heart beat raising. "You're such a sweetheart!" you cooed before kissing him on his cheek.

        "Psh! It was nothing! I just wanted to do something for you since you did something for me on my birthday." He spoke, acting as if it was nothing (the blush on his cheeks and the smile on his face said otherwise). 

        Thank you so much for requesting! I do apologize for the request being short, I personally don't have much experience on birthdays due to growing up in a family where we don't do much for birthdays.

        I'm also working on writing a request for a Christmas one shot for Yuri that will come out in the middle of December so stayed tuned for that!

At the moment, I'm also crossposting my work onto Ao3, Wattpad, and Quotev. I've finished uploading the Yuri Briar x Fem! reader: An Alliance series onto Wattpad and Ao3. My account name is "Stellar Constallation" for Wattpad and "StellarConstellations401" for Ao3.

        Want more Yuri content? Check out the Yuri Briar x reader masterlist!

        Have any other requests? Check my official masterlist to see the characters I write for: Masterlist

[theguardianace]

Can I politely ask you to elaborate on the Aroace Nene fic you talked about some time ago? Or just simply how you see her in your brain after finding out she's aroace? If it's not much to ask, of course

OMG YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! absolutely. i will ramble about aroace literally anybody on the drop of a dime this is one of the best anons to get actually

nene's story is actually the one i have the least about, to be perfectly honest. i have a plot for both emu and tsukasa's stories, but haven't quite figured out one for nene. honestly, i think nene's the type of aroace to not really... care about it that much. she'd never cared about love or romance to begin with, so when she realized it was because she was aroace, it was mostly like "hm. cool. im gonna go play animal crossing now".

as for finding out... i think it would have happened in middle school, back when she was Online Gamer Nene TM full time. with how much she loves games and storytelling, it really only makes sense she'd want to engage with fandom content like fics. however, just... seeing the way people sexualize her favorite characters, or only write/draw shipping content... she didn't care for it. she didn't want to engage with that. not that there was anything wrong with it! people can do whatever they want with fictional game characters. she just. didnt care about it herself. which led to her feeling even more isolated even within her favorite hobbies. i think this would sort of lead her to playing a variety of games so she doesn't have to worry about getting absorbed in fandoms she doesn't care to be a part of. she still checks, every once in a while. for games that she really likes. i think its through this that she eventually stumbles across a popular aroace headcannon, goes "what", googles it, and is like "wow. thats me. sick". and then moves on

but like. even when she's moved on. it's still really nice to know, yknow? it explains why she felt like the odd one out not wanting to ship stuff, or even care to entertain it. there's people out there just like her. it makes her less anxious, a little more sure of herself.

she doesn't ever tell anyone. not even rui. (i mean, they hadn't talked in ages. how is she supposed to? "hi, we havent had a genuine conversation in years, how are you? by the way i discovered im aroace and you probably don't know what that means and honestly i dont really care about it myself. have a good day".) (and once they do start talking again, it just... never came up. she never felt the need to, and he never felt the need to ask.) until my epilouge chapter where they all end up coming out like WHAT WERE ALL AROACE THATS SO SILLY anyways

in casual life, i think nene would have been the type for adults to go "oooh, you have a crush on him, don't you? look at you, all red and shy just thinking about him" when shes simply Just Like That. it was really annoying. she knew she didn't like them like that and that was that. but shes too scared to say that so she just took it. definitely didn't help the "nene needs to learn how to make friends" department. honestly, her only relief from it was with rui- both her parents and the kamishiro parents recognized that the two really did care about each other, but it wasn't like that. also no way in hell they're ruining the one friendship their kids have.

later with emu, i don't think there was any point where people even considered a romance, at least not at first glance. it wasn't like people at school even knew about emu (minus when she snuck in, but why would this hyperactive pink thing be looking for that shy second year?). and people walking the streets didn't really assume they liked each other like that since they were two girls. nene's mom was a little curious if they were dating since emu comes over so often and is so physically affectionate, but she never really pressed. she was mostly just happy nene has friends over that aren't just rui. (also, emu's aroace too, so nothing in her demeanor even made nene consider it could have been romantic. shes just Emu.)

for tsukasa, it's a similar thing. by the time people have realized the two are friends, nene's confident in herself and her feelings enough to shut down the people who would even dare assume she likes a buffoon like that star in that way. there's those people that go "oh but you're mean to him and girls are mean to boys when they have a crush on them" but she's tough enough to go "ew" and move on. (she did complain about it a little to rui on a walk home once. if he ended up in her classroom the next day to "grab her for lunch" and weaponize his dangerous reputation to intimidate them when she wasn't looking, it was sheer coincidence.)

also, i think out of the four, nene falls most on the loveless scale. tsukasa, emu, and rui are all beings made of love despite the fact they don't fall in it. nene's a bit different. she cares about her friends, and she's super good at making them (despite what she thinks), but she doesn't really... love them. not in the ways people usually want to describe love. she would kill a man for them in a heartbeat, don't get me wrong. she just experiences those sorts of feelings differently. it's care, and determination, and hope, and happiness, but not... love. not completely.

anyways aroace gamer nene so real fic will happen once i figure out how to tie these ideas to a plot 👍