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smallestapplin · 3 months

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Little love

This was commissioned by @bellafragolina who asked for found family Trevor Belmont before meeting the others.

Word count : 1,521

No warnings!

When Trevor first found you, he didn't know what to do, he's a Belmont, not a babysitter. But he just saved your village from monsters, more specifically he saved you from being eaten. Your small chubby hands gripped onto his shirt, silently sobbing into his chest as he held you.

You've been traumatized, not wanting to make a sound in case more monsters come back. It sickens him, you couldn't be any older than five, and this is the world you were meant to be raised in?

"I got you now. Let's go find your parents, yeah?"

The mention of them just made you sob harder, it made his blood run cold.

They are probably dead.

Well, that's at least something you two have in common.

He shakes that thought from his head and tries to pull you away, just so he can see your face and ask a few more questions, only for you to cling to him tighter, mumbling something he couldn't understand but it sounded like pleads.

Fuck, he can't just leave you, but he's not exactly child friendly, and it's not like you can talk much, seemingly only knowing a few words.

When taking you with him, he asked around the village women how to take care of such a young child and what you could eat. He soaks up their cooing and praises while also getting the information he wanted before he stocked up and set off.

You're like his little shadow, always one step behind him like a duckling.

"Alright, you gotta name?"

You didn't answer, just held onto the end of his cape as you two walked.

"Well, aren't you the life of the party?" He snorts, running a hand through his messy brown hair.

"Hm, if you're gonna be my shadow, we are gonna need to train you. Can't have you gettin' hurt on my watch."

You're not like him or his family, you're supposed to be a normal child running around, scraping your knee, living a normal life, he's sorry it had to be this way but he will ensure you at least have a fighting chance.

The first night with you was a nightmare, he was so paranoid about monsters finding you he didn't sleep, any small noise had him on high alert, the only thing that calmed him down was looking over to your sleeping form all bundled up in his cloak, sound asleep.

It's also the first night he doesn't go to a tavern and drink himself to sleep.

Any new mission he spends getting a room first, booby-trapping it to hell and back, and placing protection symbols everywhere to keep monsters at bay. Anytime he goes to leave he makes sure you have food and water, and that the windows are shut and locked tight.

He crouches down to your height, handing you a rather sharp knife.

"Now, if someone knocks what do you do?"

"Don't open."

"Good! And if they claim to be me or the inn keep?"

"Don't open."

"And if they try breaking in?"

"Under the bed, go for the ankles."

"Good job, little love. I'll be back as soon as possible, do not open the door for anyone unless I give the code."

You nod your head, clenching the handle of your blade to you, holding it just like he taught you for maximum danger.

It's not ideal for you but it's to ensure you're protected while he hunts. He spends hours away at a time, fighting tooth and nail to kill vampires, ghouls, whatever those bastard bat monsters are, just to return to the tavern and drink and drink and drink.

Until his body feels warm.

It's then he returns to the room, knocking in a set pattern before muttering the goofy code he gave you. He smiles hearing the soft sound of your feet pattering against the wooden floor. After a few minutes of movement, the door opens, revealing you rubbing the sleep from your eyes.

"Ah, m'sorry my little duckling, seems I lost track of time."

You don't say much, just moving to let him in, and following right behind him as he flops face-first into the bed, groaning as he can finally relax his muscles.

Trevor can't help but chuckle, feeling you climb into the bed as well only to keep going until you're laying on his back.

"Swear you're like a cat."

You just get comfy and quickly pass out, having been so tired waiting for him.

He may have only found you months ago, but he doesn't know when he got so attached, he swore he'd never be a father or a father figure, swore he was destined to be alone and wear the weight of his clan's duty on his shoulders.

Being the last Belmont holds some pain to him. Everyone around him dies, he's not meant to have anyone.

So why did he cave and take you in?

You're just like him when he was young, though he was a much rowdier child, he can't fault you for changing with your environment.

You lost everything, you were alone, you had no one.

Just like him.

But he didn't want the cycle to continue, he didn't want any more lives lost.

He had no one.

He wanted you to have someone.

Months turned into years, he watched you grow, watched you pick up on people's lies, watched you pick up your training fast, being able to handle yourself while he's not around so he no longer fears what could happen to you.

He still never got a name from you, maybe you didn't have one or wanted to lose that part of your life, but whatever your reasoning he doesn't care.

Two years on the road together, he couldn't imagine not having you with him. Deep down in his gut, he knew if anything happened to you he'd be devastated.

But that's a price he's willing to take.

He's killed people for trying to take you away, killed those trying to hurt you, and he's proud you can take on smaller monsters on your own.

It doesn't stop him from picking you up and sprinting when needed, but you seem to have fun, even giggling when you get to sneak into small crawl spaces to help him reach something or overhear something.

"I get to be a monster Hunter just like you!"

Oh, he wants you to reconsider, he wants you to live a normal life but with him as your guardian that won't be possible.

You'll end up in his profession where people often die young.

But he will do what he can to make sure you are ready for it, to make sure you live longer than those fallen before you.

His little love.

His little duckling.

He will make sure every monster is vanquished to make sure you're safe.

For now, he will stay in this temporary room making silly voices as he tells you a story, smiling at how you squeal and laugh as he tickles you like he's the big scary monster.

You are his daughter in everything but blood.

The circumstances may not have been ideal, but he'd do it all over again.

Every argument, every tantrum, every cry, every laugh, every gleeful ramble, every excited question.

He will do it all over again.

Just to make sure you're safely by his side. Even if it's just you and him facing the world.

As your journey takes you closer to Wallachia, a place where the monsters seem to be spawning from, he still holds you, carrying you tightly to his chest as you sleep soundly.

He will have to set up camp soon if he doesn't have some inn close by to sleep at, but it's all worth it, even as his legs ache from walking he won't stop.

A mumble catches his attention. Pausing in his step he looks down at you, seeing you sleepily looking up at him.

"Something wrong, little love?"

"Mm..."

Trevor chuckles, brushing some of your hair out of your face.

"Just sleep, we are almost to a resting spot."

You just hold onto his shirt tightly, almost as tightly as you did the night he saved you from those creatures.

"Are you okay, did you have a scary dream?"

"Can...can I call you dad?"

His heart swells, and his blue eyes are already shimmering with unshed tears. His throat feels tight, closing as he tries to stop himself from sobbing.

You have no idea how much he's thought of it, how much he's wanted to hear you call him 'dad' instead of 'Trevor.'

The days and nights he's spent taking care of you, protecting you, teaching you the basics of the world while teaching you how to fight.

"Of course. Everything but in blood we are family. I will sooner perish than let anything in this world hurt you."

He can't believe he's grown soft.

But every day he wakes up with a new sense of motivation.

And that's to take care of you.

You are his daughter.

You are a Belmont all the same.

#found family #platonic #castlevania #castlevania Trevor #castlevania Trevor Belmont #castlevania x reader #castlevania & reader #found family my beloved #I'm so happy with this and so happy Renee asked me to write this #tired gruff man adopting a child and being a softie for them #that's his kid damn it

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flower1622 · 1 month

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What if the drinks were poisoned? The group just didn't get their powers back, but turned evil?

Ben: Why don't we cheer for the moment, guys? Celebrate that we are together again?

Everyone starts complaining and giving excuses.

Ben: Come on, it's just a drink. It won't hurt that bad.

Everyone shrugs and gets the cups to drink. Before they drink, Ben and the others notice that Klaus didn't get his cup.

Ben: Klaus?

Everyone was staring at Klaus, who was looking around trying not to meet their eyes.

Five: Klaus!

Klaus looks at his family a little nervous.

Klaus: What?

Luther: Aren't you gonna touch your drink?

Klaus: No, thanks! I'm good.

Ben: Come on, Klaus! It's just a cup, i promise.

Everyone stares hard at Klaus, who only sighs and gets his cup. The others drink, but Klaus only pretends and throws away his drink. But, what he didn't notice was his siblings' eyes flashing yellow.

...................................

In the morning, Luther, Five, Diego, Alison, Viktor and Lila were pale and each one had dark circles around their eyes. They all were wearing black clothes and had serious expressions on their faces.

Diego: So, why are we here?

The others only shrug and wait for Ben to appear. After a few minutes later, a pale Ben appears with dark circles around his eyes and wearing black clothes.

Ben: I hope i didn't make you wait for long.

Alison: We just arrived.

Ben nods his head.

Diego: So, why are we here?

Ben: I wanted to see how you guys developed. From i can see, you look pretty good.

Five: So, you were the one who poisoned us last night?

Ben only nods and Five gives him a dark smirk.

Lila: At least, we have our powers back. Do you guys have any ideia of what we could do? How we could easily dominate the world?

Diego gives a dark smile at his wife and puts his arm around her waist.

Diego: Oh, i can imagine.

Ben looks at Luther, who was in a very good shape and didn't need that monkey form anymore to be strong.

Luther smiles at Ben.

Luther: I'm feeling great!

Ben: Good.

Ben notices the other quiet ones. Ben gets close to Alison and puts a hand on her shoulder and gets close to her face.

Ben: What do you think?

Alison: At first, i was mad at having my powers back, but then i saw all the things i could win with it.

Alison says and smiles thinking about a wonderful future for her daughter.

Ben nods and walks towards Viktor.

Ben: And you?

Viktor only looks serious at Ben.

Viktor: I don't know what to think or feel about this yet. I'm a little angry at you for lying to us.

Ben: But, don't you think it's awesome to reunite with your family and finally be part of something big? You can hurt the ones who hurt you in the past and we'll help you with that. Won't we guys?

The others look at them and nod their heads at Viktor to show that they were a family and would protect each other. Viktor smiles at that.

Ben turns to Five, who was seated on the sofa and only shrugs at Ben.

Five: I'm good. I knew that one way or another we would get our powers back.

Ben nods and looks around the place. He frowns.

Victor: What?

Ben: Klaus is not here.

Everyone looks at Alison, already expecting she would know his location.

Alison: He had to take my daughter to school. He must be...

Klaus: I'm already here.

Klaus says and appears. Everyone looks at him serious.

Klaus: Wow! Did someone die and i didn't know?

Klaus asks nervous while he looks at his siblings's appeareances. He tries to keep away from them while they still stare at him.

Five: Klaus.

Ben gets confused and frowns at Klaus.

Ben: Why are you still dressed like that? Why are you not like us?

Klaus: Like you?

Diego: Yeah, like us...you are still dressed with this horrible cloth and doesn't even look pale.

Klaus: Well, i'm sorry if i'm not a vampire.

Alison: You didn't drink, did you?

Klaus: What?

Alison: The drink...yesterday.

Everyone stares at Klaus, who only looks away.

Luther: Klaus...

Klaus: Alright...i didn't, okay? I feel so much better than i've felt ny entire life. I'm sober now. Please, respect my decision, guys!

Five: You only think.

Klaus looks confused at Five.

Klaus: What?

Five: You only think you are better this way, Klaus.

Five stands up and walks towards Klaus, who only steps back every time Five comes closer to him.

Five: But, don't worry, we'll bring our Klaus back.

Klaus: What?

Five: Oh, i forgot you don't know.

Klaus: I don't know what?

Five: The drink the rest of us drank last night...it brought our powers back.

Klaus gets shocked.

Klaus: Oh, no!

Five: Yeah, yeah...but, don't worry. We'll give your powers back.

Klaus gets nervous.

Klaus: But....but...what if i don't want them anymore?

Five: Easy. We'll force you to drink.

Klaus steps away and hits the wall. He looks at his sides and sees Ben and Luther getting close to him in each side while Five is in front of him, getting close to his face and almost giving him a heart attack.

Five: Don't think that you can escape this time, Klaus. We are stronger now. So, if you don't join us willingly, we'll make you join us, brother. You are one of us. It's time to accept that.

Five says and gives a dark smile to Klaus. Klaus looks at his other siblings that were also staring him with dark smiles and eyes flashing yellow like Five's. Klaus knew at that moment that he was totally screwed up.

#the umbrella academy #incorrect quotes #my writing #creative writing #writers #writing #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #five hargreeves #luther hargreeves #lila hargreeves #diego hargreeves #alison hargreeves #victor hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves

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lamonnaie · 5 months

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hi!!!! gmmtv part 2 is happening soon so i wanted to ask you a few questions :)

what kind of shows are you expecting?? what kind of shows so you want to see??? which couples do you want to get a show and which couple do you think will get one??? is there anything you don’t want to see at all???

sorry anon this has been sitting in my inbox for over a month, but it's gmmtv24 p2 eve so i'm finally getting around to answering it :)

ngl i haven't been super up to date on gmmtv stuff lately + a lot of my favourite actors aren't in the lineup which is kinda sad :(

NEVERTHELESS, let us proceed with the fun stuff hehehe

Predictions

Based off what artists have leaked + reddit detectives + my general delusions: (first 5 with asterisks are ones i'm extra excited for!!! :D)

**firstkhao mafia romcom directed by p'jojo - fk have a series confirmed by khao himself, and all their interactions with p'jojo ever since that first sus ig story makes this one almost 100% confirmed for me (maybe not all the details exactly, but fk with p'jojo at the very least).

**estwilliam cp debut - ALL THE DETECTIVE WORK HAS CONVINCED ME, after greatinn and thorfluke were successfully sussed out before part 1, i have faith that this is gonna come true too 🙏

**KRISTSINGTO COMEBACK - YOU DON'T JUST BRING BACK SINGTO WITHOUT EVERYONE CALLING FOR THIS and there's nothing gmmtv loves more than the big bucks so we all know this is happening 😌

**bounprem's vampire project reannounced (possibly with a new trailer) - i think this one's a given and probably why bp will be there. i'm not sure how long this whole sws gmmtv overhaul has been in the works for, so i dont know whether they'd have filmed a new trailer or not, but i'm expecting some more gmmtv artists to be added to the cast as well.

**new perthchimon bl - i hate myself for not staying up to date enough on perthchimon news lately😭 but i swear someone somewhere strongly hinted at it ???

new joongdunk bl (more adult setting??) - again, i swear i saw someone somewhere confirming/hinting at this, but idk

At least 1 more gl announced - 23.5 is going pretty well and i think they're gonna keep trying it out (emibonnie? viewjune? janjane?)

lego lykn's acting debut + mark pakin main role - As confirmed by the people themselves in livestreams (just grouping them together for shits and giggles lol) also leads me to think some of the other lykn members might dip into acting? 👀

gemini in a het series (with prim or a newbie) - definitely expecting non-bl works for both gemini and fourth, and i've been seeing stuff about geminiprim?? 👀

Wishlist

perthchimon non-school bl directed by p'aof - i will happily take them in whatever capacity we get but i'd love to see them with p'aof in a more mature setting + with a solid good plot

perth in a bl with a different cp partner - i love perthchimon and i love dangerous romance with all my heart, but i also love mixing and matching all the blorbos and i'd love to see perth opposite some others (gmmtv would give us ohmperth if they weren't cowards)

more plot-heavy bls where romance isn't necessarily the main thing - i want to see some less tropey works, where the non-romance plot is more the main focus of the the show

midnight museums s2 - this is not in a million years happening, but a girl can dream 😭😭

dark romance/something more gritty - honestly thing gmmtv does best with their lighter shows, which is why i think it'd be interesting to see them branch out a bit more

another bounprem bl 🤪 - this probably wouldn't have even happened before the gmmtv switch, and don't think it's gonna happen now, but bp are my day 1s and i'm always gonna root for them, solo or together 🥹🥹💞

sports bl !!!! - i've been on a sports drama kick lately, and gmmtv has plenty of sporty people, so make it happen!!

a proper enemies to lovers bl (WITHOUT a childhood meeting reveal) - i need them to truly DESPISE each other's guts before they get together

heartliming spinoff 🫡 - geminifourth's best work imo and i don't think anything will ever beat it for me <3 it would make for such a good show if it's executed well (i have full faith in gem4th and p'aof), it's been too long now, but i would actually die if this happened

a platonic friendship-based show - i just wanna see a really good friendship group (which we can make gay in the headcanons anyway lol) and put them in situations, whether it be crime fighting, trouble making or anything in between honestly

be gay do crime - need i say more? (why are half of my wishes lowkey the same thing reworded 💀)

I think that's all i have in mind (for now). Happy gmmtv24 part 2 everyone !!!! <33

#this is my bingo card for this time around #idk if i'll even be watching live tho lol #gmmtv 2024 #gmmtv 2024 part 2 #lam.text

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tacetnix · 5 months

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[GetToKnowMe(me)]::Start()

Tagger: @hexenjagd // Oh you~ Name: TK! Pronouns: He/They Most Active Muses? -- Mary, both here and in FFXIV -- "URIEL", an OC that I can best describe as 'What if John Carpenter's The Thing was a psychic emotional vampire and was trying to figure out human coexistence on a whim. -- Tsengel Malaguld, my FFXIV main who is a big loving himbo as a facade for a calculating lizardman terminator.

RP PET PEEVES: Oh you aren't ready for this list. Where to begin?

God-Modding is the old adage. When someone can't let anyone give them consequences for their actions. Whether it's saying heinous stuff, assaulting other RPers and then refusing to acknowledge attempts to settle the score, etc. etc. People who refuse to take what they dish out. Most recently this was someone who "avoided all the guards trying to tie her down because she assaulted a man in public because she's really flexible". If it comes down to two people not knowing how to solve a scuffle, please roll. That's wat luck and the dice are for.

People who refuse to engage in what's going on group-wise and then complain that there's nothing to do. This is very particularly targeted to some people outside of the RPC here but I wanted to throttle you. 'I'm not engaged in [Group Activity]', well I apologize but 20 other people were. You are not giving me critique or constructive criticism by saying 'I'm bored.'

Oh, my god, people who just enter a chat to say 'I'm bored.' as though they're expecting people to spoon-feed them with interaction.

Loops back to the god-modding point but "I'm too powerful for you, so I'm gonna no-sell anything you do to express the difference in our power levels." like, dude, get hit, at least give the person you're fighting the pleasure of seeing their blow push you in the dirt a bit. Have a reaction rather than "haha no *punches back with anime*". >// Multiversal RP is fun until the Anime character wants to fight.

"I am strictly into [x] so if you're anything other than something I wanna fuck then I'm going to be extremely hostile to you and casually and vocally espouse how much everything other than [x] is awful and will cite it often as a reason why I refuse to engage in any RP in this public area.' >// Unfortunately, this has happened multiple times, much to the detriment of peoples' safety and comfort in public spaces I've been in. Moderators have refused to step in, and the behavior has been allowed. ://///

"My Character is Vocally Racist." You suck. You chose to pretend like that's a character trait. You're choosing to make every minority who's experienced that shit IRL to see it again in the middle of their feel-good hobby. 'It's realistic' and you're the one choosing to bring that realism into a space for people to enjoy. Costs you zero cents not to make your characters straight up bigots.

That's all I got for now, but I could keep going, I'm sure. Sorry to just splurge all over main; I've had some baaaaad RP drama go down in the last few months in other mediums/RPCs.

LEVEL OF RP EXPERIENCE: Hah. Haha. Been RPing for 16 years about now. Started back in SPORE while coming up with little stories for my creations, and RPing out diplomatic relations with other people, to going to the JoeyRay's Bar forums for StarCraft 2 where I actually picked up proper narrative RP. Then I went to DeviantArt, RP'd in the chatrooms and learned sauciness (way too young, but oh well), and then was brought over to Tumblr by my ex who showed me @axemurderercreighton back in the day. And I've stuck here, through UNDERTALE, through Skype, through Discord, through playing FFXIV. Always back to here as a casual place to RP.

FLUFF, ANGST, OR SMUT? Angst is the most reliable, but I know I write good smut and it lets me play out fantasies. Fluff is fun, but in moderation. Too much of it and you grow stagnant. Angst brings with it conflict, and conflict drives stories onwards. Smut is the victory lap, and if that also helps serve conflict, then fuck yeah, two-for-one!

PLOTS OR MEMES? Give me a skeleton of a plot an we'll fill in everything in between. I prefer spontaneity to a firm constellation of everything that will happen for years down the line. Improv is the spice of life. Memes facilitate the funniest stuff that's happened in RP, but you wouldn't get there without plotting and having relationships with others. So... cop-out answer, but both.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES? I err on the long side. But at the barest minimum... - Respond to what your partner has given you to work with (usually matches their length pretty well). - Offer insight into my characrer's thoughts or feelings or give them a general action to help immerse in the setting/scene. - Give my partners something to reply/respond to.

However long that all takes is how long my replies will tend to be.

TIME TO WRITE? Whenever I can. When I'm at work I'll steal Discord replies, when I'm waiting for bad lights I'll type and respond. When I'm in the bathroom -- you get the idea. Discord is my preferred method because I can respond without having to have icons or formatting or what have you. It's easier to just throw random ideas like darts on a board, and I get more clear notifications when someone's responded to me.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE? For better or for worse, I put a lot of my anxious thoughts and my paranoia into Mary. I put a lot of how she overthinks based on my own ideations, and in a way... all of that is merged with a lot of how my wife acts. Almost any time I write Mary and you feel the love that I put into her actions, it's because I'm basing that on things I've seen and experienced intimately. She always had this role in my mind of 'cold woman who is accidentally adorable' but -- it took seeing someone who I found absolutely adorable to find the life-inspiration and information to properly convey that and bring it to life in a way that was natural and earnest.

.........God that was so much I'm so sorry for splurging. Tagging: @yellowfingcr @urbanumviolentium @bidotheuncanny @theblackwarden @tinyredrose (to surprise some of you whenever you get back, ehehe)

Thanks again to Cat for @ing me. It's been fun!

#This Thing Has Different Colors?? | OOC #The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known | Tagged #A Wayward Catalyst | Dash Quiz #hexenjagd #// again sorry for splurging all my pet peeves lmao

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transhawks · 2 years

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ajsksak sorry you don't have to answer them, and patience is no issue at all, no pressure no rush!! and all the fics on ao3 are nsfw but I mean if ur cool with that, there's one pretty interesting one on there, and there might be sfw ones I can't remember and all my afohawks fics ideas aren't shippy enough but I'll consider adding wips to publish anonymously 😭 it's going to be super questionable tho with their age difference and afo and his pretty white hair and red eyes trying to charm hawks oooh but the fantasy-like aus tho....hmmm, I still really love the horror/supernatural aspects best

wait, you mean it actually already exists????????? who????? Gonna check.

Yeah unfortunately all the stuff on there is absolutely not my thing and doesn't hit on the same notes that I think make any interaction between them interesting. Really going to have to write stuff myself, or encourage you all to. (Uhh, for other readers, if you do go look up the fics, two of three have very triggering tags so please don't even search it up unless you can handle exposure to something like that.)

I'm usually not a huge fan of age gaps bigger than ten years, but idk, it's like AFO is immortal and there's absolutely no ship, not even with Ujiko, that doesn't have that enormous age and power gap. I just like the idea of Keigo managing to get the upperhand despite all that and outwitting him.

Like the appeal is a game of wits despite the clear physical power imbalance, at least it is for me, and the many similarities in how they work, even if there are core differences in motivations and how they view themselves.

AU works really well. Guh, a few years ago I was in a RP group where I played dhampir monster hunter!hawks and there was vampire coven leader!AFO (who he was there to kill by infiltrating local monster support group led by AFO's protege, a werewolf with fae blood named Tomura). And it was really fun throwing my keigo against my friend's AFO which is where we kind of discovered that they work similarly. A lot of this is making me really sad we never had Hawks really interact with Tomura in the manga because it would have been fantastic to have him involved with Shigaraki and AFO somehow. Really tempted to kind of go screw it and write some one-shot incorporating more Vampire the Masquerade kind of lore (fight me but Tomie is a Malkavian) and just do a Coven!Leader AFO x the dhampir (not a VTM thing but also Hawks doesn't strike me as thin-blooded) assassin sent to kill him.

#asks #afohawks

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izzy-b-hands · 2 years

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Doing a little mini Vampire AU thing with Izzy and Ed and everyone else. Not sure how many after this one, but we'll see. No titles, just numbering these. Thus far shipwise: stizzy, a hint of potential blackhands, with more to be revealed if I actually get all of this written. No guarantee, but I'm gonna try my damnedest.

TW blood, mentions of violence, sex.

---

"Well, I asked for the other type, didn't I?" Ed tosses the bag of blood to his feet. A dark red stain crosses the floor with it.

"This was all I could get," Izzy sighs, and picks the bag of O negative off the floor. "I asked for others, but people aren't donating as often-"

"And that's my problem how? There are other hospitals in town, Iz. We've been over this," Ed scoffs, then sighs. "Sorry. Just hungry."

"I know," Izzy says softly, and rolls up the sleeve of his black button up shirt.

"You don't have to do that," Ed says at the sight. "I'm being bitchy because I'm hungry, but you don't have to-"

He gives Ed a fierce look. Ed never asks for it but Ed never has. Never will. That doesn't mean Izzy doesn't know what's expected of him.

He hisses at the slip of Ed's fangs into the thin skin of his wrist. His most preferred spot, which Ed remembered. Easier to hide later, both from others and himself. Two tiny marks, but an enormous reminder that once again he's a walking blood bag, a loyal familiar, but not tasty or loyal enough to drain and finally turn.

He often wonders which of the two factors is the bigger reason why Ed won't turn him. He knows he'll probably never find out.

"I should stop," Ed lifts his head from Izzy's wrist. "Your legs are shaking. Come sit here, at least."

He falls beside Ed on the ornate black velvet couch. "What else needs doing that I've missed?"

Ed frowns, in between the licking of his lips. "We can talk about that later. Let's get you cleaned up first."

Ed yanks the first aid kit from under the couch, but Izzy takes it from him right away.

Ed hasn't done this part for him in years. He doesn't expect him to start again now.

"In a bad mood?" Ed asks testily.

Izzy bites the inside of his mouth. Yes, he sort of is. The whole day has been shit, and the last thing he wanted was Ed angry over this food delivery.

Instead, he shakes his head as he cleans up his wrist. "Sorry, boss. Bit tired, think it's starting to show."

"I think it is too," Ed says. "Don't worry about the rest of the day's tasks. It's almost night anyway, go to bed and sleep the attitude off."

Izzy finishes the last bit of disinfectant, and mentally notes they need more.

"Izzy."

"I know, I will," Izzy says. "Thank you, Ed. Sorry again about the blood. It won't happen again tomorrow."

He means it. He already threatened the lab tech this night, and it wouldn't be the first one he's killed and hidden. Won't be the last either.

Before Ed can say anything else, he dips out the bedroom door, careful not to step on the smear of blood.

"Ask him to turn you then," Jack sighs dramatically. "I asked, and he turned me!"

"I'm aware, Jack," Izzy says, working to keep his tone even. He's never liked Jack all that much, but Ed does. And if Ed likes someone, then he'll deal with them being around for the most part.

"I wasn't even a familiar or anything, I was just the guy he was fucking!" Jack laughs hard, the sound on the video call going fuzzy. "And you've been with him for years now!"

"Technically since I was sixteen," Izzy confirms sadly. It's pathetic. Though at first, he didn't understand who the attractive man in the shitty looking house down the road was. But he seemed sad and looked drawn and gaunt often.

So Izzy, after a few days of thinking and watching and guessing, left a bag of captured rats and frogs on his porch. Rang the bell, then ran like hell.

From his hiding place in a nearby hedge, he had watched Ed immediately sink to his knees and drain a few of the creatures. Had it not been night and the street empty except for them, it would have been a disaster for Ed.

He kept that up for a few years after, whenever he snuck out at night to find Ed looking too hungry. Later, he would find out it was because there was a shortage of blood donations at the time, and Ed had lost his contact at the main hospital who usually kept him in blood.

When he was nineteen, the city started to fall apart even more. The second hospital closed, and the first regularly struggled to keep up with the need for blood. Their understaffing meant Ed couldn't keep a steady contact person either.

That was the year he asked if Ed needed or wanted a familiar, and offered himself up to give Ed enough strength to move elsewhere with him.

Ed took barely a sip from him, and instead showed him how it went when the victim was a living human.

Ed wept after, as they packed his things into his car. He didn't like killing. Not like that. Animals or other creatures he could stomach, they knew their nature as potential prey for another.

Humans did not. And even when they did, they did not understand it.

"Get your shit together, man," Jack shakes his head. "Maybe y'all need to move again, if the blood supply is that bad."

"It isn't terrible," Izzy insists. "His favourite types are harder to get, is all it is."

"Ask him," Jack says adamantly. "Worst he can do is say no."

"And what will we do for food then?" Ed scoffs. "Iz, I love you man, but sometimes you don't think!"

He badly wants to be dismissed, to go upstairs and call Jack and tell him to fuck off if he ever thinks to offer advice again in regards to Ed. He should have known better than to listen to Jack.

"I would find a new familiar for us first," Izzy says. "Give me a chance to look for one."

"You're missing the point," Ed mutters. "Izzy, what would I do without you?"

"I wouldn't have to leave you just because you'd have turned me," Izzy protests and he knows he's going too far. "I could stay, and help the new familiar. Wake right as the sun starts to go down, and make sure they have things ready for you."

Ed shakes his head and rolls his eyes, and Izzy can't help but see red.

"What is it then? At least give me a fucking reason why. Am I not good enough for it? You turned Jack, that fucking idi-"

He'd been gesturing with his hands while he talked, and Ed's caught one.

He holds Izzy's hand between both of his, a finger tracing up and down each of Izzy's fingers.

Izzy can hear his heart beating fast. He knows Ed can hear it too.

Ed flashes a grin, then bites down hard onto his hand. A fang goes right into the web by his thumb, and he yelps.

"Thought you wanted to be turned," Ed smirks. "Maybe not yet, eh, Iz?"

He watches Ed wander back upstairs, mouth covered in blood. Then he kicks the stove hard enough to make his foot ache.

He can't sleep, so he goes out. So what if Ed doesn't want a new familiar. Fuck him; Izzy will find him a new one, then find another vampire to turn him.

After that, he isn't sure.

The Revenge is a new bar, technically also a music venue. It's so small though that both bar patrons and concert attendees have no choice but to be one in the same.

"Hello!"

Izzy looks up to a chirping, cheerful face. "Hi, s-"

"Roach, let's get him a drinks menu!" the man calls down the bar. A blonde curl falls onto his forehead, and Izzy feels his heart speed up.

It slows a bit, as the exchange goes on. The man, Stede, is very pretty, kind. But he's overwhelming to Izzy right now, and he isn't sure he can handle it.

"Anything strong, very strong, just pour it in the biggest glass possible," Izzy cuts him off mid-drink explanation.

Stede's face falls. "Ah. A night like that?"

Izzy nods.

Roach is the one to slide down a glass of whiskey, then another, and another.

"Roach!" Stede laughs. "Let him finish one fir-oh, well, there went one. We are having a rough night, aren't we!"

Izzy slides the glass back Roach's way and nods. "Work issues. Nothing important."

"I don't know that," Stede says. "I opened this place up due to what some might think are unimportant issues!"

"He got divorced," Roach explains with a clap to Stede's back.

Izzy nods. "Rough nights all around then. Share with me?"

There are two glasses left. He can see the wheels in Stede's head turning. He knows he's asked him to do something unprofessional, maybe illegal in their city, he doesn't know.

Nor does he give a fuck. He wants to drink with this pretty man. He wants to ask him home, and to his bed. Woe be to Ed if he hears anything. Maybe he ought to go out at night too, now and again.

"Izzy, Izzzzzzy," Stede draws out his name and ends it in a kiss. "You taste like whiskey. I like it, but what do you taste like when you're not drunk?"

"You'll have to come home with me to find out," Izzy can hear himself slurring his words. "Unless you'd rather not. Most people don't want to. It's okay; I get it."

Stede kisses him again, hard, pressing him up against the brick wall behind the bar. "I want to find out."

They fumble back inside, to a grinning Roach and snickering house band. After about the third or fourth drink, they'd stopped hiding what they were working towards, and Roach had told Stede to just go sit by Izzy and drink.

From there, it had devolved to more sipping than chugging drinks, and finally the step outside for a breath of fresh air.

Stede was certainly that.

Which made it all the worse that he would be perfect for Ed.

They fall into Izzy's bed half-clothed, fumbling to get the rest off. Stede is unbelievably, adorably, eager.

Izzy can't recall the last time anyone was so eager to be close to him.

The doorknob rattles, and Izzy lets out a frustrated sigh. "In a moment!"

Stede's lips are on his neck and he doesn't want to move an inch, but Ed will not leave the fucking door alone.

He gives Stede a kiss before untangling himself from him and going to the bedroom door. "Ed?"

"You could let me know you were bringing someone home," Ed says tensely. "It'll be sunrise soon."

"I think Stede will wait while I help you get to bed," Izzy smiles. "Stede?"

Stede waves from the bed. "Hello!"

"Hi," Ed replies shortly. "That would be nice, since that's your job."

"This is your boss?!" Stede stumbles from the bed to stand behind Izzy. One hand wraps around his chest, the other slings lower to his waist, fingers playing with the zipper of his leather trousers. "You've been a real asshole to Izzy, you know that?"

Ed stares daggers at Stede. "Have I been? Enlighten me."

"He's live-in help, which most people don't have nowadays," Stede continues. "My family did. Well, they still do. I gave her the money and house and what not in the divorce. Anyway-"

He pauses to press a kiss to Izzy's neck, and Izzy has to fight back a grin.

"He's doing his best. That's all we can ask of each other, of anyone! But you're fussing over the dinner you wanted not being available and blah, blah, blah-"

"I don't think you understand the arrangement Izzy and I have," Ed interrupts him. "I could explain it to you, if you want to step into my room."

"Absolutely not," Izzy spits. He's not letting Ed eat his fucking one night stand. Especially when said one night stand could turn out to be more. "I'll help you to bed, Ed. Stede, you stay here and rest, yeah? If you need water, the kitchen is just downstairs."

"It's my kitchen and my water," Ed says.

"Oh fuck off," Izzy scoffs. "Enough, Ed. Come on, I said I'd get you ready for bed, and I meant it, because when fucking haven't I!"

He's aware he's shouting now, but there isn't enough reason to care.

Ed, however, seems to care a lot. "No. I'll take care of that myself, for now. But tomorrow night, we're having a talk."

"Fine," Izzy fumes. "Can I go get fucked now?"

"Do whatever you fucking want, mate," Ed grumbles and turns away.

"Sorry your sunlight allergy has made you such an asshole!" Stede shouts down after Ed. "We should get you out of here. You could come work for me."

"We can talk about that," Izzy says, dropping his head back onto Stede's shoulder for a moment. "Later, though. If you're still up, for-"

"Very much so," Stede smiles and kisses his cheek and Izzy's heart aches in his chest.

The door is shut and locked again and they fall back into bed, a softer and gentler tangle this time.

Gentle seems to be Stede's most common state of being, frankly. He refuses to rush any part of the experience, from a blowjob that nearly ends things early for Izzy to actually fucking.

"Have you and him ever..." Stede asks softly, mid-fuck, with Izzy in his lap.

Izzy shakes his head. "I'd like it. Wouldn't be very professional of me-"

"He's pretty enough I think anyone would break that veneer," Stede giggles. "I certainly don't blame you."

Izzy shifts his hips more and leans his head into Stede's shoulder.

"Sorry, that's probably not the thing to bring up now," Stede murmurs. "Izzy-"

"It's okay," Izzy cuts him off, lifting his head to kiss him. He runs his hands through the softest curls he's touched aside from Ed's, and moans into Stede's mouth.

There's no more talking, after that. Not about anything other than each other, at least.

In the morning, Stede stays and snuggles a bit. They have breakfast and exchange phone numbers, as well as offers to meet up again in a night or two.

"I know you probably feel you have to stay home tonight to get in his good graces," Stede says before he leaves. "I think you should be able to do as you want, but I'm just coming into all this now-"

"Could stay and do that again with me," Izzy interrupts. He can't help it. He doesn't really want him to go. He wants to be cuddled and kissed and fucked while Stede praises him up and down.

"If I didn't have a bar to get ready for tonight, I would," Stede smiles. "Maybe you can convince Ed to come with you! Then you'd get out, and he'd still have you on hand to pour wine down his throat for him, since I presume Mr. High and Mighty doesn't touch his own glass."

Izzy chuckles. "It's something like that. If nothing else, I'll call or text you, yeah?"

"That sounds perfect."

Izzy watches Stede walk away from the house, waving back when he does.

When he's far enough away, Izzy closes and locks the front door, then slips down it to sit on the hardwood floor.

He shouldn't be crying over someone he just met. He isn't a teenager anymore.

The tears come anyway.

#text post #vampire au #ofmd fic #stizzy #will add ship tags as they happen in the fic beyond seemingly unrequited love lol

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sunnydaleherald · 1 year

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The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, June 13

Faith: So, you gonna rat me out? Is that it? Buffy: Faith, we have to tell. I can't pretend to investigate this. I can't pretend that I don't know. Faith: Oh, I see. But you can pretend that Angel's still dead when you need to protect him. Buffy: I *am* trying to protect you. Look, if-if we don't do the right thing, it's only gonna make things worse for you. Faith: Worse than jail for the rest of my young life? No way! Buffy: Faith, what we did was... Faith: Yeah. We. You were right there beside me when this whole thing went down. Anything I have to answer for, you do, too. You're a part of this, B. All the way.

~~Buffy Episode #49: "Consequences"~~

The Sunnydale Herald is looking for at least one new editor! Contributing to the Herald is a great way to get your Buffy on! Find out more here. If you saw the phrase "HTML template" in our previous calls for editors and that was what made you decide that Herald duties aren't for you, you may be glad to hear that we've set up an alternative posting process!

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

A Little Extra (Xander, T, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure xover) by [personal profile] madimpossibledreamer

[Chaptered Fiction]

Here Comes Goodbye (Buffy/Spike, unrated) by DeamonQueen

You Are Worth Saving Ch. 3 (Fred/Spike, M) by Kittenwritings

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Inner Demon = Literal Cat, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Desicat

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does the Buffy fandom have a/b/o discourse? by aphony-cree

by hero-adjacent

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[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

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xdestroyaxisxgay · 1 year

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Hi!

I desperately need new friends to rp frerard with!

I'm 21, I write in third person and I try to be active and reply at least once a day (depending also on the lenght of the reply)!

I'd like the replies to be kind of in the middle regarding lenght, no two sentence replies, but I also don't want either of us to feel like we need to force ourselves to write more when we just don't know what to write. I do prefer if your reply is at least a paragraph long, just So there's something to build off of, and of course mine will be too! Obviously sometimes the replies are longer and sometimes they are shorter, I'm not gonna say that I require them to be a certain lenght, I just want us both to put a similar amount of effort and try to keep it going and keep it fun <3.

I prefer to write as bottom Frank, but if you'd rather rp as frank yourself, that isn't a dealbreaker for me at all :). I have no triggers, but I don't enjoy aus that involve too much smut and kinks.

I have a few plots in mind, but I've already rped most of them at least once, so I very much welcome other ideas! Here are some of mine just so you can get an idea if we have similar taste in things we like to rp :)

Gerard is an art teacher at uni, Frank is a college dropout doing all kind of odd jobs to get by. He came upon an advertisement saying that the school is looking for models for the art classes. He messages Gerard and they arrange for Frank's first class. Alternatively Gerard could be a student in said class if you aren't comfortable with the age Gap!

(highschool au) Gerard recently got bitten by a vampire and has been missing a lot of school since. Frank finally questions him about it and after finding out what happened, offers to help with Gerard's ever growing hunger.

Alternatively! If you aren't into hs aus, we could alter this previous one: Gerard's been cancelling band practice instead of missing school. Could take place in any era but i feel like it goes best with bullets!

Ballet au??? Where they were paired to dance together in this like experimental ballet. Frank got cast into what would typically be the 'female' lead, Gerard is the 'male' lead. It's the first time dancing with another guy like that for them both and Frank finds it difficult to adjust to being the one getting lifted and spun around and all that. Or maybe that's just his excuse and the real reason he's so tense is becasue he's got this attractive dancers hands all over him for the majority of the time on stage..

Like I said, I'm open to hearing your ideas as well, I'm sure we can think of something we'll both enjoy! If you wanna give it a try, please message me on discord - malyzombik !

#frerard #frerard rp

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the-breath-in-air · 2 years

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So you're done with Our Flag Means Death, now what...

Whenever I come across a fandom praising a relatively mainstream show/movie for being Peak Gay or the Most Radical Thing Ever, I create a list of other queer media that fans might like. I love Our Flag Means Death, and its certainly doing some unique things. But it's a lovely, unique blend of things found in other media, not something radically new. Hence, this list of series that you might like if you like Our Flag Means Death.

In no particular order:

The Other Two (2019 - present) - The Other Two was marketed as a comedy about the antics of the jealous siblings of a Justin Bieber-like child star. But that's a bit misleading. For one thing, Chase Dreams (the child star) is written to be a genuinely good kid. For another, although it absolutely is a comedy, there's a family tragedy at the heart of the series that really grounds all characters even as they do ridiculous things. And the older siblings aren't really jealous; it's more that they're kind of disasters trying to latch onto Chase's fame to figure out their own lives. The older brother, Carey, is gay and although his character goes through a self-acceptance arc, he doesn't ever have to 'come out,' which is refreshing. The show also satirizes what it's like to be a millennial queer in Hollywood.

Everything's Gonna Be Okay (2020-2021) - Everything's Gonna Be Okay is a series written by Josh Thomas about an autistic gay man who becomes the guardian of his two half-siblings. There are multiple autistic and queer characters portrayed by autistic and queer actors. It's a comedy about dealing with grief as well as being about self-discovery, both for the teenagers and the adults in the story. It's also a story about family supporting each other through difficult challenges.

DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016 - present) - Legends of Tomorrow is about a group of misfits who "screw up history for the better." It's really a hodge podge of DC characters (and original characters) that don't fit into a superhero series of their own. The cast changes frequently, but there is always at least one queer character on the series (and sometimes quite a few). It's full of a bunch of misfits who cause havoc and then try to fix the chaos they created. There is an episode with pirates, and a running gag about an electronic stuffed animal toy and eventually there are same-gender co-captains. The first season is rough, so maybe read a summary and skip to season 2 if you find yourself falling off it after the first couple episodes.

What We Do In The Shadows (2019 - present) - What We Do In The Shadows has been accused of queerbaiting, and not without reason. It's not Supernatural-level queerbaiting by any means, but season 3 seems to really be leaning heavily on the "are they or aren't they" tension between two characters. That said, the series itself is actually hilarious and there are a number of explicitly queer characters.The main characters are vampires and they'e all queer. They're also a found family of misfits and fuckups. And within that dynamic, the story finds real human (or vampire) connections between all these characters. The series style is (like the movie its based on) like a documentary, with interviews and everything. And there are some episodes that really use that framing well, with the fictional camera crew becoming part of the story.

Schitt's Creek (2015-2020) - Schitt's Creek is a comedy series about an obscenely wealthy family that loses all their money and has to move out to a small little rural down named...Schitt's Creek. One of the characters is David, who is pansexual. The story is basically about how this family learns how to love each other and actually be a family...and also come to value their relationships with the other people in the town. The series very deliberately depicts a world in which homophobia exists, but not within the town or amongst the townspeople.

Black Sails (2014-2017) - Black Sails is actually nothing like Our Flag Means Death. It's a pretty grim drama about a queer pirate captain who wages war against the British Empire as revenge for the homophobic violence the empire enacted against his lover. It's about other things too, but that's really the driving motivator of the main character. There are a number of other queer characters as well, though unfortunately only two of them are pirates. If Our Flag Means Death is a rousing cheer, then Black Sails is a roaring rage. Trigger warning for rape, blood, and general violence.

#our flag means death #ofmd #the other two #everything's gonna be okay #legends of tomorrow #what we do in the shadows #black sails #wwdits #dc legends of tomorrow #schitt's creek

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oh-holy-slut · 3 years

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Bloodlust

Pairing: Damon Salvatore x fem!reader

Warnings: smut, explicit language, blood sharing, mentions of death, oral sex

Word Count: 2,6k

Summary: Stefan forced Damon to try his animal diet. Damon hated it, but didn't had a choice... until Reader makes a suggestion. Suddenly things get steamy.

Being with Damon was complicated. Him and Y/N have seen each other a lot in the past weeks. The two of them had a lot of fun; saw a lot of movies. Actually, Y/N was sure Damon secretly hated many of those. However, anytime Y/N suggested another dramatic, romantic cliché movie like "Last Song" - the vampire groaned, put his arm around her shoulder, let her head rest on his chest and endured every single second of the movie of her choice.

Damon even flirted and teased Y/N here and there, but didn't lead to anything more intimate so far.

Today was another of those days. Y/N stuck around at the Salvatore boarding house, brought a few of Damon's favorite groceries and a bunch of movies, of which she thought that they will suit his taste. Even if they were a little to bloody and brutal in her opinion.

"Pick one!", she demanded, holding all three Blu-ray sleeves in front of him. Damon just shrugged, not bothering to even look.

"Don't be a killjoy, Damon Salvatore!" Y/N sighed.

"Tell me what's wrong or pick a movie. You've got no choice. And besides that... Which number of drink is this?" Y/N frowned, pointing at the liquor in her friends hand. Damon usually consumed his beloved bourbon with pleasure.

But the man on the couch didn't seem pleasured at all. His facial features totally hardened and a look in his eyes like he was ready to rip someone's heart out.

You put the disc's back in your handbag, closing the zipper and put the bag on the floor.

"Fine. No movie night today. Who are we going to kill?"

A small smirk appeared on Damon's lips, finally looking towards Y/N.

"Stefan and his hero hair. He made me go vegetarian... well, for a vampire... and I can't get myself to eat one of those chipmunks, bunnies or bambis." He shook himself with disgust.

"And why did he count you in? You clearly aren't excited about the changing... So, why did you agree?"

"He said, he would kill me, which is kinda funny. But-" Damon made a wide gesture "he stole my daylight ring. And he wouldn't give it back until I stop feeding on innocent people - and kill them."

"So, you truly let your younger brother blackmail you like that?! Wow... I don't know how to feel about your dieting or your new path. Or whatever this is supposed to be."

"You don't like me killing people either", Damon maintained, while taking another sip of bourbon.

"Well, I don't", Y/N agreed, took a step forward, stole the glass from the vampires hand and put it on a small table nearby. "But I don't believe in forcing as a method to get people to change their minds. I believe that change for the better must be an intrinsic motivation," she added quickly, giving the vampire an innocent smile.

Damon's lineaments suddenly turned from annoyed to curious. "Any suggestions, little one?" The vampire raised an eyebrow and a little smirk showed up on his lips. On the one hand, Y/N blushed over the nickname, Damon called her. On the other hand she felt skittish looking forward to making a deal with him. Not only a deal. It's far more than a simple agreement.

It's Y/N, actually giving Damon a part of her. The red elixir of life. She was about to give him total control of her body and she not even for a heartbeat doubt that Damon will use it against her.

"Actually... Yeah. There's something on my mind." Y/N said chewing on your lip. "I could open up a vein for you. I mean, you could feed on me. And since you have my permission, there's nothing for anybody to have objection about."

Damon frowned and gave her an incredulous look. "You would do that for me?" The vampire couldn't believe, he understood correctly. Why would Y/N want to get involved with him feeding on her? What's in it for her? Damon tried hard to connect the dots, but he wasn't able to. It all seemed to make no sense. Y/N wouldn't have an advantage of that. The vampire hesitated, pinning his dangerously blue eyes on the girl in front of him.

"Is it so suspicious of me, that I'm trying to help my closest friend?" It pierced Y/N's heart, realizing, Damon's trust in her was rather fragile. "Never mind", she waved the pain away and forced herself to keep her composure. "I only had a hasty idea; you really don't need to fee-"

Suddenly Damon appeared behind Y/N, using his vampirism. "Shhhh", he whispered softly. "I never said, that I don't want your blood. I'm thinking about if we are going to cross a line? Blood sharing can be very personal..."

"It can be? It is personal already. Believe it or not - I'm not gonna offer my veins to all the vampires of Mystic Falls." Y/N rolled her eyes, her arms folded on her chest to point out the indignation she felt right now.

"Kinda sensitive today, huh?" Damon gently stroke a strand of hair behind her ear, Y/N could hear this smug smirk through his words. It was a true 'Damon thing' to do. "I didn't mean it like that, princess." He sighed; unsure if he should agree or not. Damon didn't want to act selfish towards Y/N. He compelled a lot of girls for the purpose of drinking blood in the past. He literally used them as long as they weren't too annoying - and then he acted like they have never met. Damon Salvatore couldn't imagine this scenario with Y/N. They've been so close, the vampire couldn't stand loosing her. The offer was risky, but it also could bring each other even closer.

Damon tried hard to avoid any serious attraction between Y/N and him, afraid of messing up. Indeed, he found himself thinking, and even dreaming, about Y/N more than he wanted to admit. She was smart and had this special sense of humor, the vampire adored so much. She was the only one, who could make him feel good no matter what. Needless to say she had that glimmer in her eyes, when she did something she truly loved. In these moments she was even more pretty. Y/N was hard to resist.

And maybe now he could have her like nobody else. At least the vampire gave in. He wanted her blood. He wanted her.

Y/N flinched by the feeling of Damon brushing her neck with his lips. "Oh, Damon", she gasped. "Bite me." Y/N almost begged for the vampire's teeth breaking through her skin. Damon loved the sound of her husky voice. In less than a heartbeat he turned into his vampire shape. "If you insist", he grinned devilishly, ready to place his teeth on to her skin.

Suddenly Y/N made a slight move forward with the intention to interrupt her friend. "Did you change your mind?" Damon was close to switching back to human, overwhelmed by a mix of emotions. Mostly a lack of understanding, but also a little of disappointment and even anger. Was Y/N playing games on him? While Damon Salvatore was sorting feelings, Y/N turned around, standing now in front of him.

She was so close, not even a piece of paper would fit between them.

Y/N slightly exhaled breath, her eyes darting between the vampires eyes and lips. It was the first time Y/N saw him like this. The icy blue of his eyes, she loved so much, has turned darker. Purple veins appeared under his eyes; Y/N couldn't help herself. Damon's appearance fully intoxicated every fibre of her being. Her fingertips found their way gently brushing over his dark purple veins. She felt heat and softness, while tracing one of them. It took her a few seconds to get out of trance, realizing what she had done. "Sorry", she murmured with a voice barely audible. "Don't apologize, little one." Damon tilted his head, his lips curled up in a self-assured grin, exposing a perfectly white vampire fang. "I never saw you like this before, you loo-"

"... look like a monster?"

Y/N shook her head. It was nothing like that. Yes, he did look unfamiliar. And she should be scared under normal conditions. Instead, his look hit her in an unexpected way. He looked hotter as a vampire, if it was even possible.

Y/N cleared her throat, looking up at Damon. "I feel... attracted to you."

"So nothing's changed", Damon teased, raising his eyebrows. The girl in front of him softly slapped him on his shoulder; which was only possible because the vampire permitted. "You are always so full of yourself." She smirked, feeling more confident being to something, they have had been so many times before. Granted, he was terrifying accurate, but she wouldn't serve her feelings on a silver platter.

"I'm still into it. You can bite me; feed on me. I only needed to see you before..."

A shockwave of electricity flowed through her body the second Damon took her hand and pulled her close.

"I'll be careful", he promised, nuzzling his head into the nap of her neck. Damon once again placed his lips on her soft skin.

Suddenly a harsh pain made Y/N feel like in a kind of haze. She flinched and let out a groan at the same time, unintentionally biting her lower lip.

During Damon embedded his fang deeper and deeper, she started feeling dizzy. Her hands searched for the vampires upper body, finally wrapped around his neck. She needed him to lean on. A narrow trickle of blood flowed down her neck. Let Damon feed on her felt like flames licking up every fiber of her body.

With every passing second Y/N could feel her control slip away. Her body was now firmly pressed against Damon's, like she would want to merge them into one.

Damon noticed her staggering, wrapped his arms around her waist, supporting her.

Bloodlust already messed up the vampires mind, so he continued feeding on Y/N.

A tempting moan escaped her lips, but she didn't care to cover up. Y/N's heart was racing, her eyes flattering. It was almost as if he was about to push her over the edge, but in a different way. "Mmm, this...this… feels soo weird... and so good...", she whispered under a shallow breath.

As soon as Damon heard her fading voice, he abruptly

quitted drinking from her.

"Fuck!" He rapidly laid her on his lap and checked Y/N's vital signs, to make sure she was okay. Instinctively he bit his wrist, pressed it against Y/N's mouth. He knew his blood would heal her, but it wasn't going fast enough. A few seconds passed through, to him they felt like centuries. Y/N finally blinked and Damon was relieved. He cupped her cheeks, his gaze never leaving hers. "I thought, I'd gone-" Damon cleaned his throat. "I'm so glad, you are doing well", he whispered, while trailing her lips with his fingertips. "So, fuckin' glad..." The vampire exhaled a deep breath.

"It... You made me feel good. Strange, but good", Y/N appeased and flushed over the memory. "Maybe you got a little carried away, but I don't mind. I wouldn't trade the feeling for anything."

Y/N quickly interrupted herself, before she could reveal too much.

However, Damon used his vampire skills, noticing that Y/N was hiding something from him. "Isn't there anything else you want me to know?", Damon asked without taking his eyes off her. Y/N shifted and flushed even more. "It's unfair. You use your vampirism to get everything out of me."

"Well, if that were the case, I could easily compel you." Damon shrugged and found back to his smugly self. "Tell me, what you are hiding". He said in a seductive voice.

"I wanted to get lost in you."

Her confession sent shivers all over the vampires body. At first he could not decide, how to handle this. "Are you sure that's what you want? I could really hurt you..." Y/N hummed.

In the next split second, Damon pinned Y/N against a wall, smashing his lips on hers, kissing her with all the passion he had to give. The vampire devoured Y/N with a new kind of hunger. He didn't know he could crave someone so much.

"Fuck me, Damon..."

The vampire felt him getting hard, only by hearing those little three words out of her mouth.

"Say it louder. Tell me, what you want me to do."

Y/N pulled him closer, gently biting his earlobe.

"Fuck... me, Damon." It took her a second to focus and forming the words again. After she was near to climax earlier, it wasn't a long way getting to the edge once more. "Make me cum... You almost had me there..."

A deep moan got over the vampires lips, once he understood, what Y/N was trying to tell him.

With the next blink Y/N found herself in Damon's bedroom, lying on his bed.

From now on there weren't many words needed. Damon's hand's found their way under her shirt, cupping her breasts and make her moan over and over again.

He closely listened to the rhythm of her heart, making sure he would be able to delay her climax to the point he needed her to.

"Don't cum yet... I want to taste your little pussy first."

Y/N grabbed the vampires head, running her fingers through his dark hair - pushing him down, since she was unable to form a single word.

As Damon got down, he didn't take his eyes off Y/N.

He used a hand pushing up her skirt and lightly stroking over her panties with his fingertips.

"My girl is so wet", he praised in a low husky voice."-and I barely touched you."

His dirty words in combination with his touch lead to another moan, almost turned into a scream.

Damon pushed the fabric aside, leaving sloppy kisses on the inside of her thighs.

Y/N's eyes fluttered, when his soft lips reached her middle.

Damon's tongue licking around her entrance was driving her nuts.

"...so delicious..." were the only words she was able to catch up. Damon knew, he couldn't thrill her forever, so he got back to her. He spit on his palms, stroking his hand over his crotch. In under a second Y/N finally felt this releasing pressure of his cock. It was like a switch went off in her brain and she braced herself for the hard thrusts that would follow.

Damon dimmed the whining noises Y/N made with a passionate, hungry kiss.

He cheated with his vampirism to give it to her deeper and faster, knocking out all the air of her lungs while Y/N screamed out Damon's name. Her walls clenched around him and made him twitch. It was like her pussy massaged his dick the best way possible.

Every time he hit her harder and rougher he was making sure he hit her spot with every thrust.

Damon gathered speed one last time and pushed her over the edge until she was a moaning whimpering mess.

With her last contraction around his shaft, Damon was cumming inside her.

"You are so tight, little one", he whispered under his breath. "We should make arrangements more often."

Please like or/and reblog if you enjoyed reading or/and want me to write more stories about Damon.

Thanks guys ❤️

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anime-lover-forever-1127 · 3 years

Text

Watching The Show Where A Klaroliner Creates The TVD Plot (Klaroline) - Chapter 0: Intro

Intro

*****

Disclaimer - (Cause fanfiction is tricky ground and I hope not to offend the creator of the original story and get sued)

I do not own "The Vampire Diaries", it belongs to its original creator Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, and L. J. Smith. Nor do I own "Originals", which belongs to its rightful creator Julie Plec, Michael Narducci, Leslie Morgenstein, Gina Girolamo. This is only a fanfiction that I was inspired to write by the original work. Please support the official release of "The Vampire Diaries" and "Originals". Most of the media - such as the art and illustrations, gifs, video's, etc. used in this fanfiction - are from the web. Thus, most of them aren't mine (because I really, really can't draw) unless mentioned. To fit the story, images are also edited by various apps and websites. So they aren't mine, just edited.

Also if you own a picture or Video that I found online, and you either want your name added, or me to take it down. Please contact me and we can talk it out. P.s. I also ask that you do not copy my work and publish it onto any other website.

Warnings:

*****

Despite what the title suggests, I swear to god this is not a crack fic!

What happens when the Originals, the Mystic Fall gang, and some special guests are whisked away to a room outside of space and time to watch The Vampire Diaries and The Originals.

With me making some special twists of my own.

Because the Originals are GOD DAMN +1000, immortal vampires who should be frickin respected!

Also pairings will include: Klaus/Caroline, Kol/Bonnie/Enzo (Poly), Stefan/Rebekah, Elena/Damon, Finn/Sage, Elijah/Katherine, Marcel/Camile, Silas/Qetsiyah

Bashing: Damon, Elena, Tyler, Cami, Hayley

*****

Things to look forward to:

- Klaus is THE original hybrid, as I intend to treat him as such (and the originals will receive the respect that they deserve

- Silas becoming the father figure Caroline deserves, and shipping Klaroline

- Pregnant Caroline in the show (Courtesy of... Read to find out)

I will be making changes to the show, and the characters will be reacting to them. So it's basically gonna be them reacting to the show (fanfic more than anything) where a Klaroline shipper (A.K.A: Me) writes the plot.

*****

horus1251 on Ao3 issued a challenge, and I was more than happy to write the amazing idea.

*****

Yeah... I may have a slight Klaroline problem...

And you know what. I don't mind! I'm embracing it.

I know I've done a few one shots with Davina bashing. But for this longer fic, I was thinking of not bashing her. Well more like writing the story, and just letting the card drop where they drop. Bash her if I need to, leave her alone and a neutral character if I don't need to.

Because at the end of the day, this is Klaroline. And when a Klaroline shipper is writing the plot, the word does revolve around them. (But honestly, how could TVD not?!)

At this point, whenever I actually watch TVD again, I am shocked by how Klaroline is not the focus, as a result of all the Klaroline fanfic I've been reading.

I'm riding a Klaroline high, and everytime I think I'm coming down, I just end up going higher. I honestly thought I'd be back to writing for anime again two weeks ago, (well still writing Klaroline every few updates) but I still haven't even started!

This was just the Intro, I wanna try and get Chapter 1 for this up within the next three days at least. But depending on how much school work I have, it may take longer.

Anyways,

KLAROLINE FOR LIFE BECAUSE I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP!

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whumpsday · 2 years

Note

How does vampire hunting as a profession work? Like how do they get paid? And does Jim have a job?

great question! i've mentioned this briefly before but didn't go into too much detail. have a GIANT LOREDUMP. most of this will probably not come up in the story since it's not super relevant to the main two characters (a fancy noble vampire and a dude who is not a hunter), but if you wanted to know more about the world, here it is.

vampire hunters are basically freelance bounty hunters employed by the government. if they kill a vampire, they just bring the body in and get paid on a per-kill basis. they get paid a LOT for each kill, because otherwise no one would do it since it's so dangerous. you could make a decent living killing 2 vampires a year. since a vampire can only use persuasion on one human at a time, people tend to hunt in pairs. this would mean killing at least 4 vampires a year. liz has a hunting partner we haven't met yet. they're very good at what they do and get about 6 kills a year.

killing a vampire is hard! they are extremely strong and fast. only rich vampires keep their own humans (gotta have extra space in your house, pay for their food and stuff, etc) but there are other reasons vampires come to human territory. there are basically four types, from least common to most common:

nobles who are getting a new human. this is like kane and his extremely insular community. they will only need to do this once every few decades when their old human dies, and there aren't a ton of nobles, so this is the least common type of vampire spotting. sometimes there will also be a vampire hired to nab a human for a rich vampire who isn't a noble and has no traditions about doing the abducting themselves.

vampires who want to live like "the old ways" (basically how things used to be done 10,000+ years ago before there were territories or hunters) and get their meals by going to human territory every single day and attacking and feeding from a random human. other vampires regard these guys as nuts, and most are killed by hunters within a few months. they're even less common than nobles, but when one does crop up, they do return every day until they're taken out.

vampires who are paid to nab humans for a blood processing facility. this is how the vast majority of vampires get their blood. a lot of humans are kept in these, and their blood is taken, packaged, and sold to the general public. the quality of life in these places is not great, think factory farm, and humans often have to be replaced because they die all the time.

vampires who are paid to steal supplies for captive humans. most of the stuff for humans kept in blood processing facilities, such as food, is grown in vampire territory. rich vampires who keep their own humans tend to want fancier stuff, such as fortified cereals (very iron-rich and helps with blood regeneration) to make their humans higher-quality.

vampire hunters will patrol populated areas at night and try and see if they can find one to take out. they make their own hours and can work as much or as little as they want, but if they don't patrol at least like half the nights in a week, the chances that they'll find a vampire are basically zero. it's extremely rare to see a hunter who's done it for over a decade without dying.

jim does not have a job. he lives off royalties. humans don't escape vampire territory pretty much ever. if they do it's usually that they were able to escape mid-capture, it's 100% unheard of to escape after being captive for FIVE YEARS. i mentioned this before but he is mildly famous (think on the level of the guy from 127 hours, maybe a little more famous than that). when he got out, he was interviewed about his experience, and a book was written based on the interview, which became a wildly popular best-seller. this was 10 years ago. it's gonna run out eventually, but he's good on money for now.

#ask #k&j ask

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anystalker707 · 3 years

Text

Pleasantly Surprising

Pairing: Gerard x Reader Word count: ~ 4 000 Genre: Fluff / Enemies to lovers Summary: (Y/n) meets a nice group of guys in a concert. Warning: Blood, but no violence or wounds description.

Requested on Wattpad

a/n: This one if for you blood kink bastards </3

(Y/p) = Your pronouns

Feeling the cold night air filling my lungs with a faint smell of grass is much better than the smoky and sweaty, heavy air present among the public that gets worse near the mosh pit. I lean back against the brick wall, feeling the cold surface through the thick jeans of my jacket, digging into my shoulder blades as I try to control my breathing, quietly watching the band leaving the stage to give place to another.

My throat feels dry, aching the slightest after I swallow around the sharp and cold breaths, so I look around for a stand to buy at least a soda, ankling over to the nearest one. The line isn't actually that long – thank hell –, but that doesn't prevent a random bastard from trying to cut in line.

"Hey, what in the fuck you think you're doing?" I raise an eyebrow, pulling them back by their collar and they just look at me with this sulky face, bottom lip sticking out and lip ring glowing lightly under the reduced lighting. "No cutting in!"

"Says who?" they retort bitterly. "What you gonna do about it?"

"Aw, bold, aren't we?" I raise an eyebrow, glancing down and... the motherfucker is wearing school clothes, lacking the tie and shirt untucked. Private school. "What are you? Not like the other kids? The line isn't even that long, stupid."

"Fuck off," they sigh, shrugging out of my grip and harshly fixing their clothes.

"Frank– Fuck, Frank, the hell, can't we leave you alone for a single second?" A random voice suddenly interrupts our interaction before a tall person approaches, a motherly and worried air lacing their gaze. They look from me to Frank before exhaling, raising an eyebrow, at which Frank shrugs. "I'm sorry for whatever Frank did, he–"

"Fuck, no, Ray!" Frank cuts them off, "you're not playing the good guy here! I was just trying to–"

"Trying to cut in the line, yeah, very nice of you, isn't it?" I roll my eyes, twisting my mouth. At least he isn't lying, but is he stupid or something? Why would he try to convince us what he was trying to do was alright?

It looks like Frank is going to argue for a second, but ends up just groaning through gritted teeth and looking away with a sigh and tense shoulders.

Ray doesn't look any amused, only observing Frank like who looks at a puzzle after having tried to solve it for weeks without success. They shake their head, turning to me instead. "I'm Ray, he/him, nice to meet you. Sorry for Frank, what he did is... unfortunately usual."

I observe him looking at him from head to toes. School uniform just like Frank's, tucked shirt, loose tie. "Hi. I'm (y/n), (y/p). And don't worry, I would've done the same," I breathe, looking away from the two to hand the person behind the counter the money after pointing to the drink I want.

"What?" Frank gasps. "You would've done the same and still acted all like that towards me?"

I roll my eyes, sighing. "Me doing it doesn't mean I like being affected by it." I grab the change, shoving it in my pocket then step aside for Frank and Ray, cracking the can open.

"Y'know–" Frank crosses his arms over his chest, throwing his nose in the air, "–my momma says that you should treat the others as you want to be–"

"Aw, honey, so you'd like me cutting in the line right in front of you? Shamelessly?" I raise an eyebrow at him, unable to hold back a grin when his face gets bright red, hands balling into fists. Not gonna lie, it's kinda cute how he twists his mouth. Frank is about to curse when Ray is shoving a couple of cans into his hands – a sigh leaves his lips instead. "Two for each?" I question and sip on my drink.

Frank smirks, looking at me with humor. "Yeah, wanna watch me drink them at once?"

Ray rolls his eyes at Frank, shoving him out of the way after noticing there were people behind them. "We're actually with two other friends. Are you alone here? Do you wanna come along?" He smiles, ignoring Frank's complaints, so I opt for doing the same.

"I guess that'd be nice," I hum, shrugging. Otherwise, I'd be going home right now and Ray actually seems nice... I mean, Frank does too, but I'm not feeding his ego.

The other two stand against a brick wall when we find them, both quietly chatting to each other until seeing us approaching. The first one doesn't exactly react, more interested in the can Ray hands him, but the second, greasy punk, hums questioningly, straightening their posture as taking a good look at me almost like I did to Frank earlier. "And who are you?"

"(Y/n), (y/p)," I mutter, looking at them from over the rim of the can, taking a sip of my drink.

"Found lying in the trash when I approached," Frank adds, but doesn't seem so confident after I playfully shove him aside.

"Gerard, he/they," Gerard replies, eyes never averting away from mine. What is he, kind of a gang leader? Got a hell of an ego, though a bit differently from Frank – I'm noticing a pattern here, huh. "Mikey, he/him," he continues, nodding to the other guy.

I throw my empty can in a trashcan before leaning in towards Gerard. He tries to escape the touch, but he's against a wall, there's nowhere to go. How cute. "Belleville High," I say, finally able to make out what the small black letters embroidered on the chest area says, and step away, allowing Gerard to breathe. "Isn't it that private school? Catholic one? Wow, who'd know I'd find BH students here!"

"Stereotyping, are we?" Frank raises an eyebrow. It's impossible holding back a smile at him.

"No, never," I chuckle. "It's just a... rare occurrence. You came here right after school?"

"Not really." Ray shakes his head. "Just didn't have the opportunity to change. Good thing it's Friday, tho," he chuckles humorlessly and I nod in a silent agreement.

"And where do you study?" Frank takes a better look at my face. "If you study, that is."

I scoff, but don't reply just yet. Mikey is the most tidied up out of the four whereas Gerard has his tie loose around his neck, shirt untucked, blazer all wrinkled. "Of course I study, dumbass!" I glare. "But I'm in the public school near the park. But I've seen you before." I nod towards Gerard. "Just don't know where."

Gerard's eyes narrow. "Are you sure?"

"It's not always that I see a greasy vampire looking around, so yeah."

A silence hovers between us for a moment, both of us staring at each other until he feigns unamusement, looking away – I smile with a stupid pride swelling in my chest.

The night ends with us exchanging numbers after a solid hour of joking around and throwing sarcastic insults at each other. Teasing Gerard was particularly fun because he often ran away from the whole joking or at least tried to and even Mikey laughed when it failed, though sometimes succeeding when Frank finally managed to get the spotlight on himself. Ray is sweet, despite being the perfect example for 'looks like a cinnamon roll, but can actually kill you.'

Gerard got my attention, to be honest.

Saturday and Sunday go by quite slowly and thankfully texting the guys every five minutes doesn't make it as depressing as usual. Texting Gerard isn't the same as texting Frank – who replies a text to each word I send him –, however. Gerard often replies with a word or a vague comment and guess what? I'm only more interested.

No Gerard manages to slip between my thoughts during school, but it ends up happening as soon as I step past the gates. Belleville high, isn't it? Shitty elite, but they don't really seem to be like that... let's see if that wasn't just great acting. That's not even a mile away from here. I look down the street, the direction opposite to where I would usually go. It won't hurt to say hi, right? Not to mention I've got nothing to do for the rest of the day.

Belleville High's classes finish about ten minutes later compared to my school's, so I don't bother walking too fast, but not slow enough to let my palms get clammy or overthink anything. Amazing how I can feel like this about people I only met once. Okay, whatever, take a deep breath because I guess I know these curls.

"Look at who we have here!" I throw an arm around Frank's neck, interrupting whatever they were doing and attracting wide eyes towards me. Turns out I found them earlier than expected, hanging out in the park.

"Damn, are you everywhere?" Frank raises an eyebrow at me and presses his lips together, though never stepping away. Blood?

"Who knows?" I joke. "Also..." I trail off, only now taking a good look at them. "Man, what in the hell fucking happened to you guys? Seriously–" I yank a paper off Frank's back, sighing at the 'kick me' written across it and hand it to him, shaking my head. What fucking idiot did this? How the hell did they even get into a fight? It doesn't seem like they were fighting each other.

Frank groans poorly, wadding the paper into a ball and tossing it at the nearby trash can. He's got a few scratches above his eyebrows and blood trailing down the corner of his lips. Mikey and Gerard are probably in the best state out of the four – Gerard got blood trailing down his nose and same for Mikey, though on opposite sides and Mikey's cheek is smeared with blood. I can't say the same about Ray... I don't know how he's not even wincing with all that blood trailing down his face.

"Well," Mikey breathes, bringing a hand to the back of his head, "you can say that–"

"Why do you even want to know?" Gerard steps forward, hands clenched into fists by his sides. "You got nothing to do with it, okay?"

"Aw," I breathe a chuckle. So he wants things to happen like this? But does he have the nerve to keep it? I may not have known him for long, but the attitude is clearly foreign, unmatching. "And what, baby? You lost, didn't you? And you're a fucking sore loser!"

"I just don't see why you should know." He twists his mouth, looking at me uninterested, but it doesn't take long until he's looking at me with these eyes, irises barely seen, eyebrows scrunched close. "And don't talk to me like that! Maybe it would even be better if you fucked off and left us alone, don't you think?"

Man, he talks a lot. Too much. No wonder why he's in such a state. Maybe he'll shut up if I...

"Holy..." Frank trails off with a quiet chuckle and I'm certain Gerard would have glared at him if he wasn't processing what just happened.

Meanwhile, Mikey and Ray stare at me with wide eyes – as wide as Gerard's, but they're not as petrified as Gerard is, for sure, only with hesitant, unsure grins on their faces. I suppress the urge to laugh at Gerard, instead more focused on rubbing my tongue against the roof of my mouth, trying to get rid of the salty and metallic taste.

A quiet sound comes from Gerard as he finally moves, maybe a groan, not sounding really comfortable. He brings a hand up to his lips. The perfect trail of almost dry blood is now smudged, following the direction I licket it to, having the blood smeared across his chin and bottom lip. "Ugh, ugh, ugh," he groans, frantically cleaning his lips and chin with the back of his wrist, against the sleeve of his blazer. "What the fuck? You're gross!"

I roll my eyes with a sigh. "Man, I wonder why I thought being an asshole could be solved."

"Eh, trust me, he isn't normally like this," Ray says with a shrug, looking at Gerard like if he was a chained angry dog even after receiving a glare.

No one gives Gerard's tantrum much attention as we soon sit down on the grass and change the subject before we can notice. Surprisingly, Gerard sits down next to me. Even more surprisingly, he leans closer at some point and whispers, "well, look at who's the vampire now."

Saying Gerard's words got stuck in my head would be an understatement. Maybe it's a nightmare, maybe it's not, but it does get me randomly blushing or stupidly grinning during random times of the day. Nonetheless, school the following day does help a bit with cleaning my head a little.

After a few hours of staring at blackboards, the setting changes to staring at records hanging on the walls and it's honestly better. Incoherent, loud chatter being changed to music of my choice is a lot better, even if I need to talk to a customer now and then.

"This is the place I told you about. I've only been here once, but it seems good," a voice says from the outside, but I don't look up from my homework.

"Never been here," someone else says. A pause follows then their footsteps sound clearer and I sigh, shoving my things on the space under the counter.

"Hello, good afternoon," I say automatically, holding back a groan at how my eraser insists on falling and grabbing it fast. "How can I help you?" I finally look up just to freeze. And the four have the same reaction, to be honest. "I knew I had seen you before," I say to Gerard.

"What a small world!" Frank approaches, immediately narrowing his eyes and throwing his nose in the air as looking over to me. "So you're not a rebel who only wanders around and goes to free concerts during the night and stalks us?" He raises an eyebrow, looking around the place, inspecting the shelves full of records and CDs.

"So you only got one set of clothes?" I mock, staring at his school uniform.

Frank exhales, shoulders dropping. "We just got here from school." He motions vaguely to his messenger bag and I nod, humming, not like it matters a lot.

While we talk, Ray and Mikey wander around, talking quietly to each other and sometimes taking a record in hand, but Gerard... he stands there awkwardly, observing Frank and I with a lost gaze. What is he doing? Trying to act all cool like last time? Or doesn't know how to react?

"Hello," I greet, which sounds more like a question. Frank turns around to look at him, apparently understanding Gerard as much as I do.

Gerard presses his lips together and steps forward, also leaning against the counter. "You didn't mention you work here."

"Didn't have a reason to." I shrug.

The corner of his lips twitch and he's holding eye contact until sighing. "Okay, whatever. Got anything new on Misfits or Pumpkins? Also, Bauhaus." He glances at me, black strands falling over his eyes for a moment before he's pulling them away. Cute.

"Of course." I grin, moving to the cabinets behind the counter.

Frank eventually darts off as I show Gerard the records and cassettes like he wanted. I glance around to make sure Frank is paying attention to whatever Mikey is telling him and Ray before I turn to Gerard again, grinning lightly. "Y'know," I mutter, leaning forward with my elbows over the counter. "I've got passes for a bar concert tonight. Wanna come?"

"What do you mean by passes?" His eyes never avert from the records – he runs his fingers over them delicately, examining each of them closely.

"Each ticket was about ten dollars and they're sold out, but the store is sponsoring the event and I got free passes." I smirk, watching his eyebrows raise lightly. "I usually can get one person in with me. What do you say?"

He pauses. "Why me?"

"Because you're the one I know the least." And also the one I'm interested in. "Pick you up at seven, what do you say?"

He sighs. "I'll text you my address."

"Wow, you're..." Gerard stares at me with a blank face, standing there and letting all the cold air get in. He rushes into the car, closing the door carefully.

"I'm...?" I raise an eyebrow, sinking my foot down on the gas, pulling away from the sidewalk.

"I don't know." Silence. "Not what I expected."

"Glad to know." I grin. "You're also not what I expected. You're never what I expect, to be honest..." He wasn't all open in the beginning, but also wasn't the asshole he was in the park – in his defence, at least, he had just gotten out of a fight, nerves still on edge. At the store, however, he seemed more like himself. "Also, you're looking good."

Gerard's eyes are surrounded by eyeliner and a red eyeshadow – definitely nothing I would see him in, but also nothing I'm disappointed about –, bringing out his paleness. And for the first time, he isn't wearing that stupid school uniform and fancy shoes are replaced by platform boots. A leather jacket clutches his shoulders, decorated with a few studs and patches, and covering a nice Slipknot shirt. And there are his jeans, fucking tight and I swear I hadn't noticed this guy got such a nice ass and, fucking hell, it's difficult not staring at his thighs flat on the seat, with a chain falling over one of them.

"Thank you," he mutters quietly. Even in the reduced lighting, I can see his cheeks gaining a red tone before he looks away.

The place is crowded, but not overly – which is why the tickets were even sold, at first place – and it's fun seeing Gerard's chin drop when he looks at the sign of the place. To simplify, everyone is either always wanting to play in this bar or come watch someone play and the tickets are not only always sold in small quantities, but also expensive.

"Let's go," I chuckle after having spent a good moment observing Gerard.

We jog across the street, towards the entrance, just straight away skipping the whole line. The guy in charge of letting people in looks at us indifferently, in a silent question, muscles clear under the tight staff shirt. Even if there's no visible difference in his expression, he does relax a bit after I show him my pass and steps aside to let us in.

"Wow," Gerard mutters, almost inaudibly.

"You like it?" I ask as we walk through the people. No answer comes. He stayed back, of course; the boy is kinda shy and hesitant, after all. "C'mon!" I take a hold of his hand to pull him with me until we're in the bar area, which's much calmer. He stands there for a moment, looking around, until I point at one of the stools, sitting down on the one beside it.

Gerard shifts on his seat, hands resting on his lap and clenched into fists. He observes everything with wide eyes and I can't bring myself to avert my attention away from him. He's beautiful.

When the band starts playing, however, the atmosphere starts changing. It's a classic punk band – the kind of people you'd see around in skate lanes, spraying anarchist messages on a building's wall or behind a McDonald's counter – and the music is good, nonetheless, raw and emotional and demanding. Great to dance to.

Gerard is shy, as already stated – what makes me wonder how he even agreed on coming –, taking a good time to actually stand up from the stool and join me.

His hand is warm under mine, maybe not as warm as his cheeks seem to be. I had taken it in mine to pull him up from the stool, only, but he didn't let go and... oh well. Aren't you interesting, Gerard? I grin to myself and take his other hand to pull him to dance with me; that if you consider moving around to the rhythm of the song some kind of dance, but Gerard doesn't complain.

I'm not sure how much time goes by – I only question myself about that once the band is saying good night, breathing audibly as they get off the stage. The live music is replaced by a momentary incoherent chatter when loud music fills the place again, this time coming from the speakers. Gerard and I are out of breath when averting our attention from the stage to each other. My arms feel a bit sore after all of that, almost the opposite to my numb legs.

"Wanna grab a drink?" I nod towards the bar. "We can go to the alley to take a breath, then."

"Sounds good."

The non-alcoholic drinks are as cold as the night air, suddenly making it even more obvious how much we jumped around to the band's sound. We lean against the wall opposite to the side of the bar and I look at Gerard, watching his chest rise and fall fast, only coming to a longer pause when he brings the glass to his lips. He observes something above us, maybe the sky, but I don't care.

"Your nose is bleeding again." I suddenly note, seeing the dark red trail now almost reaching his upper lip. Not a surprise. He hurt his nose not much over a day ago and all the jumping must have opened the wound.

"Fuck." Gerard brings a hand to his nose and sighs when seeing the red stain on his fingers; I chuckle softly, halfheartedly. "What? You wanna lick it again?" he teases, raising an eyebrow at me. He apparently opts for not ruining the sleeve of his leather jacket, regarding it more than his school blazer.

I roll my eyes, smiling helplessly. "Well, if you'd like me to," I decide to tease back, looking at him through half lidded eyes.

"Ah, you wouldn't dare!" He chuckles, blood staining his lips according to how he talks.

"You think so, honey?" I raise an eyebrow. A few stutters come from him, but I just grab his glass and set it aside with mine, on the ground, before stepping towards him. "Tell me, why are you always so... bold around me? It's clear it's not part of you, as Ray even said." I suppress a humorous chuckle at how he frantically backs away against the wall, having nowhere to go. This brings me memories. "Maybe it has a specific reason?"

Gerard's eyes are wide, lips twitching, though no word ever comes through and his expression changes instantly once I get a hold of his hips and pin him to the wall. Feeling the heat coming from his cheeks is almost possible and all that resistance is gone, tendering into compliance and shyness.

"Look at you, Gerard," I mutter, rubbing circles into his hips as leaning in. "How surprising can you be?"

Having Gerard only letting out a quiet whine in response as his hands rest hesitantly over my shoulders make my heart flutter in my chest. I finally lean in, pressing my lips to Gerard's; he returns the kiss right away, lips sliding against mine easily.

And there it is; the rich metallic taste of Gerard's blood. I run my tongue over his bottom lip, snatching a hum from him, which turns into a whining-gasp once my teeth sink into it slightly.

His hands tighten around my shoulders, I grip harder onto his hips in consequence and he's sent relaxing back against the wall. He never had control over the kiss, but he's suddenly just giving up on the power at once with a quiet sound, slowly wrapping his arm around my neck to pull me closer and I gladly deepen the kiss.

"Wow, love," I breathe as soon as we part the kiss, lungs screaming for air. Gerard doesn't reply verbally, with his lips brushing lightly against mine and, by now, the blood is starting to get sticky, on its way to drying, also on my lips.

"I hope we can go out more often," he mutters shyly, not long before burying his face in the crook of my neck.

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lazzledazzler · 3 years

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Lazzle's Rune Factory 5 Review

Alright so here are my thoughts and experiences with RF5! This is a big boy so buckle in earthmates...

Obviously this review will contain spoilers, read at your own risk.

Initial thoughts upon playing...

Great opening! I enjoyed the jazz music~ I did feel like it leaned a bit more towards the male player though. It definitely feels like a rune factory game. It's familiar, and controls are easy to get accustomed to for the most part. The mold is there and rf5 doesn't stray too far from its predecessors which is comforting for veterans. That being said, I'm not going to pull any punches and will critique this game harshly. Keep in mind as updates for the game are released not all things discussed in this review will be as relevant overtime!

Let's hear some thoughts on...

The story/plot. The plot is enjoyable overall. I'm not crazy about the whole Seed organization thing but it was a neat idea. They address the Sechs Territory and it is confirmed that the game takes place some decades after RF4. But by the end of it, I didn't feel like I really accomplished anything because it felt like I barely did anything really. Also they left a lot of stuff unanswered. I'm not even sure I understood the message they were sending, if they were trying to send a message at all. The main story is too short, and it doesn't involve enough of the townsfolk. You're basically doing everything yourself in secret the whole time and the townsfolk barely know what's actually going on. Out of the love interests, Lucas plays the largest part in the story, followed by Priscilla and Scarlett. The story feels targeted at male audiences--at least that's how I felt. You, the player, have a larger role in the game, much like in RF3 and I was glad to see this. As of right now there are only two arcs. Praying for DLC 3rd arc...!

Protagonists. The latest protagonists to join the crew of Earthmates are...decent. Their designs are nothing special unfortunately, though I appreciate Alice's more than Ares's. Appearance-wise they lack personality and creativity. Personality wise I am pleasantly surprised with how sociable they are. They're not exactly quick witted and sassy like Lest/Frey were in rf4, or as endearing as Micah in rf3, but they have a certain realness to them that makes their reactions to things believable. I'm certain Xseed will see to making them a bit more sarcastic in their localizing efforts, so let's all look forward to that. Overall though, while I appreciate their mannerisms, they don't really measure up to all the previous amnesiacs we've grown to love over the decades.

Characters. Overall I enjoy all the characters introduced in Rune Factory 5! I feel like there is someone for everyone in this game on some level. The voice acting was pretty good for every character. The designs are very much Rune factory. Like OG runefa, compared to rf4 ( 4 kind of strayed from their usual style) which I like. Characters still have their own signature quirks that you find endearing. Although I would have liked to see more variety? Like we've had mermaids, univir, half monsters, vampires, etc in previous titles but rf5 only gives us the usual (half) elf, dwarf, and then a succubus (physically she doesn't have unique features aside from the ears and heart eyes), and some were-people. I was hoping for something more unique to really give that classic runefa vibe.

Dungeons/Battles. I'm pretty split on this one. On the one hand, the dungeons have more depth due to the 3D aspects. They've included more contraptions that are very fun to see even if they aren't executed that well. So I'm grateful for that. On the other hand, the dungeons are insanely short imo. It doesn't take long at all to get to the boss. The puzzles are also pretty subpar and few compared to RF4. Fighting monsters is similar to the other games. You can lock on now but I only use it when I'm trying to use my Seed Circle. The lock on feature is actually counter-intuitive and makes it harder to dodge. Weapon mechanics have shifted a bit. There’s a feature that makes you invincible to damage if you time the R button dash correctly. Axes and Hammers are significantly slower than in older games? Like. I thought I was in slow motion it was so slow. Lances are also harder to use as well? I'm questioning my sanity here. I don't know if it's a bug or intentional either.

Farming. Not much has changed from previous games mechanics wise. They added new types of special crops which is neat. The camera view changes to overhead when you go near your fields though, and it can make you dizzy/uncomfortable. It actually makes it a bit difficult to see at times so I wish there was a way to adjust the angle. If you are tilling corn or dried weeds to improve the soil, you need to place them separately if you don't want to use the entire stack. Otherwise, it will till the entire stack on the land if you place them all down at once. The flower shop is unlocked late in the story. Weird thing to do considering you need flowers to make medicine. Not to mention the fact that you wont have access to the fertilizer that increases defense against typhoons? During typhoon season? Thinking emoji...

The town. I have to say Rigbarth's design is poor compared to Sharance, Selphia, etc. It's too big and it takes too long to get around. Everything is too spaced out and there aren't enough warp points to make it easier on players. I don't want to walk an entire mile up a hill to talk to one person and then walk all the way down to the beach to speak to another. It doesn’t really feel like a ‘town’.

OST/BGM. Music was good, though nothing really stood out to me where I'd go "damn this slaps" or something. I think they might've had some old soundtracks from rf2 or something because it felt really nostalgic at times.

We need an exterminator. (Bugs Bugs Bugs)

Marvelous, I don't know how to tell you this buuut...your customers are NOT your testers. When you release a game, you need to make sure it's not littered with glitches because customers don't enjoy dealing with them and will drop the game!

Here are some of the types of glitches I encountered:

Crashing. Game would randomly crash or freeze and close at any moment. Sooooo frustrating! Sometimes you get lucky with the autosave feature, but the autosave only activates every morning at 6am in your room and then when you warp to a dungeon level/floor. So when you're in the middle of your daily tasks in town and it crashes, you have to start all over. Marveloussss no one enjoys losing their progress in a game I promise you that much.

Lag. The dialogue bar is seriously slow, especially after loading your file. Crafting/Cooking screen lags. When you press the Y button to skip through dialogue it lags like hell. Pretty much after every time you load the game will lag, the audio will lag if you're in a battle, everything is just. so. slow.

Repeating dialogue. So if you close your game entirely (or if it crashes) naturally you'll reload your file to continue where you left off. There's a bug that will cause all NPCs to repeat the last dialogue that occurred from whatever plot related thing you did last. So for example, if the last thing you did in the story was unlock Ludmilla, everyone in town will naturally have some dialogue about her. But even after seeing all this dialogue and even saving, if the game is closed and reloaded you'll have to read all that dialogue again from townsfolk. It got really annoying after a while.

Monster taming. One time I tamed a monster but once I named it and hit 'ok' the monster never showed up in my barns? Just. gone. Okaaaay then...? Additionally, I expanded one of my monster barns but all of the monsters I tamed wouldn't appear in the added room. You get 4 monsters for each room but the monsters I tamed would show up in the original room. Meaning I had like 7 monsters in one room! I tried to bring them into the newly added room but they would just warp back to the other room. Sad.

Pond Glitch. I fished in the pond located in Sasayaki Forest and left the fish I caught but didn't want laying around the water's edge. If you leave fish around the pond's edge and go to sleep, the next morning you will be teleported to the pond and trigger the fairy dialogue as if you had thrown all of the fish into the pond??? So the dialogue of her telling you she wants 'X item, not this!' will trigger over and over for all of the fish you left at the water's edge. RIP.

Party member Bug. I had Martin in my party and I made him leave. Then when I went into my monster barns to get a monster pal to join me instead it showed me Martin's portrait???? Also I've encountered a bug where I can no longer ask anyone to join my party for some unknown reason. The R &L button prompt was just gone when I reloaded.

Errors. When cooking or crafting, the dialogue box shows up sometimes...

Typos. Random average typo here and there. Not a real biggie but there is one instance where the heroine will use the japanese male pronoun "boku" instead of "watashi" which really convinced me that this game was completely intended for men lol.

Let's talk about Pros

The good stuff. The stuff that makes you all warm and fuzzy inside.

Plot Advancing. Now I'm gonna put this as a pro because I'm certain the average player will enjoy this even though I do not. There are now markers on the map to show you where to go to advance the plot. This is all well and dandy, but it also made the story less appealing for me because you don't need to go around town and speak to residents for clues or assistance to advance anything in the story.

3D Graphics The 3D models are all amazing. The interior designs of the houses/buildings are also incredibly detailed and realistic.

Collecting items. Now there's a feature that will allow you to collect items into your inventory just by walking over them. This is pretty neat and welcome for the most part. Once the item is sparkling, you can walk over it and it'll go into your rucksack automatically. This also makes lumbering and mining go much faster. Yay!

The miraculous L pocket. Now you can customize the categories that appear in your L pocket by going to the rucksack tab in the menu. This is a super neat feature that makes things easier on players who want to manage their items in a format that suits them.

Weapon/Tool Toggling. You can now toggle between your equipped weapon and tool by pressing the left or right buttons on the trackpad.

Collecting lumber/material stone. Oh lord this is probably the most welcome improvement moving forward from the previous game. You can now put all of the lumber and material stone from your inventory into its storage at once. This also applies to fodder for tamed monsters. Well done Hakama.

Autosave. This feature is a welcome addition to the series. The game will save your data every morning and every time you enter a dungeon. Autosave has really saved my ass a few times when I made a huge error in judgement so I'm incredibly grateful for this feature. And it doesn't save over your actual save file--there's a separate autosave file at the very top. So if you messed up something but already saved on your main file, you can still salvage your mistake by reloading the autosave! I just wish it activated a bit more often sometimes.

Warping. Now we can warp to each level in a dungeon as well as certain places on the map in town. It's pretty convenient for the most part.

Increased party members. Now you can have up to 3 members in your party! Hooray! Party members act more intelligently than in older games. Scarlett can use the Seed circle to assist you in fights. I think she also tosses healing potions at you occasionally. So far, no one has tossed a dish at me if I haven't eaten like Kiel and Clorica did in rf4. But I have been hit by a failed dish (from reinhardt?) and a healing potion (from scarlett). Scarlett, Priscilla, and Reinhardt are the most helpful when dungeon crawling in my experience. Some of them however, (looking at you Doug) don't shut the hell up with their one line of dialogue they have and repeat it constantly.

Seed Circle. This neat feature allows you to capture monsters. By charging it and releasing you can capture monsters for the bounty system or add them to your party temporarily. If you throw it without charging it, you can stun monsters in place momentarily or grab things from far away. When stunning monsters, it can also give you the monster's drop item occasionally. Unfortunately it uses a lot of RP so it can be difficult at times.

Combo attacks. This is a neat feature that I appreciate and use often for boss fights. They do some serious damage so it's good to save them for the bosses. The actual cutscenes aren't that impressive, and feel kind of subpar when you get down to it but I think it's a start in the right direction.

Farm Dragons. I'm listing this as a pro although I really just see it as a new feature. Farm dragons have fields on their backs that you can place monster barns on and farm on. Giving them certain crystals will give your fields boosts in certain criteria, like length of growth, soil quality, you get it. I personally don't use the crystals because I couldn't give a shit lmao I have men and women to woo here. But if you're into this kinda thing then it's a pro.

Storage. When opening your storage box, fridge, etc. you can actually hit the R & L buttons to switch between ALL of your other storages. Looooove thissss. Great addition. So much faster to put items away in their respective places.

Crafting/Forging. Now we can also use the R & L buttons to alternate between the different weapon types/accessory/gear types instead of having to exit the menu and going back in each time you want to make something different.

Cooking. More recipes have been added. Yay!

Days are longer now. More time to get shit doneeeee ayyyy

Fishing. They've added many more fish to the game! Now the player will shout something when you get a bite, making it easier for you to hit B at the right moment. Nice. Also if you fail or press B too early, the fish doesn't vanish most of the time. Also nice. There is now a feature to fish with another person's assistance. Once a day you can investigate the sign near the fishing station and someone might offer to lend you a hand. Press the B button at the right moments on the slider and you can get a rare fish that can't be caught normally.

Monsters. New types of monsters! Love the designs. Even the monsters that are the same but just have different skins are really neat. They look great in the 3D format too. You can even ride with up to two people on certain monsters! Some bosses had awesome designs while others...were bad.

New Types of Furniture. The carpenter store has a wide arrange of furniture you can buy for your home. It also has wallpapers and stuff which is really neat. Though unfortunately you can't even sit on some of the furniture so that's a shame.

Events. Now there is a system where events are triggered by approaching an icon on the map. This is probably an improvement to RF4's randomized system, though personally I found it annoying because it meant that I had to see the events before I could just enter a building normally. Sometimes I just wanted to get shit done and not have to read through walls of text for someone's love event when I just want to buy something.

Voiced Lines. The protagonist seems to have more voiced lines, as do other characters. Good!

Let's talk about Cons

Not including glitches. Oh boy. So many cons. Where do I start?

Dialogue. Probably the most notable con in the entire game. The dialogue is drastically minimal in comparison to previous games, especially rf4. There is probably a quarter of the amount of dialogue compared to rf4's insane amount of content if not less. Townsfolk repeat themselves. Often. Too often. Am I playing Harvest Moon? Originally I thought it was because the dialogue is randomized, but I think it's actually because more dialogue is unlocked as you raise townspeople's FP. Despite this, there's no linear build up where you start off as acquaintances and eventually become very close like in rf4 because of how sporadic the LP/FP is. Townsfolk don't even talk to each other. One of the greatest perks about runefa is the conversations townsfolk can have with one another. Residents randomly gathering in small groups to talk about anything. Previously you could add someone to your party and sometimes a dialogue will occur if you speak to the right person at the right time with that person in your party. This is nonexistent now. The only time they do this in rf5 is during the festivals. But, it will only trigger if you have unlocked all the characters in each marriageable lineup and they can't be in your party. The residents will talk about one another but that's pretty much it outside of town events. They got rid of all the minor dialogue that occurs too. Trying to sleep in someone's bed while they're right there? They wont comment. Inspecting objects in stores while the shopkeeper is present? Wont say anything. Take a character with you to a dungeon/boss fight? Their lips are sealed. Where's my sense of community? :(

FP/LP This ties into the dialogue issue. The rate at which LP/FP increases is sporadic as hell. You can go from 1FP/LP to 4FP/LP just by giving a gift sometimes. I wouldn't even speak to people and their affinity increased by like triple for no reason. Then it increases by like 2% for the longest time. Argh!!!

Graphics. I don't consider myself very picky when it comes to graphics. I don't really mind that the foliage and scenery are at the level of a ps2 game at best. I tried playing on my television initially, but the lag and camera operability was too much so I fully switched (haha puns) to handheld. One thing that sucked is that I literally cannot tell the difference between medicinal herbs, antidote grasses, and green grasses without the captions because the graphics are so indistinguishable. So when you're trying to pick up multiples of those items by holding the A button, you're just randomly walking over anything green in the hopes that you'll get the right ones...

Lack of Sound Effects. Something I noticed is they got rid of the sound effects that will play when you complete a puzzle or add someone to your party. When you try to brush a monster there's no sound for the '♪' they make when you successfully brush them. So it was hard for me to tell if I had actually brushed them or not. I was a bit saddened by the lack of cute sounds.

Too much free range. From the very beginning of the game, you're allowed to go pretty much wherever you want when leaving town. It was too easy to stumble into high enemy level territory without knowing, so when I was like level 5 so I got KO'd immediately.

Artwork. The portraits seem to be lower in quality somehow. Runefa has always had shitty portrait art imo but this time it's even worse. Many character's eyes looked fucked up. Though the 3D models are insanely good for mostly every character except Terry. Terry's 3D model looks Terryfying and I prefer his portrait.

Festivals. They've added some new festivals. Some I enjoy. Some not so much. They changed the format of the eating contest. It's horrible. Good luck with that one.

L pocket + R button? They got rid of the feature that lets you skip to the other end of your items when opening the L pocket by pressing R button. I really liked that feature because it made it faster to reach my items so I was bummed that they got rid of it.

Gotta go fast. Now when you speak to someone, it doesn't 'stop time' as you might say it did in previous games. So people are still moving about as you speak to someone, making it harder to catch up to people! Annoying!!!

Catch and release? Not in my farming simulator! Say goodbye to being able to toss a fish you caught back into the water. In fact, say goodbye to tossing anything you don't want anymore into the water. Now you just have an army of fish flopping on the ground around you. And with the auto pick up feature, they're probably going to end up in your inventory anyways once you try to move. There are still certain ponds with fairies that you can toss stuff into, but you'll have to deal with the fairy harping at you for giving her something she doesn't want.

Shop Hours. Oh god. The shop owners don't even open their stores at the correct hours? It says open at 9am. If you speak to them they won't open their store until like 9:07??? But Priscilla and Lucy will show up to work their part-time jobs at around 8:30am and you can buy stuff through them before 9am. So the actual shop owners (for the bread shop and general store) are pointless usually. Additionally, if the store is empty (but open) you can no longer add a shopkeeper into your party and then enter their store with them to buy things from them. Why. Just why. When you want to buy something that only a specific person sells (Only Hina sells fish, only Heinz sells misc items) you have to wait for them to finally decide to work in their own store. Wonderful.

Monster Item drops. Maybe I'm crazy but the monster drops are seriously a lot harder to get than in previous games. Especially boss drops. It's almost impossible to get the rare drops now. I don't even want to try anymore. And as far as I know, the only place to buy monster items is through Heinz, but his items are actually misc. items, not specifically monster drops. So you'll be lucky to check his store (whenever tf he decides to actually work) for any monster items you might want instead of farming for the drops. Sighs.

Difficulty. This game is too easy. There is little to no challenge whatsoever. I had to increase the difficulty setting to hard mode and it was still too easy. I beat it at level 139, never once did I need to grind or level. In fact, your character levels up way too quickly for the pace of the story. I had zero trouble with any of the bosses and even the final boss was a breeze. Quite sad. Though because I am not new to the franchise, it's likely that newcomers would have some trouble in the later parts of the story.

Fishing cons. Idk how you fck up fishing but they sure did. You have to stand further back now because the pole is so long that you'll miss the fish you're aiming for. In fact, it's seriously hard to aim period. You'll end up recasting more often than not. Fish come in the various sizes but they don't seem to have the darker or faded characteristics that can indicate whether it's a rare fish or not. The graphics make it hard to tell. The pros that i've already mentioned are welcomed but it doesn't negate the fact that I do not enjoy fishing like I did in previous games.

Mining/Lumbering Cons. You can no longer strike three times consecutively when mining/lumbering. This sucks lol. Even when you upgrade your axe or hammer, powering up the tool does nothing for getting wood and material stone--it only expands the area of your strike. So it takes longer to get wood/stone from stumps and rocks now since you have to strike the full 9 times but it's not too bad. It's also harder to aim now as well so that's also unfortunate.

Seasonal Fields? Kiss them goodbye! That's right, there are no seasonal fields in rf5 because devs are insane! You instead have the farm dragons that seem to look seasonal based on the fact that they are designed after elements like earth, water, and fire. But no, these dragons are simply extra fields for you to use. Here's a spoiler: you're not going to use those fields. You're just not. They're kinda useless unless you're obsessed with farming. Now you have to grow your crops out of season like the sad farmer that you are.

Farming cons. Seeds no longer tell you how long it takes to grow the crop. Why. As of June 29th, they fixed this with an update. But I still had to play the whole game without it so fuck you marvelous. The joystick is really sensitive? So when you're trying to use a fertilizer or something on your field you're likely to place it on the wrong 4x4 tile, wasting your fertilizer. So it’s best to hold down the R button when farming. Also the crops look uglie as hell.

Sleeping and warping cutscenes. Just like in rf4 there's a cutscene when you go to sleep that can be skipped easily by pressing A. In rf5, there's a cutscene to sleep and a cutscene when waking up. It takes a bit more than a second to skip these scenes so it gets annoying after a while. Warping is this new feature that replaces our beloved escape spell. Overall I appreciate the feature but I hate it for two reasons. One: there's an annoying ass cutscene for it each time you use it that could be much shorter. And Two: townsfolk now use warp even when inside the town. In previous games, someone exiting your party in town would just manually run to wherever they need to be. So you could easily chase after them if you need to talk to them or give them something. Now, party members use warp regardless of where you are at the time. So say you have someone at 7 hearts and you want to try confessing to them. You would have them join your party, save your game, and then have them leave your party and immediately speak to them and confess before they can run off. If it doesn't work you reload until it does. In RF5 this wouldn't work anymore because they will warp. Now you would have to save, run around town trying to find this person and hope they accept the confession. Otherwise you'll have to play hide and seek again because reloading your file will randomize the resident's locations (if they are not working in a shop)!!!! I often just waited until a festival day because then they will be at the plaza for most of the day and it has a warp point there.

Crafting/Forging/Cooking. They've removed the feature where you can press Y on the ingredients in the menu to add more of that particular item. I miss this feature :'(

Lacks incentive. There is no trophy room from my knowledge. The final dungeon that is meant to be like the sharance maze/rune prana isn't that hard to beat for skilled players and is only 20 floors. After you beat the main story and this dungeon there's not much else to do really.

Request Board. Unlike in rf4, you need to make sure you have accepted requests before you complete them or else it will not count. Previously, you could complete all sorts of tasks and Eliza would still recognize your work even if you accept their request after the fact. ie, shipping goods, harvesting crops, etc. So make sure you don't harvest your special crops before accepting the request it's for!

Return of the "Loli" Dragons... Yeah you read that right. We got more dragons in children's(???) bodies with skimpy clothes. I don't know anymore????¿¿¿

Can't marry the Milfs or Dilfs. Tragic.

Still no homo. Grow up Marvelous.

Reverse Proposal? Reverse Uno card-- Laid low by the patriarchy. You now have to buy the double bed and craft an engagement ring to propose to your man if you're playing as Alice. Marvelous this isn't what we meant when we said we wanted equal rightsssssss This can be seen as a pro if you're a softhearted babey who doesn't like rejecting bachelors' proposals because you feel bad :'( But this is a con for me because I don't want to spend money and materials on a double bed dammit!!!

Misc. Still can't stack dishes or fish. There's no green elemental fairy???All the other elemental ones are there except the green one? why??? Still can't tame the giant Wooly. Some bosses that have insanely awesome designs cannot be tamed and makes me wanna eat glass.

Let's talk about Love~

Relationships. We want them. And half of us only play these games for them. I've only played as the female heroine so far but I'll be updating this review as soon as I finish with the bachelorettes as the male hero.

Confessions

As usual, we must raise the love points of our beloved to 7 hearts before we can attempt to date them. However unlike in rf4, if you fail at a confession once, you will need to raise the LP up an entire level before you can try again with any chance of success. It's imperative you save before attempting a confession now.

Love Events

Each love interest has two love events that must be seen before you can date them. They're reminiscent of older game's style but I felt they could have been a biiiit more interactive or so? Or involved the town a bit more for some of them.

Dating

Once you get your honey to be your bf/gf, you get to choose the nicknames as usual. Then you can go on dates. The first three (non-festival) dates are actually events. You need to see all three events to get married.

Marriage Event

The final event you need to clear before you can marry your sweetie. In my honest opinion, so far for the boys, these events were rather disappointing. They lacked the drama and angst that sort of 'test' the love between the two when compared to rf4. Also this is a huge con for me personally and a minor spoiler but there are no special cutscenes at the end of the marriage event like in rf4. Instead, the cutscene takes place during your actual wedding. I was saddened by this because it took away the depth from the marriage events and the actual character? As it is just a cut and paste type of thing instead of an original cutscene for each person. They lack individualism this way. Also it kinda felt like a way for devs to avoid gay relationships and cut corners :^/....sus.

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes...

Children!!!!!! This is actually one of the coolest additions in the game. Just like in rf3, you can have up to 3 children again! Your first child will resemble you, and you will have the option to choose its gender as well as its personality. There are 6 different children, (3 boys and 3 girls), all with different hairstyles, mannerisms, and seiyuus. Your answers will determine which child you get. A year after your first child is born, you will get the option to have a second child. You'll end up with twins, both resembling your partner. You won't get to choose the genders (it will be a boy and girl) but you will get to choose the personalities once more. The children all have canon names too and each kid is incredibly cute. And of course, you're still able to take your kid with you in your party~ ...Though you can only take one kid with you at a time.

So is RF5 good?

Yeah it's a fun game! My theory is that Marvelous forced the devs to release the game earlier than they were ready for, and that's why it's so lacking. But that doesn't mean it's not worth playing! I'd rate it 3.5/5 stars hehe. Not nearly as good as RF4 (full stop 5/5), or RF3 (4/5) but enjoyable nonetheless. I wouldn't recommend it as a first game to play from the series for newcomers though, I feel it's best for vets who can overlook all the cons thanks to loyalty and nostalgia. By the time it’s released in the West, the bugs should all be dealt with too.

So! Definitely buy this game! We want the series to continue and we want RF6 to be better than this--and hopefully Marvelous will make sure of that next time. If you're not a picky person I think you'll enjoy rf5 a lot. If you're like me and have high standards then, well, still pick it up and let it run its course. Then dust off rf4sp and cleanse your gaming palette >;^)

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