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writingnightmare · 3 days ago

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please could you do dating headcanons for chuuya please. Like first date and early in the relationship and then when it is established. ❤️

A/n: of course I can! I love writing for Chuuya, and coming up with these was super fun. Thanks Anon!

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Characters: Main - Chuuya Nakahara

Content summary: Dating HCs for Chuuya in an early relationship, then progression to an established one.

Warnings: Slight language warning, Reader and Chuuya are implied to be highly competitive at boardgames.

Tags: [SFW], [Fluff]

Word count: 1.9k

Type: Headcannons

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Dating Headcannons - Chuuya Nakahara x Reader ⫘⫘

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Okay so, we all know Chuuya is an outwardly confident man, arrogant even.

In the beginning, he had to actively remember he didn’t have to be arrogant with you. You know he’s great, you’ve not questioned his talent or skill once, but it’s a tough habit to break.

He’s a busy man, and he warned you as such. So, he gets you to text him your work schedule at the beginning of every month, at first it feels weird, but you quickly get used to it. When he gets time to take you on a date, you don’t really get a warning in advance, not more than a couple hours at most.

The first time this happened, he only told you 10 minutes prior. And of course, he wanted to go to an incredibly fancy restaurant. By the time he got there, you were not ready. You opened the door without your shoes on, smelling of minty toothpaste, much to his surprise.

He quickly learned if he wanted to take you somewhere nice, you needed more than 10 minutes, especially since you had to dig your fancy clothes out of the back of your closet.

Chuuya goes easy on the wine. Last thing he wants to do, is get absolutely plastered on your first date.

The definition of a gentleman. Opens any doors, helps you get seated, whole nine yards. He is absolutely trying to impress you, and could listen to you talk about your life for hours.

However, if you ask him about himself? Well, he might get a little vague.

That aside, he walks you back to your door, pressing a light kiss to your cheek. Won’t go for a proper kiss, unless you initiate it first. It’s not that he’s shy, more uncertain of your boundaries yet, and doesn’t want to cross them.

After a few weeks once you both become more comfortable, will 100% show you off to Koyo if you come to the office.

Whilst she isn’t the end all, her impression of you is important to him, so he is absolutely looking for her approval of you.

Your doorbell will begin to ring at random times in the day, and every time you open it, it’s something different. It could be a package with a designer outfit he bought for you, or it could be a bouquet of flowers. You never get told in advance, but it’s always addressed to you, so you figure it’s fine, right?

His name is never on the packages, so the first couple of times it happened you were kinda freaked out. You definitely didn’t order these shoes that cost well over $1000, but it was your name, address and all, with no note. How did they know your shoe size?

A call to Chuuya quickly settles any concerns you may have of who sent it to your doorstep. He will cut off your rambling about the random packages with a light hearted laugh, amused by your reaction.

“Babe, I got those for you, who else would know your shoe size.”

No amounts of complaints about the price of said gifts will sway him. It is his money, and if he wants to spend it on you, he’ll do it regardless of what you say.

Will sending you music at random points of the day. Any song that he thinks you’d like, you’ll be having a link sent.

I hope you like wine, because he will invite you to come drink at his place.

You knew he liked to drink before you started dating, you’d seen the ginger man drunk before, but never quite like this.

He is very touchy, playing with your hair as he complains about his day, drawing patterns on the palm of your hand as you tell him about yours, the man just wants to touch you. You will end up cuddled up on his couch, pressing delicate kisses into your skin. He doesn’t mean anything sexual by it, he is just incredibly affectionate when he’s drunk.

Will tell you in detail about his conversations with his colleagues when he’s like this.

“-and then Akutagawa came around the corner, ‘n ya’ know what he asks? He asked if he did the wrong thing by killing the hostage- YES, THAT WASN’T THE PLAN! But I can’t just yell at him and beat him, cause then he’ll be reminded of that bastard Daz-“

“-but then Hirotsu told me I should jus’ lock you away, because society would ruin you. I don’ even know what he means by that….”

You never get enough context in these talks, but that’s fine with you. So long as he’s less stressed by the end of it all, you’re happy to listen. You would later find out that Hirotsu just has a particular distaste for society en masse, which you can appreciate. What you don’t, is him giving your boyfriend advice to lock you away.

A few months later you even get a call from Hirotsu himself, asking for help at a bar with the ginger himself. You were curious as to how he got your number in the first place, but realise you probably don’t want to know anyway. By the time you arrive at the bar, Chuuya was completely trashed, face smushed into the table as he left enraged voicemails to his old coworker. You tried to help him out of the booth, but the man pushed you off, indignantly proclaiming he had a girlfriend.

You were almost mad, almost, if it wasn’t for the fact of how he was saying it.

“I ‘ave a girlfriend, I don’t want anyone else touchin’ me!”

At least he was a loyal drunk, if not an idiot one too.

You eventually coaxed him home, but only by promising you weren’t trying to steal him from his girlfriend, and you in fact had a boyfriend yourself.

By the time you got him home, he collapsed onto the bed, mumbling of how he would still warn his girlfriend of you in the morning, which was fine by you.

He was genuinely surprised to see you still there, shocked even. He had vague memories of the night before, of stumbling home with you, but Chuuya never expects anyone to stay in his life for very long. Finding painkillers and water by his bedside, and you cooking in his kitchen, he was far too stunned to realise you were teasing him about the night before, asking if he needed to warn you of yourself yet. He wasn’t sure how to react to it all. Was this what falling hard into love felt like? Maybe Koyo wasn’t exaggerating.

From this point, the floodgates to Chuuya’s life suddenly opened. He no longer dances around tough questions of his past, and you find yourself bombarded by seemingly endless facts about the man. Did you know he sucks at tennis?

It’s not that he didn’t trust you or love you before. For Chuuya, there is a distinct difference between having love for someone and being in love with them. If he wasn’t sure you’d stay long, why tell you the small things.

Your dates become more intimate after this too. He comes over to your place to cook for you, you didn’t even ask him to do it, he just wanted to.

You end up having more dates at home, and he seems to relax with you like this. You still go out for fancy dinners and the like, but he only ever truly lets the stress of everything go when it’s just you and him at one of your places.

Once your relationship gets close to a year, he wants to live with you. Seeing you as he does now is difficult to say the least, and he would much rather be able to come home to you (even if you steal all the damn blankets).

Not against moving himself, but will insist the place have good security for both your sakes.

When you do move in together, you learn something else about your lover. Something no one could have prepared you for.

This son of a bitch steals your damn pillow in his sleep.

This continues to happen, and you reluctantly buy pillow after pillow, until you have amassed a collection of five pillows. You dread the day he manages to snatch all five in one night, but refuse to buy anymore until it does happen. (It does.)

Luckily, living together means you get to listen to his tired mumbling of affection for you. How you are his diamond, his cherished person who is impossibly precious to him. You genuinely mean the world to this man, he just sucks at saying it. You are his person, his home, his tiny bit of peace in his hectic life. It’s an intimate moment, and one you often find solace in when he again takes your pillows multiple times in his sleep. (You know he’s asleep, so how he manages to solely target your pillow is a mystery to you to this very day. You would be mad, if he didn’t apologise so much every morning.)

“You’re perfect, you know that? I don’ want my life any other way…”

He realises you don’t actually need or want him to spend a ton of money on buying gifts for you. You actually get happier when he brings home a bouquet of your favourite flowers, instead of a diamond necklace.

Now every three days he goes to a local florist on his way home, and brings home a new bunch. It gets to the point that if there isn’t flowers in a tall vase, you both feel as though something in the house in wrong.

You have late boardgames nights, but it quickly becomes apparent that you are both far too competitive for it to ever work. On the last night you played monopoly (referred to by Chuuya as the monopo-geddon incident), your neighbours called the police to your house. Turns out your heated “disagreement”, on who owed who rent money, sounded like quite the violent affair to those without context.

Monopoly and boardgames are thereafter forbidden from the household.

You both try baking together instead, and it turns out this man is great at it. He gives the excuse that he’s just talented, little do you know he once lost a bet to Dazai related to baking, and learnt it out of spite. He will never admit this.

Will want you to come to every work event. If he has to sit through them, he at least would like the comfort of your presence.

And it’s an excuse to show you off to his subordinates. When they see their boss, the way he kisses the top of your hand, arm draped around your waist, they almost couldn’t believe it. They of course knew he had a partner, one who seemed to lessen his wrath when she called him, but they’d never seen the man quite so happy. They first thought you had drugged the man, from the bright spark in his eyes when he watched you adoringly, the way his cocky grin turned into a genuine smile, how arrogantly he would introduce you as his partner, to how delicately he touched you as if you might break, it all seemed odd. They quickly realised this wasn’t the case, when he was still more than willing to yell and discipline them regardless of your presence. The man is simply smitten.

#bsd x reader #bungo stray dogs x reader #chuuya x reader #chuuya nakahara x reader #bsd chuuya x reader #chuuya x you #chuuya x y/n #bsd x you #bsd x y/n

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balrogballs · 2 days ago

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This! (OP im so sorry in advance for writing an essay on your post)

I always say, as someone who writes a ton about the intersections of grief and ‘madness’, that the most compelling, interesting and devastating part of the Oath to me is the way Tolkien himself described it, according to TolkienGateway: an oath that should never have been taken.

And I think that is what adds such a tragic richness to that entire sequence, because a Fëanor who likes his fancy stones and made his children swear a dooming oath and led his people into a long, drawn out war because he wanted them back, is frankly insulting to the outstanding way said sequence is laid out:

“Then Feanor ran from the Ring of Doom, and fled into the night; for his father was dearer to him than the Fight of Valinor or the peerless works of his hands; and who among sons, of Elves or of Men, have held their fathers of greater worth? …Many there grieved for the anguish of Feanor…”

The guy went fucking insane, because the first person to have been killed in Valinor was his fucking dad. All his bullshit before was, certainly, annoying as fuck, and his decisions after were the cause of terrible violence — and tbh he’s frankly ridiculous a lot of the time, but at that moment he was clearly out of his fucking mind. The way the speech was written, the frantic, rabbit-thump prose of that entire section, you can almost see the trance state he’s in.

And that isn’t to say anything he did as a result of that was justifiable or good, this isn’t an “insanity defence” but I just think the whole Fëanor cinammon roll vs serial killer debate is so flat because, to me, someone going utterly insane with grief and doing something that dooms his own sons, is the kind of tragedy that defines the Silmarillion to me!

The entire legendarium features instance after instance (of varying severity) of desperate, impossible choices made in moments of complete mindlessness by characters rendered utterly inarticulate by grief and fear — Elwing, Isildur, Frodo, Denethor — and the long, terrible shadows of those devastating decisions none of these people should have been in the position to make.

Denethor, driven mad by grief and paranoia, walked into his son’s funeral pyre, and Fëanor walked into his father’s, leading all seven of his sons to walk into his own. The damage these choices caused are at completely different degrees, but a thing doesn’t have to cause the same amount of damage to be a similar circumstance.

It doesn’t mean the choice was good, mind you, the whole thing was an utter disaster, the Oath was the worst thing that could have happened to both ME and Valinor because there are literally zero situations in which having seven sons swear a blood oath would ever work out. Because none of the seven really seem to give a fuck about the stones and they’re all doing it for their dad, so the oath would bind them with that love, rather than their love for the Silmarils, etc.

But to acknowledge the circumstances the speech was made under does not negate the damage it caused. In fact it only makes it worse, the knowledge that a split-second choice caused All of That, the knowledge that a choice made in the wake of his father’s death would one day lead to all seven of his sons’ deaths. If he’d done it for memes and jewels, the following events just would not have had the same literary impact!

But yeah. It’s the worst yet most compellingly and devastatingly written part of the Silmarillion, and yet I so often see it flattened out as either “Fëanor made a great strategic choice and he was right” or “he did it because he’s a greedy fuck” and it’s just 😭😭😭

TL/DR: I was thinking about this ficlet someone requested from me a couple months back about Fëanor finding Finwë and how writing that provided such an insight into the wild place his mind must have been, and this word vomit is the result of that.

We all know Fëanor as “the guy obsessed with his Silmarils” but it’s quite something to remember that when he first discovered Morgoth had broken into his house, he wasn’t even thinking about how the Silmarils were most likely stolen. He immediately burst into tears not over the jewels, but over his dad.

#fëanor

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k1mbe3rly · 9 hours ago

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Min-su nsfw alphabet ?

Min su NSFW alphabet

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

he’s very gentle and very caring, even if he didn’t do much during sex he would still care for you, he’ll clean you up and give you some water and food if you want it

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

His favorite body part about you is your boobs, he loves to lay between them or on them, and rub his head into them when yall are cuddling and he’s a big fan of sucking them

His favorite body part about himself is maybe his tongue, he doesn’t typically have a favorite body part since he’s usually a bit insecure but he’ll say his mouth since you praise him how good he is with his tongue

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

He honestly can’t take edging or holding back his cum, when he needs to cum he NEEDS to cum. He loves cumming inside you but obviously if your not comfortable he’ll try to pull out and if he isn’t able to be ready for a million apologies + food + shopping + morning after pill + any pill to not get you pregnant

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

Dirty secret is wanting you to finger his ass.

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

He’s not really experienced since he had his first time with you and especially since you do most of the work, but he doesn’t know what to do besides sit there and look pretty

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Cow girl or reverse cow girl.

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

He’s not really goofy, he doesn’t crack jokes but he does do nervous laughs when yall had sex for the first time

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

I’ll say he’s pretty well groomed, he doesn’t groom like a lot but a good amount maybe 2-3 weeks?

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

He’s very into the moment, he does gets off guard by your tits bouncing in front of him or the way your ass crashes against him

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He doesn’t do it often, if so it’s rare and also feels like he should record for you and send it to you

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Praising, slight degradation

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

The bed

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

His motivation is you were low top shirts and short skirts, also dirty comments randomly

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

he would NEVER hurt you

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

He’s always receiving it from you, your usually always on top of him so he just kinda lays there but he does eat you out

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

If he’s able to top you he would be really gentle, maybe slightly fast but never too fast

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

He’s not great at it, but he will do quickies with you

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

I’ll say he gets very nervous when it comes to risk and probably try to back down at first

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

The most he can last is 2-3 rounds, he gets sensitive reallllyy easy

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

no toys but maybe a vibrator that you use on him

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He’s never unfair. he likes to give you what you want

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

If he’s really sensitive and overstimulated he’ll be LOUD. and i mean loud, he moans very loudly and whines and whimpers. but if it’s normal pace he would let out soft moans and whines

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

He wouldn’t mind recording himself bouncing on dildo..

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

Maybeee 6 and 7 when hard

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

Not that high but not that low

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards

the moment he’s done taking care of you he’ll sleep with you but if your not sleeping he’s not gonna sleep

#squid game #squid game season 2 #squid game x reader #squid game s2 #squid game smut #squid game fic #squid game fanfic #min su smut #min su squid game #min su x reader #park min su #player 125 x reader #player 125 #125 #player 125 smut

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dollypopup · 3 days ago

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all the people up in arms going 'he looks so miserable!' and 'he doesn't look loved up at all!' like. . .hm, could it be possible that it's because. . .attending fashion events. . .is a job? what's with the 'give us a smile, sweetheart!' weirdness from these 'fans'? didn't we decide ages ago we HATE that? if I was at work and people were ripping me to pieces because I'm not smiling, I'd be pissed off. the man has been given grief from a fandom that undoubtedly DOES make him miserable for months on months and shows up to an event with a girlfriend y'all have known about for a YEAR and hated on for almost exactly that amount of time and you're surprised he's. . .what? not grinning ear to ear? the man takes a lot of photos where he's doing a blue steel fashion face, what's the hangup? y'all are just digging for justification for your own negativity.

and as far as Antonia goes, it's like every time it's a surprise. the people saying 'oh it's lame he only showed up with her after NICOLA paved the way!' . . .paved the way of what? Luke was photographed with Antonia in June of last year? Why are y'all always shocked pikachu face about her? Nic reiterating they're friends (as they both said during the tour repeatedly) in a pre-taped interview doesn't mean he then was like 'oh, okay! now i can be with my gf!' he's BEEN with her. he was papped with her a year ago, he's taken her on vacations, dates, and other events. what do y'all MEAN this is the 'hard launch'? we've all known?

stop convincing yourselves into delusions and just face the facts. the reality is- I DO think it's okay to say 'I'm a fan of Nic and Luke's dynamic and their public personas so I ship them' but that also means taking the responsibility of 'endgame' or 'canon' (gross, these are real people, not characters) off their shoulders and out of your expectations. they have partners. ship their personas all you want, live in the fantasy, sometimes it's fun, but stop spiraling and spinning new webs of lies to live in claiming it's reality. and then blaming these strangers for not living up to your mental gymnastic fanfictions. it's unhealthy.

do I think he looks miserable? no. In some pics, I think he looks like someone protective of his partner who has been harassed, and wary, since his previous partner has ALSO been harassed. But overall I think he looks hot as hell. nothing is screaming that he's upset. he's got some smirky smirk pics and moments, she's pictured smiling in the video. what's the big deal? if you feel dumb, it's because YOU made yourself fall for lies.

and a big genuine SHAME ON YOU to all the big Lukola blogs who continue spouting garbage encouraging vulnerable people to believe false narrative. fuck you to the tarot blogs, fuck you to the people doing 'morsels' or 'crumbs' analysis, and a huge hearty fuck you to the people pushing the awful lie of Nicola being pregnant by hyperanalyzing her body. y'all need to eat some crow and admit you were wrong and apologize to your audiences, because fuck that noise.

anywhoozle, I'll be over here lapping up all these new pics because my man looks GOOOOODT and that's more than enough for me

#luke newton #nicola coughlan #lukola #the hardcore shippers are the reason we can't have nice things #just enjoy how attractive this man is and call it a day

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aventurineswife · 1 day ago

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I was just playing HSR with background music on and it occurred to me...

What if SAHSR can hear the music you play?

I literally listen to everything

Phonk, romance, sad, early 2000's, kpop, etc

One minute it's a sweet and slow romance song, then it switches dramatically to some hardcore phonk and the characters reaction vary

(FIGHTING ENEMIES WITH PHONK GOES HARD🔥🔥🗣️)

Oh man, the amount of ideas I'm getting on what each character's favourite modern artist would be

(I believe in Boothill loving Lady Gaga)

I am FORCING the entirety HSR to listen to Lana Del Rey — 🤡 anon

Oh, this is chaos incarnate.

Imagine the self-aware HSR cast constantly subjected to your music choices—whether they like it or not. One second, it's a gentle, heartwarming ballad. The next? Hard bass phonk blasting through their souls.

Aventurine loves the unpredictability. One moment he's strutting to smooth jazz, the next he's cackling at death metal.

Sunday is eating this up. "Ah, what impeccable taste! Such grandeur! Such emotion!"

Dramatically sways to Lana Del Rey, then viciously air-guitars to a rock solo.

Jing Yuan enjoys soft, orchestral music. He can nap peacefully to it.

But suddenly? Hardcore phonk drops mid-slumber.

Jing Yuan, groggy, "…Is this punishment?"

Luocha is eerily unphased. He adapts to all genres seamlessly.

But secretly? He resonates with gothic, haunting music. Plays it off as coincidence.

Blade + sad romance music? Oh. Oh, he’s going through it. 😔💔

"Another song of lost love? Must you remind me, every waking moment?"

Dan Heng finds some of the lyrical poetry beautiful. But if it suddenly switches from melancholy to phonk mid-battle?

"This… is a contrast."

Welt respects classical music. Then you subject him to hyperpop.

"What... exactly is the appeal of this?" (But secretly, he likes it.)

Himeko taps her fingers to the beat of anything.

"At least they have variety."

Kafka LOVES how music can set a mood. Will comment on your song choices mid-fight.

"This one… is about betrayal, isn’t it? Is that a message, darling?"

Black Swan quietly memorizes your favorites. Will theorize about your emotions based on your playlist order.

Pfft, Boothill 😭🙏

"WHAT IN TARNATION IS THIS POP HIT??" (But he’s bopping to it. Don't let him fool you.)

You force-feed him Lady Gaga. And guess what?

He starts humming ‘Poker Face’ mid-duel. (He's definitely a Chappell Roan fan too, change my mind.)

They now associate certain songs with specific battles.

If they hear a familiar track, they brace themselves. "Ah. This is a boss fight song, isn't it?"

Argenti tries to compose poetry based on the lyrics you play.

March 7th now has a list of ‘Certified Bangers’ from your playlist.

And the worst part? They have no escape. You control the aux. Forever.

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mysteryanimator · 1 day ago

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Breaking down "Even the Iron Still Fears the Rot" (almost) shot by shot!

The fan-animatic can be viewed here!

youtube

HEADS UP: This is a fan-made content. I am a fan. I just love Castlevania/animation a lot and I love storyboarding nuances and making people cry over character dynamics. Also apologises for any grammatical/spelling mistakes!

I wasn't planning to do another breakdown of my own work, simply due to imposter syndrome but I genuinely put so much love and care into this animatic! I want to talk about it! Also, people have been really open to hearing about my inspiration and notes, and why I take the directions I do for my work, even if it's fan-made, so here we go!

(Also the reciprocation of my animatics has been so kind and uplifting, and I'm really glad that there's a lot of love for them as much as I love doing them! I learn and grow with every single board I make, it's been really fun! I hope I get to shine this much passion in the future in actual work!)

Since this is also an adaptation of a fan one-shot by Aquila, (which you can read here!) I knew I wanted to evoke what they had written and interject some of my own nuances/personal readings to their story to elevate what they had! In turn, kind of created this monster (positive) of a fan creation haha. There are some changes/rearranging the placement of aspects of the one-shot to strengthen the existing tension going on!

With this out the way, let's begin!

(heads up, for any shots I completely skip over, it is because I'm reaching image limits here)

I wanted to evoke that strong halo light you see in a lot of media. Often than not, this visual is used to depict the character as a divine force of nature and/or when a character is bobbing in and out of death. It can also be a very very terrifying image, as, for example, s02e8, Mizrak is literally all dark with a brightly lit background. It is scary- BUT people will say hot because it's Mizrak but hey, look, all I can say is I fully understand haha. It all depends on your intentionality and what follows before and after to give context to your scene!

Mizrak is dead. Well, undead now. Olrox is the so-called angel giving him life and love and this halo of light gets repeated a few times!

By the end, not only do their literal positions switch, but their roles shift too so I hoped to convey that visually by also giving Mizrak that halo glow for the second last shot. At the start, Olrox consumes Mizrak’s love, and then it ends with Mizrak consuming Olrox’s love. Guh I love blood themes in vamprisim.

This shot honestly took me a bit to do, since I was going a lot cleaner than usual, the expression for Mizrak was super important for me to get right. I wanted him to look like he was about to die- yet still have an unwavering amount of life in him. (Also I hadn't warmed up drawing in this cleaned-up style so it definitely was me messing around). It was important for me for this to feel like a POV shot to contrast the first scene so we can get inside the mind of Olrox!

This too is where I only have sound effects since I can't have voice so I limit my SFX to the only most vital things to elevate things I personally find better elevate the scene with audio. It only happens TWICE. The heartbeat. His wrist is shown and from context clues from not only S01 of Nocturne with Tera's turning, but a whole bunch of other vampire media- the wrist is a place where the dead accept their new life of immortality!

Also, the pulse effect was definitely inspired by the transformation of Sekmet! I'm not sure personally if this went to a further stage I'd want to keep this since I'd personally want something more unique for vampire turning, more specifically for Olrox, HOWEVER, I think it still does a good job conveying the supernatural pull for the time being!

Wow who saw this coming HAHA

Immediately when I saw the line where Olrox said he went to straddle him immediately, my mind went to go and try to parallel this scene again! I don't have much to say about this shot rather than the feet are purposefully cut out for animation convenience's sake HAHA.

Jumpscare for sudden Olrox character layout (even though he's really off model and sketchy here HAHA)

I was again, wanting to depict Olrox BATHED in light and since this animatic is purely in greyscale (with accents of colour), I could really push for dramatic lighting when it called for it! This is also why some of the scenes just do not have backgrounds at all. I wanted to make some of the scenes as "heavenly" as possible and for Mizrak to be embraced by the light because Olrox is giving him a new a life.

If this were to ever be animated (I won't be since it would take too much of my time, but it's still a good thing to note when boarding anything... maybe I'll do cleaned screenshots since those are a breeze, or animate ONE scene from this animatic... we'll see what I have time for. I unfortunately don't have proper time to try and figure out the layout of s02e8 bgs and paint them. I did consider quickly doing a 3d mock-up but no haha), the light in the background can probably be lit with candles since it was already pre-established in s02e8! Also, the windows can reflect light into the room so there's that too since Mizrak was backlit in that episode too!

Fun fact, this entire scene was the first thing I ever thought up and why I started even making it. I thought about how cool of a visual it would be to have Mizrak's eye in the reflection.

I wanted to imbue the fact that Mizrak does not fear Olrox holding a blade, hell, he's not even looking at the blade. He's looking at Olrox. What is described as a relic from a terrifying past, Mizrak is not scared. Mizrak is not scared of Olrox.

This is where the heartbeat occurs AGAIN. This is mostly to signal to the audience what Olrox actually has planned. He's not feeding Mizrak from his wrist but from his actual chest, especially with how gently Olrox runs his hands over it.

I debated a lot on where the initial cut should go. The heart, for sentimentality, under the breast in the same way Christ had been pierced, etc etc- however I landed on just dead set in the middle so it could form a cross that would grow bigger and bigger as the animatic went on. (Fun fact, the blob of blood turns into a little heart as he squeezes his chest)

I wanted to put some weight to the repressed catholic guilt, so I thought a cool visual way to showcase that Mizrak has only known how to love is via worshipping God which has consumed his entire being and self. God has given him faith, a companion in the hardest of times when the world has abandoned him.

Now, once again, his world has abandoned him. The Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God is gone. In the face of death and fearing the devil will be waiting. Olrox has given him love, and he will be a companion in the hardest of times. He will not abandon Mizrak.

This aspect of the cross in the animatic gets expanded upon as time goes on. Both literally as the cross literally turns into a pool of blood more closely to the symbol Mizrak bares, but also it slowly expands upon Mizrak feeding off Olrox's love! I'll add some more of my personal notes when we get there!

Also by far one of my favourite scenes I've drawn. It's still rough but it decidedly made me go a lot cleaner with the rest of the storyboard!

This is supposed to be suddenly jarring because it cuts midway through Olrox in a midshot to a close-up of a hand! We need to see him actively halt Olrox for just a moment, but also to show that even when it's sudden- its not hostile, it's gentle.

This shot does a couple of things!

It showcases how gently Mizrak is reaching out to Olrox

It helps to continually establish Mizrak submission to vampirism. He is constantly placed on the bottom from the composition, or we as an audience, are always looking down at Mizrak! Seeing parts of Olrox here really cements this fact as Olrox towers over him to the point we don't even see him fully!

It helps to lead into the Fallen Angel reference!

This shot makes me sob because it is so gentle. Despite being placed constantly much higher in the composition in the animatic, therefore making him the most powerful in this dynamic- in no way Olrox is intentionally made out to be an intimidating figure. He is comfort. He is a companion. He will not abandon Mizrak. The act of turning Mizrak might be read as selfish. It may be read as cheating the natural cycle of life, it may be everything wrong and doomed as your mind makes it to be, however, it is done out of love. Morals, whether good or bad, no longer matters because Olrox is in love. Love has such a strong chokehold on this series, so I'm shoving as much love into these characters as I can. Both literally make these characters so sickly desiring love that it will be their doom and saving grace, but also me as an artist deeply putting love and thought into this board because care a lot about how to convey these complex emotions! Sure it is quite easy to churn out boards without care, but without putting care into your boards, your characters and stories lack life (in my personal opinion).

Immediately, this animatic shook me and told me to put in a reference to The Fallen Angel by Alexandre Cabnel!

Also, how does one portray the soul? EYES. Eyes are the window to the soul. Mizrak’s eyes are also considerably the most important/crucial part of his design. His eyes in both seasons ‘glow in the dark’ due to the highlights in his eyes. Mizrak is considerably really emotive too and that was important to me to emphasize. I wanted to capture his essence, his soul if you will, into this shot.

This is also why this shot is done really prettily if you will.

The reflection of Olrox's eye in Mizrak's is important here! Olrox is here to act to comfort Mizrak. Even when Olrox is not on the screen with us, he is majorly present here. He will not abandon Mizrak. Also, since it is coupled with this line, people can choose to infer what they wish with Olrox! It can symbolize Olrox does have a soul, it can symbolize how Olrox and Mizrak are now intertwined together, it can symbolize Mizrak reciprocating Olrox's love. The list can go on! I give that room for open interpretation (same as the rest of the animatic, the only reason I'm going through, breaking down almost shot by shot is that I deeply care about this sort of thing, and I know other people do too!)

This shot, is deceptively simple but it's here to actually initiate a bunch of scenes I wanted to happen after this!

Firstly, I needed a very nonchalant but easy way for Olrox to let go of Mizrak's hand without needing to overcomplicate. I needed something that gave it just enough importance for the hand kiss BUT not too much where it is the sole focus on the shot.

Secondly, I needed a way for Olrox to lean down to Mizrak and initiate him being way closer to him.

Thirdly, it acts to parallel another shot that happens with Mizrak where instead of going diagonally down, he goes diagonally up!

This is one of the points where I visually slightly deviate from the one-shot! I really REALLY wanted to emphasize Olrox's dialogue here so I chopped up and elongated the scene to make it that much more intense and tender. Which is why we get the next two close up shots!

Look it was very VERY important to me to have Olrox cup Mizrak's face and intentionally cut off his eyes. The important part I wanted to focus on solely was his hand and Mizrak looking up because genuinely, Mizrak's eyes are 'distracting' and it would remove the focus on the gesture! Also I am saving Mizrak's eyes for the next shot haha

After this shot too, you may notice the blood from his neck disappears for the rest of the animatic. This is because, after this, it began to take too much of a visual focus away from the blood on Olrox's chest since it is bright red against greys in the shot. We can chalk it up to Olrox wiping the blood off when he goes to cup him.

"The most beautiful soul a vampire can posses."

It was so important to me that we get a BEAUTIFUL shot of Mizrak. I needed the audience to see his entireeee face close up, unobscured by anything. Olrox is holding a beautiful soul in his hands. He's holding Mizrak. Actually makes me sob.

This shot by the way has been repeated 3 times with slight variations by this point. Yes, this is a very pretty shot so how could I not help but repeat it? HOWEVER, I was trying to make a reference to how Mizrak has said Olrox's name only 3 times in the show with a variation of what was said around it. After that, Olrox calls him my love, basically unlocking a new stage in their relationship.

So here, three times when he looks at Olrox, he's mentally calling out his name. After this, Olrox brings him to a new stage in the relationship.

Also in Catholicism, a lot of things are in 3s. One of the major ones is that three times, Christ fell over carrying the cross. On the third hour of that day, he died and on the third day, he was resurrected from the dead. The three sacraments that welcome someone into the Kingdom of God are Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation as they all build off one another! I could go on both those are the main points AND I feel you might get the gist now!

It was very important to me that when Olrox makes this promise, we HAVE to see his full face. This is why it's a close-up.

It lets for no shadow of a doubt that Olrox means what he says here. He's looking AT Mizrak. He's telling the truth to him.

This is a parallel to a much earlier shot of Olrox! He moves closer to Mizrak by going from top right to bottom left, while Mizrak moves closer to Olrox by going from bottom left to top right! You also both see them exit the screen too!

In this shot, we bring back that halo vibe but also this is a reference to S01E04 and S02E08! The curtain! It is BOTH their first-ever shots to establish a new scene, so I wanted to go “Hey this is establishing a new scene- a new life for Mizrak and Olrox.”

The camera is super purposefully cut just below the eyes. You can see them open then closed, but we will never ever get to see the look he had in his eyes, the single decision in his brain that let him indulge. That’s only for Olrox, and only Olrox will know.

From here on out, A LOT of the shots of Mizrak get segmented/have his face hidden for that reason too (except for one shot, also done intentionally).

When Mizrak actually closes his lips around the blood- it’s on the growling sound in the song. Mizrak has turned into the animal that he’s been calling vampires. In this new life, he is now given the choice to be freed from the man-made shackles of shame and guilt. To be untamed and unrestricted. A wild animal so to speak!

Honestly, I spent a lot of my time here (besides the pretty Olrox frames) because I was super particular about how I wanted to portray Mizrak giving into sucking the blood. The way he accepts vampirism is vital because it sets the tone and mood for how the rest of the board feel since his face gets hidden and you now have to infer from when you saw his face last.

If you have seen my analyses or my work before, you will know how much I enjoy having a frame within a frame. I loveeee my boxes! They're in the box! TOGETHER! THE CENTER TOO! There are no real divisions with the exception of Olrox's head which is important because it's not Mizrak we're focused on at this point in time, it's Olrox~

This is because the one-shot, even in third person, is mostly through Olrox's perspective!

Also, the camera is moving around in this shot, and the following subsequent shots! It hopefully gives off the "hand-held" feel, which often is associated with feeling as if you're right there in the moment with them.

Why pillows?

This is me shaking you to say how the blood-drinking is an allusion for sex if that wasn't already obvious enough. So showing pillows coupled with Olrox groaning really goes "Yes they are technically doing it."

Originally this shot (and the previous shot) was supposed to be way more pulled out, but I was saving it for the very last shot of the animatic so I went to pillows with the tinest hint of their body in the frame to make it seem super scandalous. Like what on earth could they be doing for me to cut them mostly out of the frame? Also also, the pillow was supposed to have an embroidery of a painting from 1790s or earlier BUT, for the life of me, I could not decide what I wanted and I did not want to keep reusing the same references I have had in past work. I didn't want to fuss about it for too long since its more of an easter egg rather than adding to the story. The main point is pillow = fucking HAHA.

Side tangent, you can get away with SO MUCH by having blood drinking be an allusion to sex. Like obviously when you have an age rating you must abide by, you must be creative with how you go about mature topics (my age rating is YouTube hahaha)! Not only is blood drinking in vampirism just inherently queer-coded, but the intimacy of it can convey so much more if it was just a regular ol' sex scene! I actually deeply enjoy conveying nsfw topics into art because you can discuss character dynamics at a much more vulnerable, raw state that literally bares them to just their essence and their current desires/needs. However I am getting off-topic, let's get back to it!

This shot was actually heavily inspired by the statue Adoration by Stephen Sinding!

While there are a lot of differences now simply because Mizrak is at Olrox's chest, I still hope that the vibe of that statue is still imbued. It also gives the sense of not only Olrox adoring Mizrak in this very moment, but Mizrak is too despite not seeing his face. Again quite intentional because it's only for Olrox to see.

Also, a lot of people have been telling me how Olrox is breastfeeding him, and in technicality, they're not wrong, he's feeding blood, from his chest. It is the funniest thing ever LOL

This shot was important to really focus in on his throat and how, much like in the one-shot, Mizrak is literally not taking breaths and is just continually consuming Olrox.

Wet sounds fill the room as his throat bobs with each steady gulp...He doesn’t stop, doesn’t take a moment to gasp for breath.

I also just wanted to make this scene feel very slow in order to contrast with a much more passion-filled desire that consumes Mizrak in this animatic! Also hopefully the descent of blood and the descent of the camera helps to strengthen the idea of Mizrak descending into vampirism!

It felt really cheesy to have this close-up shot of his eye HOWEVER at the time, I thought this was by far the clearest way to convey the immediate switch from gentle devotion to devouring devotion and how suddenly rapid it is. In my brain, the stylization for his eyes open would be textured and pulse in the same way Olrox's wrist did, which is why it's just outlined. I'm once again not 100% set on the pulse look and it probably needs some iterations if I ever came back to it again.

Also, the green hearts in his eyes only come through when he's actively consuming blood from his chest! The heart motif comes back later when Mizrak ends up throwing up the blood!

Here's the cross again, except it is growing bigger. This was very important to me that you see how "gentle" the blood-sucking is at first. A gentle devotion despite the "terrifying" shadow of Mizrak. Also, super an excuse to have kiss marks in my animatic, I love painting them in my art because it can say a lot with placement and how aggressively smudged they are!

Also, I thought it would be SO FUN to have Mizrak's turned self literally have his eyes overlay where Olrox's eyes are. It conveys how Mizrak and Olrox are now switching roles in this animatic! For the first half of this animatic, Olrox has been placed pretty high up in the shot composition, or where the camera looks up to put him in a high place of power! It makes him appear way more etheral and otherworldly, while Mizrak was placed lower in the composition, always looking up at him! Which I'm hoping invokes religious imagery of a God and his worshipper/follower!

When Mizrak's transformation is set, the dynamic switches up. For the rest of the animatic, Mizrak is now placed at a more supernatural/otherwordly position, while Olrox is just there passively, letting Mizrak BE in this position. He does not fight it, he embraces it, embraces how Mizrak reciprocates his love, his desire, and all his messy complications, much like how earlier in the animatic, Mizrak embraces vampirism.

Also if you slow it down enough you can see how I accidentally left my perspective grids in it HAHA, but it goes by fast enough it doesn't really matter! (I guess it's also kind of indicative of my natural style when it comes to digital painting too, I genuinely like having my sketch still peek through into the final painting!)

Wow even more shots to cement the new role switch AND how much much of the passionate need to consume is controlling his urges! Free to consume at his leisure, he is no longer bound by human nature (for now)!

This shot and his leg shot help to really strip Mizrak of his humanity. Faces in a shot really help to connect people to the characters because we see the emote, we see them breathe, we see them live. Especially for a character like Mizrak? He's super expressive face-wise and I'm purposefully not showing you the defining features of Mizrak. Here I am basically going "Mizrak is no longer human."

This is why in horror/thrillers with antagonist characters, we don't see their faces much and are saved for only key moments (usually, again your intentionality matters). It doesn't allow us to connect with the character on a much more human level. Think of Count Orlok from Nosferatu (2024). Purposefully a lot of his character is shrouded in darkness, focusing on his hands and other aspects, never his face, and even then it is really hard to make out because so much of him is obscured. It makes him that much of an imposing intimidating character! Otherworldly and something that we cannot fully understand.

This is a flipped version of Mizrak's close-up eye shot much earlier when he asked if his soul would remain. Again to hark on how Mizrak and Olrox are switching roles in this animatic! Olrox is looking at Mizrak's soul as we speak.

Despite us not seeing Mizrak's face, we as an audience noticing how unhuman Mizrak has suddenly become, Olrox looks quite gently at him and that was important to convey!

Woo! Lot's of horizontal lines here! While the camera is moving towards the left, Mizrak is moving right!

Originally this shot was going to have Mizrak's teeth sinking into Olrox like a very cool Olrox throwing his head back and Mizrak's fang reveal HOWEVER, I want to leave the "carnage" and bloodshed of the feeding out of the frame and only have it show up in very specific moments so I can have those moments actually have their proper impacts. I did not want to show any part of the front of his face at all since it would dampen the effect later on, so I opted for this instead. The legs give a sense of "something is happening but we don't know what, but it's to a point where Mizrak's entire body is moving oh jeez." Won't lie, this looks very sexual and I'm purposefully toying with that line again because blood drinking is an allusion to sex.

Also, I'm continuing the concept of having aspects of Mizrak's face only for Olrox's eyes. What does he look like when he's actively consuming him with such passion? Idk, Olrox you tell me.

This is everything I was building up for when I introduced the small crosses! The physical manifestation of how Mizrak reciprocates.

My thought process here was that Mizrak only knows how to love by fully devoting himself because that's all he's done for God. So he applies it here. He is reciprocating love, but it is FULL ON. It is intense. It is all-consuming.

The face once again is obscured for all the reasons I have mentioned before, but also it REALLY helps to really hard cut to Mizrak choking on the blood after because before it seemed like he was doing just fine. He is literally looking DOWN at Olrox, he takes up A LOT of the screen with just his back and head. He literally gets pulled into full focus while Olrox is blurred in the background. He appears like he is in control of the situation, however it could not be further from the truth.

Also, I was mostly inspired by the insane amount of bible verses talking about blood, so I'll drop some of those here!

John 6:53-56 ESV

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

Ezekiel 16:6 ESV

“And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’

Matthew 26:28 ESV

"For this is my [Christ's] blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

Absolute contrast to most of the other shots, not only because I decided to add way more character acting here, but it's because we actually see his FULL face. It's intentional because Mizrak realizes himself now so we need to see him have this reaction. I wanted to show that he is still a person. He still has a soul. He may not be human, but he does have a mind that can think and a heart that can love. He still retains human qualities.

He's choking on all the blood (a physical manifestation of love) and his body is rejecting it. He's not used to consuming this amount of love and he's not used to being self-indulgent. It's deeply overwhelming.

I wanted to say I LOVED drawing blood it is SO FUN, planning the camera movement, and how Mizrak coughs at specific moments was sooo fun. I wanted this to be MESSY AND INTENSE. I wanted the audience to feel the weight of Mizrak's sudden distraught. I wanted to throw him around and to really hark on this line from the one-shot.

What has he done? What has been done to him? What has he become?

It helps to deeply contrast with how still and gentle the next scene is!

Yes, that is right, Olrox's pupils are DILATED :)

Coupled with the fact that the blood splatters are hearts! They're outlined in cyan! Olrox has a massive heart-shaped blood splatter on his cheek while Mizrak has a few heart-shaped splatters BUT there are gaps in his bloodied mouth that create heart shapes as if Mizrak spewed out those hearts!

Firstly this is because Mizrak literally eats at his chest where the heart is. Secondly, I'm again pushing for Mizrak to consume and throw up his love due to how overwhelming it is. Not only is Olrox's love for him literally beyond his imagination, but Mizrak is trying to love back in with that same amount of passion and utter devotion. A lot is happening for this new-born vampire that is pushing and pulling at him. His emotional state is so overwhelming that it is manifested in physical form.

The green reflections are shown to visually communicate Olrox anchoring Mizrak back, as, throughout the animatic, it is one of the things that ease or calm him down. I could not portray it through voice BUT I can portray it via visual (guys walk with me here, imagine the insane combo of audio and visual, it would be so tasty). The sole reason why I did not have hearts in his eyes here is simply because I reserved the heart motif for when he's actively drinking out of Olrox's chest (so he's literally consuming his love) or when he's spitting out the blood!

Also, the reason why I cut to his eyes rather than pan to them is purely because I wanted the violence of his mouth to be suddenly jarring to the gentleness in his eyes. I didn't want the slow reveal, I wanted the "OMG the blood- aw Mizrak...."

"Lulled into a sense of hazy compliance by Olrox’s voice, the former monk carefully lowers himself and continues though not for long."

This final shot was soooo important to me to include. The “musty inn room” was mentioned much earlier during Mizrak’s transformation but there was a poeticism by having what is considerably the blossoming moment of their complicated relationship be the final shot. With the lyrics also ending with "Take me back to Eden" how could I not? Clearly, both the rooms between s01e4 and s02e8 are parallel to each other. The only difference is that s02e8 has the room be both red AND GREEN, while s01e4 is just earthy/green. Olrox has taken them both back to their earthly paradise. This is their Garden of Eden.

Woo ok and we're done! Also yes I do thumbnails for these, it's half the reason why I'm fast (this entire animatic, cleaned and everything, was done in 3 days good lord. Is that fast? I can't tell) I make the barest of bones chicken scratch of sketches to get a feel of pace/vibe, then I do my roughs/cleans and add/take away shots necessary for the story that needs to be told. I normally would not let this see the light of day because these are AWFUL BUT, this post is also half a documentation of my personal process so I'm going to close my eyes and share this HAHA

If you got this far, thank you for reading me geek out about this! I find a lot of joy in the visual storytelling medium. As much as I do enjoy animating, (wow could you guys tell in the name?) I have a deep love and passion for storyboarding personally and I get sit back, and enjoy crafting the entire picture! I still have a long way to go but I'm having fun and I'm pursuing my passions of storytelling!

I desperately want to make more animatics, dealing with different tones, pace etc, but I genuinely have to go prioritize other things for now that will help me build these skills hahaha. I say this but who knows, seeing my current track record haha, look I can do both. I follow wherever my creativity takes me. I may have missed a few things but I have to wrap this up now!

Thank you again! The final takeaway, go watch Castlevania again and go be inspired by animation <33333

#castlevania nocturne #artists on tumblr #mystery talks #i love storyboarding to death it brings me much joy #hopefully ill learn how to apply this to action scenes #all ppl on yt scare me in a positive way they're so nice #olrox/mizrak #castlevania spoilers #olrox #mizrak

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velnna · 21 hours ago

Note

anon who got surgery here who said absint and your art in general was keeping them sane! unfortunately i badly broke my spine a few days ago and had to have ANOTHER major surgery... and recovery is SO boring.

AND YET, ONCE AGAIN your art and your characters are keeping me sane!!!

especially absint, he just looks soooo soft i want to comb his hair/fur and stroke him gently and give him kisses on the forehead and hold him so close and keep him warm...

the thing about his wing stumps vibrating when hes excited is SO SO SO CUTE and i love his four eyes and the fact that hes color blind...

and also im curious if he purrs?? i know some elves do in your setting, perhaps the moth man does too?? hehe

AND his skin/fluff texture sounds so wonderful and i love his looks and that one yawn pic you drew of him...

and also im curious about his diet, based on the yawning pic?? hes got those sharp teeth but hes also got that tongue like some bugs do that can slurp things up... whats his favorite food??

and also i think absint may enjoy a stim toy of mine: glitter jar!!!! its so soothing to shake up and watch the bright sparkles float around and swirl... mayhaps ill draw him with a glitter jar sometime when im recovered enough...

and last questions for now... i see hes down one arm, did he lose it or was it a birth difference?? and does he have any health conditions because of it and/or in general???

ALSOOOOO if you have any absint art that isnt spoilers and youd like to share btw, i am SO down to see, i love looking at the guy of all time... i also think he would look very cute all bundled up in a BIG baggy knit sweater, hes very skinny he needs to get warm...

but he would also absolutely SLAY in a corset... decisions, decisions...

BUT YEAH thank you for making your guys i enjoy them a normal amount hahahaha thank you for sharing your lovely art with the world!!!! and have a wonderful day :}

Ah that sucks I hope your recovery is going well!! Once again happy my characters provide some entertainment haha

Absint doesn't purr, that's reserved for some elf people sadly. He does chitter tho! Sometimes they're happy chitters (:

Diet-wise, it's,,,, a Special type of diet. I'll just say by default the sharp teeth are meant to puncture but also the mix of tongue + teeth can work similarly to a snake and he can indeed swallow a small animal whole if he must. Strong gastric acid and a relatively flexible body shape.

I think he'd definitely enjoy a glitter jar that's such a cute idea c:

Sadly no current Absint art that isn't public, a spoiler or a patreon exclusive but I'm definitely itching to give him a big knit sweater now so stay tuned

Thank YOU for appreciating my guys it means a lot <33

#ask #absint

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justsomerandomfanfic · 1 day ago

Text

Whirlwind - Tyler Owens X Female Reader

Title: Whirlwind

Tyler Owens X Female Reader

Additional Characters: Reader's friends (Mentioned), Dani, Dexter, Lily, Boone, Ben, a couple of other people (Mentioned), a random kid, and the kid's mother

WC: 5,197

Warnings: Post-Twisters events, thrill-seeker reader?, teasing, banter, flirting, friends to lovers, tornadoes, italics, nicknames, slightly suggestive, F4 tornado, events before and after a tornado, injuries, blood briefly mentioned, confession, slight angst, and fluff

You and Tyler had been friends for a very long time. Three years. You first met him when you were with your friends. You were on a road trip - during the summer off of college - when you all stopped at a small town in Oklahoma for the night. You found a motel but had not been expecting so many people partying in the parking lot. You had half a mind to find another motel to stay at, somewhere quieter, but the next town was a few good miles away, and you needed to preserve gas until you found a gas station.

Stepping out of the van, your friends were instantly drawn to the party. The atmosphere was inviting and warm, and it wasn't long until you lost sight of your friends, who had joined in on the festivities. You weren't really one for parties. Sometimes you were, but you had been on the road for a good couple of hours, and you just wanted to spend some time alone. However, upon seeing the bright stars and the full moon in the sky, you decided to hold off finding your motel room.

Being a photographer, you loved capturing the beauty of mother nature. Her work always inspired you. Throughout the trip, you had been taking pictures of anything and everything; from luscious forests, golden fields of wheat, and pouring cold rain. You loved taking pictures of breathtaking sights. However, your favorite things to capture were thunderstorms and the moon.

Eyes flickering over the party before you, you made sure to spot each of your friends before climbing the metal stairs. The strap of your compact camera felt heavy around your neck as you reached the second floor of the motel. Your gaze shifted to the bright moon, high in the sky, big and luminous, with some of its craters visible. Leaning against the metal railing, you pursed your lips briefly. Raising your camera, you found the moon through the lens, fixing the blur, but you frowned. From where you stood, it just wasn't the perfect shot.

Glancing down at the railing you were leaning on, you pushed through whatever fear you had and began to climb it. Still secured around your neck, you let go of your camera. Grabbing the wall beside you with one hand, you push up against the railing with the other; climbing up the horizontal bars of the railing. In moments you had managed to reach the top of the railing, bracing yourself on the wall attached to it. You were a good amount of feet high, enough that if you did fall, you would probably break a bone or two, but you - again - pushed past that fear. You were confident in your balance, and the railing, and you were determined to get this perfect shot. You glanced down at the party below you, spotting a few of your friends mingling and seemingly having fun.

With your free hand, you raised your camera once more, scrunching your face, you aimed and took the shot. With the shutter of the camera, you grinned, lowering it to smile down at the photo on the small screen.

‘Perfect.’

"Looks like someone’s aimin' for the most dangerous photo award." You heard a voice call out in your direction. Looking down, you spotted a man. He was wearing blue jeans and a red flannel. His head was tilted back slightly to look up at you, one hand on his cowboy hat so it didn't fall off his head. You narrowed your eyes, seeing the charismatic - almost amused - grin on his face.

"I don't think that's a thing," You called back down, moving your eyes away briefly before meeting his gaze, somewhat wary. What did he want?

Moving his hands onto his hips, his grin grew, and the cowboy stranger continued, "You good up there, or do ya need some help down?" His southern drawl was thick as honey and laced with amusement.

You huffed, trying to suppress a smile. "I'm fine, thank you very much."

He chuckled, his eyes almost twinkling. "Alrigh', jus' makin' sure. I’m Tyler, by the way. Tyler Owens." He tipped the brim of his cowboy hat.

You adjusted your stance on the railing, still clutching your camera. "Nice to meet you, Tyler. I’m Y/N." You finally smiled, feeling a strange warmth spread across your cheeks.

Well, what was supposed to be just a night's stay in Oklahoma ended up being a week, which then turned into three years between Oklahoma and Arkansas.

~~~

Being around the team - and being a part of the 'Tornado Wranglers' - for three years, it was only a matter of time until you and Tyler became inseparable. And it was obvious to your group of friends that there was definitely more going on than just a simple friendship. Even their YouTube viewers and subscribers - most if not all - thought or assumed that both you and Tyler were a couple. And it wasn't as if their assumptions were baseless, it really did seem - to those on the outside - that you and Tyler were dating.

There was more than one occasion where you held hands; either when you took his hand in yours when you walked side by side - jokingly swinging them to and fro - or after a particularly rough tornado chase where your hands would reach out for the other in search of comfort and reassurance.

There was more than just hand-holding, though. The both of you teased each other - borderline flirting - holding eye contact for a little bit too long to be considered platonic. Any simple contact between you two was prolonged, lingering. Especially hugs; which happened more frequently than not. You were always touching each other in some way. Whether it was hands resting on shoulders, arms around waists, linking arms, or even hugs from behind.

Overall, it was really easy to mistake the both of you as a couple. And it certainly didn't help that both of you were very affectionate towards each other.

But you were just friends. Really, really good friends. Though Tyler wished it could be more, he didn't want to risk ruining what you two had. Despite his desire to tell you how he felt; the longing to hold you close, to kiss you... Tyler feared he might lose you. He worried that if he told you, he'd lose everything. That he'd lose his chance at a friendship with you forever. That fear kept him quiet.

In the end, as long as you were by his side, and he was by yours, he was content. Your friendship meant the world to him, and that was enough.

~~~

Staring up at the graying sky before him, Tyler stood with his hands on his hips. It was a great day for tornado chasing and the one that he had his eyes on seemed like it was going to be a good one. He loved the adrenaline that came with chasing tornadoes, the rush he felt.

Walking across the field, he made his way back over to the motel where he was staying with the team. Spotting Dani and Dexter at the camper van, he gave them a grin as he walked over.

"Hey, it seems like we got one west of us," He gestured to the large, gloomy patch of clouds miles away.

Sitting in two camper chairs, Dani and Dexter exchanged glances. Dani shrugged, "I think we're good on this one."

"Yeah, I've got some work to do, thanks, Tyler." Dexter spoke, with his own grin.

Tyler hummed, eyeing them suspiciously before he headed off to one of the motel rooms. Knocking, he waited until Lily opened the door.

Rubbing her eyes, she seemed tired, a small yawn leaving her. "Hey, Tyler, what's up?" She pivoted her weight, leaning on the doorway.

"There's the beginnings of a tornado in the west. Dexter and Dani ain't joinin'. Just seein' if you'd want to."

"Uh," She winced, rubbing her temple, "I think I'll pass on this one, T, sorry. I think I'm gonna have a 'me day.' There’s a jacuzzi calling my name."

Tyler shook his head, "Nah, yeah, I totally get it. See ya later." He grinned, despite his growing confusion, giving the young woman a wave before he headed over to Boone's motel room a few doors down. Repeating his action, Tyler knocked on the door, and the charismatic tornado chaser answered. "Hey, Boone, there's a tornado in the west. Want to test out some of those new fireworks?"

At the drop of Boone's grin, Tyler's hopes of his best friend joining him on this tornado chase dropped. "Sorry, T, you know I would love to test out fireworks any day, but, uh, you see, I have to, uh... Feed my cat." At that, Boone shut the door, leaving Tyler to stare at it.

'Boone doesn't have a cat.' He thought. 'What's he hidin'?' Now, thinking about it, all of them - Dani, Dexter, Lily, and Boone have been acting strange. He even doubted Ben would want to join in after everything that happened a few years back. Yeah, he was getting better and was somewhat used to tornado chasing at this point - having decided to move from London to the States, but he always rode with Dani and Dexter when they chased.

Well, there was only one person left to ask, and Tyler really hoped that you would want to join him. Even the thought of possibly spending more time with you - alone - tornado chasing - made that confused frown slip back into a grin. Reaching your door, he didn't hesitate to knock, hearing shuffling on the other side before you opened the door. Your eyes brightened upon meeting Tyler's gaze, your smile widening.

"Hey, Ty, good morning," You greeted him,

"Good mornin', sweetheart," He greeted as he leaned against the doorway, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets. "There's a tornado west of us. Wanna join me?"

Your eyes lit up, "Of course!" You exclaimed, fumbling slightly as you walked back into the motel room, grabbing your camera, "Is the rest of the team coming?"

Tyler shook his head, "Nope, it'll just be us today."

Looping the camera's strap around your neck with one hand, you waved the other in the air, letting out a 'pfft.' "Their loss. More tornado for us." Tyler's grin widened, and off the two of you went.

The truck jostled as Tyler suddenly veered off the dusty, dirt path and into the tall grass; racing towards the swirling dark clouds ahead. The speakers were practically turned all the way up, playing 'Ain't No Love In Oklahoma.' One of your favorite songs. You held onto the handle on the truck's door, mumbling to the song, your eyes trained on the clouds as they began to spiral toward the ground - creating a funnel - before touching down; creating a cloud of dirt, dust, and grass.

"Woo-hoo!" Tyler cheered, your laughter of excitement mixing with his.

Tyler glanced over at you as you got your camera ready, and unbuckled yourself from your seat; an amused grin forming on his lips. Quickly rolling down the window, you pushed yourself up and pressed your knee into the passenger seat. With half of your body leaning out of the window, your stomach pressing against the window's ledge, the rapid winds rustled through your hair; a laugh bubbled out of you, eyes closed.

Tyler smiled to himself. Reaching out to place his hand on your waist, a finger hooking onto one of the loops of your jeans; something that he'd always done during the countless times you pulled the stunt. The simple, protective action always made you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Raising your camera, you snapped a few pictures. Slipping back into your seat, you buckled back up, looking over at Tyler, who was already looking at you. A wide, toothy smile spread across his face at the sight of you; your hair a mess from the wind, the bright smile on your face, wearing his 'Not My First Tornadeo' shirt. His heart skipped a beat.

Returning his eyes to the tornado, he pulled up right into its path. Activating the augers, he anchored the truck to the ground. You then flipped up the three switches, your finger hovering over the 'boom' button as you waited for the right moment. The tornado made its way towards the both of you, shaking the truck, bits of dirt, rain, and whatnot hitting the windows; the powerful force of the twister was loud and clear to hear. It was a continuous roar that reminded you of a freight train or jet engine.

Tyler let out another round of hootin' and hollerin', as you pressed the button. Fireworks - of multiple colors - shot up the middle of the tornado. You let out your own celebratory cheer, staring out the passenger window as the fireworks went off, spiraling round and round; laughing happily as the storm raged on.

Hopping out of the car as the tornado passed by, you ran around the front of the car, Tyler's arms already open and ready for when you jumped into his embrace. Your laughter rang out as Tyler spun you around a bit, before lowering you back onto your feet. Watching the tornado slowly spin out of existence, your face hurt from how hard you were smiling. Tyler wrapped his arm around your shoulder, pulling you impossibly closer to his side, before leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to your temple.

"Yeah," You let out a sigh of content, "They missed out big time."

"They sure did, she was a beaut," Tyler answered, watching the last wisps of dust and dirt from the tornado disperse into the horizon. "I'm glad you came along with me."

"Of course," You spoke, looking up at him with a smile, "I love chasing tornadoes with you."

He flashed a cheeky grin, "Well, who wouldn’t love chasin' tornadoes with the 'YouTube-famous Tornado Wrangler'?"

Giving him a look, you crossed your arms, and smirked, "I'm starting to think your ego is the real storm here."

"Ya wound me, sweetheart." He pressed a hand to his chest, making you roll your eyes playfully. "Ya hungry?" He then suddenly asked, resting his hands on his hips.

Taking a step closer, you looked up at him - a mischievous expression appeared on your face. Tyler felt his breath hitch in his throat, his cheeks flushing a faint pink at the proximity between you, but he quickly cleared his throat, regaining his composure; hopefully you hadn't noticed.

"Starved," You admitted, before reaching up and snatching his cowboy hat off his head.

"Hey!" He called out in mock anger, laughter escaping him as he watched you run back to the passenger side of the truck and place his hat on your head. He followed, jogging to the driver’s side, another wave of excitement washing over him.

~~~

That following week, after chasing a dozen or so tornados, an F4 tornado was heading for a small town a couple of miles from where you, Tyler, and the rest of the team were staying. It had popped up on the scanner, and you all weren't going to sit around and not help. So, the seven of you got into the truck, van, and camper, heading towards the small town that was right in the path of this insanely powerful tornado.

Entering the town, you could see the tornado fast approaching in the near distance. Everyone got out of the vehicles, rushing up to help those who were panicking and hadn't found shelter as the winds picked up; dirt and debris flying everywhere as the tornado grew closer to the town. You and Tyler stuck together, helping lead people into a building with a basement.

Quickly surveying the town around you, you pushed your hair away from your face. But upon spotting a child - no more than seven or eight years old - looking around for her mother, terrified; you had to act. "I'll be right back!" You yelled over to Tyler, over the storm, who turned to you with wide, panicked eyes. "Don't worry," You assured him, though you knew that was a stupid thing to request of him to do. There was always worrying in this world, with this life. "I got this."

Tyler tried to push his worries away, watching as you ran off. Letting out a deep sigh, he grabbed the building’s door, “You do got this.” He spoke to himself, before using his strength to shut the door.

Running back out into the streets, you glanced at the tornado, which was at this point ripping pieces off of buildings with its strength. Spotting the child, you rushed over towards her. Hopping over a fallen piece of something metal, not even noticing as something sharp flew through the air and cut your cheek. Adrenaline and fear filled you as you took the young girl's hand. Your eyes then scanned around you, spotting another building.

"Come on," You spoke to the girl, quickly leading her to the nearby building. You did your best to shield her with your body, the door of the building flying open from the force of the wind. Pulling the door closed, you realized the place didn't have a basement. Just your luck. Thankfully, you both found a small closet and there, you both ducked. The little girl curled up into you, as your arms wrapped around her, protecting her from everything and anything. "We're gonna be okay." You muttered, your breathing heavy as the tornado rumbled outside; a rumble that could be felt, shaking the building, and the Earth, as it passed.

The roaring then turned into silence, and all you could hear was yours and the little girl's heavy breathing. Blinking open your eyes, you looked down at the little girl, seeing that she seemed okay, minus the obvious trauma. Exiting the closet, and what little remained of the building, you held the girl's hand as you stepped back onto the street.

"Mary!" You heard a woman's voice, spotting the little girl's mother running down the street.

"Momma!" She cried back, letting go of you to run into her mother's arms.

You smiled, happy that they were both alright and reunited. Trying to spot your friends, your eyes landed on each one of them - they all seemed alright as well - a breath of relief leaving your chest. And only when your eyes began to frantically search for Tyler, did you feel the sharp sting on your cheek. Raising your hand, you hissed as you pressed your pointer and middle finger against the cut on your cheek, pulling your hand back to see the blood on your fingers; feeling it trickling down your neck.

"Y/N!" You heard Tyler's voice call out, his figure coming into view as he left the building he was in, ragged, heavy breathing; his own eyes were frantic as he searched for you. Your heartbeat quickened, and your eyes widened.

"Tyler!" You shouted, racing towards him, his head whipping around at the sound of your voice. He rushed over to you and as soon as you reached him, he wrapped you up in his arms, holding you tight and close to his chest.

You pressed your face into his maroon shirt, your hands clutching tightly to the material of it, tears burning your eyes as you tried to control your breathing.

‘He’s okay… He’s okay…’

Pulling back slightly, Tyler's eyes landed on the cut on your cheek, seeing the trail of drying blood trailing down your neck. "You're hurt." He spoke, his voice low and soft, concern evident in his eyes; his hand raised to cup your uninjured cheek.

"It's just a scratch," You muttered, looking up at him, your hand coming up to cover his hand on your cheek. "Are you okay?" You then asked, your worried gaze flickering around his face before returning to his eyes. “You're not hurt?”

Looking back at you, Tyler swallowed thickly before nodding, "Yeah, I'm fine, just a couple bumps and bruises, but..," His one hand on your waist tightened, bringing you closer to him, "Are you sure you're alrigh'?"

You gave him a small - hopefully reassuring - smile, nodding, "I'm alright, Ty."

Yeah, you were alright. The scratch wasn't anything too serious, it wouldn't even leave a scar, but as Tyler looked down at you, all he could think about was the possibility of losing you. It was a risk that came with tornado chasing, and he knew that, but it killed him inside knowing that if anything ever happened to you... He couldn’t even finish that thought, instead digging his nose into your hair, he shut his eyes. Letting out a deep sigh as he pulled you back into his arms.

~~~

Tyler found you sitting out on the top of his truck that night. You were staring up at the stars in the sky, watching as they flickered; trying to spot a few constellations. You'd often stargaze after chasing exceptionally dangerous tornadoes, Tyler had come to find out over the years. Seeing the destruction they caused... Seeing how quickly everything disappeared in a blink of an eye; stargazing helped with the anxiety and the sense of helplessness you felt, it seemed.

Feeling the truck jostle, you turned your head to watch as Tyler hopped up on the truck's roof with you. Observing the side of his face, you noticed his hat was gone, probably left in his motel room. His dirty blonde hair was somewhat ruffled, strands falling in front of his forehead a bit. His green eyes meeting yours, he gave you a small smile. "What ya did back there," He began, his voice soft as to keep the somewhat peaceful atmosphere from dissipating, "Was really brave."

You pursed your lips, nodding, turning back to stare at the stars, "I couldn't just stand there." You began, the level of your voice matching his, "She looked so scared."

Tyler reached out and gently took your hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You did more than most people would, sweetheart," His thumb traced soothing circles on the back of your hand. "Your instinct to help, even when it was dangerous, shows just how incredible you are." You looked up at him, the corner of your lip twitched up into a small, appreciative smile; feeling his words warm your heart.

"Thank you, Tyler. You’re pretty incredible too." Tyler gave you a small smile in return before his eyes dropped down to stare at the square-patch bandage - partially hidden behind your hair - covering the scratch you got hours earlier.

The smile on his face shifted and was replaced with a frown; he knew he shouldn't feel like it was all his fault, but still. His stomach churned uncomfortably, a strange sense of guilt flooding him as he remembered the events of earlier that day, remembering the pained expression on your face when Dexter cleaned and bandaged your cut.

Reaching out, he brushed your hair away from your face, tucking the strands behind your ear; his fingers just grazing the bandage before he let out a deep sigh. Cupping the back of your head, his fingers laced through your hair. All the while, you held your breath, unable to look away from him. Dropping his head, he pressed his forehead against yours, shutting his eyes. "I'm sorry, sweetheart,"

"It's not your fault, Ty." You breathed out, shutting your own eyes, your hand coming up to cup his cheek; your thumb brushing across his stubble. "You've got nothing to worry about."

"Can't help but worry," He let out a wistful chuckle. "I don't know what I'd do if anything were to happen to you..."

"I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you either." You replied softly, pulling back slightly as he opened his eyes.

Suddenly, it felt like all of your senses had been heightened. You became so aware of how close you and Tyler's faces were to each other. His face was so close to yours, that you could practically count his lashes as they fluttered; half-lidded. His lips were slightly agape, slow bursts of air escaping them. His scent - dirt, cologne, and leather was intoxicating. How his hand was still holding yours, warming you. And how his fingers were still in your hair, his thumb brushing back and forth on your neck - soothing, almost lovingly... And with the way he was looking at you… Oh, how he was looking at you. You felt your heart beating - pounding - in your chest.

"Is it crazy to say that I really want to kiss ya righ' now?" He then asked suddenly, his voice low, husky; his tongue running along his bottom lip briefly. A shiver ran down your spine as your heartbeat increased, and goosebumps appeared on your arms. You were surprised, to say the least. You didn't think that Tyler would like you back. And yet he was asking if he could kiss you. Though, at your silence, Tyle continued, "I- I don't want to mess this up. I don't want to ruin this. What we got... What we got right here is good."

"Tyler," You muttered, you could practically feel how nervous he was, but you were nervous too, "You won’t. You won't mess this up."

Letting out a somewhat shaky breath, the soft pad of your thumb brushing against his cheek grounded him. "Ya sure?"

You gave him a shy smile, "Absolutely sure."

Searching your eyes, slowly, almost hesitantly, he leaned in; his breath mingling with yours. Wetting his bottom lip once more, you both closed your eyes as you tilted your head upward; his soft lips met yours. Letting out a sigh, you practically melted. Your hand on Tyler's cheek slid back, wrapping itself around the base of his neck - your fingers tangling themselves into his hair there. Tyler was sure that this was heaven.

Tyler broke the kiss moments later, leaning his forehead against yours as you both caught your breath. "God... I've been wantin' to do that for a while."

You chuckled, your cheeks burning, "Me too."

Pulling back, that same mischievous look appeared in his eyes, "I mean, who wouldn't? I'm a tornado wrangler." He spoke cockily but jokingly, making you huff out a laugh and roll your eyes.

"Annnnd moment ruined," You sighed dramatically, making Tyler let out a boisterous laugh. "Again, your ego is unbelievable." You shook your head, smiling at him; your gaze trailing over his features.

His laughter died down, pulling you into his side, his hand cupping the back of your head as he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. "I'm sorry," He muttered into your hair, "Would some pizza make up for my egotistical behavior?"

You looked up at him with your own playful smirk. "Hmm, pizza might help..," You trailed off, leaning forward to press a peck to his lips before hopping off the roof of the truck.

With a love-sick grin on his face, Tyler followed after you, opening the passenger side door for you as you hopped in. Once he was in the driver's seat, he placed the keys into the ignition and put the truck in reverse; speeding out of the motel parking lot and onto the road.

~~~

That following day, you, Tyler, and the rest of the team headed north, where the beginnings of a tornado were forming. The chase was epic, and the viewers on the YouTube channel were loving all the live footage. It had been a good, successful day. That night, you all sat around the campfire in your camp chairs. Boone, Dani, Lily, Dexter, Ben, and Tyler, were all laughing about something. In the background, there was music playing from Tyler's truck, mixed with the sound of chirping crickets in the wilderness.

You exited your hotel room, walking down the metal motel stairs, "Hey! Guess who finally decided to join us?" Dani called out, your presence gaining everyone's attention.

"Missing out on the fun, we found Boone's secret stash of marshmallows." Lily spoke up, waving her stick with a toasted marshmallow stabbed on top of it.

Boone huffed, rolling his eyes, "I was going to share them." He faux angrily bit into his marshmallow.

Walking past the fire, you headed straight towards Tyler, seeing the smile on his face brighten at the sight of you. "Sorry I wasn't able to join in sooner," You apologized, as Tyler’s hands cupped your waist, gently pulling you into his lap, "I had to shower the tornado off of me."

The group fell into silence, all five of them narrowing their eyes and staring at both you and Tyler, suspicious; analyzing. You often sat on Tyler's lap, but this was different. The way your arm was resting behind his shoulders, your fingers brushing through the hair on the nape of his neck. The way his arm was wrapped around your hips, keeping you close to him; his thumb brushing along the material of your jeans. But, the easiest tell that something was definitely different, was the way you were both looking at each other when your eyes met.

The group shared knowing glances with each other, smiling, grinning, before they all looked at Tyler and you. And finally, Lily spoke, "Did he finally tell you?" She asked, her eyes wide and a bright smile on her face at just the thought that maybe - finally - Tyler confessed after all these years.

Biting your bottom lip, you glanced down at Tyler, who had already been looking at you. Shrugging, you couldn't stop the smile from appearing on your face, "Maybe," You began, chuckling when the group cheered.

"Finally!" Dani exclaimed, gesturing to the two of you, "We've been waiting forever. And Boone," Dani looked over at the young man sitting across the circle they had made with their chairs, "You owe me twenty bucks."

Raising an eyebrow, Tyler chuckled, "You bet on us?"

Boone nodded, begrudgingly handing Dani the twenty-dollar bill. "Yeah, I thought you'd confess back when you both went on that tornado chase a couple of weeks back."

"Wait a minute..," Tyler began, narrowing his eyes at his friends, "That day when you all made up excuses..? Really?" His tone of voice was full of amusement; his lips twitching upwards.

Dexter shrugged, "That was the only way we could get you alone together. We knew you were going to crack sooner or later. It has been... What? Three years? What a whirlwind."

Shaking your head, you laughed quietly, "I can't believe you guys," You said, only for Lily to lean forward in her seat.

“Congratulations,” Ben spoke up from his seat, and you gave the journalist a smile.

“Thanks, Ben.”

"Yeah, we're happy for you two," She started, giving you a warm smile. "It was meant to be."

Letting out a sigh, you smiled softly, looking back at Tyler, "Meant to be." You muttered, repeating her words.

Tyler smirked, taking your hand in his free one, rubbing his thumb across your knuckles. Looking up at you with such intensity that made your stomach flip, he spoke again, "I like the sound of that."

~~~

Main Masterlist | Twisters Masterlist

#cute #fluff #x reader #slight angst #fanfiction #fanfic #x you #x y/n #x female reader #twisters #twisters 2024 #tyler owens #tyler owens x reader #tyler owens x female reader #tyler owens x you #tyler owens x y/n #glen powell #glen powell x reader #friends to lovers

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nanaboo-pumpkaboo · 6 hours ago

Text

//ooc under cut

@completelylusingit - Lus is like probably one of the best examples of someone from Unova like interacting with Silas based on what they know and then growing to like the guy once actually knowing him. I love seeing the evolution of Lus character and am glad to have the guy back. @.nacrenecitygardening Fuck I feel for Cory. for a multitude of reasons. I'm so worried and so interested in these situations.

@thatfailedpokemontrainer - Sprite is such a dude, I described it once upon a time as "A closed box of firecrackers with the fuse lit" and the statement still stands. He's so chaotic and I've been deeply enjoying its and Paris journey through Unova. @.a-nickits-den as well, Beedrills contrast with Sprite is so so interesting and the rivalry with Kura has me fucking gripped I've gushed to my partners about those two. Not to mention how good Beedrill has been for altering Silas' fate, that kid means a lot to the old man.

@battle-subway-ghost - I was first introduced to Paris through the grey walls event but I have deeply enjoyed seeing like, how chill Paris is. I love how much he like stands up for Kura and I still think about the bit where Silas leaked his information even if that ruined any chance for them interacting.

@tinkatinktrain - The goodra post is what introduced me to Mylah and I love how absolutely disgusted it makes Viscous-Protector every single time it pops up on his dash. Silas and Mylah have a really interesting vibe where they both feel like they can be silly to each other but will drop the bit on a dime in order to actually make sure the other is fine. @.subzeroiceshard and fucking, Kura. I gushed with my partners about that fucker just last night, I love how fucked that guy is, I love how GOOD he is about making people hate him to the point where Silas realizes this and is showing him pity out of spite cause he knows Kura wants to be hated and STILL Kura gets Silas to slip. top tier clown.

@shilo-sumac - fuckin god I love seeing Shilo interact with people, I want to have Silas interact with em more. Silas gets like so fuckin concerned and protective like everytime he reads some concerning posts from them but doesn't wanna come off as creepy. Love how she keeps running into terrorists

@team-skull-unova - you my good fella have notifications on. I absolutely love seeing Rais shenanigans every time they log on. I love that Rai is one of the few people who have lost to Silas in a pokemon battle but won in a physical fight. Also I find their thing going on with @cryogonalsmelody so so so fuckin interesting and I am living for it.

@ariadosanon - this is just about the coolest Victoria Silas knows and I am so so sorry for how much he wants to fight her dad. Just about the only team leader Silas follows without intention to clown on.

@team-ex-rocket - you also have notifications on, despite the fact that Silas CAN'T interact with Frosty anymore. I genuinely love how like genuinely dangerous Frosty is but keeps getting clowned on anyways. One of the only characters that has brought out a side of Silas that closely resembles his Boss.

@prof-polaris - sometimes I will just go through and read your blogs. I love how real Polaris feels. I can deeply relate to the melancholy that radiates from subjects having to do with Kittsu and having to like live despite the sadness.

@unovan-businesswoman-angie - I know you've been on hiatus (and I'll delete this part if you'd like to be untagged) but Angie and Tia are so fuckin based. They are so kind and cool and so solid of characters. A lot of the things they both have participated in have been so so well written and entertaining as well, I love the amount of love and care Angie has for her daughters. My recent(ish) arc only increased the amount of love I feel for the character too how like I felt Angie's hesitation when Silas told her the truth. @.rupture-remnant is like, has my braincells fuckin gripped, I think about them constantly, I can't wait until the news reaches them. I don't think Syndicate would exist without them.

@safrina-shards - Another fella on hiatus, she's so interesting. I love reading about her relationship with Angie. When she was active I was constantly hoping "keep her safe keep her safe" hoping nothing bad would happen. Completely activates protective instincts.

@vulgrados-best - I love all of the redux Crewniverse but Miguel is THE most authentic blogger that I have ever fucking seen in pokemon IRL, you've certainly seen in the tags me going "FUCKIN MIGUEL AGAIN" because I just keep reblogging stuff to main from them. Keep it up!

@wishmaker-astra - you made me make a whole new blog just so Silas can interact, 10/10. I love interacting with Astra's polls and how often Silas is able to be silly and also have like adult conversations with Astra. Really gets my senior citizen clown thinking.

@humming-pokemon-helpers - Fuuuuck I feel for Vanilla, the same day Wolfgang died I was actually at my grandma's funeral. Makes every time Silas tries to comfort or help Vanilla 100% hit harder for myself. Love how silly and professional they are.

@guitarandgallade - I wouldn't even be active in pokemonIRL at all without you, Silas wouldn't exist if you hadn't made your original blog all the way back in like 2018.

@goldenrodchef - Gen is so fuckin cool, I love how kindhearted he is and like simultaniously tormented being Eebied. I can see it sometimes getting to him but holy fuck

it took me all fucking day to write these with several distractions but I mean it, thanks for keeping me coming back to this wonderful community

// what if we all tagged our favorite blogs and went to check eachother's favorite blogs out as a result of tagging our favorite blogs. what then

#ooc reblog #//I started writing this TEN HOURS AGO

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barbwritesstuff · 13 hours ago

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I love Thicker Than very much but my first love will always be Blood Moon and I decided to reread it today and I just. I genuinely wish that I could write like you sometimes because you are so, so good at it. Your imagery is so vivid, your worlds are immersive, your characters are real and flawed and kinda messed up but that's what makes them so loveable. And to top it all off, you're hilarious as well? How dare you actually. Very rude of you indeed.

Anyway all this to say: love your work, love you, hope you're well and I will uncover your (writer) secrets.

This ask genuinely made me tear up. Thank you so much.

These are my writer secrets (most of which I learned from other writers or from the internet but some are actually me):

It's better to write a book that 50% of people hate and 50% of people love than to write a book that everyone thinks is just fine.

Be toothy. Be weird. Be yourself.

Have characters do something while they're talking so they're not just standing there saying things at each other. This came from a tumblr post which said something like 'make them do the dishes' and it's genius. First draft of the first chapter of Blood Moon: Marco didn't have a cigarette or a coffee. I gave him those so he could have some character action during his monologue and it made it 100x better.

Personally: I dislike 'relatable' characters. I would much rather have a weirdo character than one that's relatable. That's my preference as a reader to, which, actually reminds me.

READ. You really need to read. If you don't read, you won't see what others are doing, you won't be aware of what books (interactive or otherwise) even can do. All good writers are readers.

I sucked at English at school, and people still sometimes say snide things about my inability to spell. I don't care. Good English student =/= good creative writer. Actually, I think a lot of people who achieved a lot in school give up really quickly at writing because it's not typically a quick or easy path to success. The amount of people who've said to me 'I did NaNoWriMo once but nothing came of it' is... a lot. That's one month. They wrote for one month and expected to be a blow up success. That's not the reality. Because...

Being a persistent wee bitch and loving what you do is way more important than 'talent'.

I'm in a weird mood. I'm sorry. I just want to talk about craft and stuff. I love writing so much.

#writing

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coffeecacao · 2 days ago

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People don't like veilguard?? It's my favorite game now! I've been playing it nonstop! Between love interests, decisions, backstories, foreshadowing, and nearly everything "Varric" says being subtle hints he's controlled by Solas (from "I wish I could be Out There with you, Kid, BiAnCa is getting cranky cooped up In Here" to constantly telling Rook in different ways to sleep, aka, talk to Solas/let their guard down so Solas can get back in their head), it's super replayable, the graphics are fucking gorgeous look at that HAIR look at that LIGHTING, the combat mechanics combine my favorite parts of Dragon Age and Mass Effect, the story of regret and redemption and trauma is incredibly moving, our character can be trans and actually fucking TALK about it in nuanced and complex ways with other characters making an ENTIRE minority population, myself included (I'm nonbinary so a segment coming up may be biased), feel seen and represented by the person they're playing, and understood, there's a fucking nonbinary LOVE INTEREST, we TALK to them about how they're feeling and WITNESS them realize who they are and that it's fucking OKAY, they're fucking BADASS, SEE that nonbinary character try to come out to their conservative parent and witness how that parent is a bitch about it at first but comes to accept it, the love interests are ALL fleshed out and beautifully written and compelling, romance takes a natural amount of time to go from flirtation to serious, and my post about the first female companion you meet being straight? Yeah? This game broke that cycle, because everyone is fucking gay and it's great. ISABELA did PUSH UPS to apologize for misgendering her recently out nonbinary friend. The cast is incredibly diverse. You can go on honest to God DATES. You get to get to know companions on quests with and without combat, you can just fucking like TALK to them out in the world hanging out. MANFRED. ASSAN. You have interesting conversations with who we thought would be the main "villain" of the game in your head, only for him to have been using that to get to know you intimately enough to fuck with your head and betray you, what a power play. You CHOOSE whether to forgive him in the end and trust him to bind himself to the veil or to just trick or fight him. The story is so tightly written it's insane, with everything coming back to the themes of trauma and redemption. The game CARES about the player, getting to know the player through dialogue options making the experience ever customisable, and did I mention, letting them TALK ABOUT being TRANS and their unique experiences with that. The people who made this game CARED. They cared about trans people. They cared about minorities. They cared about the characters and the story and every aspect of the damn game. And now they're fired. And I'm heartbroken. I will always love this game.

#dragon age veilguard #veilguard #dragon age #taash #trans #lgbtq+#solas #varric

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shiny-jr · 19 hours ago

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I know "FROM: Diasomnia" is kinda old now but the line "I am your most beloved and loyalest of companions (in the world?)" something like that? But that line is something I come back to sometimes. It's such an intriguing thing for him to say, especially after what he did/said in the impostor AU "This... this cannot be my player!"

It's alright if not but I was hoping you'd comment on the kinds of mindsets they have as they're writing? Unless it's spoilers!! But it's just so? ?? Like where are they coming from with this? Is it just sheer delusion/desperation to appeal at this point or is there motivation behind it? I ask because of Silver's comments about the two older fae possibly knowing something he doesn't.

I also wanted to say that your imposter series totally inspired me to get back into writing fanfiction! I just gotta get my head in the game 💪(ò_óˇ) And I totally relate to that other anon!! It's all just so interesting!! I love self-aware/meta stuff like that, it's totally itched a scratch I barely knew I had!

SECOND ASK: "Add on to FROM diasomnia ask BUT is it possibly that Malleus and Lilia believe the player will forgive them (before the rest, at least since they went from murder to guarding the ramshackle dorm unasked) because they knew about it for the least amount of time and they think it'll give them more leeway?

(Which, for me, it just might give them more leeway depending on how everyone else is behaving. Aaugh!!! What a nightmare to be stuck in!! It's so fun to think about all the different motivations/desires that the characters are acting on and how they might've all interacted with each other over it"

MY RESPONSE: I'm honestly surprised that people still read that series, and it has been a hot minute since I updated it, haha... Don't worry, I've been working on drafts for it again. Not much, but something, if that's any sort of comfort for those that somehow do remember and enjoy that series.

Anyways, I usually don't like to comment too much on my own work. Sometimes I will, but it's not often, as I don't like to state "no, some of y'all are wrong, this is actually what I meant" because, well, it's boring in a sense? It ruins the fun, in a way.

I like others to have their own opinions and thoughts, which is why I don't often elaborate on stuff and leave it open ended for that purpose. I will say though, that the imposter AU/letters have the characters acting more "delusional" or "unstable" compared to my other AUs.

#shiny speaks #we just got a letter wonder who it’s from #twst imposter au

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muchtodoonterror · 1 day ago

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#i don’t think people understand just how fucking horrible his situation was #he was a marine. he was on that ship for the sole purpose of PROTECTING THE CREW #he watched his fellow sergeant and captain die in front of him #his friend and fellow marine was rendered comatose under his watch #his entire reason for being on that ship was to prevent things like this from happening #like. can you even imagine the guilt #not to mention the entire setting #they were stuck in uninhabitable conditions being hunted by an incomprehensible beast #if the beast didn’t kill them then the cold or the scurvy or the lead poisoning would #so of course he went with hickey#of course he did the one thing that gave him some amount of control in an uncontrollable situation #he clung onto the situation that gave him the ability to do his job again. to command and protect. #he wasn’t in control aboard terror. he had failed over and over on that ship. #hickey’s mutiny was an opportunity to be successful again #to be in control again#he would’ve died for hickey simply because he needed someone to die for #and by the end when he realized just how far gone hickey was #and how little control he really had in that situation #he went back to crozier #he knew he was going to die at that point #so he went out marching. doing the one thing he’d been trying to do the entire time. protect #he never had bad intentions #he was dying and afraid and grieving and trying to find some sense of control in the worst possible situation #i WISH we got to have the great death scene they planned for him that got cut due to the budget #i feel like people would empathize with him more if there was more emphasis put on his redemption-through-death ending #although i don’t entirely think he needed ‘redemption’#he was never evil or anything. just misguided and scared #anyways sorry lol i love him sm #solomon tozer #reblog

officially approved tags by @fivetrench you get it!!! (bolding mine)

I particularly want to pull out "he would’ve died for hickey simply because he needed someone to die for" because I think it gets to the heart of so much. He had let so many people die on his watch that the opportunity to die for someone else probably seemed like only way to redeem his past failures.

I think my original post oversimplified but I stand by that painting Tozer as dumb or unintelligent is classist and takes away his agency and culpability for his choices. Many of those choices were objectively bad and excusing them as just being drawn in to Hickey's charisma, not being smart enough to clock what was happening, is the least interesting way to look at it to me. He saw what was happening and chose not just to follow but to abet. The thing that makes him such a fascinating (and, I would argue, sympathetic) character is why he makes those decisions. He draws conclusions that are heavily impacted by his anger and his grief, but he does draw them for himself. He was obviously very proud of being a Royal Marine and wouldn't have thrown that lightly aside for someone who, at the beginning, he didn't even respect.

I do not understand and am slightly offended by the fanon I come across depicting Solomon Tozer as dumb or stupid. He just isn't.

There are different kinds of intelligence. Just because he hasn't studied like a midshipmen or officer, that only makes him uneducated at worst. He clearly has interpersonal and emotional intelligence which are not to be sniffed at when you have that many men trapped together in harrowing circumstances.

As he is tending to Heather, he very specifically is describing one of the ongoing scientific experiments. That indicates not just that he's paying attention but that he finds it interesting and noteworthy. He could very easily have been talking about anything, about shipboard gossip or relating old adventures, but he's relating what he‘s picked up of the ship's science.

I'm sure one of the reasons he's depicted thusly is his poor choice in joining up with Hickey and subsequent doubling down on that choice. That is a topic for another essay but my point here is: grief empirically affects one's ability to process and make decisions. Tozer is arguably one of the most grief stricken men on board. They've all suffered losses, but being widowed (if we're taking the real Tozer's biography into account), with witnessing the deaths of Bryant and Sir John, with Heather, with Fairholme's party, with Morfin - he is not just grieving these losses but often feeling a direct responsibility for them. One of these alone is enough to impact his ability to make rational decisions, and as they pile up? And that's not even factoring in the effects of scurvy.

In conclusion, leave my boy alone; he's not dumb, he's just grief-stricken and doing his best.

#this still isn't saying what i want it to but i think to convey it is a much longer post #i have to start my tozer rewatch so i can write the full essay #because i keep seeing more layers to how his character was built #solomon tozer

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alea-jottun · 2 days ago

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On dissonance : saying you story did something vs making your story say something

A problem I have noticed with people defending s2 is that they take at face value what the dialogues say (or what the writers have said in interviews), as if it were a complete justification of what happens in s2. But a story cannot simply say it is something, it has to be this thing. Dialogue that is not backed up by the actual content of a story is worthless.

A few examples for instance :

S2 wants to pretend that it has something to say about forgiveness. But what does it do ? Have alternate Silco say that "the greatest thing we can do in life is find the power to forgive" (one of the worst lines of s2 considering the context. I'm not even going to delve into why he was the worst possible character you could choose to prone forgiveness, but let's put aside his character assassination for now) yet never follow through.

That's just a line, said by a character. For it to have value, it has to be backed by the story. But s2 doesn't do that.

The problem is not that s2 wants to prone forgiveness (that was going to come up anyway, because you have to discuss forgiveness in order to put an end to a cycle of violence). The problem is that there is no well-written arc demonstrating the value of forgiveness in s2 : simply characters who suddenly feel bad for what they have done, and other characters who forgive them just like that. The justifications given for their changes of heart are either incredibly superficial (considering the gravity of the Arcane themes. We're talking about forgiving murder, attacks, etc), or absolute crap. The reason being of course that the writers did not bother writing organic, developped character arcs.

No, Caitlyn saying "I know" or fighting Noxus is not her taking responsibility or atoning for her crimes. No, her seeing Vi or being called Cupcake should not be enough to cause a change of heart this radical (and don't say that Caitlyn was feeling bad and was waiting for an opportunity to betray Ambessa, because that's simply not true. She absolutely supported Ambessa through s2. She just suddenly changed her opinion on Ambessa because the writers decided it).

Same goes for instance for the Timebomb subplot (which I have unfortunately seen heralded as another example of how s2 preaches forgiveness) : Ekko goes to an alternate reality and falls in love with an alternate version of a girl who murdered his friends and cursed Zaun, but in his reality Jinx is suddenly sad about what she did to the Council, so boom ! Forgiven with no proper redemption arc, and now Ekko tries to convince her that she can better herself. Even though throughout Arcane Jinx didn't give a damn about Ekko or the Firelights she killed. And no, fighting for Piltover and a fake sacrifice at the end do not count as redemption.

At this point, the writers really feel like a character being sad is equivalent to an entire redemption arc. But forgiveness has to be earned, and it never is in s2.

Another example of constant dissonance which I have evoked in another post, but also fits here :

Caitlyn saying to Jinx "no amount of good deeds can undo our crimes...." .... while the entirety of s2 does just that for several characters, including her and Jinx, ironically.

Again, that's just one line, said by a character at the end of a 9 episodes series. But that's not what s2 says in practice. The reality of s2 is that it keeps trying to downplay Jinx's past actions, it keeps trying to undo her crimes : she does whatever she wants and is seen as a symbol in Zaun, even though she literally prevented the Council from declaring Zaun independant. There is no problem to her presence in Viktor's commune, despite that fact that she killed him, and his dream, and again, cursed Zaun when it was about to be freed. She can literally talk to Viktor without the topic ever being properly adressed. And then the writers remember that she is a bit more than a troublemaker, so in the last episodes you get half-baked excuses and a tentative to end herself to cause drama (which is incredibly insensitive, but that's not the point of this post).

Same for Caitlyn : despite being the one saying "no amount of good deeds can undo our crimes....", she has one of the happiest ending of s2, without ever taking responsibility for her actions, or going through redemption. She ends up with an even better social position, a girlfriend she mistreated, a victory for Piltover, and never any real punishment or coherent negative consequences of her actions. So yes, her crimes are pretty much undo-ed... and she didn't even do any real good deed.

The dialogue says something, but the whole series contradicts it.

And finally, you have lines that are absolute crap (in the context of s2) and that pretend that s2 was a completely different show : see the "trying to get rid of your imperfections" line (Viktor's so-called quest for perfection doesn't exist apart from a few lines of dialogues, it is never a proper plot point in the show itself). See the "If he had found the letter it would all have been different" line (not even going to go into details with this one because there is so much wrong with it, it's impressive at this point). Or Jayce's "All I want is my partner back" when Jayce is not shown caring about Viktor after he goes back to Zaun (and no, hallucinating him once in the fire does not count. Also it does not help that neither Jayce nor Viktor have much screen time) and then tries to kill him. So what does s2 do ? Have a cheap thirty second explanation in the last episode, introduce the worst "plot twist" of the series, and pretend it did the job.

Add that to the terrible interview of the writer who said that they made the story as "economical" as possible (they genuinely thought that if they implied something once, then they never had to mention it again) when a good story is supposed to be the complete opposite : efficient (say as much as you possibly can).

S2 is all filler no substance. I know we're joking about the people defending it with the "micro-expressions" argument, but that's understandable : that's all there is in s2 : micro-potentials of what could have been a great series, drowned in an ocean of incompetence.

#arcane critical #each time I see the “economical” interview I shudder #also most of the dialogue is s2 is terrible anyway #and yet there is not even that much dialogue #compare the last episode of s1 and the last episode of s2 : you will see that the difference in dialogue quantity and quality is very clear #the few great lines of s2 were wasted on this catastrophe of a story

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