#i have lots of thoughts about the game and the characters but since i figure most people dont really want those essays

[sunsets12]

My Spoiler Review of SOTR

Okay, let's start out with the stuff I like, in no particular order:

Maysilee:

She is very much so the standout character of this novel, and I really appreciate her. Haymitch is the one who comes from "rebels" but Maysilee is rebellious in her own right. I also think her character functions as a call-out for middle class Americans -- you won't be spared.

The Katniss/Haymitch parallels and foil:

Ok, I have a lot of thoughts on this, and at a surface level, I think we're supposed to come away from this novel thinking about how similar Katniss and Haymitch are, but I came away thinking the opposite. Because in a lot of the ways that matter, they're pretty different.

For example, Haymitch 100% considers himself a rebel, whereas Katniss definitely does not. One of my favorite examples of this is when they both discuss the importance of the jabberjays. They're pretty much saying this same thing with one important difference:

Katniss: "After the birds gathered words, they’d fly back to centers to be recorded. It took people awhile to realize what was going on in the districts, how private conversations were being transmitted. Then, of course, the rebels fed the Capitol endless lies, and the joke was on it."

Haymitch: "During the Dark Days, the Capitol spied on us with jabberjays, mutts that looked like regular birds but could record the rebels’ conversations and play them back word for word. We figured this out and fed them false information.”

Also, Katniss spends so much of her time worrying about her family, whereas Haymitch assumes they'll be fine (as long as they don't explicitly rebel like Lenore Dove). An example of this is Haymitch assuming that he'll die in the arena and his family will be spared from any consequences meanwhile after Katniss shoots at the Gamemakers, she has a breakdown thinking they'll come after her family.

And then there is of course the fact that most Katniss's rebellions (especially in the first book) were not thought of as acts of rebellion. Meanwhile, Haymitch is like, "yeah, I'm gonna blow up the arena!"

Effie:

Ok, disclaimer that I thought her appearance didn't make much sense timeline wise (I would never have imagined she was working as an escort of 12 ever since the 51st games, and honestly, I think Collins kind of fibbed this a little bit to have her make a cameo, but more on my thoughts on forced cameos later...) BUT with that being said:

I love how her character functions as a foil to Drusilla, who is explicitly cruel and views District people as animals. I think this worked really well, especially because after spending a good chunk of the book being like "wow Effie is great" she tells Haymitch that the games are important and necessary and you're like "oh..."

Good stuff

The flint striker:

I love a good metaphor.

The rebellion didn't start with Katniss, she was just the actual push it needed:

Love this

Things I didn't like:

It is dumbed down:

My biggest critique. It feels like Collins was upset that people walked away from TBOSAS thinking Snow is hot and wanted to make sure nothing like that happened again. But as a consequence some of the characters just become dumb/out-of-character to get her point across. I have two smoking gun examples of this:

First, Plutarch has a conversation with Haymitch (in the training center, I believe) where he's like, "Hey so why didn't you all just rebel in the square back there. You totally outnumbered the peace keepers and could have done it." Like ok, let's put aside how easily this conversation could've been overheard. It's silly. It feels like Collins was repeatedly hitting me over the head with the point of this book, and I'm just like... you don't need to do this

Second, Beetee. Beetee's son was reaped as punishment for Beetee, and we, as the readers, know this because Beetee explicitly tells Haymitch it, which was just so wildly out-of-character. And it, again, feels dumbed down. Like she didn't trust we could put two-and-two together. It's okay, Suzanne Collins, you don't need to hold our hand the whole time

Haymitch as a narrator:

He lacks a personality. It's like Suzanne used Katniss as a guide and then removed everything interesting about her. This is especially frustrating because Haymitch is one of my favorite characters in the original series.

Other characters:

In general the characters are underdeveloped and flat, even characters we met before largely feel like empty shells of themselves (Mags and Wiress). Don't get me started on how little I cared about Louella/Lou Lou. I was out there sobbing my eyes out when Rue died, and I rolled my eyes at Lou Lou's death (partially because Haymitch is not stupid enough to let her shove her whole face in some flowers after he learned all the water and food on the island is poisonous. And I don't want to hear that he recognized the flowers as not being poisonous because apples aren't poisonous either and the ones in the arena were so...) I liked the concept behind Louella and Lou Lou, but the execution was not it.

Maysilee and Effie were the only characters I thought were well developed.

The singing:

I mentioned this in my non-spoiler review, but the singing was too much. I genuinely think 80% of the characters sing at some point. I really appreciate the role music plays in the Hunger Games but this was so overdone it become pointless, and frankly, irritating.

Random comments:

We finally learn what Panem thinks of Homosexuality! Doesn't necessarily mean it'll be in my fic, but it was interesting to read nonetheless.

The fact that they don't pay the miners real money was a nice touch.

The sweetheart nickname 🥲

I would've much preferred to see a new Victor character as Haymitch's mentor, especially because Mags and Wiress added basically nothing to the plot (there were too many cameos in general. I had to suspend my disbelief slightly more than I could...)

The dramatic irony of Haymitch not worrying about his family...

I like that he worked for a bootlegger

His attitude towards alcohol in general is *so* interesting. "But from where I'm sitting, hope seems a lot like white liquor. It can fool you in the short run, but like as not, you'll end up paying for it twice."

The way he fails to beat the Capitol and thinks about how a sixteen year old from the trashiest district could never beat the capitol.... the dramatic irony, I love it

Overall thoughts:

I'm pretty disappointed. I get what she was going for, but I don't think the execution is that well done. In my initial review, I called this a money grab, but I don't think that's true. I think Collins is worried about the political climate and wanted to get this book out ASAP and it's rushed as a consequence.

This would've benefited greatly from another round of rewrites. That's my final thought.

[cephalofrog]

13h in, finishing for the day

thoughts so far: this DLC is so huge man. strong basegame vibes in that you're kinda just wandering and trying to figure out what's happening. definitely has one big downside next to the basegame though for me right now though, which is the non-connected world - you don't have the ability to form a picture of the world when you're travelling around between places (and possible time periods?) by portals. it causes the more similar zones to kind of blend in together imo, and makes it really hard to navigate through zones cause you can't orient yourself by thinking "well this region is in this vague direction so I'll head that way". it also makes every zone contextless - the top part of the pink zone is beautiful, arguably more so than any base-game screen, but it's also completely unexplained. we don't even know if the structures were built by the benefactors who built the iterators or some other civilisation (though I'd guess the benefactors since it seems weird to have the same creatures across such a long timeframe). maybe this will be resolved, but I don't see how - there are no lore pearls in any region so idk how you'd ever learn anything specific about any of them.

I guess they probably don't let you know which zones will have an echo to encourage thorough exploration of every zone, but since you can't passage, it does seem like something that's just gonna cause a ton of annoying backtracking for the average player. maybe there's a tell I haven't noticed

I still have no clue what is happening with the story. that's rain world I guess. fun to have a running kinda antagonist character though, oaoaoaoa - they mentioned walking around so sadly my sliver theory has probably been disproved

most zones are fine so far. unfortunate evolution sticks out for obvious regions (I've never been so scared in my life), I like the pink signal one and cold storage quite a lot (even though I hate the wind mechanic), I absolutely despise the badlands and its badly explained locusts mechanic (I still don't know how to get to the left side of the region and either I hate it cause it's impossible or I hate it cause it's badly explained)

my favourite new creature is the moths, they're peak. my least favourite new creature is the coral bug things, they suck and are terrible

watcher spoilers

do not meet echoes u guys. worst mistake of my life

impressions after an hour of playing: wow the contrast between the kinda fanmade interpretation of "what would happen next" of "well obviously the iterators attempt to make amends and eventually collapse and it's sad but bittersweet" vs. the original devs going "there is a plague. everything goes gross. rot gets everywhere."

[moeblob]

I’d just like to say thank you for drawing Gavin and Chris being friends. Definitely an underrated pair and I’m so happy that art of them exists. Makes my day to see them honestly.

Also, please make more because this fandom definitely needs it 💕

OH HELL YEAH that's some of my favorite stuff to draw for DBH tbh! There is something so charming about unhinged coworker dynamics... I say this as someone who has been the unhinged coworker and someone who has heard unhinged coworkers.

Thank you so much though! I'm glad you've enjoyed what I have so far! I will say that while I didn't have the energy to draw it yesterday for Halloween, the idea that I had was them just alternating who got to wear the Ghostface mask. (I have never seen any of the Scream movies but I do know that there's not a Singular Ghostface, but multiple people)

Like someone would walk past Gavin's desk and he's just on his phone not looking up while Chris is making a work call - wearing the mask. Then five minutes later Chris tosses it over saying he needs some air and Gavin wears it. But the fact it was Halloween nobody really clocks the swap at first just "wow I am REALLY tired I thought it was the other one wearing it. I must really need coffee" and then half an hour passes and they've swapped who's wearing it again.

[bunji-enthusiast]

𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐬

Sypnosis [When you found yourself settling down in the confines of the supposed Safe Haven, your worry coursed over to the thought of Kissy Missy. Then, the pain became clearly evident after that small conversation.]

Characters [Kissy Missy, Doey The Doughman.]

Note || some little bits of reconciliation and actually getting some time to take care of yourself. Lmao, lettuce make-up with our allies mob games. Damn.

The air in the Safe Haven was thick with tension, but it was the kind of tension that felt oddly… comfortable. Here, in the safety of this last sanctuary, the chaos of the factory’s horrors seemed miles away. Yet, you couldn’t escape the constant burn of exhaustion that clung to you, an aching reminder of the days that had stretched into weeks, the endless running, the ever-present sense of danger.

You winced as you sank into a worn chair, feeling the sharp pain in your hands—the reminder of the struggle, of how the factory had tried to break you down. The stabbing sensation still lingered, especially in your hands, where the cuts and bruises from your last fight had yet to fully heal. It wasn’t just the physical wounds that hurt; it was the mental ones too, the nightmares that had been following you since the factory’s horrors first caught up with you. But there was no time to rest—no time to truly heal—because there was still so much you hadn’t understood.

And that’s why, despite the physical toll, you found yourself making your way toward Kissy Missy.

She had been one of the many strange figures you’d encountered in the factory, her appearance eerily similar to Huggy Wuggy but… different. More fragile, perhaps. But you knew there was something deeper about her, something buried beneath that pink exterior, something that reminded you of the other experiments—each one with their own strange, tortured past.

You paused for a moment, standing at the entrance to the small corner of the Safe Haven where Kissy Missy resided. Despite the pain, despite the urge to just collapse and let sleep take you, you pushed forward. You’d never let yourself be the one to turn away from someone in need, and Kissy Missy had been in need ever since you met her. Sure, she had been a little… off after the massacre, but you knew what it was like to live in this place, to feel like a broken part of a machine you couldn’t escape.

When you finally saw her, she was sitting near the far wall, her left arm hanging loosely in a makeshift sling, the remnants of her earlier battle with the mystery attacker still visible in the gaping burns and slashes that marred the right side of her face and body. The pink fur that usually looked so vibrant was now matted and stained with dried blood, and her eyes—those long, heavy lashes framing her round, almost innocent eyes—were hollow with something… sadness. She didn’t look at you at first, too absorbed in whatever thoughts were racing through her head.

“Kissy?” you said softly, unsure of how to approach her.

Her head turned slowly, her gaze meeting yours for a fleeting moment before flicking downward, avoiding eye contact.

You gave a slight wince as you took a step closer. “I, uh… I wanted to check on you.”

The silence between you two stretched, heavy and uncomfortable. It had been like this ever since the factory turned into a playground of madness, with no answers to any of the questions that haunted both of you. Despite her usual silence, despite the distance she often kept, you knew she appreciated your presence. She always had.

You let out a breath and moved to sit down across from her, trying not to jolt in pain as you lowered yourself into the chair. “You’ve been through a lot. I get it. We all have.”

Kissy Missy didn’t respond. Her lips barely twitched, but you could tell she was listening. Maybe she was too tired to speak, or maybe she was too worried about the Prototype's plans to say anything at all. But you didn’t mind the silence. Sometimes it was easier to exist with someone who understood the weight of it all, the weight that words couldn’t even begin to explain.

"I don't know if this helps," you continued quietly, "but I want you to know that you're not alone here. We’re in this together. Whatever happens next."

Her eyes flicked up to meet yours then, but only for a moment. It was like she was trying to read you, trying to understand what you meant. Slowly, she nodded, almost imperceptibly.

And that was enough. For now, it was enough. You didn’t need her to talk, to give you answers. What you needed—what you both needed—was to share this space, this fragile moment of peace, where there were no tasks, no monsters, no running for your life. Just a quiet connection between two lost souls in the middle of a nightmare.

Despite everything, you couldn’t help but feel a tiny flicker of hope.

Maybe, just maybe, the Safe Haven could give you both a chance to heal.

It wasn’t much. But it was something.

As you sat there, you allowed yourself to close your eyes for a brief moment, just long enough to let the exhaustion settle in. You'll face whatever comes next. But for now, in this small, quiet space, you allowed yourself to rest. Kissy Missy, for once, didn’t seem so far away.

Though, after that small but hopeful interaction. An hour and half later, interception crossed your mind.

A brilliant cross by the sign of the infirmary, maybe not, with the way you’ve been seeing things. Between reality and illusion, you’ve tried not to think about that part too much.

The dim, flickering light of the Safe Haven's small infirmary provided little comfort, though it was still far better than the oppressive, clanging noises and hazardous atmosphere of the factory that lingered in the air. The exhaustion had settled into your bones, an aching weariness that seemed to make every muscle protest with the smallest movement. After hours of tense, grueling hours spent navigating through the factory, and the constant threat of being torn apart by both monsters and the harsh environment, you found yourself collapsing in the hallway of the Safe Haven, feeling the weight of your past decisions crash over you.

However you were glad you managed to talk to Kissy before your body—moreover you—went almost numb.

You winced, looking down at your hands. They were raw, battered, and covered in bruises from the constant handling of machinery, gripping metal bars, and escaping the clutches of various monsters. You tried to brush it off, but now, in the quiet confines of safety, the pain and damage were hard to ignore. The skin on your knuckles was torn, deep red streaks of blood seeping through the open wounds as the exertion of constant pressure finally caught up with you.

Doey, always perceptive despite his playful demeanor, had noticed the way you were favoring your hands and the way you winced as you flexed your fingers. He hopped over to your side, his multi-colored doughy body shifting with each movement, his orange arm extending to gently tap your wrist in concern.

"Hey, hey," he said, his voice a soft mix of concern and curiosity. "What happened to your hands? They look pretty bruised and, uh, kinda gnarly."

You hesitated, the words catching in your throat. It wasn’t the kind of thing you liked to talk about. Not to someone like Doey, who was always so carefree, so light-hearted, always ready with a smile and a joke. The last thing you wanted was to burden him with the dark memories that haunted your hands.

"I... it’s nothing. Just the usual," you muttered, trying to hide the shame beneath a gruff voice, even as the truth flickered beneath it.

Doey raised an eyebrow, his blue face tilting slightly as if reading your tone, and then, with a playful tilt of his head, he leaned in closer. "Uh-uh. I don’t think 'nothing's gonna cut it this time. You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?"

You sighed, rubbing a hand across your face, fingers brushing against the rough skin of your knuckles. "Yeah," you admitted, your voice quieter now, barely above a whisper. "It’s… it’s from working in the factory. A lot of heavy lifting, tight spaces, and, well... things went wrong. Lots of things went wrong."

Doey's eyes softened with understanding, but there was no pity in them—only concern. His orange arm gently rested on your shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Sounds like you’ve been pushing yourself harder than you should have. You’re safe here, y’know? You don’t have to keep that stuff to yourself."

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Safe Haven. It was a phrase you’d come to rely on, even if the dark memories of the factory still lingered like shadows at the edge of your mind. You looked over at Doey, forcing a small smile. "I guess I just… I just want to patch these up. Don't want to end up infecting them or something worse."

Doey thought for a moment, his expression furrowing slightly as if he was deep in thought. Then, in a sudden burst of energy, his orange and yellow arms shot out, his long limbs stretching and twisting as he moved around, digging through the nearby crates.

"Thread, yarn, string, fabric… Aha! Got it!" he exclaimed, pulling out a coil of old, faded string from a box in the corner. His hands moved with surprising speed as he held it up in front of you, a proud look on his face. "This should work, right? I’m not exactly a surgeon, but I can at least try to help with this!"

Your mind caught onto the first bit. Thread? It isn’t ideal but that’ll work too.

You couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, despite the situation. "You’re a lifesaver, Doey."

He grinned wide, that playful energy never faltering. "Hey, it’s what I do best—saving lives, keeping things light, and making sure nobody's left behind, yeah?" His face shifted for just a moment, a flicker of something deeper passing through his eyes, but just as quickly as it appeared, the mask of his usual cheer returned.

Taking the string carefully from his hands, you positioned your hands before him. "Alright, let’s see what you’ve got," you said, trying to keep the moment light-hearted, but the weight of the past few hours hung heavily in the air.

Doey’s fingers worked with surprising delicacy, his doughy hands moving deftly as he wrapped the string around your injured knuckles, tying the wounds up as best as he could. His movements were slow, thoughtful, and you could tell he was taking extra care. There was a soft hum to his actions, a peaceful rhythm that somehow matched the calmness of the Safe Haven around you.

"Hang in there," Doey said, his voice steady, despite the playful nature of his words. "You’ve been through a lot, but you’re not alone here. Not anymore. We’ll get you patched up. You’ve got a place with us. Always."

For a moment, all the tension in your body seemed to ease, as if the weight of the world was momentarily lifted. It wasn’t much—just a bit of string and a comforting presence—but in that moment, it was enough. You didn’t have to carry everything alone. Not anymore.

As Doey finished tying the last knot, he stepped back and gave a satisfied nod. "There. Good as new! Well, maybe not new, but you get the idea."

You flexed your hands carefully, the makeshift bandages holding tight. It wasn’t perfect, but it would do for now. The pain was still there, but it felt like a distant thing, something that could be ignored for the moment.

"Thanks, Doey," you rasped, your voice quieter, but filled with gratitude.

Doey beamed, his face glowing with pride. "Anytime, buddy. Anytime. Now, let’s get some rest, yeah? we’ve got more adventures to go on."

And as you leaned back against the wall, the weight of all the hours that passed finally slipping from your shoulders, you allowed yourself another rare moment of peace. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to hold onto. Safe Haven. You could stay here for a while, maybe even find a sense of home.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, you allowed yourself to believe it.

[meo-eiru]

DUDE I JUST PLAYED THROUGH THE GAME, WHY IS IT SO SADDDD😭😭😭

and why is he hot

Starling went through quite a few redesigns through the entire development process so let me talk about it a bit :3

It all started with this notes app drawing I made with my finger

Right from the start we knew his tail would be made out of tongues but figuring out how many and placed how was quite hard, I really had to girlmath my way thru

This was the first actual drawing I made of him. The story wasn't complete yet but I went ahead and designed something anyway. Here he was definitely "scarier" and his scar was also placed differently. He had gills on his neck but as you will see I changed their location to under his arms later on. We were actually considering not giving him a tongue of his own so I wanted to make his mouth terrifyingly big and empty.

Here I tried giving him bigger eyes like a fish. This was when his playful and childlike personality had started shaping as you can see from the expressions. I definitely liked this direction better but it also wasn't perfect just yet so I went ahead and did a few more changes

I slowed down on trying to figure out his design a bit after that and instead focused on how his sprite would look. He is a merman after all, he can't just stand straight like a lot of the other visual novel characters. This stage was PAINFUL.

These were the first ones I sketched, we ended up deciding we liked the 3rd one the best.

I carried that 3rd one over to another canvas and started playing around with how we could place his tail, we started entertaining the idea of having him sit on a big rock

This is when his pose really shaped up. The animated Little Mermaid movie was actually a big inspiration, I sat and rewatched the entire movie and studied how they animated her tail

And after that I finally finalized his design. We decided to change the end of his tail to be more eel like for aesthetic purposes (normal tail shape looked weird with tongues)

And for anyone wondering this is what Maelyn looked like at first. Since the story wasn't complete yet I thought it'd take place in a more modern setting and designed her with that in mind but we decided to have the story take place in 1800s so I changed the design based on that. I did a lot of research on glasses and corsets to make the design as accurate as I could.

Yes glasses! We didn't use the sprites in the main story but Maelyn does wear glasses and looks very pretty in them if you ask me. You will be seeing more of it in the bonus episodes!

[crheativity]

This is my first time requesting here, so...

Hi! Mind if I send in a request? Hear me out: the track club bois, the basketball club bois and the spelldrive club bois getting a kiss on the cheek from the reader after a successful game/track meet

A KISS FOR THE VICTOR

SUMMARY: After a successful club meet, you give them a kiss on the cheek! How do they react?

WARNINGS: Some of these may be out of character (I’m sorry I still have no clue how to write Jack, Leona and Floyd)

COMMENTS: Hi! Sorry it’s taken me so long to get to this request, there were a lot of boys hehe! I hope you don’t mind but since there are a lot I did shorter headcanons instead of a full thing for each boy. Also, since I have no experience writing kisses yet, I just did their reactions. I hope that’s okay! This is such a cute prompt though, thank you so much for requesting it!!

Also, if you enjoy this, please consider checking out my 200 followers event!

If you'd like to read part 2 with the Pop Music club and Equestrian club, click here.

TRACK CLUB

Jack froze, his eyes going wide. He coughed into his fist and looked away, desperately trying to regain his composure. A herculean feat, considering how adorable you looked gazing up at him like that. He smiles at you hesitantly - a small, wavering smile, before his cheeks go pink and he turns away to talk to his teammates. Although it seems he does not care, a keen eye will notice how his ears won’t stop twitching and his tail keeps wagging. 

Poor boy stopped responding immediately. He tripped on the sidewalk and almost fell over, he got so flustered. He can’t concentrate on anything now. He’s really sorry, he’s trying his best to listen to what you have to say, but his mind is replaying that kiss over and over… He can’t look you in the eye for the next few days. The moment he gets to crash in his room, he calls his mum. He briefly talked about his match, but mostly talked about you. How does he talk to you again after that?? He might be a little awkward over the next couple of days, but know that you’re constantly on his mind and in his heart.

BASKETBALL CLUB

Oh? You’re gonna give him a kiss? Well tough luck, he expects one every match from now on! So what if he doesn’t win? He wants one anyway! That’s how you can cheer him up after a match from now on!  But in the moment, he’s picking you up and spinning you around. His face is very red - whether from the exercise or from you, it’s hard to tell, but the bright red ears are a dead giveaway. He’s not gonna forget what you did, and loves to remind you - in the hopes that you’ll do it again.

Time stops for him and he stares at you, dumbfounded. His face heats up and boy does he wish he had his hood right now. He can’t talk to you or face you for the next hour as he struggles to figure out what to say. He does however feel really smug. Everyone in the match did super well, but he was the only one who got a kiss! From you! Ha! …wait. He was the only one who got a kiss. From you. He’s confused and flustered all over again. Please confess to him before he goes insane.

Ehhh~? Shrimpy’s giving him a kiss? Only one on the cheek? Screw that, he’s gonna give you an actual kiss! And a squeeze to boot. The moment you give him a kiss he registers that kisses are okay in whatever relationship you and he have and boy is he gonna abuse that. What are the two of you? He doesn’t care as long as you don’t, but if he makes you uncomfortable then he wants to know. Like Ace, he’s going to be expecting one for every match now, but if you don’t give him a kiss for some reason that won’t stop him giving you one~!

SPELLDRIVE CLUB

You thought Ace was bad? Leona’s gonna be so much worse. He doesn’t tease you quite as much, but he’s going to be incredibly smug, both after the track meeting and for the next couple of weeks after. Please be prepared for suddenly more Leona in your life, as the moment you press a kiss to his cheek he’s going to take that as a rite of passage to be almost constantly around you. He will encourage you to ditch class with him as much as possible. He just wants to spend more time with you now, and after that kiss, surely that means you want that too, right?

Ruggie nervously laughs it off, his cheeks going bright pink as he fumbles for something to say. He honestly, genuinely wasn’t expecting it - you managed to catch him so off guard that he doesn’t quite know how to act. Ah, but he’s not upset! He’s exactly the opposite of that, if anything. Elated, maybe? Who cares, his crush just kissed him! He is going to be bragging so hard to Leona and anyone who’ll listen afterwards. Maybe he’ll start giving you a couple more snacks - with a kiss as payment of course! Shishishi.

LET’S FREAKING GOOO. wait. Did you just kiss me-? Epel was in such a good mood after his match that his brain didn’t fully register that you just kissed him. He takes a break from celebrating for a moment to double check. When you confirm that yes, in fact, you did kiss him, his cheeks go apple red and he starts celebrating way harder. Calm down? He can’t calm down, this is the best day of his life! He won a match and got a kiss from a cutie to boot! The only thing that makes him calm down a little is Vil threatening to smack him with his shoe.

♥Thank you for reading!! I hope you enjoyed it!!♥

[litlunacy]

Thinking about the implications of playing a Dalish Rook and dealing with actual elvhen gods and having said gods look at your face and see your vallaslin and like...just assuming they own you since they were originally slave markings. And extending that to Davrin and Bellara as well. Which led me down a hole of trying to figure out which vallaslin they both have (1. Because I am a sucker for anything Dalish related and 2. Possible story ramifications? Who knows).

Davrin seems to have a fairly straightforward Ghilan'nain vallaslin, though slightly altered from before, which isn't surprising. The blood writing has already undergone changes between Origins/2 and Inquistion (Regional variations I suppose? Would definitely make sense for Merrill's Ferelden clan and Quiz's Free Marcher clan to change them slightly. Anyway.) But he has the delicate curved branches on the forehead and the small chin design so I'm fairly confidant about that one.

But Bellara has absolutely stumped me. I kinda figured that since we got confirmation that it was Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan at the end of the gameplay trailer, that since Davrin's is Ghilan'ain it would make sense for Bellara to have Elgar'nan's. But hers looks absolutely nothing like the previous versions.

So that's out. But it does bear a very very slight resemblance to the June vallaslin.

Or at the very least has a lot of similar elements, such as the cross-hatching, the double series of dots, and a focal point in the central forehead.

My only other guess is Andruil or Dirthamen, because the DAI versions of both of them also feature series of dots, and none of the other Vallaslin do from either Origins or Inquisition.

Maybe somebody will ask the devs for confirmation on twitter or in another Q&A or something. Because I am vibrating with curiosity.

(Honestly, since we're gonna be dealing heavily in this game with a lot of ancient elf stuff, I really hope we at least get a little bit more from Dalish characters about their specific vallaslin. Like, I wanna know why my party members chose the vallaslin of that particular god. You don't sit for hours in total silence as your Keeper pokes your face with a needle without putting some kinda thought into what's going to be on your face for the rest of your life.)

[caffeinatelove]

࿐ ࿔:･ﾟdating reo and nagi

𝐛𝐲𝐫: these are just headcanons! female reader, polyamory, intended lowercase, includes swearing, possible out of character / mischaracterisation, fluff, very reader-centred and indulgent, suggestive & sexual themes!

getting together wasn’t something any of you had planned.

perhaps you went to hakuho high as well, crossing paths with the two by getting into group projects and sharing bento at lunch. or maybe you were hired as something like a health nutritionist for blue lock, having to essentially babysit them when reo would huff about his experienced palate not allowing him to stomach such cheap side dishes and then nagi who would barely eat due to his own exhaustion.

either way, one thing became clear immediately: you had caught their attention.

reo made it obvious from the start. or at least he tried to.

he was charming, confident and somehow always knew what to say. time and time again he found ways to be around you. shamelessly complimenting you. spoiling you. doting on you.

the mere thought of having two people to pamper and look after was very appealing. so to say reo was doing everything in his power to get you, would be an accurate statement.

but truth be told, you were a bit oblivious to his advances. under the impression that reo was just a very charismatic man who had more money than sense you figured that he acted this way with all of his friends. because he sure did act like it with nagi.

oh boy, how wrong you were.

then there was nagi who took way longer to confront the fact that he might be interested in two people at once. it wasn’t that he didn’t like you, but he just didn’t know what to do with the feeling. and the confusion only intensified once he noticed how worked up reo was getting over you.

liking one person? sure. but two? that was a thought he needed warming up to!

the realisation hit him like a semi truck one day, whilst watching you and reo laugh together. something unfamiliar bloomed in his chest, realising that he didn’t want to indulge in that moment with just reo.

but you, too.

it took months of forced proximity, lingering touches and moments where it was clear that the three of you were happiest when together, for nagi to finally accept it.

and by the time you made it official? nothing really changed since the three of you had been each other’s for a long time.

anyways, being in a relationship with the two left you constantly showered in affection. because while the boys did have their own moments together, and lots of them, their mutual obsession with you was what truly defined the relationship.

nagi is clingy as hell, especially. not in the traditional way because he’s not really whiny or needy about it, but if you’re within reach? trust that you’re getting cuddled like a doll.

the first time it happens you’re really caught off guard. you assume he’s too engaged with some video game on his phone to even notice you walking past, but without looking up, he’ll mumble. "ah, y/n. sit with me."

pleasantly surprised, you move to sit next to your boyfriend on the couch, but that’s when he balanaces his phone in one hand — grabbing your waist in guidance and pulling you casually onto his lap with the other.

incredibly flustered, you try to balance yourself on his broad shoulders. "seishirou, i can’t really see what you’re doing like this–"

he’ll rest his chin on your shoulder, pressing his chest to your own as he continues to play. "just stay. please?"

it doesn’t matter if he’s playing video games and suddenly needs a new form of motivation. or if he’s just doomscrolling on his phone and needs someone to share his love for mindless media consumption with, or even if he’s half asleep in bed and needs a cuddle buddy. if you pass by, he’s tugging you into his lap. as well as claiming that it’s too much effort to sit alone. (somehow)

reo, on the other hand, is definitely more outright romantic.

i feel like he’s big on those sickeningly sweet pet names, and princess is his trademark favourite. sometimes it’ll be innocent, merely calling out to you. sometimes he’ll say it with a smirk, and sometimes it’ll be whispered against your ear to fluster you.

it’s kind of like a secret weapon — he enjoys how you get embarrassed so easily. and it’s kind of satisfying to see his charm get put to good use again after having to face nagi’s constant nonchalance. which can be a bit of a confidence killer.

and on the note of embarrassed, no matter how much you insist you don’t need something, reo will still find a way to buy you whatever you want. whenever you try to disregard it, it kind of just makes him want to get it for you even more. what you can do? the boy loves a good challenge.

"reo, this is way too much. i swear, i’m not spoiled, i don’t need it.” you’ll ramble, unable to tear your eyes away from the price tag on the vivienne westwood purse you initially swooned over.

he’ll snort. "that’s cute, princess. now tell me which colour you like best, just so i can go and buy both anyways."

nagi, who’ll also be chilling during the mini impromptu shopping spree, chimes in. "i think the leather one suits her more."

"great taste, treasure. here, i’ll get someone to ring up both."

your mouth falls slack in a gape of exasperation.

reo has stated that he’s a guy who typically gets what he wants. and what he wants? you. you and nagi, wrapped up in the little world the three of you built together.

and you guys barely go out anyways, unless it’s reo dragging you to some new expensive place he wishes to visit.

"this is way too fancy." you’ll mutter, looking around the luxurious restaurant. from the candlelit dinner to the impeccable view of the city hanging just below you. it was indescribable.

"it’s not often that we get time away from blue lock. besides, you deserve the best." he’ll smile at you, pretty smug as he can tell how enthralled you are by everything.

"mhm. she does." nagi will hum, biting into his wagyu with surprising energy.

reo will laugh under his breath, turning to face him now although the adoration in his gaze doesn’t waver. "you just like that i pay for everything."

"mhm. i do." nagi responds, completely unbothered as he shoves another piece into his mouth.

when you’re not going on dates dressed to the nines, though, most of your time together will be spent chilling at home. and in the off chance that they’re free for a whole weekend, you’ll usually wake up completely sandwiched between your two boyfriends'.

reo loves spooning you, burying his face into the back of your hair and pressing soft kisses where he can reach. while nagi would be pressed against you like a koala until his long limbs reach reo, totally trapping you in the middle.

"err, guys, i need to get up." you’ll grumble once the time comes, unable to free yourself from the vice-like hold of two athletes.

"no, you don’t." reo will sleepily counter.

and if anything, you saying that just makes nagi tighten his hold. "mmm. stay.”

domestically wholesome moments like that were truthfully your favourite, and as more time went on, the more they occurred.

upon lounging in his house one day, you noticed that nagi had his own 'pet' cactus, named choki. you asked reo about it, not really expecting your other boyfriend to have anything… live, but once he explained it to you, you thought it was totally adorable. it was surprisingly thriving, too. which showed that that your boyfriend actually did have the willpower to take care of things!

even if a cactus was extremely low maintenance.

you found yourself buying a 'pet' flower of your choice to match. bringing it round to nagi’s house often and watering it next to his, as if it were an actual pet going on a play date. he adored this, and entertained the thought of it completely.

reo, who quickly caught onto the whole thing, also bought a succulent of his own in order to not be left out. it only took a few days of him bragging about how his was the healthiest, until nagi quietly pointed out that his succulent was actually fake.

they totally argued about it, reo growing heated in defence and nagi trying to prove himself right by lazily tugging on one of the succulent leaves. it wouldn’t budge, showing its synthetic material, but reo would just swat his boyfriend’s hand away, telling him to lay off his child. you watered your flower in the corner, sheepishly humming to yourself.

yeah, your boyfriends' were very silly. but in saying that, it was also majorly why they were very loveable. and you often found yourself wanting to repay all the love they’d shown you up until now. one day, whilst shopping alone — because you knew that if you went with them it’d be a day to never end — you stumbled upon possibly the cutest sanrio plushies known to man, and you decided to pick one out for both of them.

you land on grabbing a gudetama plushie for nagi. you think it’s extremely fitting seeing as they’re both severely sleepy creatures. which was mostly the driving force behind choosing it. then, going a bit niche, you decided to get a plushie of tuxedo sam for reo. they both looked put together and very handsome. so you thought: why not?

reo pretended not to fawn over the gesture of you getting him a plushie, and a childish sanrio one at that, but he definitely sleeps with it every night. nagi just straight up uses it as his pillow. unapologetically.

now hear me out i feel like they also have moments where they compete against each other just for fun and just because they can.

like one day, you steal one of reo’s hoodies just to relax in, and he absolutely loves it.

"is that mine? you look so good in it. you know what? keep it, princess." he’ll immediately insist, practically drooling over the sight in front of him.

nagi will notice it too, of course, but he doesn’t say a word.

the next day, you wake up with a different hoodie draped across you. blinking curiously, it takes a moment for you to realise that it’s actually nagi’s. it’s basic and black so you don’t come to that realisation for any particular reason other than the fact that you’re practically swimming in it, due to how oversized it is.

"did you put that on her while she was sleeping?" reo will sigh.

"maybe." nagi hums.

"oh my gosh." you stifle a laugh, bunching the sleeves up to your elbows.

reo will heave a laugh, turning to his boyfriend, "you’re unbelievable."

"mmm. but she’s wearing mine now."

jealous nagi is a real concept! like maybe you go to reo specifically for help one day, before praising the boy on whatever it is that he helped you out with.

nagi overhears the entire interaction, simply staring blankly at the two of you, and you think nothing more of it. because that is classic nagi behaviour if you’ve ever seen it.

until later on, you decide to ask him for help with something, maybe like opening a jar or grabbing an item that you keep on the very top cabinet. and he’s fully aware of what he’s doing when he tells you to "go ask reo."

the sheer pettiness in his words makes you giggle, and you can’t help but to ruffle his white locks. "ah, you’re not jealous, are you?"

"i don’t know what you mean." he refuses to help you out for a solid ten minutes before eventually giving in to your head scratches.

and no, these sweet moments you share with your boyfriends' aren’t limited to just time spent away from blue lock. whenever you’re there, in the compound, you’re always checking on the two specifically.

even going as far as to be their cheerleader when you had the time.

reo loves when you call out his name mid-game. he acts all cool on the field but the moment he hears you screaming at the top of your lungs his ego is fully restored.

meanwhile, when you cheer for nagi, it kind of distracts him. but in a way, that kind of gets his head more in the game once he realises it. it’s like your voice elicits a subconscious urge to play harder.

the moment their match is over, their attention is focused on one thing, and that’s on immediately jogging over to you. before you can even react, you’re being attacked with affection. reo kisses you first, it’s deep and full of energy. then nagi follows instantly, pressing slow lazy kisses along your jaw.

of course this prompts immense curiosity from the rest of blue lock. as, whoever was unfortunate enough to witness such a display of public affection, realises that isn’t just some weird bromance you intruded on, anymore. no. something was there. and that’s what led the three of you to eventually confess the truth about your relationship.

“so, uh… how does that even work?"

everyone’s supportive, of course. chigiri snickers, saying something along the lines of how he knew the entire time. kunigami is taken aback by the weirdly modern relationship style, but he gives the three of you a strained smile regardless. gagamaru nods curtly. bachira bounces with excitement for the happy revelation. even rin seems to just shrug at the news.

but isagi’s blunt question still echoes in the confined room. his curious gaze alters from nagi to reo before finally settling on you. you can tell that he’s just genuinely curious about the dynamic when he adds on,

"like, do you guys take turns? or–"

igaguri suddenly shouts from next to him. "what kind of a perverted ass question is that, isagi?! i know you’re curious, but have some decency like the rest of us!"

"what?!" the other boy immediately turns into a defensive flustered mess. "i didn’t mean it like–i wasn’t talking about that! not a very holy assumption for you to make!"

you can’t help but to bury your face into your hands. reo simply snorts. nagi couldn’t care less; at least everyone knows now.

there were some disadvantages that came with it, too, though. like the occasional bad reaction from the other jerks that happened to reside in blue lock for the time being.

"three people…" kaiser would scoff in his thick accent, eyeing you in judgement once word got around to him. "some relationship. is this not just glorified cheating?"

"not really, no." nagi would hum calmly.

noticing his disinterest, kaiser then tries to provoke your other boyfriend. "aren’t you a mikage? guess that explains the predicament. people with their daddy’s money always crave for more.”

"hey! don’t assume such things." reo barks. he was wholeheartedly about to square up, had nagi not been holding him back.

ignoring them, he then tilts his head mockingly towards you. "and you. so selfish you really need to have two boyfriends? women these days. never satisfied."

kaiser’s misogynistic insult hits you with about the same impact of a soggy tissue. you just look up at him in amusement. "yep."

that was quite a loaded statement to make. seeing as you were more than satisfied with your boyfriends'.

in fact, isagi wasn’t entirely in the wrong to ask such a question. the truth was, you did tend to take turns. it was …less overwhelming that way. although less was subjective. because when it came to reo and nagi, neither of them knew when to stop.

you recalled a few nights ago. how reo would exhale a worn out laugh, sprawled out on the bed, knowing he’s already had his way with you and then some. "hey, treasure, careful. you’re gonna overstimulate her."

nagi would hum, still lapping at your spongy walls despite your last orgasm having washed over you a good few moments ago. "mmm. she likes it." he argues. knowingly.

he’d been eating you out for the better half of twenty minutes. how his jaw wasn’t tired yet was still a mystery. turns out mr hassle man really did have energy for things he deemed important. and turning you into a complete mess? was of utter importance. and it was a victory that came rather easily. maybe you’d be holding up a bit better if reo hadn’t been previously pounding into you at a merciless pace.

“guys.” you’d whine, helplessly reaching for reo who immediately takes pity on you, shifting closer so you can cuddle him, "but i already… three times..."

reo coos, a heavy palm settling on one of your boobs as if to remind you that this is far from over. "you wanted both of us, sweet girl. don’t act like you can’t take it now."

his words make your face flush in embarrassment. and simultaneously, leave arousal coursing through your veins.

“now, you gonna be good and come again for nagi?" his thumb runs across your sensitive nipple, toying with it.

just when you’re about to confess that you don’t think you can handle it, nagi seems to use the last slither of effort he has stored up inside him. lifting his head up slightly, he parts his lips before gently wrapping them around your clit and sucking on it.

with a surprised moan you claw at reo’s chest, entire body trembling at the sheer intensity of the sensation.

“there it is. come on.” reo coaxes, noticing the familiar shiver in your body. yep. you’re close again. you don’t get much sleep at all that night. but let’s just say, your boyfriends know how to take care of you.

the next day, at the blue lock compound,

"woah, l/n-san, is everything okay?" bachira would wonder aloud, noticing the very obvious limp in your step during breakfast.

"yep!" you’d squeak, unable to face the boy without shame settling on your face in a warm red hue.

while you never really paid much thought to polyamory in the past, you wouldn’t change a thing about your relationship now. you loved your two boys, and that wasn’t going to change. જ⁀➴ ㅤᰔ

[lacroixqueen]

a little bit possessive (deadpool x reader) he gets jealous bc of your wolvie keychain

Summary: deadpool loves when you wear his merch. he gets possessive when he sees a wolverine keychain on your bag

Pairing: deadpool x fem!reader

Word Count: 941, very short one-shot

Tags: fluff, jealousy, possessiveness, yandere, teasing, banter

Wade liked it when you wore his merch. 

Like that big, oversized t-shirt you sometimes wore to lounge around on the couch and watch TV. It had his name and face plastered all over it. 

Or the mini keychain you had of him hung around your lanyard.  

And that little mini Deadpool action figure you tucked into the corner of your bookshelf, watching over you as you slept.

He even loved it when you incorporated subtle hints of him into your everyday wardrobe, like a red mini skirt or a black spiked choker. 

It made him feel like you belonged to him. Like he owned you. 

Until he saw you one day walking casually around the mall with a… was that a Wolverine charm dangling on your purse?

He followed closely behind you as you walked toward a nearby boba store, slightly annoyed by how loudly your heels clacked against the vinyl floor. But he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t staring at your ass in those booty shorts the entire time. Or your little waist in that ridiculous crop top..

Before you could turn in, he yanked you by that stupid Wolverine charm, pulling your purse and entire body towards him. 

You gasped, almost stumbling over before instinctively grabbing his arm, steadying yourself and catching your breath. 

“Wade?!” you cried, looking up into the vapid white ellipses that stared blankly at you. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Who, me?” he asked with a fake ignorance, letting go of the Wolvie charm, causing you to stumble back a few steps. “Oh, I was just strolling around the neighborhood in search of a honey brown sugar milk tea when I just so happened to run into something even sweeter instead! It’s not like I have been following you intensely for the past couple of hours or anything. That would be extremely creepy and not something a good ally would do.”

“Uh huh,” you said, folding your arms across your chest. “And what exactly do you want today?”

“Baby, you’re being so cold!” he whined, his fingertip instinctively twirling around a lock of your hair. “I just wanted to check in, see how life has been treating ya, that’s all. Why are you so suspicious all of a sudden?”

“You never just ‘check in’, Wade,” you countered, unconvinced. “You are always looking for something.”

“Well, now that my cover has been blown,” the assassin muttered as he snatched the Wolverine keychain again, yanking you even closer to him. “What the fuck is this?”

“You mean my Logan charm?” you said, grabbing it out of his hand. “Yeah, what about it?”

A flash of anger jolted through him the moment he heard you say ‘my’ and some other guy’s name in the same sentence. 

“Your Logan charm?” he repeated, holding his stance. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I went to an arcade with friends and won it from a game,” you replied. “And also, I don’t have to explain anything to you. It’s none of your business.”

“Well why did you pick a Wolvie charm and not a me charm?” he pried, voice darkening as his hand rested on the curve of your waist. “I thought I was your favorite, Y/N.”

“Um, no you aren’t,” you snapped back, a blush slowly creeping over your cheeks as you felt him hold you so abruptly and so automatically. “I like lots of different heroes and lots of different characters, you’re just one of them.”

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.”

“Then you probably wouldn’t mind if I did this,” he teased, unlatching the Wolverine charm from your purse strap and holding it over your head. “I’ll just take this, it’s all mine now thank you very much. Not that you would mind, of course. Since you have soooo many different heroes, right?”

“Hey!” you exclaimed, standing up on your tippy toes and trying to reach as he dangled it over your head like a ball of yarn to a helpless kitten. “Give it back Wade, it’s mine!”

“Not until you admit it,” he smirked, taking a few steps back as you jumped up in an attempt to retrieve the charm. 

“Admit what?” you cried, quite exasperated at this point. 

“That I’m your favorite,” he said, smiling to himself since he knew he had already won.

“Fine, you’re my favorite,” you conceded with a twinge of sarcasm, extending your hand out. “Now can you please give it back.”

“Uh uh, I want you to say it with feeling,” he urged, trying to hold back his own laughter. “Like you actually mean it.”

“Okay, you’re my favorite Wade,” you capitulated. “Now can you hand him over?”

“Wait, really?!” he yelped out with glee. “You really mean that?”

“Yes, Wade,” you sighed. 

“Like, you think it’s super sexy?” he pushed, dropping the Wolvie keychain back into your hand. “When I stabby stabby the bad guys? And baby knife ‘em in the neck? And shoot people in the face? That turns you on, right? Right?”

“Yes, Wade, it gets me so hot,” you said, rolling your eyes as you re-attached the Logan charm to your bag. “Now can you please leave me alone now?”

“Alright, but only if you promise to throw that thing away when you get home,” he bargained, ruffling up your hair into a tousled mess. “Okay, sweetheart?”

“Wade!” you yelped, but at the same time trying to stifle a giggle. You loved and hated when he was so possessive of you. But it also reminded you why you fell so hard for him in the first place.

[prettyboykatsuki-moved]

calendula | gaku (sakamoto days)

✮ tags ; afab + gn!reader, no dialogue, gakus perspective, established relationship, technically pre-canon but not relevant, tit worship, riding, unprotected sex / no prep, 18+

✮ wc ; 3.4k (???????????)

✮ a/n ; girl idk. guy i characterized off of vibes and a brief reread. this is kind of a character study. if you squint. if this characterization is completely wack im sorry i think i was overcome by lust

more importantly this fic is me attempting to practice my prose so there's no dialogue rip. i dont think it succeeded but that's why there's only one line of dialogue sdkjfhkjsd.

✮ synopsis ; gaku gives you whatever you want.

Gaku knows it’s you before he answers the door.  

From the weight and sound of footfall to the way you knock on the door—always twice in rapid succession. All of these details about you linger in his mind all day. He knows you’re going to knock on the door and waits for it. His attention is away from the screen. His avatar takes a hit and the weighted controller vibrates in his hand. He let it happen. It’d have been easy enough to dodge, since he’s got good reflexes and all. But if he takes a hit, there’s a brief second that makes it easier for him to pause his game.  

He clicks a few buttons to hit pause. Neon lights paint his bedroom walls, casting shadow on the wall behind him and dimmed by the pause menu. A simpler techno beat replaces the flashy, high energy background music of an intense boss battle. Gaku gropes his bed for the remote to turn the sound lower.  

You knock at the door just when Gaku expects you. He tosses his controller and remote onto the bed , landing with a barely audible thud.  

He opens his door to find you right where he thought you’d be. Leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest and eyes lidded—he stares at you, observing your expression. It’s not like he’s going to interrogate you, not really.  

He can just tell. You’re thinking about something. Could be anything. He knows a lot about you. All of things you say to him when you impolitely assume he’s not listening are kept in the same part of his mind all the other details about you are. He doesn’t think you’re upset about anything. He’s developed a sixth sense for that.  

You’re here for something else. Gaku has a guess, though he doesn’t voice it to you. Just looks on with lidded eyes and waits. Something else is on your mind, too he’s sure. He can tell you don’t want to talk about it. Or that it’s not worth talking about to you.  

You’ve got your hoodie barely zipped up, he notices. Gaku’s hoodie, actually. It’s too big on him, and falls even bigger on you, the shoulder slipping off of your frame revealing the skin underneath. Gaku lets his eyes run over the vision. Tugging at the front of your top and pulling it down, covering your shorts and making it look like you’re wearing nothing at all—you fidget conspicuously. Shifting your weight from one side to another. He gets a clear view of the set you’re wearing. Work-out clothes, he thinks.  

He feels his lips twitch at the sight of you. You pick your head up to look at him, expectant. You don’t want to say what you’re thinking, but you look like you figure he might pry anyway. Sometimes he does. In matters concern you, he often finds himself sticking his nose in places it doesn’t belong in general. He does want to know, but decides it’s fine for now.  

It’s not mercy. He just doesn’t think he needs to ask. Whatever it is, he can do it for you if needs to. He does a lazy glance in the hallway for sight of anyone. 

When he finds no one, he wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you into the room all in one go.  

You let out a squeal as he grabs you. It’s easy to do it. All the strength he’s been building has its uses other than killing. He’s learned that lesson because of you. Your hands are fisted against his chest, arms folded at the elbow--as he shuts the door behind you and backs you into it. He uses his other arm  to cage you—resting his weight on his forearm as his hand clenched into a first.  

He should give you a second to breathe. Should play nice when you’re already looking for a way to wash your hands of your thoughts.  

But, he doesn’t want to let go of you right away. This close proximity—the slight tension in the air. Feels good because it’s you. Impossibly close with unspoken understanding. 

 Already close, he wonders if it’d be fine just to linger there for a minute longer than he would otherwise.  

With an arm still around your spine, Gaku presses into your space. His nose is milimeters away from yours. The only light faint from the TV screen, the atmosphere around you shifts in the darkness. Your face is shrouded, but up this close he can see you with perfect clarity. Like you’re the only two people in the world.  Your wide eyes, glimmering with expectancy. Mouth pressed into a flat line like you’re unamused—in a way that’s completely contrary to how you’re staring at him.  

He can see every detail. A part of him thinks he could trace them out with his eyes closed.  

Both things make him wanna kiss you. Both your stubborn desire to hold onto a petty grudge (that is, him pulling you in and surprising you) and the obvious, bone-deep devoted look in your eye. 

Before you can ask him anything, Gaku lets you go. With your back now pressed up against the door, he uses his free hand to to tip your chin up and kiss you.  

You relent easy. He knew you would. Always quick to forgive him when he gets on your nerves. Your arms loop around his neck and his hands finds your hips and you kiss. Your lips are soft and warm. They taste like cheap vanilla, the artificial taste that comes with whatever chapstick you use.  

(Gaku knows the brand. As in, he could get it for you if he saw it but he doesn’t know the name. Another unimportant detail he keeps tucked away for himself.)  

He’s fond of the way you melt into his touch. Your body slumped against the door, the lazy draw of your limbs and your arms around his neck - sleeves pulled your hands. The tension bleeds from you as kiss him back eagerly.  

You always kiss too fast. The first few times he had to tell you to take it easy. You never learned. He kind of hopes you never do 

Gaku prefers to draw it out. Pull away for a while with nothing but the threads of spit and bitten lips as proof  before kissing you again. But you’re eager, excitable. Your tongue laps at his lips hurriedly, brows furrowed -desperate and whimpering. Greedy. Wanting for more because Gaku can give it to you just fine if you want it.   

You never have to tell Gaku what you want. For the most part, he doesn’t how else to operate other than give you whatever. Never asks you for any favors, just gives it because it makes sense to him. Gaku likes kissing slow, but for you—it’s fine to kiss a little faster.  

His tongue slips against your mouth. The pace changes. The air in the room becomes thick around you and Gaku can’t breathe around it it. Seemingly, neither can you, but it doesn’t deter you.  

Doesn’t deter your eagerness. He’s fond of it. Lets you suck on his tongue and kiss him sloppy just because.  

It amuses him. He lets you do what you want. Gets him hard to see you act that way, despite knowing each time you come to him for something—its already yours. Puppyish to your own demise, Gaku squeezes your hips. His hands slip under the fabric of your hoodie until he can feel the waistband of your shorts.  

Your skin is bare underneath. Just a bra and shorts then. Good to know.  

You pull away panting. Face flush, mouth spit slick. Still so adoring in a way that makes his stomach flip. Excites him in a way so few things in the world do. It makes him laugh. If he had a shirt for you to tug on, you would.  

You’re not gonna ask for it directly. Gaku doesn’t exactly feel like making you, either.  

He nudges his nose against your jawline before he bites gently into the space below your chin. A breath of laughter passes through his nose as he slips his hand into your, fingers locked and tugs you further into his room. A silent confirmation.  

Yeah, he thinks. If you want it.  

Falling into bed with you is always easy.  

You crawl into his bed like you belong there. Get comfortable in his unfolded clothes, his blankets, his pillows. You’re never in the same place very long but Gaku likes the sight of you in his temporary bed, with his things.  

The lines between you and him blur when you’re tucked in with his other belongings and Gaku sort of likes it that way. He tries not to reflect on it.  

You sit on your knees, expectant. Reaching out to grab Gaku’s hand but holding his finger, you pull him into bed along side you. He looks at you amused, head tilted to one side. You put a hand on his thigh and Gaku gets the message  - scooting himself to sit up against a wall.  

Your eyes light up, just a little. You crawl into his lap like a spoiled thing. Your knees on either side of his thighs as he’s spread out, straddling his waist with his hoodie still on. He can feel himself get hard right away. It feels pathetic every time, but it’s the way it goes. Your ass is soft as you sit on his dick like its yours. He can feel the heat radiating off you. You grind back against him tentatively.  

He lets out a deep sigh.  

He can see you a little better this way. It’s the way you’re both sitting. Gaku with his back a side wall and you just over. The light from the TV is close enough to cast on your face. Your features are clearer this way. The subtle nuances of your expression especially visible.  

It’s so easy to tell when you want him to fuck you. Of all of things he likes about fucking you (and that list is long)—it’s this face that drives him most up the wall. Makes him want for it even when he thinks less of himself for being so easy.  

You’re vicious. And talented. You’ve got a knack for assassination like no one else, not motivated by blood lust but some strange desire to be the very best at it, if you’re going to do it all. 

But you’re so debauched like this. Eyes clouded in visible arousal. Wearing an athleisure fit that’s perfectly, seamlessly tight and so see-through in all of the right places. Wearing his hoodie.  

That look on your face like you want his dick so fucking bad, so desperately—that you’d go as far as begging him. He knows you would. You practically are. A sloppy, ultimately transparent attempt to get him to pound your pussy the way you like. The way you need.  

(The way he’s made you need)  

You don’t really have to do any of it. It’d be just as easy if you barged in and pulled his pants down. He wouldn’t say no to you. Might laugh, but wouldn’t turn you away.  

But you work for things you want. Like a compulsion. If Gaku’s gonna fuck you, it can’t just be because he’s whipped beyond words (he has enough self-awareness to know, but tries not to dwell.) 

 You would want him to lust after you just as bad, get him hard and excited since it’s not easy to accomplish. There’s nothing for you to earn but you’ll earn it anyway. 

Gaku ruts his dick against your ass, feeling the outline of his cock stretch the seam of your shorts. Like he’s trying to fuck you through it. He’s hard. It’s making him dizzy, just how much. All you’ve done is kiss, he remembers.  

It doesn’t make his hard-on any less severe.  

You urge him to do it again. Rub yourself against him as best you can, grinding at his lap for friction on your clit. Your body wracks with a shiver, mouth fallen open as you use your hands on his legs to keep yourself up and rut against him for pleasure—moving back so you’re pussy is sliding against him properly. Riding his hard-on. The sheer material of your shorts gives him a preview of how you’ve got nothing on underneath, your pussy visible in the thin stretchy material. So wet it’s dampening them. They seep through the fabric. Nylon and spandex and polyester. Too thin.  

It turns him on so much it makes his head throb. 

Gaku’s hands slide up underneath your hoodie again. Your skin is warm underneath the tips of his fingers. Even through bandaged hand he can feel you just slightly. They travel upwards, until he’s at the end of your sports bra. He gets underneath the stretchy band, pulling it up until it sits bunched up over your breasts— just underneath your neck and chin.  

Your nipples are hard from arousal, pert and begging for his attention. Gaku likes the way you feel in grasp. Soft and warm and supple, sweet and pliable under his touch. His palms squeezes the fat of your tits, playing with them as you grind yourself on his cock unabashedly. Head thrown back and not entirely paying attention—something he’ll tese you for later. He squishes your tits together, testing their gravity. His fingers brushing across your nipples, flicking lightly. Teasing and rolling them with the pads of his thumb.  

Above him you shiver. Moan out his name, still humping yourself on him. He figures you’ll tucker out soon. Beg him to put in it. He decides to wait it out more.  

He leans in close, placing a kiss under your sternum before his mouth travels upwards. Gaku is meticulous as his tongue laves over the soft patches of skin. He kisses and licks first, but always finishes with a bite or bruise. He can’t help himself. He loves the way his teeth sink in. Loves the mark it leaves in your skin when he bites hard enough, the indents of his incisors and canines that linger for a long while after him.  

(Loves kissing the yellowing bruises when you have sex in the mornings. On the rare slow and lazy days where the sex more sweet than anything. He tries to save it for when you’re sleepy. For his sake and yours)  

You moan loudly when his tongue flicks against hardened buds. Impatience flickers through him listening to you. His hands grip your ass hard enough to keep you in place - no longer content with just sitting. His mouth sucks and licks at your nipples while his hands change the pace from a shallow grind to a long, deep one. 

He moves you with intention against the outline of his cock. Slowly, steadily - at the kind of pace that lets him worship your chest with his tongue and teeth without risking a bite that’s too hard. Your hands fall around his neck, as you curl into him.  

Once Gaku gets control of you like this, you’re eager to let him have it. You give into the forcefulness of his touch, the demand of it. Your words are more whimpers and please against his neck. Your nails are digging into the muscles of his back—no doubt leaving red marks for him to admire later. He’s sure he’ll get a look from Kei when he sees them.  

Your shoulders are trembling. The first word to leave your lips is one Gaku likes hearing you say. Whined against the column of his throat, muffled but loud enough for him to catch.  

“Please,”  

It’s like a gut-punch. Makes the lust in him so urgent, so heavy, so daunting—he can feel it in the way moves. His breathing is labored. He presses his head against your chest and inhales deeply. Tries to mellow and keep composure.  

It just feels like he can’t get his dick into you fast enough. Feels like there’s no amount of time he’s willing to be patient for it. He needs his dick in you now, needs to take you by your hips and bounce you on his lap.  

You did say please. He’s being fair, is all.  

Gaku grabs the thin material of your shorts and rips it right along the seam. You gasp, but you’re too worked up to protest it. Soaked all the way through, your clit is hard and demanding attention. Gaku slips his his dick out from under his sweats quickly. 

He taps the head of his cock right against your clit, rubbing it with his tip - a mess of pre-cum making it sticky. Gaku moans low in the back of his throat, eyes rolling back.  

Fuck. Fuck. You feel so wet. So fucking good. Just thinking about putting it in makes him ache.  

It’s your hand that guides the head of his cock into your pussy. 

Without prep, you’re dripping wet but still so tight. You’ve taken him enough to know your limits, but you’re eager. Just as much as he is, for him to split you in half the way he’s good at. Your pussy stretches easily to the shape of him. Accommodates what it knows so well. Your body makes home for him. 

 Gaku can hear how fucking wet you are, each inch stretching you out further and further. He holds your hips and waits for you to sink down all the way.  

When you bottom out, Gaku’s jaw grits ever so slightly. He waits for you to get used to. You slide yourself slowly, up and down until the stretch of his cock isn’t achy. He can tell when it starts to feel good for you. 

 Your pussy opens up for him so well, gets slippery and soft and so perfect for him to fuck into, he isn’t sure what he was doing before that. You feel so fucking good to him every time.  

You stop, your arms wrapping around his shoulder blades and hugging him tight. You say his name that time to substitute for please, synonyms of each other. A testament to how easy he is when it involves you.  

Gaku gives you what you want. Of course he does. He takes both of his hands and holds onto your waist and fucks you exactly the way you deserve. You cry aloud, sobbing into his neck from pleasure. Your pussy squeezes around him in that familiar way and he groans. He knows you came without telling him. He knows that feel better than anything.  

It spurs him into action. Gaku builds it up but it takes practically no time for him to piston you. Half-way between holding you up so he can fuck into you and slamming you onto his cock with endless stamina and relentless desire. Whatever inbetween he finds is a good one, makes sure he knocks into your sweet spot in exactly the right way. 

The sound it makes each time he pounds into you echoes in the room. It’s filthy—the wet sound of skin to skin and his cock stretching you over and over and over. It’s good. It’s always so good with you. 

You sneak a shaky hand between your bodies. Gaku can tell you’re getting close, your fingers clumsy and twitching. You’re trying your best to match up to his brutal pace, but the thought only endears him more. Makes him harder, growing bigger inside you. 

It’s easy enough to hold off until you cum first. Until he feels your pussy clamp down on him tight again, feels you tremble and shake in his grip as you bite into his bare shoulder and cum hard. Your whole body curling into him, crying as Gaku fucks you through it.  

When you’ve fallen limp and come down from your high— that’s when Gaku finally lets himself go. His thrusts grow sloppy - fucking into your went cunt shallowly until he feels the muscles in your stomach tense. He cums inside, unable to pull out from the way you have him gripped. Thick ropes of cum paint your insides and slowly drip back out onto his cock.  

Gaku stays inside of you even as he goes soft. He can feel you in his arms, your breathing growing steady again as you both catch your breath.  

He uses a hand to pull hair away from your face, kissing whatever he can reach. A rare, quiet intimacy that makes sense to him in the moment. You let out a giggle,  a sweet sound from your lips and Gaku finds himself smiling just barely.   

Whatever you want, Gaku thinks. It’ll be yours if he can get it for you.  

[tuffdwightwest]

Doey x Player

First of all I don't really ship any of the x Poppy Angels ships. Cause frankly I'm asexual and I find I can't personally seperate myself enough from the player character yet. I wanted to make this cause I was seeing a lot of frankly cruel call out posts.

This is not pedophilia. Or disgusting.

The idea that Doey and the other toys don't age is a headcanon. To assume your headcanon is correct and then demonize others. Is put simply wrong. This isn't FNAF they aren't children souls. Their organs are literally taken out and placed into another body. The whole point is that they are 'living' toys.

You are fine to have that headcanon though. But you should not use it to attack others.

For Doey specifically I see people call out his mental breakdown at the end of the game. As evidence that he's 'still a child'. This however is not evidence. It is a mental breakdown from someone who has something almost similar to DID(obviously a more sci-fi version but the closest irl thing I can compare it too). In his breakdown he wasn't even making any sense. Repeating lines we've heard him say over the years. Crying out that he wants to go home.

These are all normal things that can happen in a mental breakdown. Actually learn about trauma triggers and read stuff about it. Doey regressing and just letting Kevin's anger take over is pretty normal for someone who just went through as much trauma as he did.

Besides this point though people say he talks like a child. And I really want to understand where. Throughout the story he seems very rational and reasonable. Even the brief moments that Kevin and what I assume Jack takes over.

Even Doey's last tape before the end of the game. He's scared there but seems like someone just trying to figure out what to do. Nothing about it made me think he's a child.

All this aside, I want to use this just for people to realize. The "they don't age" is a headcanon. They need to eat, sleep, etc. So why do you believe they don't age? This doubling down on this headcanon especially using his breakdown as evidence just seems ableist. Cause I've seen other people not even myself try to explain to others that using that evidence point is ableist.

I doubt this would change those in that echo Chambers mind. But for others that just never really thought about it. I hope this just makes you realize. Yeah either version is just a headcanon. And neither is Canon at the moment. What we do know for sure is that at least 10 years has passed since the hour of Joy. And Doey was made before that. Long enough to witness the guards making toys fight, to be through plenty of interviews, etc.

So by evidence of just time itself. He'd be like at the least 18-25(with the assumption Jack was 8 when he fell into the dough). And this is actually a low estimate cause it assumes that the hour of joy happens soon after he is created.

Stop calling people pedophiles over a headcanon and frankly pretty tame ship. Like ya'll scream about this one then turn around and praise the doctor one. When Doctor is clearly a sadistic childkilling monster. But you give that one a pass. Yet get upset at people when they want to date like the one person in the game that was genuinely kind and a protector.

Stop attacking other people over headcanons. You can debate them but pedophile should not be flung around at all.

Thank you for listening to my rant.

[gongyoosgf]

SOME INFORMATION FROM THE INTERVIEW:

Choi Seung-hyun, formerly known as rapper T.O.P from K-pop juggernaut Big Bang, marked his return to the screen after an 11-year hiatus in season two of "Squid Game."

Previously embroiled in a scandal following a conviction for marijuana use that led to a 10-month suspended jail sentence in 2017, Choi's journey back to the limelight may be a tale of self-reflection.

In the newest season of "Squid Game," Choi portrays Thanos, a failed rapper addicted to drugs who enters the deadly games to escape crippling debt. A character at once selfish and absurd, Thanos delivers a kaleidoscope of exaggerated emotions and awkward bravado, a performance that has sparked both intrigue and polarized reactions.

During a group interview Wednesday, Choi opened up with emotional gravity befitting his first public conversation in over a decade.

“Since it’s my first interview in 11 years, a lot has happened, and I came here with careful consideration, thinking it was the right time. I feel a mix of emotions, including a sense of apology, but today, I sincerely want to share many honest thoughts in this space,” he said.

Reflecting on the turbulent years since his departure from the public eye, Choi spoke about his personal struggles.

“In my 20s, I made huge mistakes, and the dark times I faced then led me down a path I had never been on before. What followed was a truly hellish period of darkness, during which I became emotionally devastated,” he said. "I experienced profound psychological deterioration and intense self-loathing."

It was during these times of desolation that the opportunity to audition for "Squid Game" emerged.

“Then I received an offer to audition for the role of Thanos. Like any other actor, I recorded a video and sent it in. After meeting with the director and going through several rounds of cross-checks, I was cast,” he recounted.

“If it hadn’t been Thanos, I wouldn’t have taken on the role. It was an extremely difficult decision for me, given my past mistakes. But Thanos was a character I had to confront head on -- not a righteous figure, but a stereotypically failed, pathetic hip-hop loser. That aspect gave me the courage to step forward.”

Stepping into the shoes of a character like Thanos proved a formidable psychological challenge, he said.

“The film set had hundreds of actors and crew members present. When we shot the scene where Thanos takes drugs, I found myself in a very embarrassing situation, which was quite psychologically challenging for me," said Choi.

"However, I believed it was my responsibility to overcome this as part of my role, and that determination was what kept me going,” he explained.

Critics have been divided on Choi’s portrayal of Thanos, with some viewers describing the performance as overtly exaggerated and unnatural -- a critique that Choi readily embraced. “Acting and characters are things that can draw mixed reactions and can be highly subjective, and they are elements that audiences may criticize, and I believe enduring such criticism is something I must accept," he said.

The concept behind Thanos, as Choi elaborated, was the essence of failure personified.

“He’s portrayed as a failed member of the 'MZ' generation, full of cringeworthy behavior and over-the-top bravado, like a teenager stuck in a phase of childish delusions of grandeur," he said.

"He’s a character whose body has grown, but his mental age is almost like that of Shin-chan,” he said, referring to the 5-year-old main character of Japanese manga series "Crayon Shin-chan."

Going forward, as for any speculation about a return to Big Bang, Choi quashed the idea.

“Regarding moving forward on my own, I felt that if I faced criticism and backlash, it was something I could endure alone. However, as long as I remained part of Big Bang, the guilt could not be erased, and I believed I could no longer let the team suffer because of me," he said.

"The reason I cannot return is, honestly, because I feel too ashamed to face the other members.”

Nevertheless, Choi hinted at a possible return to music as a solo artist.

“For the past 10 years, I’ve only been going back and forth between my home and my music studio. The reason I stayed in the studio was that creating music was the only time I felt like I could escape the darkness,” he shared.

“I made a lot of songs. There’s no exact release plan yet, but I do have something in mind for the near future," he added.

———————————————————————

i just wanted to say that he is so brave for coming out and finally talking about what happened so many years ago, and he is truly inspiring. i don’t make sappy posts like this often but it makes me so happy to see him not continue to hide in the shadows and instead come out and finally be able to stand in front of interviewers and talk like he used to ♡

[jacaerysgf]

wrong pick!

Reality tv star!Jacaerys x Reality tv star!Reader | 2.8k wrds

Jace has been paired up with cassandra since the beginning, thinking their bond was pretty strong he felt as though he had nothing to worry about but he was soon proven wrong. and he quickly finds out theres always been someone else in his corner.

too hot to handle!au, fluff, mild angst, confessions, blooming love, first kiss, jace pov, acts of service, she/her prns used for reader, slightly proofread

[its pretty late into the game so they have the watches if you know what im talking abt some things in this fic wont really make sense if you don't know the show, used outer banks characters names cause i was watching it while writing it dont mind me, ive also never watched the show ive only played the games so idk what goes on, im very rusty i havent properly written something in months im sorry if this is lame no taglist cause idk if people care anymore. does anyone even read these authors notes anyway enjoy!]

Being on too hot too handle was turning out to be a lot more fun than Jace had originally expected. He had met someone he truly thought he connected with. or at least he had thought so not even an hour ago but now he was storming away from the outdoor lounge pit with a furious look on his face as Cassandra calls after him.

He’s never been one to break rules, even on a show like this when moneys draining from the pool left and right he doesn’t dare let him be the reason it gets knocked down a couple thousand. When he paired up with Cass he had been worried at first since she had seemed like the sexually driven type but she seemed respectful of the fact he had no intention of breaking any rules. He wanted that money to be able to provide for his family back home so this meant a lot to him. Yet after they had gotten the green light she seemed to be more persistent in her attempts to get them to break the rules and he was not interested in the slightest which pissed her off.

She had come into the bathroom as he had just gotten out of the shower, the two flirted a bit and she had tried to kiss him to which he backed away. He truly didn’t mean anything bad by it but she had took it really poorly and stormed off from him, he tried to calm her down and she just blew up on him. He had realized the two had completely different thoughts about their relationship and she clearly did not like him the way he liked her and he lost it. She didn’t respect him, she could barely even remember the things he had said to her which was more than enough for him.

When she realized he had gotten truly upset with her, which he hadn’t done before, she tried to back peddle but he simply stormed off leaving her to call after him. He wishes he was more thankful she didn’t follow him but a part of him stings that she didn’t even care to come after him. He walks along the beach side until a familiar figure comes into his view and smiles at him. Kiara, one of the original contestants here like him, who quickly paired up with JJ another contestant, and the two had become good friends.

“Heard some yelling all the way over there,, everything good?” He drops down to sit in the sand next to her and sighs. “I don’t know. I think me and Cass are done.” He tries not to get hung up on the fact Kiara doesn’t really seem surprised by the news. Was it obvious to everyone but him they weren’t going to work? She sits quietly for a moment, Trying to put the right words together before she speaks. “Are you upset?”

“I don’t know. I think so? I feel like I should be more upset.” “I’m sorry dude but I don’t even know how you put up with Cassandra so don’t feel bad about not feeling bad.” He turns and glares at her, his mood souring slightly. “She’s not as bad as you all seem to think. she,, can be nice.” Kiara laughs with disbelief and looks at him expectantly, “Sure,, like when?” A soft smile falls on his face as he recalls a moment in particular in mind. “I had been complaing about how my favorite shirt was all wrinkled and she steamed it for me.”

A look of pure confusion crossed her face. “What are you talking about about?” “It was awhile ago I had fucked up my shirt-” She quickly stops him placing her hands on his chest as she fully turns to look at him. “No dude I know what you’re talking about what do you mean Cassandra did that?” Now its his turn to be confused. Kiara full on belly laughs as he tries to understand what’s going on. “Ugh She’s gonna kill me for this but dude it was never Cassandra doing that stuff. Its Y/n. its always been her doing all that shit for you. Got a huge crush on you.”

Jace’s face is unreadable as he attempted to process this information. He had always assumed it was Cass since she was the one he had been complaining to about it to and she always liked doing little things for him without taking credit,,, right? There has been so many little things, little comforts, little actions done for him after he’s complained about it that he’s always just assumed was Cass and his stomach sinks at the idea its never been her. Kiara has no reason to lie to him. She’s your best friend here and he likes to think the two of them are good friends too. There’s no way she would be trying to set you up.

It was all you.

Kiara watches him with an amused expression as he tries to put the pieces together. He quickly stands and Kiara’s face grows into a knowing grin, “See you later!” He barely acknowledges her as he quickly sprints back towards the villa. Kiara looks out towards the ocean and shakes her head, speaking out loud more so for the camera than for herself. “She’s gonna kill me.”

His head is racing, his mind twisted up in knots as he finally arrived back to the villa. He flinches when he sees Cassandra has thrown herself a pit party, some of the other contestant comforting her as she sits and cries into her hands. All heads shoot up when his footsteps hit the pavement. Cassandra perks up and quickly rushes over to him, stopping him when he tries to walk away. “Jacey please lets talk,” “We’re done Cassandra. There’s no need to talk.” Her eyes widen in horror as he tries his best to gently move her out of his way but he stops him, “Please Jacey baby lets not do this to us-” “There is no us.” He spits out before storming past her into the villa house, ignoring the way she’s calling after him.

Jace’s eyes dart frantically around every room he enters until everything goes still once he finally sets his eyes on you. You’re sitting in the lounge pit, JJ on one side and on your other side sat Pope, one of the other contestants. Whatever conversation the three of you were having completely pauses as all eyes had turned towards him. He takes a moment to finally look at you. He’s seen you around often sure but he never had truly stopped to look at you. You're another one of the original contestants just like him. He remembers meeting you on the first day, The bright smile you had on your face, the way you made him a special drink at the bar and sent a wink his way. It had been the best drink he had ever had. He had always thought you were beautiful but right now he couldn’t take his eyes off you.

“Hey dude, you need something?” JJ is the first to speak up, sitting up slightly from his lax sitting position prior and looking at Jace with raised brows. Jace however did not spare him a single glance, his eyes lasered onto you as you attempted to act nonchalant about his presence in the room.

You’re wearing your hair differently today.

“Can we talk?”

Despite not addressing anyone directly everyone knows he’s talking to you. You glance over at pope who shrugs and another glance at JJ who looks equally as bewildered as pope does before nodding lightly and standing to follow Jace out the room. No words are exchanged between the two of you until you reach a private terrace just outside the villa. When he turns to face you you give him an awkward but friendly smile as you attempt to not take this situation too seriously. “Sooo, What's up?” you pop the p at the end and grip your hands tightly together behind your back.

You had just heard him and Cassandra fighting outside everyone did quite frankly. You almost wanted to go run after him but it would be too out of character, too obvious.

“I know it was you.”

Your friendly demeaner falters ever so slightly at his words instead contorting into confusion as you tilt your head at him. “What was me?” He takes that step closer to you and by instinct you lean away from him ever so slightly. “I know it was you who steamed my shirt.” Your face completely falls and he watches your face twitch as you attempt to come back with a statement but he doesn't let you.

“I know you had decided to make skewers that might because I had been complaining about missing my families yearly barbeque this year. I know you were the one who had found my missing t-shirt after I ripped apart the whole house looking for it;” With every claim that leaves his mouth he takes a step towards you he takes the slightly step towards you and you take the smallest step back.

At this point your back at hit the cloudy glass door and he was right in your face. He could hear your heart pounding but he’s sure you could hear his too, to anyone else it would see like you were completely unbothered by his words but he can see the minor glaze in your eyes which tells him everything he needs to know.

Before he can say anything else one more particular memory pops into his mind, he can’t believe he had ever forgotten about this. You go to open your mouth to deny his allegations during his moment of silence, the eye contact and closeness the two of your were sharing was killing you but he quickly stops you.

“And worst of all, I know you were the one who put my name down in the anonymous poll.” When your eyes widen in horror he fights back the grin that grows on his face.

Got you.

It had been about two weeks ago. They had been having a costume party and Kiara had suggested they do a ‘Who’s the hottest?’ anonymous poll, one for the girls and one for the guys. Since the couples had been pretty strong at that point and it was pretty deep into the game it was originally brushed off as a lame idea since everyone would just chose who they were paired with but Kiara managed to convince everyone since two new bombshells had just arrived yesterday.

Everyone had technically been right and most people picked who they were paired up with except one. Jace had two votes. that pretty much killed the night as Cassandra blew up trying to figure out who had voted for jace. She had never suspected you since you were pretty much always paired up with pope and pope had gotten a vote. So she automatically targeted Cleo, one of the new bombshells, who later took the fall for you and claimed she had voted for jace. He never thought anything about it, it was a harmless game. Plus Cleo had come up to him and said she wasn’t really interested she just thought he was hot, so he ended up getting pretty embarrassed by Cassandras outburst but brushed it off as he really caring about him.

He watches you gulp and look down as you try to collect yourself. He can practically see the wheels churning in your head as you attempt to come up with anything to say. Suddenly you look back up at him. your face hardened as you even slightly glare at him. “So what?” His gaze turns into something more affectionate at your admission and your face softens, “Why didn’t you ever say anything?” His hands had come to grab your forearms lightly as his words are let out in a light whisper. You turn your head away from him as you try to ignore his burning gaze into the side of your face. “You’re with Cassandra. I would be the bad guy if I tried to break that up.”

He releases one of his hands to grip the side of your face to turn you back towards him. “I wasn't in the beginning.” Your eyes turn away from him as you mutter something under your breath he can’t understand. He pulls your face towards him and he hears your breath hitch. “You can tell me.”

“She beat me to it.” He blinks rapidly as he doesn’t understand what you mean before his eyes widen in realization. The first retreat had just been completed, you and Cassandra had been deemed the stand outs from it and were given the opportunity to pick one person to go on a date with. Before you could even speak Cassandra picked jace first, he remembers agreeing to the date thinking Cassandra seemed interesting he had never even considered you were planning to ask him as well.

You had ultimately ended up picking pope who happily agreed. He had now realized you simply settled and picked pope because he had already been taken out and everything else seems to fall into place. You and pope aren’t a couple, everyone with eyes knows that the two of you are just really good friends who happen to get paired up together since there's nobody else around for the either of you as everyone is already paired up. And now pope has become infatuated with Cleo leaving you alone for the last two retreats. You had no interest in any of the bombshells that walked into the villa or any of the original contestants because you liked him.

He finds his chest tightening as he takes a deep shuddering breath. “I'm sorry.” You flinch as if he had slapped you and lightly shook your head. “For what?”

“For thanking someone other than you for the things you would do for me. For not knowing it was you,” You are quick to cut him off “You were never meant to know don’t feel sorry.” If anything that makes him feel worse. He breathes as if his throat is constricted. “Why?” You sigh in defeat, your beautiful eyes downdated. “As I said you and Cassandra are a thing and I'm not someone who likes to get between-” “Me and Cassandra are done.”

As your face contorts into something unreadable he pulls you to press your body directly against his. “The things that I had thought were the reasons that made me fall for Cassandra were actually done by you. I have no attachment to Cassandra know that I know its always been you all along. The one I should have been looking for, the one I should have gotten the green light with.” Both of your breathing turns erratic as the tension is palpable between you. “I want to try things with you. I don’t know how everything will turn out but I want to give whatever this is a shot. If you’ll let me.”

He gives you as long as you need to try and compose yourself. He watches as your eyes flicker all over his face for any sense of dishonesty but you can’t find anything because there is none. You can only see the pure affection dripping out of his pores and gulp. Once you open your mouth to speak you are cut off by a familiar light gleaming on his face.

Green.

He manages to contain his shock, despite his declaration he makes no move to close the distance between you and does not speak a single word. You decide words are pointless now as you grip the back of his head and pull him into a deep kiss. He eagerly meets your enusastic kiss and wraps his hands around your waist to hold you close to him. After what feels like eternity the both of you pull away and stare deeply into each others eyes, not even noticing the green light fade away into black.

“Lets give it a try.” The two of grin like giddy children as you press your foreheads together. No more words are needed to be spoken at least for now. He’s sure once the two of you leave the sanctuary of the terrace there's going to be a storm inside the villa but for now he can enjoy the peace and quiet alone with you.

[y0ur-lovrr]

Hiiii this is my first request so im sry if this is not enough but can you do banda or yaba i love them with a reader that is like dazai this is inspired by what i saw in tumblur and i just was so obsessed with that idea so if you can pls do it tho ofcourse you can not do it!

—Secret alliances

A/n; I’m sorry this is pretty bad imo, but I had no idea who Dazai was and tried to do what I saw on TikTok, so it’s most likely so out of character! 😓

Pairing; Sunato Banda x Reader

—“let’s take a looksy.!” Your voice says in a sing song voice, acting to nonchalant and calm as if you couldn’t basically kill him right now..but you wouldn’t do that, since you’re allies.

Banda just hums quietly, patiently standing there as you lean back to get a look at the back of his collar, grabbing a small handful of his dark locks and moving out of the collars way, ignoring his small grunt in retaliation.

“…and you’re a club.” You hum as you tap the back of his collar to signify your point before letting go of his hair, not waiting for a reply before you turn around, already tugging some of your hair away from the collars way.

Banda huffs quietly in an amused tone, finding it quite amusing how you were always calm and playful, even though you could die at any second-even with how smart you were.

“You’re a heart.” He says simply, copying you and tapping the back of your collar before you turn around to face him again.

“Okay…so that settles another round then?” You muse, showing of that small and Cheshire Cat like grin of yours that he had come so used to over the past few games he’s played with you, including this one-it was as if luck was on his side, really, no matter what game it was, you both would somehow meet up again.

“That it does, and I have a feeling the game will end soon.” He huffs casually with a shrug of his shoulders, noting how empty the asylum looked with how many people have gotten eliminated.

You scoff quietly under your breath-almost as if you were disappointed, or maybe even bored. “That’s disappointing..but thanks to the other guy we secured our guess on who the Jack is.”

“Mhm…speaking off, I’m sure our teammates are probably looking for us now. Can’t let the alliance out yet, can we?” He mumbles with a small smirk, watching as you roll your eyes, but agreeing anyway.

“I guess…you’re dinner to hang out with than chishiya…you actually put up with me and entertain me.”

You huff out, being a little dramatic about it, even though it wasn’t a big deal-but he just quietly chuckles in amusement, finding the thought of you being bored of chishiya.

After saying a few more things, you both decide it’s time to split up and go back to your reluctant partners, you giving him a playful wink as you walk away and head towards the area chishiya was at, while he makes his way back to matsushita.

—“I had a feeling it was you.” Chishiya draws out casually as he walks out from him room, catching matsushita by surprise as he stops laughing, realizing that he’s been figured out.

Before he can sputter out another word, Banda also steps out from a room, hands casually shoved into his pockets, a slight smirk on his face. “Not a lot of people team up with someone like me, you kind of walked right into this.” Banda sighs, amused at the whole ordeal, along with chishiya as he lightly huffs.

“You didn’t even realize that he was acting like he was under your control, he manipulated you in the long run.”

And then there’s more footsteps, you walking out from behind a corner, still alive as well, much to matsushita’s disappointment-he’s had it out for specifically since the beginning.

“Oh, there’s more of use left than I thought there would be..and you didn’t manage to get me out like you wanted to, huh? So sad.”

You mumble out with a feigned pout, but it quickly drops as you see Banda, immediately attaching yourself to his side, almost like a dog as Banda would describe it. Chishiya raises an eyebrow slightly at you going towards Banda instead, but he quickly understands what’s happening, and he can’t say he surprised, so he decides not to mention it.

“Wait no-it’s not me!—“ matsushita tries to sputter out, only to be interrupted by you scoffing, looking at him like he was stupid, watching the realization of that his partner was working with you the entire time, and that he had basically lost.

Banda and Yaba decided to have some fun with him, trapping him in his room and deciding to make some answer about the borderlands come out of him…despite knowing that matsushita would probably fold rather quickly.

And to no one’s surprise, you turn and follow after Banda, staying by his side as yaba stays on his other-you weren’t gonna go with chishiya of all people..and he may have already left the building, so it was too late for you to follow him.

More fun for you and Banda, right?

[darinawrites]

♧|Aib characters protecting you in lights out|♧

Characters: Kuina, Arisu, Chishiya, Ann, Niragi

A/n: Since the Aib fandom on tt is only talking about how they would be in squid game, I thought this would be interesting. Also, I lost the longer version of this and cried at the loss of the 1.7k words I wrote 💔 I'm too sleep deprived for all of this, I just want my sleep man I also can't tag Ann without my post glitching out for some reason. Had to sit here 40 minutes trying to decipher what I did wrong with the tags.

┆彡Chishiya

He would be prepared, immediately figuring out what the game is trying to provoke and would make a plan

He knows physical strength is something he lacks in, so he'll try and make weapons out of everything. Give him toilet paper and he'll somehow make it explosive. Don't test this mans concerning knowledge of weapons.

While telling you his plan, he'd try and convince himself it's for his own greed. That you fight well and could even be a potential sacrifice, but he knows it isn't true. He knows there's a sincere affection beneath his actions. He's confident in his plans, he doesn't need you as backup. Especially since it would hold him back, your scrupulous personality picking fights with ever other person, making you a target. Yet the words still flew out of his mouth

Oh, love. How much he loathed how it made him act against what he believes. How your wellbeing is in his thoughts much more than he'd like

But he won't ever tell you his worry, not at all. He'd hide it behind the apathetic personality he built up.

Overall, he would protect you in a way you wouldn't notice, but put his thoughts at peace

"Chishiya, how the fuck..." you were astonished at what he could make with such little resources. A makeshift knife shining on his hand.

"For what do you need that anyways? I thought your confident in your plans, not the genius you thought you were?" you teased, earning yourself a small, barely noticeable grin on his face.

"It's good to have a weapon, regardless of the fight happening today. Besides, with all the enemies you have it wouldn't be so bad to have a little help." his words made you gasp loudly and dramatically. Staring at him with an over exaggerated shock on your face.

"You really think I can't beat their asses, Chishiya? You think so low of me." clutching your heart as if its broken, your words flowing out with fake emotion.

"Oh, I would never." he said with as much emotion he could muster to imitate your disappointed voice. Quickly hiding his weapon as he saw the guards come with breakfast.

"You better! Or else I'll kick your ass too." you giggled, standing up to get food that will only last for a few hours before hunger rumbles in your stomach again. But you'll take everything you can.

┆彡Kuina

While she wouldn't notice immediately what the game is trying to do, she surely will notice what the O players plan to do. She isn't stupid and it wouldn't surprise her once she realizes. Noticing how petulant people around her are.

She wouldn't worry lots though and not put much thought in what she'd do when it happens. She can easily beat all the inexperienced players around her, she's strong and has nothing to worry about.

Kuina wouldn't be an outstanding target either. She's amiable, but also reckless. Earning respect of some and being looked down by others. But you? You aren't a target, you're a victim. Your closed in personality earning yourself to be pushed around by others. Kuina is always there to protect you though, whether that be with words or her fist.

And did I mention what an absolute sweetheart she is? She would always want you to be near her, near enough to protect you. You can count on her to make you feel safe

The flashing of the lights made you panic, losing sight of Kuina as screams emerged around you. You remember her warning you of this, of the bloodlust. The sight around making you want to throw up.

You know you were weak, a target to many. Your breaths were irregular as you frantically looked around for Kuina, her presence seemingly nowhere to be seen around you.

Yet as you tried to call out for her, your weight was suddenly dropped as you made a thud sound. Looking up, you noticed the person who pushed you. A brute who also partook in 'bullying' you.

The smirk he gave you made you nauseous, a smirk that held power over you. You didn't even fight back, no, you gave up. Knowing what as about to come, you closed your eyes and simply waited for the impact.

But instead of pain ringing trough your body, a loud smack and groan could be heard. As you opened your eyes, you were shocked to see Kuina skillfully beat up the man before pulling you up and to a corner.

It happened so fast, your brain barely processing what was going on as you were pulled away from the fight. It's only once you had a moment to take a breath did you speak.

"Wow, I didn't know you could fight so well." you said. She didn't fight just to fight like the others, her moves were thought out. It was impressive and you were immensely grateful for her.

"Well, I'm not just all looks. Even if I am hot." she replied sarcastically, a trait you've always admired and loved about her. The screams in the background nearly forgotten as you laughed together.

┆彡Niragi

Niragi would know a fight will be starting because he's the one to initiate it. Planning to do so with his side, not to win the vote tomorrow but simply for fun. It gives him a sense of pride and superiority when hurting others, he loves it.

What he wouldn't love though is people hurting you. He'll make sure to make it clear to anyone what will happen if they dare to do so. And they definitely did see it. His tracksuit all bloodied up after starting a fight in the bathroom with a guy who got closs to you.

Safe to say no one will be near you

Niragi is also the type to worry, but hide it. He couldn't let anyone see such a side of him, who knows what they'll think. He will be denial, trust me. Denying his care for you

Well, sure. Maybe he'll beat up any guy that comes near you. Maybe he told you to hide tonight, even if he knows no one will come near you. Maybe he'd give you weapons, but that definitely doesn't mean he cares. Not at all.

The delicious flavours of kimbap filled your mouth, a small yet filling meal. Something proper to eat after they basically starved you for days.

The satiating of your stomach, the rumbling quieting down. It felt so good, enjoying yourself in the little blissful moment you had.

That was until a familiar voice called out for you, bringing your focus away from the food. You silently groaned at the voice. The figure now entering the corner of your eyesight.

"What do you want now, Niragi" you asked him, now standing in front of you. Does the universe really hate you that much to ruin every small nice thing you have?

He gave you a small smirk at your frustration before handing you a fork. "Take this and keep it with you" he said with no explanation.

"The hell, you don't need a fork to eat kimbap. Where did you even get this??"

"It's to attack others, dumbass." he rolled his eyes. And it pleasantly surprised you that he cared over something like that.

"Gee, since when did you care about something like safety?" you giggled as you teased, but instead of a smirk or a returning choice of words he was reacted unusual.

"Don't push it and don't fuck with me. Just keep it with you." he said much too loud for your liking, a few heads turning to look at you both.

"Alright, goodness." you murmured more of so to yourself, but a tinge of happiness rang trough your body at his gesture. And when he finally left you alone, you let a smile slip. If only you could see him more often like this.

┆彡Ann

She immediately noticed the games intent. It's simply in her nature, she's observant and watches everything with meticulous care to the details. It's stupid to think he wouldn't notice. She'd tell you her observations and set out a plan together

And it is the most detailed yet somehow simplest plan.

Ann wouldn't be an outstanding target. She only surrounds herself with people who are trustworthy, not letting other players have a chance to know her much. She sees everything, she watches everytime she can so she knows a lot about other people and who to trust.

In that area she protects you, from bad influence. Your bubbly personality loves to socialize, so she'll always keep eyes on who you're being friendly with.

It felt like an eternity before the flickering of the lights stopped and the guards came back to shoot the ceiling. You flinched just as much as your body allowed you to before the pain came back in.

You should have paid more attention. You should have taken the warnings of Ann seriously. Maybe then you wouldn't be leaning against a wall with a big gash on your arm, a mark of betrayal. You felt so stupid to have trusted them, resulting in you loosing Ann and being attacked.

The thoughts clouding your mind got stopped for a moment as you heard your name being called, looking up to meet her gaze. Hand clutching your other arm as it bleed trough.

She didn't let a word out, calmly grabbing her green jacket to properly care for your wounds, her limited medical experience being able to do so.

"It'll hurt, be ready." she hummed, tying the tracksuit around the wound securely, staying very calm while doing so as you groaned out at the sharp tug of the pain.

"I'm sorry, Ann.." you hushed out once she was finished, a guilty look plastered on your face.

"Mhh. Don't be so reckless next time, alright?" she answered, making you nod in agreement as you gave her a small smile. Clinging onto her as the wound still stung, and she allowed you to. Even with not being fond of affection so publicly, she simply stayed silent with a small tug of a smile on her face.

How glad you were to have her in such a place.

┆彡Arisu

Arisu is smart and can see trough the hearts of others, of course he'd notice the voting splitting the people. He's quick witted and would come up with a sensible plan immediately

But you'd have to constantly tell him to not worry so much. He can only suppress his anxiety when it tense situations, but knowing that the fight will break out days before it actually did simply gives him time to overthink. He wouldn't dare to think what would happen if he did something wrong and the cause would be your death. You're practically his will to live, he can't continue without him.

So, he'll try to keep you close to him. He'd be awkward about it and, of course, tries to know you're comfortable with. But he'd prefer for you to stay close

He'd protect you with his greatest strength, his intelligence. That man is lanky and wouldn't be the best fighter to protect you physical, but if he had to he would.

"Can you believe she said that. You just had to be there, it was such a cool fight." you rambled on and on about something you saw today, ranting to skip the time in this boring and ruthless place. It always felt nice to use your voice heavily, and you were grateful that Arisu always let you.

But as you looked up, you saw him paying you almost no attention. His eyes staring into the abyss, his thoughts occupying every sense in his body. And you immediately knew what was going on.

"Hey, Arisu. Is everything alright, something worrying you?" you asked, shifting his attention over to you as his face morphs into an apologetic one.

He ignored your question and started to incessantly apologize for not hearing you out, frustration pulling on your furrowed eyebrows as you tried to stop him.

"Arisu!" you managed stop him "Let me reword my sentence. Stop worrying so much about the plan." the words lingered in the air as you let it sink in, Arisu softening his features as he looked at you. Worry still there, but not as immense before your words.

"10 minutes until the lights go off!" the familiar yet mysterious voice rang again trough the speaker.

You smiled, softly locking your hands together as you held his tightly. Red slightly tainted his cheeks, something so small that you missed it as you simply enjoyed it while Arisu was nervous with this much contact.

"It's almost time, come on, let's go. We'll be fine" you tugged on his hand. You couldn't even deny your own anxiety now bubbling inside, standing upt to get ready. But as you saw Arisu beside you, alive and well, you knew everything will be alright. You trust him, even if he doesn't trust himself.

[the-irreverend]

The Inferno Theory: The Chara Theory to End All Chara Theories

Here we are! Nine years of Undertale. And seeing how Chara is heavily associated with the number 9 (AND THAT TOBY FOX FINALLY TALKED ABOUT THEM), I can't think of a better way to celebrate the occasion than by dedicating this 5000-word-long theory about them? Y'all remember when people used to make long-ass theories about Chara? Yeah, they're coming back with a vengeance! To say I have a colossal hyperfixation is a massive understatement. No character in all of fiction has had a bigger impact on my life than this little rose-cheeked, cocoa-addicted freak. I’ve been a Chara fan for as long as I’ve been an Undertale fan, and you can bet that my understanding of them has changed a lot since. And now I have the pleasure of sharing said understandings with y’all!

Once upon a time, there was an aroace autistic who, like most of y’all, had a very unhealthy obsession with Undertale. And unlike most of you, he thought the Genocide Route was really fun. Most fans talk about how unhappy they felt killing everyone, but for me, I felt like a polar bear at a baby harp seal convention. I got a disturbing level of happiness out of turning everyone to dust. Hell, the only unhappiness I felt was when I couldn’t turn Monster Kid to dust.

Oh well, at least I got a good consolation prize!

I was one sadistic son of a gun, and so I was even more delighted to find out I had a secret admirer/partner-in-crime and that they joined in on the fun because I was such a goshdarn inspiration to them. Not wishing to disappoint my self-appointed partner, I erased the world without a second thought, eagerly awaiting what we might get to do together.

So you can guess I was pretty taken aback when, instead of a warm welcome, they started lecturing me about how I couldn’t accept the world’s destruction and that I was the one fully responsible for it (even though they were eager to take credit for it earlier). I didn’t think much of it at first. Initially, I just thought that they were just irritated that I was undoing what we had worked so hard to accomplish.

But as this game taught me time after time, you should never trust your first impressions. Those first impressions would crumble to dust when they said this.

To say I was completely baffled is an understatement. Why the hell would this prepubescent genocidal maniac be so obsessed over whether or not I think I’m above consequences? So obsessed to the point they would tell me to go to hell if I told them no? It was at that moment I realized there was something more to this character than meets the eye. But for a long time, I couldn’t seem to figure out what that something was. And it didn’t seem like anyone could figure that out either.

I’m very much a veteran of the fan wars that have emerged surrounding Chara. In fact, one might even say I am a deserter of sorts, as I am a former member of the Chara Defence Squad, Offense Squad, and Neutralist Squad. But I’m not gonna be a stuck-up and say everyone’s a canon-ignoring idiot except for me and that I’m the only one who knows what Toby Fox intended Chara to be. Even though I ended up with a very different take than yours (and will certainly argue why it’s the best), I owe you all your discussions a huge debt, and I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t gotten invested in your interpretations, to begin with. Not to mention that, contrary to what some may argue, you’ve made some valid points to complement them.

And while the debate that resulted from Chara’s ambiguous morality has led to a lot of controversy and even toxicity, it has also been a source of some FANTASTIC CONTENT. Like seriously, would we have gotten those badass renditions of Stronger Than You if no one thought Chara was an awful person? Would we have gotten Man on the Internet’s beautiful rendition of Star if no one thought Chara was a good person (turned awful)?

It would be utter hypocrisy for me to ask of you to approach me and my arguments (or anyone who accepts them) with understanding and good faith only to then not do the same to anyone who doesn’t agree with me. In this theory, I will definitely argue why some points made about Chara are flawed; points that you might hold yourself. But that doesn’t automatically mean that you (or your takes) are intellectually or morally inferior to mine. And besides, I’m not Toby Fox.

So with that said, why did I eventually came to disagree with pretty much everyone about Chara? Because, one way or another, I couldn’t find a take that clicked with me personally as I felt there were various inconsistencies and issues holding them back. I looked at YouTube videos, subreddits, Tumblr essays, Twitter threads, and even forums on the Steam Community. But I couldn’t really find what I thought were satisfactory answers to the questions I had about Chara’s motivations, role in the game, and relationship with the player.

And then, one day, I found those answers. It all happened when I asked myself: “What if Chara didn’t turn against me… because they were always against me from the start?!”

I don’t mean that Chara only saw you as a means to an end. I mean that YOU were the end. What if Chara didn’t use you so they could screw over the monsters but they used the monsters so they could screw over YOU.

You probably think I’m insane, don’t you? And you’re right! I AM INSANE! AND SO IS THIS WHOLE DAMN THEORY!!! But somehow, someway, it just works!! And I’ll show you why and how!!!

What you are about to read is the culmination of six years of reading and critiquing Chara takes and theories of every kind and quality, whether it be Judgement Boy’s Who is the Real Villain of Undertale to Wandydoodles’ Oblivion Theory. Six years of examining the arguments and counterarguments of Chara defenders, offenders, and neutralists alike. Six years of looking in every corner of the UTDR fandom. From the tranquil lands of Quora. To the dark recesses of Reddit. To the intellectual wastelands of Twitter. To the fiery hellsite of Tumblr. So, without further ado, get ready for some of the most pure, unadulterated, high-octane, universe-collapsing neurodivergence you’ve ever seen in your life!!!!!

Part 1: The demonic heritage of the "demon who comes when people call its name".

Have you ever had one of those moments where you’ve asked yourself, “What the actual hell is this guy talking about?” I bet you’re having that moment right now. Everything about their character post-death, including their motives, their methods, and their relationship with you, is perfectly reflected in one of their most famous (or rather infamous) lines:

When most people hear the word demon, the first thing that comes to mind is a being made of pure evil whose only purpose in life is to destroy all things good in the world. Right?

Well, yes, but actually, no. It’s a little more complicated than that. To argue that Chara is a demon because they’re simply “an evil little twerp that enjoys being evil” doesn’t do them or their role in Undertale justice (although that hasn’t stopped people from trying to argue that). To understand why calling themselves a demon is EXTREMELY important, we need to dive into the wonderful (and totally not controversial) world of religious beliefs!

In ancient and modern religions, demons are a little more complex than just ethereal jackasses with a vendetta against virtue and righteousness. Though they vary from faith to faith, most demons have a specific set of qualities and tropes that make them integral to whatever faith they’re in. You also see these demonic qualities in fiction that’s derived or inspired by religions, and since Undertale’s lore and worldbuilding have a heavy emphasis on the spiritual and divine, you can see them in Chara. Since Undertale is a game of “Western” origin, you can definitely see they share qualities that are all too familiar with devils of “Western” religions. In classic devil fashion, they target those with weak integrities or suspect morals; they tempt you with the promise of fulfilling your desires at your and everyone else’s expense; they’re able to control your body as you grow their power through your sins, and hell, they even do the thing where they make a deal for your soul. Also...

But though it's evident that Chara encourages you to do “evil,” THEY THEMSELVES are not responsible for it. Yes, Chara encouraged you to kill, but YOU are the one who acted on those encouragements. In fact, YOU are the one who encouraged THEM to help you out! They walked down the dark path with you, but you didn’t really give them anywhere else they could walk. You had all the power and every chance to turn back and no reason to keep walking. And yet you persisted.

But that does beg the question, why did you walk it at all? What could possibly inspire you to give all of these characters happiness, satisfaction, and peace and then rip it all away? Because you decided that giving everyone the most satisfying ending was not satisfying enough for you. Because there was more that you could experience for yourself, even if it meant making everyone else experience something absolutely horrific. It wasn’t enough for you to fill the glass only halfway. You needed to fill it to the brim. You wanted to reach the absolute. Even if doing the Genocide Run was a bad experience for you, you CANNOT deny it was a fulfilling one. And Chara knows it, too. It ain’t exactly a coincidence that fulfillment and fullness are recurring motifs in Chara’s character.

Like all demons, Chara is able to tempt the wicked and sinful by targeting our greatest weaknesses and deficiencies. It’s no different from how Succubi and Incubi target those who succumb to the sin of lust. That’s why you won’t go after my aroace ass anytime soon. But I digress.

But Chara doesn't just tempt us by exploiting our need to fill the glass to the brim but also because of how they exploit the satisfaction we get from watching it fill up, that is to say, the satisfaction that comes from trying to achieve fulfillment.

We humans are addicted to progression as much as we are to completion, and in an RPG like Undertale, the satisfaction of progression comes in the form of NUMBERS. Not just the numbers that flash on the screen when you battle enemies but also the ones that go up when you finish said enemies off, whether it be your hit points, experience points, and so on. And Undertale isn’t any ordinary RPG; it’s one where its RPG elements are interwoven into the fabric of the game’s universe. Because of that, Chara is able to use these elements in their world to influence those outside of it.

But Chara does not just influence us through the numbers that increase but also the ones that decrease. That’s why the first thing they do when we reach Snowdin is give us a tally. 

It’s not just there to measure progress. It’s also there to incentivize us to keep progressing. It gives us a small dose of satisfaction that’s enough to distract us from the mundanity and misery of the murder run, like a loading bar on a loading screen. And just like with loading screens, the farther it progresses, the harder it gets to turn away. Why would you want all the lives you’ve taken and the stats you’ve gained to amount to nothing? Why would you want to hit reset and go through those brutal fights with Sans and Undyne again? You can’t empty out the glass, not when you’re that much closer to filling it to the brim. Speaking of Sans and Undyne, it’s quite interesting that even though they barely know you, they know exactly why you won’t take your foot off the pedal, so to speak.

But that’s not the only thing driving you, isn’t it? Chara knows that there was something else that was spurning you along. Something more powerful and more dangerous than your addiction to progression and completion: PRIDE. 

Perhaps the real reason you kept giving in to sin until it was far too late was because you didn’t think it would be too late. You didn’t hold back because you thought you would be able to go back. You thought you could just absolve your sins with the press of a button like you did in countless worlds before. You thought you could dive in, touch the bottom, and come back out of the water. But what were you getting into? How deep would you have gone? And would you have gone in if you knew you couldn’t possibly return? You know you wouldn’t. And Chara knows it, too. That brings us back to the dialogue I showed you at the beginning of this theory. The one said changed everything I knew about this character, and I firmly believe that this is the MOST important line of dialogue in the entire franchise.

PART 2: THE PART WHERE I (PRETEND TO) DESTROY 9 YEARS OF ESTABLISHED FANON!

When I say that that little blurb about being above consequences is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL, I do not say that lightly. It isn’t just important to Chara's character, but the game of Undertale as a whole! Anyone who’s serious about Chara’s character should never take this for granted because Chara sure as hell does not.

It’s not just our refusal to accept the world’s destruction that’s a huge-ass deal to Chara; it’s the arrogance and complacency that accompanies it, rooted in the position and privileges we have as the player. It matters to them so much that they’re willing to completely forgo bartering for our soul (which they say they want) if we don’t admit that we have that belief!

And yet, despite Chara taking this subject so seriously, the people who are analyzing their character ironically don’t. Generally speaking, most people simply brush this line off as nothing more than something they do to help them on their quest to achieve their goals. So, with that said, let’s talk about what those supposed goals actually are.

In all my years of reading and assessing countless Chara theories and interpretations, I’ve discovered that everyone actually agrees on what Chara's goals are. They just can’t agree on why they want them. Said goals are A) reach the absolute, B) max out their numbers/power, C) erase the world, and/or D) eradicate all monsters. But what if it’s actually the other way around? What if those things were the means to an end rather than the ends themselves?

What if the true goal of the “demon who comes when people call its name” was just like that of the demons of old: not to be your partner in crime, but to torment and punish you for your crimes? To make you face CONSEQUENCES!

I’m not making this argument simply because it makes Chara look more badass (though I think it totally does, lol). I firmly believe that Undertale’s post-Genocide content is written so that Chara’s character can only make sense if that was Chara’s goal from start to finish. Because if Chara’s endgame was any of those four I mentioned earlier, their character kinda falls apart because they're awfully inconsistent about fulfilling them. And those inconsistencies are evident in the Second Geno Ending.

Discrepancy 1) They say they will “appear time and time again” to help us “eradicate the enemy and become strong,” and yet they call us perverted for eradicating everyone time and time again.

You can argue that they didn’t want us to recreate the world in the first place and just move on to another world, but if so, why let us come back at all? And if it’s to get our soul, why do they keep around this world after we have it? This leads us to...

Discrepancy 2) They tell us to ERASE the world and move on to the next, and yet they allow us to restore it without a hitch after we give them our SOUL, seeing how there’s no black void when we start the game again.

If Chara was powerless to stop us from coming back, this wouldn’t be such a big deal. But they CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE that they’re able to stop the player from restoring the world, as seen in the first post-genocide ending. And yet they don’t use this power after the first time the world is erased (WHICH YOU WOULD THINK THEY WOULD WANT TO USE SINCE THEY WANT TO ERASE THE WORLD AND MOVE ON TO ANOTHER)! Seeing how the world is back again without us doing anything makes the restoration of the world like something that Chara CHOSE ON THEIR OWN VOLITION. And what makes this all the more damning is...

Discrepancy 3) They tell us they’re down bad for increasing our ATK, DEF, EXP, and LV to the max and erasing the world and everyone in it, and yet they TELL US TO DEVIATE FROM THE ONLY ROUTE THAT ACCOMPLISHES THAT (which, as stated before, they call us perverse for doing it again).

So, let me get something straight. You tell us you want to ”eradicate the enemy” and “ erase this pointless world,” and yet not only are you allowing us to undo all of that, you want us to do something INSTEAD OF THAT??? It’s funny how you lecture us about how we cannot accept the world’s destruction BECAUSE, APPARENTLY, YOU WON’T EITHER!!!!! Also, before I forget...

Discrepancy 4)

WHAT KIND OF MISANTHROPE DEDICATES THEIR WHOLE LIFE TO WIPING OUT HUMANITY, GETS GIFT-WRAPPED A CHANCE TO DO THAT, AND THEN JUST PASSES IT UP?!?!?!

On behalf of misanthropes everywhere, I am DEEPLY disappointed in you!

So it doesn’t matter if you believe Chara is always evil, good, or detached from morality entirely. Because Chara has the same goal across all versions, they all succumb to the same inconsistencies!

Funny how most people see them as this embodiment of the addictive nature of levelling up and consuming everything in a piece of media and all that jazz WHEN THEY SEEM TO CASUALLY GIVE UP ON IT!!!!!!

And if you argue they want a Soulless Pacifist Run when they suggest “another path,” then ask yourself, what does that give them that a Genocide Run doesn’t? Keep in mind, aside from a scribbled-out photograph, we don’t see how many monsters or humans they killed besides the main characters or how much power and stats they gained from it. And it’s not like we see them erase the world afterward since only the genocide run has that infamous wall of red 9s. Not to mention, the genocide run is the most secure way of accomplishing their goals since they have the backing of the player. Not only that, but it’s also the safest and most efficient way to erase everyone and increase stats to the fullest, and we all know how Chara feels about efficiency.

So Chara has no reason to pick the Soulless pacifist ending over the Genocide Run if they want to achieve their end of increasing numbers and consuming the world… unless those things were a means to an end rather than ends themselves.

Indeed it is coming together! That’s the other reason their statement, “You think you’re above consequences,” is so damn important! They’re not telling us why we sinned, but it reveals they intend to make us suffer for those sins, and how.

That’s why Chara is seemingly so inconsistent about erasing the world. Because it was never about the world. It was all about YOU.

[SIDE NOTE: I’m sure many of you will point out that if Chara wanted us to get a Soulless ending in this world, then why would they encourage us to “move on to the next?” I don’t think this is too big an issue for two reasons. First, this line is meant to emphasize that, like all demons, Chara is inescapable and that no matter what world you go to (within their own universe), Chara will always follow you now that you’ve unleashed them. Second, because their goal concerns us and not the world they’re a part of, their character avoids the aforementioned inconsistencies that hamper the other Chara theories much more severely, in my opinion.]

Part 3: Contrapasso

Now I’m sure some of y’all might think that Chara doesn’t need to yearn for our torment to achieve the impact of the Soulless ending and that just because Chara is a demon doesn’t automatically mean they need to screw us over. You are right in that not everyone who makes a Faustian Bargain needs to have malicious intentions toward the people they’re taking advantage of (Kuybey from Madoka Magica is a great example of that). But Chara does need it! Not only does it make their character more narratively cohesive, but also makes their character more thematically impactful. And it’s more in tune with their demonic nature for them to want to torment us.

Because demons represent something more terrifying than evil itself. They represent the terrible price of embracing it, a price that all evildoers fear more than anything, and that all demons want seek to inflict upon us. Like most demons, Chara isn’t encouraging us to sin to fill the emptiness in our soul (or even their own). They did it to perpetuate that torturously empty and unfulfilled state for all eternity, a state which even themselves now endure.

Now, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve talked a lot about the themes of fulfillment and emptiness, and it’s for a good reason since those themes are heavily featured in Undertale. I mean, how could it not? Because concepts of demons, hell, and sins (which are explicitly mentioned in the game) are deeply intertwined with the concept of emptiness. The theologian Thomas Aquinas once defined evil as not a presence but as an absence (of that which is good). Darkness is the absence of light; war is the absence of peace; bigotry is the absence of tolerance; pride is the absence of humility, etc. You see this reflected in not just Christian theology but also fiction as a whole, as a lot of villains are motivated by a desire to obtain something that they believe can’t be without. Whether it be wealth, status, recognition, power, the death of an individual, or even just sadistic pleasure.

Since demons are beings that are inseparable from evil itself, the life of a demon is forever cursed by unceasing and unbearable emptiness. Hell, the word damnation originated from the Latin word damnum, which literally means loss! They’re not exactly partying in hell while your immortal soul is being slow-roasted for eternity. They’re burning in that lake of fire and brimstone along with you! They can’t end their damnation, not because they don’t want to but because they simply can’t. They’re fated to be bereft of the satisfaction or fulfillment found in Heaven or Earth, a fate that is worse than death in every sense of the word, especially since they can’t experience death anymore. Because of that, a demon embodies what is perhaps the most terrifying form of evil of all: not one rooted in a desire to rid the emptiness and unfulfillment within themselves, but a desire to inflict them upon others. Because as a wise philosopher once said:

We see this horrific state of mutually assured suffering everywhere across fiction. From goofy, lighthearted tokusatsu's...

...to nightmarish sci-fi dystopias...

...to a little indie game made 9 years ago.

Oh yeah. Don’t think I was gonna talk about emptiness without mentioning everyone’s favourite homicidal fauna-turned-flora, especially not with lines like this.

Take one to know one! And it can’t be a coincidence that the game emphasizes the theme of emptiness when giving the spotlight to the three characters that have committed the most “evil”: Flowey/Asriel, Chara, and YOU.

Quite the unholy trinity going on here, eh? It truly is fascinating how the emptiness led us to work with each other to exterminate all monsters. And it’s also interesting how the unique kind of emptiness we have eventually led us to work against each other. Whether it be Flowey wishing to preserve his sentimentality for his long-gone sibling, us players wanting to maintain our (perverted) sentimentality for the world of Undertale, or Chara weaponizing these sentimentalities to exact their misanthropic hatred.

Remember how I said that Chara was a lousy misanthrope because they keep letting us bring back the humans they wanted annihilated when they were alive? That does make them a lousy misanthrope… unless their misanthropy found a higher priority target: YOU!!!!!

Chara’s desire to torment us didn’t come out of thin air. The same hatred that drove them to wipe out the humans of their world years ago is the same hatred that’s driving them to get at the humans of our world, even if it means destroying those who once embraced them. And now, that hatred is more potent and destructive than ever before, so much so that it’s no wonder Toriel was able to feel it when she endured that fatal blow after the Geno Run began.

Do you think witnessing what soullessness did to sweet little Asriel wasn’t already terrifying and tragic enough? Just try to imagine what it could‘ve done to a vengeful, traumatized, chocolate-addicted problem child so consumed by hatred that they poisoned themselves just for a chance to wipe out their own kind. All of that hatred of humanity is still alive and well, and now it has no humanity to hold it back. 

And what could be a more fitting target for a MISANTHROPE that calls themselves a DEMON… than a HUMAN that wants to play GOD?

After all, the only thing demons love more than tormenting mortals is warring with Gods.

Why else do you think that Chara winks right at you if we make Frisk stay with Toriel? Because that’s who the Soulless Ending was meant for. It’s when they’re finally able to unleash all that animosity and hatred that’s been lurking behind that smile ever since we killed everyone in the Ruins. It’s the moment that they’ve been patiently waiting for because they knew that’s when it would hit you the hardest.

And what makes the Soulless Pacifist Ending very special compared to other “bad endings” isn’t simply because they destroy those we pretend to care about (may I remind you that you did do the genocide run, after all). But they destroy something much more valuable to us as the players: OUR OMNIPOTENCE. Chara doesn’t destroy people for the sake of destroying them. But because in doing so they destroy our arrogant belief that nothing could possibly challenge the invisibility and invulnerability we players take for granted.

It's all too human that those with the most power are the least willing to lose it (or even take responsibility for it). And in a world where we should have absolute power, we thought there would be no consequences for abusing it. So what could be a more fitting and frightful punishment than having to actually face them? Missing out on the best ending in a video game is one thing. But to forever lose the power to achieve it ever again?! Now that’s terrifying!

Throughout myth, legend, and religion, sinners are often punished in a way befitting of the sin they’ve committed. In Greek Mythology, Tantalus was damned for trying to feed the Gods the flesh of his murdered son with eternal hunger and thirst despite being within arm’s reach of water and food. In Dante’s Inferno, those who succumb to wrath are forever doomed to fight each other in a river of mud. And since Undertale is no stranger to concepts such as hell, sins, and demons, you can damn well be sure that there’s going to be damnation fitting for the sins that drove you to complete the genocide run.

You completed the Genocide Run because you believed ending their lives would be fulfilling. Now, you can no longer get any fulfillment out of saving their lives.

I mean, where else can you get your precious fulfillment? Those paltry neutral endings? They only offer a fraction of what the pacifist ending offered. And the genocide ending has been drained of its satisfaction like the pacifist! Would you do all that tedious grinding and brutal boss fights just to hear your so-called “partner” lecture you again on perverted sentimentality and say you should choose another path, even though there’s nothing that they could offer? Of course not. In the end, you’re just like poor Tantalus agonizing in the pits of Tartarus, feeling the water vanish from his hands just before it touches his lips.

The ultimate triumph of Chara isn’t making you suffer a total defeat, but perhaps something much worse to you as a gamer: a pyrrhic victory. It’s like having a Twinkie that's been drained of the creamy center. Everything is still there except the thing you treasure most. You’re damned to play a challenge forever deprived of any and all fulfillment you once got from it, a satisfying journey that will always be doomed to reach a dissatisfying destination.

In the end, Chara leaves you with the world exactly as they described it the first time they met you face-to-face: POINTLESS.

You can have the world exactly as it was before (and the people within it). But in the end, Chara will always have the last laugh.

Figuratively and literally.

Welcome to hell!

Part 4: Why Consequences Matter

Woooooo!!! Man, that was quite the read, wasn’t it? And yeah, I wasn't kidding when I said this is going to be autistic as all hell! I don’t doubt you have a lot of thoughts in your mind, and then you’re gonna share them by the time you’re finished reading this post. Some of you might think this is the Chara theory to end Chara theories. Some of you believe that this is the worst thing that has happened to this fandom since Sebastian Wolff. Some of y’all, I’m whitewashing them because I argue they’re driven by a desire to punish the wicked by any means necessary. Some will think I’m demonizing them because I say that they’re, well, a demon. 

[SIDE NOTE: Just so I don’t miscommunicate what I believe about Chara’s morality, here are some key points to take away from this theory. A) Chara sought to make you pay for the evil you committed. In fact, the idea that the Soulless Ending is Chara punishing our sins has been around for a while, especially by those who think Chara was “corrupted. B) However, in this theory, Chara's actions are all done with the intent of accomplishing that goal. This means that Chara was aware of what they were doing, they wanted to do it, and that THEY KNEW IT WAS EVIL. C) But you still have to remember that Chara is also A LITERAL CHILD. And D) They’re a child who endured a great deal of hardship (and possibly trauma), which made them so embittered and vengeful. Also, E) Remember that they’re also soulless, just like Asriel when he was Flowey.]

But I think most of you were gonna look at this interpretation of Chara and feel the same thing that I have about most of yours: a take that’s not without issues, but not without a fair bit of interesting points.

But regardless of what you think of this theory overall, there’s one thing I won’t leave up for debate: I deeply treasure Chara’s character. Not just because I think they’re fun, cool, or interesting but also because I firmly believe they’re invaluable Undertale. And yet, at the same time, I think they’re severely undervalued by the fandom. And who can blame them?

The characters of Undertale speak very little of Chara, and Chara speaks for themselves even less. But just like Johan Liebert from the anime Monster, even though they’re not seen too often, they still manage to exert a massive presence and impact within Undertale’s narrative. And that presence is made all the more impactful because they perfectly represent the themes of the narrative: and that theme is CONSEQUENCES, or more accurately, the CONSEQUENCES OF VIOLENCE.

From the violence that drove Chara to climb Mt Ebott to the violence their brother Asriel inflicted in hopes of being with them forever. From something as grand as a war between two civilizations to something as small as dismembering a snowman. Everywhere you look, you will see that violence (and its repercussions) haunts the story and characters of Undertale. But what makes Undertale stand out from other media that tackles this subject is that it’s not just an integral part of its narrative but also its metanarrative. The most ingenious way it does this is by giving meaning to the actions/mechanics that we take for granted, specifically monster encounters.

Our Lord and Saviour Toby Fox said it best:

Because the monsters of Undetale are treated as something more than just enemies to be killed, there are going to be consequences for choosing to kill them away. Some argue that it goes too far in how it admonishes you for killing even a single monster, even to the point of being preachy (I’m looking at you, ScottFalco, but that’s a response for another day).

That argument is deeply flawed because it fails to account for the fact that without these ramifications, the game’s themes would be rendered null and void. The last thing that a game with a narrative centred around the consequences of violence can afford to do is afford you the luxury of avoiding them. And that principle especially applies if you dare to choose nothing BUT violence.

If you were to bring them all back as if nothing happened, then your decision to commit genocide would be completely meaningless, which would totally disservice Undertale themes regarding violence. There needs to be consequences. LASTING CONSEQUENCES. Undertale can’t drive home its messages and them without lasting consequences. Undertale can’t deliver those consequences without Chara in the driver’s seat. And Chara’s character can only be at their most narratively cohesive and thematically impactful if seeking to make us suffer consequences was their intended destination.

Regardless of whatever detail about Chara you’re discussing or what side of the discussion you’re on, one thing is very clear: they’re absolutely essential to Undertale in the same way that Mephistopheles is essential to Faust, the Cenobites are essential to Hellraiser, and Kuybey is essential to Madoka Magica. And they’re the only ones with the means, motives, and deep-seated misanthropy to hold this whole damn game together.

Sans is right. We deserve to be burning in hell for what we did to those poor monsters. And I can't think of anyone more qualified to have us humans “burning in hell” than a self-proclaimed demon with a seething hatred of humanity.

And how fitting is it that the skeleton who judges our sins is followed by a human child who punishes us for them?

BUT HEY, THAT'S JUST A THEORY!

A CHARA THEORY!

THANKS FOR READING!