#is it good? well it's certainly a thing i wrote part 1 of. the writing quality is... Extant
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reading Pern Story: Uncut and there's something so funny about how palpably rushed the first bits are like i was racing to get to the hatching scene and doing the absolute bare minimum of setup im basically waving my hand and going ehh you get the idea until the dragons start hatching. it's so rough and the seams are so visible and it's an emotion adjacent to cringe but also kinda charming. what can ya do
#i remember getting that idea late at night in like february and writing it all on my phone in bed#next day in my delivery van job still typing still on my phone (not driving)#'yeah yeah whatever you know these guys already aND THEN LENATH-'#pern story#is it good? well it's certainly a thing i wrote part 1 of. the writing quality is... Extant
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Aaaaahhhhhh!!!! Your writings are so good! Can I ask for Ness, Kunigami, and Nagi to fill out the roster for the “mumbling ‘i want you inside me’” blurbs you got going on? If you’re not too busy of course! Idk which characters exactly you write for tho so it’s cool if you forego Ness or smth
YES, I was already writing Shidou, so I wrote Nagi and Kunigami with him as well. The cutie Ness will have to wait his turn (if there is one, I'll see if I'm inspired) 😞😞😞 BUT ALSO, having Kunigami and Shidou on one list feels illegal and wrong ngl LOLOL, thank you so much for liking my writing 🥺🥺🥺
Absentmindedly murmuring that you want him inside of you during practice part 4;
NSFW
Includes; Nagi, Kunigami, Shidou
Part 1 (Isagi, Hiori, Bachira) and part 2 (Chigiri, Reo) and part 3 (Barou, Kaiser) and part 5 (Sae, Rin, Karasu, Otoya, Yukimiya)
Nagi: he only knows you’re here when Reo elbows him, telling him that you’re here, except this time Reo is snickering in a way that confuses him. Why is he laughing? What’s so funny about you being here? Nevertheless, unanswered questions fading away in his head, he turns to see you across the field, and he waves at you - but there’s something weird about you. Although you wave back, like you would usually do, it’s not an energetic kind of wave. It’s more lethargic, hand barely raised, and something about you seems like you’re not really there. Right now you kind of seem like the zombies he shoots in his games. Concerned and confused, he blinks at your weird behaviour, but he saves it until his break. The moment he gets his chance, he’s making his way over to you, but the closer he gets to you, the more… confused he starts to feel; your state doesn’t seem as similar to a zombie’s as he initially thought. You’re certainly seeing him, that’s for sure, but your eyes are weird. They’re all opaque and dazed, as if you’re delirious from a fever of sorts. He doesn’t know why, but something about your glassy eyes makes him antsy. “... You there?” And it’s when your dreamy smile widens, your head tilting, that he realizes even before the words leave your mouth exactly what is up with you. Ah, so that’s it. You need him right now. That’s what those eyes are for, yes, he remembers. That’s how you look up at him sometimes when he’s trying to get you into bed. Except, you’ve never said the kind of thing you just said, and those sultry words send heat straight down to his cock. Something in that breathy tone of yours tugs at his heart and he becomes restless. What are you doing to him? He shifts on his feet slightly. You can’t do this to him right now. Not right now. Don’t look at him like that right now, it’s making him think of you in a way that’s going to make going back to practice really hard - pun intended. The only kind of thoughts that are sitting in his head now are all images of him making you cry on his cock, using that pussy of yours until you pass out, pounding away until your voice is ruined. And, ah, shit, well. He can no longer deny himself, it’s too hard to resist this urge and go back to practice. So when Reo comes to tell him that practice is about to start, all he mutters is a quiet “sorry Reo” before he grabs you by the arm and drags you off somewhere. You’re the one that started this, you can take responsibility by letting him go as many times as he wants, right?
Shidou: the moment he catches that hazy gaze of yours, he’s busting his ass laughing right on the field, yelling to his teammates something about how he’s eager to score even harder with his girl looking all cute for him. Rin is the one that tells him to shut up - both of them somehow seem destined to stick together, joining the same exact league, both bemoaning their misfortune. All Shidou does is almost start a fight, taunting Rin back in response, telling him that if he’s so jealous he should stop being loveless and go get with someone already so he can hop off of Shidou’s dick already. Of course, the rest of their teammates and coach have to get involved to calm both of their asses down, and so there’s an unplanned break. Immediately, first things first, he heads over to you, all amused, noting how you’re still looking at him like that, all lovesick and yearning. Shit, damn, you’re gonna make him catch a public indecency case. “Shit sweetheart, you’re looking like you want to milk my cock, huh? Want me to bust my load inside of you or something?” Turns out, that’s exactly what you wanted, because you say that - say that you want him inside of you. Well then, he didn’t expect that - usually in the face of his desire (for you, you, only you), you had a tendency to be a bit more shy. That was nice, getting to tease you and watch you get flustered, then have you make all of those lewd sounds and faces for him - but… There was something about you being all bold and blunt like this about wanting him to fuck you that got his blood pumping. It made him want to go the extra mile in fucking you - even though he already always goes full out when fucking you - try out new positions and breed you in each and every single one, shoot his burning hot cum right into your womb as he holds you down and your perfect pussy flutters around his cock again and again. He won’t even take his cock out this time, leave it in until he gets hard enough to fuck you again and again and again - he’ll give it all to you, he’ll get you fucking pregnant, fuck his cum into you until he’s sure of conception, shit. You want that, don’t you? Just the same as him, yeah? Of course you do, you’re just as much of a fucking pervert as him. So within a moment of you saying something that hot, he has already made the decision of pumping his seed into you right then and there. That’s why he immediately picks you up, throwing you onto his shoulder and you yelp - confused and disoriented as he starts carrying you off, warning everyone to not enter the showers for the next hour or so unless they want to hear him giving it to you good. Rin scoffs from the side, glaring, saying something about practice, but Shidou laughs, having none of it. “Fuck off virgin eyelashes, impregnating my girl takes priority~” You hear Rin muttering something about him not being a virgin beneath his breath, but that’s no longer your concern. You’ve lent fuel to a forest fire and now it’s going to burn through the whole country, don’t think you can walk after how hard he fucks you. After all, Shidou Ryusei loves invitations, especially if it’s the kind you give. Although, your biggest concern soon will definitely be how you’re going to face the rest of his teammates after they inevitably hear all those raunchy sounds you’re 100% sure Shidou will make sure you’re unable to suppress...
Kunigami: although he’s not exactly an oblivious guy, he’s not exactly the most conscious guy either when it comes to this kind of stuff. He never really knew when a girl crushed on him or swooned over his gentlemanly behaviour up until he got a confession. That still holds true even now, but you’re not exactly ever ‘subtle’ - case in point, those very obvious bedroom eyes you’re giving him at the moment. He feels his ears burn, face warm - not because of physical exertion - as he tries to ignore your eyes absolutely burning through his back. Why are you looking at him like that right now? Are you even aware of the kind of dreamy expression you’re making? You don’t seem like it. God, you’re distracting him, completely. The things he’d do to be alone with you right now - goddammit, he feels like a pervert now. When his break arrives and he goes over to you, the fervent blush only deepens - you’re still looking at him like you want him to claim you, eyes all hooded and dazed, pouty lips parted open. “Hey…” He curses himself for his awkwardness even with his own girlfriend, keeping his eyes averted from you as he rubs the back of his neck. “… You good?” Is that all he can say? Really? Wow, great going Kunigami, what a great job. But before he can berate himself any further for his awkwardness - he’s always a little shy when it comes to the more intimate side of your relationship - you say something that has him sputtering, eyes wide as he looks at you. Did you - did you really just say that? The way your lips twitch up into a small smile is enough of a confirmation, and he feels his heart beat intensely beneath his broad ribcage. How do you - how do you just… say things like that. “You… You sure do love to tease me, huh…?” And then he falls silent, shifting on his leg as you giggle lightly at his words, the sound of your voice making him shiver slightly now. Do you even know what you do to him? How you make him want to push your legs up right into your chest and just pound away? Fuck you into the bed as you cry out his name? Claim you, over and over again, make you sore and exhausted as he uses your body until you’re full of his cum. Fuck, god. He should be thinking of kicking balls right now, scoring goals, but instead his head grows empty and blood rushes down to the wrong head. Why are you like this? Why do you do this to him? He curses beneath his breath, willing the wrong head to go back to sleep, and he catches you staring at the bulge all yearningly and - ah fuck, he can’t play like this. He grabs your hand and pulls you up. You’re coming with him and helping him deal with the ‘problem’ you caused, okay? Hopefully he can get a quick round in before the break finishes, or well, if he can’t… He might as well fuck you for as long as he pleases.
Also I finally realized there's a character limit per block thingy LMFAO, I couldn't figure out what was the problem the last two times and just did 2 characters I'm such an idiot 😭😭😭
#blue lock#bllk#bllk x reader#bllk smut#bllk nagi#nagi seishiro#blue lock nagi#nagi smut#nagi x reader#nagi x you#nagi seishiro x reader#nagi seishiro x you#bllk shidou#shidou ryusei#shidou x reader#shidou x you#shidou smut#bllk kunigami#kunigami rensuke#kunigami x reader#kunigami smut#blue lock kunigami#kunigami x you
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David and Michael in the interview with Ali Plumb for BBC Radio 1, 10th July 2023
I compared it with it's podcast version and there are some bits that are cut out in the video 👀 but I added them into the transcript ❤ 🐍😊 .
AP: If you're thinking I'm the kind of guy that rocks up to a Good Omens interview with...
Michael: With the book.
David: Oh, well done.
Michael: We'd be correct.
AP: Yeah.
[GOS2 Promo]
AP: So after such a successful and well received first series, what gives you guys?
David: Why risk it?
AP: Why risk it.
Michael: What gives you the right?!
AP: What gives you the cojones to do another one?
Michael: I know.
AP: How dare you?
Michael: It's terrible. When I wrote it.... Well, no, I mean, that's the thing, really, I mean, it's Neil and Terry's baby. And we'd always known that they'd gone beyond the world of the first book. In fact, there's stuff that's not in the first book, in the first series. So Gabriel is a character, you know, who's not there. So we'd always known that there was a lot more.
David: The ideas, the threads.
Michael: Exactly. And they even had a name for a sequel. 668: The Neighbour of the Beast. Which is hilarious.
[A cut out part that is not in the video, but you can listen to in the podcast version of it:
AP: Just take, write the joke and then work it out later.
Michael: The best Good Omens joke isn't even in the Good Omens book.
David: Yeah.
Michael: And so we knew there was all that. So I think given that, that gave certainly us the confidence to know that we were in, you know, safe hands.
David: Yeah.
Michael: And I think gave Neil the sense that it was worth exploring, going further, because I think without that, he would never have done it. If he didn't feel that Terry was part of that ride as well, then I don't think he would have gone on it.
]
AP: At the risk of reading from the scripture, this is what's in the hardback copy of Good Omens: 'Why isn't there a sequel? Neil: Well, we know how the sequel goes. We played around with the idea whilst we were on tour. We even discussed a few scenes, but we could never quite work up the enthusiasm. It'd have been fun. We'd split the cash. But we both had other things to do'.
Michael: Yes. It's very much how we felt, isn't it? We'll split the cash.
David: Yeah.
AP: And run.
Michael: You know, and if we got nothing else on.
David: Well, yeah.
Ap: And you kind of enjoy each other's company?
Michael: I mean, enjoy is a strong word.
David: We're very good at faking it.
AP: Actors. I love it.
David: Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Michael: Yeah, exactly.
AP: When, outside of a show's context or the film's context, have you felt physically, visually the silliest? Because I think in this show there have to be moments. Green screen, full orange wig hair, that you go, no one take a photo of me right now.
David: The opening scene of Season Two is set in space and we're dressed as sort of old fashioned-
Michael: That makes it sound like sort of an episode of Blakes 7 or something, it's not Sci-Fi space, is it?
David: There's nothing wrong with that.
Michael: No, there's nothing... I mean I love it.
David: Jesus,
AP: Are you stepping up saying Sci-Fi's rubbish at this-
Michael: No, no, no! Of course not! No. But what I'm saying is-
David: I don't know who this is
Michael: David is making it sound like it's like Aziraphale and Crowley are in a rocket ship.
David: It is set in space!
Michael: Well, yeah.
David: First series set in space! You can't... it's just factual.
Michael: But not like space 1999.
David: Just space.
AP: It's pure, undiluted space.
David: It's set in space. In fact, it is undiluted space. And for that, we were dressed as a traditional angel in a sort of nighties...
Michael: Yes, we weren't in silver spandex.
David: We were in nighties.
Michael: We were.
David: And we were strapped to make this floating in space - and they didn't have this on Blakes 7 - we were strapped onto these gurneys and moved up and down.
[hehe bonus pic :)]
Michael: I had a jetpack.
[again, cut out in the video but present in the podcast version
David: I mean, it looks beautiful. The finished, the finished piece.
Michael: It was very odd, wasn't it? Yes. We were both sort of just like.
David: Yes.
Michael: Hovering around each other.
David: And it was, it was ignoble. Some of the being strapped in and out.
Michael: It was. Yeah.
]
AP: At least it's not Jon Hamming into a room... full Hamm.
[GOS2 Promo]
[again, cut out in the video but present in the podcast version
David: The naked Hamm? The naked Hamm was... yeah. He seemed pretty...
Michael: He seemed very relaxed.
AP: He insisted on spending more scenes in that costume.
]
Michael: That was never in the script.
David: No, he just turned up on set.
Michael: That's how he showed up.
David: I had an idea, guys!
Michael: Yes. No, there's lots to look forward to.
AP bursts out laughing: Sorry.
Michael: And lots to look back on.
AP: This second series, having a little bit more wiggle room in terms of where you might be able to take the characters, I think it's fair enough to say. Do you feel more active input.
[again, cut out in the video but present in the podcast version
AP: Into where they might go? Because to me, they strike as having a very strong Woody and Buzz factor of...
David: Right.
AP: Bear with me here. You're both not very good at your jobs.
David: How dare you?
AP: It's true. One's no angel. One's far from evil.
David: That's true.
AP: And you kind of are fudging it constantly.
]
AP: Do you feel you have more room to kind of fudge here and fudge there and really muck about with the characters now?
Michael: I mean, I every day when we start, I like to first of all say, Neil, I've got no interest in hearing what you're going to say. This is what I think should happen.
David: Yeah.
Michael: I mean, the thing is, when you've got Neil Gaiman writing it-
David: Yeah.
Michael: -you should have just go, off you go, mate.
David: The last thing you want to do is start putting in your ideas. You don't want to limit anything that's going to come out.
Michael: It's like brain. It's like when Ringo says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
AP: Yesterday, I have notes.
Michael: Listen, listen to what I've come up with.
AP: There's too much guitar in this.
David: Yeah.
AP: More drums.
David: Yeah.
Michael: Yeah. I think one of the things about Neil that is so wonderful is that he is so open and generous with ideas,
David: Yes.
Michael: and he's so not precious about what he's written. He is very respectful of what he and Terry created and is probably a bigger fan than any other fan, but he's not precious about it and he's very open to collaboration. In fact, he's probably the most collaborative
David: Yes.
Michael: I'd ever come across in my life.
David: Yes, absolutely.
Michael: So he loves watching what other people bring to the table, not just actors, but, you know, designers, everyone. And then I think he takes from that and is influenced by that. So it's very collaborative in that sense.
David: Yes. But if we influenced where the characters went in season two, it was sort of circumstantially.
AP: Right.
Michael: Yeah.
David: It was sort of by the act of what happened during season one and getting to know Neil and getting to know each other. But the great joy for us is turning up to these wonderful scripts and going, oh, I get to take this character here now. What a lark.
[again, cut out in the video but present in the podcast version
Michael: I mean, I wrote some very stern emails to him.
David: Yeah.
Michael: Which I was glad to see that he totally ignored.
AP: Screen time for me.
Michael: Yes, exactly.
AP: I like to think the 'I was right, or rather, you were right and I was wrong' dance was organic in the moment, not in the script. And could you give us a quick how might I recreate that beautiful...
David: Absolutely not. No. I worked with the choreographer for some days.
Michael: It's true.
David: Yeah.
Michael: It's true. And am I right in saying that... I wonder if this exists? But when we were filming it, didn't I, on the last take, I made you do it once with you thinking that you were doing it for real, but actually it wasn't for real. It was just so I could do.
David: It was so you could have-
Michael: So I could Strictly Come Dancing [british dance contest]-
David: Exactly that. Does it exist? I think it does exist.
Michael: It must have actually built... I had cards made with scores on them and David, God bless him, came in and did the whole thing again, thinking that he was doing it for the filming. And in fact, it was literally just so at the end I could go, 'SEVEEEEEEN'! [It was filmed, hehe, see here :)]
David: Yeah. But I don't want Amazon to think we're wasting your production...
AP: Money and time. No.
David: And it will show up on a blooper reel somewhere.
Michael: There was no film. There was no film.
AP: It was definitely not a waste of time. No, absolutely not.
]
AP: What would you say the fans have responded most to from the first series when you meet them at comic cons or on social media or what have you? Are there moments from the first series where they love talking about that scene?
Michael: Well, I think people really enjoy the going through history stuff, don't they? I mean, we thoroughly.
David: We certainly do. There's just something about the characters and their relationship, though, that seems to have just caught fire. I mean the amount of...
AP :I won’t read some ot the stories I’ve glanced upon.
David: Right.
AP: Yes. Fanfiction is quite….
David: Oh, I see. Oh that is not for us to read.
Michael: Oh I read it all.
AP: Oh you should. You write most of it, right?
Michael: I write most of it.
David: But it's lovely to see. And I have seen more than I can count. Aziraphale and Crowleys showing up. People dressed and always in twos, always in pairs.
Michael: Yes.
David: You know, and that's lovely. And that seems to absolutely encapsulate what the whole show is about, I think.
AP: Tattoos, fan art.
David: Definitely, yes. Seen a couple of tattoos.
Michael: Yeah.
AP: Yeah. Do you get fans in the street quoting lines or just pointing and staring? Because you two together can't really walk down the street.
David: Michael doesn't walk anywhere.
Michael: Those days are long gone.
AP: Jackpack.
David: Yeah.
Micheal: Yeah.
AP: Yeah, that's fair.
Michael: Well, I get a lot of ‘To the world’.
David: Oh, yes. Nice.
Michael: People like to… yeah.
David: Yeah.
Michael: And 'You go too fast, Crowley.’
David: Ooh.
Michael: There’s a lot of that. That gets jumped around.
AP: What about... and this is a kind of BAFTA winning question, so just send it my way.
David: Wow.
AP: Would you say these characters are in your top three most fun characters you've ever played? Because they strike me as being... I'd probably play these characters forever if I could.
Michael and David: Yeah.
Michael: This is like on what's that show when people have to say whether they want to date each other again? You go first. Top three?
David: I mean...
AP: Number two...one?
David: It'd be a weird scenario to say it wasn't.
AP: Yeah, I agree.
David: In this situation.
AP: Yeah.
David: To start something: well, I mean, it's sort in the little twenties. But... No, we did have an irresponsible amount of fun.
Michael: Yes. Not really like working.
AP: No.
Michael: I mean, I very much hope that we eventually get to, in one way or another, in one form or another,
David: Yeah.
Michael: get to play them just very, very old. And it may well be... I mean, we joke about doing a theatrical tour.
AP: And swapping.
David: I'm not joking. I'm not joking about that.
Michael: No.
David: It's a lovely little retirement plan.
Michael: I know.
AP: I'm dead keen on Good Omens 666. I think...
Michael: Oh!
AP: It's just there.
Michael: Yes.
David: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
AP: Think about it. Post apocalyptic...
Michael: Part, like Good Omens 1, 2, 3, all the way up to 666. I mean, that's a long running series. That's longer than Frasier.
AP: Big words. If a bad joke's worth telling. 666.
Michael: Telling over and over again.
AP: Over and over and over.
David: Yeah.
AP: Guys, I'm going to ask you one last favour as I wrap things up, which is I have at the front of this book, one Mr. Neil Gaiman.
[shows a copy of Good Omens signed by Neil Gaiman].
AP: He signed it and he said as he often does: Ali, have a good doomsday. Would you care to deface?
Michael: I heard the other day that someone went to interview George Harrison and the person who interviewed him said, would you mind signing this record? Whatever it know, the white album, whatever. And he went, do you want them all? And they used to all write each other's name, all sign each other's names.
David: Wow.
Michael: Because they had to do it so much.
David: Do you want to do mine?
Michael: Just get Neil to do that.
AP: Could you please sign as your man? I'll be very lucky.
Michael: On a different page.
AP: You pick your own page, deface as you will.
Michael: Yeah. Look at that. I do a little halo.
David: Oh, that's given me an idea.
Michael: Oh look at that, yeah.
AP: And then while I'm here, I'm going to do the super unprofessional thing of asking for a photograph, if that's allowed.
David: Yeah.
Michael: Oh, look at that.
David: That's perfect.
Michael: That's nice, isn't it?
AP: Beautiful. Would you mind helping me out?
David: Do you see what we've done there, Ali?
AP: Oh, thank you!
Michael: And yours is D for...
AP: I'm going to kneel behind you.
David: Sure.
Michael: I thought I should turn my M into wings.
David: Oooh.
Michael: This is, this is...
AP: Guys, as you may have worked out, big fan.
David: Cheers, Ali.
#good omens#gos2#season 2#david tennant#michael sheen#ali plumb#david and michael#dm#interview#michael interview#david interview#videos#ali plumb 2023#neil gaiman#terry pratchett#2ep1#2i1i1#video interview#long post#s2 interview#transcripts
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The Diary of Tom Riddle- Diary! Tom Riddle x Reader - P3
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/102d8c80041440182c8297cef5bf75c4/4f65a4fe37a87db5-67/s540x810/714ce2c427dde2370954f8aee788c233ac86c84f.jpg)
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/9f1218fe97d3e716fa834b08b9e56b66/4f65a4fe37a87db5-67/s540x810/18470f3fd2113b95ec9d7f0ddab3006ef677d1cb.jpg)
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/03c7e60f0ab78c07e0a15edcf4d2bdb2/4f65a4fe37a87db5-45/s540x810/4ec08680f84392b5a251a4edb6d956bd8f6ac70e.jpg)
pairing: Tom riddle x Fem reader
warnings: Horcruxes, Manipulation, Tom being Tom, side effects of being possessed.
summary: 16-year-old (y/n) finds a mysterious black book on the floor of after it slips out of Ginny Weasleys caldron, curious, she picks it up and keeps it-which leads to one thing after another and discovers the book is far more than it seems.
-Part 1- -Part 2- -Part 4-
=
Thankfully, as she woke up, (y/n) hadn't moved from her bed throughout the night. She sighed and slowly sat up, rubbing her face, drawing back the curtains of her bed, seeing her roommates all up and getting dressed for the day. It was a Sunday, so it was Hogsmeade day for years 3 and up.
Hogsmeade sounded fun.
(y/n) looked at the diary and grabbed it, popping open her ink well and grabbing her quill, flipping open a book to the now blank page she’d been writing in the night before.
“Morning Tom.”
Tom took a moment to respond, her ink disappearing into the page as his elegant scrawl appeared in its place.
‘Good morning (y/n), did you sleep well?’
“yes I did, thankfully. Woke up where I should be too, in my bed.”
‘Very good. Are you feeling better?’
“yeah, much better, thank you. Im going to go to Hogsmeade today, would you like to come with?”
‘Well, I wouldn’t be able to do much, would I?’
(y/n) hummed in thought, Tom had a point, as he could only see what she wrote/illustrated in the book.
“good point, but I could maybe bring you to the bookstore there and get some ink you’d like?”
‘I don’t eat the ink (y/n)’
“not what I meant but that’s a very funny visual thank you.”
(y/n) giggled to herself, imagining the book eating the ink instead of just absorbing it to write back to her.
“I meant like, would you like some fancy ink? I saved up some money from my allowance and can get some good ink from the store if you would prefer it?”
‘How…generous of you, (y/n)’
“thank you :)”
Tom took a very long moment to respond, as if he was thinking long and hard about her offer. Finally, after a few minutes, he wrote back-though he did so while (y/n) was getting dressed for her outing to Hogsmeade, putting on an oversized sweater for maximum comfort.
‘I suppose it couldn’t hurt if you brought the diary along, I certainly don’t mind good inks to write with, I myself was never able to afford more than the most basic brands.’
(y/n) tilted her head a bit, a smile growing on her face. Tom was opening up to her a bit! Okay-play it cool-don’t overreact.
“aww really?”
‘I don’t need your pity (y/n)’
Oops.
“not pity! Im sorry! Just…idk”
‘What in the merlin does ‘idk’ mean?’
“Oh-I don’t know-its an abbreviation.”
‘Why don’t you just write ‘I don’t know’, it’s not hard?’
“idk, just easier.”
She felt like she could hear him sigh, which made her giggle and she finished getting dressed before writing to him again.
“okay okay, im going to go eat, ill be back to grab you before everyone heads out to Hogsmeade.”
Tom didn’t respond so (y/n) closed the diary and put it back on her bedside table, capping her ink well and cleaning her quill before leaving her room, heading out to the great hall for breakfast.
-
Hogsmeade, thankfully, took the rest of the events from the night before off (y/n)’s mind as she went from store to store, starting at the book store and writing down ink brands and types to Tom, who eventually picked out a non-expensive India ink, but it was definitely more costly than the usual ink she got.
She closed the diary and put it back in her bag, taking the new ink to the front and buying it, the shopkeep wrapping it in paper and then giving it to her in a paper bag.
She counted how much money she had left as she walked down the main path of the village, nodding to herself as she pocketed the coins. She had enough to do someday after Halloween candy shopping.
She hopped straight into Honeydukes, where loads of other students were buying their own discounted candy, and quickly got some candies that were under the discount.
Including a bag of candy corn, and it was the type made in shop-which was even better.
“What is it with you and candy corn (n/n)?” one of her friends that had accompanied her to Hogsmeade asked teasingly, attempting to steal one of the candies (y/n) had bought.
“It’s good!” (y/n) defended the candy, holding the box to her chest. She knew candy corn wasn’t a worldly liked candy-but it was hers and her dad's favorite, so it not only tasted good to her, but it also was nostalgic.
(y/n)’s friend snickered, taking a caramel apple lollipop from (y/n)’s bag full of discounted Halloween candy. (y/n) rolled her eyes, the two catching up with the rest of their friends, hanging out at the three broomsticks for a while before heading back to the castle.
Upon getting back to her dorm room, (y/n) poured out the candy onto her bed and spread it out, sorting it and eating a few pieces here and there as she separated the chocolates from the hard candies, and the lollipops from the taffy.
She took out the diary and the new well of ink, opening the wax around it and setting it aside, testing the ink on her actual notebook before writing to Tom.
“back from Hogsmeade! Using the new ink as well :)”
‘I can tell, it’s far smoother than the ink you were using before.’
“I’m glad you like it! I also got a lot of candy from honeydukes, they were having a day after Halloween sale, I got nearly 5 pounds of candy for one galleon.”
‘Sweet tooth?’
“big one.”
(y/n) smiled brightly as she continued her conversation with Tom, which turned to her asking Tom what his favorite candy was…is.
‘I haven't tried much candy if I must be honest, though I do like treacle tarts.’
“yum, those are pretty good”
“great now Im craving treacle tart thanks Tom.”
‘You’re welcome, (y/n)’
-
(y/n) happily painted on some Slytherin green and silver face paint onto her cheeks, today was the first quidditch game of the year, and the Slytherin team had gotten a new seeker-the spoiled as fuck Draco Malfoy, who everyone knew bribed his way in but he still wasn’t a terrible flyer-and brand new brooms.
The whole Slytherin house was excited, ready to win the first match of the season against Gryffindor, since they hadn’t won a game against Gryffindor since Harry Potter joined the team the year before.
“You almost ready (y/n)?!” her friend called from the bathroom as she herself finished her makeup.
“Yeah!” (y/n) said, hopping to her feet after pulling away from her desk mirror. “I’m all done!” she wrapped a scarf around her neck and hooked her arm with her friends and they all went down to the quidditch pitch together, the roar of excitement already humming through the stands.
The game started quickly after that and it was exciting! The Slytherins were walloping the Gryffindors easily-quickly overtaking them 90-30. (y/n) whistled and cheered for her team, throwing her fists into the air with each score. “Woah what the fuck?!” she heard her friend suddenly exclaim and (y/n) turned to see where she was looking, her brows furrowing as a bludger began to deliberately chase Harry Potter.
“Is that a rouge bludger??” (y/n) said, her lip curling in confusion. “What the hell they’re like-impossible to tamper??” (y/n) and her friend stopped paying attention to the game as a whole, watching in near horror as Harry was chased around by a bludger.
The Weasley twins tried to bat it away from him but it kept coming back.
“that’s not good-we should tell a teacher-“ (y/n) stuttered, turning to head off the stands, maybe catch Madam Hooch’s attention and stop the game before someone got hurt. (y/n)’s friend nodded and followed her through the crowd of Slytherins and down the stands.
Just as they reached Madam Hooch, the bludger had slammed into Harry’s arm as he reached for the snitch and he hit the dirt soon after; though he had the snitch in hand, Gryffindor had won the game. “Oh shit,” (y/n) muttered under her breath, looking at Harrys very broken arm, as Madam Hooch blew the whistle, ending the game.
The Weasley twins somehow caught the tampered bludger, getting it back into the box and locking it down. Madam Hooch instantly saw to it, and while that all happened-the idiot Lockhart…erm…mended Harry’s arm.
“Ew,” (y/n) muttered as her friend gagged at the rubber look Harry’s arm had taken. Lockhart hadn’t mended shit; he’d removed Harry’s bones!
“That is so nasty,” (y/n)’s friend muttered, and (y/n) nodded in agreement, heading back to the castle after Headmaster Dumbledore told everyone the match was over and to head back to the castle while Harry, and any other injured players, went to Madam Pomfrey.
“Gotta be honest, Gryffindor deserved that win, I mean-odds stacked against them, with those new brooms and that bloody bludger, they won. Shame Potter’s arm got broken for it though.” (y/n)’s friend ranted as they walked back to the common room, (y/n) nodding in agreement. “I have to wonder who tampered the bludger? I mean Madam Hooch checks them right before the game, and if it wasn’t tampered then, how could’ve someone hexed it within the minutes before the game began?”
(y/n) shrugged as her friend continued to rant. “Maybe someone tampered with it mid-game? Because it wasn’t doing it at first, if it was tampered with before the game-it would’ve gone after Harry straight away? Wouldn’t it?” (y/n) suggested, walking into the common room after several other students and her friend nodded, tapping her chin.
“That does sound logical, though I’m not sure how or why anyone would do that, I mean-he’s just a 12-year-old kid? Who’d want to charm a bloody iron magic ball to hurt him?” (y/n) shrugged in response to her friend's rhetorical question.
“Someone fucked up,” (y/n) answered anyway and her friend sighed, the two entering their dorm room. Her friend went to wipe the Slytherin-themed makeup off her face while (y/n) went to her bed and grabbed the diary.
“Potter almost got killed by a bludger at the quidditch match today.”
(y/n) could almost feel the sense of ‘!!?!?!’ from Tom as he hurriedly wrote back to her.
‘Who starts a conversation like that? also what? how? I never liked Quidditch but I’m sure those Quidditch gear chests are impossible to get into?’
“that’s what I said, I think someone jinxed it mid game because it wasn’t going after him at first.”
‘How odd. And it was going after Potter specifically?’
“yeah! Only him, the Weasley twins kept batting it away from him but it would go right back after Potter. Its really weird.”
‘I cannot tell you it isn’t, because it is very odd.’
“yeah”
(y/n) perked up as her friend came back out of the bathroom. “I’m going to go get lunch, you coming?” her friend asked and (y/n) nodded.
“Yeah, lemme just wash my face,” (y/n) said, looking back down at the diary and telling Tom she had to go, setting the book down on the bedside table and going into the bathroom to wash her face.
-
(y/n) woke up very late that night, a ringing in her ears as she opened her eyes, feeling kinda nauseous. She groaned lightly, realizing she’d fallen off her bed, her head pounding as she attempted to get up, pressing her palms to her eyes as they ached.
“What the fuck,” she muttered, rubbing her face. She’d never fallen off her bed before, but considering the odd dream she had-she wasn’t surprised. She eventually got to her feet after the nausea had passed and climbed back into bed, yawning.
She laid back down, but couldn’t get back to sleep. Her mind kept going back to that odd dream. She had been walking through the halls of Hogwarts, at what seemed to be a late hour, and went into one of the bathrooms and…spoke a strange language-a hissing language, and the…sink had come apart??? After that she woke up, having fallen off her bed mid weird dream.
She huffed and drew the curtains around her bed, grabbing her wand, the diary, and her quill. “Lumos,” (y/n) murmured and the tip of her wand began to glow and she opened the diary, flipping through pages and pages of notes, and doodles.
She dipped her quill and began to write to Tom.
“I fell out of my bed,”
‘And why is that so important to tell me? It’s late I’m sure, you should be asleep.’
“you’re right but I cant get back to sleep, I had a weird dream and woke up after falling out of my bed, which ive never done”
“or at least I havent done since I was a kid?”
‘Interesting. What was your dream about if I may ask?’
(y/n) wrote down what she remembered from the dream, and then added a small detail she hadn’t realized till now.
“it felt like I was having an out of body experience, or like I was watching through someone elses eyes? You get what I mean?”
‘I suppose I do, though im sure there’s nothing to worry about, everyone has odd dreams sometimes.’
“have you ever had an odd dream?”
‘Yes, I’m not divulging that information though, you’ll tease me relentlessly about it.’
“no I wont!”
(y/n) huffed as Tom didn’t respond, and she could imagine the expression of ‘sure you wont’ on his face. She wished she knew wha the looked like…wait maybe she could find him in the gallery! He did say he was a prefect in his time, maybe there was a picture somewhere of the 1942-1943 prefects.
“you’re no fun.”
‘Go to sleep (y/n),’
“fiiiine, goodnight Tom.”
‘Goodnight, (y/n)’
-
“A first year got petrified?!” (y/n) asked in a hushed tone, her eyes wide as she gripped her friend's hand tightly as they walked to breakfast Monday morning.
“Yeah, apparently it happened Saturday night, or well, early Sunday morning if you think about it that way-but Professor Dumbledore found him in the middle of the night-just-stone still, petrified.” (y/n)’s friend rambled and (y/n) frowned, squeezing her friend’s hand tighter.
Early Sunday morning…she’d had that weird dream and fell out of her bed Sunday morning.
“What time did the first year get petrified?” (y/n) asked and her friend shrugged.
“Dunno, I’m only telling you what I heard from the grapevine, all I know is Sunday morning, a first year got petrified.” (y/n) huffed nervously in response, swallowing harshly, that weird feeling of paranoia returning to her gut.
Just a coincidence, just a coincidence. It had to be; besides, she’d just fallen out of her bed this time, she hadn’t sleepwalked, she hadn’t even left her dorm room.
…right?
-
“I’m leaving.” (y/n) huffed as dumbass Lockhart came onto the long dueling stage that was set up lengthwise in the great hall, replacing the house tables. Her friend grabbed her arm as she attempted to escape, tugging her towards the edge of the stage-making them be front and center.
“Oh, come on (y/n)~ it’ll be fun!” her friend said cheerfully, she’d didn’t understand why (y/n)…disliked ‘Professor’ Lockhart, even thinking he was hot.
It was one of the few things (y/n) vehemently disagreed with her on.
“it’ll be cringe as fuck that’s what it’ll be.” (y/n) grumbled, crossing her arms as she pouted. She expected maybe Professor Flitwick to be the head of the dueling club, but noooo it had to be the obvious fake Lockhart.
Though-Professor Snape had agreed to…help Lockhart in a demonstration, and that, was going to be fun.
(y/n) couldn’t help the peal of laughter that came from her as Snape sent Lockhart across the dueling stage, her friend gasping as Lockhart landed with a thump. “Is he okay?” her friend asked and (y/n) just snickered with the rest of the Slytherin members of the club.
“Who cares? That was funny.” (y/n) chuckled, smirking as her friend gave her a glare. After that everyone got paired into groups, Lockhart nearly putting the little 1st and 2nd years with the 5th and 6th years attending, Snape correcting that mistake and putting (y/n) against a fellow 6th-year Slytherin, though (y/n) hardly knew his name.
“Remember, disarm only!” Lockhart said and (y/n) rolled her eyes, bowing her to dueling partner with her wand at her side and then holding it out in front of her, her other arm over her head for balance.
The dueling began moments later, and spells shot out of their wands every other moment. (y/n) began with the disarming charm, expelliarmus, but her opponent blocked it and returned with a Stupefy. (y/n) went to block but it felt like she wasn’t in control of herself anymore, she stepped to the side-avoiding the spell-and held out her wand in a grip that wasn’t her own.
“Relashio!” With a wave of her wand her dueling opponent was forced to drop their wand and then (y/n) twirled her wand again. “Depulso!” A blast of white magic flew towards her dueling opponent and they flew back, hitting the ground with a loud thud.
There was an intense satisfaction that ran deep in her bones for a split moment, and an odd feeling to finish her opponent off-but that quickly went away and (y/n) pocketed her wand, rushing over to her dueling partner. “Are you okay?” (y/n) asked, offering her hand and her dueling partner chuckled painfully, rubbing their lower back as she helped them stand.
“I’m okay-that was wicked casting though,” (y/n) only nodded in response, licking her teeth as the dueling groups were stopped, a green haze in the air from the dueling 2nd years. She began to leave the great hall as Potter and Malfoy began to duel, only stopping when she heard a strange hissing coming from the stage.
She turned, the hissing sounding too familiar, coming from Potter as he…hissed at a black snake? Her ears began to ring, her vision going a bit blurry as she stared at Potter, the boy hissing at the snake before Snape destroyed it.
What the fuck?
That was the same hissing she’d heard in her dream on Sunday.
-end of p3-
im very happy with this part and i hope you guys are too-taglist!!!
@dracosslxt4eva @dream-your-own-way @slaggylemon
@slytherinbackintomyroom @starryhiraeth @larallott
#tom riddle x reader#tom riddle#tom riddle imagine#harry potter fanfiction#diary Tom Riddle#horcrux Tom
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Have you ever considered using AI tools to assist with writing your responses?
Well no, because I'm doing this blog for fun. I'm enjoying writing out reading comprehension questions for posts, so why would I automate that away?
But let's say that I saw myself as some sort of arbitor of reading comprehension who needs to post as much as possible to enlighten the lowly tumblr masses. Let's say that I'm interested in upping my output of questions by any means necessary.
I opened up chatgpt and input a certain request, which would hopefully make it write questions about the last post I responded to:
Write reading comprehension questions about a Tumblr post, written by a user named "echoeyee," that reads as folows: "my take on shipping aromantic characters is that if you're aro you get to do whatever you want and if you're not you have to write me a three page essay 12 pt font times new roman double spaced explaining in detail why you believe entering a romantic relationship would be an interesting and worthwhile storyline for the character and how you believe their aromanticism would affect the way they experience said relationship"
And it certainly did write a lot of questions about it. Let's go through them, one by one.
1. What is the primary stance expressed by the Tumblr user "echoeyee" regarding shipping aromantic characters?
This one is good. If you look at the set I wrote, my first one is basically the same, just with different words and a less formal tone.
2. According to the post, what conditions must non-aromantic individuals fulfill if they wish to advocate for romantic storylines involving aromantic characters?
Again, this one is good. It's basically my 3rd question but, yet again, more formal.
3. Describe the format and specifications outined for the essay mentioned in the post.
This is the part where the questions get bad. The exact details of the essay are irrelevant, other than the fact that they imply a formal, academic setting.
4. In your own words, explain the user's perspective on the autonomy of aromantic individuals in contrast to non-aromantic individuals when it comes to shipping characters.
This question seems to genuinely be a product of chatgpt pissing on the poor. The purpose of the post (and specifically the essay within) is to ask people who ship aromantic characters without being aromantic themself to consider said character's aromanticism instead of erasing it.
Meanwhile, chatgpt seems to think that the OP thinks that people who aren't aromantic should be forced by law or something to write an essay if they want to ship an aromantic character.
5. How does the Tumblr post reflect the user's views on representation and storytelling in relation to aromantic characters?
I think that this one is a bit too speculative, but it does actually relate to the OP's intended takeaway.
6. Discuss the potential implications of the requirements set forth in the post for writers and creators in the realm of fiction and fanworks.
This one is just a bit confusing. Chatgpt seems to be going off the assumption that OP is issuing a decree as the emperor of the world.
7. Reflect on whether you agree or disagree with the sentiments expressed in the post and provide reasons to support your viewpoint.
This could have been a "discuss with a mutual" question, and I actually did initially write a question like this one, but I ended up removing it.
Aromantiscism is already controversial enough and I fear that a discussion of whether OP's take on shipping aromantic characters is valid could quickly devolve into discussion on whether aromanticism itself is valid.
8. How might the user's approach impact discussions and representations of aromanticism in media and popular culture?
Yet again, chatgpt is taking the essay thing way too literally. Yes, forcing every single writer who isn't aromantic but wants to ship an aromantic character to write an essay about it would most likely lead to a decrease in people erasing their identities, but the essay isn't the point.
9. Consider the broader societal and cultural context in which this post is situated. How might prevailing attitudes towards romantic relationships influence reactions to the user's perspective?
Obviously historical context is important to keep in mind when you're reading/listening to/watching/whatever a text, but this question has almost nothing to do with reading comprehension. You need to understand the post to imagine how people would react, sure, but understanding how people would react to the post doesn't help you understand this post very much.
10. What insights can be gleaned from this post regarding the importance of diverse and inclusive storytelling in media and creative works?
This could be a discuss with a mutual question. The issue is that it's a bit to broad of a topic.
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Not to be rude but you accidentally put val's story in vox's masterlist instead. Srry I didn't feel comfy dming you. Nothing against you at all I'm just a coward wanting to hide in anon haha. Ig while I'm here could I get vox general hcs pls?
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/c2ed9e5988d80157d6a739b90df14f09/958e7ef8bbad22d7-ae/s540x810/2f04a3a802aea2469af093a4ac42fd51323c91f7.jpg)
What the Tv do? ☆ Vox General Headcanon + Drabbles (SFW & NSFW)
☆ Vox General headcanon + Vox x Gn!Reader(Employee!Reader??):
Some general thoughts about the tv man and also his relationship with the ‘reader’. This is silly, this is fun, fluffy and smutty.
Warnings: Mature Content, Not Proofread, Drinking, Death(literally overdose on coffe nothing gruesome), Drug use(c0caine and others substances), Sadistic Tendencies, Dub-Con, Power Imbalance/Power Play, Obsessive and Possessive Tendencies and Acts, Stalking, Voyeurism & Exhibitionism, Boss x Employee, Pet Play?(Just collaring and slight animal based pet names), Valentino.
Words: Total: 5496 = Sfw - 2609 + Nsfw - 2887
Note: I only wrote 1 drabble, i might add more if people request it about the specific headcanon they want more on. so I’m not good with request like these, I like when they are more specific so I have sort of something to base my writing on, so sorry if you anon or people don’t like what I’ve wrote, r.i.p. >:/ Though tell me if you want more!!
☆ more under the cut. ☆
SFW:
☕︎ Coffee addict and 𓏊 Alcoholic
Vox is the figurative and quite literally incarnation of the ‘don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee’ phrase.
But we’re talking coffees instead of coffee with him — two cups straight out of bed to be precise. When totalling the day’s consumption, Vox indulges on average, 6-7 cups of 10 oz coffee; in addition to his morning coffees, he likes to have a mid-morning cup, then two during lunch and finally 1-2 cups during the afternoon depending how late he is working.
Is this per say, ‘healthy’? No, not at all, Vox couldn't care less — worst ‘worst’ case scenario, he quote on quote dies, the coffee he had intake ends up intoxicating him due to the splurging amount of it, turning this mondaine drink into a lethal liquid for the overlord’s body. His heart would stop, sub-consequently, him and his body would be out.
Though the good thing — or bad, it all depends on your angle — about hell is that in about the span of 10 minutes his body will have fully regenerate and be back open for business. Some sinners call it it a curse, he calls it a blessing, as this part of the ‘eternal punishment’ practically makes him immortal.
So is he going to work on regulating his caffeine intake? Obviously not!
Worst thing he gets from his ‘little problem’ is a heart attack, and they don’t permanently keep him down. — Sure, they hurt like a bitch, and he would rather not be having them at all to be truthful.
But he honestly he doesn’t see his bimonthly cardiac arrests as that steep of a price to pay. (Honestly how can such a smart businessman be so dumb about his health. * face palming and baffled at the idiocy of it all *)
Now when alcohol is the subject of conversation, Vox takes a slightly different approach, albeit one still characterized by overindulgence.
You see, he prides himself on being the epitome of a charming, classy, and self-controlled casual drinker, compared to his drunkard of a pattern —Valentino— our lovely show host with anger issues and both inferiority and superiority complex is a sophisticated and savvy man.
However, beneath this facade of self-control, which he upholds quite well to the public eye, hides his obvious alcoholism issues.
While he may not be stumbling and blubbering around, picking fights,— in most instances at least— Vox is certainly what you might call a “day drinker."
In fact, this is actually a canonical trait, which was displayed in episode two of the show; Him discussing with others Vees on how to deal with the radio demon’s comeback, a drink in hand.
I presume thatit was a scotch on the rocks due to it’s colour but also it’s historical relevance in relation to Vox’s person— Scotch whisky poured over ice, gained popularity in the 1950s primarily in Western countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
It became a symbol of sophistication and leisure, often enjoyed in upscale bars, clubs, and lounges frequented by the affluent and fashionable crowd of the era.
Additionally, its popularity was bolstered by the rise of cocktail culture during the mid-20th century, as well as the increasing availability of Scotch whisky in international markets. — this fits quite nicely Vox’s character as it is both a drink of his time on earth but also one that remains relevant in the contemporary era.
It easily mirrors Vox's overarching desire to maintain relevance and significance, both in the present and in the ever-evolving future.
The overlord definitely adhere to ‘it’s five o’clock somewhere’ religiously. Though he does prefer to enjoy his daily drink around 5 p.m. PRT (Pride Ring Time).
He will occasionally enjoys a drink with his lunch, often opting for wine, although this isn't a regular occurrence for the man.
As someone constantly under stress, with his mind racing to keep up with the ever-changing trends and opinions in hell, Vox is a type to indulge in a nightcap or two before bed.
It helps him unwind and achieve the relaxed state of mind necessary for a restful night's sleep.
ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 Sleep
While the notion of ‘Vox's dreams playing on his screen while he's asleep’ is an amusing concept for fanfiction or artwork, I personally find the idea of ‘the VoxTek logo bouncing around like the DVD logo’ to be more fitting for Vox.
Before delving further, it's important to note that initially, it wasn't necessarily the VoxTek logo projected on his screen; however, I'll address this shortly.
The reason I lean towards the DVD logo concept is because I find it unlikely that Vox's screen would be completely black during sleep. A completely dark screen would imply the device is completely off, no energy is being received or given by it, which would suggest that it is no longer alive. Having some activity on Vox’s screen while asleep would signify that his program is still active, indicating he's still functioning, essentially alive.
Now regarding the widely shared headcanon, I have my own personal take on it.
When Vox first manifested in hell, his 'real name' appeared on screen. By 'real name,' I mean the one he had on Earth, which I believe wasn't Vox —That name seems too futuristic for a person born in the early 1900s or the kind of name you'd associate with a 1950s businessman— Vox is a name he chose for himself after death, symbolizing a fresh start, though I do think that his real name might also have started with a V.
(This perspective extends to other 'Vees' as well, although Velvette seems more plausible as a given name, I suspect it might not be her original one. Valentino, on the other hand, feels like a name assigned to him, but he too might have adopted a new one after death.)
Initially, Vox was unaware of his old name appearing on his screen while he slept since he wasn't conscious during that time. It wasn't until about half a year into his time in hell, during which he introduced himself as Vox to everyone, that one of his acquaintances pointed out this aspect of his physiology. Something along the lines of "Who's V———?" or "Why does V——— show on your screen while you sleep?" triggered a cascade of reactions in him.
Firstly, he panicked, realizing that people had access to his old identity. Secondly, he was puzzled by this phenomenon since no TV he had encountered displayed such behavior, which was normal considering DVDs weren't invented before 1996. — Hell sure was weird, he possessed technological features as part of his physiology before they were even invented— Lastly, this revelation instilled in him a new fear of sleeping.
This behavior stemmed from Vox's desire to construct a fresh existence in hell, complete with a new identity, image, empire, etc. The thought of others accessing his old name and exploiting it to uncover details about his past, including his behaviors, weaknesses, and tactics, filled him with dread.
As a result, he became hyper-vigilant, refusing to sleep unless he was certain of his solitude, fearing the potential repercussions of his former identity being known.
It wasn't until the mid 1960s that Vox had finally managed to upgrade his system, replacing ‘V———‘ with 'Vox'. However, even after this upgrade, he still harboured reservations about sleeping around others for about a year or two. He feared a potential glitch that could revert his screen to displaying his previous name.
Around the late 1970s he had made an adjustment to this aspect of his body once more, replacing 'Vox' with the VoxTek logo after a certain moth had suggested it.
ᯓᡣ𐭩 Sexuality
Our beloved Tv Demon a canonical bisexual man, but I personally believe that while he may have bisexuality as his sexual orientation, — his attraction to men was something he only came to realize after death. Although there were subtle hints of his attraction to the same gender based on how he felt about them, he unfortunately didn't grasp them while still alive;
It would have been the late 1950s, and Vox had been in hell for about a year or two. In his earthly life, he had been with his fair share of women, and even in the "surprisingly not so fiery pits of the underworld," his ability to attract partners hadn't diminished much once got over his TV head appearance and let place for his charming and savvy persona to take over.
His love life seemed unchanged, perhaps with occasional exploration of new kinks, until that fateful night of October 11, 195X...
Vox had gone out for a drink after a grueling day at work, back when he was still toiling away at a low-paying job in an electronics factory, toasters, vacuum, etc. Despite the shitty work he had to go through, he had the perk of taking home broken scraps, which eventually played a role in his rise to success. But let's refocus on his night out, shall we?
He walked into his newfound favorite spot, a comedy bar where he sought solace in laughter and libations after a hard day. Arriving just as the performer began their set, he headed straight to the bar for his usual whiskey on the rocks, with nothing else on his mind. It wasn't until the comedian delivered a particularly hilarious joke that Vox turned to look at them and found his attraction piqued.
It was evident that they were a man with the specific style flashy outfit and makeup they wore. The voice was also a dead giveaway. The person now standing on stage, delivering one funny punchline after another, was a drag queen – a stunning one in Vox's eyes.
He couldn't tear his gaze away; there was something irresistibly captivating about the humorous individual on stage.
After the performance, as they made their way to the bar, Vox seized the opportunity. He introduced himself, and they exchanged pleasantries. They shared drinks and engaged in lively conversation, making for a truly enjoyable night that ended with a bang, quite literally.
In the morning, as clarity returned, Vox couldn't help but feel confused. He had never been attracted to men before, so he initially chalked it up to the alcohol or the fact that his night companion appeared so feminine that he mistook them for a woman.
However, as memories of the night flooded back, he couldn't deny his genuine attraction to every aspect of his partner, even the unmistakably male parts.
Initially, it felt strange to Vox as he reflected on the experience. However, after hours of deep contemplation, everything started to fall into place.
Vox realized he had always felt an affinity towards men, though expressing it as "liking men" might have appeared odd to outsiders. When he used that phrase, it wasn't in the context of sexual or romantic attraction but more of an admiration.
Yet, upon further reflection, he acknowledged that his feelings surpassed mere admiration.
He had never entertained the idea of it being anything akin to sexual or romantic attraction, but his recent encounter forced him to reconsider as he contemplated his life and the events of the previous night.
Vox liked men;
— Vox had always been drawn to the men of his time who exuded masculine confidence and assertiveness, finding their presence alluring and desiring to be in their company constantly.
He liked when they wore classic masculine fashion, such as tailored suits with narrow lapels, fitted jackets, and straight-leg trousers. These outfits oozed sophistication and professionalism, and Vox admired the attention to detail displayed.
Additionally, he liked when men would add classic accessories like fedora hats, skinny ties, cufflinks, and pocket squares to their outfit, they added to the polished and stylish appearance.
The preppy style also appealed to Vox, as he admired men who wore V-neck sweaters, button-down shirts, khaki trousers, and loafers. This style exuded a sense of casual elegance and refinement that he found attractive.
He also had a penchant for rebellious men who embraced a non-conformist aesthetic, often seen in leather jackets, denim jeans, white T-shirts, and motorcycle boots.
Vox liked when men were smart and witty, could keep up with the conversation and also teach something along the way.
Vox liked men who exuded strength and athleticism, finding their ability to handle themselves physically appealing. For instance, witnessing a fistfight between coworkers would stir his emotions, initially attributing his excitement to the violence of the altercation.
However, he would inevitably find himself gravitating towards the winner, intrigued by their display of strength and skill, and feeling drawn to them in some inexplicable way. There was something about winners that captivated him and sparked his desire to get closer to them.
He like men who were daring, adventurous, and unafraid to push boundaries, they appealed to his sense of excitement and thrill-seeking.
He liked men who were ambitious, goal-oriented, and willing to pursue their dreams with determination might have resonated with Vox on a subconscious level.—
After his one-night stand, Vox was determined to clarify things once and for all. Following another grueling day of work, he ventured out again, this time to a gay bar, seeking the company of someone who embodied the traits he found most appealing in men, wanting to ensure it wasn't just the alcohol or the femininity of his previous partner. Without delving into detail, let's just say he had quite the night and afterward, there was no doubt in his mind: ‘he liked women, and he definitely also liked men.’
Following that experience, Vox began seeing more individuals of the same gender. However, he still held onto the notion that while he might be attracted to men, he didn't believe he would be interested in them as anything more than sexual partners. That was until he met Alastor...
Initially, Vox approached the radio demon seeking friendship or perhaps a partnership, given Vox's burgeoning company and rising status as an overlord. However, he soon found himself enamored with Alastor. Unfortunately for Vox, his feelings were not reciprocated. After that, Alastor distanced himself from Vox, leading our TV host to regard his old love as an enemy.
In response to the rejection, Vox decided to cease seeing men altogether, engaging in a series of short-term relationships with women. However, he soon realized he was simply idealizing Alastor and shifted his focus from woman to men for meaningless relationships, attempting to prove to himself that any other man was better than "that Bambi bitch."
But this approach only intensified the emptiness he felt. Recognizing the detrimental effects of his frantic behavior on himself and his company, Vox resolved to regulate and get back on a more business focused path.
The fact that rumours began circulating about his supposed "homoerotic relationships," was also a big push into getting back on track, as a word like that getting out was detrimental to business, since being gay was still stigmatized even in hell, during this time period.
It was around the late 1970s, with the rise of gay rights activism, that Vox began publicly dating men. Coincidentally, this was also when he met and began his business partnership (and more) with Valentino.
𝜗𝜚˚⋆ Names
Vox has a penchant for using endearing or patronizing nicknames, regardless of the gender of his employees. He will refer to them as "sweetheart," "doll face," or simply "doll."
In moments of frustration or when faced with resistance, he's not shy about using terms like "little girl" or "little boy," or even "kid," to belittle those who question him.
Additionally, he might employ terms like "Princess" or "your highness" as forms of condescension, no matter the gender of the person he is addressing.
NSFW
𓊔 Party
Despite Vox's obsession with his and the Vees' image, when it comes to partying, he becomes a total animal — I’m talking ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ type of wild.
Lavish gatherings marked by obscene spending and excessive drug intake, especially cocaine.
Vox typically indulged in doing lines off his desk or the luxurious crystal table in the lounge. However, what truly exited him was snorting lines off someone, getting his rocks off at their inability to refuse his advances and delighting in the control he exerted as he pinned them down to prevent any squirming.
The slight anxious tears and nervous mewls from whoever served as his snorting surface always stirred something within Vox. While he would grow irritated if they moved too much, the subtle signs of fear, such as the wetting of their eyes and trembling breath, would quickly reignite his unstable emotions. He found himself intensely aroused by their scared state, and more than once, he acted on these desires…
Drabble:
You were a VoxTek employee, more specifically; Vox’s secretary.
As Vox's secretary, navigating Alastor-related tantrums and enduring the grueling hours could be incredibly taxing, but the job itself had its perks.
Thanks to your position in the company, you enjoyed luxurious accommodations in the finest suites the V Tower had to offer.
Despite the challenges, Vox could be surprisingly pleasant, his charismatic charm reminiscent of his earlier days when his hypnosis wasn't as potent. And beneath the unconventional exterior of his TV head, there was no denying the appeal of his well-built physique.
Given the close proximity and constant interaction with Vox, it was inevitable to develop a small crush on your boss. His magnetic presence and the fact he was practically the only person you interacted with regularly since he requested you to work closer to him about three months ago only fueled this infatuation.
You liked your boss, but at this moment, you couldn't stand him;
It was 3 a.m. on a Sunday, the one day of the week you were supposed to have some semblance of off-time, with the luxury of sleeping in until noon.
But instead of enjoying your well-deserved rest in bed, you found yourself reluctantly entering the elevator, begrudgingly making your way to the usually closed-off top floor of the building.
Why? Because you had received a threatening and slightly slurry phone call from your boss, demanding your immediate presence or else face termination.
With your livelihood seemingly hanging in the balance, you complied without questioning, even though you loathed every second of it.
After punching in the code provided, you entered the lounge area of the top floor to find all three Vees lounging about. Valentino was enveloped in smoke, while music filled the air.
"Y/N! So glad you made it! Come 'ere," Vox exclaimed, his gestures frantic, urging you to approach quickly. He appeared laid-back, friendly, and strangely excited, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor of coldness and condescension.
Confusion clouded your expression as you approached the couch, unsure of what to make of Vox's sudden change in behavior. Velvette, noticing your bewilderment, chimed in with an explanation. "He took some MDMA before he called you — actually, he couldn't stop blabbing about your ass once that stuff kicked in," she divulged matter-of-factly, adding another layer of peculiarity to the already bizarre situation.
‘Ah, he’s high — that explains the weird friendliness.’ You thought to yourself.
But before you could dwell on it too long, Valentino's words snapped you out of your thoughts, "Yes, little Voxxy over there couldn't stop talking about how much he wanted his little secretary with him right here. He just had to call you, despite it being the middle of the night. I'm sorry you're losing your beauty sleep right now, cariño," he said, his tone tinged with insincerity from false remorse. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he finished speaking, adding to the surreal atmosphere of the moment.
“Val, Vel! You can’t tell them that! Or they’ll, they’ll… fuck!” Vox began to say, but something mid-sentence seemed to frustrate him.
Before you could question it for too long, Valentino answered that question for you. “They’ll figure out you have a little crush on them. Aww, don’t worry papi, it’s not like they can say no to you either way,” the moth darkly announced, frightening you, as it was technically true that you had to obey whatever order your boss gave you; it was in your contract after all.
To your somewhat relief, Vox scoffed at his part-time boyfriend's comment, as if to convey that he wouldn't behave in such a manner.
"Shut the fuck, Val!" Vox began, his frustration evident, before redirecting his attention back to you. "And you, lay down on the table." Confused by the request, you briefly wondered if he was joking, but the seriousness etched on his face made it clear that he wasn't. Resigned, you followed his instruction and laid down on the table as he commanded.
As soon as you complied, a smile spread across Vox's face. "Good, good. Now be a good little secretary and stay still as I do some lines off you, m'kay?" he instructed.
Before you could process anything or say something, he pushed your shirt all the way up, ending just under your chest, and tugged your bottoms down slightly — exposing your whole stomach.
Attempting to voice your discomfort, you were promptly shushed by Vox. "Shhh, you're being a table for me right now, and last time I checked, tables don't talk, now do they, sweetheart? So be a doll and shut up," he said, eliciting laughter from the two other Vees.
You complied with his instructions and remained silent as you felt him pour some powder onto your abdomen. Knowing the drugs he usually made you order on his behalf, it was probably coke.
With that, he quickly formed about three lines and began snorting them. The sensation felt odd and somewhat ticklish to you, but what you didn't expect was for him to lick the parts of your belly where the powder had just sat — long lines that started from top to bottom, causing you to squirm involuntarily.
Vox didn't appreciate your movement, because ‘how dare his table move?’. In response, he firmly gripped your waist on both sides and forcefully slammed your hips against the table as a warning to ‘stop moving’.
However, his claws dug into your skin, causing you to cry out slightly. Upon seeing the small tears in your eyes, his mood shifted once more, from aggravation to something more lustful.
He relished the sight of you with tears in your eyes, so he decided to inflict a bit more pain. With a predatory glint in his eyes, he bit at your sides, knowing that you couldn't retaliate due to the hierarchical difference between you.
His bites started from the top, gradually getting lower until they ended up just above your crotch. With a slight, heavy breathing, he remarked, "Now what do we have here? A snack for me? You shouldn't have." As he removed your bottoms, leaving you in your underwear, a slight moist patch formed due to the position you were in.
Sure, Vox was an entitled asshole, but god, did he look and sound incredible when he was being mean and bossy. How could you not get aroused, especially when his face and long tongue ass were so close to your intimate parts.
"You want me to play with you, darling?" Vox asked in a manner that almost made it feel like you had a choice. There was something about it that suggested he might respect your decision if you said no—sure, he wouldn't like it, but he definitely had this thing where he wanted you to want him, to beg for him, to need him. Forcing himself on you wouldn't align with that desire.
You nodded, but he tutted at you, wanting a verbal answer. "No, no, no, it's 'Could you please, sir?' or 'Would love to, Mr. Vox,' or 'Please, I need you, Vox.' You've got to speak up if you want me to do anything to you, got it, dollface?" he clarified, emphasizing the importance of explicit consent, whether it was due to genuine respect for your boundaries or just his enjoyment of your yearning for him, it was a bit unclear. However, knowing Vox, he probably just got off on your embarrassment.
"Yes, sir," you said, feeling embarrassed. "So? Do you want me to give some love to these," he asked, tracing the outline of your underwear, "lovely parts?" He perked up.
"I would love for you to, sir," you managed to speak out. With a 'perfect' from your boss, he was now eagerly devouring you with his tongue, sending small pleasurable shocks through you as he did. No part of you down there was left un-licked.
Just as you were about to reach that sweet, sweet release — Vox removed himself from you, causing you to whine at the loss of pleasure.
"Don't worry," he said, but before you could complain too much, Vox lifted you up and threw you onto the couch, your face soon hitting the satin pillows. As you heard the sound of his belt unbuckling, you felt your hips being repositioned, leaving you face down and ass up.
Vox quickly pumped his cock a few times, not needing much as it was already hard from the sight of you writhing due to his tongue. Getting close to your ear, he whispered, "Cuz I'm not done with you, dollface."
Then he promptly shoved himself inside of you. Thankfully, whatever he was doing with his tongue a couple of instances ago had prepped you, because, woof, did the stretch sting.
After giving you a few moments to adjust, he began pounding you into tomorrow, playing with your front and sending small shocks here and there. With no regard for his colleagues sitting right beside him —or should I say colleague, as in singular—Velvette had left as soon as he began working you with his tongue. However, Valentino remained, watching the scene unfold with keen interest.
Your soon came undone due to his rough ministrations, but he was far from done with you...
⫘⫘⫘ Ownership, ⛌⛌⛌ Humiliation & Collar
If you haven't already figured it out yet, Vox is a sadist. He thoroughly enjoys power dynamics and the act of humiliating others.
Continuing from the previous headcanon, picture yourself as either hired as his secretary or as a low-ranking demon in his company who catches his eye. If you're the latter, he'll undoubtedly arrange for you to be transferred to work closer to him.
But anyway, my point is, as soon as you're in his close proximity, he'll literally makes you his bitch on call in the blink of an eye. And obviously, you can't refuse because, one, he's your boss; two, he's an overlord; and three, he's Vox.
Who would refuse that hunk? Even if you weren't initially attracted to him, you'd find yourself becoming so after a couple of weeks, even if it's just some weird mild attraction—you're still into him.
Once he's got you in his grasp and has fucked you at least once, this is when he begins to play with you. He'll make you start wearing a vibrator under your clothes at work, ordering you to remove your clothing every morning and show him, to ensure you did it. Then he'd send you on your merry way.
If he wasn't physically with you, he'd be watching you through his cameras.
And every time you would be talking to someone and he deemed it too long, you weren't paying attention to him, or you were zoning out/getting distracted, he would turn the vibrator on to 'get you back on track'.
Though he did like to sometimes turn the vibrator on just to tease you. For example, you're in the middle of telling him about a shift in his appointment in a room full of people, and he would suddenly turn it on to fuck with you.
He also has a huge thing for pulling you by your soul chain. He just loves, loves, loves summoning it out of nowhere and just tugging you along with it.
For instance, you could be telling him about some issue concerning a recent project, and he would tell you to come closer so he could hear better.
As you walk closer towards his desk, he deems your pace too slow. Without warning, he summons and tugs at the chain around your neck, causing you to fall to the ground.
In an attempt to brace the fall, you put your arms out, catching yourself and ending up on all fours.
But as you try to get up, he would tut at you, ordering you to “Crawl to me.” You’re humiliated, but you still do it as he watches you like a hawk, a satisfied grin on his face.
If you also happen to scrape or bruise yourself when you fell and some small tears form in your eyes, let me tell you, he would get so bricked up as soon as he noticed them.
And of course, he would make you blow him, though it would end up with him face-fucking you, as it usually did.
He would also hold your head down as he dumped his cum down your throat, then he would pull your nose with his free hand, saying that “you don’t get to breathe until you’ve swallowed it all.” And of course, you would do it because you don’t want to literally choke to death on your boss’s dick.
Once he was sure you had swallowed it all, he would finally release you, allowing you to take some air in. Then he would make you stick out your tongue, and he would spit in your mouth, making you swallow that too.
𐂯 Training
He liked using small electrical charges as a ‘training method’, and this method has two stages. This would happen after he already had you as his personal toy— I mean, ‘secretary’.
At first, he uses electricity to reprimand you whenever you weren’t paying attention to him, questioned him, said no to things, or did anything that he considered as bad behaviour.
He would shock you, making you associate ‘bad behavior’ with pain, so you would end up automatically correct yourself before you even do or say something.
If you take a bit too long to ‘adjust’ to this new way of acting, he might resort to a little bit of hypnosis, but he would prefer not to.
He gets off on the fact that he can train you to behave just with his words and actions, without the help of any special ability.
Anyways, when he is sure that he has drilled into you what proper behavior is, he’ll employ phase two. He’ll start training you to enjoy the sting of his electricity.
So, whether he's fucking you, giving you head, touching you, or basically providing any sort of pleasure, every time you would be close to reaching your peak, he would send jolts of electricity through you, gradually increasing the dosage over time.
Things would get to the point that a small shock from him would be enough to get you turned on, and bigger shocks would be able to literally make you cum.
ฅ Pet
For the most part, he wouldn’t see secretary!reader as a partner. It’s only after a while, like a year or more, that he would start considering it.
He views them as his romantic interests, but not on his level. To keep face with the other Vees, even though they both knew about his crush from the beginning because he was so obvious with it, he would call you his pet.
Sometimes literal ‘pet names’ like puppy, kitty, bunny, etc. (Personally, I would love for him to call him his bunny <3.)
What he calls you all depends on your appearance and behaviors. For example, if you manifested with a more feline appearance, he would call you his kitten or kitty. If you didn’t have animal-like features but for example, were very needy, had a tendency to follow around, and were a sucker for praise, he would likely call you his puppy.
𓌏 Punishments
Besides using electric shocks, he is definitely into spanking as a form of punishment—whether it involves pulling down your pants or lifting your skirt, spanking you for every ‘transgression’ you’ve committed is something he’s totally down for.
It can be a really strange experience if you weren't a masochist to begin with because he'll end up having you conditioned to enjoy physical punishments;
For example, he would be spanking you, and you find yourself getting turned on, arousal literally leaking due to his rough treatment of your behind.
Edging and overstimulation are also big in his book, though each has its own set of circumstances where they would be implemented.
For instance, if you weren't paying attention to him because of someone else, he would overstimulate you to the point where you couldn't think about anyone but him, asserting his superiority over whoever had your attention.
If you weren't paying attention for any other reason, he would edge you, because ‘how dare you ignore him when he should be the most important to you!’.
Thanks anons for requesting!
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Jailbird.
1.5k / Cellmate’s nephew!Joel x inmate f!reader
thank you @iamasaddie for the mood board!!!
PART 2 HERE: Collect calls
Summary: Your cellmate introduces you to her hot nephew and he comes to visitation hours. A/N: Part 1 of 3. This one is due to @beskarandblasters and @wannab-urs and their hilarious list of new joel tropes and @raccoonhandedhottie's nerve to put the idea of doing one in my head. My masterlist WARNINGS: References to sex work, ACAB. Horny phone/visitation talk, mild/non-explicit over-pants masturbation. Mickey Avalon Easter egg.
Without Mabel, you're not sure how you would've survived your first six months in lock-up. You were cuffed for solicitation when a dirty cop wouldn't pay what he owed. He says he took it easy on you -- you also clawed him and spit in his face. As soon as you told your new cellmate what really happened, she took a liking to you. She said you should've bitten him in the pecker. Mabel had been there, done that. She even knew of the cop who put you away. It wasn't Mabel's first time behind bars. She had the ink and reputation to prove it. Her knuckles said "TAKE NONE" and that was accurate. By now, nobody gave her any shit. Soon enough, no one gave you any either.
Mabel had a few photographs on her wall, mostly of her and a younger man. Not a particularly young man, but certainly younger than Mabel. He was probably in his early forties in the pictures, which were five years prior, before she violated her parole. She was giving you a poke and stick tat of a four leaf clover on your hand one day when you asked about the pictures.
"I was wonderin' when ya were gonna ask about my lil Jojo. I've seen ya lookin' at him, ya little horndog..."
She let you stammer around in response. "No, I, I'm just, making conversation, wanna get to know you better."
"It's okay, baby. He's my nephew. All I got left. He's a neat kid."
"He looks happy to be with you–ouch!"
"Don't be a pussy. Oh, he's a real sweet boy. Bet he'd like you, too."
"What makes you say that?"
She looked up from your hand "cause ya got a cunt and you're not bad lookin'," she laughed. "Hey,” she raised her eyebrows. “You ever wanna borrow one of those pics, you let me know, I'll give ya some privacy."
"No thanks."
"Oh, come on. You can fold it so ya don't have to see my pretty face."
You laughed.
"Bet he'd dick ya down real good, too."
"What?" You asked, quietly disturbed.
"He lives with me. Walls are thin."
"Ah. That must be awkward."
"Not really! We're all human. I could even tell ya the kinda shit he says if ya want. He can get real filthy. Or shit, I could just give ya his number."
"That's ok."
"Baby, he'd love to hear from ya. Trust me. I've told him all about ya." She put down the needle and picked up a tissue to dab your skin.
"You have??"
"Oh yeah. Here, I'm gonna write it down."
She took one of the photos off the wall and wrote his number on the back. Then she folded it in half and winked at you as she handed it to you.
—----------------
It only took a week of her nagging for you to call “Jojo.”
Your breath hitched when you heard his smooth, deep voice. The first thing he said was, “Ah, call me Joel,” and you could hear the smile on his face.
“Oh god, I’m sorry,” you laughed. “Well your aunt’s told me a lot about you, Joel.”
“Yeah, I can only imagine what,” he faux grumbled. “Real character, ain’t she?”
“I love Mabel,” you blurted out.
You found yourself opening up about how in some ways, she was more of a mother figure than you ever had. Joel was easy to talk to. It just came pouring out. You told him about Mabel’s antics and the mischief the two of you got up to. Things you’d steal from the cafeteria. The way Mabel kept the ladies in line who tried to dom you. Next thing you knew, your time was up. You apologized profusely for talking Joel’s ear off about yourself.
“Nahhhh, it was nice,” Joel said. “Hell of a lot more interesting than my life.”
“Well it was good talking to you,” you told him.
He said, “Hey, call me back any time.”
There was nothing sexy at all about that first conversation, but his voice did something to you. You squeezed your thighs together when you got back to your cell and looked at the photo. Mabel kept giving you a knowing look.
—------
You started calling Joel regularly. Mabel told you he liked you a lot, but you weren’t sure if you should believe her. She seemed overly eager to set him up. The conversations were brief and casual. When you didn’t call him one week, the next time you spoke, he told you he missed the sound of your voice.
Something came over you and you broke the tension. “My voice?” you asked. “Joel, your voice. . . you dunno what it does to me,” you blurted out. Zero to sixty, just like that.
“Well damn,” Joel said. “Shoulda said somethin’. Coulda given ya better than stories about Mabel.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Like whatever ya want, jailbird.” Your heart fluttered “Whatever gets ya hot and bothered.”
“Honey, you could read me the phone book,” you told him.
He chuckled. “Haven’t seen one of those in a few years.” His voice was sexy to begin with but the sharp edge of the phone connection made it even hotter.
After a moment of tense silence, he said, “Hey, uh, you notice any of your pictures missin’?”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, Mabel mailed me one. Didn’t tell me you were a fuckin’ smokeshow.”
You laughed bashfully.
“Well she did. But I had to see it for myself, and shit”
“Well, thanks. You’re not bad looking yourself.”
Your time was almost up.
“Hey I’m comin’ to see Mabel later this week. Y’all got the same visitor’s night or what? Cause I’d love to see you, too, if it’s allowed.”
“Nah, mine’s the next night.”
“S’alright, i’ll come back for ya, sugar.” Your heart skipped a beat.
“I’ve gotta go.”
“I know. Be good, jailbird.”
—--------
It was visitation day and you were getting nervous. Mabel thought it was adorable. She helped you get ready. Did your hair nice. “He’s already smitten with ya, baby,” she said.
You were escorted into the visitation room and sat at one of the booths, separated by glass, with a phone on each side.
When Joel came in, you didn’t recognize him at first. In just those five years, his beard had turned half-silver. He was striking in person. He was wearing a tight t-shirt and jeans. Tight jeans. You couldn’t help but size up the bulge in them.
When you looked up at his face, he was raising his eyebrows at you like he caught you looking. He sat down and put his elbows on the table. You picked up the phone, a little nervous, but more excited than anything. He checked you out and smiled at you coyly before picking up the phone.
“Like what ya see?” he said softly into the phone.
You replied with a low whistle, then asked, “You always dress like a piece of meat?” He had a few hand tattoos of his own. Faded, blurred together. A spade between his thumb and forefinger. A spiderweb curving around one of his biceps. He’d probably done his own time.
“When the hell are ya gettin’ outta here?”
“Up for parole next month,” you said.
“No shit!” He looked genuinely excited.
“Mabel didn’t tell you?”
“Thought she was yankin’ my chain.” He stretched his free hand behind his head and you watched his bicep. “You been good? Think you’ll get out?”
“Haven’t been bad.”
“Good.” He lowered his voice. “‘Cause sugar, I’m gonna need to see what’s under that garb.”
You smiled with faux shyness, and he continued, “God damn,” looking at you like a juicy leg of lamb.
You stared at each other, checking each other out for a moment. You watched his pupils dilate as your chest rose and fell with desire.
You made small talk for a minute or two, all the while fucking each other with your eyes. But, things took a turn again.
“What do you miss the most?” he asked in a low, sultry voice. “Bet ya don’t miss the clients.”
You shook your head.
He lowered his voice further. “When’s the last time ya had a nice hard cock ya really wanted?”
Your eyes widened. “Shit, I dunno.”
“Ohhh you’re in for it.” You looked around, paranoid, in disbelief that you could get away with a conversation like this. “Ain’t nothin’ harder than mine, baby.” He reached his hand into his lap. “Fuck. ‘specially for you.” You could see his arm moving very slowly but there was no mistaking what he was doing. His eyes devoured you.
“Joel,” you sighed. “Fuck, I believe it.”
And just like that, a guard approached him from behind. “Time’s up,” the guard said and glared at you. You rolled your eyes as a guard approached you, too.
Joel said “Later, jailbird” and hung up the phone. When he stood up, his massive erection was visible and made your heart skip a beat. You glanced up to his face and he was wetting his lips. He winked at you with pink cheeks and your eyes immediately fell back to his crotch as he adjusted himself and the guard hurried him away.
FUCK. You were gushing. Mabel’s Jojo. Joel. What a man.
---------
Part 2
Ty for reading. strip club manager!Joel will be an alternate timeline of this Joel set in the past while Mabel was on parole. DIFFERENT READER. preview
this trope actually gave me so many more elaborate ideas lmao.
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All Joel:@ethanhoewke @silkiers @eiviea @evyiione @xdaddysprincessxx @queerly-anxious @chernayawidow @ambassadortotrilliusprime @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog @jasminespringtime @romanarose @fandomsfallnomore @djarinxore @blackvelveteen1339 @manazo @wolvesandvampires @taeslarityy @str84pedro @lokanda @kyloispunk @filthfairy @fieryglutenfreechickennoodles @harriedandharassed @moonlightdivine @worhols @fan-fiction-floozy @cutesyscreenname @weddingfairy @pedropascal-whore @spideysimpossiblegirl @feministfanboi @gracieispunk @prettypartyfavor @am-3-thyst @babeincolor @milla-frenchy @switchbladedreamz @within-the-depths @am-3-thyst @may-machin @pedromania91 @sloanexx @paleidiot @yourmistysecret
#joel miller x reader#joel miller#joel miller fanfiction#toxicanonymity ☠️#cellmate's nephew!joel#CN!Joel Miller#CN!Joel#cellmate's nephew!joel miller#jojo ☠️
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hii! I just found out about your blog, and you do write about Johan (monster), so could you do a smut fic about him and f!reader
thank you!!
~Foreordain~ (Part-1)
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Johan Liebert x Inexperienced! fem reader
Genre: Oneshot Series & Smut
Warning: manipulation, very toxic behaviour, sexual content, dirty talk, fingering
Word Count: 2.3k
Writer's Note: Sorry this took so long ᴖ̈
Wisterias burn around you as you look at the man in front of you. What… could have let for this to happen. Hearts connected to stow are now shattered with just one go. Mind hypnotized by the monster, the demon, the ferocity. You still longed for him, after all that...you still did. You loved him, you really did. But this was meant to happen from the moment you saw him, your fate was decided. It was Foreordain.
~10 MONTHS BEFORE~
You despised monsoons. Insects, dirt, mud, everything. Other than one thing. The smell. The smell of monsoon was like a drug to you. Every time it filled your nostrils, it gave you a feeling of Euphoria. Nothing could’ve matched that smell until you walked past him.
Light blonde hair, pale skin, and handsome features glistened with the dawn of the day. He simply looked so…angelic. So, you stopped, stopped in your tracks, and just looked at him. How seraphic, you thought. Then he turned and looked at you. Just when you thought that he couldn’t get even more beautiful. You saw his blue eyes. Those ethereal and divine blue eyes. And they looked at you. But…something about those eyes scared you just as much as they attracted you. They just looked so…lifeless.
“Is there something wrong, miss?” he spoke, his voice so soft and gentle. And you blushed, of course you did. “N-no, I-it’s nothing!” You spoke in a flustered tone, still lost for words. He came closer to you, only a few inches between. His smell. Oh, he smelt so good…so damn intoxicating.
“Then why is that, you’re so flustered, miss?” he spoke in that soft voice of his, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. Blue eyes scrutinizing your face. Looking for something…anything. And just for a mere second, you swear your life. He smirked. It was slight, only appearing for a second. But it made your heart stop beating for a moment.
He pulled out a pen from the breast pocket of his coat and then gently took hold of your hand. “May I?” he whispered. The question was so simple but you were too hypnotized by his charm to reply, so you just nodded.
He wrote his number on the palm of your hand, his movements smooth. There was no hesitation or awkwardness. He was just so effortless even with these simple gestures, that it was alluring to just observe and look at him.
“What is your name, miss?” he whispered in your ear, leaning closer. Blushing profusely, you could only answer him in a breathy voice, saying your name. “W-what about you, what is it…w-what is your name?” you spoke quietly. And you notice, how his eyes darkened at your simple question. But it quickly vanished, and he smiled at you, so soft and gentle. “Liebert…Johan Liebert.” How tempting.
~AT NIGHT~
Later that night, you called him. “H-hello?” you spoke in a questioning manner, even though you knew who was on the other end. “Good evening, Miss Y/N. Missing me already now, are you?” He spoke from the other side of the call. His voice like always, so soft and sweet. Your breath hitched at the question, gulping, you spoke. “I guess so. S-so what about tomorrow…are you free tomorrow evening?” you asked biting your lip slightly in nervousness. You heard Johan chuckle through the phone. Then he spoke, his voice was normal but still…you felt it. That slight seductiveness. “Why...you want to ask me out on a date?” you felt your cheeks blush at his tone and question, but you quickly replied. Trying to maintain your composure. “M-maybe, I do.” Then he spoke again, his voice even more seductive and tempting. “Oh, is that so? Well, I certainly wouldn’t mind going on a date with a lady as beautiful as you. So how about you be the boss, and decide the time and I’ll take the honor of assisting and taking you to a nice place.” Goodness, this guy knew exactly how to raise your heartbeat. “Y-yeah, sure…sure. How about tomorrow evening at 7 pm?” you asked, crossing your fingers in hope. “Sounds good to me…You can send me your address. So, I’ll be able to pick you up from your house.” He said sweetly. “P-pick?! I can come by myself.” You spoke, surprised at his request. Nobody has ever picked you from your house, its not exactly safe to tell people your address. It seemed almost…suspicious.
“I don’t think so…a woman like you deserves nothing below the utmost treatment. It would be an insult to you if I don’t give you best” he spoke gently…his gentle voice suddenly becoming slightly deeper and smoother. “Or perhaps you haven’t experienced being treated that way? Do you want others to find out the kind of treatment you’ve received from men till now? I’m sure you’d be embarrassed if that happens…Your friends would start treating you like an inferior person. Or maybe they already have. Well, all I'm doing is suggesting an idea.” You felt him smile through the phone, his tone shifting slightly. You were left speechless, every word of his cut you deep inside. Almost as if he knew everything about you. You always had bad experience with men, you never were the type of person to had a lot of relationships and experience. This made you insecure around your friends, who were either in a long-term relationship or at least had some experience. Whereas you were shy and nervous making you never really approach people from front especially for a relationship. You let out a deep breath as you realized his care and kindness towards you. He was so perfect…such a gentleman. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll send you my house address.” You said with a smile. “Thank you, Y/N, you truly are the most wonderful woman I’ve ever met…Goodbye then. We’ll meet tomorrow.” He spoke sweetly, as you felt him smile through the phone. “Goodbye.” You whispered as you ended the call. Tomorrow was going to be a great day.
~NEXT DAY~
The anticipation of meeting him had a chokehold on you for the whole day. You wanted to look your best, dress your best, smell your best, talk your best, just be your best for him. Or you could say his…approval. You didn’t know how, but you felt the need to prove yourself in front of him. Show him that calling you the most wonderful woman he had ever encountered was not a mistake. So, you did…well you tried more so.
Starting the day by going to a spa, a salon, a manicure & pedicure center. You did it all. Going as far as to buy new clothes. A pleated black skirt and a silk red top with matching black Louis Vuitton heels. God, you were excited. Wondering how he may look? Well, it didn’t matter anyway. Even if he showed up wearing a potato sack, he would still look good anyways.
The time came, sitting on your couch. All readied up for him. Staring at the wall, zoned out. The sound of your doorbell ringing suddenly reached your ears. Instinctively standing up, you panicked. Thoughts swarming in your head like goldfish in a pond. Then, it rang again. Taking a deep breath, you adjusted your dress and looked at yourself in the mirror for the last time. All perfect.
“Good evening.” He greeted you in that oh-so-soft voice of his after you opened your front door. “G-good evening.” You stuttered after you saw him. Dressed in an all-black suit. He just looked so elegant and gorgeous. You checked him out in secret. Damn, how can someone be so beautiful? He felt more like an angel than a human. Taking your hand in his, he kissed it softly. A faint blush appeared on your cheeks as he did so. “Shall we go?” he whispered, softly. Speechless, all you could do was nod.
The date was the best one you ever had. Every word he spoke, every touch he implanted, every look he gave made you put in a spell. A spell you cannot resist, becoming automatically submissive to his voice. And the way he touched you in an almost teasing manner. Leaving you hanging between threads longing for more, in a wonder of what he can offer. And the way he looked at you, seductive yet with a softness to his sapphire eyes. You didn’t even know when it happened, at what time it happened, but now you were left aroused. Wetness smirching your red panties. Something that Johan was seemingly unaware of.
“Shall we head somewhere else?” He asked smiling softly, holding your hand as you walk along a bridge. “Sure!” you said with a sweet smile on your face.
The moonlight glistened in the dark sky suffused with stars as you stepped inside the medieval-themed hotel. You looked around the hotel’s lobby as Johan booked a room for both of you. “Let’s go.” He smiled, putting his arm over your shoulder and pulling you closer. You looked down, blushing as you, both walked inside the elevator. “So have you ever been to a hotel with a man before?” he asked. “I-I haven’t” you muttered, embarrassed of yourself. “Then, may I have the honor of accompanying such a beautiful lady?” he whispered, voice almost seductive as he inched his face closer to yours. “Please.” You whispered back, licking your lower lip slightly. Hands that were earlier pulling you closer now caressed your neck, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. He pulled in for a kiss. Starting slow now turned passionate. Desperate. Hungry. Desirous. He kissed you with every being of him. A man has now finally found the thing to cease his thirst. Breaking the kiss first, you were left longing for air. As you met his eyes, you felt that lust and greed oozing from the almost perfect man in your presence.
A small ‘ting’ sound awoke you from your lost state. You arrived on the 17th floor of the hotel, where your room was stationed. As you got out of the elevator and started looking around the floor, suddenly you felt Johan hug you from behind. His pale arms wrapped around your torso, as he whispered so seductively, so quietly in your ear. “Why don’t we continue this somewhere private, love?” …. Love?! You genuinely thought at that moment you would’ve melted in his arms. Face flushed profusely at his ‘innocent’ request, you nodded.
Getting inside the room, the first thing he did was lock the door while you sat on the edge of the bed, oh-so-flustered by the situation. Your breathing got slightly heavy as he started walking towards you slowly, his eyes almost having a predatory look in them. Crouching on the floor in front of you, he started to take off your heels. “W-what are you doing?” you asked softly, almost breathless from the anticipation. “Taking care of you sweetheart.” He replied as he stood up in Infront of you, his hand coming to hold your chin in a gentle but firm manner as he inched closer to your face and whispered in a subtle voice. “That’s what I’m doing.” Oh….
Holding your face in the gentleness of his palms, he inched his face closer to yours. Finally letting go of the boundaries between you two, his lips crashed into the softness of yours as his hand caressed the back of your neck. An intimate movement lasting for eternity to your heart and soul. The softness, the wetness, the desperation, and the anticipation all crashed down to land onto one prominence of time. Opening your eyes slowly almost in an allured state you looked through them as he kissed you. His hand coming down to unzip your top. His touch, was like that of a feather, light but leaving goosebumps all over your skin.
After taking off the scrapes of clothing from your body, he laid you down on the soft mattress of the bed. “Are you nervous?” he whispered seductively in your ear, placing delicate kisses all over your neck and collarbone. Your heavy breath hitched as you avoided eye contact with him, cheeks flushed from embarrassment mixed with arousal. “N-no..” you whispered, flustered. “Yes, you are. You shouldn’t lie. It’s not a good habit.” He spoke in a smooth tone, all while looking deeply into your eyes. His other hand came to grope your breast, making you whimper in his embrace. “Good girls don’t lie.” His long fingers traced patterns on the skin of your inner thigh, and slowly but surely those long fingers sunk into the very place they had the purpose for. He slowly started by rubbing gentle circles on top of your puffy clit, and when he felt the wetness trail down your thighs that he approved of, he sinks his fingers deep inside you. All while his mouth abused the sensitive bud of your breast. Biting, licking, sucking. “Understood?” he said in an almost demanding voice, to which all you could do was whimper a nod. Overwhelmed by the pleasure caused by him on your delicate body.
He increased the pace of his hand, as his long fingers inside you constantly brushed against your g-spot, making you cry in pleasure. Moans and whimpers escaped from your pretty mouth like a chant. One hand gripped the soft mattress beneath you while the other gripped the soft blonde hair of his.
“J-Johan~” you moaned in a high-pitched voice, lip quivering from crying as your orgasm finally hit you. The tight knot in your stomach now clutching open. He took his wet fingers out of you, looking at you with a slight smirk. “Woah, aren’t you sensitive…”
“You did well.” he said, smiling softly as he cuddled you up in his arms for the night.
Waking up with a slight pain in your lower stomach, you grumpily got up, stretching yourself. You felt something missing.
“Johan?”
#johan liebert#monster#monster smut#johan liebert x reader#smut#manga and stuff#monster manga#anime smut#johan liebert x reader smut#johan liebert smut#kenzo tenma#anna liebert#wolfgang grimmer#nina
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Ok, so here are some of my rather long rambling thoughts. I’ll start off with some pros and cons and then provide some speculation:
My initial negative reaction:
- Compressing 5 hours worth of content into 90 minutes feels like things will be rushed and we won’t get a good story.
- HOW do you take a month to rewrite six 45 minute long scripts into a movie length feature and have it still be good?!
- the compression of the story means we will likely not get any more flashback sequences. Admittedly I actually thought we probably wouldn’t get more flashback scenes in season 3 anyway, but this definitely proves the case that we won’t. There won’t be time for it.
- who has re-written the script? Because here’s the thing about Pratchett adaptations. They’re fucking shit. No one (in my opinion) has been able to successfully transfer that man’s unique sense of humour and writing style onto screen. Every single Discworld adaptation has been on a scale of awful to kind of meh. EXCEPT for season 1 of Good Omens. As much as we hate him now. As vile as he has become in our hearts, the thing about NG is that he understood Terry’s unique style. He understood what worked and how to transfer that to the screen. And that breaks my heart on so many levels. Because he was all we had. And we certainly didn’t want him any more. But still, who THE FUCK has written the finale script now?
Now here are my positive thoughts on the situation:
- NEIL GAIMAN GOT HIS SORRY ASS FIRED! GOOD!
- Consequences. The industry has signalled consequences. Finally!
- We are getting a conclusion! It could very well have been cancelled and we would have been left with the final 15 forever. We get to see them again. That deserves a Wahoo!
- thinking back over season 2, which I enjoyed, I actually do have to say a lot of it was kind of unnecessary filler. The flashback sequences were great. But the actual core of the season’s arc involving Gabriel was just a bit boring. I’m forever grateful for it because we got to spend almost 6 hours watching Aziraphale give Crowley heart eyes and Crowley do beautiful acts of service proving his love back. But the meandering stuff with Nina and Maggie and trying to work out why Gabriel lost his memory wasn’t all that interesting. I was here for A&C.
- so I think MAYBE that means the compression of what had already been written for season 3 means it’ll cut out the plot bits that drag. Hopefully this means it’s faster paced and tighter and more focused on A&C.
Speculations:
Thinking back to the last time NG interacted with the fandom, he had confirmed the first three episodes were written and were with Amazon for approval, episode 4 was almost done, the last part of episode 6 had been written, and he had started plotting episode 5. We never got a confirmation if he ever finished them. So this maybe indicates that the finale is lifted exactly out of these scripts. My assumption is they’ve brought in a script doctor to edit what they’ve already got and wrap up plot points. In which case, on the one hand it gives us close to the story and idea of what Terry imagined. On the other, the far more negative connotation, it’s still NG’s work. The articles that have all come out so far merely states “Gaiman is not involved with the production and the finale is based on his work”. This could be Prime distancing themselves without actually confirming how he’s contributed. Which is still largely disappointing.
So, once again I feel very conflicted. A lot of the fandom have been very adamant about not wanting to support the show if Gaiman was involved, and in the end he wrote the show. Even if he had been removed as producer and showrunner and wasn’t allowed on set (thankfully it seems all three of things have happened), I know that wouldn’t have been enough for some fans because he would still have ultimately been responsible for the product that we eventually see. And I don’t know how to feel about that.
I’m happy he’s gone, I’m disappointed the show has been gutted, I’m glad we get a conclusion, I’m sad it won’t be exactly what we wanted.
I’m SO THANKFUL that the women get some semblance of justice, that there is a consequence for a perpetrator, that a big ass company is finally listening to fans and moving with the times and signally this kind of behaviour isn’t appropriate and that repercussions can and will be felt.
Finally, I’ll remind everyone that there are going to be a lot of different and conflicting feelings from the fandom. I would ask that everyone try to be nice to one another. If you have a differing opinion, maybe rather than debating it you just allow that person their feelings and move on. Do not go after someone if you feel like they’re not reacting the “right way” to the situation. Just be kind please. It’s what Terry would have wanted.
#good omens#good omens rambling thoughts#good omens finale#cw: Neil Gaiman#fuck you gaiman#Terry Pratchett#gnu terry pratchett#good omens fandom#good omens season 3#crowley#aziraphale#ineffable husbands#aziracrow#crowley x arizaphale#David Tennant#Michael Sheen
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Wait for your love.
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content warnings (for the whole series): mentions of drugs and alcohol, age gap, gaslighting, billy being TOXICCCCC, mentions of suicide/suicidal thoughts, mental health issues
↳ currently playing ;
Midnight's Regrets - 1978
1:56 ——————•———— 3:24
↺ << ll >> ⋮≡
In July of 1978 Y/N made her reappearance.
Y/N: "I was gone for about a year." "And for the first 6 months, I was focusing on getting myself together. I got clean and started writing again." "I was slowly putting together a small album. I had told myself that if I wrote about change and forgiveness, I could heal." "I had heard...rumblings that the band was preparing to release a new album, but I had tried to stay away from the media." "That was until this...one interview came out." "I forgot...who was interviewing the band, I just- I remember being on the phone with one of my friends and I had the radio on. It was just playing in the background, but then I heard a familiar voice." "I told my friend that I would give her a call back. So I hung up the phone and turned up the volume on the radio." "It was Billy. He sounded...drunk. Really drunk. And- I wanted to stop listening, but the minute he brought up my name, I couldn't." "He called me selfish. Said I used him. That I didn’t care about the band, that I just wanted to be bigger than all of them." "He said it- he said it so cruelly. And the worst part was that some of the fans believed it." "I- I didn't know how to react. I was just- angry." "Here he was calling me selfish and say that I used him, while in reality, he put me through so much."
Her voice shakes, and she takes a deep breath before continuing.
"And then, as if that wasn’t enough, a month later, I see pictures of him in a magazine with some girl who looked like me. Like, exactly like me." "It hurt. It really hurt. All those times that he told me I was replaceable, that he told me that I was just another pretty face and that he could have any girl he wants, it all felt- it all felt real when I saw those pictures."
Karen: "Oh, the lookalike? Yeah, we all noticed it. It was... unsettling, to say the least."
Graham: "We told him it was weird, but Billy being Billy, he brushed us off. Said we were imagining things."
Warren: "Nah. That wasn’t imagination. That was some next-level shit."
Y/N: "At that point, the album I was working on? It wasn’t about forgiveness anymore. It wasn’t about love or hope. It was about him. About the anger, the betrayal, the heartbreak. About every time he let me down and every time I let myself believe he wouldn’t." "I didn’t want to make an album that just said, ‘This is what you did to me.’ I wanted to make one that screamed, ‘This is what you’ll never do to me again.’" "The funny thing is, I didn’t write it for him. I wrote it for me. But I knew he’d hear it. I knew he’d know. And I wanted him to feel every single word."
🎶 .·:*¨🎶💋🎶¨*:·. 🎶
You were at a radio station to make your first step back into the spotlight, everything was ready to go. You just hoped that he would be listening.
You watched the show host stop the music to speak into the mic, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special guest with us tonight. This guest has been out of the spotlight for about a year, and now she's back to tell us what's been going on in her life" "Please, give it up for Y/N L/N!"
The sound of applause fills the studio as you slide into the chair across from the host, offering a small, nervous smile
"Y/N, welcome back! I have to say, a lot of people have been wondering where you’ve been and what you’ve been up to. So, let’s start there. How are you feeling?"
"I feel..good. I’ve been focusing on myself, my health, and really just trying to find myself again."
"Well, you’ve certainly been missed. Your fans have been waiting for this moment for a while now. What made you decide to step back into the spotlight?"
"Honestly, I think it was time. I needed to disappear for a bit to figure out who I was outside of everything else. But I missed making music, missed connecting with people. It’s why I started in the first place. So, here I am."
"So...I hear that you have a special announcement for us, something you've been working on while you were gone."
You laugh, "Ah yes! Um...this is something very special to me. And I'm so excited to everyone to listen to it. So my brand new album, Midnight's Regrets will be in stores...tomorrow at midnight."
"An album? Wow you must've been busy while you were gone! Is there anything you can tell us about it?"
"Midnight’s Regrets is…probably the most honest thing I’ve ever written. It wasn’t the album I originally set out to make....but sometimes life takes you in a different direction. It’s raw, it’s vulnerable, and it’s everything I needed to say."
"Now is there....anything or anyone that inspired this album?"
"It's...really just about the past few years."
"Well, I can’t wait to hear it, and I’m sure your fans feel the same. Y/N, thank you for joining us tonight. It’s so good to have you back!"
"Thank you! It feels good to be back."
🎶 .·:*¨🎶💋🎶¨*:·. 🎶
Karen: "We were in the studio just hanging out and we heard her voice. Billy told Graham to turn up the volume and everything just went quiet."
Graham: "Billy tensed up when she said she was releasing a new album. Like visibly tensed up."
Warren: "Nobody said anything for a while. It wasn't until the lookalike came in...."
Eddie: "No one liked the lookalike. She was rude, entitled, and just nothing like Y/N. Honestly I don't even think Billy liked her. He was just using her to fill Y/N's spot. Which was still fucked up."
Daisy: "Billy left with the lookalike for a while. This was normal he'd leave with her, they go and probably hook up and then she'd come back attached to him. Warren bet Eddie 20 bucks that he was gonna break up with her. Eddie bet 40 against it." "When he came back this time...the lookalike was nowhere to be seen."
Warren: "I asked him where she was...And then he mumbled something like 'she's gone'." "Eddie slipped me my 40 a little while after."
Y/N: "I walked out the the interview with my stomach in knots. I was so nervous for the release, I really was. I was nervous about how people you react to it, I was nervous about what the press would say..." "And I was nervous about what Billy would think of it." "I remembered how I felt listening to Aurora. I was just...in shock and in awe because it was the best album that the band created." "I was just hoping Billy would have a similar reaction to my album."
Eddie: "We all stayed late at the studio that night. We ordered pizza, Warren ran out to get beers and soda, and then at exactly midnight on the dot, Teddy came in with two vinyls." "He placed them both on the table and said 'Listen to the one on the right first' and then he left."
Karen: "Billy was just, staring at them, he didn't move. So I grabbed the first one and opened it."
Y/N: "I wrote a sort of prologue to be put on the inside." "Midnight is the hour where everything feels raw. The highs, the lows, the moments you wish you could forget but never do—they all come alive under the quiet of the moon. This album wasn’t supposed to exist the way it does now. It was going to be a story of forgiveness, love, and second chances. But life has a way of rewriting your narrative for you." "These songs are a reflection of everything I’ve carried: the heartbreak, the betrayal, the anger, and, most importantly, the resilience. They’re not just about what happened to me—they’re about what I refused to let define me." "I wrote this for anyone who’s ever felt shattered and wondered if they could ever put themselves back together. I promise, you can. I promise, you will." "And to the one who broke me: I hope you’re listening. Because I always have."
🎶 .·:*¨🎶💋🎶¨*:·. 🎶
As Karen finished reading the prologue, a haunting silence took over the room. She carefully placed the record on the player, the soft hum of the start up began to play. Taking the tracklist in her hand, Karen read from it, "First one is...How to disappear."
The soft beat of the song filled the room, then her vocals came in.
"It sounds like her older stuff" Graham says.
A hum of agreement went through the room.
Then the next track began to play.
"Happier Than Ever," Karen says.
The soft strumming of guitar filled the room, it was angelic sounding. Billy didn't say anything, your voice sounded gentle, almost a whisper, as sing about being happy alone, about finally finding yourself. But then the shift happens.
"You call me again, drunk in your Benz. Driving home under the influence. You scared me to death, but I'm wasting my breath. 'Cause you only listen to your fucking friends."
Everyone went quiet.
"She fucking went there" Warren whispers to Eddie.
They all looked over to Billy who was looking down, his hands balled into fists.
"'Cause I'd never treat me this shitty. You made me hate this city. And I don't talk shit about you. Never told anyone anything bad. 'Cause that shit's embarrassing, you were my everything. And all that you did was make me fucking sad."
Billy's thoughts were swirling, he felt a mess of regret and anger, not towards you, but towards himself. He treated you like shit, and now he was hearing how you truly felt.
The track ended with the sound of crashing drums and a wailing guitar, leaving the room in a tense, suffocating silence. Before anyone could speak, the next track started, immediately shifting the mood.
The upbeat melody of 'love is embarrassing' filled the room.
"Loser who's not worth mentioning. My God, love's embarrassing as hell"
"It's catchy" Warren says, smirking drumming his fingers to the beat.
Before the group could fully process the last track, the next one began. The smooth, upbeat sound of 'Read your Mind' filled the room. 'Feather' had the same effect.
Karen tilted her head, listening closely. "She’s experimenting. This is different from anything she’s done before."
"I bet you those two will be the ones that the radios pick up." Eddie says.
Graham looks over at Billy, "Billy, you good?"
He doesn't say anything, he just grunts and nods.
As the next track begins to play, everyone had expected it to be another pop song, but nothing would prepare them for the whiplash of what was about to play.
The track opened with a slow, deliberate rhythm, a distant, echoing sound that seems to pull everyone’s attention into the quiet before your voice cut through the tension. It’s raw, soft, yet layered with emotion.
Karen’s face tightens as she listens, and she glances around at the rest of the group. Eddie's usual smirk is gone, replaced with a furrowed brow.
"Fell in love for the first time. With a friend, it's a good sign. Feelin' off when I feel fine. 21 took a lifetime. People say I look happy. Just because I got skinny. But the old me is still me and maybe the real me. And I think she's pretty."
Warren, who had been tapping his foot along to the previous tracks, suddenly stops and sits up straighter, the weight of the song sinking in. "Shit…" he mutters, his voice barely audible. "This one’s…heavy."
The song continues, and the production swirls around your voice, adding layers of echoing distortion, mirroring the chaos and confusion in the lyrics.
"I never did you wrong. And my, my patience is gone. And I, I never did you wrong. I loved you for so long"
The song begins to fade out, leaving an unsettling quiet in its wake. No one speaks immediately. Everyone is still processing the shift, the unexpected vulnerability.
The next 5 tracks, vampire, pretty isn't pretty, making the bed, the grudge, and logical, are like a punch to the gut for Billy.
"You can't love anyone, 'cause that would mean you had a heart"
"I could change up my body and change up my face. I could try every lipstick in every shade. But I'd always feel the same. 'Cause pretty isn't pretty enough"
"Another day pretendin' I'm older than I am. Another perfect moment that doesn't feel like mine. Another thing I forced to be a sign."
"And I doubt you ever think about the damage that you did. But I hold onto every detail like my life depends on it. My undying love, now I hold it like a grudge. And I hear your voice every time that I think I'm not enough"
"'Cause loving you is loving every, Argument you held over my head. Brought up the girls you could have instead. Said I was too young, I was too soft. Can't take a joke, can't get you off"
Every word, every line, every lyric, it hit Billy. He hurt you, badly. And now everyone would know how badly he did.
The room was silent.
Graham moved to the record player and stopped it. "Maybe we should take a break." he murmurs.
Billy shakes his head, "No- no let it keep playing," he says as his voice cracks.
The opening notes of 'Clean' began to play. It was vulnerable like the last few tracks, but it felt more hopeful.
"It sounds clean...does that make sense?" Warren says, hoping to lighten the mood.
"Ten months sober, I must admit. Just because you're clean, don't mean you don't miss it. Ten months older, I won't give in. Now that I'm clean, I'm never gonna risk it."
The words strike a chord in Billy. He knows there's a double meaning. You're sober, you're clean of drugs, but you're also clean of him.
The sparkling beat of 'Bejeweled' then filled the room, everyone’s heads snaped up, and for the first time in a while, there’s a slight tension breaking in the air.
🎶 .·:*¨🎶💋🎶¨*:·. 🎶
Karen: "While we were listening to the album...I think we were all just a bit worried with how Billy would react to Better Than Revenge."
Warren: Laughing "Yeah, I mean, I knew it was coming. You can't hide something like that forever."
Daisy: "Y/N asked for our help. She needed something that felt raw, something real. We couldn't say no to her."
Eddie: "I think we would've gotten away with it if Billy didn't have such a good ear."
Graham: "The minute it started playing, I knew he knew. I mean open a song with Warren playing drums? That's a giveaway automatically."
Warren: "What can I say? I didn’t hold back." he grins "If she needed something to match the fire, we gave it to her."
🎶 .·:*¨🎶💋🎶¨*:·. 🎶
As the song blasts through the speakers, the energy in the room shifts. The aggressive drums hit, then the guitar riff, and Billy’s jaw clenches as he hears your voice.
"He’s not a saint and he’s not what you think. He’s an actress, He’s better known for the things that he does, On the mattress."
Billy’s eyes narrow, his fists tightening at his sides. The words feel like daggers. But it’s not just the lyrics. The way the song sounds, the drums, the guitar, the bass, everything. He knows that sound.
He grabs the lyric book and flips it open.
Track 14- Better Than Revenge.
His eyes scan the page, and there on the bottom of the page Graham, Warren, Eddie, Karen and Daisy are credited as part of the production of the song.
"What the hell is this?" he says, throwing the booklet onto the table. "You guys helped her with this?"
The room goes quiet, the song continuing to play in the background.
"She came to us Billy. She asked for our help." Karen says.
Billy's voice rises, sharp, accusatory and a little hurt. "And none of you thought to tell me?"
Eddie steps forward, arms crossed defensively. "We promised not to."
Billy scoffs, "You all took her side. You didn’t even think about how this would make me look."
"This wasn’t about sides, Billy. It was about making sure she didn’t feel alone in this. You had your chance to make things right, and you didn’t." Karen says, glaring at him.
"I didn’t-" Billy starts, but Warren cuts him off.
"You didn’t do anything, man. That’s the problem. You're getting mad over what? The fact that she come to you?" Warren says, "You hurt her, you can't expect her to come to you for help."
The song fades out, leaving a tense silence in its place. Billy was fuming. But he couldn't find it in himself to leave.
The final song on the first vinyl began to play.
Billy sat back down and took the lyric booklet back into his hands, track 15- Out Of The Woods.
The sound was different, everything about this whole album was different.
"The rest of the world was black and white. But we were in screaming color."
Billy began to really listen to the lyrics, the way you described everything was so...perfect. Like he could really picture everything.
Graham speaks up. "She’s not pulling punches Billy, she’s not out to destroy you. She’s trying to make sense of it all. Of you. Of herself."
"To move the furniture so we could dance. Baby, like we stood a chance. Two paper airplanes flying, flying, flying. And I remember thinking."
"It’s not just about the bad, is it?" Billy murmurs, his words just loud enough so they could hear him.
Daisy shakes her head, "No, it’s not. It's about the good, the bad, the messy in-between. She's just telling what you guys had."
The final chorus plays, "Are we out of the woods yet? Are we in the clear yet?" echoing over and over again, sounding haunting and hopeful all at once.
🎶 .·:*¨🎶💋🎶¨*:·. 🎶
Daisy: "When we finished the first record...it was just quiet." "We were all feeling different emotions." "But I have to say, I was fucking proud of her. She- she took something so horrible and turned it into a masterpiece."
Karen: "We were confused why there were two different vinyls, but after Graham took a closer look at the jacket of it, we realized the second one was the deluxe version of it."
Graham: "On the inside of it, it said there were 4 additional tracks. So I took the first one off and then put the second one on." "I sat back down and read the song titles...and I knew we were in for another ride."
🎶 .·:*¨🎶💋🎶¨*:·. 🎶
Nobody speaks, they only listen. And the lyrics, once again, hit Billy like a fucking bus.
"Cause you kiss me and it stops time. And I'm yours, but you're not mine…"
Billy rubs his face with both hands, his fingers tugging at his hair. Everything rushes back, the whispered promises, the unspoken words, and all the ways he let her down. He slams his hand against the armrest of the chair, his frustration barely contained. "Jesus Christ."
"Why'd you have to make me love you? I said, 'I love you.' You say nothin' back."
This hits Billy like a freight train.
"She's- She's making me seem like the bad guy!" he scoffs, "After I wrote Aurora for her- after I poured out my entire heart on a fucking album for her!"
"Billy, shut up and listen to the lyrics!" Daisy shouts, "You fucking hurt her! You only wrote Aurora because of the fact you hurt her! She's allowed to feel how she wants to! She's allowed to feel angry! She's allowed to feel sad! So just- listen to her lyrics!"
Billy finally shuts up. He leans back in his chair and the next song starts up.
The echoes of 'Is It Over Now?' fill the room. And then...
"You dream of my mouth before it called you a lying traitor. You search in every maiden's bed for something greater"
"When you lost control. Red blood, white snow. Blue dress on a boat. Your new girl is my clone"
"If she's got (y/c) eyes, I will surmise that you'll probably date her. You dream of my mouth before it called you a lying traitor. You search in every model's bed for something greater"
"I was hoping you'd be there. And say the one thing. I've been wanting. But no."
Billy's head was now in his hands again. His heart feels like it's sinking to the bottom of his chest, his mind spiraling with thoughts of all the mistakes he made. And then before he could fully collect his thoughts, the next song starts playing.
While the opening notes of 'I Wish You Would' started to play, Billy's heart skipped a beat.
"I wish you would come back. Wish I'd never hung up the phone like I did. I wish you knew that. I'd never forget you as long as I'd live. And I wish you were right here, right now. It's all good. I wish you would"
"I wish we could go back. And remember what we were fighting for. Wish you knew that. I miss you too much to be mad anymore. And I wish you were right here, right now. It's all good. I wish you would"
"We're a crooked love. In a straight line down. Makes you wanna run and hide. Then it makes you turn right back around"
"You always knew how to push my buttons. You gave me everything and nothing. This mad, mad love makes you come rushing. Stand back where you stood. I wish you would, I wish you would"
Billy’s chest tightens as the final line rings in his ears. He wishes, too. He wishes he could take it all back, wishes he could undo the damage he caused. But hearing the lyrics, hearing your regret, he knows it’s too late for that. You're not coming back, not in the way he wants. The realization washes over him, leaving him feeling hollow inside.
But then the sparkly distorted intro of 'Karma' starts playing.
"This is the last one" Graham says as he reads off the vinyl jacket.
It was a catchy song, similar to 'Bejeweled', it had that glittery sound.
Billy knew it was another song directed towards him, but when he heard "Cause karma is my boyfriend" his heart sunk.
Boyfriend.
Boyfriend?
A wave of jealousy, mixed with deep regret, crashes over him, had you moved on?
The song keeps going, and with every line, Billy’s heart breaks a little more.
“Karma is the guy on the screen. Coming straight home to me.”
He could hear the smile in your voice, he could hear how happy you were. He was happy you were happy, but he wanted you to be happy with him.
The song ends, and Billy looks at everyone.
"So...guess she's moved on." he says.
"We don't know that Billy" Graham says, "She could've just- written it because it rhymed or something..."
Billy shakes his head, "No...that's not like her. She doesn't just write out lyrics for nothing."
Graham looks over at Billy, his expression filled with a mixture of concern and frustration. "I’m just saying, man, we don’t know for sure. We don’t know what’s going on in her head. She could be trying to move on, or she could just be putting her feelings into music. You can’t take everything in her songs at face value."
Billy scoffs, rubbing his hands over his face, trying to scrub away the frustration that’s been building up for hours. "No, Graham. I’ve been around long enough to know when she’s really saying something. And she’s saying something. She’s telling me, loud and clear, that she’s moved on."
"She’s telling you that she’s moved forward, not necessarily on. There's a difference." Daisy says in a defensive tone.
"Moved on- moved forward- same shit. What difference does it make?" Billy says, getting up and pacing the room. "I wrote Aurora for her. It was for her. All of it. I thought- I thought it was going to be enough."
"You can't just expect one album to fix everything Billy" Karen says, "You hurt her, badly. An album won't fix that."
Billy remains silent for a moment, processing everything they’re saying.
But then his attention went back to the record player as it started to play this awful sounding static.
🎶 .·:*¨🎶💋🎶¨*:·. 🎶
Y/N: "On the jacket of the vinyl for the deluxe version of Midnight's Regrets there were only four new tracks listed."
"There was really five."
🎶 .·:*¨🎶💋🎶¨*:·. 🎶
"Graham, why didn't you turn the player off?"
Graham walks over to the player, "There's still grooves, there's another song."
Not even a second later, the room is filled with the haunting opening notes of a new song.
Everyone stands in silence and confusion as the song plays.
"You were born bluer than a butterfly. Beautiful and so deprived of oxygen. Colder than your father's eyes. He never learned to sympathize with anyone."
"I don't blame you. But I can't change you. Don't hate you. But we can't save you."
"You were born reaching for your mother's hands. Victim of your father's plans to rule the world. Too afraid to step outside. Paranoid and petrified of what you've heard"
The words pierce Billy's already broken heart, he can't hold it in anymore. He feels the tears trickling down his face, and when he looks around, everyone else has tears too.
Your voice is so hauntingly beautiful, they've never heard you like this.
As the song fades out, they can hear what sounds like crying under all the instrumentals.
The silence afterward is deafening.
"Billy…" Graham says, his voice breaking the stillness.
"I fucked up," Billy whispers, the words barely audible. "I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know if I even can anymore."
A/N: HOLY FUCK THIS WAS A LONG CHAPTER 😭 anyways I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED!!!! this was honestly so like stressful to work on cause of the lyrics BUT I PULLED IT OFF I THINK! anyways next chapter will probably be out sometime next week and hopefully the next chapter of GOU will be out by sunday night or monday night!!
heres all the songs from readers album (IN ORDER) -> 1978 album
#isa’s thoughts#billy dunne x reader#billy dunne#billy dunne fic#djats x reader#djats fic#djats#billy dunne imagine#billy dunne angst#daisy jones and the six#daisy jones#sam claflin x reader#sam claflin
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assorted TTRPG things
nugget from the tab bonfire: at some point I was reading about RPGs. some things that are old, some are new(ish). here are some links, since I think they are interesting, and some additional comments.
first-up: my own RPG posts are now archived here. that section of my site is looking a whole lot more fleshed out now.
1. ritual
in 2021, Meguey Baker wrote this one about 'ritual in game design', fitting TTRPGs into her frame of faciliating rituals for essentially therapeutic purposes, aimed at parents. since I like talking in a vaguely (vaguely) anthropological way about the analogies between TTRPGs and other activities (improv comedy, kink, wrestling), this is very relevant.
by Meguey's definition, a ritual is defined through this series of words: intentional contained conscious creative action. of course, she gives these words fairly specialised definitions. she's mostly interested in addressing TTRPGs that go into tough, bleedy places, described in books like Alice Is Missing, BFF, and Bluebeard’s Bride - of these I'm only familiar with the third but I'm kind of aware of the genre of game she's talking about. she suggests that these principles don't really apply if you're just playing to hang out and have a good time, but to my mind, just because you're less formal about it doesn't mean that's not an aspect of ritual, and the analysis is similarly applicable there, just lower-stakes.
in fact I think a whole lot of human activities are rituals (classic bryn move to grab a conceptual hammer and start seeing nails everywhere). the analogy goes the other way too, rituals are kind of like games.
I'm not entirely convinced the breakdown into jargon words really does a lot for me, but the crucial thing here is the sort of entering and exiting into a constrained social space which has its special set of rules. meguey writes these cool little coloured lists which depict the various stages of getting you into a game/ritual headspace and exiting it afterwards...
...and specialises it to the case of roleplaying games as you see. it's pretty BDSM-like isn't it? sure, that's something I'm currently interested in, I recently read The New [Topping/Bottoming] Books, but it certainly does suggest that analogy strongly for me; I think a general recognition that RPGs should have aftercare would do a lot more for the scene than a lot of the other 'safety tools' like X-cards and so on. (a weaker analogy is the principles of animation: anticipation, action, follow-through.)
this idea of ritual also strongly parallels the definition of 'play' of roger callilois:
1. it is free, or not obligatory 2. it is separate from the routine of life, occupying its own time and space 3. it is uncertain, so that the results of play cannot be pre-determined and the player's initiative is involved 4. it is unproductive in that it creates no wealth, and ends as it begins economically speaking 5. it is governed by rules that suspend ordinary laws and behaviours and that must be followed by players 6. it involves make-believe that may be set against 'real life'.[6]: 100–101
as a set of traits which describe a somewhat fuzzy sphere of activity. meguey's account of 'ritual' focuses more on the set of steps you follow to enter and leave the ritual space, but it is describing, I think, a heavily overlapping 'thing'.
why so explicitly break down a process that most people seem to come by naturally? well, probably for the same reason that kink people do it: the more you play with [emotional] fire, the more care you must exercise to keep it contained. but it is also pretty important, I think, to pursue some degree of ritual for the middle part to actually work. you need to switch mental gears first to get yourself operating in 'game space'. same goes for a number of other 'spaces' for that matter. in RPGs we already have plenty of rituals: getting set up around the table (for offline games), general chitchat beforehand to get us feeling social with the other players, the brief summary of the previous session to mark the transition into RPG mode...
one non-obvious extension that Meguey makes, in the third excerpt above is to the actual text of RPG books, in terms of how they are presented to the reader. I think this is genuinely quite an insight - when you read a book you get into RPG space a bit and imagine playing the game, building up the fantasy of what playing it will entail (c.f. what's the book for, part 3).
though, that said - it is tricky to pursue a strict ritual structure in presentation, I think, because I think RPG books tend to be read very non-linearly. only quite short games tend to get read cover-to-cover in one sitting. otherwise you tend to skip to the part that you need. still: the manner of presentation is very important to an RPG book serving its purposes. and this is a fascinating frame for it.
I'm not sure this essay necessarily gives a new direction (as a designer or a player), but it does give an interesting angle to understand things I was already doing previously, and do them a little more deliberately.
for example, when I make a point of mentioning moments that I enjoyed in the time after an RPG session before we all part ways, that is the 'return/celebration' part of the ritual, and crucially it reassures everyone that even if they were playing an unpleasant character or there was inter-character conflict in the session, it was something I was looking for and appreciated. I do this because there have been times when I've felt a bad kind of bleed, fearing that my character was 'too much' and was detracting from the session, or that a conflict in-character reflected an OOC conflict. having an explicit affirmation helps drive away those fears.
2. rule zero in D&D
this history of 'rule zero' in D&D editions dates all the way back to 2012 (although it seems to have been updated since), but it's still very relevant to my current efforts to understand RPGs, books, and all the weird practices around them, the role of 'rulings' in OSR, etc etc.
right off the bat, I appreciate the nuances that this early paragraph expresses:
The attitude towards rulings vs. rules in the game shows up - directly and explicitly in the rules text - implicitly in the text and detectable via textual analysis - in the surrounding publications considered semi-canonical (Dragon magazine, nowadays forums and designer blogs), and - the culture of gamers surrounding it.
while the rest of the post is still focused on what books say rather than what people did with those books, it's a relief when people note that there is a difference.
so, the essay traces a general evolution of ideas about what role the rules in the book are supposed to follow as D&D moved away from wargaming and passed through the hands of different publishers. how much interpolation and discretion the DM is supposed to apply to the text, how authoritative they're supposed to be at their own table compared to the non-DM players...
it's fascinating to observe how the culture of the game evolved. it's also tricky to distil the different currents down into a brief summary - I tried and realised I was just recapping the article in less detail. luckily the author wrote a summary so I can just quote that:
0e – the referee is an aribiter and fills in the gaps 1e – the DM is large and in charge, the rules are pretty good, your players are at both’s behest B/X and 2e – the DM and players are both important, the rules are super mutable 3e/early 3.5e – the rules and players and DM are leveled out in importance, meaning rulings are minimized and a negotiation with players BECMI/late 3.5e/4e – the rules are pretty fixed and players and DM are equal and subject to the rules as law; RAW is an option OSR and Pathfinder – splitting off in their own directions in reaction to 4e, OSR back to a mix of 0e and B/X flavored attitudes and Pathfinder to a hybrid of 1e/2e/3e attitudes 5e – The DM is clearly in charge and can ignore/change rules and rolls as they deem wise, with the goal of everyone having fun (as opposed to the sometimes-stated 1e goal of “keeping the players in their place”.) It reincorporated a lot of the 1e and 2e thinking into the game to an even greater degree than Pathfinder. PF2e – Effectively back to 3e positioning fairly exactly. It stepped back away from where PF1e and 5e were going and got a little less enthusiastic about GM authority, carefully scoping it to interpretation and, sometimes, changes to make things fun. Maybe a *little* more towards 5e than 3e was, but only by a hair.
anyway, there are a couple of interesting points I want to pull out of the discussion. first is this insightful comment on the broader implications of rules that grant abilities - something to discuss further in a later post...
The problem with [D&D 3.5e's claim that you can try anything and the rules only govern chances of success] from a textual interpretation standpoint is that it’s hard to not interpret the raft of “possibility” options in the 3e branch of D&D as being restriction of options. I can try to throw my opponent in a grapple – until a feat comes out that says “In a grapple, you can now throw your opponent.” Thus despite mitigating statements by the designers, their design itself passively promulgates an approach to the rules as written.
there's also an interesting line about how 'old school' the OSR actually is, answer being that it's complicated.
Some, however, consider this to be a bit of a retcon of how old school gaming actually worked. As you can see from this research, it is and it isn’t – the “rulings vs. rules” concept was very strong especially in B/X and 2e, somewhat less so in 0e/1e, and actively militated against in BECMI. Hackmaster and the Knights of the Dinner Table comic prominently parody the not uncommon rules-adherence mode of play in AD&D. As all nostalgia does, the Quick Primer picks certain elements out of the past to bring back and leaves aside some other elements.
finally, we have this comment about the (then very new) 5th edition approach to framing its rules:
It also appears to take a hint from the OSR’s formulation of “rulings, not rules” as well as the prominent fiction-first modern indie games like Apocalypse World when it describes the basic pattern of play – 1. The DM describes the environment 2. The players describe what they want to do (and the DM decides how to resolve those actions – importantly, the PCs don’t decide what rules they use) 3. The DM narrates the results
...which is somewhat true to my experience of 5e, although I think there is still a fairly significant component of 'I use this ability on my character sheet' in the game (I use this weapon, I cast this spell, I use this special ability). So the players do often decide what rules they want to invoke. Although, that is also true of Apocalypse World - something to go into another day.
mostly I think it's really helpful to have a proper sense of the space of practices represented by D&D, since popular discourse (including the game's rulebooks) way too often seems to assume there is only one way that D&D is played. this is a good stab at exploring some of the dimensions, and will definitely inform whatever is the next investigation I make into the structure of RPGs.
for another angle on D&D history, I came across this old (2016) ENWorld post tracing how Gygax got increasingly proprietary and litigious with D&D, and hostile to people putting their own spins on it.
it seems like for more on this topic of early RPG history I should be taking a look at The Elusive Shift by John Peterson, so posssibly more to come on this subject when I get round to reading that one.
3. blorb
I came across Sandra Snan's website, idiomdrottning.org, which is another one of those classic static-site treasure troves of someone's thoughts on everything for like the last decade.
like me, she came back to playing trad games like D&D after spending a while exploring the storygames milieu. She landed on a set of practices relating to the concreteness of the setting, in explicit opposition to 'no myth'-style games where anything not stated out loud is fair game to be modified for the sake of narrative.
she calls this 'blorb', and as these things tend to, it gets something like a manifesto. many other articles on this site talk about various facets of roleplaying games are written about on the site in relation to this.
'blorb' focuses on the relationship between preparation and improvisation: making a big show of referring to things on paper, and making decisions in the open, to reinforce the sort of metanarrative that there is an underlying reality even if it hasn't fully been discovered yet. it emphasises more granular simulation over abstraction.
since it's a little hard to navigate Sandra's archives, I've gathered the posts that are relevant to the subject here:
the chasm width problem (motivating, raising the issue that few games explicitly address the how of DMing)
blorb principles
realism and blorb (which discusses the other name 'klokkverk' used elsewhere in the milieu, and compares it to 'no myth') + the fictioneers talk about blorb again
radically transparent DM-ing
say the DC
antiblorb
GM-less roleplaying games
a blorb thought
the quest queue
there's probably others but these are the main ones I read
for contrast, no myth, a somewhat overlapping and somewhat very different paradigm of games that broadly sums up the norms of the Forge/'story games' tradition.
to sandra, 'blorb' is a statement of the type of roleplaying she finds vastly more satisfying to operate, and the crucial elements to make that happen.
what I find interesting about blorb is that, since its main interlocutor is the Forge/story-games tradition, it puts a fair bit of discussion into how this affects the fiction in practice. e.g. what you should prepare and what you can still improvise, and how the existence of the 'gloracle' (the combination of prepped materials and dice/rules, and rigour in consulting them) shapes our notion of 'the fiction'.
via this post, vincent baker back in 2012 defined RPGs thus:
To me, the crucial feature that makes a game an RPG is that it works by the (so-called) lumpley primple: in order to play, we have to create fictional stuff and agree that, for gameplay purposes, it's true. This is a pretty technical and inclusive definition. It includes Once Upon a Time and that game where you sit in a circle and pretend that some of you are werewolves, for instance.
something I find very interesting RPGs is the process of 'synchronisation' of the shared fiction. the idea of 'shared fiction' is something of an elaborate illusion. every player has a different version of it, with different emphases, different things that are fresh in memory, different interpretations of the images...
consider verbal descriptions of locations. my sense of what is in a scene will constantly be adjusted based on the stream of description I'm receiving from other players - the 'shared fiction' is at best something we approach asymptotically.
in an extreme example, a DM could lead with an elaborate description of the architecture, decorations, and layout of the room, before wrapping up with 'and curled around the central pillar is a mighty red dragon'. dun dun dun! suddenly, I have to recontextualise everything in the scene I was building in my head to accomodate the presence of the dragon.
the unreliability of this communications channel was a source for a vein of classic D&D humour, such as the Dread Gazebo of yore, where the communication channel breaks down leading to an inconsistency in the 'shared' fiction.
'no myth' and similar ideas come from the recognition that, until something is said out loud and enters part of the shared fiction, it can be changed freely between any possibility consistent with the 'established' facts. sort of like the wave function collapse algorithm. they take the attitude that you should do this deliberately to maximise drama and add complications, taking on more of a writer/director role. this character enters a bar, what should they encounter there? it would be fucked up if they encountered their ex, right? ergo their ex is there.
there is a degree of this in every RPG, not just your high-improv post-Forge story games. in order for some sort of consensus to be reached, parts of it must be black-boxed and unpredictable. for example, if I am inhabiting a character, I have my idea of how they will act and what they're feeling and thinking about, and that's authoritative. but that means for everyone else's characters, I have my impressions and predictions, but they're subject to being updated as soon as that player speaks.
for Sandra, this recognition that everything is getting moved around for drama undermines the substance of the world - an inescapable awareness even if the players take pains to make the established, spoken-out-loud fiction consistent.
so, additional 'authority' is central to the 'blorb' playstyle. that is, in addition to each player's authority to make up stuff within their domain (e.g. what their character does), you make a big point of deferring to some additional authorities such as pre-prepped material and dice (which Sandra calls the 'gloracle'), and making it explicit to the players that you're doing so. for example, you might talk about the random encounter tables you're using and what would change their contents, or declare the DC before every roll.
it's kind of a defensive style of DMing, in that it's entirely designed to forestall any suspicion of 'fudging' behind the scenes. the tradeoff is: more explicit discussion of game mechanics which might detract from the sort of 'atmosphere', but equally a stronger sense of inhabiting an external world where things are 'really' happening 'offscreen'.
to me, the idea of 'fudging' doesn't bother me nearly as much as it seems to bother Sandra, but I think there is some truth to the thought that if everything is subject to random tables or pure off-the-dome improv, the game can start to feel a very homogeneous. as Sandra puts it in one of her articles:
I don’t want to expand randomly as we go either, because if everything is randomly rolled as you go along, where’s the agency? South becomes the same as north becomes the same as west because wherever you go, the dice are furnishing for you, so the choice about where to go matters less.
it's probably got something to do with information theory, right? once you become familiar with the table, and you know when the table will be invoked, you've broadly found out what there is to know about that thing. there are only so many bits of information.
I was saying the other day, games are interesting because they are something to explore through interacting with them to discover all their weird nuances. players are pretty good at sniffing out how complex and varied the underlying system is. a wide set of interesting, spicy locations - and logical relations between them - has more nuances to discover than a random table with, say, 10 entries.
the problem is of course that such a prep-focused playstyle can lead to huge amounts of 'wasted' effort fleshing out elements of the gloracle which may never be activated, especially if players don't spend their time rubbing against your creation in various ways to discover its nuances. Sandra's approach is to work out what's easy to improvise on the fly (the 'wallpaper') and what is crucial to pin down in advance, and largely prepare the latter - the difference, I guess, coming down to experience. we can think of it in programming terms: a small authoritative state and things that can be derived from that.
in my experience, at least some players have become a lot more considerate of the workload of GMing. far from trying to resist 'railroading', they will often generally deliberately try to steer themselves towards whatever location a DM has prepared as a courtesy; meanwhile the GM will be able to get a sense of where the players are planning to go so they can prep between sessions. however, that is contrary to the more 'sandboxy' approach where the core appeal is 'you can do pretty much anything', which is what Sandra is trying to generate I think.
I'm too much of an improv-focused GM to really become a partisan of 'blorb' - for me, discovering improv-oriented story games after D&D was as revelatory as discovering D&D after storygames was for Sandra lol. I trust somewhat in my ability to come up with weird interesting stuff on the fly and flesh it out later, and I tend to find the moment of being in the hotseat of an RPG gets the creative juices flowing like nothing else, so it's actually quite difficult to come up with anything good during prep.
however, I think there is a lot to be said for the value of making at least certain things concrete, and communicating that to the players, and Sandra makes a good case for showing your hand. it's a way to make the shared fantasy take on certain qualities it won't have if it remains purely arbitrary improv, even if the only real functional difference is when you make something up. both because it's hard to keep track of everything in your head without some kind of aid, and because the first idea you come up with will rarely be the richest, most interesting.
so next time i run a game, I'm not going to take such a zero-prep, all-improv approach, but try and work a bit harder on 'overall consistency'.
definitely a provocative blog to encounter...
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School Zone Girls | Family Headcanons | Part 1
Yo so we never see the parents and usually not the siblings of the characters. Which suck but also it means I'm free to come up with whatever interpretations of them that I want *rubs hands together mischievously* >:)
Anyway I reread this manga recently so here's headcanons about what their family's are like, I hyperfocus wrote all these down in one night without editing them, some of these I came up with when I read it originally and some I came up with today, so yeah here's a bunch of food for the starving fandom
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Rei Yokoe
-so it's confirmed that she has an older brother and it specifically says she's living with him. Plus lives in a small apartment and only calls out for him in this scenes which leads me to believe that she's only living with him
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/a2e3da2e7cdd7454c851eadb4f56dee2/8a88c0a66f661db5-98/s500x750/d53e3a5b9f53bfeaa34ac2e02f90c01ae94b8d56.jpg)
-i can just smell the mommy issues on her I don't know what to tell you.
-An obsessive attachment to a woman and has rejection sensitivity, sounds like mommy issue behaviour to me
-i think probably neglectful mother considering her want for attention from Kei and wanting to be around a person constantly
-i also just get the vibe that she only ever had one parent in the picture, so maybe her mom just got pregnant or whatever with no real relationship idk, either way no dad or anything
-her mom was never particularly attentive and was always quite flaky, went out a lot, did whatever she wanted to enjoy herself. gave her and her brother a lot of independence but not much attention. When they asked for things or showed her stuff she didn't really process it much most of the time
-But the few times she did give them attention she was overly affectionate and acted like nothing happened
-her mom also never really put pressure about doing good in school or anything obviously so that's why Rei doesn't have that at all
-once her older brother was legally an adult/able to live on his own she decided to fuck off and leave the two of them living there on their own. She pays them money to keep them sustained here and there maybe visits once in a blue moon but other than that she's not around
-she's a strange lady
-however Rei has a very good relationship with her brother because of all this.
-They argue at times of course but only in that lighthearted sibling way. They've always had the tendency to play fun games or do silly shit together
-i have a headcanon that her brother is just as weird and goofy as Rei but unlike her he's better at masking it in public or around people he's not close to
-Her brother unfortunately has to work a lot to sustain them both, leaving her alone often but he tries his best to not be like their mom and find time whenever he can to spend time with her
-I think Rei would try to talk about her mom's neglect like it's not a big deal but she's really torn about it on the inside and she doesn't hide it that well. Most of the time she just tries not to think about it.
-it would be fun to write a fic where her mom comes back to visit and Rei's in a weird mood about it which Kei notices.
Kei Suguira
-I think Kei hates doing school work and shit just as much as Rei but the difference is that her parents put pressure on her to be good at it
-i get the vibe that both her mom and dad would be serious people that put focus on having a successful career and the typical family and that kind of thing. They're social norm and rule followers y'know
-i don't think they would be as harsh as other parents and they certainly care very much about their kids and can say that but they try to nudge their kids in a certain direction. As long as Kei has doing her work she can have all the fun she wants outside of that
-both her parents are quite similar to each other and hold pretty stereotypical family roles
-Also I headcanon her parents are homophobic at least somewhat and have brought it up. Because Kei has to be getting her internalised homophobia from somewhere and it doesn't seem to be from her peers or her sister which leads me to guess her parents are
-speaking of her sister, we see her in the manga so I don't have to make up too much about her
-they argue way more than Rei and her sibling. Kei's sister making fun of her a lot is the reason Kei is so competitive and embarrassed easily. she's used to getting mad at her sister a lot so used to defending herself and being hotheaded
-her sister her teases her, she gets mad at her, but at the end of the day if the other really was going through something they would have each other's back. They've got a "only I can shit talk her!" type of dynamic
-I think Kei feels kind of nuetral about her parents, she loves them but doesn't feel close to them or like she could open up in a serious way
-her parents think Rei is really fucking weird and wonder if she's a bad influence but unless they found any major effects or about the gay shit I don't think they would make a big deal about it
Yatsude Negoro
-i think she has a pretty good relationship with her parents
-i feel like neither of them are particularly affectionate. Which certainly isn't from a lack of love, I think they both love their daughter very much they just don't show it in a stereotypical way
-the family love language is acts of service and giving each other advice
-her parents are quite similar to her so they all just kind of understand each other very well
-i think both of them are pretty career driven
-i think one of her parents is tends to be a bit nosey into her life which is where Yatsude gets it from and the other isn't and gives her a lot of space
-i could maybe see her parents being a same sex couple? But also maybe not? Idk either way I do kinda of imagine her having a dad that she has a good relationship with though. Maybe he's the one who's nosey.
-Yatsude says she doesn't have any siblings but she also says this line about little shits.
-I'm guessing that means maybe she has a lot of younger cousins. I headcanon that at family gatherings she always tasked with being the babysitter which is why she's got those mother instincts with her friends
The Hinase Twins
-so they mentioned their mom 3 times in their flashback thing and theres also that picture of them with their awards where they're with I'm assuming the mom
-never mentioned a dad or anything else
-considering that and that their mom probably pushes both of them (or at least with Hiragi at first) to do well in school and extraciruclar activities and the extremely codependent relationship the twins had from a very young age leads me to headcanon that maybe their dad died when they were very young. Like a bit before even the oldest flashback we see of them
-its a very bold claim that's likely not true but it would explain their codependcy, Hiragi's early on sense of responsibility towards Tsubaki and Tsubaki's immediate willingness to lean on that. Maybe their mom prompted them to do well at school or other stuff because she was worried about their future because of that loss or it was a way of honouring him. Maybe their dad was a fairly responsible or serious person
-their dad could have dipped too? That would also explain these things.
-anyway as for their mom, I do think she has overall had a focus on them being very successful, way more than Kei's parents. But I do think she is a fairly affectionate person and is willing to help them do the best they can in anyway they need
-probably works a lot
-doesn't push either of them to makeup if they don't want to, advices them individually when she has the time which isn't often
-pressures them but like in a nice way. And then the rest of the time she's busy
-Hiragi thinks her mom's niceness is fake but does appreciate when she helps
-Tsubaki thinks her mom's niceness is genuine but doesn't appreciate when she helps
-both of them resent their mother for a lack of care and feel the strong need to constantly impress her. They both wish she was more loving but neither of them complain about it out loud. Instead both of them just seek alternate authority figures to lean on (Hiragi through Akutami & Tsubaki through Yatsude)
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Link to Part 2
#school zone girls#school zone girls manga#school zone girls headcanons#szg#rei yokoe#kei suguira#yatsude negoro#tsubaki hinase#hiragi hinase
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Daminette Fic Recs Part 2
Here is the second part to the Daminette Fic Recs!
Link to Part 1
Updated 11/2/24
Look What You Made Me Do by Kiatana6 *Unfinished*
~The class goes to Gotham for an exchange program(because that's how Daminette stories go) Damian sees Marinette closing herself off and it reminds him of how he used to be. ~
The String That Binds Us by FaithAndATypeWriter *Unfinished*
~The string that connects the hearts of two soulmates is a powerful thing. It brings people together to form a bond that can outlast strife, overcome adversity, and forge lifelong partnerships.
As Marinette finds out, it can also be a pushy annoyance that will drag a person all around a crowded business building.~
An Email Away by LovelyLore *Unfinished*
~Marinette had been startled to find out that her school and a school in America were collaborating to do a pen pal assignment. To be fair, the assignment was suppose to help the students with the grammar of the language they were learning. Marinette pulled a random name out of the box. She hoped Damian wrote good French and that she could write well enough English.~
Moth, Bats, Cat and Bug by Tineabean *Unfinished*
~Marinette Todd Dupain-Chang hasn't had the easiest life, and she'll be the first to admit it. While she was planning to return to her home town one day, she didn't think it'd be when Hawkmoth was still at large. Unable to pass up the opportunity and ignore the pull she feels, she finds herself once again in the home of the famed BatFam™~
Beyond Miraculous: A New Adventure in Gotham by AlyceSaysNo *Unfinished*
~After the defeat of Hawkmoth and the retirement of her partner, Marinette has been adrift. She can't seem to get excited about what she used to, can't settle into the quiet humdrum of civilian life. Sure, she's has taken over guardianship of the Miraculous, graduated high school, and moved on to a nice apprenticeship. She's moved on from the drama and heartbreak of lycee and from being Ladybug.~
Warmth by FridayFirefly *Finished*
~When Damian wakes up with a stranger in his bed, he knows that there is only one possible explanation: that stranger is his Soulmate.~
Travels of Passion by StarShine583 *Finished*
~When people as famous as the Waynes come to visit your city, the most you'd expect to get from them is a quick little smile. A hand shake if you're in the right place at the right time and extremely lucky. Marinette didn't really expect to get either, and she certainly didn't expect to get what she actually got.~
Organized Mess by withluvsan (lostlovelis) *Finished*
~Marinette ran away from her past as Ladybug. After Hawkmoth's defeat, she had nothing left to treasure in Paris, so when she received a scholarship capable of score her not one but two majors in some random city of the States, she didn't think twice.~
Purrinette by Rierse *Finished*
~Marinette gets stuck as a cat in Gotham and ‘adopted’ by Damian Wayne where she slowly starts to fall for the green-eyed vigilante.~
Soul-Stitching: The Heir and the Guardian by ggomoz (ggomo_springtime) *Finished*
~Step 1: Be accused of terrorizing Paris with magical butterflies Step 2: Watch Paris fall into chaos Step 3: Watch the Justice League fall into chaos Step 4: Attend court trial and-
have Adrien Agreste as your defense attorney?!~
When a liar gets you left behind by SentiWayne *Unfinished*
~Despite the fact that many things had changed in her class, Marinette was content-she wasn't happy, but she was not sad or negative towards what had happened between some of her classmates and herself.~
I Need A (Girlfriend) Hero! by LilaVaporizer9000 *Unfinished*
~Daminette as told through equally socially unaware messes, general misunderstandings of each other's skill and experience, and a total lack of awareness as to how many flowers are too many flowers.~
Broken Harmony by Dessarious *Finished*
~One in five people in the world have a Soulmate. Damian Wayne was unfortunately one of them. When he was in the League, it was a problem because his mother found out about it. Even though his Soulmate's song in his head was the one good thing in his life, it was still a weakness to be used against him. Once he went to live with his father, it was the same. He was perfectly content to stay away from them in order to keep both of them safe. At least he was until their song changed.~
Be My First, Be My Last, Be My Everything by Intercoursefluids *Unfinished*
~“Such lovely hair… Oh, right I am being so rude, not introducing myself. I am Talia Al Ghul, I am the one who hired those men to bring you here. They were only supposed to bring one of you though. They were so incompetent, unable to take the simplest orders. They had to die before they ruined my plans.”~
Alfred's Appreciation Party by StarWarsMum *Finished*
~The bat boys decide Alfred deserves to know how much they appreciate him and are throwing a party. Fluff ensues when Damian contacts an internet famous baker that Alfred likes and convinces her to come and cater the desserts for the party.~
love is embarrassing by ademonandhisangel (WithLovePoohBear), WithLovePoohBear *Finished*
~After Damian Wayne unintentionally fabricates having a girlfriend to his family, he finds himself in a desperate need to make his lie a reality, and quickly.
In steps Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the enigmatic new student whose intelligence and social standing appear promising.~
Pinocchio (Or Demon Spawn Becomes a Real Boy) by Mentally12ReadingPJO *Unfinished*
~Damian's brothers are curious: the demon seems to be acting like a real boy. It was subtle at first, but it became increasingly obvious when he called someone they caught "sus". It was even less subtle when they found him scrolling on his phone in a blanket at 2 am and whispered "ding" while flicking his wrist. Needless to say they were concerned.~
Watch The Eyes by finallyaniguana *Unfinished*
~A soulmate au between two superheroes across the atlantic. ones a very angry boy with a history of assassins and the other is the embodiment of sunshine with a history of baking. they make it work, but first they gotta find each other.~
Every Morning as I Wake by StripedSunhat *Finished*
~Featuring the Batfam in all it’s insanity glory, Ladybug and Chat Noir in all their insanity power, Bad parenting, worse parenting, Chat Noir actually being returned to being Ladybug’s partner, ninjas, abysmal life decisions, a trolling author and kicking Hawkmoth in the butterflies.~
The Sun Who Lit Up The Night Sky by FandomQueen10325, leaping_lizard_babe *Finished*
~4 months after the defeat of Hawkmoth, the akuma class wins a trip to Gotham. While they are there, Marinette keeps attracting bad luck, and can never seem to stay out of trouble. The Batfam is very interested when they learn about what had happened in Paris, so they question ladybug. Marinette manages to worm her way into the hearts of the whole Wayne family ~
the things that keep you from falling apart by apileofashandember *Unfinished*
~Ra's al Ghul should have been more careful when using the Miraculous to create the Lazarus Pits.~
Ménage(rie) à Deux by dontyoublink *Unfinished*
~A potential ally appears in Gotham just in time to help the Batfamily face down a formidable enemy. What Robin finds confusing is that she's wearing a different costume each time he runs into her. Where is she getting all of them? Why are they all animal themed? And most importantly, when did he start looking forward to seeing her on patrol?~
Fate Goes Both Ways by My Old Works (TheFairMaidenofFandom) *Finished*
~Marinette has been left behind by her classmates. By Lila. When a family friend offers her an opportunity, she just can't say no. Now she's in Gotham, alone, with a dead cell phone. Maybe she'll meet a new friend. Or something more?~
Sielvartas by sunshine_and_symphonies *Finished*
~The Lithuanian term "Sielvartas" can only be described as "soul tumbling", caused by grief and resentment. After Marinette bolted from the classroom, her friends and family know that something within the girl has irrevocably changed. Trapped in the most volatile city of the world, where emotions make you a terrorist's puppet, how is one supposed to grieve?~
Accidental Union by That0neGuy *Unfinished*
~An accidental spell that binds the 2 souls of Damian Wayne and one Marinette Dupain-Cheng, how will the 2 navigate this new world and how will their presence in each other life's change them.~
Cat and Mouse by Nory_Gail *Unfinished*
~Marinette has started a new chapter in Gotham. She's on a mission and she won't let one of Batman's little birds prevent her from reaching her goal.~
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Hello GT, I absolutely love Lionheart!
I published my first fic and have been dealing with some criticism; it’s not anythjng super hateful, but it’s not anything meant to make me improve either. I’ve been feeling sort of down because of it. My question is: have you ever dealt with hate or criticism before? What is your attitude towards it?
I find your work and answers on here super insightful and inspiring! I hope you have a nice day ❤️
Fuck em. Like, seriously, just fuck em. There's a time and place for writers to take critique and be strict with themselves; it's necessary for any artist to grow. That place is with a chosen group of creatives whose work you admire and whose judgment you trust. A rando on the Internet, while they may in fact be the next Marcel Proust, probably isn't. And I was raised to believe that while it's appropriate and kind to pay compliments to strangers when they're performing — just as you'd smile at a busker on the sidewalk, and or compliment a chalk artist — it's not appropriate to criticize them when what they do isn't to your tastes. They're providing you with their art for free. No one forced you to read it; no one forced you to listen. If you don't like it, it costs $0 to shut the fuck up.
Also — that thing I said about artists taking critique? That assumes that you're doing this out of a desire to improve your writing, which, while noble, is not actually a thing you need to do if you're a hobby writer. I like trying to improve; it makes me feel good. But at the end of the day, I do this for fun. I do this because in my real job, I am ruthless and self-critical and try really fucking hard to do well, and you need parts of your life that Aren't Like that. You need parts of your life where you're not worrying about whether you're Doing It Right. And living without that anxiety of critique is, paradoxically, the only way you'll find the artistic courage to take risks and develop new skills. Everyone is a little bit rough around the edges to begin with. (Not saying you're a beginner — you merely said "publish," and I certainly wrote a lot of things before I started publishing! But every artist is always trying to develop new skills and techniques; in the grand scope of things, we're all beginners.) Giving someone blunt critique when they're in the beginning phases of their journey as an artist is about as helpful as screaming at your six-year-old kid because he can't swim the butterfly.
And the thing is, these people will bluster and say "well, I'm just being honest, I'm just trying to be helpful," but like: mmmmmmno, you're not! You're not. And it's disingenuous to say so. Because if you were actually trying to be helpful, you would introduce yourself, offer your skills as an editor/beta reader, and start building the relationship of trust that grounds any meaningful co-creative partnership. People do not just accept random critique that comes flying at them from the blue nowhere. And issuing it in that form is the best way to make them hostile, defensive, and unreceptive to it. Delivering harsh feedback without a context of care and support is almost sure to fail as a method of actually changing behavior, and either (1) you know that, and are doing it anyway — presumably because you want people to know how Terribly Clever and Better At Writing you are, or (2) you sincerely have never thought about the effect that context and word choice have on how other people receive your meaning.
Which tells me you are the last fucking person on the planet I want writing advice from.
#basically: fuck them and fuck anyone who doesn't come to you with kindness when they're offering critique#i don't care if they're a nobel prizewinner. no one is above offering kindness#and if someone thinks they're above giving kindness then you should view them with derision and pity#imagine being so sad you spend your free time shitting on other people's art.#like you're not a critic. you're not the new york times book review buddy.#you read something that someone put their whole heart and joy and free time into#and then held out in their hands eagerly to share with you. because they thought you might like it.#and you sneered at them.#Anon I think you should keep writing forever. I think that the merest sentence you have ever written#is worth more than anything that the authors of your criticism could conceive#and it's you. it's you! if it brings you joy then it's fulfilled its purpose#people mean more than art. you mean more than art. your satisfaction is the object of making it#and finally THANK YOU so much for your very kind words.#they mean a tremendous amount and i am grateful for them.
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Honestly, as someone who's mostly a Roseknightshipper, it's been a lot of fun to go through your stories and discover your decision to make Sherry the Shounen Homoerotic Tension Rival. Obviously it's a pipe dream for it to actually happen, since Faithshipping has been locked in since chapter 1, but I can nonetheless get a lot of enjoyment out of Sherry testing the limits of Aki's sexuality.
Weirdly, I find your writing of their dynamic a lot more appealing than a lot of actual Roseknight fics, since it plays on an aspect that they tend to skate over: that is to say, Sherry isn't a very good person. She's not evil, per se, and certainly nowhere near as bad as Divine, but compared to Yusei, she represents a much more dangerous option, while Yusei comes off as the safe boyfriend you could bring to meet your parents (which is deeply funny for a guy with a well-earned criminal record).
As you write her, Sherry plays into all of Aki's worst instincts and attitudes, but unlike Divine, she's not doing it for selfish reasons (at least, not entirely). She wants Aki to fuck shit up, not for the sake of using her as a tool, but because she genuinely thinks Aki is at her best when she's in fuck-shit-up mode. And unlike Divine, she actually has a point--Aki trying to outright bury that part of her is indeed unhealthy, even if Sherry's solution is hardly the correct one. At the same time, this means she has the capacity to take Aki's own jabs at her seriously, because despite it all, she does seem to have a real fondness for her.
Point being, it's a neat dynamic, and I'm interested in seeing where it goes.
Considering the faithshipping endgame in my fics is, as you said, telegraphed from miles away, I find it hilarious but also genuinely flattering that Aki and Sherry's dynamic is still compelling enough to appeal to Roseknight shippers. Because yeah, I did purposefully write Sherry as ye olde shonen rival who's a bit too up in Aki's business and a bit too close and personal not to send mixed signals. (And honestly I have a lot of fun doing it. The weird sexual tension is hilarious to write.)
And Sherry certainly isn't a great person, no! But that's part of what makes her so interesting to me. Sherry may be valiant and dashing, but while her motivations are certainly understandable... they're also selfish, to be honest. Like yes, Iliaster is evil (mostly). But Sherry isn't fighting them because they're evil, she's fighting them because they took something away from her. And the second they promise to give it back, she chooses to switch sides. Because ultimately, she's not in this for the world or for the Greater Good or for justice, she's in it for herself. Which makes her very interesting and me very sad that she wasn't written better. Sherry being the dangerous option VS Yusei being the boyfriend you can show off to your parents made me chuckle, ngl. (Also, not inaccurate, as ironic as that is.)
And your description of Sherry's motivations is pretty much spot on for what I had in mind when I wrote her for my adjusted canon. Her "guidance" for Aki isn't coming from a place of malice, but Sherry has a skewed view of the world, so her solutions are also skewed accordingly. What she thinks is good VS what would actually be good are two different things, even if she'snot wholly wrong to tell Aki not to put herself in a muzzle. But yes, the fondness is real and I love playing with the back and forth between these two biting each other, then going back to trading genuine wisdom and life advice. Mixed signals galore.
Thank you very much! I hope you'll enjoy the future encounters these two will get in my stories. The resolution is already planned out, I just gotta get to writing it, haha.
#yugioh 5ds#aki izayoi#akiza izinski#sherry leblanc#ask the orchid#tbh the fact that my fics read well to someone who's a fan of a completely different ship even though that ship is unlikely in my canon#is a huge compliment to me#feels like I'm doing something right with the characters#so thank you!#orchid rambles
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yo could you write like reader x ice king x magic betty
like i did like the reader being frozen before the mushroom war you did in one of the ice king x reader posts. so they know simon and they use that to help betty to get used to ice king and betty falls in love with over a date all three of them have. so like ice king now has two girlfriends and he’s so happy like doing happy dances flying around giggling making ice sculptures of reader and betty as gifts.
OKAY I REALLY LIKE THIS!!! 1: its cute 2: i was trying to figure out what to do with betty in this au 3: ice king deserves two girlfriends!!
as i wrote this it ended up more like.... how it started vs actual dating so feel free to ask for more :3
Ice King and Betty (Adventure Time)
At first, you were all for Betty trying to find a way to reverse the crown's magic. As much as you grew to love the Ice King, there was a nagging part of you that felt... wrong about it. Simon was in there somewhere- he certainly proved he was when he was back long enough to bring Betty into the future.
But Betty just... kept getting worse. Obsessed. Insane. It got the point where she actually ended up hurting him by trying to rewrite the crown, on top of kidnapping poor Gunther. You had to do something.
You caught her in Ice King's "the past" room one night, after Gunther woke you up. She was going through Simon's old things to try and find any clues. She almost ran when you found her, but you convinced her to stay. To hear you out.
"Betty... I know we weren't close back in the day, but you know I cared about Simon too- we were good friends. But..." you felt yourself get choked up. The only person who understood was Marceline, and that wasn't something you felt was appropriate to bring up with her. You didn't know her as well as you did Betty.
"But right now, he isn't here- you're hurting him, Betty," you pleaded, voice cracking. Her angry stare weakened, brows creasing in concern. You crossed your arms, pulling the blanket around you tighter.
"Messing with the crown like that- he was jerking around and his contorting and slamming into walls-! Do you want to do that to Simon?" Her shoulders fell, and her gaze dropped to the picture of them that she was holding. You could see her lip wobble. Slowly, you made your way over to her.
"But there has to be a way to get him back," she whispered like she needed to hear that there was. Almost like a child's wishful thinking. You wrapped your arms around her, hugging her tight. She returned it full force, burying her face into your shoulder with a harsh sob.
"If there is, this isn't the way... And you know that." Your own tears fell. Both of you mourned the man you knew, something you've done a few times since your revelation. You sunk to the ground with her, not hearing little feet plapping away from the door.
"And... Ice King's a good guy," you sniffed after a long cry, voice hoarse. Betty cleared her throat, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose. She looked at you skeptically. You smiled weakly in response.
"He really is. He's funny, he's sweet- sure sometimes he has bad days but... he's the nicest guy I've ever been with. I think you'd like him, if... if you'd stop looking at him as just Simon". You held her hands, silently pleading she'd at least agree to leave him alone- to stop experimenting on him.
"... I am?" You both jumped, whipping around to see a bed-raggled Ice King holding a sleepy penguin. He was looking at you with wide eyes, clearly surprised to hear such nice words from you. You sighed, getting up and helping Betty stand. You nodded toward him, and then he smirked.
"Well, I mean... duh! You'd never date anyone as rad as me! Plus, being with a king as his perks, huh, baby?" he winked. He shooed Gunther off to bed as you shook your head. You heard Betty sniff, and your smile fell.
"Hey, what's the weird lady d-?" "Uh.... Ice King, sweetie, could... you do me a big favor? I know you're tired but... I'd appreciate it." At your pet name, he visibly perked up. You felt a little bad knowing that he'd do anything you asked if you asked it like that, but you needed him right now. Of course, he said yeah.
"Could you make that little platform and take us flying? I can't sleep and... neither can Betty." You squeezed her hand. Ice King was delighted that you wanted him to do something like that- he was always happy to be useful. He motioned for you to follow him to the exit, where he made the platform for you to get on. Betty opted to fly next to you both instead.
"I know just the place, baby and lady! Stars get REAL pretty around here this time'a year!" He flew you away from the Ice Kingdom and past Finn and Jake's treehouse. Up to another mountain range nearby where the tip pierced the clouds. He was right- the stars were beautiful.
He kept the ice platform floating in mid air, sitting next to you. Betty hesitated, but at the nod of your head she plopped herself on Ice King's other side. You leaned against him, and he was surprised when Betty did the same. Ice King didn't even flinch at the extra attention, more than happy to just have people with him.
As you three watched the stars, you heard Betty crying softly again. You both looked over, but she was staring straight ahead.
"I think I'm willing to try... to get to know him," was all she could get out without fully breaking into sobs. Ice King hesitated, before putting his hand on her upper back. You reached across his lap to grab her hand.
"That's all I'm asking, Betty." Ice King blinked, confused, before putting two and two together. A grin crossed his face.
"Hey, and I'm a great guy to know- especially if you're bored! Watch THIS!" He snapped his fingers, zapping small statues into the ice in front of you. A tiny you and a tiny Betty in the style of music box ballerinas. They held hands, skating together across a small section of the platform. You saw Betty smile.
"Yeah... maybe you are."
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