#is this maybe because after one post I wrote a whole backstory for them?

[aheathen-conceivably]

“Word to the wise, my dear. Never fall in love with a woman who sells herself. It always ends…badly” 🎶

(Extended screens from this post on Pillowfort here *Content Warning: NSFW*)

[ynstark]

His Angel - (Part One)

Title: His Angel (Part One)

Characters/Pairings: Post!Endgame!Steve Rogers x Female!Adoptive!Stark!Virgin!Reader

Summary: You confide in Steve that you're a virgin. He's honesty shocked, but maybe he can be you first and hopefully you last.

Reader is in her 20s and Steve is in his mid 30s.

Minors DNI! Please and thank you!

Contents/Warnings: explicit smut, use of the nickname Angel a lot, mentions of death, talks of a toxic father, kissing, vaginal fingering, oral (female receiving), dirty talk, hint of a praise kink, talks of intercourse, talks of sex!toy use, angst, aftercare, Steve has a little bit of an ego, it's tiny, hopefully I listed them all, If I didn't let me know!

Author's Note: Ummm Hi, so I wrote my first fanfic. I've been studying the dark arts for a while and decided to take a crack at it. I don't know the word count, it came out ridiculously long. I just wrote whatever came to my head. Takes place a year after Tony's Memorial. This is a one time thing and won't happen again because I don't think I could write something like this ever again. Edit: Well, I started writing a prequel which takes place right after Tony's Memorial. So 20 likes and I'll drop that, but this is not happening again. Edit, Edit: This is now going to be pt 1 and there will be a pt 2 on top of the prequel. I didn't mean to write a lot of backstory, but it happened. If you squint, Steve is a soft!dom. I didn't grammar check so I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors. Do not repost my work anywhere. Likes and reblogs are welcomed and appreciated. Peace and love, enjoy. 🤍

Tonight was the night, you're going to loose your virginity to Steve Rogers. Everyone was on a mission for the past few days except for you and Steve, which left the whole compound to yourselves. You had confided in Steve one night that you were still a virgin, which came as a total shock to him. You were a fireball with confidence cascading out of you like water. Any man would be lucky to have you, but he also remembered your past and how your own father had treated you, which is why Tony adopted you after the snap.

Tony and your father worked together for years, but Tony knew the truth. You always had to convince him not to intervene for the sack of your mother, but then the snap happened and your mother was one of its victims. Tony had a good case for custody. He wasn't going to leave you in the care of your father and stand by and watch. Natasha also became a mother figure to you. Visiting you when she could and training you, which led to you going on missions. Tony didn't love that, but he knew you enjoyed going on them and you were a good asset to the team. You got to be a big sister to Morgan and Tony got to experience what it was like to have a grown up daughter and a new born at the same time, which he was grateful for before he died.

Tony left a letter for Steve asking him to take care of you. He knew you were a capable woman and that you could take care of yourself, but with him and Natasha gone, he knew you would drown emotionally. At least Tony could leave you in peace knowing you had Steve to lean on. After the memorial, Steve would check in on you. He would call you, visit you at your apartment or you would go to his. He would make sure you went to therapy, asked if you had visited Pepper and Morgan, or that you were taking care of yourself. You two grew close. The compound was finally rebuilt, which you and the rest of the avengers were grateful for. It was nice to be living with each other again. Steve started to call you Angel. He saw how your eyes had a little twinkle in them when he called you that. Bucky and Sam teased him about it. They could tell that Steve was falling for you the more he got to know you. Steve knew this isn't what Tony meant when he asked him to "take care of you", but Steve knew he couldn't ignore what he was feeling. He just didn't want to cross a line if you weren't ready. The problem was, he couldn't tell if you were.

Even though you knew that not all men were bad, especially being close to all the men in the avengers, your own father really set the example that you couldn't trust them, or tell if they had good intentions with you. The conversation with Steve took place one night when Steve decided to cook dinner for the two of you at the compound. Steve asked for your assistance in the kitchen, he really has no idea what he's doing. You sat on the counter giving him pointers and watching him to make sure he didn't burn anything.

"So, you're a virgin?" Steve asked, his curiosity fully peaked as he worked over the stove.

"Yup, unless you count using a dildo, but otherwise, no, I have not had the full experience."

"Never had someone go down on you?" You shake your head no to his question.

"Fingered you?"

"N.O. Rogers."

"Your first kiss?" He was definitely prying now.

"No." You could feel the loneliness set in you again.

"Pretty pathetic huh?" You looked down at your feet. Steve turned towards you, an empathetic look in his eyes, he could sense your mood had shifted.

"Hey, known of that, you're not pathetic. I've only slept with one person, and well, kissed Natasha."

"You kissed Natasha!" You asked surprised at his new confession.

"It was one time and she kissed me! It was so we didn't blow our cover. I'm surprised she never told you about it." Steve went back to stirring the pasta.

"Well she probably didn't want that image tattooed in my brain, it's also more believable that she kissed you." You snickered.

"Ha ha, very funny." he responded, you laughed again, making Steve get a little defensive. "Hey! I have game!"

"Really! I would love to see it in action Rogers."

"Well maybe I can try it out on you." Steve wanted a hole to open up and swallow him whole, he couldn't believe he actually said that out loud to you. Before he had time to retract his statement, you responded with, "Hmm, maybe." Steve paused to look over at you, he could sense no discomfort from you, you were actually serious.

"I'm sorry, did I hear a "maybe" Angel?" Steve stopped what he was doing to give you his full undivided attention. You sat there with that confidence he loved so much radiating off of you. You wanted him to actually try. Steve turned the stove off and slowly approached you. He knew he had to be careful with you. He couldn't just take you right here in the kitchen, even though he'd love to see you fall apart for him on his cock bent over the kitchen counter. "Control yourself Rogers." He thought to himself. Steve didn't want to trigger you. Once he was in front of you, you slightly spread your legs so he could stand in between them. You bit your bottom lip in anticipation and boy did Steve get hard once he saw your bottom lip disappear between your teeth.

"Can I touch you Angel?" He asked gently, you nodded. A tiny please slipped out from your lips. Steve chuckled a little. Guess he had that effect on you. He started with his hands on your thighs working their way up to your hips and then settling them on your bum. He gave it a little squeeze and you jumped at his motion, but not in a scared way, more of a "Please continue. I like what you're doing" way. Your hands travel up to fold behind his neck as Steve pulls you closer, you could feel his erection against you.

"So that's what that feels like." Steve couldn't help but burst out laughing at your statement, throwing his head back. You joined in on his laughter.

"Yes Angel, that is what an erection feels like." He responded still laughing.

"I did that to you?!" Your complete oblivion of a man's reaction to you made Steve want you more.

"Shit I didn't know we were that powerful." You continued, Steve thought, "If this woman only knew what power she has over me."

"Very powerful, if you told me to sacrifice myself, I'd do it in a heartbeat." Steve had the biggest dopey smile on his face as you laughed at his response. Once both of your laughter settled down, the reality set back in. Questions started to swirl in your head. Were you really ready to go through with this and let Steve have unconditionally access to you in the most intimate way possible? Could you get out of your head and let a man shower you in an abundance of love that you had never experienced before? You were brought out of your swirling when Steve got your attention by asking his own question.

"Angel, can I kiss you?" Steve asked, trying not to freak you out, but he could see the tiny panic in your eyes already, he starts to pull back, but you grab his arms.

"I need five minutes, I'll meet you in your room, I just need to get myself together. Can I have five minutes?" you asked quickly.

"You can have all the time in the world." He laughed, "What about dinner?" His eyes wonder over to the unfinished pasta in the pot.

"Screw dinner, you're about to screw me!" You jump off the counter and out of his arms, Steve couldn't help but smile. You're racing out of the kitchen when you turn around to tell him again, "Five minutes, okay?"

"Five minutes Angel, I'll be there." You leave him in the kitchen to clean up the dinner that never happened, racing to your room, and locking the door behind you. You take a few deep breaths. Tonight is the night, you're going to loose your virginity to Steve Rogers. You quickly change into a pair of comfy clothes, deciding to forgo your under garments. What's the point when Steve was going to rip you out of them anyway. You fixed your hair to have some form of sex-appeal. Quickly shaved and moisturized. You looked in the mirror, you did what you could on short notice, if anything you looked cute instead of sexy. Still looking in the mirror, you hyped yourself up. "You got this, Steve would never hurt you." You walked out of your room and headed to Steve's. It's more comfortable for you to go to his room than to let him into yours. You never had a man in your room except for Sam or Bucky when they stole your snacks now and then.

Steve patiently waits for you, sitting on his bed when he hears your tiny knock. Eyes glimmering with adoration when he opens his door and sees you. Even though you changed into a t-shirt and shorts, he still thought you were absolutely beautiful, breathtaking.

He closes the door behind you, he can see your mind whirling, you become timid. He knows this is new territory for you, he has to be, no, wants to be gentle with you. He's going to treat you like a porcelain doll the first time around. Even though you could kill someone just by looking at them, but here you are, choosing to be the most vulnerable and intimate with him.

"We don't have to do this tonight Angel, could just cuddle and watch a movie." He watches as you ponder on the alternative.

"No, I want to try, I trust you Steve." He saw the trust in your eyes, you were ready to give him complete access to you.

Steve nods and approaches you, slowly, putting his hands on your waist. You melt into his touch bringing your own hands against his chest. He kisses your forehead as you breathe out a sigh of relief. He pulls away just enough to cup your chin so you can look up at him.

"At any moment you feel uncomfortable, you tell me to stop, okay?" You nod.

"Words Angel." You look up at him again, giving him a quiet "Okay."

Steve looks into your eyes one more time to make sure you were really okay with this. Once he saw no changes in your mood, he proceeds to lean down.

"Let's try this again, can I kiss you Angel?" You respond with a quiet yes. Steve kisses you softly and gently. You melt into his lips. He pulls you closer against him, moving one hand to cradle the back of your head.

Your hands moved down to the hem of his shirt, giving him the signal you wanted him to take it off. In one swift motion his shirt was off and his hands back on you in an instant. He starts to slowly push you back until you land on his bed. He crawls on top of you, making sure to not apply his entire weight on you and plants a short kiss on your lips.

"Can I take this off?" He asked, slightly tugging at your shirt.

"Yes." You respond as he helps you sit up, slowly peeling off the material from your body. Your nipples instantly pebble once the cool air hits them. Steve's eyes gleam, he then looks back at you, leaning forward and whispers against your lips, "Absolutely beautiful, Angel."

He kisses you again, laying you down his bed once more. All you could do was smile. He comes back up and motions to your shorts, "And these? Can they come off too?" You nod with a smile and respond with a yes. He slowly rolls them down your legs leaving quick kisses on your thigh. Soft whimpers leave your mouth. Your left completely bare to him.

"No panties Angel? And here I thought you were a good girl." Steve smirked down at you. He takes in your bare form, his Angel, his beautiful virgin angel, ready for him to claim. He slowly positioned himself between your legs, hands gripping your thighs as his face comes face to face with your most intimate part. You feel his warm breath against you and you let out a little cry. "No reason to keep quiet Angel, there's no one here to hear you but me, be as loud as you want." Steve didn't mean to drag this out, but he knew he couldn't rush into this. He doesn't want to break the trust you granted him.

"Angel you're dripping, gonna touch you okay? Gonna make you feel good." He waits for your yes, moving one of his hands to your clit, his thumb making small circles on your little bud. "Stevie." You moan out. You felt your heart flutter, no one has ever touched you like this, let alone seen you like this. You prop yourself on your elbows to watch him.

"Think you can take one of my fingers?" He asks, you nod eagerly. He slowly enters his middle finger into your needy hole. His finger was definitely bigger than yours, but not big enough like one of you dildos. It's definitely been a while since you used one. The stretch feels nice. He lets his finger slide in and out of you as your walls flutter around his finger. "Feels so good Stevie." Yours eyes close and more whimpers fell out from your lips.

"That's it Angel, make a mess for me." Steve lets out a little moan himself realizing how tight you actually are. "Fuck you're so tight. Wondering how my cock will fit." You moan loud at his realization. He lets out a little chuckle, "Don't worry Angel, we'll make it fit, maybe I should just stretch you out tonight instead? Hmm?" He already knows your answer.

"That's not funny Steve, you wouldn't dare." There was his strong willed girl. You look at him with determination that you're going to take his cock tonight whether it hurts or not and Steve is happy to oblige. "Don't worry your pretty head. You'll get my cock tonight, but I need to do a proper tasting first." Another string of loud whimpers leave you. Steve slowly removes his finger, he couldn't wait to dive head first into your pussy.

"Ready Angel?" You give him a whinny yes at the anticipation. Finally lowering his mouth to your weeping hole, his tongue making contact to the place his been dying to try. Your head falls back and a song of moans leaves your throat. Steve was grinning like the cheshire cat. He continues his assault, dipping his tongue in you occasionally, which you seem to like a lot. He makes a mental note of that. The foreign feeling of his tongue becomes pure pleasure. Your fingers could never create the feeling of what Steve's tongue was doing to you. He laps at you like it's his final meal. Steve comes up for air making the comment, "Tastes like pure honey, could eat you out forever Angel." He dives back in, applying more pressure and you buck your hips up in excitement. You try to close your thighs, but Steve isn't having it, his grip is impossible to fight. You weave one of your hands into his hair, fingers scratching his scalp, pulling him closer to your core. Steve lets out a moan of satisfaction. He knows you close and ready to finally have your release. A few more licks and your dam breaks. The high and pleasure is unlike anything you have ever felt. Steve keeps his tongue pressed to your clit to help you ride out your orgasm. You come down from your high, clearly out of it, in the best way possible.

"Still with me Angel?" Steve comes up from your pussy.

"Uh Huh" You couldn't say anything else. Your brain was so fuzzy. Steve had given you one of the best orgasms in your entire life. Steve looks at you and sees your face. He knows that look. You're so fucked out, maybe he pushed you too far tonight.

"We can stop tonight Angel, you did so good." Steve responds, ready to cuddle you for the rest of the night.

You think about it, you really do want to be with it when Steve makes you cum on his cock, you know, get the full experience.

"As much as I want you to fuck me, you really wiped me out. That was, really good Steve. Thank you." You breathe out, panting.

"You're welcome Angel. I promise to fuck you properly soon, it's a date." He kisses the inside of your thigh and gets up to get you a glass of water, which you happily accept and a wash cloth to clean you up. He comes back handing you the glass and gets to work on cleaning you. He can tell your sensitive when he hears you whimper from his touch. He tries not to stimulate you to the best of his ability. After he's done, he puts the wash cloth in the laundry basket and comes back to lay down next to you. He watches you as you catch your breath, admiring your fucked out state, knowing he's the one who caused it.

You finish the water, placing the glass on the nightstand and find your way back to him, lying across his chest. Steve engulfs you in his arms and pulls the covers up to encase you in a warm embrace. His fingers lightly drawing patterns across your back, as he places another kiss to your forehead. You and him stay like this for the rest of the night, enjoying the comfortable silence. It takes Steve back to a time where all you two knew was silence amongst each other. Now, he doesn't mind it, especially if it leads to you curdled up in his arms. He's glad that you chose him to be your first and he's definitely going to make sure he's your last. No one touches his Angel, but him.

"Good night, Angel." He whispers into your ear, pulling you closer to him. "Night Stevie." You slowly drift off to a deep and peaceful sleep, knowing that Steve will be right there when you wake up.

Hope you enjoyed! 🤍

[ckret2]

I always figured that if Bill had any Henchmaniacs that looked like they were from Euclidia, like Kryptos, then they were just from neighboring 2D dimensions. You know, like how there are a billion alternate dimensions similar enough to Earth that Ford could find an alternate universe where Stanley agreed to hide the journal where Ford basically worked everything out somehow and had his dream life afterwards, that he wrote about in Journal 3. But anyway, I think it kind of loses impact if Bill has whole Henchmaniacs from his home dimension. I think it’s more likely they came from neighboring dimensions he might’ve gone to that were similar to his in the millennia after he destroyed his own. That that one speck and his own memories really are the only things he can hold on to from his home dimension now. And even if Kryptos and whoever else have similar memories and experiences, it’s not the same. They don’t know the same world he does.

To continue my last ask (I’m the one that suggested Kryptos and any other flat shape looking Henchmaniac didn’t actually come from The Euclidia but just a similar flat 2d dimension, making Bill the only one from his actual dimension)I know it might sound unlikely for Bill to visit other flat dimensions since he seems to equate whatever oppressiveness he faced in that society with the fact that it was 2-dimensional as well, like they’re part of the same thing (“flat minds in a flat world with flat dreams”) and also he might at first want to go somewhere that doesn’t remind him too much of home, after destroying it, but in all that time he had, I do think there was a chance he drifted back to similar dimensions.

(You didn't SAY you're referring to ideas for my fic, but I'm assuming you are because that's the only context in which I've brought up the issue of the shape Henchmaniacs' origins; if you're solely just sharing your own thoughts on canon then my apologies for going "but what about my fanfiction that you aren't talking about???" at it.)

"It would ruin the emotional impact of Bill being all alone if there's other survivors" is one of the biggest problems I'm grappling with in deciding how to deal with the shape Henchmaniacs post-TBOB, and "maybe they're from another flat dimension" is the first way I considered dealing with it.

(Hell, it's an idea I played with when first deciding what I was gonna headcanon for their backstory; before I deciding that no, in spite of the Oracle's comments, it was worth it to flex canon a bit to make them from Bill's dimension.)

The problem is, them not being from his dimension would ruin the emotional impact of the plot I have planned.

That's the issue here. Coming up with a canon compatible solution is easy, I could pull ten canon compatible solutions out of my ass in five minutes. Coming up with a canon compatible solution that works with my plans is harder.

For the plot I have planned Bill needs to give a shit about Kryptos, Hectorgon, and Amorphous Shape the way he doesn't give a shit about anyone else. He needs to give a shit about them as if they're the last remainder of his long-lost home.

He'd never give that kind of a shit about outsiders.

[reds-skull]

Post script on BLOOD||HUNGER

OOOkay, like I said in the ask I got earlier, this post is gonna be LONG. I’ll be covering the poems at the start (and sometimes end) of each chapter, the source of inspiration for them, the timeline of the fic compared to canon, deleted scenes and maybe most importantly the true identity of the Hunter.

I’d like to say before I start rambling that I appreciate each and every one of you that commented, liked and gave kudos! It really means a lot to me, that you’re here reading my silly little stories haha.

I’m gonna start with the beginning - how I started thinking about the main plot of BLOOD||HUNGER.

So, I kept thinking about the Alone mission in mw2 (as we all do), but thinking about “what if Soap was a civilian in Las Almas when it happened?”

(This is slightly inspired by this fic by TRaena, which I read months earlier and kept thinking about its setup because it was so damn good. I highly suggest reading it!)

So originally, I imagined a whole plot where Soap is a football player, having a vacation in Las Almas when Graves suddenly attacks. Ghost is in the 141 like in canon, but he’s the one that gets shot in the shoulder. The two of them meet, and because Ghost is injured, and Soap is stranded alone in a foreign country, they decide to fight together to get out.

In that original plot, Soap continues sticking by Ghost throughout the campaign, creating distractions for Rudy and Ghost while they rescue the vaqueros, and getting kidnapped by Hassan where he gets dangled over a window in Chicago and Ghost saves him. As you can tell I thought about that version quite a bit, but I made one change that moved it in the direction of the actual story I ended up writing.

What if Soap was dishonorably discharged instead?

That trait changed his entire character, from a guy that got dropped into a war where he has no experience fighting, to someone that is bitterly familiar with it, yet he was exiled from participating. And yet it followed him.

Ghost’s character is actually inspired by who I originally thought he was, when I first saw the mw2 campaign.

See, I first watched my friend play it, and he’s been playing cod since the original mw. He built Ghost up for my like he’s this op guy (which he is), and when he said that he’s been doing guerilla warfare for years in Alone, I thought to myself ‘was this guy just running around fighting with scarp, when the British Military just… decide to pick him up and make him a soldier since he was so good at it??’

I didn’t know about any previous campaigns, and obviously not about ‘09 Ghost’s backstory. Straight up thought he was just some weirdo the SAS recruited because they went ‘why the hell not’.

Now, let’s get to the timeline differences between B||H and canon.

So, like mentioned in chapter 5, the reason Soap got dishonorably discharged was because he killed Makarov on the helo when they were exfiling with him, as seen in a mission on mw3. Soap shot him, by the way, because Price and Ghost weren’t on that mission. He didn’t respect his COs enough to not succumb to his gut reactions, so he ignored them. Because mw3 takes place in 2023 (if I remember correctly, since mw2 took place in 2022), that happened in 2019, and I specifically put it before the formation of the 141. When Soap and Gaz meet for the first time, as Ghost reveals his true identity, Soap mentions he didn’t know Gaz was in the 141, and that was the reason.

Price did want Soap on the 141, even with his track of insubordination. It was another reason he felt bad about his discharge.

I put Ghost’s capture by Roba and torture in 2009. He managed to run away and kill Roba in 2010. B||H takes place one year after Soap killed Makarov, meaning it’s 2020, so Ghost has been a mercenary for about a decade (as is mentioned in one line).

Ghost tried initially, like I wrote, to avoid fighting. He didn’t want to return to the military. After discovering his family was killed, however, he realized he has nothing. And so, he became a merc.

Which brings us to the last difference between canon and the fic (and the biggest one) - the Hunter. And to explain the Hunter, I have to first talk about the poems.

I’ll say it straight up, I have no clue what made me come up with the idea of the poems. One day, right before I was going to sleep, I shot up in bed and wrote down one poem. I put my phone down and instantly fell asleep. No idea what was rattling in my brain that night, but in the days afterwards I wrote down a few more poems, establishing the story of the Blind Man and the Beast.

Those poems I wrote in my notes app weren’t written in the same format as the ones in the fic, instead they are more… modern. I didn’t like that, I wanted them to emulate the format of a classic fairy tale or folk tale, but I didn’t really know how to write that. So I started doing research, and I decided to focus specifically on Medieval English poetry.

That is where I found the Exeter Book. And that find shaped the entirety of the fic.

Small history lesson on the Exeter, it is a codex of Middle English poems and riddles from the 10th century. Most of the poems are older than that, but the first (sometimes only) appearance of them written in text was in the 10th century.

The first poem I found a translation for and read was “The Wanderer”. The name just jumped out for me, so I chose it first.

The Wanderer is a poem that is basically a monologue of an exiled knight. His lord and companions have died in a past battle, and he now roams the land, with no goal, pondering the nature of men and war. He starts the poem as a melancholic, frankly depressed man, with pessimistic views on the world, and by the end he is referred to as the wise man, learning the values a man must keep close to his heart in order to be a good man.

Soap, as he is a sort of exiled fighter, fitted right in with that poem. Honestly, I was shocked at how much it fit. And so, he is based on that poem, the first word in the fic “often”, is the first word of “The Wanderer”.

Often, in The Wanderer, means “always”, according to the translation I was going off of. The first line of The Wanderer is “Often the solitary one”. In truth, The Wanderer is always the solitary one. The first line of the first chapter (not in the poem), is “Often was Soap told, “stop trying to be the hero, MacTavish.””. Often here, also meant to be “always”. The first line of the first poem, “Often were the stars, the only witness to me”, is in the same vein.

After reading a few poems, I moved on to the riddles. A lot of them are quite odd, some having innuendos on purpose, and some having such a weird answer I honestly have no idea how anyone found the actual solution. One riddle jumped out for me, though. It’s one I refer to as “the sword riddle”, as the answer is sword. Or at least, so it seems so, at first.

See, this riddle has possibly a different solution, but it is unfinished in the Exeter, as some pages seemed to be missing. The sword riddle starts out as follows: “I’m a wonderful thing   shaped for fighting/beautifully dressed,    dear to my master.” (sidenote: many riddles were in first person). The first half of the riddle continues similarly, as is a sword was explaining its victories in battle, and how it protracted its master. Except, the poem suddenly shifts, when the sword says:“I have often hurt another/at the hands of his friend. I am far and wide hated, /accursed among weapons.” as the riddle progresses, it becomes clear that this is not a sword talking, but a knight.

This riddle was the basis for Ghost, his struggles with his failure as a Lieutenant, and the resulting dehumanization he did to himself to distance himself from those emotions, as Ghost. The first lines of his introduction chapter, chapter 2, are inspired directly from the sword riddle: “It was an extraordinary thing - shaped for fighting, a strong, solid body, adorned with black…”

You can actually at some chapters find my direct inspiration for that chapter’s poem/s, if you look at the names. Every chapter name in B||H is taken from a poem or riddle in the Exeter, and I’ll list them here:

1 - Wræclast (Path of Exile): The Wanderer, line 6a.

2 - The Death-way: The Seafarer, one specific possible interpretation of a word in line 63, onwælweg.

3 - The Ruin: The Ruin, the poem is in reference to the church Soap and Ghost fight their way out of.

4 - Vainglory: Vainglory.

5 - Hell Rising: a line from “The Descent into Hell”, from a translation I don’t really like, but it’s the only complete one I found.

6 - Droops and Decays: The Wanderer, line 63a.

7 - Wont of Devils: The Whale, towards the end.

8 - Accursed Among Weapons: the sword riddle, line 16.

9 - The Downfall of Kinsmen: The Wanderer, line 7a.

10 - A Secret Disease: The Rhyming Poem, from a specific translation I chose.

11 - The Battle-Sick: Wulf and Eadwacer, again specific translation, this website has a weird format that might be broken, but it kinda makes the poem feel different, and I liked it. [Here's the Wiki for it]

12 - The Bearer of Gold: this one is from a fragmented riddle, one where the answer can’t be determined.

13 - The Song of Us: Wulf and Eadwacer, same translation.

14 - Famous Fate: The Wanderer, 100a. The translation notes this means “turn of events”.

15 - Where All Permanence Rests: The Wanderer, 119a, the last line in the poem.

To properly see all the little tidbits I took from each poem, I’ll have to explain each one, and probably also paste it here so you can read. I would if that hadn't taken five years to do, and I want to talk about other stuff haha. But I just wanted to list the ones I did reference.

So, now that I’ve explained how the poems are referenced in the main fic… what about the poems I wrote?

Obviously, the first poem references The Wanderer, just as the first lines in the fic do. But what is the story of the poems?

Blooede Starvatfōre-dēde, a fictional codex I made for the fic, is a book similar to the Exeter, collecting stories from the 10th century. Except, unlike the Exeter, all the poems in the book tell the story of the same characters: the Blind Man, the Beast, and the hunter (not to be confused with the Hunter, capital H, which refers to the character in the main plot). Blooede Starvatfōre-dēde, by the way, meaning “Blood Starvation” in Middle English. Or, Blood Hunger.

Blooede Starvatfōre-dēde does exist in the world of B||H, Soap, Ghost and the others are simply not familiar with it. I had a plot for the story in the poems I wrote, which is in direct parallel to the main story in the fic. In fact, some poems spoil some plot points, if you go back to read them after you finish the chapter they were in.

Like I mentioned in the ask I got today, I’m not sure how much, if anyone, really understood what’s going on with the poems. I honestly don’t know if it was clear, I never have anyone beta my writing, unfortunately. So, I’m going to explain the story told in the poems, and how it connects to the main plot.

I’ll be explaining the poems in the order they appear (not always the order of the book itself, as noted by the page numbers on each poem).

The Blind Man is a fallen knight (sidenote: the Beast never refers to the Blind Man with that name, and he usually calls him Fallen Knight), who lost his mates and Lord in battle, the same battle that took his eyesight. He roams the earth with no destination, simply mourning what he used to have.

The Beast starts out as a terror on a road leading to a village. The trader that first meets him decides to go to a different road, and the young girl is so afraid of him, she turns back. All the village people fear the Beast, for they know how it terrorized others in the past. The Beast at present, however, is mostly docile.

The Blind Man bumps into the Beast, while he walks on his road. The Blind Man apologizes, explains how he lost his sight in battle, and asks the Beast kindly to move. The Beast does, but he also asks the Blind Man (the Fallen Knight), if he could let him follow, as the Beast too doesn’t have a goal or destination. The Blind Man agrees.

The Trader sees the Blind Man walk with the Beast, and he worries about him, as he thinks the Blind Man didn’t realize he’s walking alongside a Beast. The Blind Man asks the Beast if he plans on hurting him - to which the Beast answers, if the Blind Man finds that the Beast pushes him on a path of death, he asks the Blind Man to kill him.

The Beast, at a later point, asks the Blind Man why isn’t he afraid of him. The Blind Man answers, that he doesn’t believe in monsters, he believes in mankind, to be kind, and cruel. For him, there is not such thing as monsters.

A knight, who once fought besides the Blind Man, spots him alongside the Beast, and he stops them both, threatening the Beast to leave the Blind Man alone. The Blind Man assures the knight, that the Beast is calm, it doesn’t hurt him. The knight asks, how come the blind lead the sinner, and the Blind Man replies, that when all other paths are unavailable, sometimes only the blind can truly lead.

The Blind Man asks the Beast what is his true name. The Beast answers, that Beast is the only name they know. The Blind Man insists that it is only the name the village people call him, and the Beast repeats his answers. It is then that the Blind Man decides he will name the Beast himself, with deeds this time, and not words. He is telling the Beast he can be defined by more than his past, than his looks. The Beast asks how, and the Blind Man answers, with ferocious will to mark yourself with actions yet to come.

At this junction, they meet a man called “the hunter”, who announces that this land is infested with many Beasts, and if one wished to do good in the world, they must kill them. It is why he, the hunter, slays such creatures. He asks how could the Blind Man protect such evil, to which the Blind Man answers, that the Beast is no more different than a man than he is. The hunter accepts the answer, but comes to the conclusion that they’re both Beasts.

One day, the Blind Man asks to see the Beast’s face. The Beast answers, confused, that he thought the Blind Man was, well, blind. The Blind Man says he’s correct, but that his hands have yet to fail him. So the Beast lets the Blind Man feel his face, his hands. The Blind Man then realizes, that the Beast isn’t actually a beast, but a man like him. He tells the Beast as much, but the Beast says that perhaps the Blind Man is also a Beast, if he thinks the Beast is like him. 

The Beast asks the Blind Man how could he care for a monster like himself. The Blind Man smiles and says, how could I not?

They come across a village the Beast terrorized in the past, and the villagers come out to curse at him, telling of how the Beast took their children and ruined their crops. The villagers ask how could the Blind Man stand to not kill the Beast. The Blind Man first asks if what the villagers are saying is true, and when the beast confirms, that he was a terrible thing before anyone saw him as more than a monster, the Blind Man understands. He, too, felt like nothing more than a blind man, an injured knight, before the Beast joined his travels, and treated him as more than just his bloody past.

In the next poem, it is revealed that the Beast was once a knight himself, one that slayed friends and foes, as his masters ruled. He was cursed to be seen as a Beast by everyone that casts their eyes upon him, and that he’s damned to be starved of blood and flesh. It is here that the reason the Blind Man recognizes the Beast to be a man becomes clear - because he is blind, he doesn’t cast his eyes on the Beast.

The following poem is a riddle that its answer is “the hunter”. The hunter used to hunt for consumption, but now hunts sinners. He says, only those that know justice will know his name.

The Blind Man asks the Beast, one night right before the sun rises, what he thinks will be his fate, once he dies. The Beast replies that death comes to all equally, knowing the Blind Man’s past. The answer comforts the Blind Man, that his death will be the same death as his fellow knights, and as his companion, the Beast.

The knight returns to warn the Blind Man and the Beast, that he learned what makes someone a Beast. He tells them of knights who were tortured many years, that were labeled “Beast”. Of the young girl, that instead of cursing the Beast blocking her path, only prayed for her safety. Of a man, that fell in battle, and was abandoned by all but death, that he was also labeled “Beast”. This man is implied to be the Beast travelling with the Blind Man. The knight goes on to say that the hunter, who says he’s versed in justice, calls himself a hero. The knight disagrees, says he’s no better than any of them, and that a man like the hunter, who thinks he’s above God, must be sent to the only equalizer, to death itself.

The knight leaves his sword with the Blind Man.

The hunter approaches, and he swings towards the Blind Man, but the Beast slashes his face, blinding the hunter. The Beast tells the Blind Man, that they will fight as equals. The Blind Man, with the Beast’s aid, manages to kill the Hunter.

The village people hear of the hunter’s death, and they come out to investigate. They find the blind Man and the Beast, but now instead of a monster, they see the man that he truly is. Killing the hunter lifted the curse. The Beast, the Cursed Man, however, isn’t extremely happy, because the Blind Man has always seen him as a man, when the rest saw a monster, and that is what he cares about most.

The Blind Man asks the Cursed Man, where would he go now that he is not viewed as a Beast. The Cursed Man answers, that he has no place he belongs to, but by the Blind Man’s side. The Blind Man replies, that then they will travel together, until their death, and perhaps, if God gives them mercy, they will always be together, no matter which path they belong.

Now that I explained the story of the poems, I can start explaining how it connects to B||H.

Each main character in B||H has a direct parallel in the poems, with a few exceptions.

Soap is the Blind Man, a man who is defined by his failure. He is the first one to see the Beast for what he truly is, and consistently compares himself to the Beast. He is the one that kills the hunter.

Ghost is the Beast, later on the Cursed Man. Everyone sees a monster when they look at him, and he himself ended up convinced he is one, after years of being called a Beast. He admires the Blind Man greatly.

Price is the trader (I chose that profession because of his surname), he meets the Beast before the Blind Man. Unlike Price, the trader does not know the Beast before he became a monster.

Gaz is the Knight (because of his relation to Soap and his VA’s surname is literally knight). He threatens the Beast, thinking he means bad for the Blind Man. He also ends up being on the Blind Man and the Beast’s side, giving him his sword so he could kill the hunter.

The village people are the city people in the story. Alma actually accuses Ghost of being the reason their children are dying, just like the village people do in the poems.

Other characters like Laswell and the communicator do not have a parallel character in the poems.

And the last one… The Hunter. He is the hunter, obviously.

Except, he’s literally the hunter. The only character that is exactly the same, and I mean, the same person, is the hunter. The only one whose name is identical to the one in the poems.

And this is the plot twist I was keeping hidden in the poems all along - BLOOD||HUNGER is a fantasy story, only not from Soap or Ghost’s perspective.

There is a third story, beside the main one and the one in the poems. The story of the hunter.

The hunter, after being killed by the Blind Man, finds himself in the future. He doesn’t know how, doesn’t know where, but he knows one thing:

The Beast is alive, he walks with the Blind Man, and he must be killed.

The hunter finds them. And again, he fails.

It’s not known how many times the hunter fails. But each time he’s killed, he wakes up decades into the future, with an innate knowledge that the Beast and the Blind Man are alive, and he has to kill them.

The hunter wakes up again in 2019. He knows the Beast and the Blind Man are alive, and this time, he tries something new. He gathers an army, he hides his face, and he waits for the right moment to strike.

He thought, perhaps if someone else kills the Beast, he could be free from the curse placed upon him centuries ago, by death itself, as punishment for his hubris.

And the events that follow, are the plot of BLOOD||HUNGER. And as you know, the hunter fails yet again. He will wake up again, but Ghost and Soap will be long gone by then.

This is why the Hunter seemingly didn’t exist on paper, a year before B||H. Why he knew so much about Simon, despite the fact it shouldn’t be possible. And this is why he says to Soap what he said to the Blind Man the first time he died. Because, in the Hunter’s eyes, Soap IS the Blind Man. Soap mentions that when the Hunter’s face is uncovered, he seems familiar, and after he dies, he feels like it happened before. Because it did.

The claw marks on the Hunter’s face are the biggest clue that he is the hunter, as the hunter’s face was slashed by the Beast in the poem.

And the Blind Man’s wish, to always walk alongside the Cursed Man, is the reason both Soap and Ghost feel like they belong with each other. They’re destined to meet, no matter what form they take. Whether as enemies, friends or lovers, they will walk the same path eventually.

See, I don’t write stories like BLOOD||HUNGER usually. I write fantasy, sci-fi, supernatural stuff like every other work I posted. But this, the poems, the Hunter, are the reason I wrote BLOOD||HUNGER.

Because it’s not fully set in the real world. Still, this fic was quite a challenge for me, with no magic, enemies-to-lovers (which I never use, I don’t know why I decided to here, but that’s how it ended up), and limited characters.

A little tidbit about the city - it isn’t named on purpose, I wanted it to have more of a vague vibe that fairy tales (and the poems in the Exeter) have. I was also initially considering having the entire fic set at night, one night, but with the amount of things that happen it felt a little ridiculous. Most of it is at night, though, as Soap and Ghost sleep through days more than they do nights.

Also fun fact, the names of the civilians are all names of family members of mine, with the exception of Mihail. The name he’s based on is Mircea, and it’s a little too Romanian for my purposes, so I changed it so something more vaguely Eastern European, which is where the city is.

Now, onto the last section of the post script, the deleted scenes! (Are they really deleted if I keep them, though?)

Like with Not Alive, Nor Dead’s PS, I’ll try to give each of them context and the reason they were cut:

[Context: the entirety of the scene where Ghost gets betrayed and poisoned by the Hunter in chapter 2.]

He didn’t get a potential location for intel, so he started methodically searching all drawers and cabinets, lightly passing over surfaces to search for abnormalities. The longer he goes on finding nothing, the more an icy chill spreads through his gut.

Every cell in his body is screaming something is wrong here.

Footsteps on the lower floor catch his attention. Multiple, heavy, hurried. Ghost snarls.

The soldiers climb the stairs quickly, Ghost melting into the shadows, watching them pass by him. The soldiers are the Hunter’s, their blood-red insignia staining their black gear.

He’s being betrayed again. He needs to get out. He has to get out.

“We know you’re here, Ghost. Change of plan, we need you on another location.” The soldier communicating for the Hunter calls.

No, no, no. They’re lying. 

“Commander”, another soldier says, “he might be gone.”

The Hunter doesn’t answer, but frantically, Ghost hears the floorboards creak closer and closer to his location, until a red glove reaches out and pulls him out of the shadows.

He instantly shakes it off, “the fuck are you doing here?!” he growls. The Hunter looks to his communicator, “this target was a ruse, Ghost. We have a new one for you.”

They’re lying. They’re lying. Ghost can feel the barrels of rifles at his back, lifting slowly to strike him down. He can smell the gunpowder and the bite of metal-

Ghost glances behind him. The soldiers are busy searching the house. He nods.

It feels so wrong, but… could he be wrong? Is he just getting paranoid over nothing?

“Give me the location.” he grunts, his back constantly tingling with the weight of phantom gazes.

The soldier walks over to the balcony, pulling out a spotter scope, “your target will be in the central city, the high rise building next to the church.” the building is lit by neon lights, red and foreboding in the darkness of night.

Ghost carefully walks to the balcony, taking the scope from the soldier. He doesn’t put it up to his face, not when there are phantom breaths on his nape.

They’re waiting. They’re watching. They’re going to-

A hand wraps around his neck, roughly pulling his mask up to reveal the pale skin underneath. Ghost grabs it, pushes it away, when a sickly cold sting bites the side of his neck, followed by a disgusting chill that seeps into his bloodstream.

Poison.

Ghost shoves the soldier off, swiftly sliding a knife to his palm and slicing his neck. The man doesn’t have time to react, before Ghost drops down to avoid another attacker. The world explodes with hands reaching for him, weapons slung with purpose to strike.

Not kill. They want him alive.

He has to GET. OUT.

A hostile rushes to tackle him, and Ghost uses the momentum to grab him and jump off the balcony. Glass surrounds them both for a moment, before they all fall down.

The body beneath him crashes with a sickening crunch, and Ghost takes the pistol in his hand to swing around and shoot at his attackers. A few of them fall over the railing, and the resulting confusion is enough for Ghost to take off and run.

Ghost feels the poison corrupt his blood, physically sense the way it travels down his neck, the chill spreading to his fingertips. He mutters a few curses.

He should’ve listened to himself. Never trust anything but himself.

[Reason to cut: I didn’t want Ghost to suspect anything before the Hunter attacks, I thought it would be scarier than if he anticipated it.]

[Context: the last lines of chapter 2 (can you tell I struggled with that one lol)]

Ghost internally sighs. This whole ordeal drudges up too many old memories, things he rather would’ve stayed buried in an unmarked grave. But he just has to put up with Soap until they leave the city.

And after that? He can leave him to the wolves.

[Reason to cut: Ghost sounds here like he wants something bad to happen to Soap when he leaves him. I wanted him to just not care about what happens to him.]

[Context: the talk Ghost and Soap have in chapter 6, when Soap reveals he killed Makarov.]

The Sergeant laughs bitterly, “he was already captured. I slit his fuckin’ throat when his hands were cuffed.”

“Really?” Ghost drawls, “as if bars would’ve stopped Makarov.”

Soap bristles, “so what, yer saying I was right?”

“You were the only one with half a brain there, it seems.”

Soap is visibly stunned at that, quieting down and averting his gaze. Did he really believe that he shouldn’t have done that? Shouldn’t have killed the worst man in modern times?

Really thought those restraints were made for the betterment of humanity, rather the benefit of the powerful few?

They continue walking in silence, the only sound accompanying their steps is the bristling of crops.

[Reason to cut: didn’t like how the dialogue sounded, wanted the conversation to be longer.]

[Context: the first time Ghost called Soap “Johnny”, chapter 7.]

Soap has a feeling the nickname just slipped, and he didn’t mean to call him ‘Johnny’. His mind, as it often does, starts mulling that small detail over.

If it was a slip of the tongue, it means this wasn’t the first time Ghost thought to call him that. How long have he thought of him as “Johnny”? Does that mean, under that bleached bone, he 

[Reason to cut: didn’t like where Soap’s thoughts were going. Didn’t know what to do with them.]

[context: beginning of chapter 8, when Ghost’s real identity is revealed.]

(From the grave rises someone else, someone wrong-)

Soap takes a step back, the sound echoing through his mind and returning him to the surface-

(They know. The communicator. The Hunter.)

Johnny knows.

[Reason to cut: I liked the first line, but I wanted it to be memories of Simon’s rather than introspection of Ghost.]

[Context: start of chapter 8 again. It’s always the Ghost POV ones I struggle with huh?]

“Didn’t you,

Simon Riley?”

Ghost ceases his attempts to move. Thoughts slipping away from him, sinking down to the dark sea, drowning him.

(Don’t cry like a pansy, son. Just like your mother, you’ve always been weak-)

(You always had a bleeding heart, Riley. Time you wake up, see how the world really works-)

(The rotten flesh, the maggots borrowing into his ears, the dirt and grit between his teeth-)

(Lieutenant Riley was his most caring soldier-)

(What’s wrong, son?-)

(LT-)

(SIMON-)

Ghost feels him claw out, from the fortified casket he buried him in. Memories as his weapon, he rips through his chest, uncaring of the trails of broken bone and blood he leaves behind, splattering on the floor.

From the grave, a dead man rises. A man who always found the world too cruel, too loud, too unforgiving.

And with him, emotions Ghost long buried; Hurt, sadness, confusion. Fear.

Rage.

The knife in his sleeve slides easily to his palm, cool metal doing nothing to soothe Simon. He winds his hand back, and throws.

The blade shines almost blindingly across the room, missing Johnny by less than an inch and hitting the gleeful communicator in his eye. The man slumps over, smile melting away with the last of his life.

Simon heaves a breath, arm still forward, eyes snapping from the corpse to Johnny. 

Johnny, who turns around, shock in his bright blue eyes, mumbling, “What… the fuck… did you do?”

He can’t look at those eyes again, can’t see the betrayal cloud them over, the pain he caused, always causes, spread through him. And so Simon, the coward he is, looks away.

“What the fuck did you do?!” Johnny repeats, stomping forward to haul Simon up by his vest. “LOOK AT ME! YOU JUST KILLED OUR ONLY WAY TO THE HUNTER!”

Johnny’s hands are trembling, Simon notes, when they take hold of his face to force him to make eye contact. Simon watches Soap’s expression falter.

What do you see, he wants to ask. 

Do you see the man he was, Or the monster he became?

The clanking of the metal staircase behind them makes Soap sharply turn. Simon can’t see, doesn’t care to when Johnny is in front of him.

Tell me, he wants to scream, tell me I’m irredeemable. Tell me you hate me. Bury me, please.

I can’t be Simon again.

But Johnny ignores his silent pleas, grabbing his forgotten rifle and throwing it to Simon. With a dirty glance, he growls, “don’t think I’m lettin’ it slide. Get up, we need to fight.”

And Simon would’ve stayed in the tower, waiting death to take him for the final time, if he could stomach the idea of taking Johnny down with him. Simon, stupid, foolish Simon, wants the Sergeant to do what he couldn’t. To be better than him.

He takes the rifle, military instilled instincts helping him push up and take aim. Johnny is already ahead, fighting his way down the stairs.

The world outside is loud, gunshots and screams, bullets dinging off metal, blood dripping down to the earth below. Soap shoots them as the come up, but he’s quickly getting overrun. Simon spots a pile of crates right at the edge, where Johnny is currently taking cover.

He runs at it at full speed, shouldering it and pushing it down. Johnny curses at him, before he watches how the heavy crates clear them a path down. The soldiers groan, struggling to get up. They run down, barely avoiding the hands grasping at their feet. Below, soldiers attempt to shoot them, but they make an almost impossible target on the spiraling steps.

Simon jumps the last few, firing at the group around their truck to cover Johnny. The Sergeant shouts at him something, but he’s too focused on the enemies aiming at them.

A few bullets hit him square in the chest, knocking the breath out of Simon. 

He doesn’t get time to recover when another bullet pierces through his shoulder.

It hurts more, oddly enough, after Simon clawed his way out. Everything feels… more.

Johnny takes out the shooter, and drags Simon to the truck. Throwing him to the passenger sit, he starts up the engine and shifts it to reverse to run down a few hostiles.

“Yer not gonna die on me, are ye?” He grunts, examining the blood sluggishly flowing down his gear.

Simon opens his mouth to answer, as he sees from his peripheral a wounded soldier shakily lifting his gun to aim at Johnny.

He pulls out a knife to throw at him before Soap can even clock the danger, the soldier crumpling back down in a blink. “...Thanks.” Soap’s eyes narrow. His eyes are no less bright for it, Simon reckons.

He returns to his sit, applying pressure to his gunshot wound, “drive.”

In the silence, Simon’s mind drifts. He’s finding it harder and harder to focus on anything besides Johnny.

[Reason to cut: a few things here are the same as the final version, but I specifically didn’t like how Soap acted here, and the fight Ghost soloed.]

[Context: chapter 10, after Soap bit a guy, and Ghost lost control of his limbs because of the poison again.]

The pain doesn’t even register in Ghost’s mind anymore. Nothing does, except Johnny’s form, sure-footed as he rushes back to battle, mouth still red.

Johnny is a disaster. An omen of ruin. A harbinger of death.

Simon wants to be destroyed by him.

If only to feel that searing touch once more.

[Reason to cut: Ghost is a little too in love with Soap with the way he’s talking here. Didn’t want that yet.]

[Context: chapter 11, the very end of it, where they realize who could find the Hunter.]

Soap inhales sharply. That’s it!

“Simon.” Dark eyes look up at his urgent tone, “I know how we can get to the Hunter.”

Gone is the softness in his eyes, Ghost turns to face him fully

[Reason to cut: wanted Ghost to come to that conclusion, not Soap. Thought it would be more impactful, if Simon chooses that fate on himself.]

[context: chapter 12, when Ghost and Soap explain to Price and Gaz that the Hunter is responsible for everything that happened in the city, not Ghost.]

 “The Hunter?” the name makes Gaz falter, “who-”

Ghost cuts him off, “who do you think is in charge of this militia, Lieutenant?” he says the rank mockingly.

The Lieutenant fires back, “according to our intel, you!”

Soap shakes his head in disbelief, he and Ghost sharing a baffled look, “yer tellin’ me ye never heard of the Hunter?!”

This complicates everything. Ghost himself knew of the Hunter because of his line of work, and he was aware their existence was a closely guarded secret, but for the 141 to not even know of them…

It’s like they popped out of nowhere, a special hell designed for Ghost.

It does clear out one thing. The reason they wanted to pin the massacre of the city on him, leave him poisoned to rot until the 141 catches him. If the SAS believes they took down the militia, the Hunter would be free to do anything they wanted, under the radar.

Cut the head off the snake, it dies. Unless you cut the wrong head.

“You’re telling me”, Price starts, “that we’re after the wrong person?”

Soap sighs, “Ghost may not be a bleedin’ saint, but he’s not the leader of the fuckers shootin’ everyone out there.”

Gaz scoffs, “John, you know I’ll fucking take a bullet for you, but I won’t be able to believe that without some solid proof.”

Price joins him, “even if there is another individual… “The Hunter”, you called him?” he realigns his gun with Ghost, “we still need to take Ghost into custody.”

Soap bodily pushes Ghost behind him, again, “if you want ever want to catch the Hunter, you’ll need him! We’re not gonna-!”

[Reason to cut: Okay, I did a little mistake and completely forgot that Gaz and Price brought up the Hunter by name before, therefore they know of their existence. Had to cut a few pages because of that, as you can see…]

[Context: chapter 12, after Ghost falls because of the poison, still discussing the Hunter.]

Price holds it still, “Laswell said local police reported of a skull-masked man.”

“I haven’t seen a single police officer in the entire city.” Soap says slowly, “fuck- how did we miss that?”

“This city…” Gaz’s brows lift in shock.

Simon grunts, “the Hunter’s soldiers took over before I ever stepped foot here.”

[Reason to cut: didn’t like this explanation, didn’t feel like it made sense to me. The final version uses the informant instead, which ties in with the man Ghost kills for the Hunter in chapter 2, and I like that way better.]

[Context: chapter 13, when Soap and Gaz talk while he’s smoking.]

“John, mate. C’mon.” Kyle places a hand on his shoulder, leaning in to whisper, “tell me, what are you going to do after?”

“After what?”

“After you kill the Hunter. Are you going to leave back for Scotland, never see Ghost again, go back to your civilian life? Or…” Gaz nods towards Simon, “you’re going to stick with him?”

Oh… He didn’t even think about that. ‘After’... Soap swallows around the excitement the second option rises within him, “yer jokin’, right? I don’t- that’s not even a choice. What am I gonna do with Ghost?”

[Reason to cut: didn’t like how I phrased things here, felt like I could do it better.]

[Context: chapter 14, right before the operation to kill the Hunter begins]

It strikes him then, how much he wished they could’ve met on different circumstances. Perhaps if they knew each other before, they could’ve been more. 

Perhaps he wouldn’t feel as doomed.

[Reason to cut: just didn’t really like it, it kinda introduces new feelings that I didn’t have time to explore in the last chapter before the epilogue.]

EDIT: I FORGOT TO PUT THE POEM AAA SHIT

Page ?? of the “Blooede Starvatfōre-dēde”, parable ?:

What drives a monster from the woods, the merchant questions,

As evil often lies within the dark, feasting on sin and vice,

What drives a man from his home, the Beast replies,

As he is nothing, when his steps sound alone,

What drives a knight from his kin, the Blind man finishes,

As a vow cannot be fulfilled, when it is voiced to the dead.

[The only reason I didn't put it in is because there wasn't a good point to, sicne I wrote it when the fic was already ending]

And that’s it! Another fic done!!! I had a lot of fun, I think you can tell haha. I also feel like I improved a lot compared to Not Alive, Nor Dead, I love seeing the progress. Thank you, if you read this monster of a post script, and for reading BLOOD||HUNGER.

As a little thanks… I will probably talk about it more later, but I am planning on beginning work on Revenant AU part 2 after I finish my semester. It will involve new villains, new Revenants, new Reapers… I’m excited to be able to return to that universe again!

[cheekinpermission]

Happy 500 followers!!

How about 1 and 10 for the ask game?

Thank you for you participation, anon! Ask game is here! Send them in if you want <3

1. Who's hand did you first grab? Why? Would you choose someone else if you could do it over again?

I grabbed Idia's hand! When I first got into TWST, I had absolutely no clue what I was getting into so I really just went based on which voice actors I recognized LOL. I know Kōki Uchiyama from a ton of different anime (JJK, Buddy Daddies, Haikyuu, BNHA, Yuri on Ice, etc.) so I just went with his character. While Idia doesn't crack the top 5 for me, I don't think I'd choose again. The only reason I would is if it impacted the story somehow but I really doubt it will. I'm COMITTED.

10. Top five favorite characters?

Grim occupies all top five spots. BUT since that's boring, so I'll limit my choices to the main cast lmao. (My love for the dire beast is PROFOUND) I got VERY wordy here so here's the short answer: 1. Riddle Rosehearts

2. Vil Schoenheit

3. Malleus Draconia

4. Ruggie Bucchi

5. Kalim Al-Asim Explanation below the cut! (I got very excited to talk about my favorites and wrote a lot so I figured I'd condense it for people who didn't want to scroll through it all lol whoopsies.)

1. Riddle Rosehearts - I have no explanation for this?? He's pretty much the opposite of my usual favorite characters so idk what happened here. I've always been drawn to the Alice in Wonderland aesthetic so maybe that has something to do with it? He's got such great character writing, too?? Everything about his personality just makes sense when you know his backstory. When we learn that Riddle's tyrant of a mother was strict and controlling over him, the pieces just seem to fall into place. His whole life was just following her rules and studying like a good little boy, and when he stepped out of line even a little bit he was reprimanded harshly for it. Of course, he's going to the exact same thing once he's in a position of power. It's all he knows. He's just another version of his mother. Not only does he uphold the tradition of punishing rule breakers rather severely as he was when he was younger, I think there's also an element of fear there as well. Like, his mother just instilled an innate fear of breaking rules because bad things would happen if he didn't follow them exactly. I really do see Riddle as a scared little boy who is suddenly realizing that he was set up for failure by his own mother. And THEN he makes an honest effort to improve himself post-overblot?? His transformation after the fact is one of the more obvious ones and I'm just so proud of him. A THOUSAND HEAD PATS!! Okay, I'll stop rambling about him lmao I love Riddle sm (Also want to make clear I'm not saying Riddle was right for anything he did, only that I appreciate how his character was handled. Added for legal purposes so people don't come after me :c ) 2. Vil Schoenheit - This one comes as no surprise to me. Pretty boys who challenge gender stereotypes are RIGHT up my alley. Like Riddle, I think Vil has some great character writing is one of the more complex characters in the game. He just feels so compassionate to me?? I don't know how to explain it - he just gives such nurturing vibes. I'd trust this man with my drink at a bar fr fr. And then he tells Epel off for saying ballet is too "girly" for him?? Thank you TWST for bringing me this man. I pray at the altar of Vil Schoenheit. 3. Malleus Draconia - Doesn't Malleus top everyone's lists LOL I think my favoritism for the dragon man is more to do with his relationship with Yuu than anything else tbh. He's like one of three characters that actively engages with the main character and I think they've got such a fun relationship. Two people who feel very alone in the world finding friendship (or something more for you malleyuu shippers) in each other is so beautiful. I'm glad they can be there for each other like that. Side note: I adore romantic Malleyuu for sure, but I think it's equally as endearing if all of Malleus's flirtatious lines were never meant to be romantic but he's just really bad at communicating his feelings in a platonic way. Like, he doesn't mean to flirt he's just socially inept. 4. Ruggie Bucchi - Gremlin hyena boy is just too good for words. Ngl, I started off not really liking Ruggie all that much because of what he did in the Savanaclaw book. My mans was basically shoving people down flights of stairs?? I'm not really sure where the turn around happened tbh. Mischievous personality types do tend to draw me in in fiction so that probably has a lot to do with it. I also felt really bad for him at the end of the Savanaclaw book when Leona was ready to Thanos him out of existence despite everything Ruggie had done for him (and continues to do for him). I appreciate his work ethic, I can respect the hustle, and he's got such a cute little laugh. I wanna pet those big ole ears of his. Leona - pay this man more smh 5. Kalim Al-Asim - SUNSHINE BOY!!

He's such a breath of fresh air in this game LMAO. As much as I love the fact that most of the cast are unapologetically flawed, it's nice to have a few characters that are genuinely good people. His VA (Kazuki Furuta) absolutely kills it imo. I can hear his laugh in my head as I'm typing this - it's just so warm and happy :D He also breaks the sterotype of most rich characters in media by just being a nice person? He's not evil or greedy (although naive and entitled) and he just wants to be bffs with Jamil. Break his heart Jamil and we're gonna have WORDS. Also just like FORGAVE JAMIL??? His bfffl yeeted him across the desert, brainwashed him and admitted to wanting to get him kicked from the school and Kalim didn't really hold it against him. He was so understanding and sweet about everything AHHHHH

[kazumiwrites-fanfiction]

A Letter For You

SUMMARY: Azul writes a letter to you. WORD COUNT: 500+

WARNINGS: Book 3 spoilers (just adding this in case), Azul hating his old self/being fatphobic, Azul overthinking, basically if you know Azul's backstory it talks about that A/N: Okay so I wrote this in three different languages, I did this one last, and since it's translated from the original (which I wrote in Japanese, the language I'm struggling in most with writing (somehow even though it's my mother language wtf)) it looks so formal and blocky and Idk- I'm proud of myself for writing it in three languages but when I say I hate translating- (My summaries gradually starting to suck more and more-) Also yes of course I wrote about Azul he's my favorite <3 English (this one!) - Japanese - Spanish

© kazumiwrites - All rights reserved; please do not steal, edit, copy, repost (etc) my work without my express permission.

Dear kantokusei-san,

I always had a lot of struggles.

Every day, voices in my head would tell me that I was ugly. That I was just a dumb, hideous octopus.

I can't do anything.

"I want to smile always." "I want to live happily with Floyd and Jade."

But voices are always running around in my head, making me overthink.

Are you really my friend?

Even if you saw me as a kid, would you still be able to say that I'm different from him?

You wouldn't be able to, would you.

Because no matter how you look at it, I'm just a stupid mer that wants to be human.

I'm a horrible person who can't even accept himself.

"I can't be a human."

This is the truth. No one can change it.

I thought that I had accepted these words, and yet… I couldn't.

"I don't want to be a mer again."

"I want to stay as a human forever."

"I don't want to return to being that fat, ugly octopus that I was before."

And I also wanted legs. Human legs - /real/ human legs. Legs that I could have without drinking a potion or creating a contract. Legs that I could walk, run, play and dance with. Legs that I could do anything with.

Why? Why was I born as a mer, and an octopus mer at that?

I had been living like that my whole life.

Until you arrived, that is. That was when everything changed.

The first time I met you, I wasn't sure what to make of you.

"A different world? That can't possibly be true. Are you joking around?"

That was what I thought, and I was wary of you.

However… Even after the Overblot incident, you were nice to me for a reason I couldn't explain.

How could you be so nice to a person like me? I almost killed you, didn't I? Are you insane?

I told you this thousands of times. yet you still spent time with me.

Floyd and Jade teased me a lot for it, but you always defended me against them. Do you remember doing that?

That honestly made me really happy.

"You aren't such a bad person."

And before I knew it… I was in love with you.

I was surprised at first, you know? That I could feel this way.

What made me even more surprised was the time when you told me that you felt the same way.

If you say things like that, it'll only make me fall for you more, since I'm not used to words like that.

You are such an important person to me. I wouldn't want to live in a world that you're not in.

So… Would you like to stay in this world, with me?

I know that you most likely have ambitions, a family, a good life in your previous world. But if you could leave all of that behind to stay with me… I would be overjoyed.

I'll understand if you don't want to stay here; it's not your world, after all. However, I still wanted to ask this of you. Maybe I'm too greedy, asking you for this.

Either choice you make, I'll love you, forever and always.

With love, Azul Ashengrotto

As always, reblogs and comments are always appreciated! ♡ Send your thoughts grr

Feel free to send requests! Check out this post for info ^^

[shandoratheexplorer]

I write! A lot...

So here's a guide to the Universe I'm currently working on!

Main Ship

"Symphony of Shadow and Light" or "How to survive an Illithid Tadpole" Rating: E Pairing: M/M Setting: During Canon of BG3 Summary: Octavian and Aodhán, two men forced to work together - one a little more reluctant than the other - try to cure themselves of their shared affliction. On the way they pick up many new companions with the same problem, creating a little group of weirdos that's about to change the world... For better or worse.

Backstory

"When I kissed you" Rating: M Pairing: M/M Setting: Pre Canon of BG3 Summary: What if Octavian and Astarion had met before? What if they both forgot about it? What if I wrote a little story like that? Would you like that?

What if everything changed... with just a kiss?

"Maybe this is all for you" Rating: E Pairing: M/M Setting: Pre Canon of BG3 Summary: What if the whole Dead Three ploy wasn't for the Dead Three? What if a certain Bhaalspawn went through all of this to be able to steal a certain Vampire Spawn?

What if indeed...

Rare-Pair & Side-Ships

VinSeb Series Rating: E Pairing: M/M (with a Trans Character) Setting: Post Canon of BG3 Summary: After the death of their dreadful former Master Cazador 7000 Vampire Spawn are making their way down into the Underdark. A ravenous bloodthirsty horde that tries to drink everything and everyone in their path dry. In between escaping and trying to settle into his new life Sebastian doesn't quite know what to do with his newfound freedom. All he knows is that he's supposed to look to the very people who got him into this mess. Though the person he blames for most isn't with them, he's inclined to take his anger out on all of them.

A Night's Enigma Rating: E Pairing: F/M Setting: Post Canon of BG3 Summary: Rolan is out drinking - even though he knows he shouldn't. At least not excessively. He thinks it'll just be one of those nights at the Mermaid where he's getting hammered and then wobbles home to his tower. But tonight is different. Because tonight... he'll meet her.

Lore

Letter: "If we were free" Rating: G Pairing: M/M Setting: Pre Canon of BG3 Summary: [this letter, written in a dead tongue, is dated with "Summer 1388 DR" and was found in the belongings of Octavian Exeltis upon the city watch looking for clues about his sudden disappearance in 1492 DR, it is currently kept hidden away in a file of other evidence that indicates a connection between Octavian and the cult of Bhaal in the office of the lead investigator of the case]

Loose Page of a book: "Tether of Souls" Rating: G Pairing: Gen Setting: Pre & Post Canon of BG3 Summary: A page from the book of the destroyed Library of the Tóirfhiontar Leopard Pack in Fiacla-Géara-Forest. Found by Rolan when researching the mysterious Druid Clan.

Smut-Shots

"All your very best traits in a bottle" Rating: E Pairing: F/M

"These wings aren't just for flying" Rating: E Pairing: F/M

Something Gritty

Modern AU Octavian & Astarion The Serial Killer CEO and his Lawyer Rating: E Pairing: M/M Mind the Tags!

Something Sweet & A Crack One-Shot

"A Winter Wonderland" Rating: E Pairing: M/M Setting: Post Canon of BG3 Summary: Snowed in at their country estate after having sent away all their servants beforehand Tav and Astarion are left to their own devices. Old memories that have resurfaced after the defeat of the brain are shared, new bonds are made.

"A family Dinner" Rating: M Pairing: M/M Setting: Post Canon of BG3 Summary: Astarion is in charge of the food, it goes horribly wrong when he accidently feeds the Druids a Catnip-Like substance.

[freyafrida]

i'm assuming the rec they're referring to is this lovely post by @gogandmagog, to whom i must thank for unearthing this fic, lol. i wrote this chapter back in 2012(!!!) so unfortunately i don't remember what exactly i had in mind for shirley and pencil girl (love that nickname), or if i even had more of a story in mind. i don't see myself writing another chapter for arco iris (although never say never?) BUT i did have some vague headcanons and influences so i will share them!

anyway. what did shirley say to her afterwards? i didn't have a full idea for this in my head and i'm of two minds about it! i can see him just ignoring it because whatever, he's not interested in getting his name written up on the side of the schoolhouse and it's none of his business why Pencil Girl decided to, apparently, lose her mind one day after school. i can also see him being pretty straightforward and asking her about it and being completely embarrassed that she's sweet on him and again, having zero interest in getting his name put on a Take Notice.

either way, they both pretend it didn't happen for a few years, but Pencil Girl never quite gives up her little crush on him, and she and shirley grow to be friends in adolescence after he gets over being flustered by her existence. they exchange sympathetic letters during the war, maybe get into wacky adventures as college kids, and fall in love along the way. the end.

so, some background: this is very niche, but as a kid, i was very into the boy/girl battle series by phyllis reynolds naylor (which i also wrote fic for in 2012 -- maybe that spilled into arco iris?). i didn't do it consciously, but in hindsight, i think i was inspired by the dynamic between the characters wally and caroline. wally is the most introverted of his brothers, thoughtful and quietly imaginative, while caroline is an attention-seeking theater kid who drags wally into her mischief. they're both annoyed by each other because they're middle schoolers, but they're also both imaginative and slightly lonely because everyone thinks they're weird, and they find they (unwillingly) understand each other on that more fundamental level. anyway! it's not a 1:1 comparison, but i think i was imagining shirley/pencil girl from a similar place. we know shirley isn't totally opposed to mischief (see "well-deserved spankings" in RV) and while we also know he hates to be badgered with chatter per RoI, i was also picturing him as a bit matthew cuthbert-esque, where he doesn't mind exuberance as long as he's not expected to actually respond in kind (that's how i interpret "badgering", anyway).

i was also semi-influenced by the dynamic between kyon and haruhi in the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya, haha. obviously none of this is evident in that very short chapter, but uh, that's the backstory if you're interested, or if it gives an idea of how the rest of the story might go!

i also was actually influenced by the jenny penny section of anne of ingleside! i first read that book as a teenager and tbh i took the jenny penny section and all its judgment about Dirty Houses and Fighting Adults and Not Saying Your Prayers a leetle personally, lmao. i found the blythes pretty snobbish in that story* (this livejournal post is a pretty good summary of how i felt about anne of ingleside at the time). so i also had the loose headcanon of the blythes having to deal with someone a little socially inappropriate, who they wouldn't approve of very much. again, this was way too much to be evident in the actual chapter, but this is where the whole "girl who kisses rando boys in classrooms" concept came from, if you're interested.

anyway that's how shirley/pencil girl would've gone. hope this didn't ruin it for you, nonny, and thank you for reading ❤️

* i mean, upon reread, there are actual issues with the pennys: jenny is a more intentional liar than anne ever was, and the grandma makes di show her her underwear??? weird. but also jenny is, like, the lone realistically troubled child in a book of unusually twee children, and i found her surprisingly sympathetic for that reason. anyway. i had feelings.

[thebunztalk]

Mimic story in sb theory!!!!

Uh spoilers maybe…it’s been 3/4 weeks tho

Before I start, I wanna say that I don’t believe Tales From The Pizzaplex is FULLY canon.

Yes, Mimic does exist but I don’t think his backstory and personality from the TFTP is canon, maybe there’s some aspects that Steelwool put into game!Mimic.

The proof for this, is that game!Mimic is slow. When Cassie gets chased by Mimic, she runs but her stamina drops faster than Gregory and runs slower while Mimic is even slower than Cassie. And book!Mimic hunted a group of teenagers which are faster than Cassie and yet Mimic killed the group like it was nothing…

Another proof is in TFTP, book!Mimic rips people heads and limbs off and in Ruin, Mimic’s jumpscare shows him grabbing Cassie’s head to rip her.

But when you actually look at both Mimic jumpscare

It looks like he’s trying to wack Cassie on the head instead of trying to grab or rip her and for the Mimic jumpscare without the suit, it looks like he’s putting his hand on front to Cassie’s face instead of his whole palm.

I also don’t believe GGY is canon, I mean sure, amnesia is a thing and Gregory could forgot about what he did

but then again…him being NATURALLY good at computer tech and hacking doesn’t really match to SB taken from his dialogue…

“I don’t know, it looks pretty complicated…”

It’s not that complicated actually, it’s just so much memorizing.

OK! Now let’s get officially started.

Staffbot Silo/Post it room

In my theory on Mimic, I said he’s the one writing these notes, Vanny created him for the purpose of a physical body for Glitchtrap but didn’t work, him kicking Freddy out of the main system and Mimic spying on Gregory through the caution bots/Patpats.

I’ve also talked about Mimic is the one scattered the retro cds for Gregory to find and him waiting in the fake Michael’s living room for Gregory to come see him because Mimic wants to get to know him better.

And from what you guess on the title, I want to tell about Mimic’s story before SB and in the middle of SB but let’s talk about this first.

Specifically the language. In TFTP The Mimic, a young kid named David and book!Mimic decides to make a hand sign language for Mimic to communicate

and when their father wrote in of what the language looks like…it looks like the image that I just showed you. Hopefully! I dunno, I never read TFTP but from what people said, the writing is very similar to the wall code.

Since I said that Mimic’s backstory isn’t canon how does this work? Well I said Vanny could’ve created Mimic and she is very smart, Vanny could be also the one created that hand sign language for game!Mimic to communicate better. But why?

Because in Ruin, you reach closer to the underground, Grimic’s voice sounds less human and more of a bunch of words that stuck together and when Cassie meets the real Mimic, he doesn’t speak (other than “I’m Gregory”) so that’s why Vanny created that language and in the notes you can read that was talking to someone. Like this

Now, was Mimic got put in the endo warehouse?

Maybe. Maybe, after Vanny realized that Mimic is its own being, she putted him in the warehouse with the other endos and from their walk/run cycles, it looks like they have a mimicking feature of their own…that they able to copy the Glamrocks’ AI and the wall/door to teach them. My proof that Mimic was there.

This would make sense, in a way that Vanny is trying to make Mimic just like Glitchtrap.

So I said in the beginning, that Mimic’s run cycle is very slow and he doesn’t copy the Glamrocks’ or Gregory’s.

So maybe Mimic is a slow learner when he was in the warehouse and from the post it notes, his writing is progressing to be a more steady one. So he just needs to take his time on learning how and what is surrounds him and that causes him to be a slow learner (autistic robot real).

Vanny notices this and decides to move Mimic down to Staffbot silo so the employees won’t get suspicious about Mimic and to learn at his own pace and give a lifetime supply of post it notes to Mimic.

From the look of the room, Mimic has been in the Staffbot silo for a while and he has of a more developed mind but he is still a child, he just wants to be grown up.

Connecting Caution bots

While Mimic have been staying in the Staffbot silo, employees starting to get a little too close to the truth then Vanny kills them, with her recent action being the message “All staff meeting”. That also happened to Glamrock Bonnie.

He must’ve trying to investigate about all the strange stuff that happened like the disappearances of children and the staff. The question is who Vanny used to kill Bonnie? Was it actually Monty? Roxy? Prototype Freddy? Or Mimic. If Mimic killed Bonnie, he either gotten pressured or told to just “decommission” Bonnie by Vanny. In the end, Mimic able to connect to the Patpats or he already did get connected and they’ve decommissioned Bonnie because he got to close to the truth.

Which I wanna say that the reason why, Bonnie’s eyes stopped glowing when you deactivate the Patpats is because Mimic must’ve felt guilty about killing him and decided to connect Bonnie with the Patpats too.

The start of SB

Mimic saw Gregory at his stay in the Pizzaplex through the Patpats. Mimic watched Gregory a few times when he’s trying to be in shelter, Gregory must’ve been staying in the Pizzaplex for at least two days that Mimic gets curious about him and his behavior.

Sadly, that has to end when Gregory gets caught by Vanny or Vanessa BUT Mimic has a plan, he wants to help Gregory get out of this mess then Freddy had an error moment when he saw Gregory and Vanny/Vanessa in the crowd but then he had full shut down because something kicked him out of the main system. Mimic kicked him out. That distracted Vanny/Vanessa that Gregory able to get out of their grasp.

Mimic wants to know Gregory more so he can’t just leave then he knows how to make Gregory stay little longer. Make a scavenger hunt! That’ll keep him busy. Mimic leaves the Staffbot silo but when he got out, he crashed into a bunch of boxes

He tried to put boxes in its place but he doesn’t have the time do this right now. Mimic searching for something to use in the scavenger hunt.

Now the retro cds can only be found by using Roxy’s eyes and since the Glamrocks and Mimic is connected to the AR system, Mimic could have found a bunch of data that’s complied into a cd and somehow Roxy’s eyes can make it into a reality.

Mimic found the retro cds through the AR world and scattered all of them in the Pizzaplex for Gregory to find.

Fake SL living room

Mimic is staying in the fake SL living room while Gregory’s doing his 6 hour adventure. He’s been watching Gregory in security cams and Patpats through the TV. Why did I said he watching Gregory through the TV?

Because in ruin, we can see a security footage of Gregory and Vanny so there’s a possibility that Mimic can see Gregory like this too.

Now does Mimic just sit and wait for Gregory to come and that’s it? No. I’m sure, Mimic helped Gregory along with Freddy but how?

The messages

Throughout the game, you can collect messages in the shape of a duffel bag that can help you or for lore reasons. So how Mimic can send the messages despite that in game, you’re collecting them yourself? Simple, that’s just a game mechanic.

In one of Freddy’s unused dialogues, he mentioned about one of the messages on how to get to the catwalks. So in game, you have to collect the messages but in story, Gregory got messages at random times but in certain places. And there’s this one place where you get the “PQ 1 maint” message. The first message that Gregory founds out about PQ

The same place where you can find Bonnie in Ruin (I’m on the 10 images limit but you know what I mean).

If Mimic send all of those messages to Gregory then why he sent the message about PQ despite the arcade machine could free Vanessa.

Maybe the Bonnie and all Staff meeting incident made Mimic realize something that what Vanny’s doing isn’t good or normal. Maybe he wants to free Vanny because he knew something was wrong and the only way to do that is playing PQ but it didn’t exactly work…

(I think the “HI DAVE” and “Better Employees” message was a message misread speedrun send accident or Mimic thinks it would be funny)

A challenge message

Back to fake SL living room, there’s this message behind the TV and I said that the language was created by Vanny so ONLY Vanny and Mimic knows about this language but what if i told you Mimic1/Glitchtrap also knows about it.

When you think about the translation of the message, it sounds like a taunt, a challenge.

Taken from the quote

“Break and mend, i built the breath. They hunt now, drawn to life. Not real, still keen. And frit and fraught with thought and zest and gest no blunt woes. Dodge, duck, flash, shoot, crawl, run, crash the vile band. Cry not, try not, do not hold out hope, no. Your life, your aim will save those with soul.”

“I built the breath. They hunt now”

That would make sense for Glitchtrap because he built the virus and Vanny put that into the Glamrocks causing them to be aggressive. Obviously, this message is for Gregory but it’s not message…it’s a challenge. A challenge for Gregory. Glitchtrap is taunting him to fight through the night and destroy the Glamrocks which Gregory did just that.

But how Glitchtrap able write that challenge despite he doesn’t have a physical body? Mimic also got affected by the virus in which cause Glitchtrap to control him and wrote that message. So here’s what happened

Mimic was helping and watching Gregory through the TV then he got glitched and errors, he dropped his popcorn (yes, I think Mimic was the one who carried two popcorns and eating it) Glitchtrap took control and wrote that code then he leaves and Vanny founds him.

Vanny hides Mimic to somewhere below the Staffbot silo and that place is Freddy Fazbear’s pizza place, that’s where Mimic’s story ends and y’know how it goes next,

Gregory and Freddy goes to Fazer Blast and Vanny disassemble Freddy, Gregory plays PQ 3 and freed Vanessa and which also “freed” Vanny and they eat ice cream together with Freddy being a head and Mimic saw that and he’s all sad, the 3 star fam are gone for awhile then they came back with Vanny created MXES and modified the AR world.

Now here is the interesting part

A story about a Mother and a Son

I’ll tell you one thing…there is not a single mother and son duo in the FNAF franchise. So either the mother and son is most likely a metaphor or it’s about Vanny and Mimic.

“Now i will tell you a story about a Mother and a little boy who lived alone in a cabin in the dark woods”

Vanny and Mimic lived in the Pizzaplex which they hide in dark places and the animatronics there seems aggressive.

“There was a monster in the woods but the Mother caught it and kept it locked in the basement”

The monster is Glitchtrap. Tape girl and Vanessa tries to trap Glitchtrap in different ways but the one thing about tape girl, that she had the option to delete her audio logs that was used as Glitchtrap’s hiding spot but she never deleted them…

“The monster always made scary noises at night. But the Mother would tell the boy not to worry because it could never get out. Then she would sing the boy a lullaby to sleep.”

The virus affected Glamrocks is seen killing their targets through the Patpats, Mimic asked Vanny about the disappearances but she told him not to worry/gaslighting him to not think about it.

“One day, the monster stopped growling. Instead, listened and learned the lullaby.”

Glitchtrap watched Mimic and learned the language that Mimic communicates with and used it to write the message.

“The next day when the Mother went out to find food, the monster sang the lullaby from the basement. The little boy heard the lullaby and opened the door…”

When Vanny got “freed”. The 3 star fam came back to the pizzaplex and put MXES in the underground.

MXES who is oddly similar to Glitchtrap is now the monster luring Mimic to the underground and trapped him there.

But wait…

Did MXES lured Mimic?

From most people’s theories, Gregory lured Mimic there because Mimic wants to meet Gregory. But what if Mimic’s messages to Cassie IS true.

In his first dialogues to Cassie, that SOMETHING grabbed him and he’s under the raceway and when MXES first appeared, Mimic told Cassie to “stay away from that thing”.

Then when Cassie talks to Mimic in the Monty gondolas maintenance room, Mimic said this

“I’ll explain it all when you get here. That thing is back! I gotta hide!”

It’s the fact that Mimic sounds very genuine when he’ll explain about how he can see what Cassie’s doing and he called someone “that thing”.

Was he referring to himself or to MXES because it would make sense that MXES is physically near Mimic.

Now, the very last thing to talk about

The elevator ending

In the chase scene, Mimic kept trying to run to Cassie. Maybe the reason why Mimic knocked Cassie out of consciousness was because he was desperate to have company especially when Gregory said that he’s been trapped for really long time.

Then if Mimic cut the elevator (as in destroyed the conduit) either he didn’t think that the elevator would fall or he’s so desperate that he’ll let Cassie get hurt on the way down…but I think I’ll choose that first one.

Conclusion?

Mimic is so tragic actually…same thing with book!Mimic. Anyways

AlsoiheadcanonedVannycalledMimicJimmysoMimic’sactualnameisJimmy

This theory is helped by @chaosnightgal

[iasmelaion]

In the spirit of the post you just reblogged and because I only just stumbled my way to being obsessed with this fic, would you like to talk about the backstory/impetus behind "join the monster squad"?

I have so many feelings about trauma recovery and how people carry the pain they've been dealt, and you rendered it in such a grounded way with Yelena and the many (oh God SO MANY) former assassins in the Avengers' orbit.

Yes, always!!

So, the backstory behind this fic is that I had an idea kicking around my fic notes file for literal YEARS that was just: "post-Endgame Bucky's support group for traumatized ex-assassins and non-con science experiments." Because yeah, when I thought about it, the MCU was ABSOLUTELY FULL of traumatized ex-assassins and non-con science experiments, and I was like, "hmm, there's a possibly funny, possibly sad story in that." The idea lingered on, unwritten, and eventually I was like, well, maybe it's not Bucky's support group, but Natasha's, and then it lingered some more, mostly because I covered the ground I wanted to with these two in other fics, so the prospect of writing this fic with either of those two felt kind of boring.

But then after I wrote "a balanced, careful weave" from Yelena's POV, I realized the fic could also work as a Yelena fic, and then it all clicked! It's not exactly a sequel to "a balanced, careful weave", but they do take place in the same fic universe, so that one might shed some more light on Yelena. Mostly though, writing Yelena's voice is an absolute delight, so I was excited to try out the premise with her.

Writing it from Yelena's POV was much more interesting to me than writing it from Bucky or Natasha's, mostly because I think Yelena has a very different view of her circumstances and her trauma than either of those two do. She's very pragmatic, and she has very different needs and desires than either Bucky or Natasha. Where Bucky and Natasha are pretty concerned with guilt and redemption and the red in their ledgers--or, as Yelena herself observes, where they're still suffering as a result of their pasts--Yelena seems like the kind of person who can just move on without angsting about it too much. Not that she's amoral or anything, but she just doesn't seem interested in dwelling, or in blaming herself. She doesn't want to fit in anyone's neat and organized system of trauma classification, and in fact, she doesn't. She's clear-eyed about her situation, maybe almost uncomfortably so. And she's doing great, all things considered!

My thesis statement about Yelena's perspective on her experience is basically set forth in the fic here:

Yelena had been childish clay molded into the vessel of a Black Widow—there is little point in mourning or missing the clay she had been. She is whole and unbroken as she is, even if the shape she’s been molded into is dangerous, even if she’s still kind of hollow now that all the chemical compulsion and orders have been poured out.

...

Yelena’s not trying to put herself back together; she’s just trying to fill herself up.

So the question I asked myself was, well, if the ex-assassin and non-con experimentation of it all is not where her trauma is, if that's not what she's still struggling with, what is? And I thought, what we do see her canonically concerned with is her family, and her fellow Widows, so I tackled her trauma from that angle. I did in fact want to show the different ways people carry the pain they've been dealt, and how sometimes that's not going to be in ways you might expect. Like, Yelena is not wracked with guilt over the people she killed, she's not dwelling on the horrors of being made into a Black Widow; none of that is how her trauma is bubbling up or continuing to impact her. The worst of the grief and pain she carries is about her fellow Black Widows, and her perceived failure to save them.

Idk, I guess it all just boils down to me wanting to try a different perspective on this kind of trauma and grief! I wanted it to be true that Yelena is doing really well, that she's genuinely quite happy now that she has a new family she's built and work she's proud of that she can do freely, but that she's also still pretty damn fucked up. With the support group, I wanted to show all these different kinds of ways these characters are dealing with similar back stories, how none of them are right, per se, but that they can all find some more peace and healing by being in community with each other.

One other thing about the fic is that I briefly considered ending it with her finding her fellow Widows--for what it's worth, my authorial intent is that she will in fact eventually find them--but in the end I thought the more important thing was that Yelena hadn't given up hope that she would find them, and that she could now accept help to find them.

[picathartidae]

For the most recent round of ask game I'd love to hear your answers for 5, 9, 23, and 26. 💙

I'm still answering for Alassane, despite him being a Dark Urge, because my Tavs are all from a different D&D setting and none of them are sufficiently fleshed out when it comes to the Forgotten Realms. I really hope that's okay!

5. Did your Tav have any formal or informal employment? If yes, what was their job? If no, how did they make ends meet? How did they feel about it?

The closest Alassane ever got a real job was when he was about 10/11 years old and found himself homeless and briefly wandering the Outer City. Through various wacky happenstance, a blacksmith took pity on him and he ended up becoming the man’s apprentice for a few years. It ended, as all nice things in Alassane’s backstory do, with murder, when he was 15. From that point on, he was a career criminal and assassin, and finally ending up as an adventurer/mercenary during and after the events of the game.

It all instilled a very blunt pragmatism in Alassane, as well as a general lack of respect for money or the concept of private property. He doesn’t have strong feelings about what he does, he just does whatever he has to in order to survive and achieve his goals.

9. What was your Tav doing when they were taken by the mind flayers?

He was catatonic, as he had been for maybe nine months by that point, and imprisoned in the mind flayer colony deep beneath Moonrise Towers. Then his pod was shoved onto a nautiloid, and the rest is history.

23. What are 2-3 songs that your Tav would relate to?

I always struggle with these kinds of questions, because I don’t really engage with songs based on lyrics, but rather entirely on vibes. Alassane’s vibes are mainly aggressive electronic, grunge, and alt rock — with a few bits of other extremely eclectic nonsense thrown in. The best I can do are songs I have written Alassane doing things to, and why I picked them.

1991, by Golden Features

This is literally the song I wrote the dance scene in his first chapter to, and is probably the closest I have to a ‘main theme’. It’s electronic nonsense with no lyrics at all, which I liked and thought fit him because the heavy synth feels very artificial and unnatural in a medieval fantasy setting. Since Alassane (as the Dark Urge) was created rather than born, it seemed very accurate for the character, and helps give off this terrifying and uncanny vibe. And I could so very easily imagine him doing an impromptu Fosse-style jazz ballet dance routine to this song.

Let You Go, by RY X

For slower and more introspective scenes, usually dream sequences that aren’t outright nightmares. This is very much a song for post-amnesia Alassane that kind of has come to represent his growth as a character because there is actually a bit of symmetry with his arc in the lyrics.

Elddansurin, by Heilung

It’s a good aggressive sounding song with lots of percussion and growling that flows into something a bit softer and more melodic as the song goes on. It’s got some nice dualism to it, and I think that reflects Alassane’s whole deal very nicely. Heilung is also one of my favourite bands and this song is amazing fun to write violence to.

26. Does your Tav have a treasured item with them? If yes, what is it and why is it special? If no, how do they feel about item sentimentality in general?

He’s not an overly sentimental guy, at least not about material possessions. The closest thing he has to a treasured possession is a serrated dagger he woke up with on the nautiloid, and that’s because it’s basically the only connection he has to his past after the amnesia. Before he lost his memories, I doubt that knife meant anything to him at all.

What he is sentimental about is his name, which is its own complicated mess of a subplot that relates to his foster family and how he perceives himself. It's his last connection to the person he wishes he still was, when he was still an innocent child and before Bhaal ruined everything. His foster family was desperately important to him, and their murder was what broke him. He clings to his name in the vain hope that one day, he can find that boy in himself again.

[justawanderer]

Ao3 wrapped [writers edition - 2024]

Tagged by @foodsies4me , thank you!😊

01. How many words have you written this year?

Published in 2024: 100,221

I didn’t even realize how many words until right now! Wow!

02. How many works did you publish this year?

I published 9 completed works in 2024 and added 10 chapters to my WIP started in 2023.

03. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

Contingencies my baby, part 1 of my MO for Malec.

But in terms of whole works for 2024:

Why don’t we go Somewhere only we know this was a beast in its own right.

Is was created for a bang and i appreciated the collab. Also there is a ton of world building.

04. What work of yours has the most hits?

Contingencies overall

For 2024 completed works:

Party Ready

05.  What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

A Visitor and Effort

They are season 3A reaction fixit fics and were written to appease my own wants from the show. I love both of them. I just didn’t realize others would as well.

06. Favourite title you used?

The Mage’s Keep: A Magical Sanctuary for those Burnt Out on Life

I love when stories have disproportionately long names, especially since this was a crack fic written in response to a post by Harry shum jr on ig.

07. If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most?

My collab partner and I decided on Keane’s some where only we know for our Bang fic. So by stats that’s the group and song used most.

08. Pairing you wrote the most for this year?

Malec 🥰

09. Favourite pairing you wrote for this year?

Malec!

Honorable mention to Jace/Simon which I wrote a gift fic for for Xmas. It was fun to step outside my Malec comfort zone.

10. What work was the quickest to write?

Party Ready

Is the first smut I’ve ever written. Whole thing was written and published in 45 minutes driving home from my birthday weekend. (Which is why it’s unedited.)

11. What work took you the longest to write?

Why don’t we go Somewhere only we know

I had 10k words written, realized it was 100% backstory and unnecessary so i scrapped it and then it was like pulling teeth to get the rest of it together.

12. How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

3+ finish contingencies write and complete one of the two companions and start the other. Also I just assume there will be more smaller fics, most likely more 3A argument fix it’s, because I can’t help myself.

13. What’s your longest work of the year?

I added more to Contingencies than everything else combined, but Somewhere only we know is longest completed work.

14. What’s your shortest work of the year?

Becoming Magnus Bane at 1,210 words. It’s more of the concept of a fic than a fic.

15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

Contingencies!

16. What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

AU-Canon Divergence

In this house, we fix the continuity errors of the show and make it more Malec.

17. Your favourite character to write this year?

I love both Magnus and Alec, but I identify with Alec so much and his voice is so easy.

I also really enjoyed writing Simon this year.

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Jace- I just can’t get the hang of it. Which is bad because he has two big chapters coming

Izzy-there’s a reason I’ve never added her pov. I can’t get her voice right.

19. What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

Malec! With maybe Simon/Jace added in!

20. Which work of yours have you reread the most?

Contingencies-i am writing this for myself. It’s the fic I’ve wanted to read since I got into the fandom so I reread it for enjoyment and also to keep up on plot threads I started.

21. How many kudos in total did you get this year?

I don’t keep track. I write for myself. It’s always lovely to see that people like my work. Also amusing to get notifications on random fics months after writing.

22. Which work has the most comments?

For 2024:

I would be the best boyfriend. Which is delightful because this was such an angst fest.

23. Did you do any collaborative work this year?

Yes.

Somewhere only you know was in collaboration with Better_than_Chocolate.

It’s a quest fic with enemies to lovers Malec that takes place in the UnSeelie realm.

24. Did you write any gifts this year?

I wrote 2!

Best laid Christmas plans for Cor321

This one is Jace/Simon Xmas fic

And I Dare You Pretty Boy for @just-add-butter

This one is instant marriage ooey-gooey Malec love

24. Did you write any gifts this year?

I did! I got

Santa Tell Me from @demy85

26. What’s your most common category?

M/M

27. What do you listen to while writing?

I am not the type to listen while actively writing, but while brainstorming in the car I usually have pop-punk on and flesh out fic ideas.

Muse, Marianas Trench, and the Punk goes Pop albums mostly

28. Favourite work you wrote this year?

I dare you pretty boy, which is my most favorite trope.

Effort because it’s the essence of what I think Malec is and will be.

29. Favourite line/passage you wrote this year?

I have a couple, but the singular line I’ve gotten the most feedback on is

“Magnus has just finished cleaning the kitchen, or well, the two burner stove, accompanying tiny oven and equally child-sized refrigerator and single square foot of counter space, when the door opens and God walks in. “ from I dare you pretty boy

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

How easy it was to maintain consistency while writing and updating. The more you do it!

I have seen so many of these. I believe im the last person. But if you see this and want to play, then feel free!

[1nindroid]

Author's notes on the portrayal of the Scroll of Forbidden Spinjitsu in Bitter Cold

Long-ish post below

When it came to giving the Scroll of Forbidden Spinjitsu a character and backstory, I had a few ideas in mind initially. One of the first ones was that it was ~all in Zane's head oooo~ which I thought maybe could work? But then I scrapped it because I didn't think it was that much of a fascinating idea. The Oni idea actually came around while I was writing the story and rewatching March of the Oni out of fun.

I'm pretty interested in the whole Light vs. Darkness or Dragons vs. Oni idea that the show produced. So, the idea was formed that the FSM used some Oni remains and his own light powers (still in debate) to empower the scrolls.

I was also unsure of what pronouns to use for the Oni within. I thought of them as a masculine presence, so I did consider he/him. But then I thought that they would be beyond normal gender stuff, so then I went with they/them? Earlier on in the chapter, I used it/its for them because they were still an inanimate object technically. It got confusing really fast, so I just said fuck it and wrote the scroll using they/he/it pronouns because, why not?

As far as how much physical control the scroll has over Zane's body, that is yet to be understood. It has the capabilities for rooting around in his data and knowing where to look for stuff inside of digital spaces. But it's form of control is totally psychological (like Vex). I think that because it is thousands of years old, it still doesn't have that much of a grasp on tech.

I also have in mind that after centuries of talking with the scroll in his mind, the Ice Emperor has formed a sort of secret language to communicate with it. From an outsider's perspective, it almost sounds like morse code but even more complicated. When the Ice Emperor starts to talk using his mouth again, I imagine it would be somewhat difficult to remember using that motor skill.

In the next chapter, I'll dive into more of the mechanics of the Scroll of Forbidden Spinjitsu and how it functions. I wish I could talk some more about it here, but I don't want to spoil it.

[eddiediazes]

temptation tuesday

okay i’m trying my hand at this this week for the first time! since i didn’t get in on the fun last week bc i was klmasdf Suffering. so i got tagged by @diazass for temptation tuesday, so here are some wips i have that i’m considering getting back into and/or possibly writing for the big bang?? in part i may be using this to decide what i’m writing for the big bang if any of y’all like any of these.

1. 118 ghost hunters au - i’ve shared from this verse a couple of times but it’s actually a wacky little thing i’ve dreamed up where the 118 (minus eddie bc he just moved to la) are LA’s only official team of ghost hunters, and they’re state/city funded just like other emergency workers but for ghosts. so ghosts are kind of a known entity but not everyone believes in them - but the supernatural is real, eddie’s house is actually haunted, and buck has a messed up trauma backstory relating to his own personal supernatural experience :) also. ghosts so i get to indulge my own interest in Spooky

2. action star buck / fight coordinator eddie - i have also posted excerpts from this like a thousand years ago now but. basically buck is an actor and the star of a popular action franchise (something like a blend between mission impossible and john wick) and he keeps insisting on doing his own stunts, and bobby and chim, who work with him, are genuinely concerned about him and think he isn’t coming at it from a healthy place. enter eddie, a mostly retired stunt coordinator who now runs a gym with lena bosko, who gets Pulled Back In For One Last Job by chim, because bobby thinks he could help out with buck. cue resentment and distance slowly building into friendship and then they fall in love :) also you know. movie sets and fight scenes and dangerous stunts and buck having Issues with thinking he’s expendable.

3. buck is a mind reader - i still don’t have much of this, but i like what i wrote - so it’s that fic based on the concept that buck actually can read minds like we all joked about but. i ended up going with him always having been able to instead of getting it from the lightning - with the one hitch that he cannot read eddie’s mind, kind of like how edward can’t read bella’s mind in twilight???? i’m a cornball i know i get it

4. hunter eddie au - this is also more vague and could maybe be combined with the above idea depending on how i handled it all but basically one night i spent like kasmdlf an hour or something spiraling in kaitlin @iinryer‘s dms over the concept of eddie being raised as a hunter (yes like supernatural style) and like. feeling very trapped by the system of violence and like the only thing he’s good for is hunting but then he meets buck who is some kind of supernatural creature and eddie doesn’t realize at first and he’s doing a lot of hard work on his own to rise above the way he was raised and the kind of things his dad said about “monsters” and then eventually he finds out about buck and - well. you know. you get it

5. eddie goes back to el paso - this fic has no real plot but it is like. my baby my cinnamon apple. originally i started it after 5b after hero complex and i was like. what if eddie stayed in el paso for a while to fix things with his family and then he invited buck to join him. and then instead it eventually became actually what if frank encouraged eddie to go back to el paso to really fully confront things instead of just taking a quick visit and he suggested eddie also take like. a safe person for himself and eddie was like well obviously that would be buck so then they go to el paso together and eddie walks buck through like. all his childhood memories and all the places he grew up and like. idk that’s the whole fic. but i think about her a lot sdkalfm

SORRY I’VE NEVER SHUT UP ONE DAY IN MY LIFE this is so many words about my silly little ideas. i’ll tag @spaceprincessem @comaboybuck @buckactuallys @iinryer @gayeddieagenda @fallingthorns @colonoscopys and anybody else who sees this and wants to do it please feel free to say i tagged you!

thank you to anyone who reads klmasdf any of this. please do tell me if they sound interesting. thanks bye <3

[fruit-of-infidelity]

My OCs from different fandoms and their races!

Tagged by: @kindan-no-kanojo ! Tagging: @poohwhin , @sumire-bride , @arleccine !

This was super fun! I didn't include the founders that i have been working on (i mean, forgot about.. bc ive been busy but ahem i WILL finish them, promise), but this made me think about the babies I abandoned along the way (i only love my one son Ryuuto and what of it, huh?) but maybe i could pick up the stories of these old OC's somewhere down the line when i inevitably dive back into these fandoms through cosplay lol. I have plenty of old OCs, for the record, these are simply the ones that I could remember/fit in nicely/liked best to include. TW for old, blurry, cringe art.

#1 Diabolik Lovers - Sakamaki Ryuuto

Race: Vampire Age: 18 (Physically)

I mean, you already know about him if you're reading this lol. My favourite, and I have no shame in saying that. He is the OC of mine that will always, ALWAYS get the spotlight, and get put onto a pedestal, because he is my SON, my LIGHT, my MASTERPIECE. I wuv him so much, I miss him, and cannot wait to return to posting regularly here (which I hope to do as of now-nextweek-ish?)!

#2 Diabolik Lovers - Dietrich

Race: Familiar/Unknown(?) Age: Mid-20's

Dietrich's character was scrapped early on into Ryuuto's development. He was initially going to be a personal servant/familiar and close friend of Ryuuto's, actually! I wasn't sure how I wanted their relationship to develop and, in the end, i felt that Ryuuto was best suited to be more of the loner type anyhow. So, as much as I adored how his character design turned out, I ended up scrapping him :(

#3 Black Butler - Alexander Eden

Race: Demon Age: 20 (Psychically) Height: 185cm (6'1") Occupation: Head Butler of the Peirce Estate | Demon | Contract Holder

Throwback to my delusional blonde men era, lmao. Alexander is (was?) an idea I created for a black butler storyline of my own alongside another self-insert-turned-oc. I still have the original unfinished story up on my Quotev, actually, which describes him as having "many different sections of his personality, each triggered through separate methods or people". Yes, I am quoting myself appropriately. I take social studies at university, deal with it. He's a blend of Sebastian, Claude, and Reiji, being "distant from other demons and disdainful in general ... [holding] onto the idea that perfection is the only thing valuable in this world and it can only be achieved through a pure soul of one completely aware of corruption yet not tainted by its temptations". I actually kind of miss him :')

#4 Free! - Niikura Seiji

Race: Human Age: 17 Height: 177cm (5'10") Weight: 65kg (143lbs)

Just directly quoting from the character profile I set up for him, Seiji is "the freestyle and backstroke swimmer and the vice-captain of the Kobeyashi Academy's swim team and a 3rd year high school student ... He was previously attending Iwatobi High School. He is part of the swimming club which includes: Tokaji Kuse, Yukari Niikura and Katsuyuki Tsukino", which are other OC's for his story. Cue the violins because his whole backstory is basically: "Originally, he was extremely passionate about the the swim team at Iwatobi, however, he was never accepted into it. Seiji stopped swimming after he was suspended from junior high school after attempting to psychically attack Rin who insulted his speed in the water. It wasn’t until his best friend Tokaji forced him back into swimming that he found his spark again". I began his story, but never published it! I might get around to doing that, because I really liked what I wrote for him back in 2018.

#5 Noragami - Shoji

Race: God Age: ??? Height: ???

Unfortunately, I didn't write a character profile for Shoji when I was interested in his story so I cannot remember it for the most part, and I only wrote two unpublished chapters which I archived. However, in the little synopsis, the storyline was that, as the reader, you "had known Shoji - the God of afterlife and exorcisms - for a while now and, oddly enough, a phantom encounter one afternoon after-school had brought you and your best-friend Hiyori closer after finding out she also knew a God. Soon you begun to realise if Shoji and Yato being past enemies wasn't bad enough to start another fight, the fact that both of them were falling rapidly for you definitely was". A typical, cringey (read: hot) love-triangle from an old fandom I was am into. Shoji, like Yato, was a God as was basically the polar opposite of his outgoing, happy-go-lucky nature for the most-part. It was just a sort of ying-yang situation, for the reader, I think. I had to use a picrew to reimagine him because I used a faceclaim but couldn’t find the original character T-T

#6 Yandere Simulator - Yuuto Shinohara

Race: Human Age: 17 Personality Type: Kuudere-Yandere

You're typical yandere!boy story, lol. I really did like making only male OCs, huh. Yuuto "is a 17 year old in second-year high school student at Akademi High. His classroom is 3-2, the same classroom as Taro Yamada. He has a strange obsession with Ayano Aishi and maintains a lovestruck persona towards her, as she does with Taro. He is in the Student Council Club as it offers him large benefits around the school". He was actually inspired here and there by some of the DiaBoys in his actions/manner of speech/etc. with the (again) unpublished chapters I produced for him. As is typical of many OCs, he had a tragic backstory too; Yuuto "had a hard time as a child, unwilling but not incapable of caring for others. Reasons for this stem from many different areas of his life, including the fact his parents died when he was young which left him with his older sister, Chiyu - the normal parent-child relationship unable to be created. Chiyu, although being a loving older sister, often leaves her younger brother alone while she visits different cities around Japan in pursuit of her career as a Tour Guide. This means Yuuto is often left alone for a number of months at a time. Yuuto, prior to transferring to Akademi High School in second year, was often bullied at school for being too quiet and isolating himself". Kind of want to explore him some more, too :'( Curse this tag game, making me want to hug my old OCs.

[cbrownjc]

Finally watched Mayfair Witches - and oh boy . . .

No spoilers, but if you really like this show, then please just skip this post. This is really just my opinion and not an attack on anyone who may enjoy the show.

* * * * *

So I just binged watched the first six episodes of Mayfair Witches finally.

And OMG, how do you make a story with witches and ghosts and a secret paranormal organization so boring!?

Because that is the ultimate problem with this show - it’s utterly boring. The storytelling, the direction, and the characters. They are all so, so boring. 

I don’t want this show crossing over with Interview with the Vampire at all in its current state. Because I seriously think they would find a way to make all the characters from that show boring if they got their hands on them.

As I said, I watched the first six episodes and don’t know if I can muster up any desire to watch the final two. That’s how much I don’t care what happens.

The problem isn’t that the show changed things from the book. I was completely fine with the majority of changes the show made. It was how they wrote and executed those changes that is the main problem here. 

And I want to place the majority of the blame on the writing here. IMO, the actors are all trying to make this work as best as they can. But there really is nothing that could be done to elevate this, because the main fault, as I said, lies with the writing. 

Adapting the first book into a season-long story was probably an impossible task anyway. The majority of the book this season is based on, The Witching Hour, is the backstory of the main family line of the Mayfairs. It basically reads very much like a historical account, because that’s exactly what that major part of the book is. 

And that backstory contains a lot of incest, and I mean a lot. We’re talking about how the Targaryens are tame when it comes to incest compared to the Mayfairs. 

It’s only in the final 1/4 or so of the book that contains any current plot and big story movement and, even then, it ends on a cliffhanger. 

So yeah, I don’t know what they are going to do to fix this in season 2, because IMO the only way to fix this is to go back to the drawing board and fix the whole structure of this adaptation. Because right now it just feels like someone crossed NCIS: New Orleans with The Secret Circle, and I don’t think that is what they were going for at all. (Or maybe they were, I don’t know). 

Anyway, yeah. IMO a crossover at the moment isn’t going to work. Not just because of the elevated writing of one show compared to the other but, quite frankly, both shows don’t even feel like they are part of the same universe to me, even though they are supposed to be. IWTV feels operatic yet dreamlike in its presentation IMO. Whereas Mayfair Witches just feels like every other standard tv show that had a supernatural bent that gets canceled after one season. Kinda like The Secret Circle. 

And I don’t feel wrong in thinking that if AMC didn’t own the rights to Mayfair Witches, that might have already been its fate as well by now.

* * * * *

Really? A bottle episode after the event with Carlotta and the fire? This was not only an episode that bored me but annoyed me too because I could just feel the writing thinking it was clever with the misdirects . . . 

And don’t get me started on some of the things I know I would likely be confused about if I hadn’t read the book . . . 

* * * * * 

Seriously, I am not kidding when I say this show could find a way to make even Lestat boring. Because, IMO, it really, really could.