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crazylittlejester · 10 months ago

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Fic Master List

redoing this lmao. almost all of these are Warriors centric fics, and if he ain’t the MAIN focus, he’s at least like second. Click titles for the links

Last updated: August 20th

Series:

1. You’re A Part Of Me- [Description] A bunch of fics that focus on Time/Mask and Wars both during the War of Eras and after it. The first fifteen fics or so in this series are pretty unconnected and can be read in any order. They reference each other in small ways but not in any way that would be significant. After part 15, the fics get a little more connected but for the most part can still be read in any order!

Works in this series: Misunderstandings, Melody, Regrets and Regrowth, Overwhelmed, Poisoned (?), Sick Day, Safe, Roots, The Scarf, Recovery, The Medic, Sugar, An Adventure Interrupted, A Moment of Peace, Spilled Secrets, The Following Dusk, Warriors vs. The Sinking Feeling That Time Is Up To No Good, Lost Bets and Cat Sweaters, Melancholy, Drowned & Frozen, Fever, Memento Mori, Asking For Help, Respect, Fragments

2. Fierce Hero 9- [Description] The Big Hero 6 AU no one asked for

Main Story: Fierce Hero 9

Bonus Chapters: Pancakes and Mourning, Beginnings, The Other Universe, Secrets and Sick Days, The Adventures of Mask and Wolfie

3. Linked Through the Centuries- [Description] A bunch of different Links find themselves in a strange land, armed with only one of the things they remember having last in their possession. They need to team up together and figure out why they were sent there, what the threat is, and locate the Hero of Time before it’s too late (this is my own Links Meet AU!)

4. The Midnight Hours- [Description] What takes place between Sunset 14 and Dawn 1 (written before the Dawn arc was finished)

Works in this series: The Midnight Hours, The Following Dusk

5. Big Brother Wars- [Description] Literally just a collection of fics I’ve written of Warriors being a good big brother to various members of the chain :)

Works in this series: Dog Days, Bad Dreams Better Future, Sky’s Terrible Day, Misconceptions, Closer, Really It’s Just A Scratch

Multi Chapter Fics:

Of Officers and Stuffed Elephants- Summary: Being an officer at Castle Town Police Department meant that each day was full of surprises, but one specific call comes in one day that completely changes Wars’s life

The Longest Battle- (written with @hero-of-the-wolf) Summary: After a difficult journey during the day full of obstacles and hard battles, Time finds himself trapped repeating the same battle over and over again. He has no choice, if he wants to save his brothers. However every time he uses his ocarina to reverse fate, he finds the price of saving his lost companion is the life of another.

A Mortifying Change of Plans (or Twilight’s Worst Nightmare: A Party)- Summary: Twilight was perfectly comfortable with his idea of how the evening would go: he could just stand there in a corner, watching the princess and his brothers from afar. He wasn’t a huge fan of social events, but this was easy enough. He could do it. Just as long as no body changed his plan. He would be fine. He could do this…

Random Fics that don’t really connect to anything else:

Trapped- Summary: Legend and Warriors get stuck in a tight room in a dungeon and have to work together to get out of it

(You Aren’t) Selfish- Summary: Time’s fine. Really, he is. Because he has no other choice. With everything all the younger heroes around him are going through, one of them has to be okay enough to support the others, and it’s going to be him.

The Captain, The Sailor, and Some Oranges- Summary: Warriors takes Wind out scouting him because the little sailor found himself unable to sit still and he needed an outlet for his energy. It’s a good thing Wars wasn’t alone, his blood sugar dips too low and he didn’t bring himself any snacks

Slept In- Summary: Warriors was so tired, surely sleeping in and enjoying just laying in his bed would have absolutely no consequences? SURELY he could sleep in and nothing would happen because of it, just this once? Right? (or: Mask abuses being unsupervised)

Faded Sun- Summary: Nightmares weren’t an uncommon occurrence in the life of a hero. However, Time didn’t anticipate how rattled he would be after being forced to face the reality of how badly war had impacted someone he cares so much about. (or: Time, with his adult eyes and current understanding of life, sees Warriors from the end of the War of Eras and is able to for the first time really see just how different he was and just how far he’s come in the past few years)

(The) Trouble with Words- Summary: Mask once again finds himself in a position where his actions might have severe consequences for Captain Link, and he feels incredibly guilty for the trouble he causes his brother. However… in his defense… the guy deserved it.

Apples or Oranges- Summary: Staying in Hateno was meant to be a break for them: a chance to shop and explore the village, a chance to catch up on much needed sleep, a chance to spend time with a brother. But of course Warriors simply cannot catch a break, and this time it’s all Time’s fault, the little shit. Well… and the fault of a seemingly innocent apple tree.

Close Call- Summary: The life of a hero is a dangerous one, and when facing danger every day, it’s easy to forget how fast things can go wrong. After almost losing Warriors, Time has to really take a minute to assure himself the captain is okay

Fireworks- Summary: Warriors doesn’t like fireworks very much at all

A Quiet Night- Summary: Warriors tries his best not to let the chain see how badly the war and everything that happened still effects them, and his plan of sneaking off to cry in the woods had been working pretty well for a decently long time. But Legend hears him while up on watch, and he’s not just going to leave Warriors to cry alone

A Helping Paw- Summary: Warriors has been acting weird ever since Twilight was injured, and Twilight is going to do anything he can to try to get his brother to loosen up, even if he accidentally hurts himself in the process

Pirates and Ice Cream- Summary: Twilight is having a miserable awful time in his senior year of high school, he just has to make it through the end so he can join his brother at college. Although it appears Warriors isn’t having the best time either

Scary Dog Privilege- Summary: After a long day, Twilight and Warriors sneak out to the tavern, and when two strangers don't seem to get the hint and leave Warriors alone, making the captain visibly uncomfortable, Twilight steps in to put them in their place

Flour and Flowers- Summary: It wasn’t often the group got a break from everything. At the ranch, Time takes an opportunity to show his wife and the boys how much he loves them all by doing something nice for them and cooking them breakfast by himself. Or at least he PLANNED to do it by himself

Boy’s Night- Summary: After a really long day, Sky kicks out Twilight, Warriors, and Time because they won’t stop hovering, and forces them to take a break. They find themselves in a bar, and Warriors simply CANNOT believe how oblivious Time is to what goes on around him. or Time cannot for the life of him read when people are hitting on him because it simply never occurred to him that was a thing that could happen, and Warriors has made it his personal duty to watch his brother’s back

2 a.m. Shenanigans- Summary: Twilight had been resting all day and he was starting to get bored. Problem is, Wild is dead asleep on top of him and he can’t move. Warriors and Sky rescue him from where he’s stuck, and the three of them take time to relax and unwind by running around outside in the dead of night

Star Light, Star Bright, First Star I See Tonight- Summary: He hadn’t realized the other heroes were slowly becoming family… He hadn’t realized when he’d started to view them as brothers. or: Warriors got bored on watch and the Thought Spiral caught up to him, and he started thinking about his family, and he comes to the realization the heroes around him have started to make him feel safe again

if a single one of these links doesn’t work or if there’s one single mistake in here somewhere i WILL explode-

#omfg this took me an hour to type out and organize i need to go lay down now lmao #to anyone who takes the time to read through this or just acknowledge/like the post ily #you get a kiss on the forehead /p if you reblog #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu fanfiction #lu fic #jes fic #jes talks

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otomehonyaku · 8 months ago

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Diabolik Lovers Lost Eden Drama CD Translation ☽ Vol. 4 Mukami Saga ☽ Track 3・About 'Him'

Original title of this track: あの方 (1) のこと Voiced by Sakurai Takahiro (Ruki), Suzuki Tatsuhisa (Yuma), Kishio Daisuke (Azusa), Kimura Ryōhei (Kou) English translation by @otomehonyaku Click here for the audio (as always, BIG thank you to @karleksmumskladdkaka!)

TRACK 1・TRACK 2・TRACK 3・TRACK 4・TRACK 5・AFTER STORY

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

This is the fourth volume of the Lost Eden drama CDs! I'll make separate posts for each track and update the links above as I go. This is the third track on the CD, containing a good dose of spice ( ⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝) I keep forgetting how slowly Azusa talks so by the time I finally got around to translating this track, I actually finished it in less than an hour... Happy listening and reading along!

Please do not reuse or post my translations elsewhere or translate my work into other languages without my permission.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

00:00 Kou: Ah… It’s like I’m being brought back to life! I know they always say bath time is when all your everyday troubles just fall from your shoulders (2), but it actually is. Ah? Kitten, why are you sitting all the way in the corner like that? Are you embarrassed? You looked pretty confident before you changed into that towel, though. Hehe. How cute.

[You ask him where you are.]

Kou: Hm? Oh, right. Lord Karl Heinz built this place for us when he took us to Eden. To remind us of our former humanity even after we became vampires, in a way. He was kind. He really was, but he was pretty much the vampire to rule all vampires, you know? Sometimes, he could be cold as ice, and quite strict, too. I don’t know what it’s like to have parents, but if I had a father, I wonder if he would be like Him.

[You desperately try to carry on the conversation.]

Kou: Ah, you don’t have to try so hard to follow that up! I forgive you. However... could you comfort me? The scent of your blood is so strong. I wonder if it’s because of the bath. It’s been difficult to resist since we got in… Let me drink. You’re fine with it, right? Well, I would dig in even without your permission, though—

[Kou bites you.]

Kou: Mm… Ah… Delicious. Tasting you fresh out of the bath is heaven already, but the taste of your blood while we’re in the bath is the best, too. Give me more…

[Kou bites you again… until Yuma and Azusa come in.]

02:42 Yuma: Ah! You predictable asshole.

Kou: Ah? Oh, Yuma. You’re late.

Azusa: Eve… Your face is… very red.

Kou: And you too, Azusa!

[Kou turns to look at you.]

Kou: Ah, it really is! You’re so red you’re practically glowing!

[You immediately lose consciousness.]

Kou: Huh? Kitten? Hold on!

Yuma: Ah, she’s passed out.

Kou: Ah—I might’ve gotten a little carried away.

Yuma: ‘A little,’ you say?

[Yuma punches Kou.]

Kou: Ow—it’s not worth punching me for, though!

Yuma: What? Don’t exaggerate. I barely poked you.

Azusa: Eve? Are you… alright?

Kou (in the background): Yeah, well, try thinking about the difference in strength between us.

Azusa: Eve…? Pull yourself together…

Kou (in the background): You may think you only poked me, but I’m your weak little brother Kou and you’re the big, beefy guy. That makes it practically the same as punching me!

Azusa (to you): Ah, you’re too far gone…

Yuma (in the background): What, you’re admittin’ to being a weakling? You are by far the most headstrong out of all of us, though.

Azusa: It can’t be… helped…

[Azusa lifts you out of the bath.]

Kou (in the background): That’s harsh! C’mon, Yuma. How can I enjoy myself when you’re being so mean to me? (3)

Yuma (in the background): Huh? The fuck’re you sayin’? That’s got nothin’ to do with it.

Kou (in the background): That has everything to do with it!

Azusa (to you): Let’s go somewhere more… quiet, and cool… Alright?

Kou: How do you not understand? It’s my damn right to—huh? What? Kitten?

Yuma: She’s gone! How?!

Azusa: Hehehe… Eve, I caught you…

[The scene shifts to ‘your’ room. You wake up in your bed with Azusa beside you.]

04:37 Azusa: Are you… awake?

[You shoot upright.]

Azusa: You might be surprised… right? Eve… this is your room. You lost consciousness in the bath, so… I brought you here.

[You look down to your body in a fit of panic.]

Azusa: It’s okay… I’ve already dressed you… and dried your hair. I wouldn’t want you to… catch a cold, Eve…

[You get embarrassed.]

Azusa: Oh… your face is red. Are you still… not feeling well?

[You shake your head.]

Azusa: That’s a relief… Would you like something… to drink? You have to stay hydrated…

[Azusa pours you a glass of water.]

Azusa: I have plenty of experience with… passing out after staying in the bath too long, as well… Whenever that happened, Ruki always told me… to drink a lot of water, so…

[You ask him about it.]

06:22 Azusa: Well… I used to enjoy hurting myself, but… When you go into the bath with fresh wounds… it stings, right? It heightens the pain… So, that’s why I would… soak in the bath for too long… But Lord Karl Heinz would get upset with me… so I stopped doing it. Oh… You have to drink some water, though…! I’ll help you… so please stay down… okay?

[You nod.]

Azusa: Can you… lift your head, just a little?

[You do as he says.]

Azusa: Alright… here, drink…

[Azusa lifts the cup to your lips and you drink, but some of the water spills.]

Azusa: Oh…! You spilled a little… I’ll wipe it off…

[Azusa wipes off the water and pats you dry.]

Azusa: It’s okay… Your clothes aren’t that wet… Would you like some more…? You don’t have to hold back… I will do whatever you wish…

[You thank him and tell him you’re okay.]

Azusa: Oh… I see. Ah, I’m sorry… I wanted to take care of you a little longer, so… It’s no good—I should’ve told you… just like Kou did… You look troubled… I’m sorry. It’s my fault…

[Azusa comes closer to you.]

09:41 Azusa: I don’t want to… trouble you… If I did… I would…

[Azusa shakes off his indecisiveness and lifts himself on top of you.]

Azusa: I should just be honest and tell you… that I would like your blood… I’ve only touched you a little, but… my desire is so strong… I can’t hold myself back… I wonder if it’s because… Kou drank from you earlier…

[Azusa leans in.]

Azusa: I’ll only take a little, so… It’s okay… right?

[Azusa licks your neck and bites down.]

11:12 Azusa: Eve…

[After a little while, there’s a knock on the door. Ruki comes in, which startles Azusa.]

Azusa: Oh…!

Ruki: Dinner’s ready.

Azusa: Ruki…?

Ruki: Come downstairs before it gets cold. Don’t play around with her too much.

[Ruki closes the door.]

Azusa: I’m not playing around with you, though…

[Azusa lifts himself off of you.]

Azusa: I’m sorry, Eve…

[Azusa helps you up.]

Azusa: Let’s go… You must be hungry… right?

[The two of you go to the dining room.]

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

あの方（かた）: Lit. ‘that person.’ The Mukamis always use this (relatively neutral) term to refer to Karl Heinz—even though they rarely call him by his name, everybody knows the only person they could be referring to is Karl Heinz. It won’t really stand out in the title of this post but I always translate this term as ‘He/Him’ with a capital H, mostly because you could argue that the Mukami brothers revere Karl Heinz almost as though he were a deity.

He actually said お風呂（ふろ）は命（いのち）の洗濯（せんたく）which literally translates to ‘a bath is like washing your life’ but that sounded a little odd, and 命（いのち）の洗濯（せんたく）also just means to kick back and ‘cast off the drudgery of everyday life and doing as one pleases’ according to Jisho.org (my favourite online Japanese dictionary, by the way).

Couldn’t figure out for the life of me what Kou was yelling in the background at this point (half the sentence was muffled because of the splashing sounds) but judging from the context, I think he said something along these lines…

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #diabolik lovers translation #diabolik lovers translations #diahell #otomehonyaku #my translations #mukami ruki #ruki mukami #mukami yuma #yuma mukami #mukami yuuma #yuuma mukami #azusa mukami #mukami azusa #kou mukami #mukami kou #lost eden #diabolik lovers lost eden

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daydreamingyuta · 1 year ago

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could I request like female idol x jaehyun idol going to a bruno mars concert in Korea together

And the song finesse comes on and you know the part that goes fellas grab ur lady if ur lady fine😭 and he does that😝

and somehow it gets dispatch finds out

Finesse | Jaehyun

summary: fluff, drabble, dispatch exposing your relationship with Jaehyun after getting caught attending a Bruno Mars concert together. wc: 809 a/n: Hi! Thank you for requesting! sorry it took so long but I had sm fun writing this because it reminded me how good Bruno Mars songs are! (Also in one part I mention that y/n is in aespa, I hope that's ok!) <3

“You make me feeell like I’ve been locked out of heaaaven for too longgg.” You and Jaehyun sing in unison, not caring a single bit if you were in key or not.

When Jaehyun had asked you if you wanted to go to the Bruno Mars concert with him, you couldn’t say ‘yes’ fast enough. Countless dates with Jaehyun have ended in the car singing his songs at the top of your lungs with the windows down, the wind not even close to drowning out your passionate singing.

You had been a little nervous about going since your relationship with Jaehyun was not public yet, but he assured you that you didn’t have to worry. You both wore hats that covered your faces pretty well and your seats were out of view from most people in the audience, so you really thought you didn’t have to worry.

As “Locked out of Heaven” ended, Bruno Mars switched to a slower song “It Will Rain.” Lights lit up all around the arena from the flashlights on everyones phone. You both joined it, swaying your phones along with the crowd and singing, “There’ll be no sunshine if I lose you baby”

At the very end of the song, Bruno Mars stepped away from the mic and let the crowd sing the “oohh” part, and it was magical. You and Jaehyun laughing at each other when you saw that you both got goosebumps from the beautiful moment.

Just when you thought the concert couldn’t get any better, you hear the beginning notes of Finesse, one of your all time favorite songs. Using a half empty water bottle as a microphone, you and Jaehyun sing and dance along.

You sing, “Fellas grab your lady if your lady fine.” while Jaehyun grabs your waist and pulls you in close to him, swaying to the music. Your cheeks hurt by the end of the song from smiling so much, you truly didn’t have a single care in the world and it was easily one of the best concerts you’ve been to.

──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

The rest of the night you were on that concert ‘high’ that you always get after a fantastic concert. You didn’t feel a single negative emotion, until the very next day when you were woken up by Jaehyun’s manager calling him. This wasn’t too uncommon of an occurrence, so you closed your eyes again and tried to go back to sleep until Jaehyun shot up in bed right next to you.

He involuntarily grabbed your arm as he listened to his manager. They talked for a while and when Jaehyun hung up, his face was pale white. Still, he smiled at you and stroked your hair like he always did when you woke up next to him.

“Is everything alright?” You ask, sitting upright alongside him.

He nodded his head, but when his phone dinged with a text from his manager, he let you see for yourself what was happening. You grab Jaehyun’s phone and click the link to a Dispatch article.

The bolded title read: “NCT’s Jaehyun and aespa’s Y/n go Home Together after Attending a Bruno Mars Concert.”

The first photo attached was a blurry picture of you two getting in the same car. “You can really tell that’s us.” You say, trying to think positively.

Jaehyun hums in response as he watches you scroll some more. If you thought there would be room to deny the allegations, you were proved very wrong when multiple videos started playing of you and Jaehyun dancing together, specifically during the song Finesse.

There was more to the article but you set his phone down in your lap. A million emotions were flying through your mind, but after a couple of moments you found yourself laughing. Jaehyun laughs along with you too, because of course this would be how your relationship leaked.

You had both spent so long being so secretive about everything you did together and now that it was finally out, you couldn't help but feel relieved.

“Am I wrong for being kinda happy about this?” Jaehyun asks you.

“Honestly I think I feel that same way.”

Jaehyun scoots closer and wraps his arms around you. “I hate hiding you from everyone.” He whispers, kissing you on the cheek.

“Me too” you say, leaning your head against the bed frame and looking at him. He kisses you and you both melt into each other, feeling like a million years worth of stress just flew away.

Obviously you were still going to have to deal with the consequences of this coming out, but you had this weird feeling that everything was going to turn out alright. You and Jaehyun will have each other no matter what, and you knew that he wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of what you two have.

#jaehyun #jeong jaehyun #nct #nct 127 #fluff #k-pop #drabble #imagine #nct scenarios #fanfiction #fanfic #kpop #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun x y/n #jaehyun x you

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entertext · 1 year ago

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HGSN 25-3

Chapter (Japanese)

(Please hit the green thumbs up at the end of the chapter on the Japanese site to show the mangaka support)

Rough translation by me

Rie: I...don't know if that will happen

Rie: But, it might improve things a bit...using a wrong sized lid is better than not having a cover at all.

(sfx: tick tock tick tock)

Rie: However, it's not a solution to the fundamental issue...

Rie: And, it's not like there couldn't be other...

Hikaru: I'm totally fine

Hikaru: I'm a monster after all, so something like this is... ...

Hikaru: ....*sniff*... ...

Hikaru: ...I hate this...*sniff*...why...

Hikaru: Uu...I don't wanna be alone

Hikaru: ...*sniff* ...why...

Hikaru: Uu...Uuu...Yoshiki...

Hikaru: Uu...

(sfx: rain)

(sfx: page flip...)

Yoshiki: Anything's fine, I just need something that could be a hint...This one doesn't seem like it'll be useful

(book: Regional Folktales)

Yoshiki: So if I summarize where we've ended up...

(sfx: pencil click)

(txt:

"Unuki-san" worship begins

↓

Becomes "Nounuki-sama"='Hikaru' worship

* Local religion originating from difficulty living

* God that grants wishes if heads are offered

* The offered head disappears, a replacement is made and memorialized in the "Hall"

* In order to separate and bury the sacrifice's body parts as far apart as possible, the village was split

↓

"Mass Death" Incident (1749)

* Brought about by the Indou family's ancestor

* Excessive wish→Wife's resurrection

* Afterwards the village became peaceful

* From then on, there is a custom where the Indou men use "Hichi-san" in a ritual on the mountain

)

Yoshiki: The sin of the Indou family was...that he sacrificed the villagers outside of the family to resurrect his wife

Yoshiki: As a result, the mass deaths occured.

Yoshiki: The truth of the mass deaths wasn't death by famine but bizarre deaths...

Yoshiki: With that, the villagers must have thought that Nounuki-sama had become a tatarigami

(Hikaru: Is being dead and being alive that different?)

Yoshiki: ...

Yoshiki: The reason the village stablized afterwards is probably because the amount of impurities decreased, right?...

Yoshiki: But, it's strange

Yoshiki: While Nounuki-sama = 'Hikaru' is on the mountain, the impurities should gather on the mountain and the village should be fine. What was happening before the mass deaths?

Yoshiki: And another question is the part where

Yoshiki: up until the mass deaths, "even if you offered a head, nothing actually happened"

Yoshiki: Why was it only at the time of the mass deaths that a wish got granted?

(sfx: office chair squeaks)

Yoshiki: *sighs*

Yoshiki: In the first place, we don't know why there's so many impurities in this area...

Yoshiki: If we don't know that, then in the end...

Hikaru: Yoshiki

Hikaru: I'll go back to the mountain haha

Yoshiki: Anything but that. No way.

(sfx: fwh-fwhump)

(book: Rafanelli Art Collection)

Yoshiki: An artbook ...

(sfx: flip...)

Emanuele Rafanelli

Renaissance painter

Died 1520

Yoshiki: Beautiful art...

(title: Girl With Veil)

Yoshiki: And here's the pages with rough sketches?

(sfx: flip...)

Yoshiki: ...hm?

Yoshiki: This is...

Hikaru: ...*sniff*...

Hikaru: ........

Rie: 'Hikaru'-kun...

Rie: (I'm sure it hasn't even been a year since he came into this world)

Rie: (For a child like that, this is just too cruel...Just for a little while, maybe we could let things be...)

"That softness will invite greater misfortune..."

Rie: (I can't make him disappear, but...)

P10

Rie: (With 'Hikaru' as he is right now)

Rie: (I might be able to tear him from that body)

Rie: (If the alternative is making him suffer, then for Yoshiki's sake as well)

Rie: (It's better that I take full responsibility)

Rie: (and deal with 'Hikaru'-kun...)

Next chapter: in 3 weeks

Twitter Extra (link):

If he'd been a glutton

Hikaru: I don't wanna be alone...

The other legible book titles on Dad's bookshelf:

* History of War

* How to Interact with Children~Recommendations for the Rebellious Age~

* Ecosystems of the Countryside

* How to Write Mystery

* How to Write Suspense

#hikaru ga shinda natsu #the summer hikaru died #hgsn spoilers

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bubu0h · 8 months ago

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How I Manage my personal AO3 e-library Archive

Download everything I want/hope to read in EPUB format. I try to anyways... if I notice I got too many tabs open on my browser, time to download If multi-chapter remember first to press 'Entire Work' and then 'Download'

2. I use Book Story (Android App) to manage the mess that is my downloads folder - this app is a great book database manager AND scroll reader with Big letters as well - The app has this fantastic feature that allows me put the books into 'Reading' 'Already Read' 'Planing' 'Dropped' categories; I move the books around and it helps me keep a visual tab on them - , plus if you like scroll reading this one is fantastic at that as well.

Periodically I update the BACKUP of the folder(s) were the copies of books live. KEEP A BACKUP OF YOUR BACKUP , if you mess around and don't got no backup is really painful and irreversible.

On my computer I then make a copy of my messy ass downloads folder from my phone into my computer. While looking at the visual information the app provides me I delete books that I 'Dropped' and I move 'Already Read' books into my computer E-Library Data Base (I use Calibre) that's my main book hub where I will quickly notice what books need covers and I take my time working to finding an image I like for the book , so I can recognize them books by just looking at the covers I am terrible at remembering book titles

If you are curious this is what Calibre looks like - this is just AO3

3. To read EPUB books I use Libera FD Is frankly the best reader I have tried because I prefer page turning. If you like scroll reading Book Story is much better option for scroll reading.

Libera FD can customize pretty much EVERYTHING and is very very feature rich ( it can be overwhelming) HUMONGOUS FONT SIZE , you can download any font you want to use, replace words if I want to , it has OLED dark mode for reading at 3 am, you can configure it so it reads to you (using TTS) , several reading modes including auto scroll and speed reading mode, and so much more; the dev(s) are still updating and adding functions to it is kind of amazing I am probably not using it to its full potential You can sort books by 'Genre' which is how the app recognize the tags from the website.

Here some visuals of Libera FD (I wrote in the ALT of pics, click on it)

Book Story is a neat app , less overwhelming and the UI is a lot more intuitive. It looks like this for me , you can configure the essentials to your preference. Is a fairly new app be patient with it (sometimes just give two minutes to cook) , it is still being updated. The dev is very active if you got suggestion or present bugs.

4. How to provide enrichment to glorious magnificent authors , that share their passion with us for free. When you open any ao3 .epub on either of these apps the links are underlined. I tap on the link it leads back to the original posted website page at the beginning of every book you get from A03.

Tap the link, keep it open in your browser and star reading.

Open a note taking app.

I usually take notes about my silly musings as I read, copy quotes and whatever else I want to leave in the comment section of the chapter I am on. Cut and paste and that's it. I load the next chapter in the website and then continue reading the next chapter on the reading app (I comment on all the chapters if I have something to comment, sometime I don't have anything to say so I don't . Figure it makes authors happy and i find it very fun. Sometimes they answer back it feels nice) remember to leave kudos and comments specially if you are rereading.

I use Quillpad (android app) the most important feature of any note taking app you choose, in this case in particular, is that it saves your notes automatically (I used some apps that didn't it was devastating losing all my notes like that. I though that as long as I didn't close the app it was fine turns out not - some you have to manually save - and sometimes it would timeout and gone , all my notes gone. With Quillpad I haven't lost notes)

I haven't taken the time to figure out if Librera has a feature for annotation that could be useful for commentary note taking

I think that's all I can think of sharing on this topic. I am open to questions and adding things to this post with visual aid and whatever I can do to help , do let me know.

Keeping a copy of books safe and easy to find KEEP BACKUPS OF YOUR BACKUPS

-Updated Nov. 11 , 2024.

#ao3 #e-library #personal library #ao3 is down #so keep a copy them books #managing #data #i live in fear of lost media #author deleting their work and me not having a personal copy hunts me #I forget book tittles all the time #Closing a browser tab and accepting I might have lost something that I wanted but forgot what it was is an experience #once lost ALL the tabs like at least a hundred tabs and I think about it all the time #personal archive management #this keeps me sane #will probably occasionally update this #open to questions about this #Housekeeping #KEEP BACKUPS OF YOUR BACKUPS #I somehow managed to delete my To Be Read file with 600 plus books it was real bummer I still don't know how that happened

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likeadevils · 2 years ago

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welcome to swiftie tumblr here’s a style guide

are you afraid of people making judgements about the way your profile looks but you don't know enough about tumblr to tell what people might judge you about? then this post is for you!

this is mostly gonna apply to specifically swiftie tumblr, and even then like. you’re totally free to present yourself however you want, but these are just the dominant cultural norms

URLS

album and song titles are the most sought after

lyrics are also very popular (the shorter the better)

dashes are considered a bit cringe but slight misspellings or adding an s to words are fine

adding your name to your url will make people go 🫵 twitter user 🫵

PROFILE PICTURES

you should have a pfp chosen before you start following people, otherwise people will go “oh fuck a bot” and automatically block you

pictures of yourself will also make people go 🫵 twitter user 🫵

gradient/one color backgrounds behind a picture of taylor are still very common, but plain pictures of taylor are also a vibe

if they have that one particular pale pink-ish with a bit of grain filter people will go 🫵 twitter user 🫵

displaying your pfp in a circle format on your mobile theme is more common but if you have it square people won’t judge you

BACKGROUND IMAGES

there’s lots of acceptable ways to do this but something unique to tumblr is playing with the border between the background and the rest of your blog

a few years ago it was super popular to add a ripped paper effect to the bottom, and that’s still hanging on

a curved border (either a wave or a bowl shape) is also fairly common

making the picture smaller than the borders has started to gain traction (i started noticing it becoming popular like, mid pandemic)

hiding the pfp from your mobile theme to make your background flow more is super common but the color schemes should still compliment each other

MOBILE THEME

you can use this handy dandy tool to make your background/text color match a color in your background/pfp

i’d say white or black backgrounds are still the most common but i’ve found the colored background with white text to be making a strong comeback

there’s not a ton of judgement about this, as long as it all matches

BLOG TITLE

blog titles can really be whatever but in general keep it short (less that one row)

a short lyric, a word, or an emoji are the most common options

DESCRIPTION

i’ve found getting on a computer and going to yoururl.tumblr.com and clicking on the little painting thing on the top right corner to be the best way to edit text but the mobile app works fine too (unless you’re adding links then you have to go on a computer)

in general 2-3 rows are the most common, and ideally it’s not just one big wall of text

general format is name (this is where you link your caard/about page) / age/age range / pronouns in the top row and a (short) lyric you like in the bottom

another popular format is everything being a lyric and adding links to stuff on important words

if you like to make edits/art/some other type of original content feel free to add a link in your description

you can add links (again only on desktop) like this

MISC BLOG SETUP STUFF

if your likes/following are visible (especially if both are visible) people will go 🫵 twitter user 🫵

some people show their most popular posts, some people don’t, to my knowledge there’s no judgement either way

your pinned post can be whatever you want it to be but it’s super common to have it be a short about/navigation page

most people have a tag they use for personal posts (“name speaks/rambles/etc” is probably the most common) but you don’t have to if you don’t want to

INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER PEOPLE

follow for follows are not super common. it happens (if you follow someone people it’s common for that person to check out your blog but not in any way a guarantee) but for the most part being tumblr mutuals is a higher bar to clear than “oh this person follows me.” if you want to get peoples attention i would recommend this method, but even then the person can chose not to follow you without it being an insult to your character

blocking is more common than it is on twitter and not an insult to your character. repeatedly starting shit with other people will cause your followers to block you. if you want to start a fight with someone just block them instead

feel free to reblog old posts and spam like

while the mechanics and terminology are very similar, in terms of the way they are perceived a tumblr like is not equal to a twitter like, a tumblr reply is not equal to a twitter reply, and a reblog is not equivalent to retweet

likes are generally utilized as a little hello or bookmarks

reblogs are closer to twitter likes than anything else

replies have a fairly unique function in tumblr interactions but i think the closest way to describe it is like a semi-public dm to the op— chances are no one else is going to see it but the op (except if you replied through a reblog, then the reblogger will see it, but the reblogger will still likely read your reply as intended for the op)

if you have a comment put it in the tags. you know those old screenshots of tumblr posts that have a million “oh my god this is so funny”s breaking up the content of the post? that’s widely considered not only cringe but a bit rude now, please don't do that

if you like someone’s tags, reblog from them and say “prev tags”. every few weeks you’ll see someone from a different corner of tumblr say “prev tags is dead!” but on swiftie tumblr prev tags has never died and doesn’t show signs of dying in the near future

@-ing taylor in a post (edit: unless it’s a joke, @-ing taylor as a joke is very funny feel free to do that) will make people go 🫵 twitter user 🫵

again you can present yourself however you want, tumblr is the home of cringe, these are just the dominant cultural norms that i’ve noticed on swiftie tumblr specifically

#txt*#please don't yell at me

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hgwellsmykabering · 1 year ago

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Bering and Wells Advent Calendar

A bit spontaneous, but this is a fanfic collab event we just came up with today on the discord server, us being @birdofdawning (idea for the fic) @lavendelhummel (advent calendar idea) and myself (collab idea):

24 days of Bering and Wells ficlets, creating a (semi-)cohesive getting together fanfiction! If you want to write for one of the days, sign up in a reblog addition or ask, and your name will be put on the list! You write your ficlet and aim to post it on the corresponding day of December, but as long as it’s posted some time in the month it’s fine. If you can coordinate with the people who post the days before yours, maybe tell us your planned summaries so everyone can adjust accordingly, that’s cool, but if the ficlets don’t fit together perfectly that’s alright, we’re just here to have a fun B&W advent time!

“Never get involved with a roommate!” The fanfic idea is: each day’s title is something Myka tells herself not to do in order to avoid getting involved with Helena, and of course ends up doing anyway.

Update: all fics now linked here!

No minimum wordcount - you can write a drabble as long as it fits the theme!

The setting we came up with on discord is an AU in which Helena and Myka live in the same apartment - less baggage than canon, but just as many feels! More details to it can be found here!

The daily prompts are below the cut. If you have ideas for what else Myka might want to avoid doing but don’t want to write it yourself, feel free to send in the prompt!

As apparently tumblr no longer shows the most recent version of a post when clicking under the readmore of a reblogged post, please check with the original post to see which days haven't been chosen yet!

For the readers: you can find all entries under #BeringWellsAdvent23!

We can still rearrange most of the prompts! If you want for example prompt 4 but don't think you'll finish it in time, tell me another (still free) day with your sign-up.

#1 moving in together - @lavendelhummel is taking on this one

#2 Never have a crush on your flatmate - chosen by @purlturtle

#3 Never be alone with the housemate you have a crush on - Charlie @akittennameddaisy is taking on this one with the idea that Helena tries to cook, creates a chaos in the kitchen and Myka ends up alone with her after all!

#4 Never tell her how much you like her hair - chosen by @viharistenno

#5 Free Space - @lilolilyr is doing ‘stop staring at Helena!’

#6 never let Helena persuade you to watch a movie with her - chosen by @purlturtle: "because forced prolongued proximity in a dark room and WHO EVEN KNOWS what kind of movie Helena might pick!"

#7 Never borrow Helena's clothes - claimed by @jesstrel

#8 Never let Helena wear your clothes - chosen by @lilolilyr "I think seeing Helena in her own clothes might feel even more intimate to Myka than wearing HG's clothes"

#9 Free Space - @purlturtle chose 'don't let her convince you to go to the swimming pool / gym with you'

#10 Never let Helena give you a back rub - by @purlturtle

#11 never watch Helena eat ice-cream (the lip-licking will drive you insane) - chosen by @purlturtle

#12 Don't let Helena read poetry to you - chosen by @sallysetonbw

#13 Don't use her shampoo, that's weird -chosen by @lavendelhummel

#14 never borrow that blanket she keeps on the back of the armchair - chosen by @violetren

#15 Never listen in to Helena when she's on the phone - @purlturtle

#16 never sit right next to her on the couch - chosen by @lilolilyr

#17 Make sure you're not the only one laughing at her obscure jokes - chosen by @thiakerrigan

#18 Never fall in love with your flatmate - chosen by @lilolilyr

#19 Don't let her see you in your pyjamas - @lilolilyr

#20 never go on a road trip together @purlturtle

#21 Free Space @tryingthisfangirlthing

#22 @lavendelhummel Never go to the Christmas market with Helena

#23 Never match your flatmate on a dating site - chosen by @lavendelhummel

#24 Never kiss her on the lips - @lilolilyr

Post your fics to Ao3 in the BeringWellsAdvent collection and/or on tumblr with the hashtag BeringWellsAdvent23! If you want to use a header for example for a tumblr post, you can use this made by @viharistenno and @purlturtle:

Some other ideas to fill the 'Free Space' days with:

- don't let her convince you to go to the swimming pool / gym with you

- don't imagine Helena naked

- don't suggest to cook for her (because Myka would get so caught up in her perfectionism that she'd spiral and feel so bad about what she's setting in front of Helena)

- don’t share a room/bed with Helena

- STOP STARING

- never masturbate to thoughts of your flatmate

- don’t share a drink with Helena

- Never give her a gift or accept a gift from her

- never lend her your car

- Never lend her money again

#bering and wells #warehouse 13 #femslash event #warehouse 13 advent calendar #bering and wells advent #advent fic challenge #bering and wells advent calendar #bering and wells christmas #helena wells #myka bering #bering & wells #beringwells #warehouse 13 AU #w13 #fanfic idea #mine #pinned #beringwellsadvent23 #BeringWellsAdvent

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kingflups · 8 months ago

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🎲 oh and for another I would love... two wamben. Idc who or where from any ladies you like I'm just craving that sweet sweet yuri

Ask and ye shall receive! Link to ask game here <3

32: A Kiss while someone watches, Jill Valentine and Claire Redfield Resident Evil

“Are you okay?”

Jill soured her face, setting her elbow against the door frame for leverage. With one hand she yanked on her still laced work boot, the other holding her phone eye level. Chris never called this early— not unless something was wrong. Why he’d video call of all things….

“Of course I’m fine.” Jill swallowed the gruff morning disuse out of her throat, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

She was conscious of the fact she was half put together: finger brushed hair, half thrown on jacket, unshowered. Still in the apartment. She should have been out the door 15 minutes ago but her alarm decided not to go off this morning.

Chris dared to look down from the road, scouring her face. He got too close to the phone, his eyes narrow. The old man needed glasses, but Chris refused to hear it. Too stubborn. His sister was the same way, but at least Claire owned a pair. Not that she ever wore them.

“Claire said you were sick.” The city stopped moving outside Chris’s window. He pulled the phone close to his face as soon as he came to a stop. Jill didn’t say anything as he held the phone up to his eye, giving her a close up view of his freshly showered hair and right eyeball. Hopefully it was just his sight going and not technology surpassing him. “Last time you got sick, I had to drag you out of the office to emergency care.”

“I was fine.”

“You absolutely were not.”

Jill rolled her eyes, moving the phone to her opposite hand and yanking on her other boot. Chris was right about that particular incident. Not that she’d ever say it out loud.

Chris somehow narrowed his eyes further, leaning away from the screen. “You look fine. ….What’s your temperature?”

“I feel fine.” Jill said.

Still, she touched her cheek with the back of her hand. Normal. The hell was Claire even taking about, calling in for her? She felt fine. The two of them hadn’t even said a word this morning. Claire was already shut in the bathroom by the time she rolled out of bed, thus why she was half put together as she was.

...which was odd. Claire was never up early on her days off.

Jill reached onto the wall only to pause. Her keys weren’t on their normal hook.

“What time did Claire text you?” Jill asked.

Chris huffed, “I don’t know, a while ago?”

Across the apartment, a knob clicked open. Bare foot steps padded across the linoleum floor, stopping at the foot of the kitchen. Jill titled the camera away.

‘Hang up.’ Claire mouthed. Her hair was towel dried, but still dark enough that its normal red hue was missing in action. Long strands cascaded over her shoulders, the ends frizzing against the long plush towel wrapped around her middle.

It was almost enough to hide the peak of black lace kissing the curve of her breast.

Jill swallowed, “Um.”

“I’ve tried calling, but Claire’s not picking up,” Chris said something else, but Jill missed it as her hand slapped over the screen. She stumbled to meet Claire half way.

Her free hand went to cup Claire's back. Claire held the towel in place from the front, but the grip was loose enough that Jill was able to lower it a precious few inches. Her fingers brushed bare back, than lace.

“Claire…” Jill whispered.

She felt wet hair press into the side of her neck, then lips. A cheeky smile. “Uh-huh?”

Jill’s fingers continued. Metal rings, a crisscross of silk ribbon. Jill exhaled. “I think I have a fever.”

A muffled voice, “What?”

Swift fingers plucked the phone from Jill’s hand. “I’m handling it!” Claire smiled, pulling away from Jill’s neck. “I think it’s flu.”

Chris made a concerned sort of grunt. “I can pick up soup or something—”

“Chris, I got her. Go to work.” Claire said.

Jill leaned back, keeping her hands in place. A corset. Something new too, by the feel of it. Form-fitting. She really should keep her hands to herself, especially with Chris still on the line… She swallowed.

“You’ve got me?” Jill whispered.

“Yeah, I got you.” Claire pulled away from the conversation with her brother to plant a chaste kiss on Jill’s cheek. Claire’s smile turned to something mischievous against her skin. “You feel hot. Go lie down and I’ll take care of you, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Jill nodded, stepping back. “Yeah. Okay.”

In a flash, Claire was back to Chris, her face down trodden. Her voice dropped down to a whisper. “Sorry. You know how Jill gets. I had to hide the keys to keep her from sneaking off to work this morning. Sick as a dog last night.”

“Figured. It’s cause she never takes time off.” Chris huffed. “Are you sure you’ll be alright? I can stop by later and help.”

“I can handle it.”

Jill smiled, sliding into the bedroom. Chris and Claire exchanged a last few words before the tell-tale jingle signified the hang up. Claire appeared a moment later. Jill’s hands wrapped around her waist.

“You’re gonna handle me?” Jill bit her lip.

Claire rose her brow, leaning as far back as Jill’s hold allowed. “If you don’t try to sneak away first. Jesus. So much for planning a surprise.”

Claire planted another kiss against Jill’s skin, this time along the curve of her jaw. Jill hummed as Claire’s fingers traced the muscle of her neck, her lips lingering far longer than they did in the kitchen.

“Go back to bed and wait for me. I’m not ready yet.”

Jill nodded, stepping backwards toward the bed. The morning light was just starting to trickle in from the kitchen window, bathing Claire’s silhouette in curtain-filtered orange. Like a pin-up, posed half naked in Jill’s bedroom door. She was beautiful.

“I’ll wait here.” Jill nodded. “I guess I am feeling sick.”

“Mh-hm. Let me make you feel better.” Claire leaned against the door frame and winked. Not even a moment later, Claire tucked her head in and chuckled, shaking her head. “That was so lame.”

Jill tucked her own smile behind her palm. God, she was perfect.

Claire took her leave, leaving Jill alone on the the bed. From the hallway, “You were feeling a bit hot, babe. You better take off your clothes.”

Jill nodded even though Claire couldn’t see. “Those doctors orders?”

“My orders. Off please.”

#I didn't forget about these prompts I'm just late #theres a difference #I need to write more of these two they're fun #resident evil #ask game #murphy speaks #jill valentine #claire redfield #i don't know what their ship name is #I'm pretty sure valenfield is the chris/jill ship so idk

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tavyliasin · 1 year ago

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The Scent of Cinnamon 1 - The Cambion, The Gift, and The Contract

Raphael has a new home, but the halls are remarkably empty. Mephistopheles has seen fit to send him a gift, though as with all things in the Hells, nothing is ever quite so simple... Meanwhile, an incubus with no name stands in front of a portal, ready to take the first step in the only plan they have left. One that will either secure their future or seal their fate... 4,301 Words - AO3 Link Click Here

--- The Scent of Cinnamon is a prequel series focusing on Raphael and Haarlep from the moment they meet, continuing through various events up to the beginning of Baldur's Gate 3. Summary: Raphael and the incubus meet for the first time, and the specifics of a contract are worked out between the pair. Pairing: Raphael/Haarlep SPICE Rating: 0.5/5 Content Warnings: Mild power play. There's not a lot of spice in this one, it's the following chapters that will raise that bar~

Spoilers Vague House of Hope and Act 3, but most of this series is focused on what came before. Canon Compliance Most of this is being pulled together from scraps and hints in the game and from the lore of D&D in general. Haarlep's initial physical appearance is based on incubus/succubus lore in the sourcebooks - mostly human features on their bodies, human ranges of skin tones, but they still have wings and tails, and shorter horns than cambions or tieflings have. I also go with a personal HC that Haarlep can only shift into the body of someone they have a deal with. Other Notes An image of a concept for Haarlep's original appearance will be added at the end of the fic, so keep an eye out for that~

Song Pairing (Click the title to open spotify) Play Dirty by Kevin McAllister, [SEABELL] "Do you wanna put up a fight? Or do you wanna get out alive? Everybody is picking a side And this can only end one way

Would you get the Devil this dance? Would you be a part of his plans? Now you got some blood on your hands Well, this can only end one way

If you wanna go, this is how it goes If you wanna roll, heads are gonna roll If you wanna play, we can play all day But we play, play dirty, play dirty"

--- FULL CHAPTER BELOW THE CUT --- ---

The Cambion, The Gift, and The Contract

Fine leather boots paced across stone floors, the click of heels echoing around the halls of the largely empty mansion that floated through Avernus. It was a start. A place of his own, somewhere to work with his own contracts and plans. The owner of the boots was a cambion, son of Mephistopheles, and already a powerful fiend in his own right. Raphael, if you were to ask a mortal, looked like a human in his mid 20s. Chestnut hair was swept back neatly from his brow, the ends curling a little just below his shoulders. His brown eyes were deep set but sparkled with ideas, face clean shaven and expression darkening by the moment. Had he taken his other form, huge red wings would stretch above him, a long tail slapping the floor in irritation behind him, and soft brown eyes would instead blaze with hellfire. His whole form would be larger, and his skin would be a deep crimson, ridges across his well defined muscles more reminiscent of his demonic heritage than the human half. However, it was often easier to remain in the guise of a human man. Aside from not having to deal with the physical logistics of wings, horns, and a tail, potential clients found him to be more trustworthy, and the reveal of his demonic guise was often another powerful tool of intimidation and persuasion. Occasionally, some found him to be seductive, but he tired of trying to please people he had no interest in. There were no fiends in all the hells he could trust to be intimate with, and mortals were so terribly boring, weak, and short-lived. No, they were far better as tools, pawns in his grander designs, so sex was a last resort to seal a particularly irritating deal. This might have been seen as unusual in the hells, for any fiend to have no attraction or desire to act upon their libido, but Raphael did not care. He could satisfy himself should the need arise, and it was safer not to let anyone in to his abode. Not until he had built up his loyal following.

Unfortunately, so far he only had a couple of apprenticed Warlocks, and one or two debtors scrubbing his floors. And now he had to greet a stranger. The letter had specified a “gift”. Knowing Mephistopheles, this would not be the kind of gift that came with a single catch, but more an entire shoal of red herrings to sift through to find which specific catch he needed to be concerned about.

—

A young fiend stood before a glimmering doorway, uncertain of when precisely they were meant to cross the threshold. They were dressed in a black silk outfit that gave them an appearance of masculine androgyny. Dark tan skin and bright green eyes might have looked human, if it weren’t for the 4 short horns protruding from their brow, slightly parting black hair that cascaded down their back and over their shoulders almost blending with the silks they wore. The other tells of their demonic nature were more obvious, however. Huge wings with blackened edges, claws at the tip, coloured in sunset hues of red and gold stretched out behind them, quivering with nervous anticipation. A long tail with an arrow-tip end pawed at the ground behind them, kicking up a little infernal ash. All they carried was the clothing they wore and the instructions they had been given. A simple enough task, and they were hardly inexperienced, but their first meetings were usually within a dream. Subtly watching their target, learning their desires and their fears, finding every intimate secret they hid in their subconscious before they would ever appear before them physically. They sighed. They didn’t even have a name to bring with them. Whatever it was had been taken, a simple exchange for a promised reward. “Let him name you,” the instructions had been clear, “let him do as he wishes. Get close, learn all you can, and deliver it back to me. You are no fool, incubus, and neither is he. But play the game well, and you will have the life of your dreams in the end. A home all of your own, whatever meals you desire delivered to your door, complete power over the domain I shall grant you.” It was tempting. It would be tempting to any incubus or succubus. They also couldn’t deny a small amount of pride at having been chosen. It sounded like the advances of succubi had already been rejected, so they relished the thought of a challenge. Besides, the son of Mephistopheles was hardly without any power of his own. They took a deep breath, steeling their nerves before they stepped through the portal.

—

Raphael sat back on his chair, tilting it so the front legs were no longer on the floor, boots on the edge of his desk as he read through pages of another contract. Etiquette might demand he stand to greet the arrival, due any moment now, but Raphael was not one to heed any demands but his own.

He didn’t look up when the familiar electricity of the magic swirled in the air, nor did he pay attention to the polite cough from the guest.

“You’re late.” He lied, thumbing through the pages and moving one to the front, still not looking up from the paper.

“And you’re human.” The visitor stated, all too bluntly for Raphael’s liking. “I was told to expect a cambion, Raphael. Does the master of the house not see fit to handle his own household?”

The cambion bristled. His brow darkened a little, though only one watching very closely would notice the subtle change. “You would do well to remember at least a modicum of respect when addressing your new master, regardless what form he might appear in. Are all gifts supposed to be so rude when accepting hospitality?”

“Hah! What hospitality? There’s barely a thing here, and I am barefoot upon your floor. Gift, indeed, that you do not even look upon me let alone deign to unwrap me.” They were becoming no more humble. If anything, they were becoming more bold by the moment.

The attitude was finally reaching Raphael’s limit. He looked up from the papers to see who would have the audacity to address him so.

For a moment, his thumb slipped, one of the pages almost dropping from the stack as he took in the tall and slender form of the nameless incubus. He quickly regained his composure, but not before they had noticed.

The cambion put his feet on the floor and straightened up the papers, putting them in a neat stack on the table. He stood, walking towards the invited invader in his home, stalking around them to observe and assess them.

“I’m not a piece of meat, Raphael.” They stood still nonetheless, allowing him to pace and take in all of their form. They flexed their wings and tail to put on more of a show. “Do you like what you see?~”

“Passable.” The cambion grunted, the highest praise he had given any attempt yet. “And good you finally recognise your master’s name. So, why are you here?”

“You know that much. Your dear father sent me. You are well aware that many of your kind take ours as advisors, partners in pleasure, or allies for whatever purposes you might have for our abilities.” The incubus grinned, the hint of slightly sharpened teeth glinting in the light as they looked down on the smaller human form of their supposed master.

“You’re a spy.” Raphael said simply.

“Obviously.” They replied, pleased that they were not being expected to work for a complete fool. “Do you wish to refuse me? Send me back?”

“Honesty is a commodity that few of your kind trade in. You may stay. However, ground rules must be set.” He turned to walk away, beckoning for them to follow. “Come.”

“Already?” The incubus laughed at their own humour. “It takes more than that, Raphael.”

The cambion bristled at his name being used so casually, but remembered a key point. “Name. What is it?”

“I don’t have one, not until you choose one for me. Spiteful of your father to take my identity, but at least I kept my good looks.” The incubus brushed off the lingering insult of what they’d had to trade for the opportunity. It would be worth it, eventually.

“Then I should know you first, incubus. I shall choose a name befitting your station.” He continued to lead the way through the halls, keeping a few steps ahead of the honest spy who was taking note of every crack in the walls.

—

The incubus watched Raphael carefully. Every movement, every time his gait shifted to avoid stepping on a looser stone. Their bare feet felt uncomfortable on the floor, but it mattered little.

They noticed the silence in the halls, only one terrified half elf dressed in rags scurried away as they passed by, busying themselves cleaning some furniture in a side room. There was a lingering scent of cherry that drifted from the cambion ahead, though that was the only note of perfume they detected. Somehow, something so simple hardly seemed fitting.

The door to the bedchamber was large, heavy, and sealed with a magical lock. A simple spell had it opening before the master of the house, who gestured for them to enter.

“There, take a seat.” He indicated a pair of chairs near the balcony on the far side of a huge four poster bed, heavy red velvet drapes skirting the floor, a deep contrast against ebony silk sheets.

They ignored the suggestion of the chairs entirely, and instead took a seat on the edge of the bed, their tail snaking out behind them to smooth over the sheets. “Not bad, I’ve been in softer.”

“That is not for your benefit.” Raphael stood a little taller, crossing his arms and glaring invisible flames towards defiant green eyes.

“Then for yours? You are aware of my nature as an incubus, if you are to indulge in my many pleasures, I am not one to receive.” They watched his reaction, wings folding carefully inwards to soften the challenge of the statement.

“We shall see. I have yet to decide on that matter.” The incubus smirked at that reply, it was not a no . Raphael continued regardless. “What are your abilities?”

“Aside from near infinite pleasure? I can take the form of any who have made a contract with me.” They shifted now with a spell, appearing first as an elven woman with flowing ginger hair and freckles across her cheeks. The next moment the magical fire enveloped them they became a dwarven man with a long braided beard and dark eyes below a heavy set brow. The third form they took was a dragonborn with sparkling iridescent scales. “This one was a particular favourite, a beautiful rarity. So I may become anyone you wish me to be, so long as I have laid with them.”

“Any form? Including another fiend?” Raphael arched an eyebrow, fingertip tapping against his jaw as he considered the options.

“Another devil taken your fancy?” The incubus laughed, remaining in the guise of the dragonborn for now. “Of my many forms I have not added a fiend, yet…but were I to take yours, there would be some benefits.”

“Benefits? It seems more like a remarkably unpleasant experience from start to finish.” Despite his words, he appeared to be waiting to hear more.

“Any time I take on the body of someone I have slept with,” they ran a claw down their chest, hand drifting beneath their robes momentarily, “they feel it when their form is used. Echoes of pleasure even across planes, though more intense the closer they are. If they were in the room right now, they would feel the sensation of their own hand on their body.”

“So, enhanced pleasure, and a disguise?” Raphael took a longer moment to consider it. “I can see a use for this, incubus.”

“Wait, you actually wish to deal with me yourself?” Their bravado finally slipped away in surprise, transforming back to their original body. “You would give me access to your form, control over your pleasure?”

“Must you be so vulgar about it? This could work to our advantage. Depending…” Raphael stepped forwards. “Tell me, spy, what were you offered?” “Simple. My own domain, power over it, and whatever delicious specimens I wish to devour.” They held his gaze, even as he blocked the light behind him. “I enjoy sex as much as I am sustained by it as my meal. I have known hunger, Raphael, and I have known powerlessness. I have no desire to become intimate with either again.” “So you want power, pleasure, and a range of flavours to sample? That is as cheap as you are to trade your identity, your entire being, devoting centuries to espionage for such pittance?” He was treading a line in his voice between anger and disappointment. The incubus’s tail began to flick with annoyance. “There was hardly anything to trade. What’s in a name, anyway? And a few centuries in the span of immortality, that’s nothing. An easy job, made all the simpler by the particular subject. You don’t even object to my presence or motivations… What do you desire, Raphael?” They prodded back with their question, working out how the pieces would fit together.

“Perhaps not so different, incubus. Power would be a simplification, but an accurate one. First I will expand my influence here, then across the rest of Avernus.” He raised his hand, infernal fire wrapping around him in an instant, transforming him into his more devilish physique. His horns curved above him, crowning his chestnut hair, wings spreading like a wide and regal cloak behind him in the same deep red as his skin. He had grown taller, marginally more muscular, and his own tail swished behind him. Fiery eyes regarded his guest with a new intensity. “Quite simply, I shall become an Archduke. The Archduke. The nine hells are full of infighting and imbeciles, one hand should have a tight grip upon them all. And that hand will be mine.”

The incubus watched the display with interest, contemplating their options. “You’re very sure of yourself, perhaps I should call you Archduke already if that is your goal. Consider it forward payment, if you are to rise to such lofty heights. Are you certain you should be telling your father’s spy all of your plans?”

“That man would be far more than ignorant to not believe that this is my exact aim. I would imagine he would be thoroughly disappointed if his progeny lacked any ambition. You’re welcome to report that back to him if you so wish, but it has as much merit as telling him that rain makes things wet.” Raphael considered the rest of the statement, clawed finger rubbing along the line of his jaw. “As for the title… No. Not until I have what I want. Although names have power in themselves, and we do not yet have one for you.”

“Whatever identity I had is gone, all that remains is my body, and even that is more changeable than the weather in the material realm. So call me whatever you like, Archduke, it matters little. ” The smirked at seeing him bristle at the nickname, the implied insult. “Then you are willing to consider my deal? There are plenty of… benefits to a night with me~”

“You have been ill-informed to believe me easy to bed. I will not lay with any harlot to stroll into my bedchambers.”

It was the incubus’s turn to darken their expression, voice gaining the edge of a growl. “Oh I am well aware of your type, Archduke . Aren’t you tired of primming and posing? Of all this air of I’m so much better than you, listen to me, do this, do that, puny lesser beings .” They stood, rising to their full height, standing just a little taller than Raphael even though he had transformed. The tips of the cambion’s horns were higher, but their eyes were above his. The realisation widened their sinister smile. “You do not need to be above everyone all the time, that is why you didn’t turn me away when I told you I will not lie beneath you.”

“You think yourself more powerful, do you? Need I remind you that I am the Master of this house, I own you, incubus, you are a gift in a pretty bow.” He stood firm, unswayed as they moved closer, the strong scent of cinnamon drifting from their warm-toned skin.

“You feel nothing, even now?” Their bright green eyes glowed more intensely in the face of Raphael’s insults, paying his venom no mind. Their tail began to touch his lower leg as they stepped even closer, faces just inches away. “You do not, do you…but you feel that.”

—

Raphael certainly felt something. Irritation, the searing tip of white hot rage pressing forward like a knife at the front of his mind, and…curiosity. How could he not be curious about a fiend who dared to be so brazen with him? To stand before him without bowing even once, never offering a single thing to gain his favour. They were speaking to him as an equal - that should have been an immense insult, and yet… “You should have more care about where you touch, harlot.” The offensive nickname slipped quickly from his lips, just as his tail slapped away the one that had been threatening to tug him off balance. “I have given you no such permission.”

“Then if you gave me permission, you would allow it? Very interesting, Archduke. Let me ask you this, if I may?” They kept from touching him again, for now, instead observing his features closer with a piercing gaze.

“Ask. There is little point in asking to ask, aside from wasting my time.” He remained unmoved, tail betraying a hint of his irritation still.

“Your clients, the mortals you deal with. They desire you, do they not? You are a handsome devil, in either of your forms. Your human guise perhaps more attractive to some than your true fiendish self, but I see the appeal in both.” They smiled more sweetly, bringing a hand towards his face, never touching but tracing a line above his cheekbone, his jawline… A mockery of a lover’s caress.

“I am not here to be eye candy to you.” He sneered, faint lines in his face appearing with the expression. “Seduction is merely another card in my deck, mortal beings are too easy to manipulate with desire. Something I am sure a harlot would be more than aware of. You do not need me to point that out.”

“Quite so,” they continued their touchless caress down his neck, along his shoulder, and close to the top edge of his wing. “But I would be more than willing to fill your pointy boots in that regard~”

“I see you do have at least a modicum of sense between your filthy ideas.” He summoned a scroll to his hand, a quill pen appearing in the other, tip glowing with infernal magic. “Rules, incubus, and they will be followed. Without fail. Or I will not hesitate to cast you out of here.”

They sighed, hand dropping back to their side from where it had been hovering above the thinner and more sensitive skin of the cambion’s wings. “ Fine, if you insist we shall have it all in writing. You are to ensure I do not go hungry. Either provide me with partners to satisfy my hunger, or satisfy me with your own body.”

“Agreed.” Lines appeared upon the page in infernal script, glowing on the parchment with the power they contained. “And you shall not lay so much as a finger upon a client without my permission.”

“Then make it simple. This room will be mine as much as it is yours. Those you allow to cross the threshold are by rights my own to take, should they agree to it.” They smirked, adding to the letters upon the page. “The house is your domain, but in this room I am the only Master.”

Raphael’s ego failed to pick up on the edge of their tone as he easily agreed to the term, and moved on to the next. “Then the illusion must be maintained. Once you have my form, you are to wear it until or unless I specify otherwise.”

This time the incubus wavered. “You are asking me to give up the last shred of my personhood, to become you?”

“No. You will retain your personality as you see fit. You are to be my mirror in appearance, I cannot have a stray client or debtor seeing through that. They must believe, at least to a degree, that it is me they are laying with, and not some brothel-hired -” He paused. His finger traced a few letters in the air, moving them around, reforming his own name into something new. “That’s it. Haarlep. A perfect anagram, the version of Raphael that is closer to the Harlot that you are.” “You scorn me even as you wish to use me to your own ends?” The incubus frowned, though the name…was not entirely objectionable.

“The name should be a fitting match for the wearer, should it not? Or do you have a better idea?” He raised an eyebrow, staring directly into the incubus’ eyes. “I suppose I can become accustomed to it, with time.” They looked at the page, filling with more rules as they talked.

—

Some time later the full document was drawn up and signed, befitting Raphael’s side of the deal. Haarlep, as they had reluctantly accepted the name, would require the consummation to finalise things yet.

Both cambion and incubus smirked, feeling as if they had outmanoeuvred the other, their own egos clouding their gaze from the space between the lines. Had they looked closer, they might have noticed the finer details they hid from each other between clever words and half-truths…but it mattered little. The signatures marked the parchment in clear and binding text.

Haarlep, as they were now named, watched the scroll disappear to whatever archive it would be stored in with a wide smile.

“And what is it precisely that you find so amusing?” Raphael’s voice drew their gaze back to his eyes.

“Oh, nothing, Archduke.” They leaned just a little closer to his face. His appearance was by no means distasteful, if they were being honest they found his form to be intensely attractive, their imagination already undressing him as they spoke. “Now, I want you to take a very good look at me. Memorise every pore in my skin, every hair on my head, every little details of me . If I am to give it up, to become you until such time as either we reach our common goal or Mephistopheles decides my work here is done, I would have at least one being remember me properly.”

“I can have a portrait made if you are so particular. And despite your glamour, you will have access to this form should it be permitted.” He pulled back by an almost imperceptible amount, small wrinkles forming on the bridge of his nose.

“No.” The incubus spoke with a growing air of authority. “I will burn every part of my image into your mind and body. Every time you close your eyes you will see me, every moment of silence you will hear my true voice in your ear, every moment your own hands touch your body the grip you will feel upon your throat will be mine.”

Raphael took an involuntary step back this time. The imposing figure of his supposed gift, the toy he was simply supposed to occupy the hours with, the being that was intended to be used for pleasure alone…it felt as if their shadow was about to swallow him whole. Haarlep could see it in his eyes, the way the sweat began to bead on his brow, the breath catching in his throat as they leaned closer again.

They had him cornered like prey, a meal they fully intended to devour, the promise of what the contract could deliver almost as enticing as the low scent of arousal rising from the cambion’s crimson skin. “You needn’t fear my touch, Raphael. I assure you, this can be a most pleasant experience. You feel it already, do you not? The anticipation rising within you, the heat of my body moving closer, that sweet cinnamon filling your senses already…” They grinned wickedly. “It is, of course, more potent from my tongue, but there are ways I can allow the aphrodisiac my body produces begin to affect you from this distance.”

“That…would be acceptable.” The usually proud cambion struggled to find the words, his presence shrinking back with the hint of power in the words he had already signed away.

“Then you accept my lips? You want to feel the kiss of an incubus, to taste my lust upon your tongue?” Their wings fluttered in anticipation.

“Stop talking already. Your master has granted you permission by the terms of the deal.”

“Oh, Raphael, you have forgotten so quickly…in this room, I am the Master now.”

--- --- ENDING NOTES --- ---

Well I did promise the images of Prequel Haarlep, so here they are~ This was made by someone who has a fair few mods for BG3, based on my description. In truth, I far prefer @littleprincepaladin's artwork

Original Work Notes (from the time this was first published)

Haarlep's original form is based on incubus/succubus lore. They are shown to have far smaller horns than cambions, a more human range of skin tones and not blues/reds/etc like cambions and tieflings have. They do, however, still have wings and tails.

The article is written a lot in binary gender terms but I prefer to see it like the original literal meanings of the words: Incubus - to lie on top of Succubus - to lie beneath Concubus - to lie beside

So there could be male succubi, female incubi, and in general they do not necessarily have a fixed gender unless they choose to.

My version of Haarlep here uses they/them pronouns, in the same way that the game does, and prefers a slightly masculine leaning body type. They would consider themselves genderfluid or gender neutral by our terms, though they really do not care for it at all unless it has something to do with pleasure or power.

I do not have an original name for them, and this is intentional too. They will, however, grow into their new role and title as the chapters progress.

CHAPTER 2 HERE

#baldurs gate 3 #bg3 fanfiction #haarlep #bg3 raphael #the scent of cinnamon #prequel fic #bg3 prequel #incubus #almost sfw this chapter #but the next 2 are pure spice #Spotify

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etes-secrecy-post · 7 months ago

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Hi, before I explain my post, I want to say something important.

• What you see my blog has become a major overhaul. And despite the changes, I decided that my 2nd account will be now my artwork blog with a secret twist.

⚠️NEW RULE! (W/ BIGGER TEXT!)⚠️

⚠️ SO PLEASE DO NOT SHARE MY 2nd ACCOUNT TO EVERYONE! THIS SECRECY BLOG OF MINE IS FOR CLOSES FRIENDS ONLY!⚠️

• AND FOR MY CLOSES FRIENDS, DON’T REBLOG IT. INSTEAD, JUST COPY MY LINK AND PASTE IT ON YOUR TUMBLR POST! JUST BE SURE THE IMAGE WILL BE REMOVED AND THE ONLY LEFT WAS THE TEXT.

⚠️ SHARING LINKS, LIKE POSTS, REBLOG POSTS, STEALING MY SNAPSHOT PHOTOS/RECORDED VIDEOS/ARTWORKS (a.k.a. ART THIEVES) OR PLAGIARIZING FROM UNKNOWN TUMBLR STRANGERS WILL IMMEDIATELY BE BLOCKED, RIGHT AWAY!⚠️

😡 WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT EVER LIKED & REBLOG MY SECRET POST! THIS IS FOR MY SECRET FRIENDS ONLY, NOT YOU! 😡

Okay? Capiche? Make sense? Good, now back to the post…↓

Title: My "Baggy Cloth-Ober" Day 12: 🐆

Hello, October! 🎃🦇 My daily "Baggy Cloth-Ober" continues with our next daily Inktober! 🧢👕🧤👖🧦👟😊

If you haven't seen my previous related post, then please click these: ↓

• Day 1: Maxwell 🐰🖌️ • Day 2: May 🐰��💥 • Day 3: Sam 🦊⚽ • Day 4: Mikey 🐱🎧 • Day 5: Brown 🥜 • Day 6: Choco 🐰🍫 • Day 7: Stripes 🦝⚾️😴 • Day 8: Leo 🦁🖌️ • Day 9: Wilson 🐶 • Day 10: Foofie 🐩🌸 • Day 11: Jumbo 🐘 🎮 🧹

DAY 12: Jo's Normal Clothes 🐆

• Do you remember, when someone says "You can't outrun a cheetah"? 🐆👟Well, Jo 🐆 is the perfect quote for her! 😁 She looks fine fine running around wearing her normal clothes, but what about in baggy size? 🤔 Unfortunately, due to thick soft thread from the effects of the "Fabric Softener" 🌸👕👖, her quick speed significantly decrease. 👟⬇️ Its not say slow as a snail 🐌🚫, rather from a Usain Bolt's speed to an amateur speed for amateur runner 🏃. You know, wearing baggy clothes is ideal for parachuting ✔️, wing gliding ✔️, and best of all warm comfort for the coldest season ✔️, but wearing baggy clothes for running activity is something that shouldn't attempt ❌. 😮☝️ I'm not sure if Jo would appreciate wearing baggy clothes. 🤔 As far as my opinion, I think I faved her clothes in baggy size (along side with Leo 🦁🖌️ and Jumbo 🐘 🎮 🧹). ❤️💙🤗

Well, that's all for now. More daily "Baggy Cloth-Ober" artworks to come, until the end (of October)! 😊

Jo's Normal Clothes - owned by @bryan360

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apparently-artless · 2 years ago

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do you have any jdrama recs? i really wanna start watching them! thank u sm! 💓

hi, anon! I do have some jdrama recommendations but since you didn't specify your preferred genre, I'd take it that you're fine with any. (٥⁀▽⁀ ) You can click the links to check the summary.

Bitter Blood (Partners by Blood) - the first jdrama I finished watching, the comedy in this series is great and aside from the genre mentioned, there are other elements of the series that made it worth watching. Genre: Action, Comedy, Mystery Main Cast: Satou Takeru, Watabe Atsuro

Kagi no Kakatta Heya - this got my interest because of the main cast but it definitely became one of my favorites that I still rewatch even to this day Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Drama Main Cast: Ohno Satoshi, Toda Erika, Sato Koichi

Good Doctor - this one originated from Kdrama of the same title, I watched the Korean and US versions so I can definitely say that this version has a different flavor to offer Genre: Life, Drama, Medical Main Cast: Yamazaki Kento, Ueno Juri, Fujiki Naohito

Mystery to Iunakare - I posted this one before and I even read the manga, the mysteries are not that mind-blowing but the main character is very interesting. this will have a movie that will feature one of the arcs in the manga and I am also looking forward to it. ^^ Genre: Mystery, Psychological, Life, Drama Main Cast: Suda Masaki

Shikaku Tantei Higurashi Tabito - the MC is also interesting, he had an accident in the past that lead to losing all his senses except his sense of sight and he is using his ability as a private detective. this has 2 seasons by the way so if ever you're going to watch this and enjoyed watching the first season, you might as well check season 2 Genre: Mystery, Drama, Supernatural Main Cast: Matsuzaka Tori, Tabe Mikako, Hamada Gaku, Sumida Moeno

Nobunaga Concerto - this one's based on manga, I never read the manga or watched the anime so maybe this could be another reason why I appreciated the live-action version but if you haven't read or watched the animanga, you can give this a try too Genre: Action, Military, Historical, Comedy Main Cast: Oguri Shun, Shibasaki Ko

3 Nen A Gumi: Ima kara Mina-san wa, Hitojichi Desu - you can watch this on Netflix, this is also a very good series Genre: Action, Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Main Cast: Suda Masaki, Nagano Mei

99.9: Keiji Senmon Bengoshi - MC is also weird so it got me, I have a thing for characters that are too weird but too good in what they do. this has season 2 as well ^^ Genre: Mystery, Comedy, Law Main Cast: Matsumoto Jun, Kagawa Teruyuki, Eikura Nana

Radiation House - this is also based on manga, I've read only a few chapters but I think the series was also well-made, there's romance but not to the point that it would go off the actual plot Genre: Mystery, Drama, Medical Main Cast: Kubota Masataka, Honda Tsubasa, Hirose Alice

Bokura wa Kiseki de Dekite Iru - now this one could be a total hit or a total miss for you, some find it boring but I really loved this series, if you are fine with watching a pure slice of life drama, you might also like this one, the MC is also eccentric which also became one of the main element of the story Genre: Life, Drama Main Cast: Kubota Masataka, Honda Tsubasa, Hirose Alice

So these are just some of the series I can recommend. If you're planning to check some of these and liked them too, feel free to DM me so we can talk about it more. It's not often that I encounter someone interested in jdrama. ^^ But damn, just reminiscing about these series makes me want to watch them again.

#jdorama #jdrama #jdorama recommendations #artless

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nextstopwonderland · 1 year ago

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Hmmm, what *would* go on a Bryan playlist? I don't have a pithy title, sorry!

so like, I went with songs that make me think of him. I’ve made a few mixes but they’re pairing based — nevertheless some of them made it onto this because they still fit the general vibe/were more him-coded.

which for me is basically kind of gentle/nature-y/kind/folky.

I get a Peter Gabriel/U2 vibe with him. And just uplifting/whimsy.

(I wasn’t thinking Bryan as a wrestling character when I did this either, which obviously has more of a frenetic/violent energy; hence why there’s none of his theme songs on here)

So here we go:

(click titles for Spotify links)

1. Where the streets have no name - U2

Just such a escaping into nature at Joshua Tree vibe

(If you haven’t played the album while driving through Joshua tTee 10/10 recommend)

2. Life in a northern town -The Dream Academy

He lived in a PNW town. I love the whimsical/meditative nature of this song

3. Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel - Spiritual soul-searching and uplifting

I was feeling part of a scenery I walked right out of the machinery. What a Bryan-esque lyric. He’s literally been talking about disappearing after this next year (much to my utter dismay)

4. Closer to Fine - Indigo Girls.

Sticking with the spiritual soul-searching and uplifting vibe. The line (my favorite line) about the college degree doesn't apply to him but he recently talked about that -- like what would've been different if he did have a formal education/if it actually matters at all. (I'm grateful to Barbie for making a new generation of people discover this epic)

4. Gypsy - Suzanne Vega

Again, a very nature/vagabond getting away from the rush of it all. I love the way Yuta described their hike -- how it was so nice to just turn things off and just "be". And Bryan, who literally uses his phone 1 hour per day is definitely all about "just be-ing."

5. The Wind - Cats Stevens/Yusuf

More of the same simplistic living/being/folksy vibe.

6. Northern Sky - Nick Drake

Goes hand in hand with the above for me.

7. Spinning Away - Brian Eno, John Cale

More of that 'just be-ing, experiencing the joy in the little things, appreciating every moment, nature/artistic vibe. I love the way he talks about all the ideas he has in his head, how he's constantly thinking about wrestling and has notebooks upon notebooks of ideas, not just about that but all kinds of things.

8. Kind and Generous - Natalie Merchant

A sappy one to close it out, i love how everyone who talks about him basically calls him the nicest person alive.

If anyone wants all the songs in one place, here ya go

#Bryan <3

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veebs-hates-video-games · 1 year ago

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I'm glad I waited until the last minute to figure out how I felt about the games I played this year because there were some surprise changes right up until the end. I think I managed to get most things I played this year that weren't just demos onto a list and will have opinions on them.

There will potentially be too many to tag properly, but maybe I'll try linking the game titles to the tags and see how that goes, which should bring up any previous posts about them with more detail (although I still haven't finished updating all the old posts to the new tags yet as of writing this so they might not all work right away).

Also except for the final category stuff within each group isn't really in any particular order, and there's no hard boundary between some of the categories where I think everything in one is definitively better than everything in another (e.g. I think Aria of Sorrow is better than at least some of the stuff in the "pleasantly surprised category", but I liked it exactly as much as I expected to so it is where it is).

So starting from the worst:

Fate/EXTELLA LINK was the least fun I had with a game all year. It's like what if a Musou game felt worse to play and also had an extremely uncomfortable level of pandering to weebs and their waifus in the writing. Blech.

Diablo 2: Resurrected is literally unplayable without creating an account and being online even though D2 has always had offline single player. They don't actually mention this. I only have it because it was cheaper to get the bundle with D2 and D3 than D3 by itself.

Super Mario 3D World is the least fun I've had with a Mario game in literally decades. 3D movement with a fixed camera is awful. I still like the full 3D games and the 2D ones, but this is nope for me.

Pendula Swing is honestly probably fine on a different platform (read: with a mouse and keyboard), but the Switch version is borderline unplayable. The idea seemed interesting but it was so clunky I couldn't get into it.

Ys Origin just hasn't aged well. I played it a long time ago and it was in the "fine, I guess" category, but trying to replay it after some of the newer ones (which will be further down the list) was rough.

And then games that were mostly just disappointing to me:

Diablo 3 is one of those things everyone kept saying at least feels the best to play out of all the modern ARPGs for years, so I finally gave in and tried it to see what all the fuss was about. It feels like Torchlight 2.5 with a bigger budget and was kind of uninspiring overall.

The Outer Worlds was something I was really hopeful about, but I just didn't find anything at all about it enjoyable.

Pokemon Picross is just a bunch of free-to-play bullshit ruining something that could've been fun. The world is better off with the eShop shut down so no one can play it anymore.

Persona 5 Royal is another one I was really looking forward to that I just did not click with at all. The first few hours were full of minor annoyances and did very little to win me over.

AI: The Somnium Files had potential and sounded interesting, but moon logic for solving puzzles should've stayed in the 90s and I could do without all the random horniness.

The World Ends With You: Final Remix and NEO: The World Ends With You are frustrating because they have so many interesting ideas and a neat presentation but just aren't any fun to play, especially the first one.

Tales of Vesperia just hasn't aged super well I think. I know there are people who like it, and I was looking forward to it, but I think I would've had to play it closer to stuff like Tales of Symphonia to appreciate it.

Inscryption is not my thing at all. It's a shame because I loved Pony Island, but I just couldn't get into this one.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a Donkey Kong Country game, which have always been just ok to me. I should've remembered that and not bought into the hype over the years.

Next is stuff I liked the idea of but didn't really like playing enough to stick with it:

Titanfall 2 has really neat movement and stuff, and I've heard the later levels do some interesting stuff, but beyond that the actual combat wasn't really my thing.

Ori and the Blind Forest had too many frustrating bits to keep me playing through the parts I did like.

Disgaea 4 seemed fun and like it had a lot of potential, but I always find that kind of SRPG way too fiddly, ever since I tried the original Final Fantasy Tactics.

Marenian Tavern Story: Patty and the Hungry God is just a worse version of Blacksmith of the Sand Kingdom (see later on the list), which is understandable because they made it first.

Bravely Default I mostly played a couple years ago, but this year I put another dozen hours in and finally gave up on it. I really like a lot of stuff about it, but there were just too many things that frustrated or annoyed me.

They Bleed Pixels seems like fun and has some good pixel art (mostly the story stuff outside the gameplay segments), but I don't think it's for me.

Hero Hours Contract is an amazing idea and I love almost everything about it except for actually playing it.

Luckslinger took forever for me to get around to. The idea of luck being a consumable resource you have to manage is really neat, but I wasn't really enjoying the actual game, even if "pixel art hip hop spaghetti western" sounds great on paper.

Carto is one I don't really have anything against beyond apparently glitching it into an unrecoverable state and not being invested enough to start over.

Cris Tales is another one of those ones where I like a lot of stuff about it except for actually playing it.

Anarcute was a lot of fun for a little while, but it started introducing more elements I tend to not really like. Definitely one of the cuter games on the list with one of the best theme songs though.

Followed by things I had mixed feelings on or the "fine, I guess" category:

PixelJunk Eden 2 was fun enough, but they changed things from the original in a way that seems to be to make it more suitable for mobile, and I feel like most of them made it worse.

Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars didn't quite stick the landing. I loved the idea of everything being cards on a table with a single narrator/GM running everything, and the world and characters were interesting enough for a while. It didn't quite hold up for me all the way through to the end though.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is...better than Breath of the Wild, at least? It's smoothed over a lot of my biggest annoyances with that, and it's amazing that half the stuff in it even works at all, but it still doesn't feel like Zelda to me and has been pretty low priority to get back to and finish.

Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout has one of the worst openings of any game I've played in years and absolutely awful pacing. It did seem to finally have opened up and gotten potentially rather good where I left off (and might get back to one of these days), but it shouldn't take half a dozen hours for that.

Yoku's Island Express is a clever idea and was a pretty good time for a while, but it's also one of the buggiest things I've played in the past year, and that's what drove me to stop playing.

Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age is frustrating to go back to. I loved the demo when I played it a couple years ago, but redoing everything now because I'm playing the full game on a different platform kinda sucks because of how slow the start is.

Will Die Alone has an interesting premise and way of interacting with it, but it stops short of quite saying as much with it as I would've liked.

Chaos;Head Noah had so much potential that kind of got wasted in the end. I really liked a lot of stuff about it along the way, but it's also kind of a mess. Hopefully when I get around to Steins;Gate they'll have learned to do it better because the anime for that one was great.

I'LL KILL HER is basically an interactive comic book, and the main strength is the art. The rest is fine I guess. Every content warning for this one.

Murder by Numbers is a constant mix of mildly amusing and mildly annoying. I hope they can even things out if they make more games in the future.

And then games that were pretty good but not my favorites:

Kuukiyomi: Consider It is a silly idea and doesn't overstay its welcome. I haven't felt an urge to play the sequels so far though.

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is definitely the best in the series and has tons of great music, but I still have some issues with this style of music/rhythm game that keep me from completely loving it.

Cadence of Hyrule was kind of annoying when I first started playing the demo, but once I got the hang of it I had a pretty good time mostly. The huge difficulty spike at the end left me less happy with it than I was for most of the game though.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is probably the best game in this category, much better than most of the others, and my favorite Castlevania game, but it's a little short of being one of my favorites overall this year.

Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet is probably my second favorite in thie category and rather cute and silly.

One Night: Burlesque is the "worst" game in this category and doesn't entirely succeed at what it's trying to do, but I appreciate the effort and the overall vibes.

Gunma's Ambition -You and Me Are Gunma- is literally just a single joke drawn out for like an hour, but they lean into it enough to make it work.

LOUD: My Road to Fame has a couple weird design decisions that make it a bit frustrating toward the end, but up until then it's a surprisingly fun music/rhythm game with decent original music.

Lara Croft GO has some pretty decent puzzles in it and is probably my second favorite Tomb Raider game at this point, but I also had some Issues with it that held it back a little bit.

Next are the ones that I was pleasantly surprised by that were better than I expected:

Pixel Puzzle Makeout League was not what I expected. I figured it would just be picross with a silly dating sim on top, but I had no idea about the themes and ideas it would go into, and the entire ending section of the game in general was great and totally unexpected.

Blacksmith of the Sand Kingdom really surprised me. I had zero expectations going in, and while it isn't quite great at anything it's good to very good at a lot of things and was pretty satisfying in the end.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is the most Zelda-like game I've played this year (with close competition from another game down the list), and an actual Zelda game came out this year. Exactly as long as it needed to be and went in a more interesting direction than I thought it would.

Majotori is something I accidentally stumbled on because it was on a list of games that at least tangentially have lesbians in them, and it's delightfully silly.

Death end re;Quest really surpassed my expectations, even if I have significant enough issues with it that it's hard to recommend without caveats. it did some surprisingly interesting things though, and I keep thinking about it from time to time.

Rabisco+ was an impulse purchase because it randomly came up and was very cheap and I had no idea what was going on in the cover art. It turned out to be a short but pretty fun arcade-style puzzle game.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana was the first Ys game I played since Ys Origin first came out in English, and the series has really come a long way since then and is much better these days.

Demong Hunter was basically an impulse joke purchase because I had to know what makes a demong different from a demon. I still have no idea, but this was way better than I expected from what initially seemed like a cheap mobile game.

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox wasn't quite as good overall as the previous game in the series, but I still had a lot of fun with Goth Adol, and all the new movement abilities added a lot to it.

Perfect Gold did a surprisingly decent job of having flawed characters who worked through problems in their relationship without making them annoying or unlikable like often happens.

Trigger Witch is the other most Zelda-like game I played this year. I totally grabbed it because of the cover art and it was on sale, but it's a pretty solid twin-stick shooter mixed with the LttP/LA era of Zelda.

Will You Snail? was pretty unknown to me before I started playing because I somehow avoided anyone else playing it or talking about it, but it turned out to be a pretty good precision platformer with a fun gimmick, which is hard to pull off for me because I can be kinda picky about how platformers feel to play for some reason.

Vivid Knight managed to absorb nearly all my game time until I finished it, which I did not see coming. I did eventually start to see the cracks in the systems and stopped enjoying it as much, but up until then I got pretty wrapped up in it.

And finally the ones that were probably my favorites, not necessarily in order but with the best generally toward the end:

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition and Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected would be more toward the top of the list except this was a replay so I'm disqualifying it. I played the Wii version originally, and they sure did improve almost everything in an already great game in this version.

Bowser's Fury was about as enjoyable as Super Mario 3D World was unenjoyable. I'm not sure it would quite work for a full size Mario game, but there were some good ideas in this one.

Trials of Mana really polished up an older game that I thought was kind of underwhelming back in the day and turned it into something I had a great time with. Between this and the recent announcement of the new game I'm cautiously optimistic about something good in the Mana series finally happening for the first time since the PS1.

Harvestella really caught me off guard. I was expecting a farming sim with some Final Fantasy-style nonsense on top, and it turned out to be 85% JRPG with a story I liked more than anything FF has done in years.

Can Androids Pray is the most last minute addition to this list on December 30th. When a short story (in any medium) really focuses in on a single relationship or conversation or event or idea so well that it implies the existence of the entire rest of the universe around that my brain just starts vibrating. This is one of those.

The House in Fata Morgana takes a long road to get to its ending and the characters earn every step of the way there. It also surprised me by being a totally different flavor of queer than I expected.

Unpacking wins the award for best vibes. I had a lot of feelings about this one, probably including some they weren't expecting people to have when they made it, and it does a better job telling a story than most stuff on this list despite having no visible characters and almost zero dialogue.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim I think wins for my favorite story/writing this year. People said it was a great sci-fi story, and not just for a video game, and they were right.

Fire Emblem Engage is the winner for my favorite gameplay. They absolutely nailed a lot of the mechanics and systems on the game design side of things, and it's my favorite Fire Emblem game at this point.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed gets this spot for my favorite overall. They polished the already great gameplay of XC3, introduced some great new characters and brought back some old ones, and managed to expand on a lot of the story from the entire trilogy and tie up a bunch of stuff all at the same time.

And I guess that's finally that. There were some pretty big disappointments for me, but there were even more really great games I played and ones I had no idea I'd like as much as I did. I think I'm just going to tag stuff in the final two categories (since that's what'll fit) and call it a day.

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