#rather that this... whatever it is in typical romance novels

[sayonaramidnight]

One of many things I appreciate greatly about 7KPP is... the amount of emotion! I love how genuinely and unashamedly most of the LIs and friends express their affection once you get past their defences - and even before that there's so much chemistry and emotional connection there. It's so easy to fall in love with them <3

Yeah, well. That's all I've got to say for today.

[writers-potion]

Different Genres, Different Fight Scenes.

Romance

No real gore; write entertaining fight scenes with an illusion of reality

Avoid excessive arobatics or feats of unbelievable strength. Stay realistic - describe the weather, how the ground feels.

Add a layer of erotic tension.

Use injuries as opportunities to test the hero and heroine's relationship, for displaying touching and tender care.

Fight scenes in romance tend to be short (<700w)

Where there are several fight scenes: (1) he comes to her rescue - (2) she comes to his rescue (3) together they fight in the final showdown.

Fantasy

Fantasy fight scenes will primarily be enertaining, but have considerable grit.

Since readers needs to retain their suspense of disbelief in dragons, fairies, unicorns, etc. it helps to keep fights realistic.

Heroes will be skilled in using the weapon of their choice, and he climax of the fight will be prolonged, detailed and technically precise.

Science Fiction

Invent a special weapon for your book. To make it plausible, take a real-life weapon and extrapolate.

To make it interesting, the weapon will have a critical flaw or have consequences to the user which will make the plot more interesting.

Thriller

Fight scene in thrillera are very gritty, with real violence and gore. There will be several injuries and death.

However, the hero will also show off his skill in prolonged fight scenes, making it entertaining.

The suspense section is typically long

The hero will often have advanced level fighting skills.

Horror

As long as the blood is plot relevant, readers will want to see gore and grit.

The suspense and aftermath sections will be long, with unexpected twists that gets the hero behind his back.

Cozy Mystery

Cozy mystery won't have too much fighting involved, but if it does it will be be short.

Focus on how the hero struggles towards the next clue as a result of the fight rather than on the fight itself.

Historical

Fight in historical novels can be anything between entertaining and gritty.

Consider the periodic background, tech level, and relative wealth of your fighters before you give them weapons and armour.

In period where life expectancy was shorter and violence was more commonplace, your heros will be less bothered about seeing death, gory gutting, or having children in battle. Less qualms about killing.

In most periods and societies women didn't fight, and you must come up with a plausible backstory for her.

Literary

Either the fight takes place off stage or it is shown in all its realistic brutality.

Literary fight scenes are gritty and short.

You will choose to focus on the aftermath - play up the tragic, sinful, meaninglessness, etc. of violence for the reader and how it affects your hero's psyche.

Young Adult

YA fight scenes are entertaining, but it can escalate to be very scary.

he plot often revolves around he protagnoist performing implausible feats of fighting, often with exceptional martial arts skills.

Choose whatever martial arts teenagers find "cool" and build up your knowledge about it.

If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 📸

[pinknightsinmymind]

【 abby anderson as a gf hc's 】

a/n: this is just super fluffy and cute <333 i wrote a lot so it's below the cut

first and foremost, lots of ppl make assumptions about abby and what she's like because of her appearance. she has somewhat of a rbf, and she's insanely buff, so many ppl are intimidated by her automatically.

that being said, abby looks to be understood and known at a deeper level, and wants to be treated like anyone else no matter what she looks like

i think she's the typical "intimidating but a huge softie" type like HEAR ME OUT

anyone can look at her and know that she's insanely strong and that she could easily take them out, and while true, underneath all that abby is extremely kind and caring

she may look scary, but she loves reading, she loves animals, she loves nature, she has a soft spot for lev, she's grown to understand the world outside of herself and that there is more than what meets the eye, she's learned from her mistakes, and she's deeply loyal

so while, yes, she is tough and strong, she is much more than that and wants to be seen for all parts of herself rather than the surface; she wants to be understood and she wants her partner to be someone who isn't intimidated by her and is willing to look beyond her exterior

so while everyone else avoids her and you willingly approach her despite what ppl say? and you treat her like a person—like she were anyone else? that immedately gets you on her good side and gains you her respect

you two begin to seek each other out more and more bc she enjoys your company and begins to open up to you

she lets you see every side of her, even the ones she typically wouldn't let others see

other ppl may be confused as to how you joke around with her so easily when they'd fear for their lives if they did, but that's simply bc you're close enough to her that you know how much of a huge softie she is

okay okay enough of my intimidating softie abby agenda and now time for more interesting stuff

im FULLY convinced that in a modern!au and college!au she'd be in pre-med studying to be a doctor or a surgeon; she'd do it bc she wants to help ppl but also bc she loves and admires her dad for his work

bc of this i also see her bragging to you all the time that she'll be your doctor wife who makes big money so she can spoil you

(and she lives up to that promise)

when she comes home late from work she's quick to make it up to you

ABBY IN SCRUBS

knowing her love of novels, i feel like she struggled to pick between pre-med and english as her major, but at the end of the day being a doctor called to her passions much more so she chose english as her minor

HOWEVER, i feel like her brain is so sexy especially when talking about novels she's read

like imagine her going on tangents about the book she's read and what she thinks the meaning is, then bringing up the story's historical context, and then interdisciplinary studies and just being like "omg she's so sexy i'm going to take my clothes off rn" bc of how smart she is

her book collection is HUGE and she lets you borrow whatever you want from her shelves, and you can see all the things she's scribbled in the margins, her silly annotations, small drawings in the corners, her cussing in her notes about the characters saying stuff like "what the fuck is wrong with you?" so seriously

she'll find poems she really likes and tell you about them especially the ones that remind her of you

i feel like she'd love emily dickinson and the bronte sisters idk i can see it

she's SO excited to introduce you to her dad

she's a huge family person and wants you to feel like a part of her family too

in a modern!au lev is probably a kid who lives next door to her that she babysits and tutors sometimes but she absolutely adores him and sees him as her brother

can you imagine how much of a hopeless romantic she is

she's probably so cheesy and loves romance and being cute with you where if it were anyone else it'd be cringy but its HER and she's just so sweet and so endearing how could you hate any of it?

asks you to be her valentine every year even if you're her gf bc she still feels the need to romance you

will make a spectacle of every holiday in order to treat you somehow

okay maybe gift giving would be a love language of hers too i can see it

but i feel like her top love languages are physical touch and acts of service tho

she's definitely the type to cherish any moment with you, and values being able to sit with you in silence in general but also while you do your own activities together (so parallel play basically)

.... i think she'd love to play video games to destress but not necessarily violent ones i think she'd play more calm games like animal crossing to relax or maybe minecraft where yall can build a world together and have a little farm bc she thinks its cute

teases you when you get lost or when you die in the games tho bc she's a bully (jokingly) like that

definitely the type to be like "only I can bully you"

very protective in general she wouldn't let anyone lay a hand on you and she'd take such good care of you

worries about your well-being (physical, emotional, mental) all the time and will do whatever it takes to make sure you're okay

if you need her at 3 am, she doesn't care she goes to your place right away

if you're sick she won't hesitate to buy you medicine, clean up your place, make you soup, whatever you want

when taking care of you while sick she calls you her number one patient and her favorite patient bc she's corny like that

there's nothing she wouldn't do for you bc when she's committed, she's committed

she's such a devoted and loyal person in general that when she cares about you, she cares about you, and there's no bluffing involved

just a very sincere and honest person who is willing to grow and learn, especially with her partner

i bet she's VERY open to communication and to talk things out with you she's the type to listen to you wholeheartedly and give you all the reassurance you need

she's the type of partner who's SO open to communication and good at it that you're like omg??? how are you so calm??? i'm screaming and crying and shitting my pants rn???

she's a huge softie and such a loving person who looks to be understood the way she understands others; she craves unconditional love and wants to give to others

she's just gf (and wife) material like come ON

[12amphantasm]

People always meet you with reverence, “Father Andrew!”, they greet when you walk past, admiration heavy in their voices. They love you for how pious you are, friendly and loving, your patience and generosity.

And you love them, too. Just like the place you have stayed in for nearly twenty years, the huge complex composed of a humble yet luxurious church, the boarding school for troubled youths, the small but very warm house for the elderly, and the nearby university of theology - together known as The Hillset Private Conservatory.

God loves it all, every flower, every human, and whatever it might be that’s walking through these halls. __

The game is 18+ and meant for an adult audience.

Although the romance is strictly MxM, sexuality is relevant only for the romantic routes and the game can be played without engaging in intimate relationships, but at the expense of background information the player won’t be able to get in other ways. __

The game will be uploaded in parts, starting at least with 10k words. Planed release: Late April/early May 2024 ___

Written by a gay man, the romance is MxM only and stays true to reality, portraying genuine gay relationships, without stereotypes and harmful tropes.

“We Are God’s Most Beloved” is an old-school text-heavy interactive fiction novel and recommended to those who love reading.

Choices are meaningful instead of flavour and used only when they have an actual impact, this means there are long passages of text, which requires the reader to keep track of the story – just like they would with a novel. There is a lot to explore, attentive readers might find more game in this interactive fiction than one would expect.

The main genre is horror, even if nothing is outrageously explicit and often handled with a focus on the absurd, it contains horror-typical themes and tropes such as blood, body horror, surreal imaginary, and other commonly used elements.

In addition, mental illness, dysfunctional familial relationships, and physical assault play an important role depending on which route is chosen.

Hillset Private Conservatory, build in 1802, despite its long history, is a name few people know or have ever heard, and if one is aware of its existence, it’s rarely for good reasons.

Rumours have it that the owner was a paranoid man and the gigantic complex created solely to have a spacious cage for his family, namely his eight children, only for all of them to find an untimely death on this very property.

"It's haunted!", some say. "It's evil!", some claim.

Of course, nothing of that is true, the many teachers, counsellors, nuns, and priest can attest to that, and so would many of their students. At least a good portion of them. Maybe some, at least.

Now summer vacation has ended, and a new batch of fosterlings is about to arrive; frightened, misguided, and troubled teens in need of loving care, education, and a new chance at life.

Father Andrew, the only acting priest, will do his best, like always, to show them God’s brilliance and create a warm home out of these century old walls.

No railroading, no hand-holding

Life is full of choices, you have to make your own and live with them, ultimately missing out on certain things, or ending up utterly regretting what you did. There is no right or wrong, no road I, more or less sneakily, force you to take, choices are all equally valid and accounted for. ___

A fixed protagonist

Father Andrew is a fixed character, with his own likes, dislikes, appearance, and convictions. But how he navigates the world, how he reacts, who he becomes fond of or rather avoids, his interactions and how he lives his life, and, of course, what you learn about him, is up to you. ___

One end to rule them all

There are no bad endings or early finishes, all choices lead to the same endpoint, but how it looks like… is on you alone. ___

No stats

“We Are God’s Most Beloved” doesn’t require you to master stats, the story changes based on your choices, how you interact with the world and characters determines the options you will have, who likes or hates you, and how the story will play out. ___

Explicit - Yes or No?

You can choose to either read explicit sexual interactions or go for fade-to-black. ___

Romance

Three romantic interests are waiting to meet you, but you can play the whole story without romancing anyone, at the expense of sexual moments, additional plot-points centred around these characters, and potentially interesting background information.

No indicators are used, you have to find your own way, going by what you know about a character, evaluating the current situation, and acting accordingly.

Use the relationship stats to figure out what you did right or wrong, you have successfully entered a romantic route with a RO when the percentage reaches 50% and will deepen, or lessen, the relationship from then on.

There are no poly routes, entering one will lock you out of the others, and while you can’t lose a route once entered, how the couple ends up is based on your actions.

Keep in mind that “love” comes in many forms and players might find it worthwhile to forge bonds with other characters.

Profiles - Here

Father Andrew

Thirty-three years old, he was admitted to Hillset boarding school for troubled youths at the tender age of fourteen and hasn’t left the complex since. He’s very out of touch with the outside, basing his worldview, manners and morals on the old nuns and priests that raised him, often colliding with the new students’ modern ways. Friendly, polite and helpful, he’s easy to get along with on first glance but hard to truly get to know, which leaves him without friends and often rather lonely. __

Sister Lucia

Thirty-five years old, she’s one of the younger nuns but the strictness with which she loves doesn’t pale in comparison. She’s very fond of Father Andrew, who is her inspiration and has warped the image of how a priest should be until it became unrecognisable. Her hobbies are flower-arrangements, cooking things no one who loves their life should eat, taking care of the children in their school, and writing in her journal. __

Ẻ̶̛̬̲̀͋͑v̷̟̫̌̄͂ẻ̵͙̆̎͐l̸̨̙̠̻̜̐͌̓̂ͅͅy̵̡̲̼̔̑̾̀̀͐n̶̻̰̬͛͂͊̏̕͜͠

They might or might not be human. --

Moby

They definitely aren’t human, but God loves them anyway.

The love interests

Ryan Harris

Twenty-four years old and a student of Theology, he’s a graduate from the boarding school for troubled youths. While not overly intelligent, he’s diligent, curious, and not afraid of hardships. Father Andrew’s liturgy is his favourite part of the week and helping out something he takes pride in, as he does in his paintings that are full of creative flair and appreciated only by those with strong artistic sense. __

Connor Price

Thirty-one years old, he has been teaching English for eight years at a famous school and will do so from now on at Hillset - even if only because other schools refused to take him. He doesn’t like the enormous complex, dated appearance, long, dark halls, how everyone is just too nice, and Father Andrew, who somehow gives him the creeps. Connor spends his time reading, avoiding coworkers, and having long talks with the elderly in their care. __

?

You have to find that out on your own.

[trashogram]

Even I’m getting tired of my hypercritical ass, but I just wanna get one more thing out there about the third short for Helluva Boss bc it’s stuck in my brain:

Does anyone else get the “lol Mary sues are the worst thing to ever exist in fandom” vibe from it? That used to be a very popular sentiment, and honestly still is in many circles, so people felt not only safe — but also entitled — to shit on people that would make OCs/self-inserts that were emphatically perfect with no flaws and beloved by nearly all the canon characters from whatever movie or show or book the fic was written for.

Usually the ones that created these fics were pretty young and were more typically girls expressing themselves via writing. No they weren’t really high quality and yes they were a little embarrassing to outsiders but only as embarrassing as anything else adolescents do. But people would really go to task mocking and shaming these kinds of fics and art.

And then there was a big shift rather recently where people were defending Mary Sue projects because a collective understanding that what young girls liked and indulged in — romantic comedies, harlequin romance novels, boy bands, Twilight, etc. — often got vitriolic shame for no actual reason.

But the Emberlynn short feels kind of like a regression of this to me? Shaming girls for being “embarrassingly hormonal and melodramatic” and for enjoying supernatural romance/smut that they can project onto and feel like they’re part of it?

Idk, I understand that this might be gymnastic level reaching or seeing more to something than there really is, but I feel like Vivziepop and a good portion of her collaborators did grow up and partake in fandom around the time where shaming the Mary Sue concept was all the rage. And I don’t think Viv grew out of that mindset, or there’s a strong possibility that she still thinks that way and hasn’t grown past it given other things she does that reek of misogyny and 2012 trolling.

(Please also note that I’m not saying some of the things that are made fun of don’t deserve criticism — the My Immortal HP fanfic and Twilight have racist and sexist connotations that deserved rightful drawback. I’m more talking about the general disgust toward women and young girls being fans of something that specifically appeals to them like the romance and sexy stuff.)

[heartbeatbookclub]

I think it's sorta weird how the Protagonist (MC, Y/N, Stinky, whatever you wanna call him) is treated within the context of DDLC's meta.

That sentence came out weird. What I mean is that on terms of DDLC playing with the 4th wall (in other words, on terms of its actual existence as a visual novel in universe), the nature of the Protagonist's...well, entire existence, is up in the air.

Dan Salvato literally stated that he doesn't actually see him as a character in the same way as the girls. He's a "blank slate that says whatever is convenient." In a different statement, he's described as the "nameless, faceless self-insert character that you find so commonly in romance games", which I think is a good way of putting it. It's a good way of justifying why he kinda...sucks, because he's meant to be a typical VN protagonist. He's shallow, and responds with little more than what makes sense in context, because he doesn't have much character on his own, which is what makes him pretty bad at dealing with delicate issues like with Sayori.

In DDLC+ (spoilers, I guess?), it's a little bit vague about it, but in one of the mails, it states that Monika has literally "manufactured" a new character to "force interaction between her and the user". This character is heavily implied to be the Protagonist of the main DDLC visual novel that we know, and he is, as stated, noticeably absent from the Side Stories, because Monika didn't actively create him to be there.

Except...he isn't.

He doesn't physically appear, but in Trust, though he's obviously not mentioned by name, it's implied that he does exist, because when asked to act like a "normal person" responding to the Literature Club, she imitates a friend of hers who says "Literature is stuuupid. I'm joining the Anime Club."

...Remind you of a certain someone?

I feel like I'm overexplaining this, but my point is, it suggests that the Protagonist as a character isn't just something Monika invented out of thin air, or at least he's heavily implied not to be.

I think there's a larger conversation on the vague way the game itself treats the world outside of what is defined within the limited scope of Doki Doki Literature Club. Fans have filled gaps of different characters and events, but it's important to acknowledge that they're gaps filled by fanon, not canon. I think those gaps are left very intentionally empty, mostly to play into the conceit of the world, being that literally nothing actually exists outside of its boundaries, because it's a visual novel. It's a limited, constricted reality, where things are implied to exist outside it, but they actually don't.

In other words, Monika did apparently generate all that makes up the Protagonist as a character and vehicle for the player in the main game, based off the limited concept implied by their interaction in the Side Story. Or, rather, probably by something else, since the side stories are inherently a "Control Simulation" where Monika doesn't have any sense of meta awareness. It's a prequel set before the main story, but...well, if you really think about it, it's implied to tie into the main story, but they don't directly link up, do they? If it's not explicitly shown on screen in the main line Doki Doki Literature Club, did it even happen?

Either way, the Protagonist is a character independent of Monika's creation, he's just given absolutely nothing, and technically doesn't even exist outside of what's implied of him. Technically, the character Monika creates as a vehicle for the Player has no real relation to him, outside of being Sayori's friend and wanting to join the Anime Club. Or, depending on your view, he does! Since he's the literal manifestation of that character concept where it didn't exist previously, it's fair to say that he is that character given life!

I don't know, I think it's just kinda fascinating in context. I don't really like a lot of the extra lore surrounding the whole thing in +, but there are plenty of interesting things like this which have been given just enough flavor to be interesting.

Obviously I don't think this means the Protagonist is a complete non-character and any & all fan interpretations of him should be defenestrated (quite the opposite actually, reality can be whatever you want, I have a few concepts with him floating around my head which I find fun to play with), but I think this sort of thing is probably important to keep in mind on terms of actual investigations of canon.

[lalalian]

let's talk students: aethergarde academy dr

uhhhhh so let's ignore the fact that I haven't uploaded on tiktok in like 2 weeks + I haven't made a proper post in a whiillleeee T-T

I WILL get to those asks soon, I just really have barely any time on my hands as I'm out and about 8 hrs a day (I'm seriously not exaggerating 😭😭😭)

anyways, let's start with Miaene Lumynstrov.

pronunciation:

Miaene: (Mee-'anne') ('an' as in 'and' without the d))

Lumynstrov: (Loo-min-straw-v) ('v' as in the typical 'v' sound lmao)

appearance:

Miaene's appearance is modelled after Naoi Rei. I actually saw the first photo in this section and came up with everything about Miaene on the spot 😭😭. Miaene has a serious but lovely appearance, though her personality is essentially all thorns and ice. She's got pale skin due to training indoors and the use of umbrellas on particularly sunny days. Her irises are a deep pine green; her eyes are sharp yet round.

Miaene's haircut may be popular in our OR, but it definitely isn't in this DR (haircut in the first photo). Some think it's blocky while others find it unique. Her haircut is inspired by an accident in a spar match. Her opponent sliced a part of her hair, and Miaene’s mom didn’t want to shear her hair short. Instead, they hired a hairstylist known for him unique haircuts to fix Miaene’s hair while preserving the length. This haircut is what he came up with.

Despite its uniqueness, Miaene likes how her hair makes her stand out. Her hair has made her more recognizable, and she believes that it’s helped judges in competitions remember who she is.

Overall, she is lean but fit.

personality:

As mentioned earlier, she is all thorns and ice. She’s the kind of person to say “I’m here to work, not to make friends”. Definitely either an INTJ or an ISTJ. Genuinely has no friends, not even joking.

Nobody’s really seen her laugh, it’s not like she doesn’t though, she def has 😭 she laughs at rather stupid things, but tends to try and stifle her amusement to keep up a serious facade.

Reputation is an incredibly important thing to her. She hates distasteful rumors the most, and is prepared to do whatever to prove herself to others. She cares a lot about what other people think about her, and will go to great lengths to make herself seem greater than she really is. She isn’t the type to lie necessarily though; it’s more that she tries to exaggerate her most prominent positive traits (mostly being hardworking, a great leader, responsible).

She’s quite prideful and absolutely hates outright lying. Miaene is a crazy talented swordswoman and archer.

Miaene is especially particular when it comes to her skin and (kinda) health. She’s a bit of a neat freak and she often wears long gloves to prevent the sun from touching her skin. Miaene is always using a UV blocking charm to alleviate the effects of the rays on her skin. She is huge on overworking herself though.

If I had to compare her personality to a fictional character, I’d say she’s similar to Ines from The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway.

relationships & social status

Miaene is heavily favored by Straus’ family and is set to marry Straus sometime after Aethergarde. Straus and Miaene have an acquaintance-like relationship, and are not close despite their families involvement.

They’ve known each other since childhood, but Miaene has always thought he was a bit dull for her liking. Miaene doesn’t really like Straus romantically, but she is set on marriage with him because she sees the benefit in marrying someone of his caliber.

Miaene has no other siblings, which makes her an only child.

As you may have guessed, Miaene is of noble descent. Her father’s a duke, meaning that Miaene is a high noble.

likes & dislikes:

likes:

- secretly a big sweet tooth

- reading, likes philosophy and secretly reads romance novels

- has always been fond of music

- spider silk garments

- spicy food

- trying new foods

- skincare

dislikes:

- traveling

- overly hot environments

- arrogance

- strong smells

- not a big fan of kids

aura:

Her aura is categorized as a dual-toned plume consisting of a (inner) reddish indigo and a (outer) pinkish mauve.

#85188f

#b87c88

dragon:

She’s bonded with a light blue female Tsunazaeth; she’ll name her dragon Acanthe (Uh-can-the). I see Miaene building a pretty close friendship with her dragon.

strengths and weaknesses:

strengths:

- hardworking

- perseverant

- intelligent

- multilingual

- swordsmanship

- level-headed

- responsible

- good leader

weaknesses:

- perfectionist

- overly critical of herself and others

- may take negative feedback too harshly

- bottles up emotions

- distant/keeps everyone at arms length

- hard time opening up

- lacks social skills to make friends

- overly formal

- too logical

- not the most empathetic person “why don’t you just…”

fighting style:

Not going to describe her fighting style too much to avoid over scripting, but there’s a few things I do wanna mention.

Miaene fights with a sword. She is described as an elegant fighter and is rather fleet footed. Not only that, but she’s pretty flexible too.

upon shifting here…

Miaene will be a first year student at Aethergarde Academy.

wanna know more about my aethergarde academy dr? here's a masterlist with everything I've posted about it!

[finnlongman]

Keep thinking about that one KJ Charles interview where she's talking about the challenges of being a historical romance novelist when you sort of believe the whole aristocracy should've been executed, and the delicate balancing act of writing historically accurate and interesting characters who don't have awful politics and values. And, crucially, she challenged the typical rich love interest idea by asking, "But where does the money come from?"

Once you think about it, you can't stop thinking about it. Every historical romance I read now, I can tell whether the author has thought about it. Sometimes they've thought about it but tried not to deal with it and hoped we wouldn't notice that the rich aristocrat probably owns a plantation. Sometimes they've actually dealt with it. And sometimes they have not considered it and It Shows.

But I also don't want historical novels where characters have modern sensibilities! I want them to feel historical... I just also want the "desirable" characters to not be, you know, involved in the slave trade or whatever, because that seriously undermines everything the book is doing to make them seem attractive. (One does not generally read this flavour of historical romance for morally grey antiheroes, and even if you did, that would be a fairly tasteless way of developing such a character, imo.)

I really enjoyed a detail in one of Cat Sebastian's books where the love interest is a Quaker, and he refuses dessert because he's boycotting sugar. It's a way of signalling to us that this character has particular values, but one that's rooted in the historical context and doesn't feel like a modern character wearing period clothing. His Quakerism also influences a few other details – his use of first names rather than titles, for example – but it's not a major plot point and he's no intense political campaigner. It's just one facet of his character, and one that made me like him more.

This sort of thing becomes a problem, too, with medieval settings and retellings and anything where you start having to deal with kings. A king of some tiny little pseudohistorical country whose major concerns revolve around not getting invaded and ensuring his people survive the winter is a very different prospect from a king intent on conquering his neighbours and expanding his glorious kingdom, of course. Still a king, though. What do you do with that, if you're someone who doesn't approve of kings?

I ran into this problem with a book I was working on a few years back, and it's one of the reasons I shelved it. I was trying to write a book about community and friendship. I was also trying to write an Arthurian retelling. And while a brotherhood of knights is a great starting point for a story about community and friendship, in order to have knights, you need to have a king for them to pledge fealty to. Problematic. My Arthur figure did not believe in hierarchy, but the story demanded that he perpetuated one anyway, because it was baked into the building blocks of story I was using to build mine. Eventually I realised I could not write that story as an Arthurian retelling without stripping it of everything recognisably Arthurian, and set it aside to be remade into something else.

I still think about this, though. I think about my Bisclavret retelling, which by necessity has a king in it. Bisclavret is a story about feudal loyalty, about oaths, about hierarchies. Take that away and you no longer have Bisclavret; it is a story that cannot exist without a king for the knight-wolf to be loyal to. Does that mean that as a story it always inherently supports a monarchist ideal, though? Or is its portrayal of kingship (a relationship that is, crucially, reciprocal) sufficiently detached from colonialist systems of monarchy to be distinct from those?

What systems and ideals form the assumptions a story is rested on? What happens once you start to question them? Can you still tell the same stories once you ask where the money comes from, or why the king is owed loyalty? Or does there come a point where you realise there are ideas woven into the very fabric of those narratives that you can't see past?

I don't have answers. I'm just thinking aloud. Thinking about having written a book with a king who isn't the bad guy, and what that means when I approve of neither kings nor hierarchies in general. Thinking about writing the past with the eyes of the present. Thinking about the unexamined assumptions in so many historical novels I've read, and how it feels as a reader not to be able to stop examining them.

(I have also read a number of contemporary romance novels where, after working my way through half an author's backlist, I've been forced to acknowledge that despite everything, the author does in fact think rich people are inherently attractive. Not sure what the solution to that one is, but it's certainly a different, if related, problem.)

[justfangirlstuffs]

Bang Bang On The Door

Hearing banging on your door typically never boded well. You couldn't recall a single occasion where it led to anything good. When you cracked open the front door, bat in hand, you weren't surprised to find your hunch was correct.

Drabble for my Cabaret AU, featuring Glitch (Eclipse) x Y/N

Hearing banging on your door typically never boded well. You couldn't recall a single occasion where it led to anything good. When you cracked open the front door, bat in hand, you weren't surprised to find your hunch was correct. You were, however, surprised at what manner of misfortune had come knocking. Glitch was leaning up against the frame, his towering figure hunched. One of his arms dangled lifelessly at his side looking badly damaged with torn metal and frayed wires poking out.

“Open the door,” the words a low mechanical growl.

You unlatched the bolt before he decided to lose his patience and smash on through, holding the door wide for him. He ducked inside and you were quick to shut and lock the door. Glitch shambled to the kitchen area, opting to sit down on the tiles whilst leaning back against the cabinets of the sink.

“What happened to you?” you asked, setting your weapon aside. Looking him over more thoroughly you could see dark stains on his clothes. It was difficult to tell what was blood and what was the dark oily substance that was dripping down one of his arms. Maybe this was why he wore darker fabrics all the time.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Just some business,” Glitch muttered. He seemed to be doing whatever the robot equivalent was of catching his breath. His gleaming optics stared up at the ceiling.

“Is this one of those ‘you should see the other guy’ situations?” you inquired leaning up against the counter.

“I said don't worry about it,” he grumbled.

“Firstly, you said, I needn't be concerned. Secondly, when a busted-up giant of a man forces his way into my home, I feel I have the right to be at least a little concerned, worried, etcetera.”

Glitch’s fierce, mismatched eyes met yours in a glare, though it had little bite behind it. “You're too nosy for your own good.”

“A trait that has apparently won me a spot in your books as ‘places to go when my arm is about to fall off’.”

A sound equivalent to a snort erupted from his voice box. “I came here because I know you're at least smart enough to keep your mouth shut.”

That he wasn't wrong about. You had very little inclination to brag about this to the other tenants. “Is there… are you going to be alright?” you asked softly.

“Fine, I just need to replace the busted arm with one of my spares, then I'll be out of your hair.”  

“Take all the time you need, love. Anything I can do to help?”

Glitch turned away from you, almost deafening in his silent refusal. “Yeah, go about yer evening and pretend I ain't here.”

Tough guys and their 'pride'. You wanted to shake your head and sigh to convey exactly how you felt about that, but you refrained. Just barely. Fine, if he wanted to lick his wounds by his lonesome, it was no skin off your nose. You went back to your couch, picking up the book you'd been reading. A tawdry romance novel with nearly every romance cliché under the sun. Essentially junk food for the eyes as far as reading materials went, but for as cheesy as it was, you found the main couple very endearing, and thus, it was quickly becoming your comfort read.

Now and again, you would peek out of the corner of your eye to watch your house guest as he pulled himself up off the floor, setting his cargo bag onto the table and taking a seat on a steel stool you'd recently acquired. Certainly not because you thought about anyone in particular who happened to have a rather heavy build and might need something more sturdy to sit on. Nah, you just saw it and thought, ��my apartment doesn't nearly have enough metal furniture’. That's all it was.

Glitch took out a fair number of tools from his bag, setting them out in neat rows on the table. You noticed that his one working hand seemed to be a little twitchy, but you said nothing. He'd told you to pretend he wasn't there after all. The soft sounds of tinkering reached your ears as you continued to read your novel, never mind that you had read the same page three times over, going on four. You noisily flipped to the next page to show that your attention was absolutely focused there and nowhere else.

After a few minutes, you were starting to actually focus on reading when a scraping noise followed by a low, static curse yanked your attention away from your book. Glitch nearly slammed the screwdriver he was working with onto the counter, and you pursed your lips.

“I would just like to state to no one in particular that I'd appreciate it if no violence is done to my furniture,” you stated loudly.

“You must think you're so cute,” Glitch muttered, tapping a finger on the table's surface.

“Oh, I'm absolutely adorable,” you stated with a broad smile. “Offer to assist still stands by the by.”

There was a very pregnant pause. “You know anything about mechanics?”

“No, but I have a pair of steady hands and I'm a fast learner.”

“Then get your scrawny ass over here so I can show you what to do.”

“My ass is quite shapely, thank you very much.”

“Fine, get your shapely ass over here.” You shot him a look and raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. He made a huffing sound. “Please?”

“Why of course, love. I'd be glad to.”

Setting your book aside, you went over to the table, drawing up a chair to sit beside him. His jacket was draped over one of the empty chairs, and both sleeves of his shirt were rolled up. Smears of some sort of oily black substance coated his hands, dulling the bright tips of his fingers. One of his arms was open, exposing a network of wiring. Several were damaged and frayed.

“I'm sure this isn't nearly as complicated as it looks,” you remarked.

“You're not gonna be rewiring me,” he said gruffly. “I just need you to help me replace my arms.”

Oh, was that all? You bit down on the sarcastic remark since, for someone like him, this probably wasn't such a big deal. “Alright, well, we're gonna need you out of that shirt then, I'd imagine.”

Rather than more grumblings, you were met with a light-hearted smirk that cause the light to glint off his single gold tooth as he cocked his head. “I can only imagine how long you've been waiting for an excuse to have me shirtless.”

Well, now... You quirked an eyebrow. “My, my, someone's finally found his sense of humor.” Standing up you got to work helping him with his shirt, which was also stained with black smears. You were doing your best taking care not to jostle something that might cause him discomfort. He released a loud hiss and you flinched. “Sorry, did I hurt you?”

“Nah, you're fine,” he replied with a snicker. “I just wanted to see you jump.”

“You...” Pursing your lips you tugged the rest of the shirt off. Despite your urge to wad it up and throw it in his face, you neatly folded it and set it aside on the table. This was certainly a whole new side you were seeing. “Did your head get damaged as well?”

Rather than answering your question, he pointed to one of the tools. “Grab those and let's get to work.”

With Glitch's instructions, you were able to assist in removing the damaged arm. It took you a few tries, not because you were doing it wrong, but because detaching the arm took quite a bit of force. Something he teased you about, to which you pointedly reminded him your body was made to mesmerize and entertain.

“Oh, trust me, doll. You're plenty entertaining.”

Considering how much you were enjoying this lighter side of him, you chose to let that comment slide. Everyone got one. Thankfully, once you got the damaged arm detached, Glitch was able to grab it from you and place it on the table. His arms were surprisingly heavy. You didn't want to imagine what it'd be like to be on the receiving end of one of his punches. No wonder most other gang members weren't keen to pick a fight with him, they'd have to be really stupid or have a death wish.

Glitch pulled out one of the spare arms from his duffle bag, and after a minute or so of you helping him get it steady to slot it correctly, with a sharp twist and a loud hiss, the new arm was attached. Glitch leaned back into the chair, flexing the fingers of the intact arm.

“That'll do fer now.”

“You're not going to replace the other one?” you asked.

“Nah, I'll wait until I'm at home to do the remaining repairs. Got some extra tools and parts to fix it up with.”

“Well, I'm glad I could be of assistance. Maybe next time it'll be me knocking on your door.”

“My place isn't exactly what you'd call cozy.”

'That's what I'd be there for, love,” you said with a smile and a wink.

Glitch gave a snort and began packing up his tools and the damaged limb. “I'll think about it.”

Oh... once more you were a little surprised. You hadn't expected him to seriously take you up on that. However, the more you thought about it, you were at least a little curious as to what sort of place he lived, and the sorts of things he did in his downtime when he wasn't shaking people down for money.

“You have a little…” You pointed to your own arm to indicate to him to check his own.

He glanced at the arm that was semi-functioning, finding a trail of black liquid oozing down the length. Glitch wiped at the leftover oil with his thumb. His eyes met yours briefly, then without warning he rubbed his thumb down your cheek smearing it with oil.

“Oi!” you squawked, arms flapping indignantly. “That's my bread and butter you're messing with.”

“You know how people say you clean up nice?” he asked, picking up his shirt and unfolding it. “Well, you dirty up cute.”

You placed a hand on your hip. “That's not a thing.”

“It is now I'm making it a thing.”

“You can't just decide something as a thing.”

“I can do whatever the hell I want.”

You picked up a rag and dabbed at your face. “You're lucky you're so handsome.”

“Handsome like your boys at the club?” He started buttoning up his shirt, an action that drew your gaze. Just for a moment. Only a moment.

You glanced away, smiling coyly. “Is someone getting jealous?”

“Hell no. Not like they get to see you like this. Not like I do.”

“Covered in robot grease you mean? Because you'd be correct that is definitely exclusive to you.”

You felt a light touch on your shoulder, causing you to turn to face him. To shoot him a questioning glare. You weren’t expecting his fingers to gently brush the curls from your face.

“Without that damn mask you’re always wearing.”

You only allowed yourself to be taken aback for a beat or so before you reached up and fastened the remaining buttons on his shirt. “Learn to button up, you whore,” you said, with a sweet smile.

Glitch laughed at that. A full-blown laugh. You didn’t think it was possible for him to sound so mirthful. He finished gathering up his things and pulled his jacket on. Neither of you wasted time with lengthy goodbyes. Not like this would be the last time you’d see each other. Your lives were intertwined, whether you both liked it or not. Once he was gone, you got to work cleaning up the residual oil stains on the table. You still had it under your fingernails, the equivalent of his blood. A result of your efforts to help. You were gonna have a time cleaning it out. It’d no doubt linger for days. Darn, you’d have to tease him about that next time you saw him. That was about as intimate as you’d been with anyone in a long time. Probably the only sort of intimacy you could afford right now.

Touching your face, you wondered if the mark he left was still there. You weren’t certain how you felt about how you could still feel the ghost of his touch on your skin. Still, you got to see another side of him you hadn’t known existed. That was worth something, even if you had let your guard down a bit.

Hearing banging on your door typically never boded well. Looks like sometimes you could be proven wrong.

[akaridream]

after dark pt. 4:  recon (hawks x reader)

tags: hawks x reader

cw: just a taste of spice ;) cursing, hawks is a big fat flirt, afab reader, mentions of drugs

taglist: @inkthgoat @pnsduck @animedreamworlds @melxdig @mizvaun @mysideeffectsofyou @thecityofspareparts @soleilandpeaches

masterlist

You crushed your silky bed sheets in your fists and arched your back wildly. A whine died in your throat. With great effort, you pried open your eyes to see what was between your quaking thighs.

"Mm, angel," his voice echoed in your head. Whatever he was doing made you whine again. You reached down and clawed at the mess of blond hair, pulling hard. His eyes, hazy with lust met yours. Your heart quivered. The little black marks around his fierce amber eyes, his lips glistening, his cheeks flush with desire...

Your phone buzzed, startling you awake.

Fuck.

You removed your sleep mask and whipped it away, then rolled over and groaned into your pillow. You sprawled out over your queen size bed, stretching your legs and wings to occupy the whole things. You rolled to your side and pressed your thighs together, trying to feel the remnants of pleasure left over from your dream.

Damn it, this bird boy is gonna kill me.

Breeding season had never been an issue, thanks to your solitary lifestyle. A personalized birth control pill had kept your hormones regular, but it didn’t quell your drive entirely. In years past, spring had meant a day or two off with a trashy romance novel and your detachable shower head. It was nothing you couldn’t take care of on your own. But with a certain someone a daily presence for the next three weeks, you feared a far more agonizing season than ever.

I can’t let myself do anything stupid, you thought as you reached for your phone.

Hawks: lemme know when you’re up, I’ve got some intel on our little friends

Of course it was him, like he could read your dreams. Oh, the glorious color that would spread across his face if he knew you were dreaming of him. His pupils would dilate with arousal, he’d take a step closer and-

God damn it. This is gonna be harder than I thought. You had to take a cold shower before you replied, decidedly not reaching for your shower head. How could you look him in the eye in a few hours if you got off to thoughts of him?

Your raging hormones finally began to subside as you wrapped a towel around yourself and combed your wet hair.

You: Morning bird boy. I’ll be heading to my office in a bit, was gonna do some recon on Yamamoto

Hawks: you got time to chat? Or I can meet you at your office while I’m on patrol 

 You: You can call whenever you get a minute. I’d rather you not be seen going to and from my office too frequently

Your phone started ringing. “Hey, what’s up?” you answered.

“Morning, angel, although it’s almost noon already. You stay up late last night after we separated?”

“Maybe a little, but I usually sleep ten hours or so.”

“Damn, that’s luxurious! Next time I get a day off I might have to go for that,” he said. You could hear the wind rushing through the phone.

“How long have you been at it already today?” you asked.

“Been out and about since 8 or so. But before that I was digging around on my agency’s database, so I got in to the office around 6:30.”

“Geez, workaholic.”

“Yeah, I know. I gotta take time off and take you out one of these days!”

You smiled. “Oh yeah? And where do you think you’re gonna take me that we won’t be seen together?”

“Ah, I can’t tell you yet. It’s a surprise. But I do have an idea.” Your heart danced. “Oh yeah, the reason I called. Turns out Officer Mori has had three different fitness-for-duty evaluations in the past three years. Typically those only happen when-”

“When an officer gets in trouble for something, I’m familiar. Any details about why he was evaluated?”

“That’s the thing,” Hawks said. “The documents were full of redacted passages. My suspicion is that he’s gotten caught for Trigger before and they covered it up for some reason.”

“So you think this supply link has gone on for that long?” you asked as you sat at the foot of your bed.

“Well, if this is the main guy linking them, yes. But there could be other officers involved. We may want to look into who else has been caught with Trigger in the past three years or so.”

“Why would they want to cover it up? You’d think they would fire him after the first or second offense, but the fact that this recent one was his fourth is really fishy.”

“Yeah, I agree. The police are hurting for new recruits, so they might wanna keep as many on board as they can. But why would you want to keep officers that are committing crimes?” he asked.

You sighed. “Hm, not a great situation. So, do you want me to look more into the police?”

“Sure, see what you can find. If nothing, we need to check out Yamamoto from the Safety Commission- Oh, shit. I gotta go, text me if you find anything out before we meet up tonight!” The call disconnected.

Silly hero, you thought. But man, he really must be working a lot. We separated around midnight last night and he was already back at his office by 6:30? And he worked the whole day yesterday…

You dressed in a simple pair of black skinny jeans and camisole, throwing on a hoodie you had cut to just sleeves and hood to allow for your wings. Complete with your favorite chunky boots, you hopped on the subway across town to your office. Once there, you selected a focusing citrus scent for your diffuser and got to work. You began with news reports and press releases about officers with Trigger, corroborating their information with the police database. After a few hours of digging, you were stumped.

You: Hey, I’ve been poking around the police archives and haven’t come across a single thing with redacted info

Hawks: what kind of reports have you been looking at?

You: Well I started with incidents that came up from public records like news articles and stuff

Hawks: check out everything you can find on Mori specifically, see if you can find the report from his first evaluation three years ago

You did as he suggested and like magic, the exact report Hawks had told you about came up. You sat back and scratched your head.

You: I found the report, black lines and all. Why the hell didn’t this report come up earlier?

You went back to scrounging around the database for your target’s name and found the two other evaluations. They too, were full of redacted information. “What the hell?” you said under your breath.

A flash of red out the glass office door caught your eye.

“Hey,” Hawks said, strolling in like he owned the place. “I was nearby and had some downtime, figured I’d stop by.”

You smirked and tried to ignore your quickening pulse. “Cutting out from work early?”

He smiled and pulled a box of matcha Pocky from his pocket. “Yeah, to do other work!”

You tilted your head. “Spring Pocky is out already? Didn’t we just have the winter one the other day?”

He opened the box and offered you the first piece. “Yep, the sakura will be blooming before long. We’ll have to go see them together.”

Hawks stripped off his flight jacket, headset and goggles, then ran a hand through his windswept hair. “Man, it’s starting to feel like spring too. Way warmer than I thought it’d be today.”

Your eyes grazed over his taught abdomen and arms. His black muscle tee showed off every dip and contour just right. You began to salivate, and not because of the Pocky. You cleared your throat and stared at your computer, reluctant to take your eyes off him.

“Yeah, it’s supposed to be gorgeous out today.” He placed his shed gear on the arm of the love seat. With his back turned, you had a chance to admire him further. The way his wings transitioned to his lats, his strong traps, and those triceps… You bit your lip. Hard. You wanted your legs wrapped around that thin waist of his, your back pressed to the wall, his lips sealed to your neck-

Shit. Can’t go there right now!

He turned back towards you and your eyes locked for a beat before he glanced at your monitor. “You find anything else?”

You swallowed, hoping he couldn’t read your sinful thoughts. “Yes, Mori’s other two reports, full of black.”

Hawks took a knee next to your chair. “Yep, looks just like the first. Hmm…” He thought for a moment, eyes running over the screen. “Seems like anything that was reported publicly was a full report. All the stuff about Mori was kind of buried and I had to know what I was looking for to find it.”

Hawks rested his upper arm against your thigh. “Makes sense. They’re trying to hide it. Makes me wonder if there are higher up’s involved. Hey, I have an idea. Pop open a tab for the Fukuoka Police staff listing.” You did as he requested.

“Sorry I don’t have a second chair for you,” you said.

“No worries, I’m used to being on my feet or wings all day. So, I think we should scour the database for every officer like you did for Mori and see if we come up with any redacted reports.”

You nodded and worked diligently with Hawks next to you, guiding your inquiries. You worked together seamlessly, your minds synced in similar thought patterns. Eventually, you compiled a list of officers with suspicious reports to their names.

“Alright, so now we have an even better idea of who might be involved besides Mori. But there’s one more person I think you should check out,” Hawks said. “Search for Chief Matsui.”

“Really?” you asked, turning to look at Hawks directly. “You think this could go that far up?”

He looked disappointed. “’Fraid so. We’d be remiss if we didn’t at least check him out, right?”

You nodded and ran a search for the chief of police. To both of your surprise, not a single document came up.

“Nothing?” you said. “Nothing at all? Everyone had at least a little something, even just a yearly salary report.”

Hawks sighed. “Shit. That’s even weirder than finding redacted docs. No way that’s accurate.” His phone began to buzz, but he dismissed it.

“Villains taking over the streets?” you asked.

He chuckled. “Nothing my sidekicks can’t handle, I’m busy with you,” he said with a nudge and soft smile. “Plus I haven’t made a playlist for tonight’s stakeout yet.”

You scoffed. “Is that really a top priority?”

“Absolutely! While I do that, here-” he stood and leaned over your desk to open a new tab. “Let me get you signed in to the Safety Commission database so you can check in on our pal Yamamoto. You have a VPN, right? Don’t want them to see your IP connected to their database.” His earthy, masculine fragrance made your head so dizzy that you almost purred. You watched the toned muscles of his forearms move beneath his skin as he typed in credentials. Your nails dug into your knee and you breathed deeply, his woodsy natural aura filling your lungs. It was more invigorating than any of your fancy oils.

For fuck’s sake. If I can’t get control of my thoughts, I might melt into the floor.

“There, should be good to go. Hope you don’t mind, but I’m gonna take a few minutes to chill, maybe make a game plan for our surveillance tonight,” he said, sauntering over to the love seat and lounging across it on his side.

You nodded stiffly and stared back at your computer.

“You alright?” he asked. “You seem a little… Tense.”

Oh, you have no idea.

“I’m fine. Sleep was… Tumultuous last night,” you lied.

He quirked up an eyebrow. “Maybe you should take a few minutes to relax then.”

But if I look away from this computer, I’m going to look at you. Looking at you would only make me more tense, and tension means I might do something irrational, like jump in your lap.

You closed your eyes and massaged the space between your eyebrows. “Don’t want to lose focus.”

“Kind of seems like you already have,” he said. He scooted back on the love seat and patted the open space in front of him. “Just five minutes to kill the eye strain from staring at that monitor.”

You sighed and tilted your head. “Fine. But only five minutes.” You padded across the office and sat down with him, subconsciously resting your plush ass against his belt and lower abs. He curled his body around you, resting his hand next to your hip.

“Here, help me find some songs. How do you feel about My Chemical Romance?” he asked, pulling out his phone.

“I like them. I only know a few of their more popular ones though,” you said. As you compiled songs together, you traded subtle flirtations. He gave you a playful poke, you took his hand to view his phone more closely. He moved to rest his phone against your thigh, you added a suggestive song. Hawks’ hand at your hip slid a finger through your belt loop, you leaned back into him. His every touch, every movement was caught by your sharp perceptions. He was claiming you, and you were letting him.

This can’t happen, idiot, you thought to yourself. This partnership is nothing more than temporary. Get your horny self under control or he’s gonna break your heart!

You frowned, knowing you were right. On the other side of mating season, you’d go back to being perfectly happy alone and Hawks would be nothing but a flirtationship, just like the rest of your crushes.

“S’matter?” he asked, tilting his head to look at you with puppy-like eyes. You melted, nearly sighing aloud.

“It’s nothing, promise,” you lied, but Hawks looked incredulous. He opened his mouth to argue, but his phone began to buzz. This time, he answered.

“Yo, you guys get things cleaned up downtown?” he asked, leaning away from you. You took the opportunity to walk to your desk to work on more research. Hawks’ conversation wrapped up quickly and he sighed.

“Heading back out?” you asked. He started putting his flight gear back on, easily working his wings through his custom jacket.

“Yeah, duty calls I guess. Glad I got to have a little break from the action at least. Let me know if you find anything else of interest, kay?”

You nodded as he slid his flight goggles back on. “Of course.” Your focus drifted back to your computer, but Hawks stepped over to your desk once again.

“One more thing before I go though. It’s really important.”

You spun your chair towards him and looked up at him. “What’s up?”

He smiled and fidgeted with his fingers. “Friday night, when we’re done with surveillance.”

You raised your eyebrows. “Mmhmm. What about it?”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned against your filing cabinet. “I know the owner of this little ramen shop. It’s one of those places with booths where you order from a screen and there’s a little window where your food comes out. No interaction with waiters or anything. Owner said he’d stick around late so I can take you there.”

The corners of your mouth turned upwards before you could stop them.

“And since it’s technically after we’re done working…” he continued. “I was hoping you’d let me call it a date.”

Your stomach flipped like you were free-falling. Your eyes connected with his and you melted like butter on a stack of fresh pancakes: Warm and fluffy on the inside, hot enough to burn on the outside.

“Um… Yeah. I think I’d like that.”

He nodded and grinned. “Great! I’m already looking forward to it. It’s in this romantic little back alley, and Murakami makes the best tonkotsu. Promise it’ll be worth your time!”

You giggled, your cheeks growing sore from smiling so hard. “I trust you, Hero.”

He tilted his head and a soft expression graced his handsome features. “Wish I could stay, but my sidekicks will be wondering where the heck I snuck off to. I’ll see you in a few hours!” He waved and disappeared down the hallway.

You squealed quietly to yourself and put your cheek down on the cold glass of your desk. Even in your bliss, the logical part of your mind screamed.

Just what the hell am I getting myself into?

part 5

[spocks-husband]

our continuum (enforced infinity). [spirk; Spock is a Q AU]

Words: 2,308

Rating: Teen and Up

Pairing: S'chn T'gai Spock/James T. Kirk

Genre/Tropes: Obsessive Spock, Mild Yandere Content, Mild Blood, Mild Gore, Canon-Typical Violence

AU Details: Spock is masquerading as the science officer of the USS Enterprise when, in actuality, he's a Q with a slight obsession with a certain Starship Captain.

Notes: After several long weeks of waiting, It's finally here! I've completed my Spock Is A Q AU fic-- possibly the first of several depending on how you guys like this one. You all seem like you've been really excited, though, so here it is! Enjoy mes amis <3

Spock, as he was known here, frequently asked himself why he did all of this. Why he continued doing all of this. What was the point? Was there a point? Pretending to be a Human-Vulcan Hybrid Science Officer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise for its five-year mission? Altering the memories of his 'fellow crewmates' to ensure they never questioned his presence, that they remembered him being there all the while (not a difficult thing to do, of course, human minds were rather malleable, but it was a somewhat tedious process with a crew of over four-hundred of the insectoid specimens inhabiting the ship)? Spending his time as an immortal, omnipotent being playing pretend amongst creatures he could crush with a wave of his hand if he so wished? Why interest himself in such things? Observing these curious, mortal children parading about their minuscule galaxy, gaping in awe at other creatures of insignificance that they found marginally different from themselves-- it was entirely ridiculous. He could be off, creating new worlds, destroying old ones, exerting his power in whatever marvelous, benevolent way he chose-- yet, instead, here he was, hunched over a primitive console on the bridge of a useless, aluminum-can spacecraft examining readings of lifeforms and planets that he could have killed in his sleep. 

Why?

"Keptin on the bridge!" Ensign Chekov's thick yet boyish Moscovian voice announced to the other members of their bridge crew with an audible grin. Spock found himself sitting up from his examination instinctually to see.

Hazel eyes, golden hair, and that farmboy build stepped off the turbolift with his classic, charming smile and a witty comment that didn't really register in Spock's mind.

Ah. Yes. That was why he was doing all this. 

James Tiberius Kirk, Spock had found, was something out of a Terran romance novel. Of course, being a Q, romance and sex weren't exactly his highest concerns, but in the form he'd currently taken it was undoubtedly of some interest. An amusement, at least. A way to spend his eternity. Besides, he'd grown oddly... attached... to this little starship captain. Who was it, that other Q he'd once known, who said that even God's had favorites? It had been a while-- that particular figure had pranced off into some future timeline for his own mortal amusements-- but nonetheless, he thought of that quote often, and James was certainly one of Spock's. 

"Status report, Mr. Sulu?"

"Approaching the Gas Giant Cythia IV. No signs of life, but some resources of interest," Hikaru answered the captain neutrally, sounding almost bored with that day's assignment. "The survey should be quick. From the looks of it, there isn't much to survey anyway. Atmosphere seems breathable for humans-- and Vulcans-- albeit a bit thin."

"Some microbial life," Spock corrected with a glance at Jim, choosing not to comment on Sulu's mention to him lest he say something incriminating. He'd been good about that thus far, no need to raise suspicion now. "But nothing of significance, and no signs of intelligent life or civilization, developed or not."

"No communications or signals coming in from the planet's surface, Captain," Uhura added. "I concur with Mr. Sulu and Mr. Spock. There isn't much here to look at."

Jim nodded, swinging his legs over the side of his command chair casually as he looked out the viewscreen. "Well, we have our orders to make a short geological and biological survey to report to the nearby inhabited planets-- and I don't think any of us are willing to face a dishonorable discharge because we don't feel like looking around a hunk of space rock for a bit, do we?" There was a short chuckle that sounded about the bridge. "Suggestions for our away team, Mr. Spock?" 

The Q fought a smile, turning away from the captain momentarily. "Our usual procedure should suffice," he replied. "Myself, yourself, Doctor McCoy, and a few crewmen from Biology and Security."

Jim nodded. "Sounds good to me," he replied casually, sending a comm down to engineering to alert Scotty to prepare the transporter for a party of seven.

A cool sixty degrees, a greenish-yellow sky, and a rocky, mountainous horizon-- the planet was actually quite nice, although uninhabited from what they could see. 

The Q could sense otherwise, but they didn't need to know that. Let the little creatures learn on their own. 

Spock kept his eyes on his tricorder, but his mind remained close to James. The young ensign from biology and the two redshirt security men lingered behind, all of them clearly not used to joining away missions. The sensation of being watched was one that the human body was not as sensitive to as they often liked to claim, and in glancing about the younger members of their team he knew they had no clue what was coming for them. It was rather amusing, honestly.

Lurking just beneath the surface of this planet, Spock could feel the vibrations of massive, incredible movement. A consistent, violent shaking-- it was clear as day to him. Of course, he wouldn't be certain until he saw it himself, but he suspected the creature was some sort of massive bloodworm; some kind of gargantuan, insectoid predator with a basic level of primal intelligence but nothing further. Interesting, he supposed. Fascinating, even.

Still, he suspected their standard pattern of occurrence would produce itself; the security officers would most likely die quick, irrelevant deaths, perhaps the Biologist would join them, Jim might end up with some mild, mostly superficial wound that Doctor McCoy would begrudgingly heal once they'd returned to the ship. It was perhaps a cruel cycle that they followed, one that Spock could end with a flick of his wrist if he so chose... but he wouldn't. 

Where was the fun in that? 

It wasn't until far too late, though, that Spock's eyes widened just slightly in the dawning realization that he hadn't accounted for one particularly... irritating... additional factor: Jim's rather vexing altruistic tendencies. 

Since the moment the ensign from Biology-- Winnie Peterson, he believed her name was-- had joined their party in the transporter room, Jim had gotten that... glimmer... in his eyes that was unfortunately common. James had found Winnie... pretty. The thought made the Q's stomach turn, though he wasn't certain as to exactly why that was. He tried not to think about it. In any case, though, Winnie and Jim had spent every moment of the mission thus far casually flirting, her big blue eyes flickering over his uniform every once in a while. Spock frowned. He would be glad to see the predator take its midday meal with her. He didn't even mind that he would have to comfort Jim's silly, human emotions afterward. No, he didn't mind that at all. 

As if qued by that very thought, the colossal, sandy-colored beast tunneled its way to the surface with a brilliant screech, its gaping mouth lined with thousands of teeth.

Spock smirked slightly as the rest of their crew screamed in terror-- but as he ran to join Jim in finding cover, the captain was not where he had been moments before. His eyes widened as he whipped around just in time to watch James throw himself in front of Winnie as the beast attacked her. 

The world seemed to go black. 

Had it sped up?

Slowed down?

Was the concept of time even a true one? 

He supposed it wasn't-- he was a Q after all-- nothing was real if he didn't want it to be. 

Nothing...

Nothing was real...

Nothing... was real...

...

...

...

When he came to his senses, the universe had never felt so quiet, and despite the exhibit of massive power he'd just displayed, Spock had never felt weaker. 

He looked around. 

The bloodworm lay dead on the ground a surprising distance from where it seemed to have first arrived on the surface. Grayish, blue entrails poured from it's torn abdomen, and the vague forms of dead security men could be seen within. Winnie was, thankfully, quite dead as well. Had he done that? She was too bloodied to tell exactly what had done it without closer examination, and Spock found he really didn't care enough to investigate. Her once blue uniform was now dyed a sickly plum color with blood, and her hair sprawled out across the ground as she lay there, face down, unmoving. Not far from her lay Doctor McCoy, also bloodied and unmoving. Spock frowned slightly at this development, he knew that particular loss would be quite upsetting to Jim, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. 

Yet, that begged the question...

Where was James Tiberius? 

Spock glanced around, noting the blood and destruction scattered about the area, but it quickly dawned on him that he couldn't find Jim. Each moment that passed made him more restless to locate his human partner-- and suddenly he found himself in the air, speeding through the sky in a frantic search for wherever he could be. Typically, he would just snap his finger and find himself appearing beside whomever he wished, but something in his mind was... frantic. Animalistic. Primal. He couldn't think straight-- logically as his strange masquerade character would have put it. It simply wasn't an option anymore. 

In time-- hours, days, he wasn't sure, nor did he particularly care-- Spock found Jim, bleeding and pale, hidden in the dark recesses of a rocky cave. The human man was weak, dying-- and as he stared up at the ceiling of the cavern Spock felt a strange pity rise in his chest. Something like caring. Something like love. 

It was an easy enough job to heal Jim's mortal wounds, merely a flick of his wrist and it was as if he'd never been harmed at all. Slowly, James seemed to regain himself, sitting up slowly as the color returned to his face. Slowly, each movement sending subtle jolts of pain through his sore muscles, the human man turned to look at Spock. For a brief moment, there was something like relief in his eyes, something like love, familiarity-- almost the same way Spock had felt when he'd seen Jim for the first time only moments before-- but it faded quickly into... fear. Horrible, tremendous fear. Frantic, sloppy movements led Jim to crawl backward, backing away from the still-floating figure at the mouth of the cave as if he were a wild beast. 

"S-stand back," Jim commanded, his voice loud, yet still quite shaky. "Don't come any closer...!" 

"Jim," Spock frowned, slowly lowering himself to the ground and stepping toward the quivering man at his feet. "I mean you no harm. You know that." 

"Oh? Do I?!" Jim sneered, suddenly rather angry. "You... I don't know what you are or what you've done with Spock-- but you are the farthest thing from harmless and we both know it."

There was a pause before, slowly, Spock began to laugh. 

"What I've done with Spock?" He repeated incredulously, raising a brow curiously. "I am Spock. S'chn T'gai Spock-- your... T'hy'la? Surely you haven't forgotten me so quickly?" 

"... No..." Jim refused quietly, slowly rising to his feet. He reached for his phaser-- only to find nothing in his belt, and swearing quietly. "Spock... My Spock... he wouldn't do this..." 

"Wouldn't he? You just saw it, after all--"

"You killed them!!" Jim snapped. "You killed Bones, you killed Winnie-- You... You are not the man I've spent all this time with. You can't be." 

"You're being ridiculous, James," Spock's face darkened, a subtle malicious glint rising in his eyes. "You and I have been together all these years... We've been quite... intimate... Why now do you decide I disgust you? Hm?"

"You killed my best friend!!"  The human sobbed. "You... Killed him!! He was our friend, Spock!! I don't give a damn what you and I are-- you are a murderer!!" 

There was a pause that hung heavy in the air. Spock was quiet. Jim's only sound was the soft gasps for breath as tears poured down his face. For a long moment, Jim wondered if anything would happen. Would he be killed? Would... Spock... turn around and leave? 

Jim opened his mouth to speak, though he wasn't sure what he would say-- but before he could, he noticed that... something wasn't right. What was it? He glanced around. The floor of the cave was still arid and cold, its ceiling dripping with sharpened stalactites. The sky outside--

Oh. 

There was no sky outside. 

No landscape at all, in fact. 

It was just... emptiness. The blackened chasm of space. Something Jim had known nearly all his adult life, yet something that now felt so unnervingly foreign it made his stomach churn. 

"...What did you do...?" He spoke the question quietly, like a prayer. Spock smiled softly in response, stepping forward and gently taking Jim's face in his hands, holding him as if he were made from glass.

"Nothing to concern yourself with, Captain," He replied gently. "This is for the better. The others... distracted you. They do not-- pardon, did not-- understand you the way I do. I am an all-powerful being. The universe bends to my command, my every whim-- and at the moment, I command it to give me you. It is... fate. Destiny. Enforced, perhaps, but still destiny all the same."

There was a long, tense pause. Jim felt his chest swell with something between love and terror, something between the adoration and pining he'd felt for this man with whom he had a relationship he'd never put a proper name to and the overwhelming, eldrich terror of knowing that the creature in front of him, that was touching him, could crush him like an ant. 

Jim took a deep breath.

"... What are you...?" 

Spock laughed quietly. 

"I'm yours, of course, what else would I be?"

[a-few-of-my-favorite-mangas]

I’d Rather Have a Cat than a Harem!

Reincarnated into the World of an Otome Game as a Cat-loving Villainess Volume 1-2 (Complete)

by Kosuzu Kobato

Story ★★★

Summary

Cats Are Better Than Harems! I’ve been reincarnated into the world of an otome game, and… What? My mom did, too? Even my dad and my older brother? Meet Amy, the daughter of the Earl of Northland. Her entire family has been reincarnated as the aristocratic Northland family. In an attempt to amicably remove herself as a candidate for the Third Prince’s fiancée (which would certainly cement her position as the game’s villainess), Amy has taken drastic measures—eating tons of food and just enjoying life (at her mother’s suggestion). With this reincarnation, Amy has been given a precious second chance at life, and this time, nothing—not even an otome game—is going to stop her from fulfilling her dream… Amy wants a cat!

Review

This was a rather cute light novel, the series is mostly a fluff series... a lot of cute, wholesome moments, with nice and cute characters and cute animals. (I mean is that the cutest fluffy cat you have ever seen on the covers?) The first volume is mostly Amy (10 years old) realizing that she was reincarnated into an otome game along with her family (contrived? Yes, but just go with it as it really doesn't play a huge role). Her father is an Earl, so that makes her high ranking enough to be considered a future bride candidate for the third prince (Edward, 13yo). Amy recollects that he looks like a prince in an otome game that she used to play, and if the clichés prove true, she was most likely the game's villianess.

Her mother tells Amy not to worry too much, that there was no otome game rules controlling them, and that they can pursue whatever they want in their new lives. But if she wanted to avoid the 'prince' route, she should fatten up a little to become less appealing to the prince, as the fashion was for slim, tall figures (damn, she is 10!! LOL). Of course as is also typical of this genre, this doesn't really deter the prince, as she is still quite cute and adorable even after a little fattening up... even more so as she is so fixated on cats (and animals in general) and not marrying him that of course he finds refreshing!

Amy has always wanted pets, especially a cat, but severe allergies in her past life prevented her from having one. Amy's love of cats and animals in general is seen as cute and endearing to all those she meets and gives the impression of a kind and sweet girl who would make a wonderful partner for any noble gentlemen and she starts to gains the attention of several potential future suitors and make a few friends.

Honestly she is almost too cute, it might turn some off her character, but if you don't mind high-amounts of sugar sweetness and lots and lots of pet play and talk you might like this.

Volume 02

Summary

Juggling Cats and Romance Amy Northland has been making the most of her time at school as a fourteen-year-old noblewoman. But as her school year plays out, she suddenly finds that her relationships with her friends—and with Edward—are changing little by little. As she juggles living with her cat Tigger and helping local veterinarians heal sick and wounded animals, Amy becomes even more determined to be true to herself, no matter the cost. But all bets are off when all the otome game characters finally come together at the triennial tournament!

Skips ahead in the story a few years and Amy life of pets and friends continues. Amy continues to charm everyone, grow her healing magic, and of course more and more cute animals... and perhaps starts to feel the fluttering of love.

Both volumes are also available in audiobook, didn't listen to them, but might be nice alternative to the novels. I have listened to the So I'm a Spider, So What? audiobooks and enjoyed them a lot, looking forward to the next volume (where the anime cut off)! I really love that LN are getting audiobooks, it is much easier to listen to an audiobook, then finding the time to read a LN casually. I just don't have as much time to sit and read so many of them, I really have to want to read them (ie the story is worth it) to keep up with a LN series these days.

update: listened to the first volume and it was so cute!! the voice actor was great, really made this story a much more enjoyable experience.

[staring-at-my-keyboard]

A Serendipitous Encounter pt 1

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An esoteric correspondent and exquisite beauty walk into a high society soirée...

OC intros POV: Thomas

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Romance

Fluff

First Meeting

TWs

⇾ none!

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Thomas adjusted himself in his seat, wondering not for the first time why it was customary for guests to take their places around the dinner table ages before the first course. His observations and upbringing drew him to the natural conclusion that it was to encourage confabulation in a fashion more intimate than simply ambling about the host’s parlor and main hall, but dinners at events like these were typically at least 5 courses with time between— plenty of opportunity to converse. The man swallowed his irritation and adjusted his silverware, pleasantly surprised to find this was hosted by a family with servants with an awareness of how to properly place the soup spoon in relation to the teaspoon, a rarity.

“-wonder if the Acclaimed Beauty would have a differing opinion?”

Thomas was snapped from his preoccupation by the sound of his title, which people cared about far more than his actual name. Looking up, he found the daughter of the host gazing at him in curiosity and poorly-concealed desire, drawing him into a conversation most likely to demonstrate her erudition in an attempt to seduce him. While he was gruntled that the general public of upper society had caught on to his enjoyment of rousing debate and intelligent conversation, it was painful to endure the 9 out of 10 discussions with people who were attempting— and spectacularly failing— to speak far above their level of competence.

Nevertheless, despite his displeasure, he was seen as one of the most charming welcomed to the Empress’ Court for a reason.

“I’m sure your comprehension trumps my own, I could hardly justify an argument.”

The flattery was automatic, honey-coated, and the result of his having no awareness of what the hell she had been talking about.

The woman giggled something, and Thomas found it increasingly difficult to remain engaged. He allowed his eyes to wander the crowd seated around the table— his placement near the head due to his status offered him a fair view of which guests had been chosen to attend this particular soirée, and the man found himself hoping for his attention to be caught.

Apparently, his silent prayers had been heeded.

Further down the table, but not near the end, sat an intriguing figure. Dressed in black and deep red, they were making an honorable (if dwindling) effort to not gesticulate as they argued with a clear passion. Eyes an indescribable combination of brown and red practically glowed in the mingling light of the chandelier and evenly spread candelabras, darting between the several rapt attendees. Their hair, twists of such a deep black that they absorbed more than reflected, was gently held half up, a single strand having worked itself loose to hang over a complexion colored deep brown. Their countenance was handsome, animated, marred—although Thomas was hesitant to use such a word— by a few dispersed scars, some of which were dangerously close to their wide eyes.

He had never seen them before. 

Ever.

How rare was it, to find a face at events such as these that was utterly unfamiliar?

Someone just to Thomas’ left suddenly spoke up, joining in to debate on whatever topic the novel guest was discussing in clear disagreement. An eager politician, he vaguely recalled, gradually making her way to parliamentarianism. In response to her arrogant denial, the person’s eyes alighted upon her in ire and they spoke.

“I could not imagine why you assume yourself to have a stake in this contretemps,” their voice was a pleasing baritone, flowing with an accent that was unmistakably British and yet unfamiliar in its rounding of words. It also, in this instance, carried a clear bite. “Your own most devoted financier only aids your campaigns for fear of his reputation due to your rather dishonorable methods of gleaning information about people's private lives.”

The table went silent.

Having apparently only just realized what they had said, the person’s eyes widened as their gloved hands quickly went to their lap. They seemed to be fighting the urge to hunch their shoulders, which would only show a further lack of decorum.

The guests stared at them in shock.

Thomas stared in complete and utter enrapturement.

His years upon years— hell, decades— of carefully weaving his way through the multilayered subterfuges of high society conversation and witnessing others do the same, of navigating the eggshells of polite debate with a careful tread, and this enchanting creature before him demonstrated a straightforwardness that bordered on the uncouth without a second thought.

Even after having astonished the crowd of influentials into a stupefied wordlessness, it was clear their change in demeanor was not due to regret, but rather consciousness of their situation.

Thomas felt a tug at the strings of his heart, and he could not find it within himself to allow this painful— if delicious— moment to drag on any further. If he was to always be the darling of an event, he was going to do something with that fact.

So, he burst into pleased laughter.

[1/3]

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[bottlecaprabbitgames]

hi, sending a few for the q&a

Since there's only a few more chapters of book one and you're plotting the other books, can you describe book 2 badly or extremely out of context?

It's Saturday morning and there's no mission/work. What are the agents and Quinn and Sylvia doing? What time do they wake up? Are they breakfast people? Do they have their free day planned out?

lewd: when will be get to hold hands with the ROs?

lewd!!! What if the MC tells the RO they want to have fun in bed... and then they pull out the Scrabble set?

lewd (real this time): RO reactions if they walked by the MC's computer and the MC had run off and left a NSFW page up?

RO preferences on lingerie on their partner? Color, cut, style?

Do the ROs sleep in pajamas, undies or in the buff?

P.S. your scarves look so nice!!!

Book 2 badly or extremely out of context...

"LOCAL ALPHA GETS DRAGGED INTO YET ANOTHER WORLD-ENDING SCHEME, MORE AT 11-"

Hmmm, what are they doing on a free Saturday morning.....

Blake definitely slept in, then got up and gave his bike some well-needed love and care. It's honestly very relaxing to him, getting to take all the time he wants to work on his bike. Damned thing has saw him through since his youth, it deserves all the attention he can give it. Blake prefers to get up in the afternoon, and is definitely NOT a morning person. He generally spends free days on whatever comes to mind when he first gets up, or to get something he's put off for too long done.

Loche is probably taking a run through any nearby forestry in their leopard-like form. It's not very often they get to these days, but it starts to physically hurt after a while. To go from mostly being shifted to now doing so so rarely... it's been a hard adjustment for them. Loche prefers to be awake in the evening and night times, but has grown used to waking up in the mid-mornings, likely around 9-11 am. They might be a little tense in the mornings, and tend to be rather quiet until a few hours have passed. Loche usually spends their days off shifting for several hours, then moves onto doing a little study of human cultures, or relaxing, watching cooking shows. Loche isn't much of a cook, but they find cooking shows fascinating.

Freja is reading. She is most definitely cuddled up in her recliner in her room, snuggled in a comfy sweater and blanket, and is most certainly reading a new smutty romance novel that she's read good reviews about. Freja is usually up by 5-6 am, and is VERY much a morning person. Even on her days off, has a small but nutrient-dense breakfast, then goes to exercise (usually taking a 40 minute to a little over an hour run), and has time slots throughout the day to get up and do other things. However, outside of those time slots, she's welcome to do as she pleases... which is typically reading, lol.

Iri is either tuning their 'radio' to try to see what's going on in the Magi Cities, or is reading an alchemy book, writing down notes for future inventions to try. Iri is also a morning person, but usually gets up 7-8 am. They can't really eat solids in the morning, so they start the day off with a protein smoothie, then get to doing whatever it is they have planned for the day or whatever they'd put off for far too long.

Adontis likely has his blackout curtains drawn, sitting in the blissful silence of his sound-proofed room, drinking wine while he writes a several paged letter to send out later, when he's given his senses enough time to relax. Adontis... even though sunlight can't hurt him like it can young vampires, it's still fairly painful for his eyes. He tends to run the metaphorical ship during the night when Freja is sleeping, as it's just the easiest time for him to be out and about. He doesn't need much sleep, only a few hours a week if he's not used his abilities much, so he tends to pick up new hobbies to try. Currently, he's trying his hand at knitting, as he enjoys loom work and crocheting.

Fawn is probably watching something while carving new beads from bones she's picked up while on patrols previously. Might even get around to dying them the same day, should she feel like it. Fawn is someone who prefers night time, so if she's able to wake when she wants to, it'll be about 4-7 pm. Her powers are weaker in the day when the sun is at it's highest points, so she prefers to sleep through those hours (like the afternoon). She doesn't really plan much for her days off, either, just does whatever she feels like.

Quinn is probably fishing if it's the warmer months, or whittling in front of the fireplace if it's colder. He'll watch whatever Lainey puts on, which could be anything from True Crime to any number of Gordon Ramsay's shows. He is definitely a morning person, and generally wakes up around 5 AM and gets the coffee going for when Lainey wakes up a little later on. The only thing he plans for his days off is to make sure he relaxes some and tries to not think too much about work. Also makes sure to spend time with Lainey.

Sylvia... is probably going over to bug MC to watch or do something if they're off too, lol. If they aren't or aren't in the mood to, she'll eat breakfast, relax for a bit while making a list of things she needs to do throughout the coming week, then do some aerobics. I FULL-HEARTEDLY believe she owns Jane Fonda's OG workouts to use. After that... she might dance to some music, go outside and tend her garden, maybe watch something or have something on while she reads. She is definitely a morning person, and tends to wake up between 6-8 am on her days off.

I can definitely say you have a chance of holding hands with Fawn or Blake at the very end of Trepidation, but for a chance with most of the others, you will be waiting until Obsession (book 2). :3

I think Blake would look at the Scrabble board and immediately scoff and walk off, grumbling LOL

Loche has never played Scrabble and doesn't know really what it is other than Fawn hates it with a burning passion. They'd be confused and apprehensive to say the least.

Freja would shake her head and sit down to play, as she actually enjoys the game.

Iri would have a similar reaction to Blake, lol!

Adontis... would sit down, smiling all the while, and then spell out very naughty words on the board. The longer the game goes, the more descriptive they get.

Fawn... would grumble and throw the board in the trash before walking back to her room. Tough crowd.

Blake:

Loche: I cannot find one that conveys Loche's emotions, but it's MASS confusion and awkwardly walking away, LOL

Freja:

Iri:

Adontis:

Fawn:

Oooh, lingerie! (I am so sorry if these aren't very helpful, I have never really looked into lingerie until I started seeing more of it in passing on one of the YouTubers I follow for weight loss stuff.)

Blake does like lingerie. He would prefer MC wear something black and either very lacy or leaves just enough to the imagination. He also wants it to be something he can rip off easily and just buy them a new one later.

Loche... I can just say they have no preference, they're just thrilled MC would go so far as to wear something sensual to bed for them. I can absolutely see them giving MC money to buy new sets but to not let Loche see them until MC is wearing them.

Freja isn't much for lingerie, really! She'd find MC sexy wearing just a t-shirt as she would something meant to be sexy. Actually, I think lingerie would be a bit off-putting as she's not great with sensuality and sexuality as a whole.

Iri definitely prefers MC in deep purples or greens. I feel like they'd be a fan of teddies, especially.

Adontis loves lingerie. He'd want to see MC in deep reds or blacks, or other deep colors if it complimented him. I could easily see him having MC try on several different sets he's picked out for them, and I definitely see his gaze getting steadily heating up the entire time.

Fawn... I think she'd like to see MC in lingerie, if they wanted to wear it, but she's got no real favorites. Just something easy for her to take off, because if it isn't, she's going to tear it and she's not replacing it, lol.

Blake sleeps naked or in his boxers. Usually his boxers, just in case he has to run to the bathroom and doesn't want the team seeing his whole ass. If he's at one of the Advocacy buildings in his own room, then it's definitely naked.

Loche sleeps in a t-shirt and boxers, even fem Loche. Fem Loche is not a fan of how close to the skin women's underwear tends to be.

Freja tends to wear a spaghetti strap tank top with PJ shorts!

Iri does have PJ sets they wear sometimes, like full button down and pants or shorts, but they also have ones with t-shirts of cartoon characters and matching pants. Sometimes they sleep in just shorts, just depends on how hot or cold it is and their mood!

Adontis is definitely a PJ set sleeper. Silk ones, preferably, as they irritate his skin the least. Man's got some sets that costed over $1,000 by themselves.

Fawn... if it's warm, it's just underwear or shorts, tits out. The beasts will be freed as she does NOT feel like sweating all night. If it's cooler, she'll wear a tank or t-shirt with shorts. She doesn't really get cold, unless it's like below freezing.

Thank you for the asks!!! And thank you, my scarves take quite a bit of time to make, and I appreciate how complimented they've been! There's currently a 24% off sale until May 14th!

[clairelsonao3]

Happy STS!

I haven't gotten a chance to read what you've written so far, but I'm curious as to your process. What was the source of inspiration for your current WIP? Did you start with characters who wouldn't stop talking in your head? Flashes of moments? Images inspired by music? What do you fall back on when you need to be re-inspired?

Happy STS and thanks for the ask!

No worries, my ongoing WIP on Ao3 is over 100K posted words, so I by no means expect you to. 😂

Good Slaves Never Break the Rules is the long-time-coming perfect storm of three main influences.

First, I started writing it almost eight years ago to entertain myself on a transatlantic sea voyage (that's worth another whole post altogether), and some of the characters and early situations (I won't say specifically which ones!) were inspired by the unusual dynamics that pop up when strangers from vastly different origins and roles onboard are pressed together in a small space with no choice but to work and spend time together (very soon, my imagination wildly diverged from what actually happened however 😂).

Second, for a long time, I've been an avid reader of pretty much any and all slavefic (there's a lot on Ao3, both fanfic and original) and much of it is good. I always especially liked the alternate universe ones that had slavery transposed to a modern setting. But for all of that time, I could never find THE story I was looking for, the one that uses many of the common whumpy slavefic tropes (although this was long before I was in the whump community, that was just a happy accident) but is also a preferably M/F romance, using a very different type of male MC who, despite being a slave and the target of pretty much constant abuse of all kinds, has much more in common with conventional romance heroes than the perpetual helpless victims that slaves tend to be in fiction. And the female MC, rather than being some powerful dominatrix type who can do whatever she wants, is an ordinary girl who is also oppressed in a way by the society she lives in, is blind to its wrongs, and has to have her eyes opened to be brave enough to stand up for what's right. And though power dynamics are always at the forefront, the MCs come to see each other as equals. So this was also one of those "I guess I'll write it myself" moments.

Third (and I don't think I've ever had a chance to discuss this on this blog before, so thank you!), having studied the classics, for many years I've been enamored with the ancient Roman comedies of Plautus and Terence, who tended to use slaves as main characters -- and I do mean main characters. They're active, clever, funny, charming, often manipulative (but always for the right reasons), perpetually involved in zany plans and schemes, and they're anything but victims. I'd written a few things inspired by these plays previously (including a quasi-historical short story and my very first novel, also historical and of a writing quality typical for an 18-year-old, many years ago), but now that my writing skills are far more advanced, I thought it was time to try again, using a modern alt-history setting this time. Plus the plays themselves are just really fucking funny, and my story incorporates a lot of humor (and a lot of really dark stuff, too, but that's usually how it works with me).

As for getting re-inspired? I also had to do that quite recently after writing and posting a monster chapter and needing a break. What helped was rereading some of those earlier scenes that I was really excited about, and doing some tag games on Tumblr (including the Q&A I tagged you in) that allowed me to just have fun writing in my characters' voices and kind of re-re-discover them.

Thanks for a great ask!

[iloveabunchofgames]

#JakeReviewsItch

As We Know It

by Jaime Scribbles Games, PMscenarios

Price (US): $14.99

Included In: Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality

Genre: Visual Novel

Pitch: Can love bloom in an underground bunker?

My expectations: Most of the visual novels I've reviewed have been extremely light on player input, so it's heartening that five of the 14 screenshots along the side of the Itch listing show some decision being made. They've also included a screenshot of the settings screen, which is a baffling choice. Did they envision a potential customer thinking, "I don't know. This game looks pretty good, but I'm not reaching for my credit card until I see visual proof that it has separate sliders for music and sound volume."

The developers asked for $2,500 on Kickstarter and ended up with closer to $3,000, which isn't that much money for a six-person team, but it's a heck of a lot better than your typical indie visual novel budget.

Review:

It’s sometime in the future. If fighting over scraps doesn’t kill you, the sandstorms will.

But things are looking up for Ashlynn and her mom. Or rather, down. They’ve been accepted into the underground bunker of Camden, where the showers are cold and the conversations are steamy.

In theory, at least. I completed four in-game weeks—about an hour and a half—and despite earning a few relationship points, none of the encounters with my fellow eligible bunker-dwellers seemed to be going anywhere.

My worklife fell into a similar rut. A cup of coffee in the morning, followed by a day of cleaning and filing at the clinic. There was a bit of excitement when a stomach virus hit our closed society, but two days later, we were right back to the old routine.

As We Know It is flat, repetitive, and devoid of character. Whatever intrigue there might be in the premise of love in the post-apocalypse is undone by pedestrian writing. Is there political corruption in the heart of Camden, or are good leaders sometimes forced to make bad calls? What are we willing to trade for security? The game raises big questions, but I’m not sticking around for answers.

+ Lots of choices. Most of the time it's easy enough to predict the outcome a choice will have, and it's easy to back up and choose again if you're not satisfied—helpful when trying to romance a particular character. + Outside of occasional comma splices, the writing is grammatically solid—a rarity in the world of indie visual novels. + Generally clean and competent presentation. I wasn't wowed by the audio or visuals, but everything is fine. + Big, bold character names at the top of text boxes, so it's always clear who's talking. (Okay, I'm really only mentioning this because I forgot to say something yesterday, when I reviewed a visual novel where there was rarely any indication about who was speaking.)

– Characters have personality traits, but they don't have personality. There's no life in these words. – Everyone has one pose, with changing facial expressions. Characters are drawn with slightly exaggerated features, but they're still pretty close to human proportions. The faces need to be a lot bigger. Subtly shifting eyebrows and lips aren't enough to create visual interest when most of the screen is filled with static backgrounds and static bodies. – The relationship point system is unintuitive. I'll share an emotional, flirty scene with a character and not see any change in my score. I'll bump into that character in the hallways and keep walking, and suddenly our love level has jumped up 20%...which doesn't seem to affect how we act or the things we discuss. – When welcoming newcomers to the city, the mayor talks about earning beads that can be traded for luxury items. Where's that game? How about a little life management and simulation in this dating sim? Instead, jobs are just a couple of mandatory, repetitive text boxes each day, and you're always provided with whatever you need, without any budgeting or decisions to be made. Boooring.

🧡🧡🤍🤍🤍 Bottom Line: Given the choice between life on the surface or returning to As We Know It, I'll take my chances with the sandstorms, thanks.

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