#sometimes you go to locations where you have to play knife game: remembering how many knives you have in your bag and removing them

[bonesandpoemsandflowers]

I think I carry a fun and fancy free amount of stuff, actually. I know a guy who EDCs a tourniquet almost everywhere along with a tactical flashlight. frankly the flashlight is SO useful that I'm always jealous and then I always forget to pack a flashlight.

but like, there's jaunt to the grocery store purse and then there's like, am I gonna be stranded at a location purse.

[transcendersmedia]

Systems for Emotions - Knife Sisters

In this blog post, I’ll take our game Knife Sisters (18+) as an example on how a game’s system is created to convey a story, and how the characters are chosen to play a part in that story. (Be aware, there will be spoilers!)

If you’d rather play Knife Sisters than read about it, one way to get it is through the Queer Games Bundle on Itch.io!

When we started working on Knife Sisters, I mainly only knew that the game would be about Leo, a 19-year old non-binary and pansexual person, sharing a flat with a few other people in a semi-large city. Leo was inspired by a real person who I spotted at the Pride Parade in Malmö. At a Pride Parade, many people are celebrating, but this person was standing alone, with broken angel wings, as the rain started to pour – and I got intrigued. Who were they? I couldn’t know, so I started making up stories in my mind. Eventually the fictionalized version of this person became the main character in Knife Sisters.

In the beginning of the game, Leo is portrayed to be indifferent and probably also a bit depressed. Then, the artist Dagger moves into the same apartment as them, and she claims to be part of the secret society Knife Sisters. She starts asking things of Leo, things that are sometimes really hard to obtain, such as getting blood from an innocent person. As the story progresses, the demands on Leo get higher and higher. But can Leo really do whatever Dagger asks of them, regardless of the cost?

The game’s set-up

The game is structured into six chapters, each of them spanning one week. The game starts with one of the last scenes, where Leo wakes up in their room, remembering nothing from the night before, just knowing something bad must have happened. The player then has to go back six weeks in time to find out what actually happened.

Each week/chapter in the game is also structured somewhat similarly, where on weekdays, the player uses Leo’s Diary to decide which people to hang out with, most often their friends and – later – lovers.

In the specific scenes, the player can make choices (mainly dialogue choices) that affect the outcome of the scene, which will also affect the overall outcome of the game, since some choices affect stats in the game. Each week, the player will play a couple of everyday scenes where they meet with different characters and try to meet Dagger’s demands.

At the end of the week, there is usually a bigger event happening, such as a party or a gathering of some kind, to have many characters in the game meeting at the same place, for instance a rave party or an occult fair that is a part of the story.

As you can gather from this, the set-up of the game is rather fixed. There is a limited set of locations and characters, and of choices you can make in regards to the characters. The temporality of the game is also somewhat fixed: Since you start with playing one of the last scenes in the story, we know this outcome will be there no matter what else changes in the story. But although there are set premises, within those, the player has the freedom to decide what will happen.

The choice of characters

As I previously stated, characters have functions within the game’s system. On each weekend in Knife Sisters, Leo can date one out of three characters: Naomi, Mo, and Vicki. They’ll have playdates, which I’ve tried to design to give the player lots of freedom when it comes to how these scenes will play out.

And then, each Sunday, Dagger invites Leo to her room for a ritual, during which she will introduce Leo to a new assignment, as well as evaluate the last one.

Meeting with Dagger is not something you can back out from. The storyline with her has to be considered the main story, and the dates with the characters are side-stories, even though they will affect the outcome of the main story.

Having the relationship with Dagger being the main story was a choice I made because I wanted this story to be about dependence, and the idea was to have Dagger wanting you to go into a rather dysfunctional relationship with her – and then have the other characters function as counterweights to that. Depending on how you play, you’ll move on a scale related to dependence and empathy, which will also constantly shift Leo’s mood. The dependence value is mostly connected to Dagger, whereas the empathy value is connected to how you interact with other characters – your lover/s and friends.

The choice of relationships

What I wanted in Knife Sisters was that Leo’s relationships would serve as a counterweight to the rather dysfunctional relationship they would have with Dagger. The characters would also represent different sexual practices that the player might want to explore, such as being a top, switch or bottom. Apart from that, the characters had some different traits, for instance one is a cis woman, one is an androgyne non-binary, and one is a femme trans woman. I didn’t give the player any opportunity to date cis men, which means that the game caters mainly to players that are interested in women and trans people. (There haven’t been many players objecting to this - maybe because the game is pretty clear about what to expect.)

Maybe it sounds cold to say that characters represent functions? I don’t think it is. That games are systems is just a fact, and characters in games will always be utilities in that system, but of course, that’s not everything they are! The main goal of relation games is to evoke emotions, and if characters were only utilities, that goal would be impossible to reach. So the game’s characters are both functional and portrayed as close to real humans as we can possibly make them.Knife Sisters is just one example of how relation games can be made. There are definitely flaws in the game’s design, and design choices we made sometimes had a bigger impact on the story than I would have wanted them to, but that’s what it’s like to make games. You can’t fully know what you’re making until it’s done and players start playing. That’s also the fun part! Let me know if you have experiences from playing or creating relation games. What did you learn from your experience?

[thedragonnerd]

Rayaari headcanon - let us be sad with some angst and hurt/comfort

(inspired by a lovely anon)

With the rebirth of Kumandra and the return of their lost loved ones, everyone tries to sweep away the last six years, in a desperate attempt to move on with their lives and not waste any more time dwelling on the past.

But the scars, both physical and mental, still remain, and trauma endured cannot simply be washed away. There is a disconnect between people now - especially between those who had to endure the threat of Druuns hanging over their heads for years, and those who have awoken to a new world and changed people.

The most heart-wrenching discovery for Raya is that she doesn't always know what to say to her own Ba. It's been so long since they spent a lot of time together, and she is a very different person now compared to the 12-year-old little girl he threw into the water. Sometimes, she's worried he won't like the person she has become.

She also has more arguments with him than before, especially whenever he treats her more like a small child than the young woman she is today, who has survived hardship he never wanted her to experience. They don't always see eye-to-eye with each other regarding trade, politics and what is best for Heart, with his optimism and her realism clashing. If they don't resolve their disagreement quickly, Namaari will find Raya crying softly in their bedroom; she hates fighting with her Ba.

Raya sometimes sees children from her past, who were turned to stone in the original Druun attack and been frozen in time until now. It feels a lifetime ago that she was the right age to play with them, and when she sees them laughing and playing games, she wonders was I ever really that young?

She carries a weapon on her at all times, unable to shake off the feeling that something might go wrong. She learnt this the hard way when she was thirteen: a market deal in Talon had gone wrong, and she was attacked by two large men when she was only a child and without a weapon or knowledge how to fight back. Her ability to run fast had saved her that day. Since then, she has vowed never to be caught weaponless again.

One morning when Namaari tries to wake her, she accidentally pulls a knife, holding it up to Namaari's neck. Raya is almost sick with the idea that she could have seriously injured Namaari just through instinct, but Namaari just holds her hands until she calms down, rubbing her thumb back and forth. 'I trust you with my life,' she tells Raya.

Raya also still has moments where waves of anger wash over her, striking her unawares and in an uncontrollable manner. One time, Namaari makes an innocuous comment about Benja that sets Raya off, words of anger and blame falling from her lips with malicious intent. She feels awful after having done it - she never meant for Namaari to become the target of her bad emotions that day, and she can see how far it sets back their fledgling relationship. Namaari spirals into several days of guilt before they reconcile again.

For Namaari sees the trauma Raya carries, and can't help but feel responsible. She adds this to the weight of the guilt she has already carried for the past six years, and then bottles it up inside, with the opinion that she doesn't deserve Raya's sympathy, or indeed sympathy from anyone.

She has been raised to place the safety of her people before herself, growing to accept and embrace the risk to her own life every time she had to go out on a mission beyond the Fang borders and into Druun territory. It is something she has always been willing to do if it means keeping the rest of Fang safe, and in this new, safer world it is difficult to shake off these feelings of self-sacrifice being a worthy endeavour.

Indeed, she sometimes thinks that it would have been nobler to have turned to stone herself at some point over the years, but she is also too pragmatic to believe that would absolve her of her sins.

Her way of trying to atone therefore is to help as many people as possible now. Her self-sacrificing thoughts are channeled into working herself to exhaustion, as she tries to juggle fixing Fang's city and palace, expanding her citizen's homes back out into their previously Druun-infested lands, and offering up her services to any of the other lands who need extra support in rebuilding.

All of this responsibility and guilt weighs her down enough that she sometimes gets hit with extreme panic attacks. She manages to get herself to a private location the first few times it happens, but then it strikes in the middle of a sparring session with Raya, and she just sinks to the floor and covers her face with her hands.

She can faintly hear Raya asking 'what's wrong?' and feels a hand being placed on her trembling shoulder. She opens her mouth to tell Raya to go away, but instead chokes out 'Please stay?' It is the first time she has managed to ask for help.

Both of them have scars scattered across their bodies, each with a different story to tell, and some even caused by the other person. Raya is concerned at first that Namaari will find hers ugly, but Namaari soon puts those fears to rest by peppering them with tiny kisses. A couple of Namaari's old injuries give her trouble still, so Raya returns the favour by giving her massages when the pain behind those scars grows too much.

Trauma and loss is not a new concept to either of them, even before the arrival of the Druuns. At night, sometimes Raya sings a song that she can remember her mother using as a lullaby. Namaari doesn't like to discuss her father, but occasionally, safe in the dark, she will mention a story about an adventure they had together.

Over a long period of time, they are both able to release themselves of some of their fears and traumas; others, they learn to live with, or learn how to help the other cope. The most important thing, they find, is being together through it all.

[cursedquantumenergy]

Nanami Kento Alphabet

Note: Is is my first ever piece so please be gentle ;__;!! I wanted to start off with a template before I jump into writing fanfics. I hope you like it and I hope it’s not too boring!  

Pairing: Nanami Kento x f!Reader

Warning: NSFW after the cut

________________________________________________________________

A= Aftercare (what they’re like after the act)

- He would try to stay inside of you for as long as possible.

- If in missionary, he would lean in and place his forehead on yours.

B= Body part (favorite body part their own or their lovers)

- Nanami absolutely loves your waist. It's where he places his hands to pull you in for a hug.

- it's also where he grips when you're on your knees and he wants to go in deeper (usually when he's close to the end). If you're on top, he tends to rest his hands their and enjoy the ride.

- Nanami's also an ass man so reverse cowgirl is a must. This man loooooves to see you in a pencil skirt.

Cum (anything that has to do with it)

- Absolutely has an edging/cum denial (both ways) and breeding kink.

- If he had a long day at work, he'll ask you to dom and edge him. He loves how intense the orgasm is afterwards.

- Will usually only edge you as punishment if you won't stop teasing him during work (if you end up working together that day). He loves to see you cum so edging you is also teasing him in a way.

- Nanami produces a good amount of cum. A little more than average.

D= Dirty secret (Pretty self explanatory)

- Really wants to make a homemade porno one day but doesn't know how to ask. You both usually handle missions on your own. Sometimes you're separated for a few days and the nights feel lonely. During times like those, Nanami would rather watch you enjoying yourself then looking at random women on the internet (makes him feel guilty). He’s currently unsure what he would love more, seeing you pleasure yourself while calling out to him, or seeing himself satisfy you. It embarrasses him quite a bit.

- He also would not be opposed to a threesome with you and Gojo but will NEVER admit it.

E= Experience (do they know what they’re doing)

- Nanami has had only 1 serious partner in the past but has slept with 2 others since then. Everything has been pretty vanilla prior to you. You're his 2nd serious partner.

- With you though, he loves to try different things in the bedroom, whether watching porn together, using a new toy, or trying out a new kink. He's never done stuff like that before with his previous partners. Nanami trusts you and feels very comfortable going into different territories with you.

F= Favorite position

- Nanami has two! Remember how he's an ass man? He loves it when you're face down flat on your stomach with your ass slightly in the air. He loves the way your ass bounces when he drives into you. Because of his size, you always have a pleasurable tightness for him but the way this position makes you feel even tighter (and makes him feel even bigger for you!) drives him crazy. It's one of the few positions that makes him lose his rhythm quickly.

- Being the hopeless romantic he is, Nanami loves missionary. Being able to see how you react with every trust? Drives him crazy. He's a big fan of kissing as well and you'll usually end up making out during this position. He loves the way your kisses change as he shifts speeds and roughness during missionary and he usually uses your kisses as a guide for what to do next. Your kisses are getting sloppy? He slows down his pace. Are you nipping at his lips impatiently? He roughens up a bit.  

G= Goofy (how serious are they)

- During sex Nanami is very attentive to your wants and needs. He takes your pleasure very seriously. That being said, he is much more relaxed around you than he usually is around others. He’s playful and loves to grab and tease you whenever he has the chance to. He will hug you from behind and whisper sinful things in your ear.

H= Hair (grooming habits)

- Have you seen his hair? This man loves to keep himself well kept. Nanami doesn’t like going hairless down there but he does like it to be clean and short. He doesn’t want hair getting in your way if you go down on him.

I= Intimacy (in the moment romantic or rough/dirty)

- LOVES KISSING. Absolutely loves kissing during sex. Will try to kiss you in any position possible. When he can’t kiss you, he praises instead. “You feel so good Y/N,” or “you’re doing so well taking me all in like that” are common phrases for him.

J= Jack off (do they masturbate and how often)

- Before meeting you, he would masturbate about once a day after work.

- After meeting you though? He would masturbate about 2, maybe 3 times a day. Nanami was so smitten with you since the beginning that you can’t help but tease him for it. He would always think about seeing you strip for him and the different positions that he could try.

- Since getting together with him, masturbating now only happens if he or you go off on a mission and your hours do not coincide.

K= Kink (kinks what they like possibly unusual)

- Edging (both ways), breeding kink, dom (both ways, he is a switch). Goes crazy when you call him Sir.

- Honestly you brought out the breeding kink from deep inside him. Nanami would subconsciously push himself deeper and linger within you after cumming inside you. You noticed this after a few times and decided, during a particularly steamy session, to ask him to “Fill me up” and that drove him crazy.  You brought it up afterward if he had the kink. Now after he researched what it was, he absolutely loves to put you in a mating press during his needier days. What drives him crazy is seeing his cum leak out of you and then pushing it back inside with his fingers. “Don’t want to waste any” he will usually say.

L= Location (where they like to get it on)

- Absolutely anywhere inside your shared apartment. Nanami is not a fan of getting it on in public spaces and loves the comfort of home.

M= Motivation (things that makes them tick/turn ons)

- Seeing you in tight fitting jeans or skirts really turns him on. The way it hugs your curves. 10/10 for him.

- Instant hard on when you’re needy and you initiate. Loves to verbally tease you if you are particularly horny and don’t want to be teased. If you start to command him to do things in this state, he will always call you princess. “My, aren’t you needy today princess. You’re wish is my command.” 

N= No (turnoffs or absolutely won’t do)

- Not into heavy bondage, absolutely no knife play or anything that he would consider dangerous. You both face death every day, why bring it into the bedroom?

- Also, not into strong verbal humiliation. He loves you too much that it leaves him feeling awful afterwards. 

O= Oral (receiving or giving and how skillful they are)

- After practicing with you, he’s a 15/10. It took him a few sessions to get it right but with your guidance, Nanami’s able to have you screaming within minutes now.

- Nanami loves when you go down on him. The sight of you taking him in as far as you can go, seeing you slightly struggle for the remaining length, ugh, he has to stop himself from forcing your head down on him repeatedly.

P= Pace (how fast they are and how long they last in bed)

- With foreplay and everything, usually takes around 40-60mins. Nanami loves to take his time with you. He makes sure you cum twice during foreplay to prepare you for his length.

Q= Quickie (do they prefer fast and hard)

- For sex, there are no quickies. Like stated above, he wants to take his time with you.

- But if he is really in need and there is a time constraint, oral is the best way to go with him. You can have him undone in a few minutes.

R= Risk (do they like to try new things)

- Absolutely will try new things with you if it’s not one of his turn offs. He will try things at least once. If it’s something you both like, usually it becomes the obsession for the whole week before you both move on to another thing to try.

S= Stamina (how many times they can go and how long each round lasts)

- Nanami naturally has a lot of stamina. Just comes with being a grade 1 sorcerer. Before you, he would normally go one round and be satisfied.

- However, you brought out a mega breeding kink within him.

- He can absolutely go for 2, maybe 3 rounds if you’re both horny enough. He’s considerate so he won’t go a second time unless you’re ok with it (but come on, you are always ok with it). Each round becomes rougher than the last. With the amount of cum he produces, you thank the stars that you’re on birth control. This man can populate a whole village.

T= Toys (are they game for using sex toys on themselves or lovers)

- When he is the dom, Nanami’s go to strategy is to tie you to a chair, gag and blindfold you. He will tape vibrators on your clit and leave a dildo vibrating inside you and just go for a walk for an hour or two before he comes back to see what a sopping mess you are, trying to repeat his name over and over from under your gag, drooling all over yourself.

- If you are the dom, he loves when you put a cockring on him. It frustrates him during the session, but the orgasm is amazing for him after he removes it.

U= Unfair (how do they tease or do they enjoy suspense themselves)

- Loves teasing both ways. Obviously if either one of you doms it will be more intense (see above).

- During regular sessions his favorite thing to tease both of you with is by having you sit on his length, your back to his chest, and him holding a vibrator to your clit. You both don’t move the entire time and the only feeling is of your walls squeezing his cock. This teases you both, however you tend to break first by grinding against him after your second orgasm.

V= Volume (are they loud, what sounds, and do they talk)

- He praises you all day every day. He loves to whisper in your ear during foreplay and will absolutely try to coax orgasms out of you this way.

- He does moan but isn’t very loud. His moans are usually small groans and exhales.

W= Wild card (random sincannon of any sort)

- Nanami is the type of person to buy you random lingerie and toys when he is out on longer missions. You need a whole separate trunk for all the stuff he has bought for you over the years. 

X= X-ray (what’s down below in dem pants)

- Nanami is pretty girthy. It takes you a few seconds to adjust to him every time you have sex. He always makes sure you are well prepared to take him. Foreplay is a must with him!

Y= Yearning (sexdrive level)

- Surprisingly high. Nanami is very well disciplined and doesn't tend to let his thoughts wander during work. That usually translates into him being extra grabby with you afterwork. With an evenly matched sexual partner, sex will be plenty. With a partner of lower drive, he will be considerate and not ask for anything. But you’re so attentive that even if you’re not up for pure sex, you will totally get him off orally. Get ready for some nightly escapades!

Z= Zzzz (do they sleep after if so how quickly after)

- Because sex with you normally only happens at night (very rarely during the day, unless you are both off from work), both of you formed a habit of showering together after sex, then cuddling in bed together. During weekdays, you both fall asleep within 10mins of jumping into bed because work starts early for the both of you. During weekends, you and Nanami tend to stay up talking about little things. About a show you want to watch, or a new dish he wants to try making.

[toothedsmile]

:)              - The new Demon

Felt evil, had to write :) Sorry for the lack of updates but it seems everything is going either alright or simply downhill. Anyway, I hope you Angels are taking care of yourselves! Please enjoy this tiny thing that I came up with, might be canon ;)

I tried to make this as Gender neutral as I could, I’ve been thinking of editing the main story to do this as well because I know some of you might not identify as only female and I wanted to respect that, I really want you guys to feel accepted here you know.

Also, I’ve been distracting myself by playing some Minecraft, so if you wanna be friends then feel free to send a PM 😊 I love interacting with you guys! I have also been thinking of streaming someday, while not necessarily games but my writing, I’ve even made a name! Monthly Reader Appreciation Stream! So we can interact and I could talk how I do some things! If you think it’s a good idea, feel free to say so.

- T.S

Filmag – songs that make you feel like you’re the villain

REBBEL – songs that make you feel like a villain

If you guys wanna feel evil as well

TW: Description of murder, death and suggestive themes.

You took a deep breath, what a beautiful day outside.

It had recently stopped raining and the sun was shining through the passing clouds, rays covering the ground in a glow of gold.

Smiles were on the faces of the people around you, children were giggling as they played with each other, their pudgy faces scrunching up and eyes closing. Oh, such innocence.

You loved it all.

You’d hate to see it fade.

Wouldn’t you?

You looked down to your hands, perhaps you should’ve cleaned them better, there was still some red around and under your nails. With your hands shoved in your pockets and furrowed brows you continued walking across the sidewalk towards your own home.

Once you got home you saw your pitiful excuse of a neighbour speaking to a very young and uncomfortable feminine person, he had them pressed to his door, his face nearly touching theirs.

The person saw you walking up to your house and looked you straight in the eyes, pleading for you to help them escape. As you looked right back at them, the only thing you did was give a sorry smile as you waved a goodbye to them, they looked so betrayed

As you unlocked your door you heard your neighbour push his victim inside his own house, the only thing the person could do was letting out a gasp before the door closed once again. A thud followed and the lock clicked.

And you walked inside your own home.

----

It was a beautiful day outside you thought as you saw the sun lowering in the distance though you could’ve done without the noise from a while ago. He was never silent was he?

“Hm, maybe today is the day, he’s really been getting on my nerves lately.” You said as you stood up from your seat in front of the television and walked to the back of the house.

With confident strides you walked to the little shed at the complete back of the garden and took out your special set of keys, unlocked the three locks on the door before entering and closing it as fast as you could behind you.

As you flicked the switch the hanging lightbulb shone it’s light on the many objects you had inside, you black gloves were laying properly in the middle of your workbench, traps were leaning on the side of the walls and knives were hanging by size in front of you, going from razor sharp to blunt, depending on what mood you were in.

Your eyes went side to side, searching for the perfect things to use as you put your hair in such a way that no strands would be able to found anywhere. You grabbed your gloves and put them on over your sleeves before taking a knife you bought in the convenience store quite some time ago, it was very cheap and used by a lot of families, you even remember your mother using it on your birthday to cut the cake.

Once you were finished you walked back out and locked everything up, going back inside your house and sitting on the couch, waiting to hear the car next door to start. As if on cue you heard your neighbour exiting his house and going to his car, starting it up and leaving for what you were quite sure was the bar.

That was your moment to get ready, you dressed in what could be deemed as “sexy” by the standards of your neighbour.

With a confident smile you looked in the mirror as you thought about the silence you would experience after today.

You decided to go by foot as you didn’t want your car to be seen anywhere near the bar, through your phone you set a few timers for the lights in your house, just in case.

It took a while but you managed to get to the bar, it was already dark and you were very sure that your neighbour was either tipsy at minimum or just drunk.

As you took a deep breath you opened up the door leading to you next victim.

Straight away you headed to the bar while swaying a bit as if you already had a few drinks up, once you got the actual bar and bartender you ordered a drink.

It took about 2 minutes before you could feel eyes looking you up and down, it wasn’t a question of who’s they were. Your suspicions were confirmed as you looked of to the side and saw the man you were looking for staring right at you, sitting by a table.

You took your drink in hand and stared right back as you took a sip, you made sure to have your lips pout a slight bit as you took them of the rim of the glass before licking them as sensually as you could, still looking right back at him.

Hook, line and sinker.

He was smitten and he didn’t even recognize you, the fool.

He curled his finger in the come hither motion, you feigned shyness as you looked away with half lidden eyes before biting your lip, looking back at him and walking slowly towards him.

He seemed very excited from what you could see.

“Hi.”

His smile widened as he heard you speak to him, you hated it, you hated all of it.

“Hello pretty, how you doin’ today?”

With fluttering eyes you looked at him, swaying a bit side to side to make it even more obvious that you were “tipsy”.

“I’m doing good handsome, how about you?” He chuckled at your reply and patted his thigh, obviously asking for you to sit there.

Deciding to be risky you sat down, each leg at the other side of his and your hand without the drink wrapping loosely around his shoulder and your hand scraping the back of his head.

He was truly weak for you, you thought absolutely disgusted.

“I’m doin’ way better now that I’ve got you sitting right here.” He emphasized his last words by moving the leg you were on upwards and by putting his hands on your waist.

You couldn’t wait until you were about to get out of here but despite that you laughed a bit and drunk the rest of your drink before putting it on the table beside you. It was the perfect time.

Your other arm wrapped itself around his other shoulder as you leaning in closer to his ear, making sure to have your lips caress as you spoke.

“You wanna feel even better? I know some things I know you’d enjoy.”

His hands tightened for a moment and his breath went shaky for a second as he took in your words.

“I’d love to see what you can do.”

Standing up you took his hand in yours and led him outside of the building to an alleyway nearby that was shrouded in darkness but still light enough to enough to enjoy yourself from the wonderous sight you knew you’d see soon.

He pinned you against the wall and buried his face in your neck, once you noticed that he was too far gone you took the knife you had hidden in the back of your pants, which was hidden by the jacket you wore.

“Wanna see what I can do?”

He groaned out something that sounded like a yes before he gasped loudly.

Your knife was stuck in the right side of his body, just where you knew where the liver was located.

“Do you like it? I know I do.”

He looked in your eyes as you took the knife out, his hands shakily went to the point of entry as blood started to pool on his clothing.

“Oops.”

With a smile you pushed against his shoulder to make more room before stabbing once again, this time aiming for the lungs, you didn’t want to wait too long.

Elated you watched as the knife went right through, you heartbeat sped up as you couldn’t help yourself to push a little harder on the handle.

He whimpered, his brain not yet having caught up on what you had done. Not yet ready to see the end.

His legs gave out beneath him and he fell flat on his ass, frightened he tried to shuffle behind before he bumped against the wall.

“You know, you’re really loud, why are you so silent now? Don’t you like this? Your other dates didn’t seem to like what you did to them, sometimes I feel bad you know, but, not really.”

You laughed as you squatted down so you could properly look him in the eyes as the red pools of blood got bigger and covered his hands, the light in his eyes was already failing as he started coughing. His eyes widened as he saw and tasted the blood coming from his mouth.

He just kept coughing, gurgling as he tried to speak but the only things that came out were wheezes before he coughed again.

“Don’t worry, you also weren’t the only one.”

                                                               :)

    A/N: :)

[littlefreya]

August’s NSFW Alphabet

Warnings: Explicit Smut, graphic depictions of rough sex, daddy kink, creampies, bondage and mentions of bodily fluids and August being August.

** I give no permission to copy my work, translate it and repost it **

N/A: He’s dirty, he’s hot, he’ll fuck you till you drop (that doesn’t really rhyme). I got a request to do the NSFW Alphabet and the dudette abides! This was really fun, I think Walter is up next!

August Walker’s NSFW Alphabet

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

August takes aftercare seriously. Being a rough Dom he doesn’t want his princess to slip into depression. A warm bubble bath is due, with him lathering your hair and massaging your aching limbs. He invests in buying luscious bath bombs and fancy props he gathers you’d enjoy. After the bath, he wraps you in a fresh towel and carries you to bed where he begins to take care of each part of your body he hurt. Small butterfly kisses crisp your supple skin, his moustache tickles lightly, lulling you into a deep slumber.

B = Body part (their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Obviously, August loves his cock and thinks it’s nature’s gift to women. When it comes to you, he’s obsessed with your ass, loves to grab it in public to assert ownership, he squeeze it firmly and grind his aching bulge at the cleft of your ass, always letting you know he is ready to go

He calls your ass a piece of heaven on earth and oh, of course, you’re going to feel a spank or two when he’s pounding into you from behind. 

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

A huge fan of creampies. He loves to come inside, he ain’t doing rubber so you better be strict with your birth controls. Nothing makes him sicker with pride than watching his thick cum drip down your wobbly legs. It can easily get him hard all over again and you blush with horror as you hear the camera’s click as he snaps a shot of your knees up and thighs spread open, showing your cunt full of his jizz.  

D = Dirty secret (pretty self-explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

You mean aside from the fact that he is an anarchist? Well, August might have a collection of homemade porn videos. He loves to tape himself having sex with random girls. Has a whole drawer of them. Loves to watch them every now and then to get himself off. Even after he began dating you he kept them and yes, he is trying to convince you into doing all sort of stuff for him on cam.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

August is basically the king. He fucked more women than he can remember. Lost his virginity with an older woman who taught him quite a lot.

He’s a Dom by nature, mastering different tricks and ever-exploring his darkest sexual fantasies. He definitely knows what he is doing and he has heaps of patience. It’s his greatest virtue, knowing how to torture you just enough till you’re practically begging him to fuck you.  

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Doggy-style. He has full access to spanking your ass and squeezing it hard enough to leave bruises. Loves to watch his thick cock entering your body while his hand fists your hair. He ruts into your body back and forth, tugging you back against him, preferably in front of the mirror, so he can look into your eyes.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Dead serious. If he smiles it’s definitely patronizing or sinister, to scare you and let you know he will always have the upper hand. He enjoys cooing at you while you’re a whimpering mess, making fun of how weak and desperate you are. 

H = Hair (how well-groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Fuck no, he ain’t trimming, he is all hair in general. Which is pretty rude considering he loves your pussy completely waxed.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

On one hand, he is never going to say he loves you. not even if once in every full moon he’ll make love to you through a whole night till you’re both crashing into one another. 

August is a man of actions and touch, and he’ll touch you in ways that make you feel completely stripped down to your soul while his eyes pierce deeply, letting you know you’re his baby.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

As a Dom he says you are not allowed to touch yourself without his permission and if you do and he catches you, you are in for some punishment. He’s going to tie you up and watch you as he masturbates in front of you, slow and languid, groaning your name and then coming all over your torso. His finger dips into his own cum, collecting the pearly drops and slipping it into your mouth. 

He is a fan of mutual masturbation though, on facetime when he is gone on a mission, so always be ready for daddy’s call. 

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

One? This man is almost everything goes. His biggest kink is the purity one. His woman has to be “pure” and gentle, he gets off from the thought he is defiling you, unloading all his darkness into your sweet little cunny. Or maybe tonight he’ll just dress you in pink ribbons and enjaculate all over your face, just to mess you up. Among other kinks: Spanking, orgasm denial, knife play, bondage, choking, exhibition, size kink (loves it that you’re small, it makes him feel big and strong) praising and some really dirty words that he loves to whispers while deep inside you.

L = Location (favourite places to do the do)

Anywhere you might get caught. Especially where you work, to make a statement, he doesn’t care if you’re loud, on the contrary, he might go extra hard on you. For some reason he fantasizes about fucking you in front of his boss quite often. This one time you nearly did, but he settled for fucking you over her desk, and left some bodily fluids all over that carpet.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

When you’re being a brat, yes he loves his princess, but when you’re a little stubborn bitch that’s when the fun begins. You know he is going to punish you for that and when punishment time comes, he gets creative. One time you wouldn’t let him work so he tied you to a bed and pushed a toy inside you, he left in on for hours while he was working, controlling the power with a tiny remote while remaining indifferent to your screams. 

Oh yeah, your screams, the second thing that makes him hard.

But generally speaking, he is so caught up with you that everything you do turns him on. He loves to ogle you when you’re just sitting by the window, reading a book or writing something. You’re his little angel. 

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He’s not into sharing. You’re his pure angel and no one is going to touch you but him. Doesn’t like stuff involving defecation/piss. He is grossed out by it.

Less into anal but willing to try if you’d be open for it.  

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He loves to fuck your face, make you tear as you choke on his cock and come down your pretty little throat. He is also into eating you out. His moustache and those thick stubbles leave you red and raw and it’s that mixture of rough and the slow slithering of his tongue inside you that gives you the hardest orgasms. You’re half convinced he is keeping that stach for that.  

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

August fucks your like a high paid pornstar; rough and fast but not without style, he’s dominating, knowing how to move inside you just right, slowing down to increase the depth and then picking up a harder rhyme where his balls slap against your pussy. 

He does go slower sometimes but it’s still rough and forceful, leaving bruises all over your body. You love it...

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Every now and then when he’s angry at the world, he uses you like a fucktoy. Coming home, he spins and bends you over the table. Not bothering with your clothes. Your panties are wrapped around your thighs and his hand is plasters your cheek to the wooden surface as he spits on his cocks and enters you with zero foreplay. 

Your scream is his favorite music.

Being so angry, he doesn’t care if you come, but you do anyway. You always do.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

August is all about experimenting but he has the meticulousness of a special agent and a man who loves to be in control. Breathplay? Sure, he might even get you to blackout, he doesn’t mind, but he’ll take precautions to not cause any damage, same with knife play and bondage. 

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

He lasts long, he is patient and taught himself to hold back because he gets off from making you weak. August can easily take an entire night to mess you up, to a point you’d beg him to stop. You’re sore, you can’t take it anymore. He leaves you feeble, boneless but always makes sure to give you proper aftercare.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

He owns a box of toys that he bought especially for you. As a part of very long foreplay he’d sometimes tie you up and begin stimulating and teasing you, fucking you with a vibrator while looking deep into your eyes and praising you.

You’re not allowed to touch the box without daddy’s permission but... can you help it when he’s gone all the time and you miss him?

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Way too much. August loves to see you beg, he’ll take his time, bringing you to your knees, getting you close and denying your orgasm to the point of tears. 

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Very loud, he doesn’t give a fuck who hears him, he is not ashamed and damn you love that voice he makes when he finally puts himself inside you. That guttural groan that just signifies how sweet you feel.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Violence gets him hard. Whether it’s hand to hand combat or killing someone. It’s a bit embarrassing, but not for him, for his colleague, seeing him get all worked up after beating some guy to a pulp. If he’s on a mission, well, tough, he’ll have to call you and masturbate while seeing you pose for him. If you’re at the same country as he is, expect him to come home and unload that pant up aggression into you. 

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

There is a reason why August is cocky and arrogant. He is not just BDE, he is huge and thick and he knows it. It hurts when he goes in, no matter how wet you are, but you live for that pain, it brings much pleasure.  

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Extreme, he is a sexual person, he loves to touch, he loves to be desired and he loves to desire you.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Not right away, as rough as he is, he makes sure you are properly taken care of after an ordeal. Your aftercare always comes first. 

________________________

[sonnetthebard]

Owen doesn't really like horror movies and he gets paranoid pretty easily because of them. He hates that it happens and never tells anyone about it, he thinks its embarrassing for someone like him to be set off by something as simple as a movie. Curt also didn't know, until he proposed watching a horror movie one night. Owen went along with it because he knew Curt wanted to watch it with him and tried his best to sit through it, but Curt picked up on how uncomfortable he was -S

I know this was supposed to be headcanons, but... I had to write this as a oneshot. I absolutely love it.

Genre: Fluff/ Romance/ Angst

Words: 3171

TL;DR: Owen is not a fan of horror movies.

TW: Anxiety/ Triggering, brief mention of violence, panic attack, minor implied ptsd.

"Darling, I'm home!" Owen called into his shared hotel room teasingly.

"What, you're done scoping out the venue already?" Curt smirked, making his way out of his room, already dressed down to just a dress shirt (with a few buttons undone) and dress pants.

Owen smirked at that. Evidently Curt had decided his work for the day was over. They were in the primary stages of a small mission- one that should be simple. Intercept the passing of information from the French to the Russians- no matter the cost. If they had to kill someone, so be it. It may be an easy mission, but it was a crucial one. It was set to happen at the ballroom in one of the biggest estates in London during a gala hosted by its owners- set to happen in two days. The owners weren’t royalty, but they were rich- which probably made them more powerful than royalty either way. The event was going to be massive. Royalty and dignitaries from all around the world would be there- and, of course, the informants they were there to stop. If they didn't intercept this information... well, let's just say the Soviets would have a rather large military advantage. And that wasn't something anyone wanted.

Earlier in the day, Curt and Owen had gone out and met the family hosting the gala- who were in full support of their work. They’d even offered to be so good as to give them a discreet signal when their marks arrived. Of course Owen had turned that down because, even with good intentions, the utilization of untrained assets was always a risk. Once they were done with that meeting, Curt and Owen had done some genuine espionage. They were lucky. Their informant had told them when and where their marks would be in preparation for the gala. So they'd alternated locations to watch their opponents. That way no one got suspicious seeing the same two people watching them everywhere they went. Then Owen, being the keener that he was, had gone to the ballroom and scoped it out. He always loved that part of planning. Plus, the house was practically a castle, and it was old. Owen just wanted to see it. It was a marvel of architecture. But it was at least a productive visit. He had a good sense of the place. 

Now, though... Now Owen was exhausted. He'd had a big day preparing for not only his physical game but his mental one. So he was more than happy to be back with the man he loved. And he really did love Curt, in spite of his flaws. Owen was well aware of those. He would have to have been dull not to take them into account when preparing for their romantic relationship. Owen knew he was the more fit spy. He knew Curt could be a bit... careless at best, reckless at worst. And boy, did Curt’s ego ever get the better of him sometimes. But Curt was one of the most affectionate people Owen had ever met. His heart was massive, and he was as loyal as a dog. That was more than enough for Owen. They would follow each other to the ends of the earth. Owen may not have the smartest lover in the world, but... he had never felt more loved by one person. Not even his own parents.

"Already? Love, I was there for nearly three hours." Owen chuckled softly.

"You must be exhausted." Curt rolled his eyes playfully.

"As a matter of fact I am!" Owen scoffed, smirking and setting his jacket on the rack. Curt walked over to him, wrapping his arms over his shoulders and kissing him gently. Owen hummed into it, snaking his arms around Curt's waist. "What are you up to, Mega? Trying to breathe some life back into me?"

"No... I just missed you." Curt blushed lightly, still smirking and trying to play this off as cool as he could. "Am I not allowed to kiss my favourite partner after a long day of work?"

"Oh, you're more than welcome to..." Owen winked, giving him another gentle peck. He rested his forehead on Curt's, sighing. "I would say you could kiss me any time you’d like, but... well... we both know the world isn't quite ready for that."

"I know." Curt sighed. "One day..."

"We can only hope." Owen agreed. He gave Curt one more small peck of reassurance before, pulling away, walking into their room. "So what have we got for plans tonight? I was thinking maybe we could grab a bite at the fish and chips stand down the street. It's quite good. Then... maybe we could go to the cinema?"

"Actually... I was thinking maybe we could stay here." Curt bit his lip. "We've got a television here, and... they're showing Creature From The Black Lagoon on one of the channels we pick up. I missed it in the theatres while we were in Germany, and I've been hoping to see it for a few years now. It's a horror movie, and I've heard the special effects in it are great! We could watch it together!"

"Oh..." Owen bit his lip, breath hitching a bit at that.

Now... there was a bit of a dilemma. Owen came off as very suave, very tough, and impenetrable but... he had a bit of a problem with horror films. That, and films surrounding espionage. He didn't know what it was about the visual medium of storytelling that was becoming so popular, but... it affected him deeply. It was as though it set off something deep inside him, and brought up all his own fears. Even if they weren’t the fears discussed in the movie. As tacky as the movies were with their corny monsters and questionable acting they sparked his anxietes. Even worse to Owen was the irrational paranoia that came with it. The fear of something that didn't even exist. Even the things that very clearly could *never* exist. Like Dracula. Still, if Curt wanted to watch one with him, he would do his best to sit through it. Maybe he could focus his attentions on Curt and not the movie. Or maybe this movie wouldn’t get to him so badly. 

"Oh what?" Curt checked, the smallest trace of concern riddling his features.

"It's nothing." Owen chuckled, trying to mask his lie. He didn't want Curt worrying about him for something so trivial. "I would love to. What are we doing for supper though?"

“I didn’t think that through.” Curt admitted. “We, um... well, we’ve got half an hour before the movie starts. Maybe we could grab fish and chips and eat it here while we watch?”

“Sure thing, love.” Owen sighed. “You want me to go and get it, then?”

“That works for me.” Curt nodded. 

“And do you want me to get some crisps for later in case you get a bit peckish?” Owen checked. 

“Can a get a translation of that?” Curt teased. He knew most of what Owen meant, he just loved bothering him and he knew how much his boyfriend hated Americanisms.

“Do I really have to?” Owen groaned. Curt just raised his brows in expectation. “Fine. You’re lucky I love you... Do you want me to get you some ‘potato chips’ for later in case you get the ‘munchies’?”

“I would love some potato chips.” Curt smirked triumphantly. 

“‘Potato chips’...” Owen grumbled, grabbing his jacket again. “Bloody Americans butchering our language...”

“Love you too!” Curt called out the door teasingly as Owen left. 

The fish and chips place wasn’t far down the street. It was one Owen knew well- his parents had even taken him there as a child. He remembered those days... Things were simpler. Not nearly as complicated as his life had become. But that wasn’t why Owen was so eager to get out of the hotel room. No, Owen wanted the space alone to brace himself and prepare himself for this movie. Because he’d always been strong for Curt. He didn’t want Curt seeing him weak. So he just needed a bit of fresh air. That’s also why he’d volunteered to get the crisps (no matter what Curt wanted to call them). Extra time to steel himself. He took his time, but even then he only spent twenty minutes out of the house. Still... it was better than having had no time at all to prepare. He took deep breaths, making his way back to the hotel room. 

“Alright, darling. I have the food.” Owen called him, taking his shoes off and walking into the hotel. He set the food down on the coffee table. Curt walked out, dress shirt completely gone now. In it’s place, a white tank top. He was in denim jeans now, likely so that he didn’t ruin his dress pants. Owen smirked. “I thought we were supposed to be watching a movie, love...”

“We are.” Curt furrowed his brows, confused. He sat down on the couch, taking one of the meals for himself. Owen shrugged his jacket off, hanging it back up. He then joined Curt on the couch, a teasing glint in his eyes. 

“Well... you’re very distracting...” Owen hummed. Curt blushed. 

“I can put my shirt back on...” Curt mumbled. 

“No, darling. Don’t do that.” Owen sighed contentedly, taking the meal Curt hadn’t taken and setting it in front of himself. Curt had taken out his multi-purpose hunting tool and a pocket knife to eat with, but Owen stopped him. He pulled out the provided cutlery. “Here, darling. We can eat like civilized people”

“Right.” Curt flushed again. 

“You’re adorable when you’re all worked up.” Owen chuckled. 

“You’re a bully, you know that?” Curt grumbled, getting up and walking over to their in-room television. They were lucky. Not many hotels had them, but... this one did. Their superiors didn’t mind splurging a little on their accomodations, because it usually meant they were better rested for their job. 

“I’m not a bully...” Owen chuckled, his heartrate picking up again at even the thought of what he was about to watch. “I’m just a tease, doll.”

“So you admit it?” Curt smirked triumphantly, fiddling with the knobs to adjust the channel. 

“Only this once.” Owen rolled his eyes playfully. 

“I think I... there we go!” Curt beamed as the television crackled onto the right station. The scoring to a typical horror movie started. Owen gulped, already not liking this. Curt seemed to pick up on that. “You okay?”

“Absolutely fine.” Owen lied. Curt sighed, coming back and sitting down. 

Both men sat in silence, eating and watching the movie. Owen tried to focus on his food, blocking out the movie and his surroundings. But... that was unfortunately very hard to do. Especially when Curt was so invested. The man was leaning as far forward onto his knees as he possibly could. He thought Curt might have said something about Owen being right about the fish and chips, but Owen didn’t really hear it. He was caught in his head, in a way. And in many other ways, he was totally and uterly absorbed in the movie, trapped without consent the the saga being recounted on the screen. He didn’t even notice when he finished his food, caught up in everything. 

And then... then came the moment Owen was dreading. The one that had his palms sweating and his body tense the entire night. Even with all that awful anticipation it caught him completely by surprise. Just as it was meant to. For some people, that was the thrill of the game. To him, it wasn’t. To him, it was not just truly terrifying, but also... humiliating. Totally and utterly humiliating. Especially in front of his Curt. Curt, who thought he was this suave, impenetrable rock. Curt, whom he was the foundation. Curt got to watch him cower like a child. The moment of dread was, of course, the first jumpscare. And just as Owen had predicted, he had jumped right out of his seat, yelping. Curt saw him and... he started to laugh. 

The world caved in for Owen. It was a mix of the genuine fear he’d experienced watching the movie, the fears that fear alone had resurface, and the humiliation. He felt in a way that he was disappointing Curt already. And the laughing... it rang in his ears even once Curt had finished. Because this time Curt wasn’t laughing with him- he was laughing at him. He tried to mask it, but he was far too caught up in his head to have any control over what his face did. He shook a little bit. He couldn’t even fear anything around him. He had tunnel vision, and everything sounded like it was underwater. Owen hated it. He knew then and there that trying to be tough had not been the right move. That he should have said no to Curt. But it was far too late for that realization to be any good. 

At first, Curt had admittedly thought it was funny that Mr. Tough Guy Owen Carvour himself had fallen victim to the classic jumpscare. And he would be the first to admit he had laughed a long time- especially when he thought that for once he had been the one to fluster Owen and not the other way around. But then, when Owen neglected to come back with any snide remarks... When he didn’t tell Curt to shut up, or even chuckle along with him... That was when Curt knew that now was not the time to be laughing. That something was genuinely wrong. That was when he finally took the time to notice that his lover was shaking, and the fear that had been in his eyes when he jumped had not vanished- even though the protegonists were safe. Curt took Owen’s hand’s carefully. Owen twitched in what could be a flinch, but put up no fight. That was the final tip-off for Curt that sommething was very wrong. He got in front of Owen carefully. 

“Hey... Hey, Owen. You’re okay.” Curt soothed. Owen seemed to snap a bit out of it- enough to see Curt in front of him and look him in the eyes. Curt suppressed his concern and put on a comforting smile for Owen. “That’s right, babe. Look at me. I’m right here. I’ve got you.”

There was a moment of Owen just staring into Curt’s eyes and reminding himself that Curt had his back. That he was safe. Once he had calmed enough to speak, he took a shaky sigh.

“I’m sorry.” Owen mumbled. 

“No... no, don’t be sorry!” Curt shook his head, giving Owen’s hands a squeeze. Immediately as thought that had awakened something in him, Owen was squeezing back as if it were the only thing keeping him on the ground. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.”

“Yes I do.” Owen spat, almost as though the words were poison. Self hatred oozed from his tone. “I’ve been lying to you. I’m a coward.”

“You are not a coward...” Curt stated firmly. 

“I bloody well near shit my pants at something I saw on the telly!” Owen pointed out, incredulous. “Something imaginary, on the other side of the screen where it could never harm me.”

“That’s what these movies are made to do, O.” Curt assured him. 

“They’re meant to give people a quick fright.” Owen shook his head. “But... that terrified me. Genuinely scared me.”

“Well... we’ve got pasts.” Curt bit his lip. “We’ve seen stuff. We’ve been the victims of real jumpscares where we could have died. Maybe it reminds you of those. Maybe the lines blurred.”

“Curt, it wasn’t anything we’ve been through that scared me.” Owen softened, nearly whimpering, both scared and embarassed but also pleasing for Curt to listen. “It was that that creature was going to show up behind us and do the same, or... take you away. That poorly dressed, hokey monster that could not be any further from being real. I’m not just a coward. I’m a bloody idiot.”

“You’re not a coward, Owen. And you’re not an idiot. Everyone’s brain is built a bit differently.” Curt soothed him. “You want to protect me... just like I want to protect you.”

“From something that could never hurt us either way.” Owen pointed out. 

“Sometimes that doesn’t matter to the mind.” Curt sighed. “I don’t know if this happens to you when you read all your books, but sometimes someone will tell me a story and I get so invested in it that I’ll feel like I’ve lived through it myself.”

“I know what you mean...” Owen nodded. 

“Well... maybe this movie did the same thing for you.” Curt reasoned. 

“I... suppose.” Owen blinked, realizing Curt made a lot of sense.

“Just like you feel things when you read... you’re feeling things watching this.” Curt sighed.

“Right...” Owen nodded, letting that sink in. 

“You think you can take a few breaths with me, O?” Curt soothed. Owen nodded, following Curt through a few deep breaths until he had stopped shaking and his grip on Curt’s hands had lightened. Once Curt was satisfied, he got up and changed the channel. I Love Lucy was on. He smirked, sitting back down on the couch. For once, he was the one pulling Owen close to cuddle. “We’re going to watch this channel for the rest of the night, okay? I think it’s got some of the good family shows on it.”

“Are you sure?” Owen checked. “I can go lay down. I know you really wanted to watch this film.”

“Yeah, but... not as much as I want to spend time with my handsome British boyfriend.” Curt teased. 

“I love you.” Owen sighed, resting his head on Curt’s chest. 

“I know.” Curt winked playfully, running a hand through Curt’s hair. “Hey, if you’re ever uncomfortable with what I want to do... just tell me, okay? No judgement.”

“Alright.” Owen nodded. 

And so they spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms. Eventually they did switch and Owen was back to holding Curt. He found immense comfort in that- and that Curt didn’t judge him. It was lovely to be totally and utterly enamoured with someone. And that was what he was with Curt- what he was certain they both were. He didn’t focus on the telly (though it did give him a few laughs- that Lucy was always getting into trouble). Instead, he focused on Curt’s hands running though his hair, or the little kisses he was being adornerd with. In other words, he chose to focus on how much he was loved. And that put him in an entirely better place. There was, at least, one thing they could take away from the whole fiasco: no more horror movie nights. They had enough horrors in their own life without needing to worry about anything on the tv. 

[sope-and-shine]

Baby Bottles, Potions, and Squabbles

-> Pairing: Yoongi x Reader(ft. Baby Namjoon) -> SFW // Fluff, angst // Fantasy!AU -> Word Count: 4.5k -> Summary: The one rule Yoongi has for his potions lab is to NEVER eat or drink anything that’s down there. But is it really your fault when it had been so clearly labeled as water? -> Warnings: Mild language, baby Namjoon

a/n:  It’s done! I did it! My last February oneshot! Please enjoy.

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“What. Did you? Do?”

In the 5 years that you’ve known Yoongi, you’ve only ever seen him this angry twice before. Once when Namjoon - his apprentice - set his entire herb crop on fire. The second time when he had Seokjin house sit and his twins completely wrecked his home. Both times the blue haired man was absolutely furious, but not as furious as he seems to be now.

You flash him an innocent smile, “I don’t know what you’re referring to.”

“How about the baby wearing Namjoon’s clothes?” He gestures to the baby that rests in your arms, drowned in the multi-colored knit sweater that Namjoon will only ever take off if he’s showering or set on fire.

“What baby?” Yoongi glares and you look at the baby in your arms that he’s referring to and you continue to feign innocence, “Oh! You mean this baby? When did he get there?!”

Yoongi rubs his face with his hands and holds them over his eyes for a moment, trying to find the will to not hit you, “I am not in the mood to play games with you.” He puts his hands down and instead places them on your shoulders to keep you from running away, “Now, tell me what happened to Namjoon.”

With his intense gaze and his tight grip, you can only laugh awkwardly, “Well, you see-”

---

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Joonie?” You ask.

For the past hour you’ve been watching Namjoon trip over himself and fumble with various ingredients you don’t have the stomach for to throw into his pot. You’re used to watching Yoongi do it and there’s definitely a difference in process between the two. Then again, you can’t deny that Namjoon has definitely been getting better and better over the past 4 years. He’d be unstoppable if he’d just figure out how to use a knife properly.

“Of course I do!” The blade of his knife narrowly misses his finger, adding another oddly cut piece of willow root to his pile. He stirs his concoction twice clockwise before dropping them in and stirring four times counter clockwise. He turns up the heat and you watch from a distance on a counter adjacent to his as the once murky, purple liquid changes to a putrid green when it begins to boil.

“The bubbling green mixture says otherwise.” You comment. You hop off the counter to walk up next to him and immediately cover your nose, “This stuff smells disgusting!”

“It’s supposed to!” Namjoon defends, apparently unaffected by the rancid smell that’s leaving the cauldron in front of him.

“Why can’t it smell like, whatever that red one is?” You ask, pointing to the pot on the other side of the room.

He sighs, “Because the red one is different.” It takes him a second, but then he realizes what you said. He pushes you back away from his area and glares, “And stop smelling the potions before you smell the wrong one! Yoongi already doesn’t want you in here.”

“That’s why he sent me to bother you.” You smile, happy to have Yoongi’s permission to be in his lab for once. The blue haired wizard thought it would be good for Namjoon to work under pressure, and your presence was nothing but pressure.

Namjoon shakes his head, “Of course he did.”

The apprentice continues his stirring, adding a few more ingredients that are already prepared for him. He adds water and lowers the heat, letting everything settle before he adds what looks like basil leaves into the concoction as well. It’s after the first leaf hits the potion that it finally blows up in his face. You turn and face away from the blast, covering your nose as smoke billows around you. You hear Namjoon sputter in the background but the smoke that billows around you is too thick to see if he’s okay. 

When the smoke begins to thin and you still hear Namjoon coughing and hacking, you look for something to help him. Before the blast, you remember seeing unopened water bottles somewhere on the counter you were sitting on. Through the partially dense smog, you reach for the counter. You search blindly with your hands for one of the plastic bottles that sit at the back.

“Aha!” You cheer as you find one. You pull it to you and crack it open, turning to find Namjoon in the smoke that still lingers in the room. You use his consistent coughing as a way to help locate him. You place a gentle hand on his shoulder, “Namjoon, you need to drink some water.”

Without a second thought, Namjoon downs the entire bottle. He takes a moment to catch his breath, the smoke finally having cleared out and to the air pockets in the lab for ventilation. When he feels better, Namjoon sighs and looks at the bottle you had handed him. 

His face drops.

“Where did you get this?” He asks.

You point to the collection of bottles, “I got it from the counter. It wasn’t opened.”

Namjoon shakes his head, “That’s not water.”

“What do you mean it’s not water? The seals aren’t broken.” 

“Okay, but Yoongi said it’s not water.” 

“What is it then?” You ask.

He shrugs, “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you “don’t know”?!” You ask again, more frantic.

“I don’t know what it is-! Agh!” Namjoon grabs for his stomach, groaning in pain. He grabs onto the counter in front of him, but crumples to the floor.

“Namjoon!” You reach out to help him back up, but you stop. A bright light emanates from Namjoon’s body and you take a step back, shielding yourself when the light becomes too bright. When the light dims and you can look again, you’re met with a small, lilac haired baby sitting calmly on the floor in the sweater that once belonged to Namjoon.

Namjoon is nowhere to be found.

Fearing the worst, you kneel down and pick up the small infant, “Namjoon…?” You ask.

---

“And that’s what happened.” You finish, explaining the story in detail as you cradle baby Joon in your arms. Yoongi looks far from impressed by your story. If anything, he looks more annoyed than usual. 

The wizard closes his eyes and takes a long, deep breath, “How many times have I told you not to drink what you find in my lab?”

“It was labeled ‘water’ so I drank it!” You defend.

“Don’t. Drink. The liquids. In. My. Lab.” He scolds, emphasizing every word.

“It. Was. Labeled. WATER!” You remind him.

“I can’t deal with you right now!” He scoffs. He reaches out and takes Namjoon from your arms, pulling the newly turned infant into his grasp and holding him out in front of him. He moves him away from you and inspects the damage done to his apprentice. His anger is still evident on his face. The more he glares and holds Namjoon away from him, the more the small infant begins to fuss in his arms. 

And then he wails. 

“Why is he crying?” Yoongi asks.

“Because you’re scaring him!” 

“I’m holding him!”

“You’re yelling.” You don’t bother asking, you take Namjoon back into your arms and hold him to your chest once again, “Hi, Joonie~ You’re okay, I’m here.”

Yoongi rolls his eyes as you coo at the baby, “He’s not just going to magically stop crying because yo-” He stops himself when Namjoon’s unbearable wails fade away, “Not another word.”

The infant’s small hands grab onto your shirt, his head nestling into your chest. He seems to be tired from the mixed emotions, and it worries you that he may have real problems that you and Yoongi aren’t able to see from the blast. 

“What are we going to do, Yoongi?” You ask.

Yoongi sighs, “Didn’t I just say not another word?”

You ignore his obvious annoyance with you and continue to voice your concerns, “Namjoon is a baby! What if he has problems and can’t tell us?”

He shakes his head and turns away from you, “Yeah? Well, that’s no thanks to you.” The way he says it is cold. It feels as though he’s demeaning you - and he probably is - but you can’t let his anger get in the way of helping Namjoon.

“Yoongi-!” You attempt to follow after him, but he makes a quick turn on his heel.

“(Y/n)!” He marches towards you, making you stop in your tracks and walk back until you bump into the couch. He stops in front of you - so close to him that you instinctively pull Namjoon as close to your chest as you can. His nose is right in front of your own and he takes a moment before he continues, “I will figure out how to get Namjoon back to normal. You will stay up here, out of my way, and out of trouble.”

“Okay, but I can help!” 

Yoongi rolls his eyes, “You can help by keeping him out of the lab.”

As soon as he’s finished saying his piece, he turns away again. This time, you don’t follow him. You let him walk away to do whatever it is he needs to do to turn Namjoon back to normal, even if it means he’s still angry. In all honesty, you can’t blame him - Namjoon turning into a baby is technically your fault, but how were you supposed to know unopened water bottles labeled water weren’t actually water?

Hopefully if you stay out of his way and let him work through it he’ll calm down.

---

For as long as you’ve known Yoongi, he’s always put himself on the back burner to get his work done. Whether it was to prepare new ingredients for new potions, creating a lesson plan for Namjoon, or assisting Seokjin in grading essays from his own students at the Academy, you’ve become used to his workaholic ways. It’s because of his tendency to overwork himself that you took it upon yourself to start taking care of him in return.

Ever since you first met Yoongi, you’ve always taken notice of his work hours. Too often he’d start his work before dawn and end way into the night. You watched him work himself into the ground for a lot longer than you should have before you started to do small things around his house for him. Sometimes you would wash whatever dishes were in the sink, or you’d organize his spice rack how he likes it when he’s just run out of the energy to do it himself. You’ve thrown his dirty clothes into his washer on more than one occasion, and meals seemed to be the one activity you were always working on just for him.

You decided to make dinner after Yoongi left you alone with baby Namjoon. He’d already spent 5 hours - starting at 4 in the morning before the incident - hunting for Iridescent Dot Frogs, and it was going on another 6 of him attempting to reverse whatever you’d done to Namjoon. Lately, most of your meals or goods deeds have been done out of guilt and as a way to say sorry. And now - with infant Namjoon resting on your hip - you want this meal to be the best one you’ve ever made.

Right as you turn off the front burner, you hear a loud explosion come from Yoongi’s potion lab. The floor beneath you shakes and the dishes above your head rattle. You move fast to push the pan with your meal to the back burner before the quakes send it over the edge of the stove. Your quick actions mixed with the small trembles have Namjoon bouncing in excitement and clapping his hands together.

You chuckle, “You would enjoy that, wouldn’t you? Figures.”

Behind you, you hear the basement door open, signaling that Yoongi is finally leaving his bubble of isolation. You grab three plates from the dish drainer and set them on the counter, “I hope you’re hungry, I made a lot.” 

When you turn around, you catch a big whiff of dust and smoke that emanates off your friend. His once light blue hair is blanketed in soot and you can’t help but cover Namjoon’s nose before his little body has a chance to breathe it in as Yoongi passes. He goes to the sink and grabs his special soap from the cabinet.

You watch him rub the soap into his hair and over his face, waiting for him to turn off the water before you attempt to spark a conversation, “Are you okay?”

His towel stops moving and he turns just enough to peek at you over the cloth, “Do I look okay?”

Your eyes narrow, “You look like you’re alive and not a toddler.” His attitude - while still somewhat valid - was not appreciated.

The wizard simply turns back to his towel and shrugs, “I’m fine.”

“Dinner’s ready. If you want some.”

You set Namjoon on the counter so you can make both his and your plate, moving them to the table before you come back for Joon. You settle him on your lap and alternate between his fork and your fork, all the while ignoring Yoongi just as he ignores you.

You don’t notice how he looks over his shoulder when you trick Namjoon into eating his potatoes. You don’t acknowledge him when he sits down next to you while you make sure Namjoon chews his food all the way through. You don’t notice when he stares at you while you wipe away stray bits of food from Namjoon’s chin. It’s like the domesticity of the situation has him relaxing and finding peace that he’d been needing since the incident even happened.

When he’s finished, Yoongi takes just a bit longer to enjoy the way you coo over the infant on your lap. He allows himself to be selfish for just a moment before he decides he has to get back to work, “Thank you for dinner. I’m going to get back to work.”

It’s the most calm thing he’s said to you all day, and it makes you feel better knowing that he’s begun to calm down - even if you don’t know why. You smile, “Okay. I’ll clean up and give Namjoon a bath. Just let me know if I can bring you anything or go out to grab something.”

“Alright.” 

He returns downstairs, and it’s another 4 hours later before he’s back up.

Despite all the work and effort he put into it, he wasn’t any closer to finding an antidote for Namjoon. His potions just kept blowing up, and if he didn’t get any sleep soon, then he really wouldn’t get anywhere.

When he opens the door to the main floor, he’s surprised to see the lights still on. Usually, you turn off the lights before you go home or before you go to bed. It wasn’t often that you stayed up late for him, and Yoongi really doesn’t want to get into the details of the day with how tired he is.

He goes to the living room to see if you’re up waiting for him, but he stops in his tracks when he sees you passed out on the floor with your arm resting lightly over Namjoon’s torso. You’ve laid out a small blanket, just big enough for the two of you to lay down beside each other, but your knees don’t even rest on the blanket. You look so peaceful laying next to the small infant, and he can’t help but admit how it makes his heart ache.

Knowing you, when you wake up you’ll be in too much pain to do anything. Instead of letting you suffer, he places an enchantment on the blanket underneath you. It slowly expands and bulks up, becoming a plush mattress for you and Namjoon to rest on. He conjures a light blanket to throw over you, moving a hand over to Namjoon’s side to place another enchantment - something to keep him from rolling off in the middle of the night and getting himself hurt.

He admires the image for just a moment before he waves his hand and turns out the light, heading upstairs to get as much rest as he can.

---

It’s been over a week since Namjoon turned into a baby and nothing Yoongi has done has worked. He’s tried several potions to counteract the one Namjoon had drank, but nothing seems to stick. The only hope for Namjoon seems to be the growth into a toddler just the other day.

The whole situation is troublesome, especially with you looking after Namjoon on a daily basis. When it was just you, it was easier to ignore the way he felt. As a teacher, he needs to be focused on his students and not the person that makes him meals on the daily. Now that you’re taking care of a baby in his house 24/7, he can’t seem to concentrate. He’s so out of it that he almost wants to apologize for being an ass and scolding you - but he won’t because he’s that stubborn.

Now, he’s just trying g to get through an especially hectic trip to the market. Normally, he’d be able to slip away from both you and Namjoon since Namjoon would know what he’d need. But with Namjoon being unable to see over the counter and form coherent sentences, he’d have to stick by your side to make sure you don’t get swindled into buying something useless again.

Instead, he enjoys the view of you fixing Namjoon’s sunhat - a fabric hat that you’d purposely shrunk in the dryer so he could wear it outside. The poor kid wears an oversized shirt of his, and it swallows him whole. It’s much different from what the apprentice is normally used to. Especially since he’s resting on your hip instead of walking beside you. 

“Yoongi! Isn’t this that weird fruit you like?” You ask, holding the dark purple Wake Fruit above your head. Unlike the name, the fruit is actually supposed to help you sleep - one reason Yoongi usually forces himself to eat it. He watches Namjoon reach for the fruit with both of his little chubby hands and he can’t stop himself from smiling when you laugh, “Namjoon seems to think it is!”

“You know, Wake Fruits are good for growing babies. I can give you a dozen for $8.” The old woman behind the stall offers, having cut the normal price for a dozen almost in half.

Yoongi is already pulling out his wallet when he hears you try to protest, “What? Are you sure? You don’t have to do that.”

“Please, dear, I’ve been a young mother. You’ll need it.” Her comment makes you blush, but the wizard doesn’t give you time to think about it.

He hands the older woman the cash and accepts the fruit from her, “Thank you very much. We really appreciate it.”

He guides you away from the stand and on route to the next one, a hand placed on the small of your back with Namjoon on your hip between the two of you. Neither of you comment on just how intimate it feels to walk like this, almost as if the tender moment you’re sharing is a real family moment. From stall to stall, the both of you smile and live the dream that neither of you would admit to wanting out loud. 

As you get further along, Yoongi comes to realize that there’s one stand you and Namjoon can’t go to. Not because it’s for wizards only, or because it was full of fragile items. But because the people that enter the tent behind the stand where he needs to purchase his next items were not friendly. He’d taken Namjoon once when he first started out, and the grown adult - at the time - almost wet himself.

“Here.” Yoongi stops at a candy stand and rests the handle of the wagon in your hand. He pulls out the cloak he had stuffed in the corner of the wagon and wraps it around himself. He throws his hood over his head, “I’ll be back in about 10 minutes, just look at what you want and I’ll buy it when I get back.”

“Okay, take your time.” You wave him off, going as far as to use Namjoon’s little baby hand to wave goodbye to him as well.

You spend quite a bit of time looking over the candy selections. There are a lot of candies that Namjoon enjoys but can’t have with him being too young. So, you attempt to find a replacement that a toddler can enjoy.  You don’t pay any mind to what Yoongi had said before about waiting for him, you just continue to point at candies that you'd like and order the appropriate size for who you know will eat it.

When you finally need to pay, you set Namjoon down in the wagon full of groceries. It takes you a second to get him situated, but you get him in a good enough position to get your own wallet pulled out to pay for your items. It takes you even longer, however, to get your packages settled around the bundle of joy that moves without a care.

“C’mon, Joonie, just sit still for a moment.” You beg, trying to settle everything into a stable position.

“Need some help there?” You turn over your shoulder to see a tall man with dark hair hovering next to you, his attention split between you and Namjoon. His smile, although seemingly genuine, puts you off. Especially when he reaches a hand out before you okay him, “Toddlers are just a handful aren’t they?”

Before his hand can even get close, you push his arm away from Namjoon, “That’s quite alright, I got it.”

If he was offended by your action, you don’t notice. He plays it off cool, “Are you sure? I don’t mind helping out. It must be hard doing the parent thing all by yourself.”

“I’m just fine, thank you.” You hope that a verbal reassurance will send him away, but this supposed “casanova” just doesn’t seem to get the hint.

“No, really, I can do this.” He makes another advance towards Namjoon and you’re quick to reach out for the miniature apprentice first.

You don’t care if your groceries fall into the dirt or spill over for everyone to step on. You don’t even care if you drop your wallet. But there’s no way in hell you’re letting this creep lay even a single hand on your friend, “I said I’m fine, thank you.”

“Don’t you think he needs a father figure?” He asks, now clearly agitated.

You shake your head, “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

“As a man I think it is.”

“As the father, I think you need to mind your own damn business.”

Both you and your “admirer” turn to see Yoongi pull the hood of his cloak down, a burlap sack filled with whatever he had bought dangling from his other hand. His expression is easier to read than normal, filled with more anger than you’re used to seeing from him. You always thought the face he made when he was upset with you was hard to handle but this expression is much worse than anything you’ve personally received from him.

When the guy doesn’t answer or even attempts to move, Yoongi makes his own movie to walk in between you and the guy to set his things in the wagon where Namjoon had been. When he’s empty handed, he puts an arm over your shoulder and pulls you closer to him with a firm grip, “As my wife said, she’s fine. And our son having a father figure is none of your business. Do you get it now?”

The way Yoongi asks the guy if he understands is almost cynical. You can hear the underlying threat in his tone, almost as if he were daring the guy to go ahead and just try to pull something. But he seems to have somewhat of a head on his shoulders.

“Yeah, I got it. Sorry, man.” He apologizes, but it’s empty. Emotionless. You don’t even want to think about what he’s thinking.

“Did you already buy the candy you wanted?” Yoongi asks, still watching the man as he disappears further into the crowd.

“Yeah, I did.”

“Good, we’re leaving.”

You weren’t about to question Yoongi about leaving. You definitely don’t have everything on your list, but you have absolutely no desire to stay around.

When you make it back to his house, Yoongi takes charge of putting the groceries you got away while you put Namjoon down for a nap. He assured you that he would go to get the rest later when Seokjin would be out of his classes for the day. He didn’t want you left alone with Namjoon, and for once in the many times that Yoongi had done something like this, you don’t mind one bit.

It’s when you’re pulling the blanket up to the toddlers head that you hear him walk up behind you, “You’re surprisingly good at this.”

“You think so?” You ask, letting your hand linger on Namjoon’s cheek.

“Yeah, I do.”

You stand up all the way and turn around, nodding towards the door for Yoongi to follow. He leaves the door cracked open behind the both of you, that way you can hear Namjoon if he needs you. He follows you all the way to the living room before you both flop down on his couch from exhaustion. 

“Please remind me when Namjoon’s back to normal that children are indeed a gift.” Your day had been filled with nothing but chasing Namjoon around Yoongi’s house and traveling around the market for the entire afternoon. As much fun as you’ve been having with him as an infant, your body is definitely feeling way more exhausted than usual.

“Sure.” 

You close your eyes and tilt your head back, enjoying the silence that comes with Yoongi’s presence. It wasn’t always so calming to you, but the more time that you got to spend with him over the years the more you began to love it. 

Next to you, Yoongi sighs, “I’ve been an ass.” 

You open your eyes and turn your head, finding him staring at the ceiling above him. He’s pouting, and it takes some control to not laugh at him, “Not a total ass. I did kinda deserve the treatment.”

He shakes his head, “Not all of it.” He turns his head to look at you and sighs again, “I should’ve been more understanding.”

“I turned Namjoon into a baby.”

“Namjoon probably would’ve turned himself into a baby.” He says. You both laugh, knowing that there’s more truth than assumptions to his statement. He sits up and turns to face you, “Look, I just want you to know that I’m sorry.”

You sit up next to him and place a hand over his, “I’m sorry too.”

Yoongi takes a moment to stare at your hand over his before he looks back up again, “Maybe when we get Namjoon back to normal I can make it up to you?”

“We?” You ask.

“We.”

[quazartranslates]

Welcome to the Nightmare Game - CH108

**This is an edited machine translation. For more information, please [click here]**

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Chapter 108: Slaughter Secret Society (X)

"Good, good evening..." Qi Leren, who came out of the basement after completing today's training task, glanced over and saw Ning Zhou sitting on the sofa. The uninvited guest sat straight on the soft sofa, who knows how long he’d been waiting.

Qi Leren, who was covered in sweat, subconsciously looked down at his clothes. This time he was fine, wearing a sports vest, and finally he was not curious-looking: "I’ll take a shower and be right back!"

With that said, Qi Leren ran upstairs to first wash himself quickly.

Perched on the coat rack, the big black bird let out a strange laugh and seemed to laugh at Ning Zhou, this master of its that had been left on the sofa. The latter gave it a blank look, and under the deterrent of its master's eyes, it made a whistling sound and looked in all directions casually.

After a quick shower, Qi Leren ran down the stairs with a boiling hot water kettle, and poured Ning Zhou and himself a glass of water. The big black bird that was not entertained rattled discontentedly, and Qi Leren had no choice but to pour it a cup. Unexpectedly, the bird was brazen and pushed its luck: "I'm hungry, I want something delicious!"

It also coveted the few rations Qi Leren had left!

Qi Leren was distressed. There weren’t many "pleasing rations". By now, they had all been fed to this bird... But this was Ning Zhou's bird. Right now, he had to count on Ning Zhou for help. Alright, let's feed…

"Ignore it." Before Qi Leren took out the food, Ning Zhou made a noise to stop him.

Qi Leren retracted the hand he’d been about to feed it with in good faith.

The big black bird looked at its master resentfully, pecked his ear discontentedly, and flapped its wings to fly away.

"Your bird has character... but its very smart. What's its name and breed?" Qi Leren asked.

Even outside of the mission, where Ning Zhou was no longer equipped with the Closed Meditation skill, he was still quiet, rarely saying anything: "It has no name, the species is an eagle, and its habitat is in the Jinghai Desert."

Qi Leren's regional understanding of the Nightmare World basically comes from his playing Nightmare Game, and he vaguely remembered that the Jinghai Desert was the location of the Underground Ant City, hiding the nest-like underground world under its scorching and horrible desert, as well as the scorching Purgatory deep underground, which was a place where demons ran rampant.

There were really too few topics between the two. They’d hardly talked during the Witchcraft Sacrifice. After that, every time they met, the unique circumstances hadn’t allowed them to sit down and chat, but now they were a little embarrassed.

"If it’s an eagle, then doessn’t it speak eagle (English)?" Qi Leren told a pun.*

*{E/N: Ning Zhou says his bird is an eagle (语鹰 yu ying), and Qi Leren tries to joke by saying oh, then wont it speak the language of the eagles (ying yu 鹰语; the same characters but switched), which is a homonym for english (英语 ying yu) } 

Ning Zhou gave him a calm, blank look, giving no indication of laughing.

Qi Leren froze, forgetting that Ning Zhou was not a person from the real world. He didn't know what English was!

"Ahem, in the outside world, there is a common language called English. We sometimes use it when we talk. What is Hello, Happy, Hani... Ahem, it’s nothing special, pretend I didn’t say anything." Qi Leren felt that he had suddenly become an emperor of silence, and his heart was in tears. Why was it that he could easily talk to sinister killers when he was acting as Red? Yet now, in the face of his own kind, he often made stupid mistakes?

In fact, he didn’t know what to say to the other party. Why did he say such a thing? Ning Zhou: "...Oh."

For some reason, this silent scene reminded Qi Leren of a long time ago. At that time, he had not yet entered the Nightmare Game, and he was still an unemployed youth who was looking for a job everywhere shortly after graduation. His parents introduced him to a friend's daughter. This sister was dignified and beautiful, that is, she was a little cold. After the exchange of "um, ah, oh, ok, thank you, you're welcome", there was no more…

At this moment, the scene was similar to the picture of that blind date, except the one on the opposite sofa wasn’t quite the right gender.

"I..." Qi Leren was ready to talk about the Slaughter Secret Society.

"You..." Ning Zhou also happened to speak.

The two voices collided.

"You go first."

"You go first."

Two voices collided again, and they went silent at the same time.

Qi Leren began to sweat again. It won't work! This communication is totally impossible! It's embarrassing to sit and talk!

"Are you hungry? I'll make some fried rice." Qi Leren was really a little hungry. It would be better to communicate at the dinner table.

"I don't..." "I'm hungry! I’m so hungry! I'm starving!" Ning Zhou had just said two words when his bird screamed at the top of its lungs, startling Qi Leren.

After being interrupted by it, the atmosphere in the room was finally better. Qi Leren showed a big smile and looked at it gratefully: "If it can eat, I’ll make three servings. Cooking at home is much cheaper than eating outside. Paying the bill when you eat out hurts."

Seeing Qi Leren’s offer, Ning Zhou didn't refuse and silently followed him into the kitchen... A win.

Qi Leren’s mood became complicated when he saw Ning Zhou cutting tomatoes with a kitchen knife. It felt like seeing Dr. Lu approach him; he always felt that the skill points were a little biased.

A pan of fried rice and a pot of soup were finished quickly, and Qi Leren's craftsmanship was OK. After all, he lived alone all the year round, and he would have to eat instant noodles every day if he couldn't cook with his own hands. Ning Zhou, though, seemed almost like a chef, and Qi Leren felt distressed when he thought of his own life experience.

But there was a feeling of friendliness with this chef, and the atmosphere was much better when the two people sat at the dinner table. Qi Leren told Ning Zhou about the Slaughter Secret Society while eating, and how when he saw Ning Zhou listed as the mission goal for the selection ceremony to decide the holder, he’d almost fallen into the trap. Ning Zhou gave him a deep look.

Qi Leren choked for a moment, and he found it was easy to misunderstand, but the explanation made it worse and worse, so he had to bury his head in his food, burping from the anxiety. He was ridiculed by the eagle, who was tasting its unfamiliar fried rice.

After eating, Qi Leren revived his spirits and began to tell Ning Zhou about his plan: "The Slaughter Secret Society’s internal struggle is fierce. The Court always suspected that they could catch Kunagshan because the present keeper agent Lie Yang (Luo Yishan) had secretly leaked his whereabouts, because once the keeper dies, the memento ring will fall into the hands of the keeper agent. Right now, the ring has lost its binding. No matter whose hands it falls into, anyone can use it, but the functions of the half-field are incomplete. The acting ring holder also has the right to hold a selection ceremony to elect the next ring holder, and the new ring holder binds the ring to restore all functions in the half-field. But my presence broke his calculations. He must be worried that I’ll find you before him and sacrifice you to the Lord of Slaughter to become the new holder, so he needs to find a way to get rid of me and hold another selection ceremony. There are too many variables now. So I guess he’ll get rid of me before I finish the task. When there’s only one competitor left, whether the task is completed or not, he’ll become the ring holder. "

Qi Leren's situation at this time was undoubtedly dangerous, but he felt quite safe in this house. After all, the Court’s people shadowed him all the time. It was very difficult for Yang to kill him here. If Yang was being careful, he wouldn’t assassinate him here. The place was too unfamiliar, and his likelihood of failing would be very high. Once he failed, Red would be more vigilant.

In order to assassinate the demonized Red, it was necessary to kill him with one swift and resolute blow and end the battle before he awakened his demonization. The best way was to carry it out in the field. When you entered the field with full confidence and wanted to complete the sacrifice and seize the memento ring…

"There’s a good chance that he’ll rally his men to attack me suddenly and get rid of me after I enter the field. I’ve heard that in many selection ceremonies, it was quite common for candidates to kill each other. The Devil of Slaughter is indifferent to this group of believers, looking at them as no different from beggars. He just likes to watch them kill indiscriminately," Qi Leren said with a frown.

"What are you going to do?" Ning Zhou asked.

Qi Leren glanced at Ning Zhou with trepidation: "This... requires you to be sacrificed..."

Ning Zhou: "..." He had a bad feeling.

Qi Leren was really becoming more and more skilled at convincing his teammates.

-----

Editor’s Notes: A thank you as always to Miko for explaining untranslatable stuff ^_^”

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[laurendone120]

Heal

Summary: Reader has healing powers, but one day on a mission, she overuses them.

Warnings: Angst, fluffy ending, passing out, mentions of anxiety, some cuss words, mentions of nudity (not smut)

Ship: Bucky Barnes x Reader, Platonic!Steve x Reader, Platonic!Sam x Reader.

AN: Not gonna lie, I’ve already written this fanfiction twice, but my computer didn’t save it. So sorry it’s late.

Y/N’s POV

You were an Avenger, kind of. You have healing powers, and before that you were a well-trained doctor. You had been an Avenger for a couple of years now, and while every Avenger had to complete grueling physical training to be on the team officiaily, you were much more of a lover than a fighter. On missions you would stay behind in case something went wrong, which happened more than you would think.

This mission was meant to be hard, that is why Steve, Sam, Bucky, Natasha and Clint went. You and Bruce normally would stay behind. Being the teams to main doctors had you two work close together, so you were great friends. He would stay with you on the plane in case there was a code Green. You and him would like to play little games with each other to pass the time. 

But not this time. The stakes were high on this mission, having some of your best friends and your boyfriend on it. You and Bruce both have had trouble with anxiety in the past, and this was not one of the missions to be joking around. 

For 20 minutes you sat in the jet waiting for the worst. This was not the fun part of your job, just waiting. But 20 minutes in you got the call.

“I’m sending Sam back. He has been shot.” You hear Steve’s out of breath, but still calm voice says. The calm in his voice calmed you down a bit, knowing that it wasn’t bad, or at least that he trusted you to heal him. 

About a minute later, Sam stumbled in. Bruce was still setting up the stretcher, which was mainly used for naps, so you helped Sam up. You gently laid him on the stretcher, quickly going into doctor mode. 

“He was shot in the stomach. There is no exit wound.” You mumble to Bruce. 

Your power has its limitations. For example, if someone broke a bone, the bone would have to be set back in pace before you could heal it. If not, the bone would be healed weird, and ultimately cause more problems. In this case, bullet holes, the bullet would have to be taken out before you could heal him, because otherwise, you would heal around the bullet, keeping the bullet inside. So, when this happened, Bruce would work on taking out the bullet. 

While you were a great doctor, and for sure could be a big help to Bruce, it was easier to slowly heal Sam, not enough so that Bruce couldn’t work, but enough to take his pain away. It was just faster and more productive than waiting on pain medicine to kick in or than to just knock him out altogether.

Bruce had cut his uniform around the hole, giving him plenty of room to work. You gently place your hands just above Sam, just hovering over the wound, before you started to heal, you then after a moment spread your hands apart, giving room for Bruce to work. 

You heard Sam gasp at the feeling, but you weren’t listening to him, instead just focusing on your moments, and not using to little or too much of your powers on him. You also were focusing on your breathing, in for five, out for five. It was an easy thing to put extra concentration on, and it made sure that you were breathing properly, which was something that you used to do on accident. 

Soon enough, Bruce was done, and started to clean up, so as soon as he pulled the bullet out, you got to work. You quickly moved your hands fully over the wound and started to heal. Sam gasped at the slight pulling sensation, before relaxing. 

Sometimes when you healed, it was nice to visualize what you were doing. Just regenerated all of the cells, and almost forcing mitosis. You could feel the slight headache from your powers growing, but you ignored it, instead just focusing on Sam.

You were almost done just some three minutes later. You healed the top layer of skin before stepping back slightly, making sure that he was fine. Once you were one hundred percent sure he was fine, everything hit you at once. When you healed, you were using your energy, so it always took a toll on you.  

You fell down. You don’t know how long you were sitting there, trying to catch your breath, before a hand reached down. After a moment you took Sam’s hand, and walked over to the bench against the wall. You heard Sam’s thank you’s, on the way over, before waving your hand as if to say don’t mention it. 

You sat down, leaning your head against the walk, doing nothing. At one point you started to hum, prompting Sam to chuckle. Healing always left you tired, but you always tried to stay awake. Bucky had always told you that you always could fall asleep, and no one would care, but you always felt weird making someone, usually Bucky, carry you up to your room after a mission. So, you always tried to stay awake, even though your effort only works part of the time. 

Sam sat with you the entire time. He wasn’t allowed to go back, no one was after you healed them. After you healed someone they were left with a whole bunch of excess energy, they are just wound up with adrenaline for days, that could make them prone to making reckless decisions in the field, so it was protocol for them to stay on the jet for an hour, unless absolutely necessary.

After a bit, you could feel your energy returning. A bullet wound isn’t the most extraneous thing to manage, so you weren’t completely exhausted. You could fully pay attention to your surroundings, and you could listen and comprehend what was going on, even on the other side of your coms.  

Sometime later, you heard Steve’s voice again. “Y/N, Bruce, I’m coming back.” 

“Why.” You heard Clint voice. “We aren’t done yet.” 

After a moment of silence, Bucky spoke up. “What did you do?” 

Sam stiffled a laugh next to you at the tone in Bucky’s voice. 

“What happened Steve?” You ask, a bit nicer than Bucky’s previous words. 

“I may or may not have gotten stabbed,” Steve said, voice getting smaller as he went on, “Twice.”  

His words caused multiple curse words to come from various people’s mouths. 

“Where are you?” Bucky asked, being the closest one to him. 

“I’m fine, I swear, you should see the other guy.” Steve tried to joke. No one believed him, not about the other guy, but him being fine, you could hear the slur in his voice slightly through the coms, he was not fine. 

“Where are you?” Bucky asked again.

Steve sighed before answering, “Hallway B.” 

“I’m not too far from there, don’t move.” 

Everyone could tell when Bucky reached him. Everyone could hear him cursing out Steve, the other guy, the universe, whoever when he saw him. It didn’t do much to calm your nerves.  

“We are going to come back later, or get someone else to finish, we are going home.” You hear Steve say. 

On the way back you heard Steve’s many failed attempts at saying that he was in fact fine, only to be proven wrong by Bucky. At this point all exhaustion had dissipated. You were too worried about him to be tired. Your headache was still there, but that wasn’t stopping you. 

Soon enough, Bucky came back with a weak Steve strung on his shoulders. The stretcher was already set up, so he laid him on it. Natasha and Clint had already made it back, both of them now in the cockpit, ready to take off.  

You quickly scan over him, locating the two stab wounds. “How did you manage to get stabbed in the shoulder?” You jokingly ask, mentally prepping yourself. 

“I don’t know, can you just fix it.” Steve quietly said.

You nod, before hovering your hands over the wound on his shoulder. Steve gasped at the feeling; never getting over the way it feels. You concentrate on regenerating everything, the muscle, tissue, everything injured. The headache only increased, and you made a slight noise at the umcomfort. Stab wounds were normally more difficult, because normally the knife or whatever was used doesn’t come cleanly out. You felt something wet drip down your face, but you don’t pay attention to it, instead focusing on your breathing and the wound. You think you hear movement behind you, but your ears are ringing, so it’s hard to tell.  

After a couple of minutes, the wound is completely healed. Both of your hands fall to the stretcher bar closest to you, using it as your main support so you can continue. You wipe whatever the wet substance was, only to find that you nose was bleeding. You hear both Steve and Bucky talking, but you don’t hear what they are saying. 

After a moment, Steve tried to sit up, before failing, and you snapped back into your thoughts. You again hover your hands over the other stab wound, and you start to restore the cells underneath. You focus on mending the cells beneath your fingertips. 

At one point, you realize that you had forgot to breathe, causing you to gasp all of a sudden, before you remember that you actively have to focus on your breathing.  

It takes longer then normal for your exhausted form to heal him, but you do. Finally healing the skin on top, you step back. He sits up and allows you to search his face for any evidence of pain.  Once you find none, you allow exhaustion to take over. All of the adrenaline dissipates, and you fall.

Bucky’s POV

You slowly drag Steve’s body up the ramp of the jet, quickly locating the stretcher, and laying him down. You step back, allowing your girlfriend to heal him. She doesn’t look as tired as she normally does after she already healed someone. Originally, you were a little worried that she would be able to heal both Sam and Steve, but you learned a long time ago not to underestimate her. 

“How did you manage to get stabbed in the shoulder?” You hear Y/N asking almost mockingly, you and Bruce chuckling softly. 

“I don’t know, can you just fix it.” Steve asked in surrender. 

Y/N nods before bringing her hands up and over his wound. Once he gasped you know she has started. In the small space between her hands and his body, everything was disoriented, almost like when you look at something above a fire and everything looks to be moving slightly. After about a minute she moans very quietly in discomfort. You look at her face, seeing her concentrate heavily on the wound. That’s when her nose starts to bleed. But she doesn’t even notice, telling you that she has already used a lot of her powers already. You step around to the same side as the stretcher that she is on, ready to catch her is she falls, which happens frequently. 

Once she is done, both of her hands fall to the stretcher. She doesn’t look all there, seemingly lost in space. She brings her hand up and wipes her nose, finding the blood.  “

“You really don’t have to.” Steve lies. 

“Doll, are you sure?” You ask, but she doesn’t hear either of you.

Steve tries to sit up, only before groaning in discomfort and falling back down. Once he was laying back down, her hands come up again. Steve gasps again at the sensation. Her face pales as her nose starts to bleed again, only causing you to worry more. Bruce also clearly gets more worried behind you. 

About 30 seconds in, both you and Y/N realize that she isn’t breathing, and she gasps. You and Steve share a look of worry.  But she is still going strong, and you have to remind yourself never you estimate her, as she has reminded you so many times before. You take a deep calming breath before looking back at her. The blood has reached her chin now. 

After a couple of minutes, Steve is completely renewed. He looks at Bruce making sure he is fine to sit up, before doing so. She stares at him, making sure he is fine, before her knees give out.   

You catch her easily, having expected her to fall, but you see that she has completely fainted. You nod for Steve to move, him quickly moving off the stricter so you can place her on it.  Bruce steps up, 

“FRIDAY, what happened?”  

“She appears to have fainted as a result of overusing her powers, sir. She should be fine with lots of sleep.” She politely says.  

“Would you alert me if anything changes?”  

“Of course.”  

“You good?” Bruce asks Steve. Steve nods before swallowing. Bruce then steps away, looking for something.

Bruce comes back about a minute later with a wet washcloth. “Can you get her to sit up?” He asks. You go around the table, closer to her head, lifting her shoulders up. She barely stirs. You sit on the edge, bringing her upper body closer to you, so she is resting on your chest.  

Bruce steps forward again with the washcloth and wipes the blood from her nose. He makes sure the skin is dry, before stepping back again.  

You lay her back down, anxiously waiting for her to wake up.   

“How long until we get back FRIDAY?” Steve asks from the other side of her. 

“About an hour sir. Would you like me to request Clint go faster?”  

“Sure.”  

About ten minutes later, she starts to stir. Her eyes open, squinting at first because of the light. Once adjusted, she darts her eyes across the room in search of some answer to the questions she can’t fully form.  

“Hey,” You whisper gently, her eyes now finding yours and smiling slightly. 

“You passed out when healing Steve.” You briefly explain, her eyes now going to Steve. “He’s fine, but you need rest.”  

She barely nods her head, before drifting off again. She wouldn’t wake up again for another 14 hours.

Y/N’s POV

You wake up in something soft. Your head is blissful mush, it’s hard to form thoughts, but you don’t care. After a bit, you somehow realize that you weren’t falling back asleep, so you peek open your eyes. You squint at how bright it is, and burry your head in the nearest thing it could find. Something cold and firm reaches down and touches you gently, something metal you brain finally puts together.   

“Y/N?” You hear someone faintly ask. It takes a good moment to remember that it’s talking to you. You nod your head, not enough to reveal your eyes to the bright light intruding on your sleep.   

“You okay?” The voice asks again. Wait why would you not be okay? You realize that it’s Bucky next to you, but not much else. A dull headache is blossoming from the thinking, and honestly you just wish you could go back asleep.   

But you not answering must have worried Bucky, because he moved slightly underneath you, letting you know that it was him you buried your face in. His metal hand runs his fingers through your hair, almost like he knew you had a headache.   

“Hey.” He calls again.  

“Hi.” You hoarse voice manages to whisper.  

“Do you know what happened?” He gently asked.  

No, you don’t. You don’t know where you are, why you are there, or why you can’t thin straight. Why can’t you think straight?  

You shake your head, still not opening your eyes.  

“We were on a mission yesterday; do you remember that?” He asks. You do, so you nod, him still playing with your hair.

“Sam got shot.” You twitch at the thought of one of your best friends being hurt. “You healed him, he’s fine.” He reassures. You tentatively nod, not sure where this story is going. You think you remember this happening, but right now it felt like millions of years ago.  

“About 20 minutes later, Steve was stabbed twice. I brought him back and you healed him.” He says, slow enough for your brain to process it. You do remember that, but nothing else. You finally open your eyes to look at him with a questionable expression. He was sitting up, and you were resting against his thigh. He smiled down at you, happy you have your eyes open now.  

“You must have overused your powers, because you fainted.” He states. It makes sense, why you can’t think, or why your limbs weigh 1000 pounds.  

“How long have I been asleep?” You ask.  

“You woke up for a minute after a bit, but other than that you have been sleeping for,” he pauses to look at the clock, “14 hours.”  

You nod, the both of you sitting in silence for another couple of minutes. In those minutes you really came back to reality, your headache hitting you like a truck. You brain was functioning better though, and you could focus better.   

Bucky must have noticed you shifting around, because he asked, “Do you want to take a bath?”   

You mutter a quick yes, prompting him to get up. Once his thigh moved out from under for, you felt the cold air and immediately you reach out for him again.   

He chuckles. “Do you not want me to?” He ponders.  

“Just stay here a bit longer.” You say.

He studies your face for a moment, before getting back in bed. “You would think that after being in bed for 14 hours, one wouldn’t want to stay in it.”  

You try and smack his thigh, giggling, but it came out as more of a tap.  He continues to mindlessly play with your hair and goes back on his phone. You try and go back to sleep, but it wasn’t working. Eventually you must have let out a sigh, because Bucky chuckled asking if now you were ready.  

You really didn’t want to, but you knew it would be better for you, so you hesitantly nodded.  He once again got up and walked towards your shared bathroom. You hear the water turns on, and soon after Bucky walked back in.  

“Can you walk?” He muttered. You really did want to be able to. You hated being carried, it felt like such a burden to be carried by another person, but you still couldn’t walk, so you agreed.  

He picked you up and walked you into the bathroom, setting you on the counter. This is when you notice he was naked. He started to undress you, leaving you in your underwear, before setting you in the tub, him slipping in behind you.  

There was nothing sexual about this. You were grown adults, God knows you’ve been naked together countless times. This was simply about relaxation.  

After the water got cold, which took like another half an hour, you both got out. James got out first, grabbing a tower before helping you out. You could now stand at least, but you still leaned against the countertop while he dried you off. Once you were dry, you said a quick thank you, before you went to get some clothes. Once Bucky was dry, he too got some clothes.   

When he saw that you weren’t picking pajamas, he was confused. Normally, if given the opportunity, you would gladly chill at home.

“We going somewhere?”  

“Just to the kitchen.” You respond. You were referring to the Avengers shared kitchen. Yes, everyone has small kitchens in their room, but the one in the tower was always stocked, and there is normally someone there to talk to. It is where most of you socialize.  

 “Did Bruce check me out?” You ask.  

“Hm?”  

“Did Bruce say that I’m good, I just haven’t fainted from using my powers in a while.”  

“Yeah your good. When had you fainted before?” He asked, now also fully dressed.  

“Umm.” You thought, raping your arm around Bucky, for support and because you loved him. “A couple of years ago in Budapest.”  

You walked into the elevator door when getting on it. You chuckled. At one point, the ride down felt like it took a lot longer than normal. You started to sway a bit without realizing. James lightly shook your arm, causing you to wake out of your trance. You offer a reassuring smile, his worry only slightly decreasing.   

“Are you sure your okay?”  

“Yes.” You say confidently. You were fine, other than your pounding headache that just got the better of you.  

The bell dings, which sounded a lot louder than normal, and you stepped out. When you turn to the kitchen, Sam, Steve, and Wanda were eating there, talking about God knows what.

Once Steve sees you, he runs over.  

“Oh my gosh Y/N, I am so sorry, I shouldn’t have been so stupid, you shouldn’t have had to do that.” He rambled.   

Bucky looked at you, silently asking if you were good handling Steve by yourself. You nodded, “Could you make me something?” He nodded, before walking off. You luckily quickly found your balance without him, before addressing Steve.  

“Hey, hey, hey.” You cut him off. “It’s my job to heal you. Would you rather me not. Look at me, I’m fine, just a little tired. You could’ve had numerous problems. I personally think that a headache is a hell of a lot better than two stab wounds.”  

He opens his mouth, before shutting again. He knows your right; he just still feels bad.  

“Nobody did anything wrong, and I would do it again if I had to.” He nods, sheepishly looking down at his feet.  

Suddenly, you remembered that you still had a headache, and walking took way too much energy. “Mind helping me over there?” You ask.  

He quickly nods, happy that he can help. He walks to the side of you, putting his arm under your shoulders, and helped you walk to your seat.  

“Thank you.” Sam offers.  

“Anytime.”  

“Not only for me but for saving this dumb ass as well.” Steve playfully hits him, and everyone laughs. This was going to be a good day.

The End

AN: Requests are open and welcomed!

[helpinghanikan]

Logan Howlette A-Z

Logan Howlette (the Wolverine) A-Z NSFW

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

He’s not an overly sensual or ‘romantic’ person after the deed, or really ever. Instead he just goes about the room like any other time. Going into the bathroom and getting a cloth, wiping down anything left over on either of your bodies.

The conversation that happens after is nothing different then other times. Anything new happening? How are the kids doing? Do you wanna get something to eat? All things that can be talked about over dinner, can also be talked about while naked.

B = Body part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He’s an ass man, there’s no other way to say it.

It’s like the pen you fiddle with without thinking. His hand just naturally goes to your butt when you get close enough. Sliding into your back pocket or cupping under it without even thinking during the conversation.

Taking your hand when he’s already seated in the room. Pulling you into his lap without taking a second thought, or even pausing in the conversation.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

Logan has reached that magical age where nothing that comes out of a human really bothers him anymore. War in trenches and fields have made him numb to vomit and shit. Blood just came with the territory of his life. And cum? There was nothing special about it.

It was just another thing to wipe off with a warm towel. Part of the clean-up that happens during conversation. Like another breed of pillow talk. Wipe-down talk.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self-explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He’s had fantasies, but only fantasies, of doing it on a motorcycle. Like in bad music videos he absolutely didn’t watch over one of the kid’s shoulders.

The only reason he hasn’t told you was because you might actually want to do it. And, no matter how romanticized bikes are shown in movies and everything, balancing is a bitch sometimes. Especially with a woman on his lap or while over top that same woman.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Logan is an old, old bastard. From women to sometimes men he’s experienced almost everything. There is nothing you can do, suggest or be ashamed of that he hasn’t seen the worst version of.

F = Favorite Position

Logan has always given off this vibe of being feral. That’s he’s walked the line between wild and city for so long that he just doesn’t care what kinda vibe he gives off anymore.

This could be why he likes to take you from behind. Sometimes your shirt wouldn’t even be off when the strong, but with gentle pressure, pushing on the back of your neck. Pressing your torso down into the bed, the floor or the grass. The fabric of a bra or shirt protecting your breasts from the rubbing against the surface.

Of course he’s always willing to change it up if the situation calls for it. But there is nothing prettier in this world then watching you like this. When your legs starts to quiver and hands are searching for anything to hang onto, there’s no mercy for you.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

He only really jokes around in his dry humor sort of way. When you ask if the door is locked, worried between kisses, he’ll go: “if they come in, we’ll see if they wanna join.”

“Wait, really?”

“Hell no.” He’ll say, moving things along to keep you from making an actual joke out of it.

H = Hair (How well-groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Logan has stopped caring about body grooming before you were born. After finding his preferred style of beard, hair and carpet of chest hair there’s been no point in trying out anything else.

The first few times together your hand would slide through his chest hair. He never asked whether you liked it or not. He wasn’t some teenager who would examine his jaw for any new bits of facial hair. But he watched as you toyed with his hair, trying to decipher whether or not you approved of it.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…) 

Romance and sex are almost two entirely different areas to Logan. Being dragged through a hike in the woods to a beautiful view, camping and then kissing under the stars are one thing. Sliding into the same sleeping bag because it’s just “super cold” and hands leading to other places was a whole other thing.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

Masturbating is the equivalent of a cooking show to Logan. It’s something to entertain you while the stuff you actually wants to do isn’t available.

Sure, he’d rather having you going up and down instead of himself, but his hand is a decent enough replacement. At least until you get back from…whatever.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Logan is one of the few people on earth with next to zero prejudices. After years fighting, living and just existing with all kinds of people there’s too much difference to make any stereotypes. That being said, almost every woman he’s met has been a strong woman. As tough and take no shit as any man he’s met.

Feminine things; pink lipstick and panties with garter belts. Dresses that twirl and high heels. These were things that were for a special occasion. When everything and everyone is safe.

That’s why he was quiet when he entered your shared room. Closing the door behind him while you showed off the amazing prize on sale. Light pink garter belt attached to white stockings.

“It was my size and more than half off, isn’t it the greatest?” You asked, sticking white foot out towards Logan.

He gently held your ankle. Thumb rubbing over the soft fabric. “Yeah, greatest.” He says, trying to remember if he closed the door.

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

He prefers a more secluded places. Not specifically your room but just away from people. Really it’s any room that happens to have a lock on it will be fine.

All that matters is the sex itself, not the location. So long as there’s no kids around, or anything poking everywhere that’s not supposed to be poked. This entirely based on one experienced in a supply closet chosen in the heat of the moment.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

The only time motivation really hits him is in the morning. When he presses against you, either on purpose or not, and the only thing between were the blankets and PJs. By the time he’s fully awake your already all over him, waking to the lovely sight of breasts moving freely under a sleeping shirt.

The rest of the time it’s all up to you, Baby. Give him a few seconds, a few kisses and touches, and he’s ready to go.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Pain play, on himself or you, absolutely not.

Memories of scream from horror and pain has made worse scars then any knife could ever make. He has yet to go deep into why he won’t do anything near that area. Instead just giving a sold “No”, in a tone of voice that stops any other mention of it.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He prefers to give rather than to get. No offense to your skills but it takes direction and time to teach his partners what he exactly likes and how to do so. By the time you get a hang of it he’s had finished, not the best ever but it’s still an orgasm.

It’s not that he’s an expert of going down on women. The first time he just went at it without thinking. Only slowing down to listen when you tried to suffocate him with your thighs. Although, that wouldn’t be a terrible way to go.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

It’s starts quickly before slowing down when your together. Most of your clothing has some sort of stretch or small tear in them from his too fast pace. Usually the clothing had to removed just enough to get to the good stuff. Other times he wouldn’t slow until there was nothing between either of you.

He go slowly after that. Putting more power behind the thrusts and touching, making you come from skill rather then constant friction over and over until the end.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

The thing about Logan is that he really doesn’t have a definition for quickie. It’s to make both of you reach the end as quick as possible, right? That’s what you do with regular sex, so what’s the difference?

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

He’s game to get a little kinky, really just boiling down to difference positions and maybe some tying up. But serious danger like intense bondage or choking or anything like that is a no go.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

His stamina is like his size, something that he doesn’t really pay attention to. Only really noticing when you had mentioned it. After finishing twice you were weak and sweaty and the only thing making slapping noises was Logan continuing to go on.

When you mentioned it he had to take a second to think. Trying to understand whether or not you were saying this to ask him to take it easier or if it was a compliment. Until you said it again, this time laughing and mentioning that it was better than others before him he was still unsure.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Really the only toy he’s willing to ‘play’ with was something to tie up with. Either you or himself. The only constant was aa spreader bar that you had showed him with a silly grin and a closing door. (That grin on you was quickly gone after Logan realized how much he really liked it).

Everything else was just not something that could get him in a mood or keep it there.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Teasing and toying around just wasn’t Logan. Be it a lack of patience or that it just wasn’t fun for him, he never really teased you. Only accidently keeping you over the edge because, like a lot of times, he wasn’t listening when you were giving him directions.

It’s like the car all over again.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

His noises come from his throat; groans and moans that he tries to suppress with a closed mouth. Only coming out louder when you make that then whole point of the sex. Keeping him down and moving over him, kissing around his jaw and tugging at his chest.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

He’s had anal before, with both genders, so it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. But just outright saying “Hey Babe, can I stick it in your ass?” isn’t even mildly a romantic way to ask. And he wasn’t the kind of guy to play the “wrong hole” game with you.

This left him with one choice. To wait for you to bring it up instead of trying himself. But, if you’re just as unsure as he was it just wasn’t going to happen.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

He’s definitely bigger than the average man. Only knowing this because it’s been mentioned by a few of his partners but wasn’t something he really cared about.

The only difference it made was the cute faces it forced on you. Watching you try to laugh the stretch off while settling onto him. Speaking in a different tone after taking it all in and groaning a little when he begins to groan.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

It, like everything in his life, is just another feeling that controls his life. The same that when he has to take a piss will take him to a tree, or hunger takes him to the kitchen, horniness takes him to you.

It’s only when he finds you alone that he does anything to let you know. Pressing up against you while you’re bending over or at the sink. Leading you into a kiss and making it deeper when you think it’s just a simple one. Or he just outright asks if you’re up for a quick fuck.

The last one only works if you’re especially stressed or angry at something other than him. Otherwise you always laugh it off or tell him to try and be more romantic.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He only falls asleep when he successfully has you trapped against him. His eyes stay closed almost every time, as if he was already pretending to be asleep and was trying to trick you.

Unless your voice changes into that tone he’ll still be holding tight. No matter if you argued or tried to wiggle free he’ll be on his own time. His breathing will get slower, and heavier, until he’s snoring against you.

It’s only when he starts smacking his lips in his sleep that you have a chance to sneak out from him. Usually he’ll stir a bit but fall back when you settle his arm down. But sometimes he’ll snap awake, an impossible grip on you and look of panic in his eyes. Giving that same look back only results in an awkward apology. But being calm, telling him that it’ll be okay in a soft voice, and he’ll be back to sleep.

[vintagesimstress]

VI c. UV_1

(Previous: Changing the texture displayed in Blender)

As mentioned before, the uv_1 map plays a very different role than uv_0: it tells the game where certain parts of your mesh are located, so that the whole thing could move with sliders. It seems many people struggle with it a lot – and to be honest, I have no idea why, as in my experience uv_1 has always been totally unproblematic. Hopefully you'll share my feelings on this!

Let's click once again the little triangle on the right ('Data') and choose 'uv_1' this time.

As you can see, the texture on the model turned very weird – and it'll stay this way, as that map is not meant for texturing. You can as well change to solid shading, if you find that craziness spooky or annoying.

If you switch to edit mode, you'll see that the map looks just as crazy:

UV_1 uses a completely different type of template. It differs very slightly depending on age and gender of your sim; the adult female one looks like this:

You can download all the versions from S4S forum, in HERE (I highly suggest you make some kind of 'Basics' folder for all those things which you'll keep reusing!)

Once you have downloaded it, click 'Image' and then 'Open image'. It works exactly the same as in case of uv_0. Now it should look like this:

You can see that your vertices are twice wider than the template. I'm not sure why the template has been made in this way instead of getting adjusted to the TS4 requirements, but that's what we have to work with. Select all the vertices (a), press s, then x, then type 0.5 and press enter. Do not move your mouse! Your uv map should be twice narrower now:

We still have to move it, so that it'd align with the template. Select all again, this time press g, x and type 512. That's exactly the number of pixels you need to move your mesh to the right. Now it should finally look correct.

Just like in case of uv_0, the top part is completely done, so the only thing we have to do is unwrap the skirt. This time the only valid methods for doing it are no. 1 and 2 (see: VI a), namely moving the lines manually or using cylinder projection. As at this point making manual adjustments would be too cumbersome, we're going to use option no. 2.

Select the lowest line of vertices to select your whole skirt, go to front view this time (num 1) and choose cylinder projection.

Move the newly unwrapped faces up or down (g, y), to the black area, so that you could properly see them.

You can see that my dress got unwrapped a bit unevenly – there are small 'steps' on the sides. I highlighted all the faces which should form the left edge. Now I'll move the highlighted parts on the right to the left, and the non-highlighted parts on the left to the right, and then it should all look and work fine.

Tip: you can also move them precisely into the right place by typing g, x, 1024 (to move to the right) or g, x, -1024 (to move to the left)!

The weird part at the bottom is the closing circle; you can select the central vertex (which is here doubled on the sides), weld it and move it down, to more or less align it with the lowest row. Or simply wait with closing your dress until you're done with uv_1 ;). The bigger problem is that step my dress still has at the top. I'll select all the vertices below it and just very gently move them along the x axis to the left. Now, that looks better:

And now, just as we did before, we have to connect the skirt with the top. It's a bit trickier than in case of uv_0, because you can't do it in one piece: your mesh has to be split along the back and both sides. Take a look at the top mesh. Let's start from the left: click the rightmost face and then, in 3D view, the faces right underneath it. This will tell you where your skirt should be split.

I'll deselect the face of the top, select the whole part of the skirt left from the selection and then move it to the left (g, x), separating it from the central part.

That weird line at the bottom is the closing circle again – I'll delete it and redo it afterwards, it'll really be easier.

Repeat the same steps for the part on the right.

The edges of those three parts should be, if possible, straight. Mine aren't. To be able to adjust them, I'll select the edges and temporarily split them (ctrl + e, in 3D view). Select a vertex or two above as well, or the uppermost one won't get split!

(If you're having problems with selecting edges, it might be smart to select the whole skirt (not the top!) and change it back from tris to quads (alt + j). Then you can easily select edges by clicking them while holding alt).

Split also the top row of vertices, to separate the skirt from the top. Just for a second.

Now select a whole edge, press w and choose 'Align X'

Repeat for the remaining edges. If you want to and feel that it's needed, you can also straighten other lines in your mesh.

Now it's finally the time to put it in the right place. Select the skirt and move it up (g, y).

One can immediately see that it's way too tall. Scale it along the y axis until it looks more reasonable. It should start at the lowest line of the top and end a bit above the feet. Nothing big will happen if it covers them, but it has to fit inside the picture!

And now just scale and move each of the 3 parts individually, along the x axis, to match them with the top.

The only thing left to do is to weld the vertices. It's unlucky that we separated the skirt from the top; now we have to select all, remove doubles and then once again split the side edges to be able to weld everything properly. Just like with uv_0: select a vertex, press w and choose 'weld' from the drop-down menu. Repeat for aaaaaall the vertices connecting the skirt with the top.

Sometimes the vertices can be quite far away from each other. Is it still safe to weld them? I'd say risk it. If you see some weird stuff happening in game when changing your sim's body type, you'll know you have to fine tune it: straighten some lines, make them more regular etc. However, chances are quite high that it won't matter at all.

Select all and remove doubles. Yes, again (I keep doing it all the time, that's probably why I love the edge split modifier so much).

And now a very important, final step that I usually forget about: you have to revert the moving and scaling changes you made at the very beginning. Select all and press g, x, -512 to move it back into position, and then s, x, 2, to make it twice wider again. Otherwise TS4 will get quite perplexed with your mesh (and so will you, seeing everything being weirdly deformed and moving with all the wrong sliders)!

As you see, it's not very difficult and once you get a grip of it, you can do it in no time. To be honest, 90% of the time I don't even do the whole scaling and moving thing; I just open the picture, to know where the feet are, and adjust the rest to the top. UV_1 is really not that bad, at least as long as you don't have to deal with the upper body half.

Here are just a couple of general, closing remarks which I'd like to share:

If you move any vertices of the top, immediately move them on the uv_1 map as well. I try to avoid it at all costs, but sometimes I can't resist making just one teeny tiny adjustment... Arms are usually not a problem, neck can get problematic, and breast area is an absolute nightmare. I already mentioned it once, but honestly, better dissolve vertices and cut new edges with the knife tool than move anything in there.

If you're frankenmeshing, remember to weld any vertices you merged in 3D view! If your mesh is getting split in game when you move any sliders, that probably means you didn't connect those parts on the uv_1 map (or that it's vertex paint... but that's another story).

Of course, if you added any other parts to your mesh than just a skirt – or if you frankenmeshed a thing, but changed its location, e.g. took a hair ribbon and put it on the skirt – you have to put it in the right place as well! In case of frankenmeshing you just have to change its location on the map; if you made it yourself, you'll have to experiment with different types of unwrapping first (pssst, projecting from view usually isn't a bad idea).

There are also certain cases - rarely, but still - when it might be a better idea not to properly unwrap a part of the mesh, but weld it all together to a little dot and put it in the right place on the uv_1. The first example which comes to my mind are 3D buttons. I always weld each button to a single dot, so that it’d be changing its size evenly, without deformations. However, this comes at a prize of an increased risk of clipping.

And finally: if you're having big problems with uv_1 and my method doesn't work for you – or if you made your mesh completely from scratch, so you don't have an unwrapped top – you can always make a data transfer, copying uv_1 data from another mesh. I won't elaborate on this one, because Teanmoon already explained it all in her amazing tutorial, which you can find HERE. Scroll down a bit until you see 'UV-1 Transfers'. I think I used it myself once or twice in the past and I was quite pleased with the results :).

***

Once again, I'm sorry both for how long you had to wait for this tutorial and for its final length. I swear I intended it to be a simple, concise explanation ^^. I hope that at least it's all clear and will help you avoid any problems with uvs. Please tell me if you have any questions or if something doesn't work for you – really, I mean it! Half of my inspiration for this tutorial comes from me watching other simmers struggle with making their first pieces of CC, as it helps me notice what hasn't been explained yet.

From now on we'll be moving into the dangerous territory of clones, cuts, regions, bones and weights, and I need some time to figure out how to divide this whole topic into sensible parts. It's not even that hard, but very interconnected, and that makes it difficult to tackle – as covering it all in one part is absolutely out of the question. Please have some patience with me and stay tuned!

[tayerroos]

Patchwork Tales: Book 1

A “9" roleplay compendium.  Read on AO3 Chapter: 5 [First] [Back] [You Are Here] [Next] Warnings for this chapter: None

[m39]

History of the Creed - Part 1: Assassin’s Creed 2

So… I’ve decided to do a marathon of my favorite game series, Assassin’s Creed (minus [probably] the first one) because Valhalla (which I’ll not buy until one year after its release) and some part of me decided that I should review them.

But wait a minute… I hear one you saying. Don’t you have over 250 Doom WADs to check?

Well, yes. But then again we kind of like to pile on new idea after another to do when there’s an opportunity. There is still the Galaxia WAD in make for one of you who liked my WAD reviews but I believe that the AC reviews will take a lead for now.

Also the reason that I’m not reviewing Assassin’s Creed 1 is because now when I think about it, it doesn’t sound that good as it was.

You are having a PTSD attack over flags, Templars and “side missions”.

Okay, let’s talk about something else. What I’ve decided to do is to play these games in a semi-completionist style, in other words: if there are some side activities in missions, I am not expecting to replay them to get it all 100% because I would go nuts restarting the mission/control point every time I failed this one, specific side activity. But the rest as in: all collectibles, side missions and places to clear? I’ll do my best to do them all… Even Odyssey…

…

I’m fucked.

But enough of that. Let’s talk about the game that is proclaimed to be the best game in this series.

ASSASSIN’S CREED 2 (The original PC release in Europe: March 5, 2010)

PLOT

It is Italy in the early Renaissance times. You are Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a young lad from a family of nobles who’s head of the family, Giovanni, is an Assassin. One day you find it out when your father and brothers are imprisoned and the next day they end up executed so you swear revenge on those Templar MoFoes for what they did.

Ah, revenge, the good, old plot device that never gets boring when it’s done right. And by being done right I mean when it has a nicely written characters. And that character is Ezio. I mean, who doesn’t like him? This motherfucker oozes with charm and personality. And Roger Craig Smith only solidifies it. He even gets a good character development. Example: When Ezio kills the guy who betrayed his family, his next goal is to run away to Spain with his mother and sister. After living two years in his uncle Super Mario’s villa, training under his eye and reading about Assassins and Templars, while still wanting to escape Italy, he’s now having a doubts about this plan and not until the harsh talk with his uncle decides that he’ll help destroy the Spaniard’s band of goons and get a revenge on him.

The secondary characters are fine but that’s it. They are perfectly okay with few of them standing out like Leonardo da Vinci (seriously, your best friend is Leonardo. Fucking. Da Vinci.). The villains are also just okay. Some of them have a personality of a Saturday cartoon villain, some of them are more dimensional. Rodrigo Borgia however goes to the former group. I mean, I don’t find him terrible at all, it just I wish he were better. But props to Manuel Tadros for playing him. He did a very good.

Oh yeah there is also some stuff in the modern times. It’s not bad but it basically exists only to move the plot forward and give us a reason why you can see the stuff from the past. But hey, the Desmond Saga is still better than this Initiate bullshit of the modern days plot.

GAMEPLAY

Assassin’s Creed 2 is basically the first game on steroids. You assassinate targets, you sometimes run using your parkour skills and sometimes fight with the enemies. There are some new stuff when you care this to Assassin’s Creed 1 like: Being able to use two hidden blades at once, healing yourself with medicine, shooting enemies with your loud hidden pistol, using smoke bombs, throwing money on the ground (LEAVE ME ALONE YOU BARD HYENAS!) and poisoning people, making them go apeshit (which I used only once in this run, in 13th sequence to be exact). Asides from the regular guards and archers there are three new types of enemies: Brutes, the heavy armored fatsoes, Agiles that can dodge your regular attacks and Seekers, who have a long ranged weapon and can easily find you in a haystack. You can also buy new, better weapon/armor and a bigger sacks for your knifes/medicine/poison. There is also a notoriety meter. When you fill it to 100% the guards will automatically be suspicious when you are in their line of sight. You can decrease it by ripping off posters, paying off heralds and killing the witnesses.

However, in spite of all of this crap that was added, this game feels easier than the first one. It’s not like it’s somewhat major con for me (I would rather play the game that is too easy than too hard) but I can understand some of you have a big problem with that. Imagine this: in theory, when you are spotted, you must use your abilities to run away from the enemies and use combat only as the last resort. But then I ask: why should you do that?! You are so powerful, you can destroy the entire Venetian army in 10 minutes! You are getting more durable and powerful with each sequence! Agiles can die by one counter attack! You can steal Brute’s/Seeker’s weapon, then one-shot them and then use their weapon to one-shot another fool who’s stupid enough to attack you! The fights are that easily! Sure it’s kind of tougher than I remember but still! Even if you don’t want to fight, smoke bombs helps you tremendously in both running away and fighting. Not to mention the enemies being stupid and that they couldn’t catch you most of the time.

Changing slightly the subject, you can also hire mercenaries/courtesans/thieves to help you distract guards. They are pretty helpful in missions, both the main ones and the side ones but outside of them they are rather useless because... well... I already explained you that.

Remember how in the first game you couldn’t swim? Well, now you can do this and use gondolas. Personally, however, I felt like I was faster on my own than on a venetian mini-boat.

ACTIVITIES

There is many stuff to do in this game. Like much more than you think. You can for instance buy paintings, collect money from chests/codex pages/feathers, find glyphs and solve their riddles, (like in previous game) you can climb on viewpoints to reveal a huge chunk of map, deliver letters, race to beat the best time of members of the guild of thieves, beat up unfaithful husbands, collect 6 seals to get Altair’s armor and fund for renovations of many buildings in Monteriggioni. Most of this stuff gives you more and more money every 20 in-game minutes by increasing the town’s status (which you have to withdraw from your villa).

In other words, the predecessor of your typical, modern, Ubiconic game. Personally I enjoyed doing these stuff but be warned; if you want to go after feathers, check a guide on their locations (same with Monteriggioni’s roman gods’ statues). I know at least one guy who went insane after trying to find the last one in Tuscany.

Liquid Bogan (in the background): F̴e̸a̴t̸h̶e̵r̵e̵s̷ ̶a̴r̷e̵ ̵l̴i̸f̵e̶,̴ ̶b̶r̸o̷t̷h̸e̸r̶.̸ ̶W̷e̵ ̶m̵u̵s̴t̴ ̸c̷o̸l̴l̴e̴c̸t̵ ̷a̸l̸l̷ ̸f̸e̸a̶t̷h̴e̶r̴e̵s̵,̶ ̷y̵i̵s̵?̶

He’s definitely fine.

THE GRAPHICS AND SOUND

This is where it turns into mixed-bag. While the sound effect are still very good, the graphics however, didn’t age well. Sure, the landmarks still look awesome and I love some of the details like the fact that some dust from buildings comes off when you climb but the character models… I don’t think they survived the time after the game’s release. The textures look sometimes blurry as shit, facial animation looks from time to time wonky, it looks especially bad in cutscenes. Then again, I don’t think people liked how they looked even in 2009 since I remember watching a review from my native country and the reviewer said that the character models lack polish when you take a closer look.

The soundtrack though… Jesus. Like, what can be said about it after so many people said earlier? There is a reason why people are calling it one of the best soundtracks in video games of all times. I would choose you three of those worth a listening but asides from the first three in the official soundtrack (for obvious reasons) there is too much to choose. So, here’s the whole bloody soundtrack.

STABILITY

Even though I played the PC version (and I heard that the PC version was a mess at the beginning) I didn’t really had many problems. Framerate was constantly smooth and I didn’t notice any drop in it. There were however 2 nasty bugs. The first one crashed the game when you have to choose if you want to play the memory or not; it happened at least 3 times. The second was when trying to assassinate Antonio Maffei and that monk fucker decided to noclip himself into the tower. Like- What the- WHAT THE FU-

Technical Difficulties.

Maybe it was because I paid the nearby herald. I don’t know.

SUMMARY

Despite its graphics getting somewhat dated and the game being kind of buggy, Assassin’s Creed 2 is still a fantastic game and I fully recommend it to you. Check it for yourself (if you haven’t already) and while at it, tell me your opinion about this game.

Thank you all for reading this long-ass review and I’ll see you next time.

Bye!

[decandantfics]

I Trust You

Ant had been practicing for weeks, working so hard to perfect his skills. Ever since that production meeting when the BGT team had so casually told them what they wanted him and Dec to do, Ant had been working feverishly to make sure he knew what he was doing. You see, this wasn't just any old skill like singing or learning a dance routine, this was knife throwing. And he would be throwing a knife at his best mate. Well, not directly at him, but in his immediate vicinity. Which meant there was a chance of accidentally hitting him. Swallowing hard as a nervous knot formed deep in his belly, Ant pushed down the mental image of a knife stuck in his best friend's chest, and focused back on the board in front of him. Partially extending his left arm in front of him, he grasped the blade of the knife in his right. Right, one...two...three! He counted silently in his head as he brought his right wrist down to meet his left in time with each number, letting go of the knife on the count of three. He had hit the bullseye perfectly. Now that he felt he'd warmed up by getting a feel for where the bullseye was located, he removed the knife from the board, stepped back to his mark, and placed the blindfold over his eyes. Repeating the process, he threw the knife again. Apprehensively, he removed the blindfold. A bit too far to the right – better than to the left, he reminded himself – but the knife had still landed in the outer edge of the circle.

He should have been in bed ages ago, but instead found himself in the games room of his home, standing in front of the knife throwing board yet again. It had been a long, hectic, but very fun, week – he and Dec had presented four of the 2019 BGT semi-finals so far, with just tomorrow night's show left to go until they could have a rest on Saturday to prepare for Sunday's big final. And Ant was so, so tired, but he just couldn't rest. Tomorrow afternoon, he and Dec would be recording the opener for semi-final number five, which involved him throwing a knife at Dec while blindfolded. His Adam's apple bobbed with another nervous swallow before he paced back to the board and repeated the whole throwing process again. This time, the knife landed straight in the middle of the bullseye. That was more like it! He repeated the throw 20 more times, silently chanting the mantra his knife throwing instructor had instilled in him to ensure he remembered to do everything necessary to complete a perfect throw. Finally satisfied that his throws were as good as they possibly could be, Ant shut off the lights and climbed the stairs to the bedroom he shared with Anne-Marie.

He had told Anne-Marie not to wait up for him, that he had some work to do. She had nodded at him knowingly in mock seriousness, while wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. She knew exactly what he was going to be doing, and it certainly wasn't going to involve him sitting at his desk doing paperwork for his and Dec's production company. Ant had grinned sheepishly, knowing he'd been caught out, and let out a small laugh at her cheeky antics. "Go on, away with you!" he shooed her up to their bedroom, chasing after her like a mischievous child while her merry laughter rang out ahead of him. Sharing a passionate kiss, they had said goodnight, and Ant had made his way back downstairs to the game room to do that "work" he'd mentioned earlier.

That was over an hour ago, and as Ant snuck into their darkened bedroom, he could just make out Anne-Marie's golden hair flowing over her pillow, framing her beautiful face. He loved her so, so much – he really couldn't believe how lucky he was to have her and her two daughters in his life. They reminded him every day to live his life to the fullest and to find the positives in everything. He honestly couldn't imagine a life without the three of them anymore. Having quickly changed into his nighttime boxers, Ant let out a deep sigh as he relaxed into the mattress, gently taking Anne-Marie into his arms. His mind wandered to the one other person – other than his family – whom he couldn't imagine life without: Declan. That man – slight of frame but massive of heart – owned such a large piece of him that Ant knew he would never recover if he lost him. Dec had been Ant's one constant – the only unchanging detail in the ever-changing fabric of his life. Out of the whole mess of the past two years, Dec was the one part of his life – the one part of him – that had never changed. Well, perhaps he had changed a bit – Dec was now a dad, after all, and that had certainly changed him. He was way more tired than he used to be for a start! But now Ant had moved 8 miles away from the street where he and Dec had shared so many memories. It still ached to live so far away from each other, but he and Dec had found a way to make it work. Because of course they had – they were Ant and Dec, after all – and he cherished the time he spent with Dec every week outside of work when they would meet up for lunch or dinner, or would simply hang out together, talking about life, NUFC, basically anything and everything that came to mind.

Conversation hadn't always flowed so smoothly over the past year as it did now. Ant had to admit that they had stopped being Ant and Dec for a short period last year, the tensions caused by his inexcusable actions weighing heavily on their relationship. But they had talked it through as only they could – not shying away from difficult discussions that sometimes resulted in tears and/or angry tirades at each other and life in general. Ant felt terribly guilty about everything he had put Declan through over the past couple of years – 2018 in particular – and it hurt to think what his only friend had suffered because of his actions. Dec had always been such a sensitive soul, always showing empathy when those around him were upset or hurting – sometimes to the point of choking up on live telly and having to blink away tears before they could roll down his cheeks. Dec hated it when Simon or another of the judges on BGT was particularly harsh to a contestant on the live shows. He had caught Dec surreptitiously wiping his eyes a couple of times this week in the brief moments between camera shots when he thought no one would catch him in the act. Perhaps that was the biggest change in Dec over the past year, Ant mused: he had become far more publicly emotional.

Dec had been self-conscious about his short stature and slightly effeminate looks for as long as Ant had known him, and had therefore often felt the need to play himself up as a tough guy while on screen. He was extremely private – he didn't want others to see his deepest emotions, didn't want to expose his incredibly vulnerable side to the world. Ant had always been more comfortable with showing and expressing his emotions in public, but he understood why Dec preferred to hide that intensely private side of himself behind a shield of tough resilience. And he was a tough guy, to be fair. He was fiercely competitive – to a fault, Ant thought with a wry smile – and had a fiery temper that you definitely didn't want to be in the firing line of if he had entered his Scrappy Doo mode. An affectionate, amused smile curved Ant's lips as the nickname he had coined for Dec so many years ago came to mind. But truthfully, Dec was one of the strongest people he knew, beaten to that post only by his mam, Christine. Which, he supposed, made Declan the strongest man he knew. But as Ant so well knew himself after the past couple of years, being strong didn't come without a fight. And he knew Dec had struggled mightily in his absence last year.

Months ago, probably against his better judgement, Ant had requested the official tapes of the final two episodes of last year's Takeaway from ITV. It had broken his heart to see Dec looking so lost and upset, and he had wept when Dec nearly broke down on stage in that first solo show. Oddly, it wasn't as difficult as he had thought to watch Dec on his own – it was pure torture seeing him with Holly Willoughby – perhaps because observing Dec's broken face and weary body made him realize just how much he was needed by Dec. Even just thinking that made Ant feel a bit ashamed – what sort of sick person would want to see their one true friend suffer just to make themselves feel needed? But in a strange sort of way, he knew Declan would understand exactly where he was coming from – it was good to feel like your presence in someone's life meant so much to them. It gave your own life an extra bit of value to know that someone was so dependent on you that they couldn't be truly happy without you. Perhaps the sign of an unhealthy relationship? Nah – they'd lived like this, always in each other's pockets, for nigh on 30 years now, and it had worked for them so far!

His brain came full circle again as he remembered how Dec had broken down during rehearsals for the first semi-final on Monday. Brian Gilligan had chosen a song called "Lost Without You" – Ant had never heard of it before – which had utterly heartbreaking lyrics. As he and Dec had sat back in the audience section – they liked to watch the acts rehearse from the audience's perspective since they were almost always backstage during the live performances on the night – he became aware of Dec's body shaking. They were sitting side by side, a little way back in the theatre, arms and shoulders pressed up against each other. Ant was enjoying Brian's performance – it was a hauntingly beautiful song – but wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to the lyrics, his mind whirring with nerves – he was about to make his first live return to television that evening. As he glanced over at Dec, though, noting the tears trickling down his face, his ears picked out the words as Brian continued singing:

'Cause I've been strong for so long, I never thought how much I needed you, I think I'm lost without you....

With the sudden realization that Dec was crying because the lyrics described how he had felt last year, Ant felt a huge lump forming in his own throat as he wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulders, guiding Dec's head onto his shoulder. This really, really hurt. Ant could feel Dec relaxing into his hold, but the guilt welling up inside of him was overwhelming. He just had to say something. In the end, all he could come up with was a heartfelt, "I'm so, so sorry, Declan." Dec had lifted his tear-stained face from Ant's shoulder, raw emotion gleaming in his eyes, and replied, "It was all worth it, Ant. I've got you back." It still blew Ant away that Dec would consider the immense stress and heartache he had suffered – all alone – to be worth it just because it meant that he had his friend back by his side. But Ant knew he would have done the same for Dec in a heartbeat – they loved each other, they would do anything for each other, and it was as simple as that. Dec had forced Ant to be selfish last year – refusing to even mention work whenever they met up – making him think of nothing but himself and his recovery. It was what Ant had needed, but he still felt awful for having caused his best friend so much pain. Shoving the feelings of guilt back into their corner in his mind, knowing that as soon as he let them have free reign he'd never get any sleep, Ant snuggled closer to Anne-Marie, breathing in the soft scent of her perfume. He knew he was loved despite what he'd done – Dec had always passed on multitudinous messages, tweets, and letters of support from the public every time they met up last year – but while the public's support meant the world to him, it was the love within his own, tight-knit circle that meant the most. As long as he had Dec and his new little family by his side, he knew he'd be able to get through whatever life threw at him. And with that thought, Ant finally dozed off, getting some much-needed rest before another hectic day of BGT madness.

                                                        ~~~

Rehearsals were well underway for the fifth semi-final of Britain's Got Talent 2019, and Ant and Dec were in the midst of a quick discussion with the production team regarding the opener for tonight's show. They had run through it all before on paper, but now it was time to iron out the final details. Ant exuded nervous energy, his fingers twitching and his body seemingly unable to keep still, while Dec...Dec seemed quite relaxed about the whole thing, nodding calmly as one of the team showed him exactly where to stand in front of the knife throwing board. Ant was unbelievably nervous, and he was seriously wishing that they had shot this idea down the moment it was suggested to them. To be fair, they had both protested quite loudly when the production team had first laid out their idea for tonight's opener. But in the end, they had reluctantly agreed to do it – although Dec was vehement that he would not be the one throwing the knife. He wanted nothing to do with the responsibility of throwing a weapon at his friend, and said he trusted Ant to do a better job of it than he ever could. His belief and blind trust in Ant was quite touching, really, but Ant wanted nothing more than to be the one leaning up against that board today. Despite how well his practice had been going, there was still a latent worry in his mind that it could all go terribly wrong. He was more than thankful that they had put their foot down when it came to the type of knife he would be throwing. The producers had wanted him to use a "proper" knife like the ones you saw professional knife throwers using – marked by a wide, dangerously sharp and deadly blade. No, he had refused to go along with that, and said he wanted as small and innocuous a knife as they could possibly manage without it looking ridiculous. He could sense Dec's gratitude as the producers finally caved to his demands. Ant knew how terrified Dec had been last year when that magician had thrown a knife at him – Ant had been so scared himself that he'd let out a yelp when the knife went flying through the air towards his friend – and he was glad he could put Dec's mind at ease, even a little bit, with this small victory. But that was then and this was now, and now was when he had to throw a knife at his best friend for the first time ever.

There wasn't long to go before they went on air – only a couple of hours - and he and Dec were already in their suits, ready to record the opening sequence. The hope was to do it all in one continuous take, but if Ant's throw wasn't great, then they could just re-film that part and meld it into the rest of the opening sequence with a bit of a continuity shot. But before running through the entire scene from the top, he and Dec were going to do a bit of rehearsal for the knife throwing bit. And Ant was so nervous he could feel his hands shaking – certainly not ideal when he was supposed to be throwing a knife at someone. Ant felt Dec's eyes boring into his skull, and turned to see him gazing at him with a small, warm smile on his face. It was obvious he could sense Ant's inner turmoil. The next thing Ant knew, he was being smothered in a full-blown Declan Donnelly bear hug, with Dec's hot breath ghosting past his ear as a whisper became audible, spoken so softly that only Ant could hear it: "I trust you." Ant's heart swelled with gratitude and love for the man currently wrapping him in a tight hug – Dec always knew how to make Ant feel better and wash away his nerves, and now was no exception. Ant could feel himself take a deep breath as Dec gave him one final squeeze before pulling away. Then, "I guess now's when I'll find out if you want to kill me!" Dec observed cheekily, giving Ant a playful wink and lining himself up in the middle of the X on the board. Ant couldn't help but grin as his friend gave him another encouraging smile. Okay, then, Ant thought to himself, this was it. He lined himself up with his mark on the floor, then stared at the board for a moment, orientating himself. Lifting the blindfold from the table, Ant saw Dec lip his licks nervously out of the corner of his eye. Of course Dec was a bit nervous – he had never enjoyed any of the dangerous stunts they had pulled over the years on their shows – but his trust in Ant was still evident on his face as their gaze met one last time before Ant's eyes were covered by the blindfold. "All right, then, after three...." Ant rasped out, nerves making his voice sound croaky. "One...Two...Three!" As he let the knife fly out of his hand, Ant winced, half-expecting to hear Dec cry out in pain. Instead, an amazed, but decidedly mischievous, "So you don't want to kill me, then! Good to know!" rang through the air, as Ant took his blindfold off to see Dec standing there, staring with wide eyes at the knife that had landed perfectly on its mark, a few inches from his head. Ant let out a relieved laugh, while Dec stuck his tongue out at him, an impish glint in his eyes as he stepped away from the board, jokingly clutching at his heart as if he'd been hit. Ant playfully whacked Dec's shoulder as his friend let out a giggle, before enveloping him in a quick hug – more than relieved that it had gone well. They practiced the throw a couple more times, now acting out the scene as well, before Ant decided he felt ready to try filming it for real.

As they got into position to start filming, Dec reached out and squeezed Ant's arm gently, meeting his gaze with eyes that spoke of total trust and gleamed with love. Ant smiled gratefully, and as the cameras started rolling, he switched into professional mode, acting out the scene with Dec. The words flowed easily between the two men as if they were just having a normal conversation, not filming a scripted segment for a TV show. As they neared the knife throwing area, Ant felt the nervous knot re-forming in his stomach, but he kept his face impassive, continuing with the scene as if nothing was wrong. Ant and Dec were walking so close to each other now that their arms were touching, the contact helping to soothe both of their nerves. Grasping Dec's upper arm gently, Ant pushed him towards the board, as Dec pretended to be puzzled. Right, this was it. Letting out a little chuckle as Dec acted utterly terrified and quoted the line that had followed them for decades, "He cannae see, man!" Ant put on the blindfold. Nerves getting the better of him, he fumbled blindly for the knife, muttering, "Okay, right. Here we go, then...Where's the knife." Readying himself, Ant straightened up, facing the board, and pushed down the panic creeping up his spine. It was fine, he was on his mark, he'd made sure of that. "All right, then, after three..." Trying to disguise the tension in his voice, but failing miserably, Ant began the countdown (or count up, as it was in this case). As he half-shouted the number three, his voice rising as his hand catapulted forward in a calculated throw, he felt the knife leaving his hand. But it felt wrong, like it had flown out of his hand at an angle rather than straight forward like it was supposed to. His heart in his throat, Ant reminded himself the cameras were still rolling as he hurriedly removed the blindfold. And there Dec was, looking thoroughly shocked – remember, we're still filming, Ant reminded himself...but completely uninjured. Ant's mind had been playing tricks on him, the panic of the moment making him think he had messed up the throw – it had actually been just as perfect as the one in their very first rehearsal of the day. But he couldn't celebrate quite yet, they still needed to finish the scene. The hard part over now, Ant focused all of his mental energy on making sure he didn't mess up his lines as they acted out the remainder of the opener. Finally, the director called "Cut!" while Ant and Dec high-fived each other excitedly. They had completed it all in one take – no mistakes, no flubbed lines, and, most importantly, no one had died.

"See? I told you it would be fine," Dec teased. "I nearly lost it for a moment, there," Ant admitted, running a shaking hand over his forehead as the adrenaline rush kicked in. "Yeah, but you were great – wasn't he fantastic, everyone?" Dec raised his voice as he addressed their crew, "I think Ant here deserves a round of applause for that performance." As the crew clapped and added in some whoops and cheers of their own, Dec turned back to Ant with a naughty smile and quipped, "Never knew you were kinky like that, by the way – I quite like the blindfolded look on you, love!" before winking and wandering over to the huddle of crew members watching back the scenes they had just recorded. Mouth hanging open in mock outrage as he let out a scandalized guffaw, Ant could only thank his lucky stars that he had found Declan all those years ago. They trusted each other, understood each other, and could always make each other laugh, no matter the situation. What they had together was precious, and as he followed his friend over to the crowded monitor, Ant felt like he was the luckiest man in the world – and with a true friend like Dec, Ant thought to himself, he probably was.

[fantroll-purgatory]

Fantrolls: A Self-Review Guide

I wanted to write up a quick guide on how I handle reviews in case you guys wanted to do some Homework on your fantrolls while our submit box is closed for the next little while. I’ll break it down part by part. 

Themes: People don’t always tell us the themes outright, but when I’m analyzing a troll, it’s usually where I start. I read through the whole thing and either mentally Or physically write down a note of everything I see. I ask a couple of questions:

-What are they trying to accomplish? What is your goal here? Keep that in mind throughout the character building to make sure you do what you set out to do. If you want to build a certain type of character, have that type in mind while making decisions. There should be no frivolous decisions when building a character- everything should in some small way define this character. 

-If there are multiple themes, how do these ideas connect? Is there a way to do it better? Is there anything extraneous? At this point, if there’s anything unnecessarily clunky getting in the way of the theme pulling through strong, you may want to ax it, or make it a less important part of the character without deleting it entirely. Remember here that sometimes less is more- for example, Orion is already a lot of themeatic baggage, you don’t need to try to make Orion the Barber Shop Quartet Masseuse (though you could, I guess). 

-What do I already know about this theme? And what more could I know? So at this point, if the character theme is... for example, knights, I’d mentally go through everything I know about knights. They’re noble, they’re chivalrous, they have a code, the style and responsibilities have changed over time, they appear in a lot of stories... I ask myself a question like- are they trying to theme after Real knights or Storybook knights, because those are different? And then I research whichever direction they’re leaning. Here you should gather up as much trivia as you can. If you’re not fond of Extensive research, a wiki walk should be okay for most themes (some must be handled with more tact than that, but generally speaking).  Pick which parts of this information interest you and that you want to incorporate and which parts don’t interest you so much, then as you build the character keep these parts in mind. 

Name: I have a bit of a tendency to be most lenient here except when it comes to names that are just Totally off kilter or names that are insensitive in some way. You can get really attached to names, so it’s understandable when you get wary about changes. A good way to combat this is to come up with a themed name in the first place. If you already have a character, though, renaming can be tricky. 

You can look for etymological roots for the name, alternative spellings and older versions. Barring that, look for words that have a similar vibe. Search up words that have the same first 3 letters and work from there. It can be a good way to preserve the feeling of the name!

If you’re not renaming and are just looking for a regular way to find names, there are lots and lots of options. Look for historical figures that have names that would not be common or read as names today, look for animal scientific names, look for fields of study, look for artforms or art movements that reflect the attitude you’re going for, look for various stars/constellations, make puns, take etymological roots of words, the world is your Oyster. 

Age: This part is pretty easy and mostly relies on the kind of story you’re interested in telling with this character. Are they young and reckless and a little less experienced? Are they older and living out their last few sweeps on the planet, trying to prepare for or avoid their inevitable future? Are they old enough that they’re just about to be taken off planet and are coping with that? Are they an adult out in space, on the colonialist homefront? Or are they hiding out on Alternia, trying to avoid capture?

Strife Specibus: The #1 rule to keep in mind here is that while fitting the theme is fun, don’t go too specific here. The only time you should have a highly specific weapon is as a joke-- like Fancysantakind. Otherwise people usually have some pretty general weaponry- hammers, guns, sickles, swords. You can alchemize them into newer and cooler forms later, don’t stifle yourself by restricting things too specifically. Instead of butcherknifekind, do knifekind for example. They can still specifically use a butcher knife, but they now have more options, too. Make sure to pick a fun and fitting weapon- you probably don’t want to give a ballerina character a gun, for example. 

Fetch Modus: This one is definitely a little bit trickier. This is where the trivia you researched will probably help you best. The general rule is that fetch modii need to be Functional but Inconvenient. They’re not all wild- there’s ones like the Wallet Modus that are generally pretty normal. A more utilitarian character will probably pick a normal modus that just Works without all the inconvenience. 

You want to keep in mind your character’s personality. Are they stubborn enough to work through the inconvenience or do they need something a little simpler? Are they clever and so they like the challenge, or do they prefer something straightforward? If they play favorites, they might like a modus that keeps their favorite things up top. If they’re more egalitarian, they might have a modus that only lets them eject the least-used item first. Things like that! 

When in doubt, you can always search for a boardgame or simple computer game that fits your theme.

Blood color: When it comes to this, you basically want to make sure you’re considering your character’s social status. Are they an underdog or a big dog? Do you want them to have that purple rage or do you want them to be more mellow? Are psychic abilities important to their character and themeing or would they be just as well in the olive slot? Once again you want to keep in mind that question of What Are You Trying To Accomplish? Don’t arbitrarily position your character, keep in mind the blood traits and use those to your Advantage when character building. 

Symbol and meaning: This one’s both tricky and has a lot of room! You can use one of the extended zodiac for your character, obviously. There’s also other constellations, alchemical symbols, etc, etc. I’ve listed bunches of various symbols that can be used before, you just have to look for what fits the Vibes. The Themes. You can also always just make or adapt your own based on the sign languages! We’ve had a few people take symbols like The Atari symbol and just edit it to fit a sign language- stuff like that can work out well! 

Trolltag: Get Fun. Don’t be scared to use really long and pretentious words- the more pretentious the better. The most important rule here is, though-- remember that characters “pick their own” trolltag. In character, this is the username that your oc has chosen themself. This means that you have to choose a name that they would use to describe themself. You can’t insult or mock them in the trolltag unless they would insult themself. This troll tag represents their interests and what image they want to put out to the people they talk to online. 

Quirk: Quirks are another area where you can do literally anything, really. Reflecting the symbol or a number theme is always a good and easy way to go, making references to lusii, making references to stars, choose how they emphasize, choose how they capitalize. Are they formal or casual and all that can inform the quirk, too. 

Equally important to quirk is the Way they talk. Do they use a lot of slang or formal grammar? Do they abbreviate or always use long forms? Do they use purple prose or only really simple words? Are they quick? Choppy? Do they ask lots of rhetorical questions? Are they long-winded continuing to ramble on forever and ever without pause all the time or do they only do that sort of thing when they’re nervous or never at all? Do they show all their anger through chat or do they carefully structure everything to present a perfect image? Lots of emoticons or none? 

Special Abilities (if any): Remember that rusts through golds all tend to have certain amount of abilities (though some golds seem to Possibly not have psionics, the rules around this aren’t Quite so clearly defined yet) in order to make up for the fact that they’re physically weaker. Don’t just take them on- try to make them the character’s own. Goldbloods tend to have doublesight, meaning their psionics come with some kind of futuresight- use that uniquely, make it something special and themeatically appropriate. There are many different types of telekinesis, so don’t be afraid to explore for a rust. Don’t forget that indigos have Strength and purples have chucklevoodoos. 

Lusus: For some trolls this is really easy. It’s a Themeatically appropriate animal. It can get a little trickier than that with some themes, though. When it comes to those kinds of themes, look for animals that have symbolism behind them that might represent some virtue your character holds, or that shows up in iconography around your theme. Another simple solution is Environmental play. If you can think of a themeatically appropriate hive or hive location for your character, start looking into what kinds of animals live there and pick one of those! You can also think functionally- what do you want the lusus to do for your troll. Conflict or comfort? Those things can feed your decision for the lusus. 

Keep in mind the lusii patterns. Winged lusii tend not to show up until ~Jade/Teal or higher, though there’s exceptions for themeatic mutations. It seems like Mammals even of the mythical variety are most common for rusts, browns, golds, and olives. We don’t know much about limes/cherry reds, but arthropods are acceptable for them. Once you hit Jade+, reptiles and insects come into play. Lusii can HAVE disturbingly human halves. It also seems like Actual Musclebeasts cannot be lusii in most cases because they are... terrifying. Purples have Aquatic Mammals. Violets have actual water creatures, not aquatic mammals. Fuchsias have The Squid Mom, but can adopt additional pets! 

Also remember that lusii are a big part of a troll’s life. You can work those into the character backstory and personality really beautifully. Vriska’s brutality, for example, comes in part from the fact that she’s had to kill people her whole life to keep her lusus alive. What are your lusus’ needs? What is their relationship like with your troll? How has that impacted your troll’s personality? 

Personality: I’ve done a bigger post about this elsewhere, so I won’t go into this too heavily here, but remember that you want depth. Don’t just say They’re Nice and move along! Niceness has facets that can be explored. Keep in mind again that question of what do you want to accomplish. If you have a guard character, are you looking for a stern and serious guard, or a guard who is trying their best but is a little clumsy? Either could be objectively nice, but have different levels of professionalism, different ways of approaching their job. Think about character motivations here, why do they do what they do? What are their relationships like? This is what makes your character really shine, so give them the attention they deserve!

Interests: Interests tend to be in a feedback loop with personality and themes. You want themeatic and unique interests. You don’t Just want video games and music, because most people like those. Sure, you could have a character who likes those to a Big Degree and then it would be important, but you should always get more specific here. I like googling lists of hobbies, or even looking at the wikipedia List of Hobbies. You can usually scroll through and spot lots of things you’ve never heard of before. Unique, quirky interests can breed the kind of Weird Specificity spark into your character that a lot of trolls have. Make sure the hobbies have an ends to them, too. Your character should either do them for fun or in pursuit of a goal, not just because you said they do it! 

Title: Now this is a liiittle too complicated of a topic to really cover in a single section, because titles have been being debated over forever and ever. Basically speaking, you just want to look at the character’s personality, look at their strengths and weaknesses. Decide if you want to strengthen their strengths or help them work on their weaknesses and become better, and then pick which title fits that. I’ve discussed the aspect traits in a post before, so you can use that as a loose guide to help you find your way (though this blog and classpeculation are still open to help you out if you need it)!

Land: We unfortunately haven’t been told much about lands or quests in Homestuck official lore, since most characters never even finished their quests. But what we know is quests have to do with title and probably have to do with the kind of growth into the role that the title implies. When you’re naming a Land, a good general rule is to do Land of [A descriptor of some kind, something that describes the vibe and appearance of the land] and [Something quest related, something that implies the goal]. A good example is John’s Land of Wind and Shade, and Rose’s Land of Light and Rain. 

Dream Planet: I’ve also discussed lunar sway assigning in another post before, so I won’t go into big detail here. You just need to make sure that it reflects your character’s personality and way of interacting with the world. Don’t be biased by aesthetics- Nepeta is a dersite despite being bubbly and Vriska is a prospitian despite being a bastard, after all. 

Design: We have a whole big post about Alternian fashion design rules. In general, you just want your design to be Functional (unless you have an over the top character who doesn’t care about function!) and Theme-Appropriate. Does it fit the character’s vibe? Does it fit their caste? A lowblood character with a noble moirail will more likely better clothes than one who is entirely self-reliant, for example. Does it fit what we know about personality? A hermit and agoraphobe will want to stand out less than a flashy fame-seeker. Does it fit their occupation or their hobbies? Those are the kinds of ideas to consider! When all else fails, a pair of nice jeans and a t-shirt usually work. 

Also be careful when designing past-inspired characters. In Homestuck canon, even characters who are very interested in their ancestors in the past don’t tend to dress like it’s ancient times in ALL the time or in all ways. It’s unlikely most characters will want to walk around in a full suit of armor Even if they’re knight-themed unless you give strong character reason for that being the case! 

I hope this all helps you guys with character building even when we’re on break from full reviews! Thank you for the time and all of your support! ❤

-CD