#sorry it took me a bit to reply!!

[significant-narratives]

thank u for ur nice words on william gfx post!!!! wanted to drop by and say ur tags made me want to chew the drywall and also to say it's like u plucked something from my brain bc i have a half finished mtkachuk snow and dirty rain post in my drafts..... i WILL finish it 🫡

hello!! you're so very welcome omg... i was simply Overcome with Emotion. sometimes a hockey player is something that can truly be so personal!! and your edit was honestly just incredible showstopping awe inspiring!! what kind of witchcraft.

mtkachuk snow and dirty rain edit... an Inspired choice. i am sending so much motivation and creative energy your way ✨. you will not be defeated 🫡

[magicallwomen]

Rose nods, letting her thumb make patterns on Chang'e her hand. "Exactly, there are so many who don't know how to deal with immortality and the loss that comes with it. The amount of people you see dying. Some get afraid to get close to anyone mortal after a while." She paused for a moment, deep in thought before continuing, "I am not. I will love that mortal being with all that i can, take care of them and be grateful for the time they were in my life." She smiled, thinking back to some of her lovers from the past.

" Witches can get burned up, depending on how much magic they have to sustain themselves. i've yet to meet a witch who was over 700 years of age. Have you?" Rose was really curious if the other knew something about this that she didn't know. You are never to old to learn after all! Even if you have lived for over a millenia. "Do you ever take mortal lovers?"

★ THE DIFFERENCES IN MORALITY FLATTENED over time. Chang'e didn't place much stock in whether she was seen as benevolent or otherwise. Logic was either a tool or weapon depending on the hands that wielded it. Everybody had their own reasoning, making the line between retribution and revenge nonexistent. All to say, she supported Rose without judgment.

The corners of her lips pressed into a shy smile when Rose took her hand. The breeze carried Rose's mention of loneliness like an echo within cavern walls. Chang'e felt the chill beneath her skin. "I am grateful for your company too. There are many immortals I've known who gave up their immortality to live as humans again. When you're human you fear that everything ends, but when nothing ever ends, people can end up missing the beauty of impermanence." Not that she shared the same sentiment yet.

"I didn't know witches can die of old ages. I always assumed you'd discover or create new magics to keep aging at bay."

( @magicallwomen )

[hotjaneaustenmenpoll]

Hullo! No “Death Comes to Pemberley”? Matthew Rhys is my all-time favorite Darcy.

As Death Comes to Pemberley was set after the book I didn't put those men in (I was very tempted as I love Matthew Goode as Wickham) but here is another mini-poll

[i-may-be-an-emu]

saw your "luke playing dogs" post, and may i add: the small blond dog from "Too Big To Be A Jockey" ?

(signed a silly tumblr lurker)

you’re so right!! 😂

(3rd picture from a live show, not mine. Luke was a dog.)

[lcgacyofages]

Sometimes it was good for Ogden to get himself out from beneath the work he created for himself. He knew very well this was a dangerous game he was playing with beings who far outmatched him in many ways, so each piece had to be carefully considered, thought about, and prepared for. And the Lighthouse gave no solid way to keep track of time, with day and night mingling together in a twisted mix.

Seeing the streams of warm light coming through the buildings of Treviso was a reminder of what time was. And how it never really stopped. It was a reminder of what was waiting for them outside of the sanctuary they found. The streams of light, the sound of people rising for the day, to even the enemies they would need to face.

Lucanis's words brought his thoughts back to their errands, a light, polite smile coming to his features as Lucanis explained.

"The Wardens have a deal with the Dye Masters of Anderfels," he explained. "It's why we have first right to the Anders Azure before it gets sold abroad. We can handle our weaponry well enough, but the textiles is best left in the hands of those trained in those arts."

Ogden's eyes traveled to take in their surroundings again, making note of the people, from Antivan to Antaam, mentally counting out of habit from his training. It was always good to know the amount of people in an area, just in case.

"I'm glad to give company. It gets me away from burying myself in strategizing too much." It was good to have a plan, but it was also good to know how to make plans on the go. And sitting around thinking up a plan could make it harder to come up with one in a pinch. "Depends on the oil," Ogden pointed out. "I'm no good for knowing if we need more cooking oils, but might need some for weapon care, between Davrin and Taash."

Closed starter for @lcgacyofages | Ogden & Lucanis 

           As the sun rose, the ‘City of Crows’ fell into a deep slumber. 

     Treviso went dormant as the candles were extinguished, the sun ray’s illuminating the alleyways in their absence. A calm, nearly blissful silence seemed to envelop the city as her most active residents retreated into their homes. Only the presence of Antaam guards break the illusion of peace, their stares lingering on every individual that passes through. Though Lucanis knew they had to be aware of his identity, neither him nor the Qunari made a move as they passed. 

     In the evening it was easier to blend in, but the Crow had noticed their reluctance to act even as he moved in broad daylight. Their conflict was one of attrition he supposed, a political game of cat and mouse played behind the scenes. 

          “ The Crows have a lot of their work done in-house normally. Or through a deal bargained with another Crow House ” Lucanis explains quietly, carefully maneuvering through the light early morning crowd. “ I imagine the Wardens have similar arrangements, but I have taken to commissioning services outside of the Crows instead. I find their quality to be a little better in many cases ” 

     Inner-House drama aside, the assassin found many benefits from engaging with the local community a bit more. Though their scouts were efficient, the perspective from a local simply offered another type of valuable information. Having his weapons serviced by them simply afforded him a cover for operating out in the open more.            “ Normally I would come alone since it's a small task. But given the situation I think I prefer the company ” He doesn’t mention the demon by name, lucky enough that Spite seemed too ‘bored’ to appear. " Did we have enough oils at the Lighthouse? I did not check "

[meownotgood]

uhm mags.. d-do you have.. uh- like a folder or album of some sort of- uh.. aki nsfw fanart? maybe share? 👉🏻👈🏻

i save em in my files for- uhm.. research. I kinda need more? thanks 🫶🏻

I'll bless u anon cos I'm nice. be blessed by aki filth

one (also here's the source) (this one's my favorite huehue)

two, three, four, five (this artist has so many great works)

six

seven and eight (it's aki + himeno so ignore if you don't like)

nine and ten

eleven (this is a video with audio so TURN YOUR SOUND OFF) (also I don't really like the audio in general tbh... so I recommend watching without lol)

twelve (also akimeno) (but the way this artist draws aki..... so cute and hot)

[hantheone]

@imjustsuki123

Jisung smiled at the pout on Suki's lips, leaning down once more to kiss it away. It was a brief, sweet little thing, really, nothing more. But it got his desired effect as she was smiling now, arms still around his neck and his around Suki's waist, unwilling to let go.

He knew the boys would tease him for it, as they were still around, and he could feel Hyunjin's smug grin as the male was cooking up all the teases he would be hearing. It would completely destroy him with the blackmail material Seungmin and Jeongin were getting right now, no doubt, but he couldn't care less.

He had Suki in his arms now, with the promise of a brief date not much later.

“Don't worry baby, I still have like, an hour of practice left. You can grab your stuff in the meantime and come back early, if you want to. I'm sure the boy wouldn't mind. No, actually, now that I think about it, they would definitely not mind with how you make me feel like I'm on stage.” – he joked, although his words were the truth.

All he wanted was to woo his lover, his Sun, the one who brightened his days.

“Are you two lovebirds done? We still need to go over a few choreos, Romeo.” “Yeah yeah, Hyung, I'm going. I swear, cats can be so sassy...” – he replied as he planted a soft kiss onto Suki's forehead—a promise to meet for that picnic date later. “What was that, Han?” “N-nothing! I'll see you later, okay princess?”

With that off he went, dragged away by his loving group, already teased for being so openly affectionate with his girlfriend. But he couldn't help it, and they knew; it was something they loved about him, actually.

The fact that he loved with all his heart for eternity.

[skyshinigamialchemist]

Hello again! I wanted to ask about the sub-au where Robert breaks free of the hivemind. Because when I think about all I can see is Robert living in a survival horror game trying to avoid the hivemind, while the mind in question is just going "pspspsps Here Robert! Come back boy!"

sorry about the delay, I saw the ask, started to think of a reply, and then completely forgot about it. whoops.

AND NOW IT'S BEEN IN MY DRAFTS FOR A MONTH

akshsjsuebwh

sorry brain got eaten by Work

ANYWAY:

SO

YOU AREN'T. WRONG?

So it's shakily set for just after Sean joins the Hivemind fully, Robert and Kim both have a touch of it but haven't joined entirely

Robert notices that Something Isn't Right about how Sean is acting around Legundo, and Legundo tries to calm him mentally.

But Robert Knows that it's false

and so he tears the Hivemind out by the roots

unfortunately (for him), he doesn't kick out all the power from the Hivemind when he does, so he's abruptly Very Mortal with a great deal of NonMortal energy

fortunately (for him), he gets very very lucky. the power latches on to his desire to be Free of the North and changes him.

the other main option, the one that happens more frequently? is the mortal with too much power simply. burning up. burning out. trying to contain a power they really aren't meant to hold.

and so Wings burst from his back, as the power swirls itself into its own opposite. and Robert becomes a Creature. Not a Being, not a hivemind. not yet. but a Creature. A human changed by the holding of power beyond their limits.

Robert becomes a Creature of the South, of Warmth and Sun and Growth instead of Snow and Ice and Cold. He screams as the power changes him, as the power breaks free into wings, vines and flowers and southern plants growing, draped over and through and around them

He shudders and looks, wide-eyed, at the table before him, at Legundo and Sean and the knights with eyes sparking green.

He takes a deep, shuddering breath.

And turns to bolt for the window.

He's out the window before the others could react, some small remnant of the Hivemind's massive pool of knowledge letting him use his brand-new wings to escape.

and so he runs. he runs for the forest, finds a safe place to set up camp. and his fire lights easily, the cold seemingly reluctant to touch him.

and, eventually. Legundo appears. alone, in body, to talk to him. it... goes. they manage to talk, for a few moments.

but Robert does not trust Legundo. and so, when The King In The North says something in just the wrong way. he runs. he flies. he heads South, towards warmer territories. all still belonging to the North, for He had conquered fairly and won the Throne, but where Robert could more easily live away from people until he could rescue his king.

Eventually, he is found, or heads back north, or both.

And Legundo sends Sean to talk to Robert

He pulls most of His power away from Sean, doesn't touch the bond that holds Sean to the Hivemind, but otherwise removes most of His touch

and Sean. Sean manages to convince Robert that he genuinely doesn't mind.

how much of his thoughts are still somewhat influenced by that bond? well. that depends on the author! :)

And so, with Sean having convinced Robert that he's okay with this, Legundo now gets to treat Robert like a feral cat he's trying to bring home

eventually, Robert agrees, and a Tie forms between the North and the South

and Robert has his King back (kind of)

and the North has the oh so interesting Creature once more with him

and now he has the time to teach him, to help him grow from Creature to Being

[gingeredmink]

heyyy sou & tats! y'all goobers being silly today?

Tats: G-Goober? W-What?? What's with all the name calling recently? First ratboy now goober? Also what is a goober??? I don't understand??????

Sou: -quietly laughing- This one has.

Tats: Huh, has wha- OH! The silly part. A-Actually I don't think I've been being that silly today. ALTHOUGH earlier today Sou-

Sou: Alright you, I'm taking the computer now.

Tats: -pouts-

[kittycatred]

You think we didn’t get on his case about the lava “prank”?

Enough’s enough, Red. You’ve crossed a line.

Stop.

(Seriously, person behind the screen, this has gone from funny to hitting way too close to home. Please stop. I’ve seen good people get hurt from shit like this.)

ooc, hi i am so immensely sorry for any past experiences you may have been through, i apologize that it may have hit close to home for you, and if i would have known that you were being genuine with your asks to red, i would have clarified and made this post alot sooner

first of all, i absolutely dont think your being sensitive, or a killjoy, everyone has certain things that can bring up or stir bad feelings, and thats nothing to apologize for, you cant control that, your allowed to feel whatever emotions come up, no matter the circumstance

however, im absolutely not trying to invalidate your feelings, because you have all right to them, but i cannot control or prevent everyone from having reminders of bad experiences, as much as id love to be able to do that, i cannot be responsible for what others feel, only how i react to that

i appreciate your concern, but me and green's blog owner have interacted a lot before together, in and out of character, we've bantered like this before in character, and i trust that if they genuinely were uncomfortable, theyd let me know, then id take it down 100% with no issues, if they decide even a week or month from now, that it makes them uncomfortable, then ill still take it down

and that goes for any blog interactions, in the past and future, if a one on one interaction makes someone uncomfortable, then ill take it down with no questions asked

however, green's blog is okay with the post, they found it funny and unserious, which is how i intended it, and because i used their blog's posts, the only reason id take it down is because i involved them and their blog directly

if theres any specific cw or tw i ever need to have to add for a post for someone, i have no issue doing so, however, as much as id love to save everyone from feeling upset, i cant put myself through the responsibility of maintaining everyone's emotions, as to why id only take down something by the request of someone who i involved with

i also think its very important to remember with these blogs, that we are all just playing characters and storylines, i wouldnt actually react in some of the ways red reacts, in real life, i do project and exaggerate aspects of my own personality onto red's, but red is merely a character, and not the actual person behind the screen, nor how they would act or react or say

once again, im sincerely sorry if my post upset you, i hope your able to calm down and feel better, and im sorry that it reminded you of those experiences, but i hope your equally able to understand my point of view as well

[lordincognito]

“Wriothesley, was it? I believe we’ve interacted once or twice before. How are you, Administrator?”

@theghostarcher1

"Greetings! You're absolutely right about my name, although you will have to remind me what we discussed. A lot of chaos ensued in the fortress lately and I'm afraid I don't exactly remember because of it.

Otherwise i'm good just busy with paperwork, you wouldn't believe it but the fortress needs to go through audits and other matters like this as well."

[melverie]

on a scale of 1 to satan how bbg is mephisto

Satan has had far more time to establish his place as the ultimate babygirl (to me at least), so I can't give Mephisto the honor of being anywhere near his level but man the devs are making sure that he's at least getting close

I mean he

is the local horsegirl

apparently has a massive sweet tooth

stakes his entire self-worth on being useful to the future ruler of the land

seems to be great with kids

is super diligent. Just look at how much effort he is putting into journalism despite absolutely having no interest in pursuing that field in the future

is an honorary member of the Anti-Lucifer League, yet refuses to spread any false information about him in the school newspaper and mostly ends up singing his praises instead

runs said newspaper (and as someone who did the same for a year, I respect that a lot)

isn't really all that interested in MC, which is a nice change of pace

and finally, seems to dye his hair purple which makes him look like an eggplant <3

Also when he saved MC from falling on the ground and then brushed it off afterwards because he "only did what anyone would have done" back in season 4? That part was so good

ALSO Solmare could easily give him the perfect blushing face. Just look at him

[iodotsys]

I'm sorry please but one more question,, (⸝⸝⸝╸▵╺⸝⸝⸝) I love your Dib the most of Dibs AU, He is nasty but loveable, I wish he had story of him and your AU, will you write ? Have a good day 🌹

Your wish is my command. I have decided to start writing for my horrible sad Dib and you all get to read it.

I'm well into chapter 1. Have some ambiguous art from it.

[silveredsticks]

christmas eve ramble tags and some pictures of me and nice things from this year that i have randomly at 2:47am on christmas eve decided to post on tumblr. like why am I posting my face idek but I just felt reflective and i always just dump my rambles on whichever blog I'm using the most 🙈 i have not thought very hard about picking these. my motivation is that i want to force myself into acknowledging that for the majority of this year i felt good. I did good things for my health, and at work, and for my friends and family (even though I am desperate always to tell myself that i have never done anything good for anyone ever.) I found a new fun thing & lovely kind fun people to help me explore it. i got to sleep with my hand on/in Henry (cat not popstar) belly fur. yes i started having panic attacks about stuff to do w my dad, and money is tight (i mean i live in syd..) and i miss my mum and sara and i maybeee spent far too much time speaking to my ex fiance until he went on some rant about family law and I got the ick for once and for all lmao - but i was happy on many occasions.

[lastlymatt]

I think it's a couple things. Firstly, Yassen has a blind spot when it comes to Alex. He has Alex here and now, and he doesn't want to lose that. So he won't think about the reality that Alex isn't cut out for Scorpia and won't stay at his side forever. He pushes Alex to try and get him to be on the same page, so he can try to pretend Alex is going to stay.

Secondly, Yassen knows Alex won't kill. He stopped the training session when Alex wouldn't hurt anyone, and never replied to Nile when he told Yassen how weak Alex is. He may not acknowledge it, but he knows. And similarly, we see that Yassen doesn't like to kill either. He says it's a weakness when you love killing. Yassen works for Scorpia just because he's good at killing and it's a job, but he doesn't relish in it. So I think he sees himself as different from Nile and the others who enjoy killing, and therefore sees Alex as an outsider as well, and they have another strange connection that way.

Also, pretty sure Yassen thinks Alex can't leave without being killed by Scorpia anyway. No one leaves, as Julia said. So to him, there isn't a world where Alex leaves him. He either stays with Yassen or he dies.

Referring to this post

All of those are excellent points!

I am a big fan of Yassen having a Rider-shaped hole in his defences. And if the show uses any RR canon, then the outsider who doesn't want to kill connection can even be interpreted as Yassen seeing himself in Alex and wanting to take on the role of John in the relationship (with all the misinterpreted lessons included)

And yeah, it makes complete sense for him to have that mentality of "he stays or he dies", and it makes him very protective, and I love that.

In any case, thank you so much for your thoughts! ❤️

[kooki914]

I know this may sound like a silly question, but specifically for the undertale version of Asgore: what coud a partner do to help him become more assertive? Asking because I'm planning to ship him with an OC and I still despise how basically in the ending Toriel gets to verbally tear intro him and he doesn't bother to defend himself (specially with the "just get one soul and leave to kill 6 more ppl to break the barrier" wich she coud have done herself but refused to while living inside her own little bubble ignoring the suffering of her fellos monsters, I undestand she was grieving but I feel it coud have been done without making her seem on the right and nobody speaking agaist her). I also know that by doing this he may appear out of character or that "he changed just for his partner", but knowing that a partner can help you to change for the better while highliting you best personality traits, and I was wondering wich coud be the most coherent way (my plan is for them to spend at least 5 years together, and that Asgore also helps his parter change for the better since they arrive having strong biases agaist monsters).

I don't think this is a silly question at all! It's something I've tackled somewhat in my Spadesgore fics, the idea that someone's habits rub off on Asgore and what can seem like a negative change to outsiders (him being more closed off and assertive) is actually a positive one in the long run because he actually, y'know, gets a spine and stops putting other people's needs above his own.

With Undertale specifically it's a VERY complicated question because I feel like step 1 of any Asgore development in Undertale is that he needs to fully face the brunt of his actions. I'm actually somewhat of the opposite opinion to you about the "confrontation" between him and Toriel, I think the narrative very clearly spells out that his "violence when you're faced with violence" response was the INCORRECT one (while Toriel choosing pacifism in the face of a bloodthirsty nation was, arguably, the least morally dubious choice any character could've made), but Asgore never... confronted the root of that problem? He essentially got a slap on the wrist for the murder of 6 children, and while that WAS narratively satisfying for a game about forgiveness and letting go of the past, I think a bit of self-discipline is in order for Asgore, post the events of the game. Him confronting HIMSELF rather than relying on someone else to do it for him is kind of pivotal to that, in my opinion, because this isn't something a relationship can mend FOR him. Let me elaborate.

WARNING - since this post is analyzing Asgore, there's implications of suicidal ideation, but it's not discussed at length. And, fair warning, this post is less "proper character analysis" and more "wayward speculation based on narrative beats for the sake of shipping" <3

While Asgore is the type of person to feel borderline incomplete when not in a relationship with someone (see: all of his behavior in Deltarune; and in Undertale the way he just Stops Speaking once it's clear Toriel wants nothing to do with him, it's like he's just entirely shut himself out of the conversation as if he has nothing to offer anymore, only ever speaking in vague platitudes until the final boss is defeated and he's osmosed into the friend group), contrary to what he thinks a relationship Won't Fix Him NOR his issues around self-worth. It's something he has to tackle on his own because, if he enters another relationship without doing so, he's gonna end up in the same cycle of trying to impress his partner, exhausting himself, and putting his partner between a rock and a hard place because he's both extremely emotionally needy while NEVER communicating his needs properly, closing himself off while desperate for intimacy.

It's borderline masochistic, his tendencies to just passively wait for outsiders to judge, reward, punish, and practically command his every action. It's why he's kind of a bad leader? He's community oriented, but in that way where he wants to please everyone instead of enacting lasting change, because (I think) he can't really envision a greater good because he's got anxiety up the ass. He's REactive rather than ACTIVE, and while that's typically not THAT big of a deal (again, his Deltarune self as an example of how you can have a normal-ish life even with that weird mentality), when you're put in the position of a leader and then refuse to make conscious choices out of a fear of hurting someone, you're inevitably going to hurt Everyone, which is exactly what happened in Undertale. I guess an easy way to make Asgore a little more self-assured is, paradoxically, give him less power. This may seem antithetical, but if he's allowed to, like, sit and breathe for a minute without everything resting on his shoulders, and small, inconsequential decisions are up to him without the title of "King" looming over him, it might make him feel more confident in THOSE choices, specifically. This doesn't fix the core issue, though, more just gives him a safety net where he can hide from his royal problems with someone who sees him as more than just his title and duty, which is valid (and honestly really cozy and cute), but I'm here to break people and put them back together, so strap in.

You mentioned your OC is a human who has a lot of bias against monsters initially, so allow me to run (a mile) with that for a minute. You probably already have a meetcute in mind for them, but it's honestly a really good setup, I can't help but throw my two (or three) cents into it. It forces our POV character (the OC) to go through considerable change throughout the events of the narrative (whether you fic this or not you've already implemented character development into your romance plot and I Adore that), and in turn a changing perspective on Asgore himself. Try to think of things a human might hold him accountable for, justly or otherwise, someone who heard of mythical monsters and a terrible king who slays children. Your OC might start off somewhat siding with Toriel at first (as she was the only monster who attempted to SAVE humans rather than kill them), but gradually grow to sympathise with Asgore once they get to know him, not just because he's a walking pity party but because that human and Asgore might have more in common than they first thought. (This is where I run out of info on your OC and can't really fill in the blanks LMAO go wild with this part. It can be something as simple as gardening or something as deep rooted and psychological as "the need to please other people in order to feel like you're worth anyone's time". Bonus points if it's both and the gardening is symbolic of the psychological issues.)

From Asgore's perspective, though, this would be utterly baffling. To this day, I don't doubt he somewhat idolises Toriel, he clearly still longs to be close with her, so to see someone (a HUMAN no less) stop empathising with her feelings and instead side with his own? He'd think they're nuts! ... But also, it'd be deeply validating in that guilty-pleasure kind of way (guilty because he doesn't think he deserves redemption). It actually starts turning gears in his head, though... If someone in a position like that, someone belonging to a nation he's hurt so badly, can see the GOOD in him and try to nurture a bond with him despite it all... doesn't it mean he's genuinely worth something? Even if he himself can't see it yet?

(This is, you may note, similar to what happens with Frisk in most fan-plots, but also highlights where I think Asgore's "redemption" in Undertale falls a bit short on the character level. Frisk never really gets to spend time with Asgore, since it's narratively irrelevant whether they like the guy or not, because the point of their conflict is that Frisk refuses to kill him, and refuses to be killed BY him. It's a conflict that re-states the core moral of the game, while also partly dismissing a genuine bond between the characters because it's necessary for it to stay vague for them to properly represent the narrative forces that they do (humanity and monster-kind). The popular fanon is that Asgore adopts Frisk similarly to the way Toriel does, but, in the game there's literally nothing to support that. The equally valid interpretation is that Frisk sees Asgore as just Some Guy they're lukewarm with for the sake of not kickstarting another monster-human war, even if they genuinely don't like him on a personal level, just like Toriel doesn't anymore. Because, again, there's nothing in the game to support Frisk being besties with literally EVERYONE, they just hang out with monsters sometimes and Don't Kill Them, it's not a high bar.)

IF you don't want to take the angle of your OC siding with Toriel (if the monster bias is THAT bad in the beginning), I'd instead propose really hammering home the monster hatred. Just by existing, by being someone hostile to Asgore over something he DIDN'T expect to get hostility over (the fact that he's a monster, and not the fact that he's a murderer) would maybe make him question why he WANTED to be told he was irredeemable, and why it's so strange to receive that input for the wrong reasons. Maybe he tries convincing the human that, actually, monsters are good and HE'S the one who's to blame for everything bad, and when he's brushed off with "no all monsters suck" it just baffles him more. Bonus points if later on it hits him like a truck that your OC developing feelings for HIM specifically made them get over their monster hatred. He thinks it's a case of "if you learn to love the worst of something you'll love the best too" but then has to come face to face with the idea that he ISN'T the worst of monster kind! That they actually prefer HIS company over other monsters! And not even for superficial reasons! And maybe there's still prejudices to overcome with the human, but they're trying FOR him, not in spite of him, and it's yet another little sign from the heavens to Asgore that maybe, just maybe, he's not as irredeemable as he thought.

Another potential avenue, that's less directly correlated with shipping, is to give him a kid that is his responsibility alone to take care of. Whether that be a literal adopted child, or a kid he has to impromptu take care of for a while, I feel like having someone (anyone, really) other than himself to provide for sort of nudges his priorities back in place (even if it doesn't really dismantle the core of his issues). (My reasoning for this being a potential avenue is how much Asgore's let himself go in Deltarune when no-one lives with him, juxtaposed to his well-maintained house in Undertale where he's constantly taking visitors and patiently waiting for his wife to come back.) Something small and defenseless that depends on him for support and protection is something that could really make him realise how much his well-being actually means in the grand scheme of things, that even if it isn't pleasant he has to stand his ground if only for the sake of this child that depends on him for literally everything (which was, incidentally, also his motivation for starting the war in the first place - avenging the children he failed to protect with a fiery vengeance as the only concrete decision he made in his time as king (that we know of)).

Maybe the point of contact/conflict between your OC and Asgore in this scenario is someone who doesn't believe he should be allowed to take care of a child (what with the 6 dead in his basement), and while the feud may start as mild, it might get more and more out of hand and forces Asgore to actually put his foot down and Demand custody rather than ask politely, maybe because the kid in question trusts him and nobody else for backstory reasons, or because they're literally His Kid (Chara slots in really well into this role IMO but you don't have to go with that route if you don't want to tackle revival shenaniganery). This is, imo, much harder to execute in literary form? (If you're not gonna fic this, ignore this part) It bumps up the conflict from slowburn to full on enemies-to-lovers, even if it speedruns the process of Asgore getting a spine, and if you can pull that off hats off to you but I always struggle with proper enemies to lovers with no intermediary of "friends" in between.

IN ANY CASE, past the "will they - won't they" phase, once they're actually together, I'd suggest your OC lightly nudge Asgore into that self-assuredness he's desperately missing, and moreover I suggest it not be on purpose. While it's probably the healthier option to talk to your partner if they're having self-esteem issues, this is fiction and I love drama, if you expected anything else you came to the wrong person, and ALSO this is Asgore we're talking about. He's the king of "never talk about my emotions, ever" so even if something is brought to the forefront he'd probably just apologise and privately cry about it without fixing literally anything. It would be more impactful (imo) if Asgore chose to adopt some of the habits of his partner without him being prodded over it, or pushed into it. At first, small things, like actually asking for the pickles in his order himself (/ref, meme), but slowly it might evolve into him realising just how much he's been neglecting himself. Scenario example of what I mean - his partner has actual self-preservation instincts and can help themself when in a tough spot, and Asgore is caught off guard when that same kindness is offered to him (as the king of monsters, his subjects revered him so heavily they kind of forgot he can actually get hurt or might need help with otherwise ordinary things, and Asgore stopped helping himself along the way because of it).

A different scenario might be something benign, like an insult or backhanded compliment Asgore brushes off, but his partner doesn't. Asgore might hold the (correct) position that, as a political figure, there's literally no point in trying to stave off every insult or mean opinion, and (incorrectly) asserts it doesn't have an effect on him overall. Because, in reality, it DOES stick. He has a hard time shaking off disapproval and hatred when he's carrying around so much guilt (juxtaposed to how genuinely confident he seems in Gerson's stories of Asgore before his children fell down and before Toriel left, when Asgore could ACTUALLY roll with the punches and not mind public embarrassment because the opinion of the masses didn't matter to him as much as it does now), and maybe his partner can point out to him that he seems weirdly more fixated on the actual Contents of the insult than they do. Where they just didn't like someone's tone or intent, Asgore's actually focusing on What they said, and it's a clear indication of the way he compartmentalises and somewhat takes in every criticism he's ever received. Because depression and low self esteem just does that to a motherfucker sometimes.

Overall there's also a sort of... tricky line to tread when trying to write around/through one of the character's defining flaws. Asgore was always described as a pushover, so what are you really left with when trying to override that fatal flaw that makes him what he is? This sort of trope, "your strongest attribute is your biggest weakness", stems all the way back from ancient Greece because its a GOLDEN trope, and when making fan content I think there's an interesting line that can be drawn. Asgore's best quality is his friendliness and approachable-ness, so how do we NOT diminish that while actually diminishing the FLAW part of that core character trait? Maybe Asgore's more confident and self-assured now that he has a partner that supports him basically unconditionally, but ALSO he still cracks under pressure easily and gives into demands if pressed enough. Maybe he stands his ground more and can actually tell people off without being a total pushover, but ALSO he ends up feeling a lot of guilt over doing so and maybe regresses back into old habits soon after.

Because, again, a relationship won't fix him, and to me that's part of the appeal. Instead of finding someone to "make him whole", it's more about finding someone that's gonna be there for him during the good and the bad days, someone who maybe fills in for some of the traits he lacks, but never overrides what makes him who he is. Because, let's be honest, him being a pushover is probably what allows him to properly consider a relationship with someone who started off so heavily biased against him. Having little self esteem paved the way for him to not dismiss this person outright, opening his arms to someone who started off with genuine hatred towards him, and it's not a good habit(!!), but it's woven into his vary nature as a character, and I always find it interesting to see that push and pull between progress and loving even the bad parts of someone's personality. Again, especially because it's fiction, there's a lot to explore when it comes to that line of thinking, "do I want to make you better or am I trying to change a fundamental part of you"? I don't think Asgore would be abandoning his nature by having a spine and not taking shit from literally everyone, BUT it might be a line of thinking HE falls back on, because he's had literally hundreds of years of this habit built up, it's gonna be hard to make any progress without immediately taking two steps back again. Especially because it's Asgore, he's basically a smiling boulder that refuses to move or change (and I say that affectionately).

TL;DR:

I think finding a way to instill a sense of Inherent Worth in Asgore is a good way to shake him into being a little more assertive. It's what I did in my own fics (and a lot of this post was me re-treading the same ideas with different characters to pair Asgore with), and the premise of someone who dislikes him from the get-go but learns to love him in time is (in my opinion) the best vessel to do that through. Because, if this person, who means a lot to him, can get over their biases and love him, (like ACTUALLY love him, not the way his subjects love their king, but the way a person loves another person) doesn't that mean there's worth to him being himself, and not just what people expect of him? Is the fact that he's beloved by someone he loves not reason enough to try and survive another day, and thrive in the long run?

It's difficult to instill worth in a character that's had hundreds of years of literal and figurative dehumanization on his hands, but it has to start with small things. Him being more than just a king. Then, him being more than just a friend, more than just a person you're eventually going to grow tired of or disgusted with, and eventually someone who doesn't need constant approval to feel like he's allowed to breathe. Small kindnesses go a long way, and if he starts to see himself in someone he wants to protect, or ends up in a position where he's being provided for by someone he loves, it can build up those ideas of worth and (ironically) independence, because it's less about pleasing a crowd and more about Not Dying because he's actually not that bad to have around in the first place.