#thanks for the opportunity for me to ramble lol

[narastories]

Salty #7, 11, 25?

Wohoo, juicy questions lol I think I already answered one of those but I'll answer these now with the Dresden Files in mind <3

7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?*

...

Butters.

No, I will not be taking any further questions on this topic today, thank you. xD

11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

Nicodemus. That's very predictable, but I'm happy to elaborate on the why. I think the fandom hates him for a very good reason, he had done some truly terrible things. Tortured a good man to death, almost started a plague, kidnapped a child, fucked up Murphy's knees, and almost killed Harry a number of times... and that's just his recent track record.

I'm fascinated by him because I think he's an extremely well-written villain. He also reads like a fanatic. I'm sure he has some clear and specific goal and the fact that he turned up three times and yet we know jack shit about his long-term goals and motivations is truly fascinating to me lmao And let's be real that goes so well with his whole theme of being this mysterious guy going around and destroying evidence about himself. (And that makes me want to go on a tangent about how peculiar it is that Harry knows basically the only way to kill him and yet he's alive. Sure, Nic tried to kill him. But not *very* hard.)

Also, I love the fact that because he's so evil we like to dismiss everything he says. And that's so dangerous lol If you think about it, he single-handedly foreshadowed so much. Thomas. The Outsiders. Whatever is going on with Nemesis and the nature of the apocalypse. I think he's getting a kick out of this. He's lying through his teeth and when people stop believing him he drops these nuggets of truth and no one notices...

Yeah, I love him and I hope he'll be back.

25. How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX?

Okay so in this case how I would like the DF to end? It's going to sound sappy but... I just want Harry to be happy. Whatever form that takes. Idk it's just... he suffered so much. He's trying so hard. Just... let that matter. I would like a satisfying, at least partially happy ending. Bittersweet is fine. Just a little teaspoon of extra sugar please and thank you.

Thank you for the questions! xx

[itspileofgoodthings]

one of my favorite things about getting older is that I’m just more sure and more confident in taking control in social situations and making other people feel at ease. I really love it!

[aran-morinorea]

Oh sobbing hyperventilating Glorfindel, we’re really in it now. In addition to requesting a snippet of Nan Elmoth could you elaborate on the “non-Euclidean” part of it? I’m not familiar with the concept. It seems like there’s some funky things going on with space and disorientation. What are you envisioning for the way this place works?

Also get some rest, you can do this <3

Start with the door. Given which side of the tray of food he’s sitting on, and where he was facing when he put it down, it’s probably… this way? He edges around it and counts his “paces” to get to the wall. It’s… well, it’s a wall. He feels along it, picking a direction and trying to find some hinges or the gap between the door and the wall, and he finds a doorframe.

Just the frame.

The baseboards are unbroken, but what is clearly a doorframe outlines a piece of the wall just like the rest of it. He stands up to check, and it goes all the way around. He goes back the other way to see if he just missed the door, but that really seems to be the place where the door should be. It’s just - not a door right now.

Quick math lesson bc I'm a nerd: Euclidean geometry is regular-style geometry. It takes place on a grid, and the grid is made up of regular straight lines. Non-Euclidean geometry takes place on... anything else. A sphere, or a hyperbolic plane, or something. Like how longitude lines are parallel, but they intersect twice. That can't happen in Euclidean geometry.

A fairly common headcanon is that proximity to Ainur warps time and space. It's a fun one, but it's not what I'm working with. What I'm using is that - it costs a lot of spiritual energy to build a person. Creating a half-Maia - which has only been done once - is very expensive. So in order to bear Luthien without being Miriel about it, Melian had to take back almost everything of herself, every blessing she had put into Nan Elmoth over the Ages. That's what cursed it, and that's why it has some of the spiritual and spatial effects that Nan Dungortheb (to which Ungoliant did much the same thing, just because she wanted to) has.

So time does pass normally, though if there's an enchanter involved you can't trust your memory. Space, however, is not at all consistent; it's non-Euclidean. It moves around so that two trees might be three feet apart at one moment and then three miles apart a few minutes later. it does this in learnable patterns, but learning them takes years of practice.

I am also blatantly exaggerating the effects of sorcery. Canonical magic is too soft for this shit, it would take an Ainu to fuck someone up the way Maeglin is casually doing to Glorfindel. However. I'm having fun.

[bookmark-extraordinaire]

Did Az ever have a "how do you do fellow human" phase?

Has anyone ever tried to convince Eden to get a job? If so how'd that work out?

Mhmmm, I don't think Azazel ever had that kind of problems? When he first came to Earth (with all the Watchers) they didn't really try to pass as humans at all. Azazel loved learning about humanity and never felt the need to hid from them, since they couldn't hurt him by human mean. And then after the Flood he was stuck in Hell, where passing as human would have meant death. And after escaping hell, he spent god knows how long in goat form, where he wasn't really expected to do anything. He's had plenty of time to study humans to avoid any incidents, and even when they do happen he usually passes as an awkward dude a bit behind with the times rather than a nonhuman being.

Eden doesn't really need a job since they don't need to sleep or eat and doesn't have a house to maintain. They're perfectly content wandering around and sometimes they pay Eve or Isaac a visit. The only reason they would need money would be if they wanted to give anyone a gift, but they're terrible at giving gifts anyway and the thought never crossed their mind. Or if someone invited them to like, somewhere where Eden would be expected to pay for their own stuff - like a bar or restaurant, to which Eden would decline the offer since they don't like to eat food, or to the movies, to which Eden would be totally okay with mooching off whoever invited them. Eve is the only one who likes them anyway, and she's okay with paying for their stuff every once in a while. HOWEVER. Once Eden will become human, they'll need to eat and sleep to survive, and eventually find a job too! Which is not going to be easy, since Eden will have to first get used to their human body and then human society. Eve and Samson will be there to help them tho. truth to be told, I've never thought about Eden getting a job lmao, I don't even know what they could do. Reply with what job should Eden have once they become human.

[sonic-adventure-3]

wait, there are different types of skates??? what are the different types?

yeah there’s a ton of different kinds!

the first major distinction when talking about skates is of course ice skates vs wheeled skates. i presume you’re asking about wheeled skates, so i’ll jump right into the second major distinction, quad skates vs inline skates.

quad skates are more commonly known as roller skates. inline skates are also technically a kind of roller skate, but culturally they’re rather different, and quad skates are what you think of when you hear the term. quad skates have four wheels on each skate, paired in two sets of two creating a rectangular arrangement, like a car, or most things that have four wheels lol.

inline skates are also known as rollerblades, but rollerblade is actually just the most well-known company that produces inline skates. inline skates can have anywhere from 2-4 wheels per skate (even as many as 5, or in rare cases, 6, though the most common you’ll see have 4), arranged in a straight line underneath the boot.

i’m an inline skate geek so those are what i like talking about, and what i know significantly more about, so i’ll continue talking about all the various types of inline skates under the cut!

first off: recreational skates. they’re also called beginner skates or hobby skates or sometimes fitness skates, but along with “recreational skates” those are more so terms used by people who use other kinds of more specialized skates. often just called inline skates in most storefronts, the only thing that really defines rec skates is that they aren’t any kind of other skate. as such, they vary widely in design but generally have softer wheels that provide a smoother ride but wear down faster, and a brake that attaches to the heel of your dominant foot skate. they’re your ordinary, basic, more beginner friendly skate meant for general, non-intensive use.

one common distinction among them is soft boot vs hard boot. soft boots are where the boot part of the skate is soft and flexible, making them significantly more comfortable, however they don’t offer as much support and can wear down quickly with any intensive use. hard boots are where the boot part of the skate is a hard shell, which are less comfortable and take time to break in, but are more supportive and last a longer time. the two images above of inline skates are soft boot and hard boot respectively.

what’s probably the next most common kind of skate: city skates. also known as urban skates or freeskates, but that last one can be confusing. these skates are designed to be ridden at fast speeds through varied city environments, and as such are more durable, faster, more manoeuverable, and provide more support than recreational skates. they’re built to survive some jumps and stair-bashes and nasty falls. the skates above have a three wheel setup, but both four and three wheels are very common. four wheels are more manoeuvrable, but three wheels are faster and can traverse rougher surfaces, generally.

slalom skates are confusing. they’re also called freestyle skates, as well as freeskates or city skates, because slalom skates are sometimes just city skates with different wheels, or are sometimes fully a different thing.

slalom skates that are specifically designed for freestyle slaloming, the sport of manoeuvring between closely set small cones with figure skating-esque spins and jumps, are less durable than city skates and are more flexible, giving less support but more agility. they have smaller softer wheels arranged with a rockered frame that raises the very front and back wheels, which give more traction and agility in the usually indoor or very even outdoor pavement skating areas.

they’re quite niche, have few companies dedicated to making them, and are generally quite expensive though, so regular city skates or city skates outfitted with similar wheel setups are also common, often more common than specialty slalom skates. hence why the distinction between freeskates and freestyle skates can be very confusing.

aggressive skates blissfully don’t have any other names, they’re (almost.) always known as aggressive skates. they’re designed for various tricks, jumps, and crucially, grinds. they’re significantly heavier and bulkier than other skates in order to protect the wearer, and the bottom of the skates are flat and outfitted with a soul plate that allows for creative grinds. the frames also have a groove in the center to allow for even more kinds of grinds.

aggressive skates always have either 2 or 4 wheels. the one above has four wheels, but there are also setups that replace the inner two wheels with anti-rocker wheels, small plastic wheels that don’t touch the ground, and freestyle frames that have nothing between the front and back wheel at all in various styles, most commonly a sort of triangular groove. both are designed to reduce or completely remove wheel bite found in flat (four wheel) setups, which is when wheels get in the way of grinding and kill your momentum or stop you from sliding. as such, anti-rocker and freestyle setups are significantly easier to grind with, but struggle a lot in doing anything else, notably general handling, wheel durability, and speed. whereas flat setups have a significantly more difficult time grinding, but perform completely fine in almost all other areas. anti-rocker setups are by far the most popular of them all.

i’d say that recreational skates, city skates, and aggressive skates are the most common kinds of inline skate, but there are other even nicher kinds as well.

there are speed skates, designed for going as fast as possible. they have no ankle support whatsoever to allow for maximum agility, and huge wheels and wheel bases for going fast. there are marathon skates, very similar to speed skates except with far more ankle support so you don’t hurt yourself as readily traversing long distances fast.

there are inline figure skates and hockey skates. which fully and genuinely are just their respective kind of ice skate with wheels. they’re mainly used by ice skaters in the off-season, though they do have some support as separate sports, particularly inline hockey.

and finally, there are off-road skates. these bad boys look absolutely stupid with their huge TIRES. not even normal wheels but TIRES. they come in various styles including some that are powered and attach to your normal shoes. they’re absolutely wild all around and i love them.

that’s just about all the kinds of inline skates that i know of, but there may be kinds that i missed or further subcategories or distinctions i’m unaware of. also requisite disclaimer: i am not an expert, i don’t have too much experience actually skating, i just like skates a lot and read about them sometimes. thus, please take my words with a grain of salt.

thanks for reading!

[papakhan]

no problem! to be fair i guess its kind of on me for being on anon, ahah. i dont know if being off anon wouldve made it any better, considering we dont really interact and i was just intrigued by your posts, but...

i fully understand your frustration, i mean i myself am a booneliker (with caveats; i appreciate that he represents an extremely bleak story, and i like to think about the "so what's next?" part) and the vast majority of boone related content is unbearable to look at for me, with how people approach this whole thing. which, it's their prerogative i guess, everyone gets the fun they want out of the work of fiction and i dont wanna assume whats in peoples heads, but damn... what's even the appeal i wonder, of just giving him absolution and a new gf and acting like everything's fine and dandy... dont even get me started on how on the very rare occasion anyone points out the fact he's easily read as being developmentally disabled, it's to be like, yay neurodivergent rep! and not to look at how utterly bleak that is, and how depressing it is that ultimately it doesnt matter, it doesnt materially change the outcome of anything to consider whether that wouldve made him more vulnerable to indoctrination or more mentally detached from what he was doing in the moment. he was given a gun and was told to shoot and shoot he did. every soldier has some reason to be where they are and whatever it is changes absolutely nothing for the victims of their atrocities. the only right way forward is to dismantle the systems that cause and enable this.

i also like the great khans a lot and bemoan the way they're handled in the game. the in-game great khan faction quest, where youre likely going to be breaking their alliance with the caesars legion (at best!)... i mean it feels bizarre, because on one hand of course theyd have compelling reasons to look at the biggest opponent of the ncr, but everything about how that was written feels so flimsy... ack, i could be here all day complaining. oh well. even with treatment they got from the writers i still like to hang out with them :) and to consider what it could all be like if fnv had gotten a Real independent ending, where the khans and the followers play a real major role. i wonder if getting more people to defect from the ncr wouldve been an option. but i'm rambling again!

anyway! thank you for responding, you gave me a lot to think about. and thank you for giving manny vargas some love, he's so underrated!

No worries and yeah I completely understand <3 a fully fleshed out independent end with stuff for all the companions and factions would have been the dream but alas we must use our imagination and write our own

[the-incapable-hero]

yesssssssss please loredump abt nagisa and his sword and the wasteland (rubbing my hands together)

the worldbuilding for your au is so intricate and cool, i love reading all these! it's clear a lot of love went into it across the years~ (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

askljhdkajshflkaj thank you! I'm genuinely so glad that someone's enjoying it! Like I mentioned earlier, this is wildly indulgent for me, so the fact that it's enjoyed by someone else too makes me really happy! Also...

Mwahahahahaha! You've fallen into my trap! With this ask, I can now talk about the (supposed) main storyline of this AU! <-was going to do that anyway

Sorry in advance, this will not be short.

But uh, as a writer, the best way I know how to do this is through a pseudo-story. So that's what we're going to do! And here's a read more for convenience.

So! A few years after the formation of the wasteland Artists, Nagisa joined them following a personal tragedy in his life. He threw himself into the work, and he managed to procure a very interesting item.

It was from him that they got the idea of using swords in the first place. The reason is because he was a prodigy; extremely resilient, focused, and was able to survive being in the wasteland for days at a time. But his trademark was the sword that he wielded.

This sword, the origin of which nobody knows (for now), had an incredible ability: the power to stop the process of corruption of someone, keeping them from losing their minds or the ability to talk. This was a huge step in figuring out how to combat corruption, starting a movement of hope for people to finally get some answers about this disaster.

And Nagisa was the one to spearhead this movement. He was a hero, a legend, a protector, and a ray of hope. So he went from city to city, recruiting new wasteland Artists. This was essentially his crusade.

However, not all was well. His sword was not a magical cure-all and could only pause the process of corruption. Not to mention, in order for a person to benefit at all from it, they had to first survive being stabbed with it. Only after they recovered from such a big wound would they have any hope of living their life as normal.

But it was either risk immediate death and have the chance of a normal life, or give up on that chance and slowly lose your mind.

Despite the wave of popularity, it wasn't long before some started to fear him, and he spent more and more time in the barracks as the wasteland spread, taking more and more Artists with it.

He had a second-in-command: Subaru. Originally, he was meant to wield the sword when Nagisa could not, but unfortunately, the sword seemed to require more than just skill to wield; the same energy that could pause corruption did not flow when held by Subaru, nor many other wasteland Artists who tried.

Nagisa, for being so exceptional and for being able to wield such a unique weapon, began to wear a red uniform, as opposed to the trademark green that symbolized the plantlife the Artists wanted to return to the wasteland.

Mao, who was under Subaru, began to suggest that they travel to the epicenter of the wasteland to investigate a potential source of the corruption. Nagisa agreed, but as Artists tried and failed to make it to the center, the cluster of the swords they left behind as they went mad were stabbed into the ground, and the look of their abandoned weapons gave the epicenter the name of the Steel Garden.

As the day grew closer for Nagisa to lead their best Artists into the Steel Garden, they began to prepare. Mao had tried, just like every other Artist, to wield Nagisa's sword in case he got corrupted one day, but the same outcome happened. The energy did not flow correctly.

A year before the trip, Midori also tried the sword. At first, people were ecstatic; it worked! The energy flowed exactly like Nagisa's! Except it gave him horrible nightmares and a feeling of sick dread as soon as he touched the hilt. He refused to touch it ever again, but he was the other Artist to wear the red uniform, much to his immense dismay. They did keep trying among the remaining Artists, but only one succeeded, only to react exactly like Midori and corrupt just a week later.

As the year passed and more Artists corrupted, there were soon just four left: Nagisa, Subaru, Mao, and Midori. Deciding that it was now or never, Nagisa led them into the epicenter.

When they arrived, they were confronted by someone. A tall figure with dark hair and a calm aura.

I won't give all the details just yet, though.

In the end, they presented Nagisa with a deal. An opportunity. And Nagisa, thinking back to someone close to him that he lost long ago, took the deal, and plunged his sword into the ground among the hundreds of others. Subaru ordered a retreat, which Mao followed. Midori was frozen with fear, but eventually, he was let go as well, only after he was purposefully spared by the stranger and supposed hero. He ran away as fast as he could.

After all, though Nagisa's sword would have been useful, Midori just couldn't bring himself to pick it up.

He ran back to the barracks, leaving the mysterious person and Nagisa behind. He searched the place, expecting Mao and Subaru, only to find the whole area empty, not a soul in sight. He sits down, terrified, and desperately wonders what to do now.

That is where my story starts.

[melit0n]

Thanks for the tag @moonchild-in-blue :D

Six albums I've been listening to (plus my favourite songs because why not):

Now, Not Yet (Half·Alive) - Arrow

Eurus (The Oh Hellos) - Grow

How to be a human being (Glass Animals) - Mama's Gun

This Place Will Become Your Tomb (Sleep Token) - High Water

Preacher's Daughter (Ethel Cain) - Family Tree

Unsettling Whispers (Gaerea) - Cycle of Decay

Looking over this I'm realising how my music taste is on very opposite sides of the spectrum lmao. Got folk music talking about peace and forgiveness to black metal screaming about the bleak reality of modern society. Love it.

Also also! @kkarmatic @branches-in-a-flood @missilesilo @hookedhobbies

[rorys-mess]

I did that Beatles spinny wheel thing (I know nothing about The Beatles) and got Rocky Raccoon, had a listen and I liked it! Thank you for the nice song!

I also got Paul Mccartney but have no point of reference lol.

Aweee :) I'm absolutely delighted to hear you liked the song.

You ended up actually getting the slightly statistically improbable matchup of the original signer with their proper song! (Also one of the songs of the white album that's actually good. Looking at you 'Why Don't We Do It In the Road', the song Paul wrote after seeing two monkeys having sex in the middle of the street, and 'Revolution 9'. )

If you had to perform it with Paul, he's definitely the easiest of the four to do that with. That man would have absolutely no problem taking over 90% of the song and would even make it fun. Probably.

[creaturefeaster]

Hey man!….I hope this is not a personal or invasive question, but do you use a study method to keep knowledge in your mind?...

even if there is some topic that doesn't interest you?...

thank you…

Not invasive at all! I've never been asked something like this, and I'm honored to be asked to elaborate.

These levels of approach might not work for everyone... but I'll do my best to explain some methods that work for me. Also I get really wordy here so I hope you're ready for a read ^^;.

One thing I like to do to try and retain learned knowledge is to approach it from an angle that suits me best. That can mean attempting to absorb the knowledge through something that I know I work well with-- I love documentaries, and dry explanatory video essays on youtube as well. That's what works for me, even when it comes to subjects that normally don't interest me.

Finding the right voice, especially ones with a level of passion and ability to explain the more confusing parts of topics that tend to gatekeep me from truly understanding what I'm hearing, finding something like that always a must for me.

Another thing I sometimes do is view the topic through a lense that pertains to my interests. Every topic, every subject out there, will always intertwine with another topic or subject. Nothing is absolute. It is very likely whatever topic is boring or hard to keep a grasp on for you, will be in some way connected to something else that you are able to focus on, something you already have an interest in.

I never cared about geology in the past, or the composition of rocks and minerals. It was not my thing. Still sorta isn't, but I know that in some ways, it is relative to my favorite interests: biology & chemistry. Looking at geology through the lense of biology has allowed me to understand and remember things that I simply could not get myself to beforehand. And once you have the basic understandings of something, whether or not it is something that interests you... it becomes a lot easier to learn more about it, and retain it as well.

☆Did you know that almost half of limestone is composed of CO2, and the other half calcium, combined into calcium carbonate. This material is often derived from shells of marine life like mollusks. These creatures make their shells from the elements in their environment, taking in calcium and CO2 to make this calcite, which is eventually discarded, eroded, and pressurized into the solid rock we know as limestone. That's why it's often chalky or comprised of odd speckles or shapes-- or even just visible fossils and shell fragments. Those are shells, made by animals by processing elements that had NO clue they were gonna become a rock one day!

That all being said, few people in the world are fine tuned to remember everything. Keeping notes is the easiest thing to suggest, if you know what information you need to keep in mind you can write it down for later. The most famous of people in regards to their awarded subjects are remembered because of their documentation of the topic. That's just notes but written more eloquently.

But also... I get it, notes do not work for everyone. So sometimes you have to take it a step further. If you're seriously wanting to commit to being able to remember things on a subject, whether or not it's of interest, another good way is to become as hands-on with the subject as you can get. Learning (and interest) emerges through experience. Depending on who you are it can be very hard to learn through words alone. Becoming involved in what you're learning is key.

I don't necessarily mean this in the literal sense-- one cannot be hands-on with the subject of history, for example. It is in the past, and all you can do is read about it if you want to learn about it directly. But! For example: Becoming involved in movements that concern you, and community acts that work towards a change in the world is current history... And in it, in being a part of history, you will have a new perspective towards everything that has always driven history. It's likely you will encounter things you have never considered, or never had put into perspective before, and this alone can contribute a lot to better understanding-- and remembering!-- the subject of history.

Repetition is also an important tool for remembering. You know how almost anybody past grade 4 can finish the phrase "The mitochondria is..." ...the powerhouse of the cell? Because they drill it into your head. I personally have the best time with this method. So a lot of the time I will watch/listen to the same documentaries over and over again, or read the same scientific papers many times, typically in tandem with doing something that I like (music, games, walking). Over time this knowledge that I am absorbing will become something I can recite before it's even elaborated upon, because I've seen it over and over again, and it's positive memory reinforcement because I'm also making the experience more enjoyable at the same time.

I have never cared about learning quantum mechanics either, but one time someone asked me about it and I didn't know the answer (and I hate not knowing the answer to something!!!!), and I went on a several week long binge of every audiobook relating to quantum physics, triple times over, while out taking care of my chickens and geese. And I guess now I understand how the movement of every waveform of every particle of every atom in the universe affects every other atom in the universe, and--

☆--hey, did you KNOW that these waveforms are the same things that determine the seemingly 'random' nature of radioactivity and breakdown of atoms and particles, the breakdown of which can lead to fleeting particles, their trajectory in which is also determined by these waveforms, and given the right trajectory and placement in the universe, can trigger a chance fluke in an atom of a protein just by bumping into another particle in the right way, which will then denature said protein, and if said denatured protein is integral to a cell of a living being, depending on it's placement and importance, can then in turn generate a cancer. I still don't have a heavy interest in the theory of quantum mechanics, but I do know it has a deep woven role in biology and the existence of life. And I try my hardest to incorperate that knowledge into the things I write and create-- my favorite kind of note-taking.

To sum that all up... Finding interest in relativity, recording the knowledge you intend to gain, repetition, trial and error, and engaging as directly with the subject as you can... those are the methods of study that help me best. I hope this helps you out a little.

[boyfrillish]

your works have me curious, what else do ya headcanon for our boy victor? :o (and other chars too! i'm just esp interested in how you filled out his blank slate)

Ohh this is a good one. Since I only played Sword for the first time starting in January, I'm still very much in my formative phase for headcanons and stuff. For most of the characters I can't even say I consciously headcanoned yet, even with all my thinking about everyone and saying "the whole of swsh is my blorbo" (admittedly with most of my focus on Victor and Hop because they're my number one favourites and OTP lol so there are definitely also ship headcanons in here, hope you don't mind! ^^"). I'll put it under a readmore since it kinda got a bit long ^^"

So here's my personal "fixed"/"core" headcanons for Victor when it comes to my own stuff:

he's transmasc and gay (this one was probably obvious since I've made on-text trans references in all but like, two fanfics haha)

he's the one who becomes Champion and is chosen by Zacian

Corviknight, Sylveon, Obstagoon and Toxtricity (evolved from the babby Toxel you get as a gift at the daycare) on the team

Fairy type association

He and Hop won the inaugural Galarian Star Tournament together and are the dream team everyone wants to battle but knows will be tough to beat (Hop calling them "Postwick dream team" is a canon thing, so!)

a short king

Now for personality and other random things? I'm open for so many things lol I did start out (even before I played) with the timid/soft-spoken/shy headcanon and I'm still so very fond of him being timid initially (and that's why Sobble as a starter + the Isle of Armor Kubfu are a perfect fit lol) — whether it's only when he's younger or still at the start of the game but growing confident once he gets his starter from Leon and finds he's pretty good at battling (the fact that he got it as a gift from Leon aka the Champion he admires + big bro of his best friend when Leon met him for the first time combined with Leon just being such a sweet and encouraging dude probably helped with that)

But yeah I'm open for many other headcanons/portrayals in that regard lol cool and confident? bless all the fanart. Easily flustered? sweet. On the oblivious side? heck yes. Sunshine boy? Absolutely, he is a whole sunshine boy 10000000000000%! Just give me all the positive Victor content and I'll probably soak it up happily and cry and have it fuel me lmao thank you for my life.

As for his starter, god I simply cannot decide. I picked Grookey in my game (I really wanted Sobble but joked I was obligated to pick Scorbunny because I like football and then GMax Rillaboom came and said "hi" lol) but as mentioned above I'm so fond of Victor with Sobble. But Scorbunny is also a perfect fit so I've just been rotating around for a bit between my fics (though I think I've yet to actually write him with Scorbunny???). Maybe one of these days I can make up my mind for both him and Hop which starter they choose ^^" in any case: I also live for the whole "they gift each other eggs of their starters and some of their 'mons are partners" thing so there's that (in fact it might've been easy to guess that in my world of things their Corviknight are a partners for sure)

Speaking of Hop, it's my headcanon that Victor has a crush on him pretty much since they're kids/since they first met, and is very much aware of it being a crush that just never leaves and his feelings grow stronger as they grow up. Meanwhile Hop also has a crush all along but is a bit oblivious about how to interpret his own feelings until along on the main story (Leon, meanwhile, guesses pretty easily that his little bro has a giant crush on that friend he keeps talking about all the time and lightly teases him for it, cue denial lol). So much potential for both fluff and a dash of angst... mmmm. By the post-credits story lines Hop definitely had that "Oh." moment and then is even more loud about his crush.

Based on me associating Victor with the fairy type, I have the silly little headcanon that at first he just thinks Bede is kinda funny, then it gets personal when Bede very largely contributes to Hop's mid-story crisis, and then Opal rejects him as a successor candidate only to later scout/adopt Bede in front of him. Cue him solo-ing battles against him with just his Corviknight (ok I admit this last part is also based on how it goes in my game lmao Bede is far too easy to beat... both as an opponent and if I team up with him)

Recently I've really been into the idea that Victor is asked to take over the Flying type Gym a couple of years after becoming Champion and then he's both Champion and also becomes strongest ranked Gym Leader (this is me guessing that since Gym Leaders can win the Championship, it's possible to be a parallel thing/Champions in general have a side thing they're doing rather than just being fulltime Champ, idk lol also, he totally beats Mustard's record for a reigning streak). His ace as a Gym Leader is Corviknight! (because what else would you expect from me, I adore Corviknight hahaha)

Now for "where's his family from" I am not sure if I have a "proper" headcanon yet. I've seen the headcanon that the protagonist's family is from Sinnoh and I like that hc, so I adopted that for the meet-cute drabble I wrote earlier this week but with a spin where I kinda combined it with some inspo from Elio|Selene (i.e. Dad's still working in Sinnoh/often away for work + combined with the headcanon I've seen for Elio|Selene's mom that she does have an Alolan background. unrelated sidenote, I'm really fond of the Alola protags' mom lol she's sweet). So basically like with all these other things I'm just having fun playing around with different possibilities at this point!

I'm also so very fond of flower boi Victor and it's one of my headcanons that he loves exploring and really loved the Crown Tundra adventures (and didn't mind that Sonia asked him to do all the work finding the Swords of Justice + was happy about the praise). He really enjoys tagging along with Hop and/or Sonia for fieldwork, and the two make it a habit to invite him along since they value his input and also want to make sure he gets breaks to destress from everything that comes along with being the reigning Champion, especially as the one who caught Eternatus + gained the title when he beat Leon. Especially Hop invites him along since that also doubles as more time together when they're both often busy with their career paths. Also on that note, Leon and Sonia being Victor and Hop's mentor figures just makes me so soft 🥺 the Leon being Victor's mentor doubly so with the headcanon that Leon is transmasc too (which unlike transmasc Victor I can't say is a "fixed" hc yet but I'm very fond of the idea)

(also, while I'm now all on the "Victor is a total career Champ/Gym Leader and thriving" train at this point, I still live for the type of angst where he gets a little bit of selfdoubt crisis — in the early years somewhat more subtle and like a case of stagefright like in my drabble "Believe", then a bit more into the future it's like "oh god what do I even do when I inevitably lose the Championship, can I even continue as a Gym Leader if I lose my title, this is kind of all I have going for me what do I do" but he gets through it since he has such a supportive network of loved ones and friends. Also another tangent here, I also love the idea of Victor as a (part-time) model so lol he definitely has a lot more than just a fulltime battle career)

He likes hanging out in Spikemuth with Marnie, Piers, and Team Yell, and especially Obstagoon and Toxtricity really have fun when they do. On a related note, I like the idea that Team Yell kind of become Victor stans too because Marnie thinks highly of him, so they cheer for him together with her (whenever she's not the one battling him in a match, obviously lol)

I've already rambled so much about various aspects I could think of ahaha so now since I've already talked about Hop + this is a trainshipping zone, I'll add some of my "core" headcanons for him!

is gay (or not clearly labeled but definitely likes boys. this is coming from someone who's very "???" about labels re: my own orientation but definitely is a boy-liker lol so please excuse the bit of vaguess here despite listing it in my core hcs hahaha)

chosen by Zamazenta (easy to guess when Vic is chosen by Zacian)

he's so supportive of Victor's transition, regardless of whether or not Leon is also trans, but it's a bonus when he already grew up with a trans big bro and then his best friend/crush is trans too and that's his two most favourite people in the world so of course he'll do anything to be supportive

fighting type association

he grows tall like Leon

He'd often ramble to Victor about what he's studying and Victor is always happy to listen and loves when he's so excited, so it basically turns into Victor helping him study. Also, they both make sure the other gets enough rest and destresses, already through their teens but especially when they're both grown up and Victor is still Champion (+ a Gym Leader) while Hop is now a fully fledged Professor. Even way into the future it remains a Thing that Hop excitedly rambles about his research or rants when he's stuck on something, and Victor is happy to listen and try to help him get unstuck (and Hop gives him a big smooch in thanks even if all Vic did was just listen and ask questions to hear more).

Most random thing but I so love the idea of either (or both) of them having freckles and same for glasses... bless all the fanarts with glasses for either of them. And while I also love fanart of Prof Hop wearing a more formal look, it's my wholehearted believe that he'll still wear the signature trackies look just with a labcoat now (and — you guessed it — Vic hogs his jackets. Nevermind that he has all the hoodies and fancy jackets and everything, the boyfriend jacket is so much comfier than anything else).

And I'm going to end this looooong ramble to mention that I've been developing fankids for them too! I already talked about them over on twitter and I'll probably talk about them here eventually too haha

Thank you so much for sending this ask, I was "!!!" when I saw it last night and couldn't help myself from rambling on forever lol. I kept the focus exclusively on Victor featuring Hop & them as a couple since they're my main focus so I have a lot more concrete thoughts about them than for any of the other characters (or ships bc I don't quite actively have side ships). But maybe I'll talk a little about others at another opportunity haha.

[phantastragoria]

Hey I’m not sure don’t remember if I sent this too you already or if I sent it to someone else but if I didn’t, I’d like to ask, what would you want in a sequel to the 2021 guardians game if they made one in terms of gameplay, characters and story?

Omg what don't I want LOL. This is opening the floodgates of my mind so reader beware, you're in for rambling insanity...

I'd want it to heavily focus on Nikki! I feel the first game boils down to being her story and I'd like if we continued that but with her having a more direct presence, obviously. Eidos Montréal giving Pete a daughter is the realest outcome ever they were so right for that and I desperately need to see his cringefail dad escapades of figuring out how to raise an emotional preteen girl like this is literally a sitcom setup I NEED to see the outcome of it all.

Joking aside I really want to see how Nikki actually is on the team (Is she allowed on missions? Is she a goofus like her dad and running off into danger??) and how she's dealing with everything post the Magus/Promise/Church shenanigans. The teen years are already really hard to navigate, especially for a young girl, but also adding on having been a bit sheltered from growing up on a Nova Corps ship AND going through the events of the first game... It's definitely going to be rough as hell and I really doubt the Guardians' chaotic lifestyle would help at all. And what's with her immediate connection to the soul stone/gem when it hurt everyone else? Something is going on there with her origins...

I don't want Gamora getting defaulted to a mother figure, but I'd like to see how her and Nikki get along, if at all. I'm sure she's crazy protective of her even if she's not projecting onto her as bad anymore but... only time will tell.

A thought that might not be important to anyone else, but I hope there's a discussion about how Peter needs to deal with Nikki's schooling. I'm sure he'd want better for her than he had had (see- no education past the 7th grade because of the whole being imprisoned thing.) I really really hope he DOESN'T decide to homeschool her though 😵‍💫 She deserves an actual education, but... the Guardians are poor so I'm sure it's going to be a problem of some sort and a struggle unless there's resources for that in their version of the Andromeda galaxy. 🤔

The most important thing ever... I need Drax to learn a musical instrument (saxophone) for fun. Our world will never be at peace until we get to hear him play a little musical tune for real. The character has existed since the 70s and I have no clue as to what kind of jazz music he even played... please let him play :( Less important (jk) but are the eternals like Mentor going to get on his case for not finishing the job with Thanos..?

Obviously, i want to know whatever is up with Richard Rider and his absence. The way the first game continually references him... I don't particularly want it to only devolve into romance, but i do want to know more about what sort of relationship he had with Gamora and exactly why he just vanished without a word to her about it.

Also, why does Peter seem to dislike him? Have they met beforehand? Is he just uncomfortable with another human?? Was he an extreme weirdo to Peter if they had met for real before??? (In the prequel novel Peter saw him during a 3D communications thing, but they didn't speak to each other.) I need answers!!! I want to assume wherever he went, he left willingly, considering he left his Nova helmet with Tivan... but why he trusted the Collector with that, I'm unsure and find it suspicious.

I've seen people suggest there's an obvious setup to some sort of infinity stone/gem and Thanos plot but I dunno... I definitely want to know where the hell his goofy ass went and it'd likely deal with that but if anything, I very much feel the plot would be dealing with more fallout of the War + recent Magus stuff that happened BUT especially dealing with political unease. Specifically the Spartoi Empire and why they went into extreme isolation, cutting themselves off from the dozens of planets they had under their control. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of there being another plot revolving partly around another single stone/gem, or one making a small appearance at the very least, however.

I'm not sure how it'd come together but I think it'd be fun if Mantis + Lady Hellbender + Adam/Pip and Nikki had a B-Team sort of moment if the main team was incapacitated. I'd also be remiss to not mention wanting to see a sort of Infinity Watch reunion/meetup if Heather makes an appearance.

And related to the above, I'd like if we got a moment where specifically Pete is out of commission and we have to play as someone else, if even for only a single chapter (I would love a stealth-like segment where you play as Gamora. Maybe if the team ends up on Spartax she has to snoop around for information?) I do acknowledge that'd be a hard sell for the devs though to add in a completely new gameplay style for just a singular short segment, so I could live without it.

I WOULD like to note I'm in the minority of players who like Peter being the main player character however! I'm biased in finding the concept of the element guns so fun and wanting to be the devil on his shoulder telling him what to say or do lol. That said, I WOULD like to see the base gameplay style expanded upon, especially if it went more of a puzzle focused route! I'm not good at explaining what I'm visualizing in my head, but I doodled a quick diagram that hopefully gets the point across of what I mean about that LOL.

AND!! This is something that bothered me gameplay wise with the first game, with how you can't backtrack to previous levels with your element gun upgrades. This makes sense in-universe since the plot is one linear story but the element additions don't even roll over to New Game+!!! I am haunted by those teal cat beasts on Seknarf-Nine having an elemental weakness icon above their heads and how you can't go back and beat them with plasma and such 😔 I also think it would just add fun replayability and encouragement to find new puzzles in old levels when you get new elements. Maybe this is how you could find more outfit boxes in previously locked off areas? Speaking of outfits...

I NEED new costumes AND all the previous ones used in the first game to be included... this is not a want it is an absolute need. There are so many possibilities for outfits, there's too many to even list here. One outfit related suggestion I have is that, not necessarily having to swap every part of an outfit for different ones, but I'd like to be able to change helmets/hats/hair separately from the clothes themselves. That last one isn't a need, though. I just want more dress up options lol.

Maybe an inclusion of silly in-game visual filters? Like a black and white mode or a faded 70s filter, perhaps one with harsh dark shadows and saturated colors... I doubt this is possible and it's definitely not needed, but who knows where game development will be by the time a sequel happens! (I'd also like silly cheat codes... let me fly out of bounds in godmode and explore the level boundries... jk)

I'd like if the music choices started including 90s/2000s music, perhaps through Nikki collecting Earth junk and her bonding with Peter through that? Very inconsequential, but I would like it if Peter found out that the Star-Lord band DID make a new album at some point and he just never knew. He needs a small win in his little fanboy life (I feel deep within that this metaphorical album would have a blue cover... don't ask me why it just feels right.)

Quick last second list of people I would like to see appear/have some form of significance in the plot:

1. VICTORIA OF SPARTAX!!! Genuinely I want to see her more than anyone, even more than Richard (RICHIE IM SORRY!) I just need to see someone actually write her with respect and not as the second to her brother 😭 I'm absolutely certain she exists in this universe, so please...

2. Phyla-Vell (either as this universe's Captain Marvel or as the new Quasar incase something happened to Wendell between the first and metaphorical second game- Personally I think it would be more creative getting to see how Eidos would adapt Quasar's abilities.)

3. Heather/Moondragon (WHAT is she up to since her Nova Records mark her current whereabouts as unknown? From the same Records she's already been connected to the Dragon of the Moon and -was- prophesized as one out of three people to be the Celestial Madonna, but Mantis holds that title. Did they already fight over the right to it?)

4. SHIP/Aurora/the sentient spaceship from Peter's original 70s comics LOL LISTEN... I have faith in the madlads at Eidos to see the potential in her... PLEASE... It would be so funny.

5. Bug (😔 I know most people don't like him but I swear we can fix him... We already know he exists in-universe by his appearance in the prequel novel AND Mantis literally stating that, in regards to making a comment about Bug during the attack on Sacrosanct "I forgot you guys haven't met him (Bug) yet." Like come on, he's out there!!!)

6. Aradia and Mors, which I know will never happen, but let me believe.

7. ANY of the cosmic/abstract entities... we already know that Lady Death exists + Eternity and The Living Tribunal are known to the general public. I'd like to know where exactly they are because it's a bit concerning that they disappeared when the War had started years ago... perhaps Thanos had a hand in that. 🤔

8. If any Heralds of Galactus happen to show up, even if briefly, I would like the current herald to be Stardust.

9. Halfworlders like Blackjack and Wal-Rus or this universe' equivalents... Theory moment, but the prequel novel confirming that similar experiments happening on Halfworld were also going on in the Mercury base during the War makes me think that they have to be out there. I'd also like to see that Lylla survived and Rocket just didn't know. It'd be nice to see her get to exist outside of being a sad backstory thing that she's been relegated as for the last decade+ in media tbqh.

AND IMPORTANTLY if we indeed get more humans or extremely humanoid aliens in the cast, we desperately need some more diversity because there's no way every single human that makes it to space is white lol...

We're nearing the end now... so miscellaneous wants:

If it wasn't obvious by all my talk of Spartax by now, I want to see what Eidos had in mind for Spartoi culture so badly because the possibilities make my mind race! There's a bunch of little things I took as hints about them scattered throughout the first game, and it's part of why I think the sequel would involve them heavily in some way.

Related to that, I need Peter to think more deeply on his connection to his element guns and the implications of what they're actually capable of. Another gameplay specific suggestion, but I'm SO extremely curious if there being two of them means he could dual-wield two elements at once if he was more confident in using them?? I've been thinking about this for everrr.

And, just throwing this out there, I think it'd be very funny if/when Peter encounters J'son he has the option to just punch him square in the jaw without saying anything LOL.

I hope the epilogue stating that Peter is teaching Groot sign language becomes a significant thing that appears in the sequel :o it'd be really cool to see ASL in a game honestly because I can't recall seeing it elsewhere... and I want the others to learn it to communicate with Groot too!

I want Jack Flag in his prison cube that was drifting off into space to crash land on a tropical planet... but he is then eaten by a space whale RIP...

Finally, Rocket and Drax should start a space Etsy account selling gadgets/knitted items. Perhaps that is how the Guardians will get out of their financial hole once and for all.

[devilsrecreation]

Stuff from TLG I like to think about

Makucha being smart enough to back down in “The Imaginary Okapi” when he saw this:

Hippos are at least one of the most homicidal things irl. But we don’t see that with Beshte or any of the other hippos. In the show, they’re like, the nicest animals ever. BUT, in this episode, we see Beshte charging at Makucha looking like he’s ready to kill him. And that’s downright terrifying, ESPECIALLY from a hippo. What I’m trying to say is, Makucha probably knows what Beshte is capable of and he’s not taking any chances cuz….you know….he doesn’t wanna die.

In conclusion, this is the closest thing TLG got to an accurate portrayal of a hippo.

[onlyswan]

arttt, i’ll cry this drabble was really heart-wrenching to read :(( oc’s lore makes me so sad, it really prevents them from allowing them to feel the true weight of their emotions :(

idk i hurt whenever jungkook is upset bc oc is upset, yk what i mean? that’s how you know they really would do anything for one another 😭

and then the fact that this is set before the giving up drabbles, i think you might have to pay for my therapy now art, i don’t make the rules >:T i wish oc could just drop everything and be with him, or vice cersa; alas, i am aware life can’t work like that, even in fiction 😔

this drabble hurt me a lot, but in the best way possible! i’ve grown a fondness for angst lately 🤭

quick question before i go! what would you say oc’s & jungkook’s love languages are? is there a huge difference between them and how has it impacted their relationship?

great work as always, art! until the next drabble <3

- cats&soup anon

when i write i always need to take a moment and remember the shit oc went through before they met jungkook and it’s truly heart-wrenching every time, especially during times like this >:(

i know 🥺 what a relief that they have each other <3

yk what i understand… 😔 i’ll pay for your therapy after i pay for mine this month. gotta pick up extra shifts LOL

i wish oc could just drop everything and be with him, or vice cersa; alas, i am aware life can’t work like that, even in fiction 😔

but maybe in another lifetime </3 (jungkook told me to say that)

heh i know angst won’t be everyone’s cup of tea so i’m so glad you enjoyed it beloved 🥹🫶🏼 THANK YOU!!!

hmm love languages… rather than choosing just one i think all love languages fill in the needs of a relationship. they both love quality time <3 in terms of physical touch jungkook is the giving type and oc wasn’t really used to that so they realized later on that they love being the receiver 🥺 oc needs words of affirmation so even tho jk struggles with that sometimes he really makes an effort. and yea definitely one of his love languages is gift-giving which oc didn’t really put a lot of thought into at first and was happy and grateful until ykkk they realized ppl could get things the wrong way and they got scared jk would think of them the same if they kept accepting </3 (got even worse after the second giving up drabble) and so they had to relearn how to be comfy with it again. with acts of service… do i even need to say it… i mean… have u met iw!jk

[fbfh]

makey makeover - rodrick x hyperfeminine reader

wc: 1.5k

pairing: rodrick x gn hyperfeminine!reader

warnings: rodrick isn't used to being taken care of but only briefly mentioned at the end, rodrick does not know what hyaluronic acid is

summary: rodrick can never say no to you, but if it means having you straddle his lap while you use all your skincare products on him and listen to music together, he wouldn't want to say no anyway.

song recs: makey makeover - crazy ex girlfriend cast, jesus of suburbia - green day, perfect day - hoku

a/n: I started writing a kids book yesterday?? like I finished the first chapter and outline in one sitting???? it wasn't at all planned but when the muse strikes yk. Anyway I don't think it will take me as long to write so if you wanna read a chapter book about magic and girlhood and unicorns and other mythical creatures with bella sara vibes that's probs gonna be ready reasonably soon lol

tags: @yesv01 @magcon7280 @dustyinkpages @the-snake-pit @kiara7777 @inthehoneymoonwithconnorrk800 @followingthefanfiction @2220825 @Maggzsworld @xiaos_crustytoenails @ionlymadethisaccountbcihadto @strawberryjen124 @Isaentremundos @hxnbah

Rodrick likes to think he's a pretty tough guy. Between being born and raised on the rebellious messages of pop punk music, and the nonconforming ideologies of emo and other alt subcultures, Rodrick knows in his bones that he'll never let the man break his spirit. He'll never bow down to someone just because they want him to do something. He's had countless opportunities to stand by these beliefs at school and at home, and he has never - not once - come close to doing anything for someone simply because they want him to. Rodrick has been confident in his ability to never give into other people’s orders, no matter how much they demand of him. 

Until now.

“Pretty please, Roddy…?” You pout your glossy lips at him, blinking up at him and batting your doll like eyelashes, and that’s all it takes to make him fold.

“...I guess, if you really-” He’s cut off by an excited squeal from you, and he’s glad that you’re too distracted to notice him blush. Rodrick has never felt his willpower give in so fast, but as he watches you rush around your room and smile, delighted that he’d agreed, he realizes that he’d do pretty much anything you tell him too. Ben and Chris would call him a pussywhipped simp, but… no, that’s pretty much it. He chuckles a little at the thought, watching the pile of stuff grow. He recognizes nail polish and tweezers, but that’s about it.

“Thank you thank you thank you!” You say, rambling happily as you settle down on your bed across from him. “I’ve been wanting to do self care stuff but I’ve done so many everything showers and self care nights there’s nothing left for me to do on myself. But you…”

You take his face in your manicured hands, moving him around to inspect more closely.

“You are in serious need of a facial.”

Rodrick doesn’t really process what you’re saying, he just loves when you touch his face like that. 

“...Uh, yeah totally.” He mutters absentmindedly, distracted by your sweet smell. After a moment, he processes what you said, and chuckles, leaning back into your silky pink pillows. “Babe, you can do anything to me, anywhere, anytime.” 

You giggle, feeling your face flush a little as you get all your stuff organized. Rodrick runs his hands up and down your waist, fidgeting with your soft fluffy pajama shorts and big loded diper shirt you wear all the time. He sees the little burn marks and worn out hems and realizes it’s the one you stole from him. He smiles softly, loving the way you look in it even more now. His attention is pulled back to you when you push something over his face, brushing his hair back. You adjust the fluffy cat ears on the headband, making sure you have access to his whole face. Rodrick giggles a little, knowing he must look a little out of place wearing a pierce the veil shirt and fluffy kitty cat headband. 

“I don’t think my forehead has been this exposed since like, 4th grade…” he chuckles.

“That’s good, you’ll have less sun damage that way.” You smile, putting some micellar water on a cotton pad. It’s a little cold to the touch, but after a moment, the feeling of you gently wiping over his face and neck ends up being way more relaxing than he had expected it to. You throw it away, and he hears it land in your trash can with a crinkle. 

“I’m gonna mist your face now, okay?” You say, and he nods. You spray rose water on his face, and Rodrick can’t get over how considerate you are to give him a heads up like that. Rodrick smiles a little as he adjusts to the subtle floral smelling facial spray he’s used to smelling on you. He basks in the quietness of your room, opening his eyes as he watches you sitting on his stomach and looking for the next product. You hesitate for a moment. You feel like something’s missing, but you can’t put your finger on it.

“Oh,” you say, reaching for your phone as you remember. You open up Spotify, and put your favorite playlist on shuffle - the one you and Roddy share. It’s full of both your favorite songs, mostly boiling down to early 2000’s pop punk and trashy pop. It’s chaotic but really does suit you both perfectly.  Rodrick smiles suddenly as he instantly recognizes the opening notes of Jesus of Suburbia begin to play. You take out your favorite serum, jasmine and blackberry hydrating jelly, and place a few drops around his face. 

“What’s that one?” Rodrick asks, picking up another bottle. 

“Hyaluronic acid.”

Rodrick looks at the little dropper bottle.

“Does it, like, melt the flesh right off your bones?” 

“No…?” You chuckle, massaging his cheekbones and jawline with your fingertips.

“Then why is it called hydroponic acid?” He asks rhetorically, “Acid is supposed to melt shit.”

You laugh again, and he makes a mental note to sample your laughter for a song at some point in the future. He doesn’t know which one yet, but he knows it will be his best one yet. 

You rub some cooling aloe vera gel into his skin, then take out your rose quartz gua sha stone. You tap your fingertips against his chest, and he looks at you with an amused smile.

“What does that do?”

He watches you work, eyes locked on you. He can’t remember the last time he felt this relaxed and peaceful. 

“I’m prepping your lymphatic drainage system.” 

That clarified absolutely nothing for Rodrick, but he trusts you implicitly. You’re so good at so many things, but Christ, you could write a book on all that girly beauty stuff. It’s way more hardcore than people think it is. You know about all these acids and drainage systems and the pink rock thing, and even though he’s impressed, he’s not at all surprised by how good you are at all this stuff.

You begin gently gliding your gua sha over Roddy’s skin, working from his forehead down to his neck and jawline. He stops talking as you work, and it’s like you melt all of the stress out of his body through his face. He could fall asleep with you touching him so gently like this. After a while you rub some more cream into his face, then place something under his eyes that feels like thinly sliced jello.

“What the fuck?” He asks, bringing another laugh out of you. He watches you take two more of the weird jelly things and put them under your own eyes.

“They’re under eye masks.” You answer with a chuckle. “They hydrate your skin, depuff, and get rid of dark circles.”

“Huh…” he hums in response, playing with the patches as they sit on his face. 

Once you’ve used half your arsenal of skincare products on him, you peel off his sheet mask and let him sit up. You hand him a mirror, and as he sits up and stretches a little, kind of wishing you had more to do, he feels like he just woke up from the best sleep of his life. 

“So? What do you think?” You ask excitedly. He can’t help but crack a smile at how cute you are. Rodrick takes the mirror you offer him. When he sees his reflection, he almost doesn’t recognize himself. 

“Oh my god…” he says with a soft smile. He’s glowing. He doesn’t think he’s ever looked this soft and moisturized and… cared for before. He doesn’t even have any crusty eyeliner from yesterday smudged around his eyes. He can never get it off all the way, but one wave of your magic wand, and it’s gone. He laughs again, touching his cheek. He looks up at you in surprise.

“My face is so smooth…” “I know!” You exclaim in delight. “So, do you like facials after all?”

You have a feeling you already know the answer, but Rodrick looks up at you anyway.

“Yeah,” he states, pulling you in for a kiss, his lips soft and exfoliated, topped with your favorite strawberry lip balm. You think Rodrick is right, it does taste better in a kiss. After he pulls away, it takes him a minute for his brain to stop short circuiting. 

“So… uh, are we doing this again next weekend?” 

You laugh at his hopeful tone of voice, how he raises his eyebrows a little. 

“Yeah.” You nod, taking him in for another kiss. You take his hands in yours, looking at the stick and poke tattoo he got of the heart you drew on his hand in chemistry class, his little calluses from drumming. “Next week I can do something about your cuticles.”

[bontentrio]

ATEEZ GETTING OUT OF THE FRIENDZONE

san x gn reader + mingi x gn reader (separated)

part 2 to ateez stuck in the friendzone! read that part so this makes sense

tw: slow burn + veeery dramatic + angst + fluff

a/n: both have the slowestttt slow burns in history of friends to lovers omg my heart did kinda break a little while writing them lol so keep in mind that both are VERY dramatic. maybe even cliche but honestly i just wrote what i, personally, enjoy reading. i’m just a girl in love with love 🥹

masterlist

SAN

san found himself attempting to hide his smile while you told him about your awful date from a few days ago. you were laying down with your head on his lap as san casually untangled strands of your hair, while you rambled on and on about the misfortunes he secretly thought were fortunes in disguise.

“who talks about their mother on the first date? like the whole time i mean, of course it’s okay to mention one or two things following the context of the conversation” you said, moving your hands dramatically to prove your point “but the whole time? i tried to switch the topic of the conversation towards work and can you believe he told me about what his mother does for a living before telling me what HE does for HIS?”

san couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh. you were so cute and he was so happy and relieved that the date had failed.

“he should go to therapy” he said, in between giggles. “right?! sigmund freud would have been thrilled to have him as a patient” you exclaimed, laughing too.

after a few moments of cracking jokes and laughing about the situation, you turned your head to face san. “so what about you?” you asked. he looked down at you, smile on his face still. “what about me?”

“have you gone on dates lately?” you asked. he threw his head back, shaking it slightly “with what time? i’m too busy with schedules” he answered, half lying. it’s true that he’s very busy with his idol duties, but he always managed to make time for you. he knows he could easily use up that time to go on dates, but for obvious reasons that you still were ignorant to, he didn’t. to you, he was just an introvert.

“but are you not interested in anyone?” you pushed, lifting your head and sitting up to face him properly. san chose to avoid your eyes, not trusting himself to keep his own secret. instead, he looked to the city on his right, suddenly finding the building architectures more interesting. he noticed that the air in the terrace got warmer too, and the concrete platform you were sitting on got harder. or was he the one that got warmer and stiffer? “no, i don’t think so” he lied, but you knew him enough to see through it. “liar, you’re blushing”

“well it is an intimate question” he answered, attempting to smile in order to play it off. you shook your head no “you blushed and your left eye twitched a bit. that was definitely a lie and as your best friend i want to know!” you exclaimed, grabbing his hands. if only you knew the effect you had on him.

when he came back from tour, he was determined to confess. but now that the perfect opportunity arose, he couldn’t open his mouth. questions and different negative scenarios plagued his mind, convincing him that maybe it was a bad idea. he much rather work on moving on than lose you as a friend.

“are they that special to you?” you asked, in a much quieter tone of voice, noticing his silence. he nodded, staring at your eyes, hoping you could notice the love they held whenever he looked at you. but despite his desperation, you didn’t. “they are very lucky then, you genuinely are amazing in every aspect sannie”. you continued, going back to your original place with your head on his lap, but still holding his hands. he kept staring at you, if only you knew.

“thank you” san managed to say.

———

“how fast can you come over to help me with something?” you asked san on the phone, as he exited the practice room. it was like the stars aligned, because he had just finished for the day. “i can come over right now, are you okay?” he asked, worried something may be wrong despite you sounding relatively okay. “i can’t pick an outfit and- shit my aunt his calling me, invite yourself in when you arrive, i’m in my room and you already know the lock number of the door” you said, before hanging up.

outfit for what?

———

so that’s how san found himself sitting on your bed on a friday night, numerous pieces of clothing scattered all over without care. he scrolled through some unread messages while he waited for you to try on a different outfit for your new date. yes, new date. as if his heart haven’t just healed from last time.

“i matched with someone on this app and they immediately invited me on a date so now i’m having a fashion crisis” you had explained to him as soon as he entered your room. why was it so hard for you to realize that your dates have been failing for a reason?

you appeared once again, now wearing an outfit that honestly took san’s breath away as soon as his eyes landed on your figure. it was nothing too extravagant, actually, it was rather simple, but it was enough to make san’s head spiral. specially when you twirled around to show the outfit from the back, since your shirt had an open back.

“so? what do we think?” you asked, eyes filled with hope.

san was conflicted: he was 100% sure he has never seen anyone look more beautiful, more dashing, more perfect. but, it wasn’t for him. he didn’t want anyone else to look at you like that, they would never come remotely close to the way he feels about you.

“san-?” you started to ask after a few seconds of silence, but got interrupted by him: “don’t go on that date”

you looked at him confused, as he stared back with the same surprised face. that really had slipped from his lips before he realized what he was saying. you fucked up big time san, he thought to himself.

“why? do i really look that bad?” you asked, turning around to face the mirror in order to examine your body and face. he noticed the way your eyes dimmed, as you carefully traced your eyes over your figure, finding little imperfections that made your face turn into a sad frown. san felt his own heart shatter at the sight, and before he knew, he stood up and quickly hugged you from behind, hiding his face in the crook of your neck.

“sannie?” you asked, startled by his sudden action and making you momentarily forget about the insecurities that started flooding your mind. you looked at him through the mirror: even if he was leaning down on you, he was still much wider, making you feel very small in his arms. unconsciously, you lifted your hand and patted his hair. san lifted his head, looking at you through the mirror as well, and your eyes interlocked.

“you’re perfect y/n” he whispered. “i’m sorry if i gave you the wrong idea, you look beautiful and your date is very lucky”. he was trying to be supportive, but traces of sadness and desperation were evident in his face. enough for you to notice. you turned around, and the same hand that was patting his head went down to his cheek, holding him in place to look at you.

“what’s wrong san?” you asked, softly. your thumb traced comforting circles on his cheek, and you could feel his arms tighten around you as he closed his eyes.

“go on that date” he whispered in a shaky voice, before adding “you look beautiful”.

you stared at him confused for a few moments, not really knowing what to say. then, he kissed your forehead and, with the little bit of strenght he had left in him, unwrapped his arms, stepping back. he grabbed his jacket and went to the door, but not before shooting you another sad look and saying “like i said, your date is very lucky”.

he left, heart in his hands, slowly breaking with each step.

you cancelled the date.

———

san couldn’t sleep that night, he kept tossing and turning as his mind wandered about what you were doing with your date. were you still having dinner? no, probably not since it’s like 2 am. maybe it went so well that you invited them over for coffee at your place, something that will probably lead to something else. something he didn’t even want to imagine, since it wasn’t him committing those sins.

maybe it was time to move on, after all. he wants you to be happy, truly, so if your happiness doesn’t include him, then he should at least be supportive. and in order to do that from the bottom of his heart, he should move-

*knock knock knock* he heard, coming from the door. he decided to ignore it, thinking that it was probably mingi, so he turned around and closed his eyes, pretending he was asleep.

“maybe he’s asleep, i should come back tomorrow but thank you soenghwa” he heard you say from behind the door. he never got out of bed faster, as he sprinted to the door and opened it widely.

there you stood, now dressed in a familiar oversized shirt and baggy pants. completely different from the outfit he last saw you on, but to him you still looked beautiful. you looked at him with wide eyes, as seonghwa smirked next to you.

“i’ll leave you alone” he said, before he made his way to his room and shut the door behind him.

you stood there awkwardly, avoiding his eyes. you came here with a question, but now that you had san right in front of you, thoughts were scattered all over your mind and you couldn’t say a word.

“come in” he said, sensing your internal dilemma. you nodded in response, as you entered and made your way to his unmade bed.

“did i wake you up?” you asked. san shut the door and shook his head “actually i couldn’t sleep”

“me neither” you said in a low voice.

“how was your date?” he asked, unsure of what to say. he sat next to you on the bed, looking at you while trying to decipher your expression. you turned your head to san’s bedside table, finding the small plushie you once gifted him randomly. you smiled. “i cancelled it”

“what? why?!” he asked, with surprised wide eyes. you turned back to him. “i suddenly didn’t want to go, that’s it really. so while i was tidying up my room i found this shirt” you said, fiddling with the ends of the shirt that looked a little too big on you “the one you once lent me after we got stuck in the rain that one time. i told you i would wash it and give it back, but i didn’t. why didn’t i give it back to you?”

san stared at you in silence.

“so i realized it still had your perfume, and before i knew it, i had put it on. then i started thinking about you, about us. you’re my best friend, you know? but as i was laying down on my bed, i was thinking: what if you were not? what if my dates always failed for a reason?” you continued, as your fingers reached for his. “what if the reason they always failed was because i always searched you in them? so again, before i realized i was standing in front of your apartment, but with one question in my mind”

san could feel his heart beat increase and his breath shorten.

“what will happen to us and our friendship if i told you how i feel? how i think i always felt even if i didn’t know it?” you asked, looking at him scared.

“you’re dumb” he said, loud enough for only you to hear. that didn’t surprise you, what did was the way he immediately let go of your hand in order to hug you close, bringing you closer to his body. “what will happen? how would i feel? y/n you’re dumb because that’s how i’ve been feeling for a long time now” he said, hands leaving your waist and craddling your face. san stared at you, and now you realized that his eyes looked different: they held love in them. something you always searched on random people in dating apps, yet were never able to find. instead, it has been right in front of you this whole time.

“i love you” he whispered, pressing his forehead against yours. finally, he thought. he finally said the words he has been keeping locked deeply inside him for years. you smiled, as your nose touched his. “i love you too, i’m sorry i just realized”

maybe it was time to give you the silver necklace he bought you on tour, since now the timing was right.

MINGI

mingi missed you, a lot. he hadn’t heard from you since you stormed out of his house a week and a half ago. he had left you a couple of texts apologizing, and even attempted calling you, but to no avail. you had disappeared, and he didn’t blame you, he was stupid enough to let you go. in fact, that’s the thing he regretted the most about the fight: not chasing after you.

so he did what he knew best: he took his misery and transformed it into work, to be precise, he wrote three songs, all about his feelings, the situation in itself and you.

three different scenarios that made him hear yunho’s voice calling him dramatic in his mind. to be honest, he knew he was being a little dramatic about the situation. he knew that you probably just needed time to cool down, and that if his apology was good enough you would forgive him in a heart beat, because, in the end, he knew you loved him. maybe not in the way he wished for, but you loved him nonetheless.

mingi stared at the ceiling in silence, wondering what were you doing while he layed on his bed feeling miserable. did you miss him too? were you also thinking about him? he was certain of one thing only: he wanted to see you. it didn’t matter to him if you opened the door or not, he needed to at least hear your voice through the door.

he checked the time: 11:47 pm, almost midnight. fuck it, he thought. he stood up and quickly got dressed in a speed record time, tied up his shoes and grabbed his keys and song notebook in the process. by 11:55 pm he was already closing the door of his car.

as mingi started driving, questions also started flooding his mind: will you hate him if he suddenly showed up? what if you had invited someone over? shouldn’t he have discussed this with one of his friends first just in case?

questions, questions, questions.

no answers.

soon enough, he found himself standing in front of your apartment door. he could easily ring the door bell, knock on the door or simply use the spare key you gave him once for emergencies. yet, he was unable to do any, frozen in place as he mentally debated on what to do.

mingi decided to do something odd, something he would have probably laughed at if he saw it in one of the movies you usually forced him to watch with you: he took out his pen and notebook, ripped off one of the pages and wrote on it. then, he slid it under the door and left.

“i’ll tell you everything -m”

———

you have always been a hopeless romantic, mingi knew that perfectly well. you believed in happy endings, and that love and friendship can win over everything. so why hasn’t he heard from you still? did you not get the note? should he leave another one? no, that would be too pushy, it was only two days ago.

questions, questions, questions.

still no answers.

mingi was sulking again, and honestly it started to worry seonghwa and san, who watched as he walked back to his room right after dinner, without saying a word during the whole night. honestly, he was just too lost in his thoughts. their pair exchanged a look, before following him.

“mingi, hold up, everything okay? you’re more… distracted than usual” seonghwa said, carefully choosing his words. mingi hummed in response, nodding as he stopped in his tracks. “yeah, there’s just a lot in my head” he answered, not looking at his friends. “let us hear it then” san said, patting his back and leading them towards the living room.

the trio sat down on the sofa they had bought a few months ago, the one you had scolded them about because it seemed very expensive and too hard to clean. they had all laughed, but soon enough realized you were right when mingi spilled a bit of sauce on it. the stain was still there.

“so? what’s wrong?” seonghwa asked once they all got comfortable. mingi sighed, looking down before he started spilling everything that had happened, from two weeks ago until now. he noticed the eldest nodding along the story, but neither of them said anything until he finished.

“when exactly did you leave this note?” san asked, fidgeting with his bracelet. “two days ago” mingi answered. san’s eyes went wide, as he muttered a small fuck before he sprinted towards the kitchen. seonghwa and mingi exchanged a look, both equally confused at their friend’s actions. after a few moments and very weird sounds that came from the kitchen, san appeared again, with a crumbled up yellow post it in his hand. he handed it to mingi.

“the hell is this? it has food stains san, gross” mingi said with a disgusted face as he barely touched the paper. “open it, i found it this morning” san said, sitting down next to him again. mingi gave his friends a strange look, before carefully opening the crumbled up piece of paper. as he read, his eyes widened in surprise.

“what time is it?!” he exclaimed. “9 pm” seonghwa answered, checking the time in his phone. mingi muttered a small fuck, before putting his shoes on, and grabbing his bag.

“i’ll be back in a while” he said, before shutting the door behind him.

seonghwa looked at san, confused. “what the hell did the paper say?” he asked. san picked it up from the floor and showed it to him:

“8 pm, our special place”.

the hand writing was yours.

———

mingi was almost sure he broke one or two speeding laws on his way to the park where he hoped you were still waiting at. he cursed san for not telling him sooner, even if he knew it wasn’t really his fault to begin with. the park wasn’t far from his apartment though, just a short 10 minute drive. as cliche as it sounds, it was the park were you both met.

at that time, around 6 years ago or so, his mind revolved around perfection, hard work, pressure, debut. so he would succumb to overwhelming feelings pretty often, that forced him to need some time alone. that’s how he found a park nearby, and specifically, one peculiar tree that caught his attention for some reason. he used to sit down under it, notebook on his lap and pen between his fingers, as he scribbled down some random thoughts that plagued his mind during hard moments. he didn’t really plan to turn his words into songs yet, it was just his way to deal with stress. he used to find these little moments very special: it was like he was reconnecting with his inner, truer self, and not the mean facade he wore in front of his soon to be members. yeah, some of them irked him, like that wooyoung guy, but he didn’t mean to be that rude all the time. so, to escape the constant pressure kq fellaz was facing in between the company walls, he found solace in a park, but specifically, he found solace under that tree.

he could remember the day he met you like it was yesterday. he remembers all the stress he was feeling, debut date coming closer and closer. everyone was on edge, from the members to the staff. he had also recently come back from morocco after successfully shooting his first music video! but he couldn’t deny it: as much as he was excited, he was already feeling a little tired. he needed some alone time, just himself with his thoughts. so he found himself walking towards his favorite spot in the park.

only to find you there, sitting down under the tree. his tree to be precise. and you were writing on a pink notebook with a fluffy pen. mingi felt like he was looking at a reflection of himself, but instead of being comforted by it, he felt annoyed. it was HIS tree after all!

“excuse me, this is my spot” he said, coming into your field of vision. you looked up to him, pausing your hand and taking an earphone off. “excuse me?”

“this is my spot” he reiterated, making you chuckle slightly. “the tree you mean? does it have your name or something?” you asked, finding the situation hilarious. he rolled his eyes in annoyance, why did nothing go his way?! “listen, i had a shitty day and i need to sit there for a while, so can you leave?”

“no, i got here first. plus there are tons of other trees here, it’s a park after all” you said, putting your earphone back on and turning your gaze to your notebook. he stayed still in his place in front of you, making you huff in annoyance at his persistence. “look dude, i am not going to move. you can either sit on the opposite side or leave, i don’t care but stop bothering me” you continued.

mingi really really reaaaally needed to be at his safe place, too overwhelmed to funcion rationally, so he rolled his eyes and sat on the opposite side of the tree.

that’s how the story started: at opposite sides of the tree. soon enough it got replaced by sitting nearby, and eventually next to each other. some times you would even bring snacks to share in silence, as you both wrote down your thoughts on your respective notebooks. once he debuted, he broke the silence for the first time, urging you to listen to his song. after that, you started talking more, about music, shows, your respective jobs and life in itself. the safe place you both found under the tree, was also found in each other, quickly realizing you often shared the same thoughts and views about the world.

the story started under a tree, and he hoped it wouldn’t end there too. he needed you to be there, because he wasn’t ready to lose not only his best friend, but also his safe place. even the tree would become stained from the pain. and he would have nothing left, just questions, questions, and more questions about different what ifs.

you weren’t there.

but mingi wasn’t about to give up anytime soon. he started running towards the direction of your apartment, forgetting that he had parked the car on the opposite direction. his legs were aching, and he felt like he was a bit out of breath, despite all the idol training he has been enduring for six years. but he kept running.

until he spot you in the distance.

“y/n!” he yelled. he saw you stop in your tracks and turn around to his direction, confused at the sudden call of your name. once you spotted him running towards you, you sprinted to him.

his body collapsed against yours, as he hugged you tightly, like you would disappear if he let you go. mingi hid his face in the crook of your neck as you wrapped your arms around his back. you could hear his quick heart beat from how close he held you, and you were sure he could hear yours too.

after a while, mingi lifted his head from your neck, and looked at you. “why are you crying?” he asked, wiping away the tears with his thumbs. “i thought you wouldn’t come, why are you crying mingi?” you asked, repeating his own actions, but on his cheeks. he giggled, he didn’t even realize he was crying. “i thought i lost you” he said, truthfully.

the park was dark, the only lights came from street lights. so, for outsiders, you probably looked like a random couple having a dramatic moment. definitely not mingi from idol group ateez and his best friend y/n reconciliating.

“i’m sorry” he whispered, locking his eyes with yours. they still held tears, that threatened to spill depending on your answer. you shook your head “no, i’m sorry mings, i shouldn’t have walked away like that. plus i didn't even give you a chance to explain”.

“i’m sorry for not showing you the songs, for not chasing you, and for being too much of a coward to not face you directly” he apologized. you hugged him again, shushing him. “i shouldn’t have pressured you to show me, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do”

mingi looked at you again, and bit his lip. “can i still show you though?”

“it’s not necessary, mingi, it’s fine real-“ you started saying before he interrupted you, taking your hand and leading you towards the same old place from before. “i want to” he said, determined.

you let him whisk you away.

———

back at the peculiar tree that was iluminated enough by a street lamp a few meters away, he sat you down at your usual spot. he sat down beside you, as he pulled out his notebook from his bag. mingi gave it to you.

“mingi, this really isn’t necessary-“ you started saying once again. “please” he interrupted, with pleading eyes. so you took his notebook and opened it on the first page. you already read that song, it was the first one he ever wrote a long while back. “read the last ones”

you turned the pages, until you found them. mingi looked at you nervously, starting to feel fidgety at the thought of you realizing his deepest secret, the only one he hid from you. he just hoped you wouldn’t hate him. he scanned your face, puffy eyes filling with tears once again as realization hit you. you turned your gaze back to him with wide, surprised eyes.

“mingi- what? wait, hold on” you stammered, as tears fell from your eyes. you quickly set his notebook aside to grab your own bag, taking out your new pink notebook, your diary. you handed it to him, saying: “open it on august 5th”

he stared at you confused, and slightly unsure too, since you’ve always been pretty secretive about what you wrote there. he found the page and read:

“august 5th.

so i realized something, that i’m almost too afraid to write even here. i’m scared that if i admit it, i’ll have to face a sad reality. i think i’m in love with my best friend, isn’t that stupid? that’s how i feel, at least. i haven’t seen him in a while because of his work, and i feel like i’m slowly losing my mind. why do i only feel complete when he’s with me? scratch that, why am i even writing this?

anyways, i’ll probably die with the secret”

“now turn to september 16th” you said, avoiding his eyes.

“september 16th.

i’m in love with my best friend. i love mingi. how insane is that? and how stupid? he is my best friend, for god’s sake. but i can’t help the way i feel, specially when he’s so annoyingly observant. like for example, the other day he noticed my pen was dying, so today he surprised me with a new fluffy pink pen. i hate him for making my heart swell at such gestures. specially because i know I KNOW that’s what best friends do.

anyways i’m not gonna use his pen because i decided i’m going to preserve it forever”

“and now, tun to november 10th” you muttered. mingi realized it was yesterday’s date.

“november 10th.

i still love him. and i fucked up. but i’m still in love with him”

he closed your notebook, turning towards you. he found you with your face on your knees, as you hugged your legs, too embarrassed to face him, despite now knowing his feelings. he loves you too, with the same devotion, with the same desperation and intensity. mingi loves you, his best friend.

“look at me, y/n” he whispered. you slowly lifted your head, hesitantly looking at him. the way you both looked at each other held more intimacy than ever. mingi slowly reached for you, bringing your face closer to his. his hold was shaky, almost unsure, this was a whole new territory. he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“i love you” he admitted.

too many questions, that finally got an answer.

“i love you too” you whispered.

taglist: @yoongles2025 @reallychaoticwoo

(to be added please let me know)