#that i have yet to write up oops.

[johnslittlespoon]

all the actor/celebrity au posts lately combined with troye bringing ross on stage last night for one of your girls has got me thinking...

a musician x musician au where gale is a troye sivan–esque ultra–famous queer pop star, and john's the singer of a well known indie rock band, and he gets asked by gale's team to star in a music video similar to one of your girls...

to everyone who doesn't know him personally, gale feels like this untouchable pop star. he's been in the industry for years, one of those classic 'i used to make music in my bedroom in my small town' stories, working his ass off before finally a song of his blows up and gets traction and then it's such a fast rise to stardom that he doesn't have time to wrap his head around it.

he never gets used to it, but he doesn't get an ego from it; he still hangs out with the same group of friends he's had since high school, and his team does most of his social media posting for him, because it freaks him out having all that attention, as grateful as he is. he's not shy by any means, not like he was when he started out, but he's not the biggest fan of all the fanfare and interviews and being put on a pedestal and all that. he keeps himself pretty distant online, and that coupled with the diva/superstar energy in his music/projects gives him this air of being on another level– a rare type of star all around.

john has a similar story, the whole growing up on the internet thing, making music in his basement in high school with the friends he's now in a pretty popular indie rock band with, working tirelessly to make a name for him and his friends. but that's kinda where their similarities end.

because john is known for being an absolute shit–poster, a little fiend online, a running joke in his fandom that 'john doesn't know that he's famous', 'should someone remind him this isn't a finsta?' type of vibe. he feels so accessible and down to earth, and while he's just as level headed and humble about his celebrity status as gale is, he displays it by being more present and trying to show the human side of it all, vs gale trying to create distance between gale cleven and the gale persona the world knows.

the band is first and foremost john's thing, but as he's grown in popularity, he's of course gotten offers for other avenues here and there, and at the insistence of his manager he decides to agree to try out a modelling shoot one day. he's not naive; he's more than aware of all the comments going on about his looks, stumbles across more tiktok thirst trap edits of him sweaty and shirtless on stage than he can count, isn't all too sfw in some of his band's songs, either.

he finds it all funny, but he also is someone who will always jump on new opportunities/experiences, and he ends up having a good time modelling, and picks up more gigs as time goes on. this is how gale becomes aware of him, somewhat because gale does occasional modelling too, but mostly because he's worked with a lot of big fashion names for tours and videos, so his and john's circles occasionally crossover, though they never actually meet in person.

so then comes this music video shoot, one that gale's been agonizing over for months, planning every little detail and making sure everything is perfect. it's something that drives his manager (marge? <3 gotta include the angel in every au obvs) insane because gale's got so much on his plate as is, but he likes to be so hands on with his projects, and she knows by now there's no talking him out of that. and everything is going great, until the person who's meant to be starring opposite gale has to pull out last minute due to a scheduling conflict or personal emergency or something.

and the usually very collected and put together gale is freaking out. it's the day before the shoot, everyone involved has already travelled to be on location, choreography is set in stone– this is his nightmare scenario, never doing well in situations where he has a lack of control. it's half of what scares him so much about being as famous as he is, is that he doesn't have a lot of autonomy or control over his own image or how he's perceived in the public eye (and digging deeper into backstory, probably stems from wanting to take back control after a childhood filled with being controlled by family.)

but it's situations like these where he's reminded why marge is his manager and he isn't, because she leaps into action the moment they find out about the cancellation, calming gale down so they can put their heads together to find a replacement. they reach out to a few of the names they have connections to, but it's too short notice for all of them, so maybe marge even just resorts to going through the people gale follows on instagram, and stumbles across john's page. he's got a good rep in industry and has worked on less 'conventional' projects before, so marge shuts down gale's fretting over "would he be comfortable with something like this?" by telling him there's only one way to find out, and contacting john's manager.

john agrees before he even hears the full pitch, and he's just as keen afterwards (albeit a bit nervous because by no means is he a professional dancer), knowing it'll be good publicity, and curious to explore a more artsy/out there gig, but also curious about the illusive gale, who he'd been surprised to receive a follow from a few weeks back.

john is flown out that night to the city of the shoot location, barely having a few minutes to change and head to the rehearsal space, where he meets a very frazzled but very thankful gale for the first time.

maybe they both have some preconceived notions about each other, despite having mutual respect and no actual interactions; john probably expects gale to be a bit stand–offish or conceited given his high celebrity status, but finds gale's actually bashful and quiet and easygoing when the cameras are off (when they're on, it's like he flips a switch, slipping into this persona, exuding confidence and sexuality and it honestly blows john's mind to witness in person).

gale probably expects to john to be loud and abrasive based off his well known social media posts, maybe even a little uncomfortable around gale, who is openly queer, whereas john isn't– maybe john hasn't ever stated his sexuality, has never given much thought to it, it doesn't matter much to him. instead he finds john's actually a little shy, much less bravado than he'd anticipated, but very enthusiastic and eager to learn and get the choreo and everything else right, assuring gale repeatedly that he's down to do whatever is needed.

so the two of them rehearse till the early hours of the morning, john taking it as seriously as though it's his own project he's invested months into, and gale gains such admiration for his commitment and willingness to stick his neck out for a borderline stranger (even though he's obviously aware this is a big boost for john's career). john gains a newfound appreciation for gale's work ethic and how much effort goes into every little thing for a huge artist like him.

and inevitably... there is sexual tension during the rehearsals. they're both overtired and sweaty and it's such a strange situation to meet for like five minutes and then jump right into dancing together so intimately, having to shed any inhibitions and self consciousness, but it's a blessing in the sense that they have to get comfortable around each other so quickly. there's no room for modesty or shyness, and john is genuinely speechless at how gale puts business first, and after double checking that john isn't uncomfortable, how he has no qualms about physically directing john, moving him how he wants him.

it's hot to john, the way gale knows exactly what he wants and is so passionate about his vision, and he'd be lying if he said the combination of being starstruck and being lowkey manhandled isn't getting to his head a bit. which is a whole other thing to unpack, because aside from vague acknowledgement of some men being attractive/beautiful, he's never actually found himself flustered by one like this, and it catches him off guard. he stays professional, but he still can't help but let his naturally flirtatious/joking personality slip out as the night drags on; he's like that with everyone he works with or hangs out with, and he thinks it would be weirder if he wasn't like that with gale, like everyone else would somehow notice.

meanwhile gale is fighting his own demons because he's got a very sought–after, very hot, very straight man dropping everything for him and letting him puppeteer him, on top of being so stubborn that even though gale can tell he's exhausted, john's refusing to call it a night until gale does, and THEN as if all that's not enough, john's effortlessly witty and complimentary and flirty. and gale's not one to mix business and pleasure, so he's not even entertaining these emotions, but he can't help but feel flattered by it all, while also reminding himself that john probably doesn't swing that way.

basically they both are discovering they have competence kinks lmao, like objectively they both find the other attractive, but it's not like they aren't constantly surrounded by beautiful humans in their lines of work, so it's more so the emotional side/work ethic that gets them both flustered, coupled with the inherent sexuality of dancing with very little clothing, hands on sweaty skin and toned muscles. but neither of them act on it, too tired by the time they call it a night even if they'd wanted to, and then it's back to their respective hotels to get a few hours of sleep before the shoot.

john isn't called to be on location until mid afternoon, and when he wakes up to his phone ringing and glances at the time, he freaks out, thinking he's slept through the shoot or something because he'd expected to be called early in the morning. he's told that he didn't sleep through it, but he's disoriented until he shows up, when he's told that gale had moved things around, filming as many scenes as he could without him before john was needed for his part, so that john could get more rest. (john swoons. just a little.)

he gets swept up in the capable hands of hair and makeup and wardrobe in his own trailer, and he doesn't see gale until it's time to film, and when he does, he almost doesn't believe it's gale. the glam makeup, the long blonde wig, the form–fitting sheer black dress and heels– gale's pretty as is, but with his features accentuated like that, john doesn't even know what to do with himself, feels like he's going through a midlife crisis at the ripe age of 25. he'd known gale would be in some sort of getup for their choreo, but nothing could've prepared him for this.

it makes it even more endearing that gale seems so awkward about it when he greets john, clearly out of his comfort zone in the ensemble, but john knows there's no way gale doesn't know how stunning he is, it's not a lack of confidence that's making him awkward. john keeps it together, reminds himself to be professional. tells gale it was really sweet that he let him sleep in, that he didn't have to do that, to which gale waves him off like it's no big deal. and he compliments gale too as they walk onto set, tells him, "you look great, wow," tame as he can be, and gale tells him "could say the same for you," and john snorts, gesturing to his simple jeans and boots and lack of shirt, says "feeling a bit underdressed, actually," and it gets a laugh out of gale.

when the cameras are rolling, any of that visible discomfort or awkwardness in gale disappears like someone's snapped their fingers and rid him of it, movements fluid like water, not an ounce of anything other than confidence and power and sensuality seeping through as he commands the camera with his energy. despite his aching body, john's grateful they ran the routine into the ground last night to the point that it's nearly muscle memory, because it's hard to concentrate when gale's looking down at him through long faux–lashes and gloss–plumped lips, caressing his jaw, playing with his hair, the sway of his hips and roll of his waist beneath john's hands so mesmerizing, john's half convinced he's being serenaded by a siren.

the tension would be insane, but equally confusing because neither of them would be able to discern what's an act and what's not, or if it's all just an act, pushing and pulling at an invisible line but never quite stepping over it even once the shoot wraps, both for the sake of professionalism but also for fear of rejection.

maybe after it all, john's on his flight back home and realizes in the whirlwind of everything, he never got gale's number (has a moment of 'why would i need it? this was just a gig' lol okay yearner). john's not even sure at that point what/how he's feeling about gale, the conflicting emotions of feeling attraction to him while in borderline drag doing nothing to help the confusion, especially because he can't excuse the attraction as just that when he was feeling things during rehearsal in casual clothes too.

he knows he could easily ask his manager to reach out to gale's manager for his number, but then he gets in his head convincing himself that if gale had wanted to talk further, surely he would've asked for john's number, since gale has way more reason to be selective with his own with his status.

he doesn't realize that on the other end of things, gale's realizing he also never got john's number, only he's talking himself out of reaching out because he doesn't want to read into john's friendliness as something flirtatious when as far as he knows, john is straight, and this was likely just a job for john, as well as they seemed to get along.

cue miscommunication when one of them actually works up the courage to dm the other on instagram since they're mutuals– either john dms gale something simple, a 'thanks again for the opportunity', and because gale is never on his socials and gale's team doesn't check messages much, it's weeks before anyone clocks john's message, during which john becomes sure he's nothing more than a coworker to gale, which he understands but is sad about. or, gale dms john, but from a private account with an innocuous username that he has just for friends and family, and john never even opens it because the lack of profile picture and generic user blends in with all the other message requests he gets a day.

they only end up reconnecting when the music video actually drops, because obviously it breaks the internet, and john happens to be doing promo interviews and radio shows at the time for his band's new album and tour, so an interviewer of course asks him what the experience was like working on a set like that and working with gale. john gives a glowing review, goes out of his way to praise gale– "the nicest guy you'll ever meet, and the craziest work ethic i've ever witnessed firsthand in hollywood."

when the interviewer asks if john would ever consider working with him again, y'know, the classic question an interviewer has to ask so they can drum up clicks with a 'john egan hints at possible future project with gale cleven!' title, john lays it on thick the way he always does with a wink at the camera and a "he can call me up anytime," but then adds a serious "no, really, i would love to work with him again, he was great."

predictably, the people who are already losing their shit over the music video and making edits and fan theories about the two of them go even crazier, spam–tagging gale and his team in the comments of this interview post, which leads to it eventually making its way to gale, and gale then realizes that john hasn't been uninterested; he must've just not seen his message since surely he would've replied if he had (marge looks at him with so much disappointment when gale mentions his attempt to reach out– "gale, no one with that kind of following is going through dm requests from faceless, private instagram pages, you of all people should know this").

gale hasn't told marge about his possible feelings, but marge isn't dumb; she didn't stand on set for nearly 24 hours with her eagle–eyes and not notice the way gale had been looking at john. to anyone else, it might've just seemed like he was leaning into his persona, but marge has known gale for a long time, and she could tell it wasn't all him playing it up for the cameras.

so marge puts her manager–brain and best friend–brain together and decides that with all the hype surrounding the new song and video, the two of them being seen together in public and making a few posts together would be a great boost for both of them. but she knows gale will never go for it if she voices this to him, because he'd see it as using john for popularity; she reasons that if he doesn't know, it can't be using. so she reaches out to john's manager and figures out when they'll both be back in the same city, and relays her plan as if it's just business, asking for john's manager to let john know that gale will be in town the next week if he wants to set something up, and she gives the manager gale's number for john to contact.

when gale wakes up one morning to a 'hi, this is john! my manager passed on your number to me, hope that's okay. i was told you're in town next week? :)' and then 'egan. btw. lots of johns out there.' and then 'the music video guy.' (john, absolutely panicking on his end, worrying that gale might not even remember his name, not knowing gale's been stalking his socials and confusion–pining just as much as john has been doing the same.)

and then more miscommunication after they arrange to hang out, because john assumes this is just for publicity based on what his manager told him, and he understands, as much as he wishes they're hanging out properly. but gale assumes this is a genuine hangout, because john never says otherwise, until the end of the evening, when gale has to leave for a dinner event and john says "we better take those pics for the 'gram before we say goodbye, or the big guns'll have a fit."

and either gale masks his surprise and then disappointment and goes along with it, thinking maybe he missed a memo or misread things, and this conflict and miscommunication is dragged out even longer, or gale doesn't hide his confusion in time, and john is then equally confused, says "your manager didn't...?" and gale says "sorry, i didn't know; i guess i misread your texts," feeling stupid that he's been thinking the hangout is anything other than a pr stunt. and then there's the awkward "no! no– well, yeah, i was told that this was to promote the video, so i thought– i mean, i would've liked to hang anyway, i just didn't think you wanted to?" from john.

gale is slowly connecting the dots in his head and he's so embarrassed, but also relieved that he hasn't misread things and made a fool of himself. john looks on the verge jumping out of his skin as gale sits quietly, so gale puts him out of his misery, smiles and pushes his irritation about the incident down and says "i do want to, john. i think marge– it doesn't matter. it was a miscommunication, i guess." and all the tension evaporates out of john's body, and he lets out a laugh, and a "oh, thank god. fuck. i was about to walk into the street," and gale lets himself relax too, scoffing at john.

so they decide to have a redo the next week, since they both do feel obligated to take their stupid pictures now to please their teams (and the internet), and thus a tentative friendship is born, the two of them dancing around each other and around feelings because everything is confusing as is, let alone with the way their careers affect every aspect of their lives. so much slowburn, lots of john trying to figure his attraction out and gale keeping his walls up because the thought of literally becoming the person he's singing about in his music video is laughable, he doesn't wanna be strung around or used as an experiment for john.

and john respects this unspoken boundary and also appreciates that they can get to know each other as friends while he tries to stop freaking out every time he pictures him and gale doing less than platonic things. probably a whole lot of chaos on john's end with the absolute tornado that he is, ie: '4am 'am i gay' quizzes taken in the dark of his bunk on a tour bus, asking an openly queer friend from his band if his feelings toward gale are normal, rumours started by a fan that they saw john in a gay club after a show, etc.

because john doesn't do anything halfway– he's ready to literally go out and kiss men and explore his newfound feelings, not just to prove himself to gale, but to figure himself out, because he's terrified of hurting gale since john doesn't have the best track record with relationships. overthinks the shit out of everything and doesn't realize it's not that deep, that liking gale doesn't mean he's suddenly attracted to all men, that all gale wants is for john to be confident in himself and his feelings for him before pursuing anything.

there's a lot of back and forth and messiness and emotions stacked on top of their already crazy hectic schedules and lives, the theorizing and prying from fans and paparazzi, caution from management, but when they eventually have their point of no return moment and cross that line from friends to more, the chemistry is so intense that both of them feel stupid for dragging things out for so long.

when the initial new relationship shyness wears off, the sex is also insane, all the exploration and playfulness (and inevitability of the whole feminization thing coming back into play since that's what starts everything in the first place lol). they're barely able to keep their hands off each other, almost always spending the night at each other's places, stealing as much time as they can to make up for the time apart when there are tours or other events separating them.

they try to keep things private for a while, but with how active john is online, he slips up a good few times– tiktoks where a hat or something of gale's is accidentally left in the background, story posts where john's wearing one of gale's hoodies unthinkingly, mirror selfies where there's a mystery hand or leg in the background. the internet is torn, some convinced it's coincidence, some certain it's all a pr stunt to get people talking, some adamant that they're in a secret relationship. gale's never upset about it; they both just know how much things will change if they go public.

months are spent sneaking around, rarely going on public dates, the odd paparazzi shots still leaking out until it finally gets to the point that there's no point hiding things anymore, it's obvious that they're not just friends. they never actually announce it or make some relationship launch post; they just stop caring, and it's freeing and neither of them expect to be so affected by being able to publicly show affection for each other, but it's such a sweet thing and makes things feel so much more real.

john goes to gale's sold out arena shows and stares up at him in awe and can't believe that gale chooses him every day, and gale goes to john's band's high energy festival sets and watches his golden boy light up with joy every time he glances at him side stage and can't believe john chooses him too.

:-)

lol this post was meant to just be the two lines above the cut but then i got to thinking about origin stories and whoops new au drabble because i'm a master at getting carried away!!

[tacky-optic]

i have unprompted lupin-esque questions pop into my stream of conscious, interrupting my day-to-day wholesale, and one of them is "damn. does lupin only have three companions because zenigata never caved and joined him". like what kind of question is that??

i think its one of the more recurring ones because the sorta lines in lupin tv/films that're like "kinda surprising you're a cop" or "you'd fit in real well with us" or, the wombo combo of the two, "your skills are wasted on your job" really dig into my brain and won't feckin' leave.

in a lot of iterations, jigen and goemon meet lupin when they're tasked with killing him. fujiko's essentially his other rival. and yet, despite whatever the rest of the gang may be doing or whoever they pledge themselves to or whatever other jobs they might take on they always wind up right next to lupin again. on the same team, even.

and then there's zenigata. the sole obstinate holdout. they truce, they save each other's lives, have an avengers bonus credit scene shawarma lunch, etc etc. yet he isn't *with* them. he dips after they stop some evil billionaire from blowing up a city for some asinine power/profit grab or whatever the fuck, shouting that he'll "get them next week" while comically shaking his fist at the sky, and jigen rolls his eyes for the dozenth time and goes "that guy'll never change, will he". no jigen, he won't. when things calm down he'll sit alone in his office and do paperwork for all the property damage he caused with lupin & co. like he always does.

lupin and zenigata prefer it that way, obviously. they know their roles and how to play them. zenigata's too good to be a cop but he's also too good to be with lupin. lupin will kill in self-defense whereas zenigata will *not* kill, period. a la "life is a much more incredibly significant thing".

and then there's the *other* obviously-- the adversarial aspect. they can only *truly* challenge each other if they're on opposing sides. jigen stuck around after lupin beat him. goemon pledged his allegiance to lupin after he bested him. fujiko cozies up to lupin because it's easier than outright contesting him. but lupin is the best criminal and zenigata is the best cop. of course they'll never swap sides. they have the most fun from where they are.

"but tackyyy, what if he *did* join them?" you may ask. well whether it'd be cathartic for zenigata or not aside, there's some other q's that come up that deserve some consideration.

would the gang finally be "complete" if zenigata finally shed his inspector title? what would that look like, how would it work out? what does that even *mean*? is lupin just collecting people he thinks are neat? if so, if a hypothetical (realllllllly emphasizing that hypothetical btw) fourth-- someone with skills on the right level and surprisingly good chemistry with the gang-- came along, would lupin welcome them? or would lupin look at zenigata and go "nah, i'd rather have *that* guy"? lots of stuff to explore.

but at the end of the day there's one thing that really gets my brain gears turning. i think zenigata's higher-ups imagine him on lupin's side and shudder. i think *zenigata* imagines himself on lupin's side and shudders. i think the only way his full potential can be realized is if he's with lupin *permanently*. those blips of unbridled feral skill wouldn't be blips anymore. they'd be normal. and devastating. and the five of them would be unstoppable. and maybe that'd scare him, finally knowing exactly what he's capable of. maybe it *already* scares him, knowing he's the only one who can decide what happens.

[cinnbar-bun]

Not to be too ranty but I really hate how even at the hairdressers some of them are so judgy about wavy/curly hair. Like I’m a 3a on a good day and pretty much a 2b-2c otherwise without work, obviously my hair is different! And yet it’s always, always, complaints about how my hair is so ‘messy’ or ‘knotty’ or ‘frizzy’ after they use straight heat on it. Well, duh!

[duskargentum]

One thing that really had to grow on me about KCD from the first time I played it up through all the times I had to play it was the fixed protagonist. Many RPGs these days allow you to create your own character, their appearance, their personality, their skillset, etc., but there's always a slight disconnect, which I think people realize but tend to look past. The disconnect, of course, is that, when you play these custom characters, you are inhabiting a husk and forcing your decisions onto it. This means that the design of the game, from the dialogue options to the character builds to the level of connection to the other characters in the story, they're all at odds with the vision the player has in their head of how the game is being played. In other words, in being able to inhabit a character in a story, your making those decisions WITH them, and not OVER them. KCD railroads your character customization to the point of not being able to choose your own name, appearance, personality, character build (to an extent), and forces you to *become* Henry of Skalitz. Dialogue always seems like something Henry would say, the different skills all seem like things Henry would spend his time doing and improving, characters always seem like the type of people would have connections to. Henry is not inserted into this game world in the same way a custom character would have been. He lived in it, he forged connections, he built character motivations, he experienced events and formed opinions on them. The canon of the story is not always at odds with the perception of events that each player has. Granted, this means that Henry's life and feelings and experiences will almost always be the same, but it does mean that you get to live it all alongside him, instead of instead of him.

This maybe isn't so much a strength of KCD in particular and may be more of a commentary on fixed protagonists in RPGs in general, but I will give the credit to KCD that it does it well enough that it inspired me to form a more cohesive opinion on the difference between a fixed and custom protagonist in an RPG.

[theokusgallery]

Since you have a lot of opinions about Sunflower fics, do you have any recommendations :p? I do generally agree with you about the derth of good works on them - kind of hoping for something I've maybe slept on.

Okay, I'll try,

First of all — I want everyone, and I mean everyone to read Coda for a Crestfallen Caitiff by MercuriallyApathetic, who also wrote The Strange Summer of Sunny Whatshisface (still one of my favorite longfics to this day but a lot more lighthearted). Coda is a masterpiece, it makes me insane, it is criminally underrated, I want to inhale its essence, and when I first read it it gave me a panic attack and a mental breakdown that lasted three straight days (/pos). Definitely read the tags and prepare yourself mentally but JESUS CHRIST I need everyone to read it. Please. You will regret it for a few hours but it is... an experience. To me at least. And to the two people I recommended it to who gave me feedback.

Then there's sunflower seeds in the rearview mirror by @andrewwtca which remains probably my favorite multichapter OMORI fic of all time (you might spot my essay-comments in the later chapters, I love this fic so much. I didn't end up writing one for the last chapter but man did it hit me hard). Very intriguing with a captivating style and an unreliable narrator mechanic that I am absolutely in love with. Everything by that author is excellent.

We have, of course, literally everything by BetweenDisorders. Arsenic is partly inspired by one of their fics ! (you know the one.) Their characterization of both Sunny and Basil (but especially Basil, because I'm gay) makes me froth at the mouth. Their style is very recognizable and honestly one of the best I've ever seen. But more generally, they have really original and intriguing ideas (like communication, in which Basil and Sunny are two computers... Did I mention how I'm a sucker for original/unique plots and premises enough yet) and everything they do is something you've never seen before. It's amazing.

Note to Self: Don't Be Gay in Faraway Town by witheredahlia is also very, very good. It's a lot lighter, but it still made my gay little heart ache, because I'm a sucker for misunderstandings done correctly (fight me).

Detective Sunny by Det_Sun is genuinely one of the most creative, fascinating OMORI fics I've seen, and also way too underrated. It's an excellent read, and there's a bunch of ideas in it that you know go deeper than what is shown, and it makes my brain go at the speed of lights. Many many thoughts about this one. (Side note: I fucking love it when there's unexplored ideas in fics. Makes my brain go brrr. Not everything has to be shown and when I see hints of "behind the scene" thoughts and character background that isn't discussed much but still implied, my brain becomes a feral animal. I don't know if that makes sense...)

[caesarclowningaround]

okay dude you know i love a backstory. what’s the DEAL with caesar clown. where’d he come from. who raised him. why is he the way that he is. GIVE ME LOOORREEE

OOOO :D OKAY so Caesar doesn't have anything canonically before his days in MADS (which was this illegal group of mad scientists that essentially came together to make the world a better place... except 3 out of the top 4 scientists were Evil, including Caesar lol)

SO

I like to think he came from an upper middle class-bordering-on-rich family. He had one older sibling who was maybe 8-10 years older than him, so they were never close. He was raised more by a nanny than his own parents, who were incredibly neglectful of him. Out of the two of them, his mother gave him more attention, and even then it was rare. She was much closer to Caesar's sister and lathered her with attention.

His father was practically a stranger to him and didn't take interest in his son at all until he was a teenager, and by then Caesar's interest and love of science had strongly taken hold... Which was a huge disappointment to his father, who wanted a strong son who had an instinct for business. Meanwhile, Caesar was a pale, lanky, nerdy twink with no friends (poor wee lamb :( )

Most of Caesar's childhood peers thought him odd, best to ignore most of the time. They used to tease him when they were all younger, but Caesar learned how to fight back quickly - not really with fists, but in a feral "I'm going to bite you if you touch me" kind of way. And since the island he lived on was small enough that everybody knew everyone, he never got the chance to make new friends as he grew into his teens.

He was a lonely teen, but he found his joy in the experiments he conducted in his own bedroom. He read every science book he could get his hands on, though his favorite subject to study was chemistry. He was incredibly smart, our equivalent of an all-As student. He might have been a disappointment to his father, but his intelligence allowed for his parents to agree to let him attend university on a neighboring island.

Caesar finally learned how to make friends... and lose them quickly because he was an asshole who thought very highly of himself. He learned very little at university, his knowledge far ahead of what was being taught to him and as such, he found it boring. However, access to the university's laboratories allowed for him to run unauthorized experiments in his free time. In fact, he ended up burning down a building and was consequentially expelled.

He was more irritated that his experiment hadn't gone the way he had planned than upset of being kicked out. But his parents were furious with him and cut off his funds entirely. Caesar took it pretty well, seeing the lack of money has an inconvenience. He didn't return home. There was nothing for him there. Instead, he began to travel, picking up scientific knowledge here and there.

Eventually he gained a reputation to the point the Science Division of the World Government tried to get in contact with him. But Caesar wasn't interested in being a dog for the WG and turned them down. That's when Dr. Vegapunk found him and recruited him into MADS. The rest is history~

[phosphorus-noodles]

sorry to all the people who got attached to one of my Creations and then got sad when i didn't post about it again. it WILL happen again i'm just busy chasing the hyperfixations elsewhere and don't know when it'll go back to that one. but it will come back. i promise

[radiaking]

I wanna make more AUs lol but I am like. Not in many fandoms lmfao like I don’t watch/play enough things hahah

[wildflowercryptid]

SOME MJVERSE FAMILY HEADCANONS!

kris and lyra are sisters, kris being the older of the two. she went on her journey two years before lyra and ethan go on their's, but now she's working as elm's field assistant and researches the myths and mysteries of johto whenever she can find time. ethan and lyra run into her a few times throughout their own journeys, almost always accompanied by leaf ( who was traveling through johto and insisted on joining her the moment she mentioned legendary pokémon. ) lyra also makes a habit of teasing her big sister for the obvious crush she's developing on her companion.

agatha and bertha are relatives, bertha being a direct descendant of charm while agatha is descended from one of charm's siblings back in kanto. they used to spend time with each other at family reunions as kids and still keep in touch through letters.

pheobe is half-alolan and related to acerola. staying connected to her alolan heritage is very important to pheobe and talking to acerola about the culture helps her feel more in touch with it. in turn, she helps acerola strengthen her spiritual abilities and teaches her how to better communicate with ghost-types.

hilda and hilbert are siblings, with hilbert being older by one year. they're very close and are always looking out for each other, no matter how much they bicker and rib each other. hilbert sits out on picking starters at the beginning of the game, as he received a scraggy for his birthday the year prior.

rosa and nate are twins, rosa being older by a minute. the two seem to have pretty similar personalities at first glance, ( both being high-spirited, big-hearted, and ready to take on whatever life throws at them, ) but the small differences become more obvious the more you get to know them. rosa has a tendency to run headfirst into any and all situations, which often gets her into trouble, while nate is a lot more pragmatic and tries to assess things before tackling problems. they often seem to balance each other because of this, but have to learn how to not rely on each other as much when their journeys put them on different paths.

serena is a descendant of az through her mother, grace. no one is aware of this expect az himself.

mizuki and elio are cousins, mizuki being half-alolan and staying with elio's family at the start of the game. elio is a lot more laid-back than the high-energy mizuki and often looks out for her like a big brother during her island challenge ( even though he's only a few months older than her. )

nia and penny are sisters. their parents separated when penny was pretty young, ( all the stuff going on peony and the league and rose put a major strain on their marriage, ) with their mother moving back home to paldea with her. they keep in touch through text / video chat and nia is very protective of her little sister, especially after finding out what happened at the academy.

larry is giacomo and poppy's father. he separated from their mother after coming to terms with his sexuality, but the two are still on good terms. he overworks himself to help provide for his kids, not realizing how his lack of presence could end up straining his relationship with them. giacomo is especially distant from his dad, going as far to not mention who he's related to unless asked, but that has more to do with him feeling like a failure when being compared to him than anything else. he does love hanging out with his little sister, though. ( he likes teaching her songs... and bad words, but don't tell his dad he does that. )

[a-lonely-dunedain]

12.............. with Corunir?

So you have chosen... Tur-Morva. *evil laughter* wherein the rescue instance goes horribly awry in a canon-compliant way

“Eth… Help me” Ethedis hears a weak but familiar voice behind her, one that she would be overjoyed to hear in any other circumstances and speaking any other words. She was a split moment from sprinting down the tunnel, where she had heard Bregadir frantically calling for a healer mere seconds ago. 

Instead, she stops and pivots around to see Corunir collapsed on one knee, breathing heavily and bleeding more so, a deep shadow of crimson growing beneath him. Horror sets in the pit of her stomach.

She stoops to steady him just in time as he falls forward into her arms. “I think… wounds reopened…” he mutters faintly as Ethedis struggles to reposition him to asses his injury. 

“Corunir…?” No response “…Corunir!” She calls frantically, still to no avail. He’s fading fast. She fights to bury the panic welling up in her heart. She has to stay calm if she is to have any hope of saving him. She prays someone else heard Bregadir’s call for a healer, she cannot help both of them.

There is a long cut on his stomach, that seems to be the primary source of the blood. The wound is not fresh, seeming days old yet healing very poorly. No doubt an injury sustained during the Grey Company’s capture and left to fester after he was thrown into that dark cell, just beyond the reach of his kin. It seems to have reopened in the battle. His strength has already been long spent, and this rapid loss of blood would be enough to push him over the edge. His face is pale and his breath slows with each moment, he is minutes away from death.

She puts her hand to the wound, applying as much pressure as she can in her already weakened state. “Please… just hang on. Just a little longer…” she pleads, blinking away tears. He cannot hear her. 

She takes a deep breath and turns her mind outwards, beyond herself and this small corridor. She does not know how deep below the earth they are, but deep enough that she cannot hear the slumbering trees or even reach their roots, but she doubts they would be willing to lend her their power anyway, not while it’s still winter. She keeps searching. She finds some moss, it wants to help, but it is too small for this task. 

After a search that, in reality, barely lasted a moment yet it felt like hours, she finally finds something. An underground river, flowing swift and strong beneath the earth, unaffected and uncaring of all else, yet holding great power. She begs the dark cold waters for aid, to lend her its strength and grant this dying man in her arms new life. 

‘Please. Please just buy him a little more time. Let me save him. It isn’t his time yet. Not here. Please.’

There is nothing. The river has no reason to care. She fears it will give her nothing.

Nothing, and then the sound of rushing water thundering in Ethedis’ ears alone, the shock of cold water in her veins, and an unfamiliar power flowing through her hands. Flowing like a torrent of water too powerful for her to tread in such a weakened state, yet tread it she must. She sends it into Corunir’s near-lifeless body. Close the wound, stop the bleeding, give him the strength to survive. 

There is water now, but not from the river, it flows from Ethedis’ eyes. Her hands tremble and her arms burn as though she has been swimming against the current of an ocean. Acting as a conduit of power such as this would test her limits even on a good day, and this was anything but ‘a good day’. 

She cannot do this. She cannot hold onto this river. Corunir is still bleeding. If she stops now it will not be enough to save him, but she cannot hold on. More water escapes her eyes, a sob from her throat.

Suddenly she feels another set of hands atop her own, calloused, worn, and strong. A familiar voice beside her, it belongs to Golodir.

“Easy, Ethedis, easy. You’re doing well. It will be alright.” If he is afraid, his voice will not betray it, and that is all the better for Ethedis. 

With the practiced confidence only an experienced captain could possess, he manages to steady her. She can hold on a little longer, she is not fighting alone, Golodir found them. He says it’s going to be ok, and she believes him.

She keeps it up just long enough, but not a moment more. She cracks open one eye and sees Corunir's bleeding has finally slowed, if not stopped altogether. Some color has returned to his face as well. She thinks it is safe to stop now. She looks over to Golodir and sees worry in his eyes, but no fear. He simply nods at her, she thinks she hears him say something, but she cannot make out the words. She lets go and collapses. She thinks Golodir caught her, but her body is numb with cold and she can’t feel much of anything. He calls out to her, but she lacks the strength to respond and consciousness quickly abandons her. Corunir is alright at least. Golodir found them, everything will be alright.

(Yaaay Golodad to the rescue! there was meant to be another part to this, where Corunir comes to later and actually has the chance to talk to Ethedis, but it wasn't coming together fast enough so I'll probably just add that part *gestures vaguely* "later". I DO like what I had so far, but it was my first time actually properly writing dialog between those two and I wanted to make sure I did a good job, ya can't rush it. you'll see it later.)

[arthurtristankingsmen]

also small announcement but i have a new tumblr rp blog under construction. It'll be a nice fresh start for getting back into things again, and i'm very excited to share it with people who are still interested in writing with me :3

[astrxealis]

okay rambles but i started creatively writing in like ... 5th grade? and. oh god just a little encouragement to anyone looking to get into writing or insecure or whatnot, but HELLS, maybe it's to he expected with my (obviously) very young age and inexperience with writing then, but my writing was really. yeah. Yeah. but then i'm what... a lot older now, obviously, and my writing has gotten leagues better. i'm probably not a good example for this bcs childhood years development stuff are different etc etc BUT practicing writing more and whatnot really does go a long way :]

[broke-on-books]

😍😍😍

[iguessitsjustme]

I have regrets

[crykea]

Been writing an uraraka character study hurt comfort fic for two weeks that I KNOW no one's gonna read bc I know the fandom doesn't care as much abt the female characters but I LOVE her and that's what matters :)

[breezy-cheezy]

Trigun Stampede (+Milly) x FFXIV rambles

Vash:

Preferred job type: Healer (Sage)

Flex-

DPS: Machinist

Tank: I'd say Gunbreaker but I think he'd be drawn to the Paladin vibes ngl.

(the rest under the cut, this got LONG)

Viera, talks like a sprout/newbie even though he's been here forever. He's just so friendly!! Says hi!! And does a funny dance when queuing into any instance!! Always resurrects a downed party member, regardless of if they got there by being stupid or not. No matter how many times they die. He WILL raise them. He also maybe cries when someone falls off the stage (while everyone else laughs). Excellent healer, very attentive and knowledgeable about mechanics. Very encouraging!! Might get overwhelmed, even if very good at adjusting. Do Not Yell At Him He's doing his best.

Insanely good at DPS for some reason. He never wants to be the DPS. Heck if there wasn't a JOB depending on damage to heal, he'd do no damage at all. :/

Meryl:

Preferred job type: DPS (Monk. Punchy. Also Black Mage.)

Flex-

Healer: Sage (she's WAY too big on the DPS part. Opposite of Vash where if this didn't heal she'd do no healing....)

Tank: Warrior (so powerful, basically self sufficient)

Miqo'te Keeper of the Sun or Lalafel. Not sure, LOL. Always down to raid, especially if it's with friends!! Tends to jump the gun and trigger boss fights before tank is ready. She's lucky her tank (Milly) and Healers (Vash, sometimes Roberto) go with her anyway and don't let her die (like I would kJHSJDKLHF). Vash will start explaining mechanics and she'll just YEET into the room. Mechanics are for cars!!! Healers have to use Rescue on her alot....

She is, while blunt, still very kind to new people. She’s also always worried she isn't doing enough, so she throws herself into another fight before ready, MERYL NO-

Milly:

Preferred job type: Tank (Paladin, Gunbreaker)

Flex-

Healer: White Mage (simple, extremely effective)

DPS: Bard or Summoner (she loves playing the instruments! And the little friends from summoning :>)

Highlander Hyur. Always there if anyone wants to do anything, very easygoing and vibes with many different parties. She’s not....the fastest Tank (she’s not one to pull mobs from wall to wall) but she’s good at getting between the threat and her friends, and that’s what matters. As a tank she’s supposed to be leading but when Meryl’s in the group, she’s usually seen closely tailing her instead....also keeps putting the “Cover” spell (Take all damage intended for another party member as long as said member remains within 10 yalms.) on Vash even when he insists he can handle the damage.

PLEASE (politely) remind her to turn her tank stance on. She will forget.

She might get a little lost in admiring the scenery of the dungeons, or. Lost in general (as I have done hhhsdkj). Gently redirect her and you’ll be fine. Doesn’t quite know the mechanics but somehow does a great job anyway!

Roberto:

Preferred job type: Healer (Scholar. His weapon is a freaking newspaper.)

Flex-

Tank: Gunbreaker (please don’t make him tank, he is very slow, you’ll be there all day)

DPS: Black Mage (don’t have to move much, better on his back, big damage)

Highlander Hyur. Grumpy healer!! Very tired, but still very good at his job, always there when the going gets tough, no matter how much he complains. He’s given up on resurrecting downed party members when Vash is in the party because that kid is always on it. SOMEONE has to cover the healing when Vash inevitably runs his mana reserves dry doing this. Says he’s too old to raid, and yet has a surprisingly solid grasp on the mechanics. He does his research. Whether he takes the time to explain them though is another issue entirely....he will do callouts if needed.

Also has Rescue on a hotkey for Meryl, sometimes Vash. Will make fun of people for dumb deaths, might play limbo with health sometimes, but he’s reliable. He’s alert, and there are very few deaths on his watch. (Mainly because they don’t want his world-wary lecture, but shhhh)

Wolfwood:

Preferred job type: DPS (Reaper. because Undertaker. get it? haha. ha.)

Flex-

Tank: Dark Knight (giant unweildy weapon?? Angsty origins? Eyup.)

Healer: White Mage (He sucks at it, don’t make him heal. He just keeps using Glare and Holy.....)

Miqo’te, Keeper of the Moon. Used to be a tank main (and really enjoys co-tanking with Milly!!) but found Reaper worked for him really well. He’s the type to keep an eye on the healers, and is the first to run down wayward mobs that escape the tank’s notice. This is especially important with Vash, who gets so focused on healing he doesn’t realize he’s getting hurt. Plus, the faster they can kill stuff, the safer everyone is. Win-win.

Likes to pull crazy stunts, has accidentally Engressed off the stage. Several times. Sometimes gets the Rescue Leash (just not as often as Meryl). Constantly bickering with Meryl over everything, who did the most damage, annoyance for running ahead (when he’s doing the SAME THING), scuffed mechanics, etc. Thinks stupid deaths should be left alone but....

“No Needles they need to learn their lesson, leave them-”

-rez sounds-

“Nevermind.”

Knives:

Preferred Job Type: DPS (Ninja, Dancer. Both throw very sharp objects. I think Dancer would be nice for him since it deals with Dynamis, and expressing emotion in alternate ways, etc. Bard for the piano playing.)

Flex-

Tank: Dark Knight

Healer: Astrologian (He likes the strategy of it.)

Viera, very rarely talks in chat. Does not emote often, but when he does it’s....rather extreme. Vash does alot of talking for him really. (”Nai said thanks!” “......”) Just wants to get the duty over with. Honestly doesn’t show up often but when he does, it’s clear he’s done extensive research so he does it near perfectly every time (he got lost in a beginner dungeon ONE TIME....). If someone fails a mechanic and dies they deserve it. As healer, plays limbo with the tank HP (unless the tank is Vash).

Do Not get between Knives and his uptime. Just don’t. He knows what he’s doing (Milly as healer used Rescue on him ONCE before he was ready, and he’s never forgiven her lmao. Then there’s Wolfwood and Meryl who do it on PURPOSE...please don’t make them heal). 

He has entirely too many weapons. Millions, you could say. His glam chest is FULL of them.