#there were SO many other characters i could have done too but these were the ones to come to mind first!

[burningembers91]

Help Wanted - Seong Gi-Hun x Fem!Reader

Follow up piece to:

Back Alley Bar

Synopsis: When Seong Gi-Hun sees you struggling, he decides to step in

A/N: this storyline is becoming more angsty than I originally thought it would! A lot of my MC’s are happy go lucky people though, so it’s fun creating someone’s who’s just as flawed as the other characters.

You were late, so incredibly late. Between your full time day job, shifts at the bar, and your online university classes, you were burning the candle at both ends. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d had more than 4 hours of sleep, and it was starting to catch up to you. Your shirt was inside out, a problem you’d only realised as you left the subway. You’d have to quickly change it in the bathroom before class, and hope your students and fellow teachers didn’t notice your absence.

You glanced down at your watch: only 6 minutes to make a 10 minute journey. You’d have to run to the school, which meant you’d turn up to work both sweaty and dressed incorrectly. Groaning internally, you picked up the pace, setting out into a steady jog. You hated running, it made you feel like your lungs were about to burst out of your chest. You were so busy mentally timing your journey that you didn’t notice the figure in front of you. Not until you collided full force with them, knocking you and the contents of your bag onto the pavement.

“Oh, fuck!” You hissed, your hands going straight to your throbbing nose. You looked up, ready to curse whoever it was that hadn’t moved out of your way, only to see Seong Gi-Hun standing over you.

“Are you alright?” He asked, bending forward to help you up. You nodded, checking there was no blood before scrambling to pick up your papers that were blowing lazily down the road.

Gi-Hun had always thought you’d been beautiful, but even he had to admit that you looked exhausted beyond measure. There was deep bags under your eyes, toothpaste in the corner of your mouth, and was your shirt inside out?

“Your shirt-“ he began, before you cut him off, your tone harsh.

“Yes,” you snapped, “my shirt is inside out.”You took the remaining papers from his hands, sighing as you rubbed your tired eyes.

“I’m sorry,” you said, “I’m just really tired and really, really late for work.”

Gi-Hun held his hands up, stepping aside to let you rush past him. “I hope you have a good day!” He called after you, smiling as he watched your incorrectly worn shirt billow in the warm spring breeze.

He hadn’t been to the bar for a few weeks. Your words had really gotten to him, had made him stop and think. Did he really want to spend the rest of his life wallowing in his own pity? Drinking himself to death wouldn’t change what he’d done, nothing would take back the mistakes he’d made, nothing would bring back the people he’d lost. But if he didn’t do something soon, he’d waste away into nothingness. The morning after the conversation in your car, Gi-Hun threw away the bottle of whiskey he usually kept by his bed. He went out and looked for places advertising employment, willing to take on whatever work he could get. He missed seeing you though, missed listening to you talk when you thought he wasn’t listening. He’d never seen you in the daylight before, and you looked even more beautiful than you did in the dimly lit bar. But you looked so tired, so stressed. You’d done so much for Gi-Hun over the last few months; now it was time for him to return the favour.

That night, Gi-Hun returned to the bar. He didn’t drink, though he desperately wanted to. He just sat with you, keeping you company as you had done for him so many times. You looked exhausted, your eyes red rimmed and puffy. You didn’t talk much that night, too tired to form words. But Gi-Hun didn’t mind; he knew better than anyone that sometimes all you needed was a persons presence to stop you from going completely insane.

“Let me drive you home,” he said to you at the end of your shift.

“I’m fine, honestly,” you mumbled, fumbling with the keys as you locked the bar down for the night.

“Please,” he insisted. “It’s not safe for you to drive.”

You looked at him, closing your eyes as they burned with tiredness, before sighing.

“Fine.” Tossing him the keys, you slumped into the passenger side, secretly grateful for the help. If you’d had to drive home, you weren’t sure you’d have made it back in one piece.

You were both silent as the car wound through the city streets, lost in your own thoughts. Gi-Hun helped you upstairs with your bags, ladened down with student essays you needed to mark, and your own uni work that you hadn’t had time to complete. He wasn’t sure if he should stay for a while, to make sure you got in ok.

“Have you eaten?” He asked, desperate to prolong his time with you, even for a brief moment. Your stomach growled loudly in response, and you clutched at it.

“I guess I forgot to,” you mumbled, throwing yourself down on the couch which was littered with yet more paperwork.

“You need to eat,” he said, “let me make you something.” He dug around in the cupboards, finding a couple of packs of instant ramen to make while you got changed out of your work clothes. You returned a few moments later, makeup free and wearing a tiny pair of pyjama shorts. They accentuated the curves of your thighs and hips so perfectly, and Gi-Hun found himself unable to tear his eyes away. You looked so beautiful, but so fragile and broken.

Handing you the bowl of food, he turned to go. He didn’t want to overstay his welcome, didn’t want to encroach on you when you clearly needed rest.

“Please don’t go.” Your voice was so quiet he almost didn’t hear you. You looked so small sitting on your sofa, the bowl of steaming ramen in your hands. “Please, can you just stay a while?”

You were so lonely at the minute, so utterly drained and exhausted. You just needed some company, needed someone to sit with you. And so Gi-Hun stayed. He sat with you while you ate, neither of you talking, but both of you having so much you wanted to say.

“Why do you do all this?” He asked eventually, looking at the mountains of paperwork all over your tiny living room.

“I made some bad choices when I was younger,” you sighed. “I met someone when I was really young. I thought he was a nice guy; he wasn’t. I took a job as a teacher because it was easy and brought money in. But as soon as I put money in the account, he would spend it.”

Your ex sounded like Gi-Hun, and it filled him with shame.

“Did he gamble?” He asked, wondering just alike the two of them were.

You shook your head. “Drugs and prostitutes, mostly,” you laughed bitterly. “It took me years to get the courage up to leave. And when I finally did I realised I’d wasted my life being with a man I hated, in a job I can’t stand. I thought by going back to university I could make myself better somehow. But I’m just really tired and I have nothing to show for it.”

A single, fat tear dropped down your cheek, and you quickly wiped it away. You talked long into the night, fighting sleep so you could spend more time with the man who had shown you such kindness. When your eyes could no longer stay open, you crashed hard on the sofa, your head slumped on Gi-Hun’s shoulder.

He didn’t dare move, didn’t dare wake you from the sleep you desperately needed. So he stayed there all night, watching the slow rise and fall of your chest. His hand tentatively stroked your back, soothing the troubled mumbles you uttered every now and again.

You’d been there for him when he needed someone, and now he’d be there for you. Life was tough for both of you, but you could help each other. Maybe together you could come out the other side. Maybe together you’d be ok.

[tiyawnyana]

Hey hey heyyy!

I actually love avatar too! I’m counting down the days until Avatar 3 comes out so I can watch it a million times <3

Anyway, I was hoping you could do headcannons of Viktor x councillor!reader who is an advocate for building up the Undercity so it gets to Piltover level if that makes sense. (Basically just wanting equality within the two districts)

Thank yeww!

-🎐 anon

Thank you for the request!!! (I mightve gone a little off track) Gaaaah I love me some good quality characters that wear their heart on their sleeves. Also I cannot wait for avatar 3!! I fear everyone around me will hate me bc that is all I will be talking about

A/N: two fics two days in a row?? A Christmas miracle

Characters: Viktor x Counselor!Reader

Warnings: nothing explicit—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—

Heart

You took over the counselor position after your Uncle, Torman Hoskel, retired.

You got into politics for the sole purpose of giving equality to those less fortunate. You were a black sheep of sorts, in comparison to your other family members

you were seen as childish- bright eyed and naive, but you played your cards closely and carefully, much like one Medarda (she too realized this)

It was earlier on into the beginning of the age of Hextech, Jayce Talis and his partner, Viktor from the Undercity were becoming the faces of the future.

People mainly only acknowledged Jayce, but you often sought out Viktor as well, including him on the conversations with the progress of Hextech

You gave Viktor the equal respect and admiration as Jayce received from everyone, and that surprised Viktor- a welcome surprise, thankfully

Over time, you built a steady, healthy friendship with him and Jayce, genuinely happy and enthralled with the progress and creations they made over the years

At first, Viktor thought your actions were none other than another counselor wanting Hextech in their pocket-

He was mistaken and he's glad of it, you never came in with that as your goal

You first poach the idea of installing something of good use to the undercity to Jayce in private, hoping for him to take the hint to speed things along.

His best friend, his partner in Hextech after all, was from Zaun. Viktor deserved to see their creations be used to help his people.

You advocated for Zaun more as time went on, acknowledging the name that the people have given their home. You brought in infrastructure ideas, growing more and more agitated as your ideas kept being pushed to the back burner.

This got you into arguments- Many arguments with the other counselors but you refused to bend. Counselor Heimerdinger remained neutral, not able to see that his people were starving in the undercity, suffering and ill ridden despite his prodigy being a product of that environment. You appreciated Heimerdinger for everything he's done, but came to the realization that it wasn't enough.

word of uprisings and crime lords gaining power in the Undercity after all the things that happened 5 years prior (the explosion at Jayce’s, the one down by the southern docks, the death of the ‘Hound’, Vander); it all gained your attention more

You had called for a meeting with the other counselors the night you returned, bringing your own collected vile of what was called Shimmer. The purple, glimmery fluid almost glowed, pulsing with light as you placed it before Counselor Heimerdinger.

“I’m afraid I must be completely honest and blunt here,” you usher to the vile,

“This is the product of our blatant disregard of our people in the Undercity.”

Counselor Salo scoffs, rolling his eyes and spewing some vile insinuations of ‘heathens’ and ‘animals’.

You ignore him, standing in the middle of the circular table,”I commend Counselor Kirammans house for commissioning the pipes in the lower parts of the Undercity to give them safe, proper air to breathe,” you nod to the woman,”But this is not enough. The people deserve more. They need our support, our protection-“

You don’t realize that Jayce and Viktor have been summoned, approaching the room and being let in halfway through your rant.

Viktor is surprised-

“These people have dug their own grave- they start riots and spew violence-”

“Only because they've been backed into a corner, Salo!” You shout, walking closer to his seat and therefore cornering him, despite the barrier of the table,”Anyone will do what they can to protect themselves, their families, from violence.”

You stand up straight, looking around the table. The counselors either look away or face you, a scowl on their lips.

“We are supposed to protect our people, not bury them underground with no hopes to getting out,” you usher to the vile once more,”This is what our lack of protection and equality does to them. Strips them of their lives. They're constantly in fear or struck by illness or addiction, all because we've been turning a blind eye. It's no wonder they've been rioting- it's the only thing that has gotten your attention!”

You glance over to Counselor Shoola, at least hoping she would acknowledge it but you're surprised to see Jayce and Viktor in the entryway.

“This meeting is adjourned,” Counselor Heimerdinger speaks out, beckoning the two in the entryway in.

You send a scathing glare at them all before storming out.

Viktor finds you a few hours later on the terrace above the gardens.

He's quiet, his cane the only form of noise as he approaches. There's a brisk chill to the air, moon high above the clouds cascading a cool glow along the flowers below.

He sighs, leaning against the banister, gazing down below before drifting his eyes back up to the sky

You huff out a soft sigh, head bowing in exhaustion,”They're all idiots.”

He laughs softly, nodding in agreement as he peers over at you,”Yeah- yeah, they can be.”

You bring your head up, frustration in your brow,”I just- how can these people be so stuck up? I get that my head was in the dirt for a while- but I learned and I'm trying to make things right-”

“You're using your status and position to do good,” he murmurs, leaning on his elbow and facing you,”That's more than any of them can say, honestly.”

You glance over at him with a sorrowful look,”What if that isn't enough? I'm doing all that I can, I've started production in the lower mines to clear out the old piping-”

Viktor shakes his head at that, hesitating for a moment before reaching out to place his hand over yours,”Even speaking it aloud does something. Your actions alone have proven that, don't think I haven't heard you giving ideas to Jayce for the undercity while I wasn't there.”

He smirks at you and you huff.

“Just keep doing what you're doing, I'm right there with you and I know Jayce is too,” he reassures softly.

You nod quietly, peering down below,”I hope I haven't squandered my position.”

“I don't think you have, and honestly,” he steps closer,”I don't think you will anytime soon. Your seat in that chamber is important for Piltover's Infrastructure- I'd say you hold more cards than Shoola or Salo.”

You roll your eyes with a fond huff,”Now, I doubt that-”

“Don't,” he speaks firm but careful,”You have what they don't seem to-”

You raise a brow,”And what would that be?”

He's silent for such a brief moment, eyes flicking across your face before he smiles softly,”A heart.”

Your face warms, surprisingly, and you attempt to brush it off with a sarcastic laugh.

“Considering one of them is made of metal-”

“I mean it,” he steps closer, and suddenly you feel his warmth,”You have a heart- full of fire and care for people you haven't even met-”

He cups your forearm,”You were kind to me without scorn, even when we first met.”

You're silent, gaze drifting down to his hand holding your arm. Your heart is thundering away in your chest,”It's not difficult to be kind.”

“For some, it is,” he murmurs, his warm eyes drifting over your face, urging you to look at him,”But you never wavered.”

You bring your gaze back up to his, almost taken aback by the genuine smile on his lips.

He brushes back a stray hair, tucking it behind your ear and cupping your cheek tenderly, pulling you in.

You almost think he's going to kiss you, but instead presses his forehead against yours, sighing softly.

“Keep using your voice,” he murmurs,”They're sure to listen eventually.”

You lean into his hold, hand moving to cup his elbow softly as you nod quietly.

He's the one to pull back, another surprise, but doesn't let you pull away completely- instead peering at you with a soft, but questioning gaze, eyes moving down to your lips before trailing back up to yours.

You nod, nose brushing his as he slots his lips over yours.

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—

A/N: requests are still open!

[mirrorcatcreditcard]

Things I think the fandom just willfully ignores or has no idea about that would be super easy to slip into your fanfiction if you want to be inclusive and try out new things.

Lucifer just likes shibari, nawajutsu, or some form of rope tying art, and there's nothing inherently sexual about the excitement it brings him. He's a sadist too, but attraction to the other party would only add to the experience, not be necessary or a byproduct.

Belphegor could age regress and nobody would really be the wiser because of his position as coddled/spoiled youngest child. Even if they were, it doesn't change anything, really.

Beelzebub can fuck. He's also a cannibal. Do I need to say the vore word for you to understand how underutilized food/gore as a love language would be with him? No, it doesn't need to be sexual either, but goddamn so many keep treating him like UwU baby when he kills demons in cold blood because he hungy

Asmodeus is any gender or sexuality you want him to be. Lust ≠ attraction, and you can make him asexual. He's pretty free with how he presents. Also, his fans are so desperate for nice content on him that they'll take anything too. Nobody is going to kill you over this.

Mammon's greed can also be depicted as someone who wants to monopolize your time and/or affections. He attempts plenty of times in canon.

Barbatos' strongest attachment is Diavolo, but he does care about other beings. As long as they're not getting in the way of Diavolo, he's allowed to show care in his own way goddamnit. He's not an ice statue.

Mammon is allowed to be a non-sexual masochist. I don't know why people think all kinks are sexual, BUT HE'S ALLOWED.

I just want to take a moment to acknowledge bloodlust counting as a lust.

Luke is a genuinely deep character with a compelling story and important appearances, and you will be doing better than 99% of the fandom if you just acknowledge that he's more than just a kid who tags along and whines when he's scared (like all kids do when they're his age btw). Kicking him to the side is just another child discrimination case, and you can just say you don't understand him...

Almost everyone if not everyone has had a 1-on-1 in this series, and you're allowed to write about that scenario that "seems ooc" because there's someone out there who wishes that they could write who wants to see them interact, and they haven't found you because you haven't made yourself known.

I think over 75% of the cast has what humans would call a trauma disorder, and you guys have got to stop ignoring the fact that Solmare usually just brushes over stuff that genuinely affects them to keep the plot going. They've done it since the beginning, even before the cursed lesson 16.

Non-character-specific stuff under the cut:

You can headcanon and write any character that you want to as aromantic or on the spectrum. Also, news flash: familial, platonic, romantic, and sexual are not the only relationship labels to exist. Go look up "alterous attraction" if you wanna do something that would line up with, you know, emotions that aren't all centered around how our society depicts stuff.

If they're all built like that and inherently different from humans, neurodivergence may not exist to demons but have fun with the headcanons anyways. The world is your oyster.

[gauntletgirlie]

Reparations: A Silverscars One Shot

Picture provided by @greenleaf4stuff.

I’ve written my first completed fanfiction piece! It’s a silvergifting one shot, inspired by a conversation I had with the wonderful @greenleaf4stuff (see this post).

Pairings: Adar x Celebrimbor.

Other characters: Gil-galad, Elrond and Galadriel.

Setting: AU Rings of Power in which Sauron does not kill Celebrimbor.

Warnings: Mention of blood and injuries. Mildly spicy with allusions to smut, nothing explicit. Gauntlet kink (shocking, I know).

Premise: Adar has rescued Celebrimbor from Sauron and is in the process of negotiating a truce with the elves. However, Lord Celebrimbor is proving most distracting.

Word count: 2100

Snippet following, the full piece is under the cut. I hope you enjoy!

Adar growled in frustration. The armour was coming off he decided, figuratively and literally. 

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

He was stood too close. Adar could feel the air beside him move with even the slightest shift in Lord Celebrimbor’s stance. He refused to look at the elf beside him, staring resolutely at the High King instead as he addressed the room. 

Gil-galad had called this meeting to discuss the terms of truce between elf and uruk, and so it was that Adar found himself in the ruins of Eregion’s forges with the elven leaders: Gil-galad, Galadriel, Elrond, and Celebrimbor. It was hastily done, but terms needed to be set, at least until a more formal arrangement could be made. The siege had been called off the moment Nenya had cleared Adar’s mind of the influence of Sauron, and Sauron himself had fled once he had seen he was outnumbered and outmanoeuvred. 

Adar was trying his hardest to focus on what the High King was saying, but whilst his eyes remained fixed upon Gil-galad’s face, every other sense was drawn to Celebrimbor. He could hear the soft susurration of the elf’s gown as he repositioned slightly and could smell the blood that oozed from his bandaged hand. Adar could even feel the exhaustion that emanated from him. 

The elf lord should be resting, not forced to stand here and discuss politics. Then again, Adar mused, Elrond and Gil-galad were sporting their own wounds, weariness also yoking their shoulders. Perhaps they should all have sought respite before attempting to negotiate treaties. He himself felt energised, the power of Nenya had stripped away much to reveal more of his old self and he was impatient to get back to being the father his children deserved once more. 

Celebrimbor kept sneaking surreptitious glances at him, Adar could see in his peripheral vision. The Lord of Eregion had been most gracious with him, not least because Adar had rescued him from the clutches of Sauron. He owed Adar his life, but Adar owed him reparations for a besieged and destroyed city. A fact Gil-galad was not letting him forget. 

In fact, Adar was pretty certain it was that very topic the High King was so emphatically enumerating right now, if only Adar could stop listening to Celebrimbor’s unsteady breaths next to him. No, it had become too much, he could take it no longer, the Lord of Eregion needed a break and he needed to not be stood so close.

“If I may be so bold, your majesty.” Adar interrupted Gil-galad and was rewarded by a look of surprised indignation. “Lord Celebrimbor clearly requires rest, his injuries are many and talk such as this requires minds unclouded by pain and fatigue. I think he may not be the only one who would benefit from a chance to heal somewhat.”

Adar looked at Elrond, then Galadriel, before settling back on the High King. Gil-galad gave him a calculating look, his deep brown eyes boring into his own pale blue ones, no doubt attempting to determine if there was an ulterior motive behind his words. He might suspect Adar of seeking to stall negotiations, which was entirely untrue. Adar wished to get back to Mordor with his children as soon as possible, he just needed a reason to lessen the proximity between Celebrimbor and himself and this was the politest way he could think of achieving it. 

It was Galadriel that broke the tense silence that had fallen after Adar’s words. 

“I agree with Adar.” His name did not fit comfortably in her mouth still, it haltingly dropped from her tongue. “Lord Celebrimbor has suffered greatly and both yourself and Elrond have also sustained injuries-“

“Thanks to this orc and his children.” Cut in Elrond, though Adar noticed that his voice was more tired than it was harsh. 

“Uruk”.

Adar nearly broke his rule of not looking at Celebrimbor, for he and the elf had spoken the word in unison. He felt a smile creep unbidden to his lips and bit down on the inside of his cheek to prevent it spreading. He could do nothing to prevent the warmth that was simultaneously spreading in his chest, however. 

“I have already apologised on behalf of myself and my children.” Adar addressed Elrond. “I wish for no more flames and no more darkness. I wish to heal the rift between elf and uruk. Sauron poisons my mind no longer, as he no longer poisons Lady Galadriel’s or Lord Celebrimbor’s.”

At the reminder that not one, but two of their own had succumbed to Sauron’s deceit, Elrond and Gil-galad both appeared uncomfortable and, dare he say it, abashed. Gil-galad exchanged a glance with his commander before sighing and straightening himself. 

“We shall break until the morrow then. But we meet back here an hour after first light.” The High King’s tone brooked no argument as he fixed Adar with a hard stare. 

Adar inclined his head in assenting acknowledgment. With one last look at those gathered, Galadriel took Elrond’s arm and the two made their way out of the huge oak doors of the forge without another word. Gil-galad looked at Celebrimbor expectantly, but the smith made no move to leave. The High King raised an eyebrow but chose not to comment, instead bestowing Adar with a final appraising contemplation before following his companions out. 

“Lord Celebrimbor.” Adar acknowledged the other in farewell but as he was about to leave, Celebrimbor spoke. 

“I wanted to thank you again, for saving my life.” Celebrimbor’s voice was brimming with sincerity. 

“You have already thanked me. There is no need to continue to do so.“ Adar spoke kindly, not wishing to insult the other, but in truth Celebrimbor’s indebtedness made him feel discomfited. He was a great elf lord of noble lineage, an artist of the highest degree, a mind of genius and compassion; to see him reduced to such vulnerability was grievous to witness.  

“Still, I mean it. You were my knight in rusting armour.” Celebrimbor laughed softly at his own joke then placed a hand on Adar’s own, which was resting on the edge of the table they had all been gathered around. Adar stared at the contact. 

“Can you not even look at me?” Exasperation laced with pleading in the smith’s voice. 

Adar found he could not reply, his mind was whirling, and just as words were beginning to form, he felt Celebrimbor remove his hand and Adar’s heart sank, even as his mind relaxed. He was already on shaky ground with the elves, especially their High King. He could not afford to get entangled with one such as the Lord of Eregion. Better to not even entertain such thoughts as a warm, gentle hand placed upon his own threatened to give. 

To his astonishment, Adar felt that same warm hand cup his scarred cheek and gently but firmly turn his head so he was forced to look sideways at the elf beside him. Celebrimbor was already facing him and the space between them was so diminutive it would only take one of them to lean forwards to eradicate it entirely. 

Adar kept his face impassive, but he knew his eyes would betray him. He was not one to break eye contact, but he feared that Celebrimbor would see the hopeful longing he had no right to possess harboured in his gaze. He was about to look away when he saw a change in the other’s eyes; where there had been uncertainty now there was resolve. 

“Oh for goodness’s sake.” Celebrimbor whispered before sliding his hand down to the top of Adar’s breastplate and tugging him so that his mouth was brought to press firmly against the elf’s before he could even think to react. 

Celebrimbor’s lips were surprisingly soft and moved tentatively, despite his sudden determination. Adar was frozen in place, his hands involuntarily rising up in shock with his shoulders tensed up. Celebrimbor broke away to meet Adar with questioning expectancy. His fingers still gripped the top of his breastplate, refusing to relinquish their grip. 

Adar was now faced with a choice. Risk incurring the disdainful wrath of Gil-galad, Elrond, and probably Galadriel by giving in to his desires or risk offending and losing forever the elf before him whom he could no longer deny he respected, admired, and wanted so very badly. 

Adar smiled. There was no choice. He slid round so they faced one another properly, tilting his head forward so their noses almost touched. He heard Celebrimbor’s breath catch at the sudden movement. 

“Are you certain this is what you want?” He asked in a low voice, his eyes never leaving the other’s.

“Yes.” Celebrimbor spoke without hesitation. 

Adar moved immediately, that one word releasing the fire within him he had been so desperately trying to keep from consuming him. He grasped Celebrimbor round the waist with his gauntlet and drew him in, sealing the gap between them as he kissed the elf with an urgency that earned him a gasp of delighted surprise. His other hand brushed up the velvety fabric of the elf lord’s tunic to rest in the hollow of his back. 

Celebrimbor matched him in pace, their lips moving together in a dance of fervidity, but Adar was leaning in hard so that the smith was forced to wrap his arms about the uruk’s neck, uninjured hand entangling in his hair. In one swift motion, Adar grabbed the elf’s hips in both hands and hoisted him up to place him on the edge of the table next to them. He could kiss Celebrimbor more vigorously now and press their bodies closer without fear of either of them losing their footing. He cursed his breastplate, for what had been instrumental in bringing them together moments ago was now preventing him from feeling the other’s well-muscled form against his own. 

Adar growled in frustration. The armour was coming off he decided, figuratively and literally. Celebrimbor attempted to help him undo the buckles but he only had the one hand to work with, the other being too maimed to use so intricately. Adar’s desperation for closeness saw he was freed quickly, however, and the two embraced in a zealous collision. 

Celebrimbor was drawing him down so that Adar had to brace his gauntlet-clad hand against the table. The elf brought his legs up to wrap around Adar’s waist, ankles crossed at his back, his robe slipping up his calves to tease a glimpse of his thighs. The sight incensed Adar, he wanted to trail kisses up those thighs from knee to pelvis, meeting with what was housed in the middle. 

Celebrimbor had brushed Adar’s hair aside and was trailing light nips and sucks along his neck to end behind his ear. Adar’s gauntlet scraped against the wood of the table, gouging deep lines into the surface and his legs threatened to buckle when Celebrimbor began softly biting his ear, teasing his way from lobe to tip, but the smith merely tightened those supple legs against him to keep him steady. Adar slid his bare hand to grip the top of Celebrimbor’s thigh, feeling the smooth muscle tighten under his touch. The elf moaned in response causing the uruk to stop and pull back.

“Am I hurting you?” Concern flooded him, he had gotten lost in his lust, forgetting the elf lord was already battle-worn and fatigued. “We can stop here, we need not go any further. You do need to rest.”

Celebrimbor looked deep into his eyes with a longing that scorched Adar’s soul. By Eru, if he did not possess the most handsome face Adar had ever had pleasure to witness.

“Stop now and you will truly hurt me. As for resting, we have all night.” His brow quirked up suggestively. 

“As my Lord wishes.” Adar smirked. “But I will ensure you get the rest you require. Your High King will have my head if not.”

Celebrimbor laughed at that before pulling Adar to him again so their bodies were flush once more. The elf lord’s toned chest crushed into his own and the arms made strong through years of smithing now enclosing him in tight embrace were a reward Adar did not deserve. Celebrimbor was truly a master of his craft, for Adar was certain he would forge him anew before the night was done. 

“Promise me… promise me I may rest in your arms and I feel as though my wounds will all be healed.” Celebrimbor murmured breathlessly in his ear. 

In answer, Adar caught his mouth in a tender kiss and the two let their eager bodies carry on the conversation for the rest of the night. 

[microwavesaferat]

I'm so unexcited for the Christopher Nolan Odyssey Film.

There's so many things I'm just dreading, like as a mythology buff (admittedly, not an expert, just a bit of a special interest), I'm gonna lose it if a film guy starts mansplaining about Homeric hymns to me. Like, keep talking about how the suitors were actually doing what was right for the time and I will kick you in your shriveled nutsack.

I also saw the cast list and nearly shed a tear. They all have fucking iPhone face. I'm sorry, Tom Holland as Telemachus (potentially)???? Like, oh it's so sad your dad is missing and stuff, but did you remember to take your ozempic today? Like all the cast have iPhone face. Unless this is gonna be a weird modern retelling (which also worries me), I won't be able to imagine Zendaya as Athena (potentially) without her whipping out a Google pixel to text Zeus.

I was talking to people and we ended up making our own cast list of some of the major roles.

Cast List

Odysseus - Antonia Banderas

My mother saw him in Paddington 3 and has instructed me to include him as he is, in her words, "fit". In my opinion, someone like Liam Neeson, Mads Mikelson or Michael Fassbender. I just don't want a poorly disguised American accent. Like I get you might not get a Greek actor or even one with a similar accent, but please not a straight American accent or badly done accent.

Penelope - Michelle Yeoh

Nolan is rumoured to have cast Anne Hathaway, which I am also kind of fine with, so I'm not too worried about that. I think Michelle would be great as a cunning, loyal wife to Odysseus and I also think she could channel a great amount of contempt towards the suitors. I never find Anne Hathaway to be convincingly angry in scenes, distraught and afraid, yes, but I think Michelle could really embody that disgust Penelope has.

Athena - Cate Blanchet

I think Athena needs to be played by an older actor. I get the Gods are ageless, but she needs to give the appearance of wisdom and I think Cate Blanchet always looks like she's planning and thinking. The issue with Zendaya is not just that she has iPhone face, but she is too young. Your mind immediately says that she's too young to be that wise. It's a trait commonly associated with older people as it relates to experience, and Zendaya just doesn't look experienced.

Poiseiden - Gerard Butler

Hear me out, I think the Gods (other than Athena) should only appear in voice and not in person. For the scale of things, an actor floating in the air with cgi waves doesn't really look that menacing in the scale of things, especially compared to 50 boats. And I don't want a big cgi water monster thing either. I think the voice should carry on the waves, a shout accompanied by a crash of water, the temper rising as does the waves. I think it's more threatening to hear his voice booming as the boat is rocked, there's a fear of pissing him off more cause, if he gets much louder, you might just capsize. My mother wanted to also say, in a perfect world, it would actually be Billy Connolly, but he hasn't acted in years now due to Parkinson's. The rumour is that Nolan has cast Robert Pattinson and, while he was threatening as the Batman, I don't think it's the right kind of threatening required for the role. If he was doing this as a voice acting role, maybe, we know he has amazing range from the Boy and the Heron.

Zues - Patrick Page

Listen to Little Songbird or Hellfire and tell me he doesn't sound like Thunder. Moving on.

Circe - Nicole Kidman

Circe is a complex character and I think she needs to be portrayed that way. I don't want a young actor who beguiles older Odysseus with her youth. I need Circe to have that wisdom and experience that Penelope also has. I think it could be an interesting idea to even have them played by the same person. This all depends on how close the movie will be to the original epic anyway. My main stipulation is that she needs to remind Odysseus of Penelope.

Calypso - Lupita Nyong'o

The articles I've read actually suggest her as Circe, which I wouldn't mind either, I just wanted someone older for Circe. I think Calypso is also a complex character that must be portrayed as such. Essentially I think Lupita would be able to embody both the woman madly in love with Odysseus and also the Goddess keeping him here for her entertainment. From seeing her in Us, I know she has an amazing range and is able to show the threatening side to Calypso required. It doesn't work if it seems like Odysseus has the upper hand at any point.

Telemachus - Thomas Brodie Sangster

I really struggled here cause a lot of young actors look too modern for a lot of period pieces. It's also important that Telemachus isn't some chiseled, huge guy. I also think, given we would probably check in on him multiple times during the movie, Thomas is good at looking young and old at the same time. Another option would maybe be Joe Locke.

This post is long already so I'm not doing the rest of the characters. I have nothing against the actors Nolan has gone with, I just don't think they fit well. I'm also heavily biased from listening to Epic and Hadestown a lot.

Lmk your suggestions, as always, these are just my thoughts and a lot of them aren't even well thought out.

[soulbeastdragon]

All my Charr so far.

Tidbits on each below the cut!

Renfia Mufflepaw - agender | she/her My Muse's Charr-sona. No real story to this lass. At least, not yet. She could one day develop a backstory out of the blue.

Grody Garbagegut - agender | they/them Grody is in charge of the Garbage Trash Legion [TRSH]. They were made as a joke with friends and now we have a guild 😄. They might gain a backstory and character development one day, I'm very fond of them.

Hyva The Wayward - female | she/her Hyva's my newest Charr and she's Aella and Tharissin's mother. She was a Flame Legion slave, used for entertainment in pit fights and breeding. She had many other cubs that were all taken from her as soon as they were born. She managed to escape with Aella and later gave birth to Tharissin in Dewclaw Village. (I'm still working on her backstory since she's still so new)

Aella Mistfarer - female | she/her Aella is a sellsword and a bane to the Flame Legion. She escaped with her mother, but the Flame Legion would not relent on tracking them down. Aella was done running and turned her fangs on the Flame Legion. Since at a young age, she's been fighting back and turned from hunted to hunter. When Efram came into the picture and there was talk of a new Flame Legion, Aella would hear no part of it. All Flame Legion in her eyes needed to be extinguished. Eventually, she would go into the Mists with groups of adventurers. SHe'd still come back to Tyria from time to time to see how her brother's doing, but other than that she sticks to the Fractals.

Tharissin Forgelock - male | he/him Tharissin is a mute Iron Legion Forgemaster. He's very chill and loves nothing more than to relax under the shade of a tree and fish all day. He's helped the Pact with forging armor and weapons and was recruited during Icebrood to help fight against the Dominion. After Icebrood Saga, Tharissin "retired" and resides in Elona, enjoying the desert sun and fishing on the waters.

Chance the Skritt - female | she/her Chance is a Skritt with coloration inspired by the black-tan fancy mouse. She was found by an Asura named Aezzil while she was a little kit on the shores of Lion's Arch after the fall of the Breachmaker. Since Aezzil couldn't find her scratch and she was too young to remember where she came from, she stayed with Aezzil. She likes adventures, but she's not very brave and often hides in Aezzil's backpack. She borrows thing and forgets to return them and she enjoys collecting little trinkets.

Silana Felfire - female | she/her Silana is just An Ordinary House Cat.

Rex Ghidorah - agender | they/them My kaiju toon based on my favorite kaiju, King Ghidorah

Lykos Iredyne - male | he/him Lykos Iredyne is my spliced Sylvari created by Ardjin. Lykos Iredyne is the final form of Iredyne, who was spliced with his fern hound. His actual appearance is very off-model from his in-game appearance, looking more like a leafy werewolf than a Charr (altho I used the Charr body as a base) ->

Mender Lunaria - female | she/her Lunaria is another spliced experiment of Ardjin's. She was also a Sylvari. She was Solaria's Dearheart and she escaped to find her beloved. Unfortunately, she can't keep a foothold in Tyria as the experiment performed on her causes her to get pulled back into the Mists. In the end, Solaria decided to leave the Pale Reavers so she can join Lunaria in the Mists.

Fish Lich - agender | it\they\him It came from the depths of the Unending Ocean. Its a fish, and a lich. Stinky.

[cappuccinoandglitter]

I haven't been to Faire in a hot minute but here's an attempt. This took longer than it had to because I had a cat on my face. Apologies for any typos that may have escaped.

"So what inspired the name, The Thirsty Siren?" Sir Evan asked, glancing up at the wooden sign hanging above the entrance to Tommy's tavern. He noticed Evan slipping out of character, dropping the faux British accent for his natural speech.

Tommy followed Evan's gaze up to the sign. "Oh, that was there before I took over, I just never bothered to change it." Tommy never does accents, he's terrible at it, and he's not an actual character so he's not actually required. Evan, on the other hand, could get in trouble if one of the directors catch him. It'd probably be all right as long as he doesn't talk to any of the guests.

"Ah, oh-okay," Evan said, fidgeting with his helmet. "Anyway, it's, almost joust time, uhm, so..." He glanced around, taking in the busy path, filled with actors, guests in period-accurate garb, and a trio of people dressed in Star Trek uniforms. The Faire gets at least one of those each season. Tommy unashamedly loves seeing them.

Tommy could hear the pipe and drum band whose name he could never remember playing on the Globe stage. He knew once they were done, it would be time for the joust to start. And once the joust was done, it would be the end of the day and time to shut down for the night.

Evan was still standing there, the sunshine catching the highlights in his curls and giving his cheeks a rosy glow. Tommy didn't have trouble imagining him on the cover of a fantasy novel, standing with his sword and shield, fighting a dragon. "Do you ever--" Evan started, glancing at Tommy from behind beautifully long eyelashes. "You ever watch the joust?"

"At least once," Tommy said, smiling.

Evan looked at him fully, red lips pulled back fully into a grin. "You should, ah, you should come watch."

"Who are you fighting this time?" Tommy asked. He probably should already know this, but he couldn't remember what the plot was supposed to be this season. As a vendor, it wasn't Tommy's job to keep track.

"Those dastardly Spaniards," Evan said, in the British accent.

"Exciting, maybe I will go."

"Huzzah!" Evan said, gave a little bow, then put his helmet back on.

Tommy walked back into the tavern, which was still busy. "You good for the next hour or so, Howie?" he asked his business partner behind the bar.

"Yeah! Everything under control! You go watch the hot knights," Howie said with a wink.

Tommy grinned at his hold friend and pointed a finger at him. "Yeah, see ya later."

He wandered the grounds, past the human chess board, the axe throwing place, and Craftmen's Alley and Ye Olde Food Court. A minstrel plays his fiddle on the way down the path to the jousting field. The smells of turkey legs, incense, and those amazing fried potato wedges Tommy eats too many of.

He paused when the Queen's Court passed by on the way to the field, but his eyes were drawn not to her majesty but to one particular knight following close behind. For a moment, Evan's eyes met Tommy's and he winked.

Tommy followed the procession and found a seat at the front. He never came to these, really, so if he was going to take the time, he was going to get a good view.

That's how Sir Evan found him, when the knights were riding their horses around the field, being introduced by the emcee.

To be continued because I'm sleepy.

Renaissance faire meet cute between tavern owner Tommy ("I brewed this ale myself") and a knight ("Sir Evan" he introduces himself as; only later does Tommy hear "Buck" but it's too late, he's registered that cute knight with the bisexual color flag as Evan in his head)

A couple of drunk faire attendants try to harass Tommy's friend's teen daughter and he steps in, and Buck steps in too. Two big strapping guys tend to convince people to back off, especially when one is built like a tank and the other is literally armored

Tommy gives Buck a free mug of ale, and they talk, and throughout the day Buck keeps coming back to the tavern and Tommy watches Buck at the joust

And instead of a girl's handkerchief as a favor, Buck takes the checkered handkerchief in Tommy's apron as his favor and ties it around his wrist

Buck wins the joust and canters over, hopping down to wink at Tommy, then kissing the piece of cloth around his wrist. Tommy can't help leaning over the fence to kiss Sir Evan for real.

[icewindandboringhorror]

I made a few new wax seal stamps out of clay (like the ones I did for my worldbuilding stuff forever ago), this time just of random symbols that I thought might look good done in the style of painting over the raised part of the wax or etc. :0c Some of them aren't carved deep enough to really show up that well, but overall they worked okay for being clay lol

[corntired]

Fanfiction is so goated actually

No monetary incentive, just writing in one's free time. Some incentive for like kudos and comments, because who doesn't want to hear that someone else enjoyed what they wrote. Just writing a story that is good and/or enjoyable, no real-life pressure to keep it going because god forbid you and other people are depending on it financially.

Writing a story because you want to write a good story, so you can write what they want the way you want, at a pace that is realistic for you, with exactly the plot pacing you want there to be.

[potionwine]

Thinking about Margrace as Joshua's name post-Phoenix Gate.

Mar-grace.

In FFXVI the Undying choose their own names (Cyril explains this in-game), and many of them have names drawn from Final Fantasy XII, including their leader 'Margrace' himself, from Al-Cid Margrace. The page for Al-Cid notes that Margrace is likely an alternate form of the title 'margrave', an old title for military commanders on the border.

That aside. This is the name chosen (by the boy himself?) for the boy who should have rightfully been known henceforth as 'Your Grace', 'His Grace'.

Grace (style of address), from the Oxford English Dictionary:

With a possessive adjective: a title of respect, esp. for a person of royal or noble rank. Frequently (in 'your Grace') as a form of address. Now archaic or historical. Formerly (in England until the reign of Henry VIII and in Scotland until 1707) used for a monarch or prince; now replaced by Majesty or Highness. Even so, "Majesty" for the sovereign of England was not used exclusively; it arbitrarily alternated with both "Highness" and "Grace", even in official documents, until "Majesty" finally became the official style to the exclusion of others (source).

Grace (other meanings):

1. Divine favour, benevolence, or providence bringing about worldly benefit or advantage. 2. A person's lot, destiny, or fate; luck, fortune. 3. The quality of being pleasing; attractiveness, charm; esp. (in later use) refined elegance of manner, expression, form, or movement, esp. regarded as natural or effortless; gracefulness.

Whatever the etymology of margrave, the name Margrace in-game is probably meant to call to mind the meaning of 'mar' as in damaged, spoiled, ruined. All the grace that ever belonged to his family, his home, his birthright—marred, of course.

Mar+Grace, the last heir of the oldest unbroken ruling dynasty in the Twins at the time of the opening events of the game**.

The living ghost, carrying the desecrated corpse of his legacy in his new name. Introducing himself by his humiliation: "Hello, I am Margrace", "Hello, I am the ruined dignity of my house." "Call me Margrace", "Call me the wreckage of one fallen from divine favour." "My name is Margrace", "My name is blemished fortunes and diminished nobility".

It's appropriately brutal and dramatic for such a character, especially since the game is frustratingly silent on how Joshua personally feels about the loss of his duchy which is a rant for next time.

**Footnotes:

In the Year 860 (Prologue year/Phoenix Gate), Rosaria is about 260 years old (est. Y600). Older, if you count from the time of the Rose Alliance (est. Y550). The Rosfields have been on the Rosarian throne since the inception of the duchy in Y600, and prior to that House Rosfield was already known to be the chief of/the preeminent house of the Seven High Houses that united to found the duchy. House Rosfield has held ruling power for 260-310 years at a minimum.

For reference, England's longest-reigning dynasty was the Plantagenets, who held on for 300+ years. Rosfields aren't doing half bad!

Veldemarke would have been older had it not been overthrown by Barnabas; therefore Waloed is the youngest nation state at the time of the prologue (only 17 years old). Also we do not know much about the governance of Veldemarke, although as a 'kingdom' it was likely some type of monarchy.

Sanbreque was formed 100 years after Rosaria, and at any rate is not actually a hereditary monarchy. The Holy Emperor is voted into office by his fellow Cardinals, likely the five who form the Council of Elders. We are also explicitly told that Sylvestre 'won his throne' in 865; there is no indication either way that his predecessor emperor was a Lesage. The wording suggests the throne is not Sylvestre's by lineage or birthright. How this is supposed to relate to the concept of Sanbreque having a 'crown prince' (Dion) is unclear and contradictory, since an emperor by election should probably not have the authority to unilaterally decide on the succession of the throne, and his issue—legitimate or no—should not automatically be in the line of succession.

Dhalmekia is a republic with elected officials.

The Iron Kingdom apparently has a royal family, but nothing else is known apart from it being impotent and sidelined by their state religion.

The Northern Tribes likely do have hereditary rule, and Jill is referred to as a princess, but once again little is known.

Ergo—and I am ceaseless in this propaganda—Clive and Joshua are really, properly posh! Absolutely baffling that Anabella would allow anyone to put down the pedigree of her sons when they are so blue-blooded precisely because she is! For someone with such entrenched ideas of blood purity she should not stand for it, no matter how she feels about her eldest.

[cerealmonster15]

YAAAY

➥ One of your favorite lines (or paragraphs) you wrote in 2024:

I'm giving you two and theyre both idia quotes:

The offer was on the table, and it was up to Idia what happened next. The following five seconds stretched across what felt like eons to them both as Idia focused all his energy on trying not to literally pass out on the bench and take Cater down with him, or get overwhelmed by the possibility that if he DID kiss Cater, Cater might immediately throw up all over him and run away screaming. Really, it wasn’t that he didn’t WANT to kiss Cater, but what if he died? What if they both died!?

^ Blue Raspberry Mango

“...Some one, more like it…” Idia snickered.  And then gasped, a look of horror replacing his expression instantly. “Wait- SERIOUSLY? You- AZUL?!” “Shut up!" Jamil hissed, dropping down beside Idia to cover his mouth. “Don’t be so loud!” “Ugh, EW…” Idia grimaced once Jamil pulled away. “I didn’t expect you of all people to have such shit-tier taste in guys.”

^ Double Sided Pining Coin

I didn't realize those were both 2024 lol what a wild and long year. i love writing idia even though i've only done it a few times lol he's soooo much fun to just go ham with.

➥ A fun fact/easter egg/trivia fact for a fic you worked on in 2024:

i cant think of anything surprisingly lol usually i have a lot to say!! but i guess a fun fact about my ao3 stats is that 2 of my top 5 longest fics are ones i wrote in 2024 [3 if you include the fact that the top one is my multichap fic and i wrote a chunk of it in 2024] and theyre both 5k idi/kei and jami/azu fics lol. something about writing those pairs together makes me bonkers. i love how silly they are on their own and even moreso putting them together. theyre fun ships and i looove the board game club's funny hater friendship, and i also like playing with the concepts of the rest of them being friends/interacting in some degree lol

➦ The title or working title of a fic you're currently working on/planning for 2025:

working title "leocay situationship divorce drama" lol. idk if ill write it into a whole thing, i kinda just wrote down a scene that was haunting me and i have an overall vision for the vibe, ive had this vague idea in my head for a few years now but skdfjklsd i'm kind of shy about it so maybe itll just stay in the drafts. or maybe The Madness will overtake me on a whim and itll find it's way on ao3, we'll see lol.

➦ A scene or fic idea that you want to write/try writing for but intimidates you: (very optional but let's put those stretch goals out!)

^ that one over there LOL ummm also. i have considered many a time writing some of my caterella plotlines, some of which include my twst ocs. but im too shy LOL.....

more reasonably, i do have a trey/cater wip that ive begun but it's a long process because it's one i'm taking my time with, a fic that explores cater and trey [and riddle!!!] as characters and their relationships with each other, like snapshots of scenes from when trey and cater first meet at orientation throughout their years at nrc. i was gonna try and get it out before heartslabyul's section of book 7 began but it's just too slow a process, and now we may or may not get more backstory lore of the beloved trio that i could integrate... if it doesnt destroy me in the process JKLFDSKGHGJ i love my heartslabyuls sooo much so i want to write it with care..... but i get SCARED when i'm going beyond just silly goofy time [tho it will also be silly goofy time. i know who i am]

✦ A link to your ao3 or other posting platform so people can see what you've been up to and what you're going to be up to: :3

My ao3 is here! i also tag "#cereal writes" for cross posting, and sometimes here i post out of context wip lines or babble about my trials and tribulations of writing but i dont really tag those so u kinda just gotta catch me in the act teehee

2024 FUCK YEAH I DID IT + 2025 FUCK YEAH IM PLANNING ON DOING IT (fic) writers edition

➥ One of your favorite lines (or paragraphs) you wrote in 2024:

➥ A fun fact/easter egg/trivia fact for a fic you worked on in 2024:

➦ The title or working title of a fic you're currently working on/planning for 2025:

➦ A scene or fic idea that you want to write/try writing for but intimidates you: (very optional but let's put those stretch goals out!)

✦ A link to your ao3 or other posting platform so people can see what you've been up to and what you're going to be up to: :3

Tagging~ let's see. @ladybundle @basuralindo @deezneezz

anyone else is free to do it too, I have not had coffee yet so my brain is bleary.

[rxttenfish]

Asking because I’m extremely curious about this, how did MonProm’s writing get different over time? I remember you saying that the lore and characters feel different, and that it's missing sincere character interactions, too. I know almost nothing about the lore and I’ve only seen a few people mention the characters, so I’d be interested in a rundown of what aspects you think got worse in the series

I wouldn’t mind a very long response since I’m not that active in the fandom, I need to catch up on what happened

sorry for taking so long to answer this! i kinda waffled on it for a long bit, mainly because i started doubting myself again, and whether or not this was me simply overreacting or being tinted by nostalgia or simply being extremely picky and choosy in what i like (the last of which is true, i seldom get into fandoms at all for this reason and stay away from most popular media, but i wasn't sure if it applied here). i've posted about it already, but i'm in the middle of a psychotic episode where i can't feel a lot of pleasure to begin with + most things i do experience ending up solidly in the "very bad" category, so as you can imagine, i really didn't want to mislead and check that i was actually in objective reality.

as it is, this is also when a lot more screenshots started to be posted in the monster prom tag, and that helped me bridge the gap back into returning to the games themselves and feel like i was making a more accurate judgement. if you're one of those people who have been posting screenshots, i sincerely thank you, and i appreciated seeing you in the tag greatly.

for those not in the know — i've been in the monster prom fandom since it first released, prior to even the first additional ending to be added (the "Punch the sun" ending, and i recall the minor fandom drama that happened at that time due to it). my impression of monster prom is very much influenced by this, as what got me into the first game was the fact that the characters genuinely seemed to care for each other and were friends with each other (not merely tolerating each other's presences nor dressing it up, they sincerely thought of each other as friends and were open about that fact), on top of the wide variety of small details and statements that, if taken at face value, could create compounding complexity in the lives of each and every character and had wider implications for their lives.

no, they were not necessarily explored nor even necessarily "real", with so many conflicting events and statements, but i liked this too, because it meant a wider flexibility in what you could imagine, helping to create a more tailored experience for everyone who thought about these characters. this was what i liked about the early fandom too. what was baseline "canon" was so vague and minimal that you could have wildly different interpretations of the same characters' histories and relationships with each other. you would have radically different perspectives on what the world itself looked like, what it was like, that there wasn't really any wrong answers so long as their personalities remained the same. this is where you got the old headcanon of polly and liam being childhood friends who knew each other as humans, or that the world of monster prom was post-apocalypse where humanity itself had gone extinct or only existed in tiny pockets, or my personal headcanon that both monster and human society existed right next to each other and had minimal crossover for petty cultural reasons. this was also prior zoe-as-ro, and there were wildly different interpretations of zoe's personality, with most going for a far more disquieting creepy-cute than the deep nerd we got.

this is why you get stuff like the timeloop theory, where everyone is repeating the same weeks leading up to prom over and over, and are perhaps vaguely aware of it but broadly unconcerned. this is also why it felt like the joke that, the characters were still in high school but were all fully legal adults with most in their 20's, best landed, because it was absurd and strange and didn't quite make sense, but the world itself was inherently absurd and semi-malleable to begin with. realistically, i felt like everyone understood it was making fun of the trope of having adults play teenagers in american sitcoms and wildly casting outside the age range, but for more in-universe explanations it wasn't any different from the way that you would have a large, dramatic ending in which everything changed, but then you'd restart and everyone would be right back at the beginning with nothing different, or even having conflicting events in the same run. it was a dream-logic that fit with the tropes and, thus, diagetically made sense.

to be clear, i don't mind canon having a set, well, canon on which it refers back to itself. i don't mind expanding that or including more things which are set in stone. but there was a perceivable shift in how the games handled this over time, becoming a lot more... bitter, it felt, towards all of these different branching ideas and concepts that, yeah, the people making them knew wouldn't necessarily be "canon" because "canon" already liked to contradict itself so much. most people weren't even sold on any one idea, and there was a much greater sense of enjoying and appreciating all the varying ideas people would come up with even if you personally didn't share them. making the characters be out of character was the real crime, because then it didn't diagetically make sense in the same way, didn't wholly fit.

(again, this is not to say fanon didn't happen and characters weren't smoothed down into a simplified personality that fit these varying fan-interpretations instead of the game itself. certainly damien love/lust was just as bad as it had ever been, and everyone loved to mangle his character into a more stereotypical "bad boy with a heart of hold" all the time. but it certainly felt less set-in-stone about it than it does now, with any deviation from the norm being considered strange and odd and even broadly shunned from the wider fandom.)

all of this is setup for establishing what the writing, lore, and characters felt like in the earlier days. the characters were the strongest part, with their relationships to each other being equally as important. the lore played it fast and loose and was far less interested in setting anything in concrete because that wasn't the important part. the lore wasn't the important part, which was what made it all the more intoxicating to think about, all the more fun to play with.

montrip is easily the biggest offender when it comes to setting everything in all-or-nothing terms and demanding absolutism from the world. broadly i blame the hitchhiker conversations for the worst of it, but i think ultimately the way they handled the entire premise of the game is where this problem stems from. it's not really an exploration in the same sense that you might explore the first game, discovering different perspectives and different people with different relationships to each other. it's an exploration in the sense of a sequel that over-explains the monster, that takes the most boring option out of all those that were possible and floating around and settles on something that was blatant, obvious, typically rejected not because of how novel it is but how trite and par for the course it is in the rest of the genre.

yeah, okay. humans know nothing about monsters and there's a "monster dimension" that exists separately from the human dimension. there's no crossover between the two of them. of course there's a big grand-scale fight between the eldritch powers that zoe used to be a part of, from which not only are slayers the main organization against them, but also the merkingdom has some horse in this race too. it's an urge to make things so universal in explaining them, in revealing connecting threads which unite everything that's ever happened in here, that makes the worldbuilding and lore immediately much more boring than it ever was before.

and it didn't have to be this way! nothing in the first game contradicts any of this too explicitly (see the above, the first game loves to contradict itself), and i would even be happy if this was basically canon but never stated or confirmed to be the big overarching everything going on underneath it all. i believe you should probably know these things about any world that you create and have them in the back of your mind. the difference is that you can know these things and keep them in mind, even focusing on things where its very relevant, and still not reveal them. this is why you have lore bibles, after all. every horror writer knows exactly how their monster works and the full underlying reason for everything that happens, but that doesn't mean the audience will see it or possess this same information too, and leaving it intentionally obscure will make far better stories.

which, this is bad enough, but it wouldn't be the breaking point for me if this was all there was.

but the worst thing of all has to be the slow decay of the very same characters that sold me on this world, this lore, this game in the first place. monster prom is nothing without the characters in it. it's a dating sim, it has nothing but characters to get you to play, and liking these characters are the entire reason anyone would pick up monster prom in the first place.

and the first game pulls this off extremely well. it's all in the tagline: be your worst self. they are, indeed, all terrible people. yes, even that character that you just thought of right now. they all have points in the game where they commit atrocities, where they kill or hurt people, where they do inexcusable things that could not be ignored in a more serious setting.

but that's the point. i think there's something very powerful in creating a character who not only do you love and love their personality and the way they interact with the world, but who also are inapologetically terrible, and to have the humor and the charisma be so good that you don't get bogged down in the "this is awful". likewise, it never feels the urge to really go out of its way to justify what's going on. this is not to say theres no discussion of if someone "deserved it", but usually there's still the sense that the joke is on them, that this is still an extreme reaction specifically for comedy and not necessarily something that can be justified. you can have damien set leonard on fire and have it feel earned, without prompting the needed reaction of what it's actually like to watch someone burn to death.

this is what sets the prank masterz ending apart from the rest of the game, and really establishes it as the first real "bad ending". because nothing that you do or happens in the prank masterz ending is any different from anything else that happens in any other run. you summon evil beings from other dimensions as a throwaway gag on how visiting one location raises your stats. you kill other people and damn them to terrible fates. you watch as body horror happens. the only difference is that, in the prank masterz ending, the laugh track doesn't play.

the rest of the game and the writing echoes this philosophy, this careful interplay of tropes that keeps everything tongue in cheek and yet sincere enough to make sure emotional beats still land when they're needed. the characters feel true to themselves and their own emotions, even when the world is extreme and excessive, when everything else runs on comedy logic.

this is also what i noticed failing first as time went on.

like i said, fanon has always existed and there's always been very specific ideas as to what characters are like in the same way fanon always flattens down characters into the same tropes over and over. scott is stupid and innocent and doesn't know what sex is. damien is violent and hot and too cool for anyone else. miranda is the idiot girl character. repeat over and over and over until you get sick of it.

but it's been an issue as time has crept on that canon has started to approach fanon and began to merge with it. now, scott is so innocent that he can't even curse. polly starts being mean to her friends and saying things that would be very hurtful to hear. the merkingdom isn't really super evil and fucked up, it's just miranda that's like that. they become simpler, easier to digest, streamlined for social media posts and mass-sharing. they become less and less subversions of existing tropes and moreso just another example of them, something else to add to the collection, not their own individual stories.

even further from this, what more complex traits they had are now stated and not shown. polly is stated to be smart and clever in a way that her party girl persona doesn't imply and to be sincerely rather down to earth with the people she cares about, but we seldom ever see this anymore unless its the game specifically trying to make a point about it, in which case it won't let her do anything that implies cleverness and moreso will just outline it in the narration. vera is stated to care for people in a very genuine and heartfelt way, but seldom will get a chance to do so, and every opportunity for her to do so to their faces is missed while she will just outright state it later. it does not feel consistent, it does not feel like any of these are intended reads of their actions. it feels like the devs have something they want to do but no idea on how to actually do so. and forget it if you want these traits to manifest in small ways that show up in unrelated moments and scenes.

the dialogue becomes harder and harder to tell between each speaker, if you are just looking at what's said and not at the pictures attached to it. the characters' distinct voices have been eroded away, so that they speak more and more like each other, relaying the same terms and ideas in the same words. perspective becomes a suggestion, instead of a must.

this is something that started back in monster camp too, as all of the endings in that game felt ultimately the same as every other ending. it's very hard to place or define the full reason why, why there feels like there's no emotional stakes nor investment, why everything feels moreso like selecting different coats of paint and trying to find all the different ending pictures rather than being interested in exploring the characters as characters.

stranger yet, the series that started with the tagline of "be your worst self" has experienced a kind of... softening, for lack of a better word? what i mentioned about being able to handle the balance between terrible people who do terrible things and the light tone of the game starts to change, as abruptly the same characters who were down with violent murder in the first game start to lose their nerve, acting more and more on more typical morality. it's one of those things that feels like it's starting to damage the tone, as abruptly it's not as absurd as it used to be, demands less suspension of disbelief which could buffer and support the rest of the setting on it. there's even a part in one of the endings in montrip which involves current-polly and current-scott looking back on their monprom selves and reacting in horror at how violent and careless their pranks are, in a way that fundamentally felt like it was undercutting and disparaging all the things that felt fun and made monprom what it was.

which is odd, really, because more and more i feel like the characters in these games like each other less and less. the friendships and genuine enjoyment of each others company that brought me to this game in the first place has gone. now they don't mention each other as much, don't care for each other's feelings and reactions as much, aren't as willing to support each other. they are more and more found on their own, relied on their own, seem to seek out contact and interaction with their own friends less and less. it feels like they're all separating out into their own worlds, but also feels like they wouldn't willingly want to interact with each other if they weren't already forced together by some other outside contrivance.

if anything, i'd compare it to every other dating sim out there, where you, the player, are the most important person in these characters' lives, and they only feel ambivalent or antagonistic towards every other character. which, again, is not why i picked up monster prom or why i liked it so much in the first place.

and it's because of this that it feels like the current state of the series has to focus on its increasingly weak worldbuilding and lore, trying to form a more serious foundation without character relationships being so tightly bound together, without the characters themselves being more developed and rich, without an aspect of absurd humor to rely on.

more and more i've noticed monprom has to rely on referencing other series to make itself funny and create humor, which, again, it's always done. it was just easier to ignore back then, if you didn't know what was being referenced, because there was always more going on in the exact same scene to bolster it and give context clues as to the setup and punchline at play. it feels like the current games are much more dependent on you knowing pop culture references in order to have any fun with it, and i'm someone who, again, is very picky in what i like or what i'll seek out. i'm not interested in a stream of references about other things that i would much rather be doing than playing through a game that feels like it hates that i like it at all, when i could, again, just be engaging with the thing that takes itself seriously and knows what it wants.

[coolauntlilith]

So I finally watched Sense8. I regret not watching it sooner for a couple reasons. But I'm so glad I finally watched it.

[to-be-a-dreamer]

And if I make a full post talking about how Abby, Shannon, and Taylor were actually really interesting and compelling characters that were just wildly mishandled by the writers and weren't allowed to fully explore their own motivations or personalities outside of being a love interest then what?

This is a threat.

[nabaath-areng]

Song meme - Ieeha

Choose a song with a title that goes with the first of each letter in your characters name (last name optional).

I - Intro / il y a - Mutyumu E - Ett Dolt Begär - Garmarna E - Endless - Exist Trace H - Heaven - 9GOATS BLACK OUT A - Au Revoir - Malice Mizer

D - Die - BUCK-TICK E - elephant - the god and death stars

V - Virus - Björk E - elephant in the room - the god and death stars R - Ranunculus - Dir en Grey R - ROKA - the god and death stars A - Aftermath - sukekiyo L - Le Ciel - Malice Mizer

Tagged by: No one. I did this years ago and wanted to again. <3

Tagging: @amberwound @captainqster @ahollowgrave @fourfoldfires @zylphiacrowley @neoma-eltanin @ffxivtribehydrae @witcherbatard @apheliondusk @avampyone if you wish to of course (and also anyone else who wants to do it!) EDIT: tags arent working save me

[the-kipsabian]

(so it turns out i never posted this actual video so like.. here. i have so many brain worms about this now cause like. holy shit my dude. once again asking where. OH WHERE. the fuck is/was this character after his return and why wasnt he given a fair chance when all the building blocks were so obviously fucking there.......)