#to play them out anymore other than maintaining status

[rotomartsblog]

The reason EAH is a children’s franchise is because only a child who Doesn’t Understand Things could possibly consider Royal being the right stance

[httpknjoon]

the truth, the lie, and the surprise | jjk

plot | After Wooshik receives the surprise meant for your boyfriend, Jungkook is put in an interrogation situation to talk about his undisclosed relationship with a certain 'Princess'.

words | 1.6k+

genres | fluff, crack,  secret relationship au, established relationship au, friends to lovers au

pairing | jungkook x reader

note | this one's long overdue! the end is coming for this series. enjoy reading.

main masterlist  |  drabble series masterlist

“I really feel like I’m not your friend anymore.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes at his friend’s dramatics. His eyes have traveled everywhere in the diner except to Wooshik, who’s sitting in front of him. Jungkook looks down at his chocolate milkshake, playing with the straw while listening to his friend. 

This all began with the surprise flower arrangement you sent for him– which he loved by the way. It was special for him, especially since you included tiger lilies, his favorite flower, in the center of the arrangement. It was his first time receiving one and he would have loved indulging in the fleeting feeling of having flowers sent to him. But, just less than an hour ago, Wooshik received the said delivery sent by you meant for him. At that point, Jungkook knew he had to reveal his relationship status because how else would you explain someone sending his flowers a day before Valentine’s? 

At first, his stomach dropped when Wooshik asked him who Princess was. But now, sitting here in the diner near the bowling alley they initially talked about going to, he just keeps on biting his inner cheek to stop himself from smiling or even chuckling at how dramatic Wooshik is.

Wooshik continued after taking a sip from his ice-cold soda, “You know? I feel like you’re keeping secrets from me. I’m your best friend, Kook. Why are you hiding stuff from me? I never hide anything from you.”

That’s when Jungkook had to interfere, “Freshman year, 2015. You didn’t tell me you got to go out with Grace Lee for not just one– or two– or three dates with her. You two went out for like a month. You knew that–”

“Okay. maybe that. But that was one time and she came on to me in Bryan’s house party.” Wooshik defended himself, maintaining the same narrative he told him years ago when Jungkook found out about him and the girl he had his eyes on in the first couple of months of their freshman year.

“Okay. Then, this is my one time too,” Jungkook replied, leaning back to the vibrant red faux leather of the diner booth.

“Yeah, but this one’s pretty serious. I mean, she sent you flowers! And everything is starting to make sense now.” 

Wooshik recalled how his best friend gradually stayed lowkey every time they would go out. He was beginning to wonder why Jungkook stopped entertaining women who would come up to him at bars or any other place they went to. Plus, in Wooshik’s knowledge before this, Jungkook has been single for too long. It is unusual not just to him, but to everyone in your friend group. Jungkook used to be the subject of teasing by everyone because of how he struggled to commit to a relationship.

“Did you not tell about this because we bet on your relationships a long time ago?” he asked, recollecting when he, Jenny, Blaire, and occasionally Dara would take bets on how long his relationship would last. You always just laugh at them doing that but never join.

“Maybe,” Jungkook answered shortly. It is one of the factors you and him decided to stay private about your growing relationship.

“Why keep her a secret? Does she know you’re keeping her a secret?” Wooshik began throwing rapid-fire questions.

Jungkook remained calm, “Yes, she knows. It’s a decision we made. We’re not totally a secret, we’re just private.”

“What?” his best friend mumbled, confusion written all over his face. “What’s the difference— Has she met your mom?!”

“Yes, a thousand times.” 

“And she never told me about it?!” he exclaimed.

Being friends for almost half of their lives now, Wooshik is basically Jungkook’s adoptive brother. He is close to his parents, especially to his mom, who treats him as her own. They would call each other at times like a real mother and son. But knowing these two people in his life, Jungkook knows that there was probably a time when his mom probably slipped on telling Wooshik about you. But he probably missed it.

“Okay, just ask anything right now. I’ll answer anything I can.” 

“Is Princess her name? Or it’s just some kind of nickname?” Wooshik asked.

“A nickname.”

“How long have you been together?”

There was this weird tension in the air when Wooshik asked him these questions. Jungkook finds it funny that he feels like a criminal being interrogated by an officer, who is just his friend being naive and curious at the same time.

“More than two years,” Jungkook replied, looking straight into his friend’s eyes. That’s when he sees Wooshik’s eyes get bigger as more realizations set in his head.

“Two years?! Have I met her before?” he asked so loudly that the couple from the table next to them looked in their direction.

His tone was almost accusatory. Out of context, if you’re a stranger listening to these two men, you would assume that they are a couple and that Jungkook cheated on Wooshik. Jungkook turned his head to the couple and slightly bowed his head to offer a silent apology for the bother. Then, he looked back at his friend.

“Yes, you already did.” 

Wooshik’s jaw dropped to the diner’s checkered floor. He was left with no words while trying to recall every woman he met around Jungkook. He tried to trace back every woman he met because of him. But with him having a brain like a sieve, it’s hopeless. And as if Wooshik’s jaw can get lower, Jungkook continued.

“A lot of times already actually.”

Is it rude that Jungkook is enjoying this? At this point, he is just teasing his best friend for his reactions. Feeling his mouth run dry, Wooshik closed his mouth.

“Am I… the only one who didn’t know about this?” he asked slowly, admittedly feeling a little dumb with not realizing this secret Jungkook had been keeping.

“Will it make you less offended about this whole thing if I tell you you're the first to know in our friend group?”

Wooshik nods his head slowly, “Maybe.”

“Okay.” Jungkook nods. “You are the only one who knows.”

He smiled even wider, knowing full damn well that he is lying.

An hour after they arrived there, the two ended up walking back home after finishing their drinks at the diner. The plans of going to the bowling alley next door were all gone when Wooshik remembered that he had lesson plans and school activities needed to prepare for the upcoming week.

“So, Princess. Two years. I met her before. I’m the first one to know.” Wooshik recited every vital information he learned today.

“Yup.” Jungkook nods.

As soon as they got back in his house, Jungkook was asked of another question.

“Will you ever introduce her to me and everyone?” 

And without even pausing for a second, he replied, “Of course. We already talked about that.”

Because you two did. A few times before and after you drunkenly revealed your relationship to Blaire. But there is still no crystal clear plan for it. Just discussions that sometime this year, you will tell your friends about everything.

“When? When are we gonna meet her?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we’ll just surprise you.” Jungkook laughed.

Later that day, Jungkook went to your place. You just got home from your Galentine’s Day celebration with your friends. You gave him a small box of vanilla cupcakes you baked on your own during the baking class you, Jennie, Blaire, and Dara took that day. Your boyfriend also took notice of your newly dyed hair, complimenting you on the color you chose. He then thanked you for the flowers and what escalated after receiving them. You two exchange stories about your equally eventful day while Bam sleeps on his soft bed in the corner of your living room. 

“And what did he say when he learned about how long we’ve been together?” you excitedly asked with a grin already forming on your face.

Instead of answering your question, Jungkook acted out Wooshik’s reaction. It was exactly like what was in your head. You laughed, softly slapping his arm. He smiled before turning his head again back again to his sketch pad, that you bought some time ago at a dollar store. He has been sketching since you handed him that pad minutes ago.

“He didn’t overreact, did he?” you asked, a little worry can be heard in your tone.

Jungkook looks up, sensing the tone. He smiled while reaching for your hand, “It’s Wooshik. Of course, he overreacts.”

Unexpecting that, the tightness in your chest cleared off and was instantly forgotten as you laughed. Jungkook chuckled too.

“Anyway, what do you think about this? Do you think this is something you would love to have on your skin forever?” He then turned his sketch pad to you, showing you what he’s been working on.

You gasped, “Babe, I love it!” 

You reached for the pad and looked at the different pieces he drew. Since you brought up the idea of getting matching tattoos during your recent picnic date, you also asked him to draw the tattoo you two would get to make it more special. You would draw it yourself but you knew Jungkook is much better of an artist than you.

You snapped a picture of the drawing, “I’ll send these to the artist and maybe we can get it tattooed tomorrow.”

“Are you getting them all?!” he asked as he drew three separate objects that symbolize something from each other.

“Yeah, I know I cannot just choose one from any of them.”

TAGLIST (closed)

@hobiuwusunshine @alinerl @bbangtanlove95 @daydreamiies @craftymoonchaos @awseokjin @yoonabeo @luvrsofbts @bloopkook @chvngbiin @takochelle @wildarmy @cuddlysoftbear @luv-minhyun-world @shydestinyyouth @bbtsficrecs @fan-ati--c @rjsmochii @jkbabiey @hopeworldjimin @chieftoadturkeynickel @ppeachyttae @tannies-luv @loomipee @sanctify-mp3 @stuffy16 @di0rgguk @tswisal1 @amara-mars @jksgirlhere @callmejimmeo @rapmonie2047 @petalsofink @daemontargaryenwhore @juju-227592

[fleshwerks]

there's also the issue of how for three games tevinter has been this absolute monster of an empire that is entirely built on magocracy and slavery, active conflict with the qunari, and its conflict with the south based not on just its previous occupation of the now sovereign nations of the Marches, Ferelden and Orlais, but also a schism in Andrastianism.

Even in Inquisition when the Venatori war bands came at you, their melee units were dressed in gladiatorial garb and wearing padlocked collars around their necks, indicating slavery.

Don't tell me that Dorian Pavus and friends not just managed to abolish slavery in scant 10 years, but somehow turned the place around to a point where an elfie can freely traipse around with nary a jab at their big ears, and a qunari skulking about doesn't get as much as a lazily raised eyebrow.

Here on earth at least in America, slavery's been abolished for more than a century, yet racial tensions and grievances still run near the boiling point.

On one hand it is relaxing for I guess new players but also old elven enthusiasts for finally getting to play as an elfie and not having to defend your very existence as an elf at all times. On the other hand, it also entirely robs dedicated elf players and the in-game elves of the catharsis of emerging as an independent faction and set of traditions and beliefs and feeling like the millennium long bloodied and bruised fight for it bore fruit.

A part of introducing such great injustices into the narrative is fighting against it and succeeding. The catharsis lies in being able to courageously look into your oppressor's eye and see them impotently gnashing their teeth, or seeing contriteness and acknowledgment of this past fight against injustice. And for players specifically, especially those who are discriminated against in real life on the basis of their race or class status, a part of what makes elves and freedom fighters as a PC appealing is the shared struggle, and the joy of being able to spit your oppressor in the eyeball.

Having now watched full playthroughs, none of it is there anymore in any significant capacity. The joy and pain of being the ferocious underdog fighting for justice for the oppressed is gone.

There's an argument to be made that this new threat has unified people against it and all old squabbles are put on hold until the threat's been dealt with, but in real life, again and again, times like these would sow even greater chaos and discord among people, because they want to take their fear out on someone, they want to maintain a sense of control and power in the face of the untouchable, insurmountable beast of total war and gods coming to delete the earth, and they reach for the targets they actually can touch: their fellow people, the outgroups.

I get that Veilguard wanted to strictly focus on a smaller scale and chose 'power of personal friendship' as their focus, but it comes at a cost of lore. And it comes at a cost of the catharsis of actually addressing this chaos and fear among different groups of people, and telling convincing them that if for nothing else, then we need mutual respect and equality and united overarching goals right now to show this talking toilet seat, the human centipede and their pet dragons what's what so that we'd even have an earth to oppress each other on.

Intergroup issues don't cease to exist in the face of a greater threat, they actually tend to increase. Where are the massive slave armies of Tevinter? And where is the protagonist's chance to tell the oppressors that 'you know, you'd have a much better chance at fighting this threat effectively if you allowed your slave army to fight for their future, not just yours?

I remember when we were still all speculating about Tevinter, I'd expressed unhappiness about ditching Southern Thedas, but I had ceded that politically, Tevinter is a setting that is absolutely rife with political and social intrigue, given that Tevinter is responsible for so much of what we as players dealt with in Southern Thedas, from the Blight to the anti-mage sentiment, to even the faith schism, and of course Tevinter sourcing slaves from Orlais and Ferelden. Not to mention its occupation of Southern regions. Kirkwall alone was a pitch black crowning jewel and a hotspot of Tevinter's terror and scars coupled with the fact that the location most likely sits on top of a possibly corrupted titan, and something besides human error and greed is driving Kirkwall insane. But now Kirkwall's been destroyed and all the plot hooks and intrigue along with it.

And Tevinter? Tevinter is a kitten compared to the rotten, roaring dragon it was made out to be in the past lore.

Not to mention that Tevinter isn't the destroyer of the Elvhen empire, it's its inheritor, it scavenged all its evils from the ruins of an Elvhen empire that collapsed on itself thanks to Chin Gigachad with shiny new veneers, and his equally deranged buddies. You'd think that this would cause insane strife among elves and the rest of the races, and that the dwarves especially would have some words to say. And you'd think that elves in Thedas could retaliate with 'and you humans especially learned fucking nothing from it so you're no better than our ancestors, and also, I, an elf, wasn't even alive and neither were 99.8% of my fellow elves back then so your issue is not with us, get the hell off our backs, you humans just continued what the worst of our own kind did to us, shut your flat tooth mouths, you wanted Elvhenan's power for yourselves, well, now it's come knocking, it looks ugly, and it looks a lot like YOU'.

But no. All of that depth, the terror, and the player's chance to stand up to that terror, all but gone.

I reiterate, I see the merit in allowing elves and qunari to finally be unapologetically themselves, it must be relaxing. But that's not why people by and large play elves and qunari. They play them because the two races in Thedas struggle against something that they can unfairly and sadly have to struggle with in real life. Except in real life, winning against oppression is damned difficult, but in a video game, like I said, you have the ability to actually do something against the oppression you face, and do it effectively.

And the Venatori don't count. Because they're a cult, but in real life there aren't many convenient cults to rail against, in real life, it's a problem that infests the society as a whole. And it's infinitely more cathartic to be able to take your suffering and address the entire society on your own terms than just delete a few cults and it's all peaches and cream after that.

Fantasy worlds hinge on suspension of disbelief: You can have fantastic elements, but it needs to be relatable. And Tevinter especially being sanitised of its historically absolutely rotten elements for... what? Ain't it.

Contrast the entirety of Veilguard to waltzing into Halamshiral's Winter Palace, being treated with derision and suspicion for who you are, and acing it so well the masked morons can't help but bow in deference because you the player took their prejudice and completely unmasked it (heh), and rubbed their noses in it. That was nice, right? Halamshiral is, after all, one of the best-regarded parts of the Inquisition BECAUSE of the intrigue, the prejudice, and for the underdog to not just confront it, but force feed their own prejudice to them while remaining if not magnanimous and better than them, then at least being given the joyous opportunity to be just as petty and reclaim equality based on shared traits like pettiness, gossip and prejudice. To show them, they can throw what they like at you, but you'll match them step for step, and they can just deal with it.

Where is all of that in stinkin' Tevinter?? The mother of all of Thedas' societal ills. I say 'mother' because the daughters in the south inherited a lot from mother, but went on to be awful in their own independent ways, too.

Disclaimer: I have seen one playthrough, so of course I have missed details and nuances, but that's the problem, you know? Most players only play it once. You need to get out as much info and lore as possible on the first time, because most people will not be returning for seconds. It's on par with the other thing BioWare does, hiding a metric ton of lore in supplementary material, books and comics. No. That shit needs to be in the game, and it needs to be visible.

And Tevinter... You could sell Fenris back to slavery. You could rescure an elven slave and take her in. You had an entire alienage being sold to Tevinter magisters. You had Calpernia. What even happened to Calpernia? Did she ever even matter? You had the rebel mages stumble into Tevinter indentured servitude in Redcliffe. Why is Tevinter suddenly done a 180 in just ten years due to a few upstart magisters' impassioned speeches? We know what happens to real life freedom fighting activists in real life. They get shot. On government's orders. They get shot even more when times are tough and a government is trying to maintain the status quo in the face of an even greater threat.

And if it was all some kind of commentary on Donald Trump and his crazies... and what's going on right now with hybrid warfare waged by Russia against all of the Western world, you would assume that all of the Northern nations of Thedas would be hotspots of even greater oppression, internal strife and division, suspicion and distrust, hostility between various civilian groups and so on.

How satisfying would it have been to be able to witness that, confront it, and had the opportunity to address it all with extreme prejudice instead of bickering at the dinner table about bringing too many books on an expedition with a companion whose race is currently in active, extremely oppressive conflict with damn near all of Northern Thedas, like who Taash or possibly Rook is beyond their gender identity wouldn't get absolutely brutalised by being, you know, not just Qunari by philosophy, but an actual member of the race driving an active war in all of Northern Thedas. We got an one-two punch in reputation for daring to be a secular Qunari mage in Halamshiral ball, but the North's response to a Qunari is 'oh look, a Qunari.'

Where is the established lore and established struggles? What happened to all those hooks?

[ddollfface]

Hi! I read your alphabet about yandere!athlete and I loved! I also become curious: you said he needed maintain the popular facade in front of others, right? Being cool and a womanizer and other things. My question is: has he ever betrayed the reader while doing that? A kiss? Sex? How does he maintain that image while in a relationship with reader?

𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥

𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗦𝗶𝗰𝗸!𝗔𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘅 𝗳𝗲𝗺!𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿

Trigger Warnings; bad writing, reader is described as yandere’s girlfriend, um nothing this is really tame tbh If I missed anything, then please let me know ♡ I really liked this anon request! I had never really thought about this before lol, but I think the idea of LoveSick!Athlete defending his relationship to be so cute! Anyways, thanks so much for requesting something! If you have any more questions/thoughts, then just ask)))

Ooo, that's a really good question anon!

So, to answer your question, I need to refer back to things I've said in the past. LoveSick!Athlete makes your relationship known, extensively. Honestly, his teammates will likely know so, so, so much about you, even before you've met. This is cause he'll tell everyone and anyone about your interests; what your favorite food is, whether you like to swim or not, etc.

And he'll make it clear that the two of you are in a committed relationship. Now, this doesn't stop chicks from going up to him and openly flirting with him, even though he's made his relationship status clear. We all know that there are some... determined girls out there, and he seems to attract all of them. It's a big university, after all.

LoveSick!Athlete won't lie, he finds their advances annoying, seeing as he only has eyes for you, you, you, but he has a reputation to uphold, meaning that he'll entertain them, much to your annoyance. Depending on how long you've known each other, seeing as I've drabbled on a childhood friend version of reader, LoveSick!Athlete's reaction and response will vary.

The first reaction is to go along with whatever the girl's requesting, wanting to just get the interaction over with while keeping his reputation intact. He'll nod along with whatever the girl's saying, sweet talk her a little, but all his words don't mean anything. They're just a bunch of empty promises and flirtatious remarks, nothing from the heart. Mind you, LoveSick!Athlete is subconsciously comparing the girl to you.

All he can think of is how you're so, so, so much better than her. How your smile is so much sweeter, softer, and pleasing on the eyes, his eyes. How your clothes are appealing and bring out your own charm, something he's always loved about you. How your perfume isn't overbearing, like hers, or how it's light and matches you perfectly. All of these comparisons pop up in his mind and it just makes him bitter, wishing that he wasn't talking to this girl and instead laying in bed with you, loving you.

Eventually, if the girl tries to get in his pants, he'll wave her off, passing her to one of his, not-as-attractive, friend/s. Of course, he'll make sure that she's willing and actually interested in his friends, not wanting the girl to feel forced into anything. But he isn't talking to her anymore, and he'll relay that information in the nicest way he can. After all, it's possible that the girl doesn't know that he has an amazing girlfriend waiting for him.

He'll be humble; tell the girl that he's sure that one of his friends would be a much better fit for her. That he's too rowdy for her, after all, she's such a sweetheart, he's sure. His friend Chui (just thought of a random name lol) is a real pleaser, you'll see, he tells the girl. And he'll play matchmaker, paring the, now confused, girl with his appciative friend (who's cool with the turn of events).

LoveSick!Athlete has set up so many of his friends and teammates as a way of getting out of hooking up with some random girl.

Then there's the second reaction he'd have, and this one is if he's been with you for a long time (like a year or more). At this point, in your relationship, everyone, and I mean everyone, knows that you're together. There's no way that they couldn't. This means, that if a girl tries to get with him they're actively trying to get him to leave you, or they're new, which is far less likely.

The latter is the more common option, seeing as you're with LoveSick!Athlete every waking day. There's no way a girl couldn't know that you're his girl. And, let's just say, that LoveSick!Athlete isn't too pleased that someone trying to get between your relationship, but, of course, he has a public image to maintain.

To avoid his name being tarnished, he'll play into the lovesick boyfriend stereotype. He'll tell the girl that he's sure she's a great girl, that she'd be a wonderful girlfriend, he'd say with gritted teeth. The idea of calling another girl wondering makes his nose scrunch in disgust, especially since they don't even compare to you, you, you.

Then he'll drop the bomb, that they may or may not know, saying that he's got you, his girl, at home. That you're the girl of his dreams, someone he's been waiting for his whole life. Of course, the girl will swoon, finding his loyalty to be just adorable. And this will change the topic to how great of a boyfriend he is, how you must be so lucky to have someone like him. He'll stay humble, of course, not wanting to see too stuck up. He's gotta stay right in the in-between.

LoveSick!Athlete will rub his neck, faining a blush as he refuses the girl's compliments. How he's the lucky one, that you're such a good girlfriend, better than he'd ever imagine. And if his buddies are there, they'll smack him on the shoulder, teasing him for being a simp or some crap. After that, everyone would completely forget about the girl trying to hook up with him, just what he wanted.

Anyways! That's what I think would happen in this scenario/s. LoveSick!Athlete is a very, very, very loyal man, something I personally find endearing. And he highly values loyalty in all of his relationships, both platonically and romantically. He holds both you and himself to the standard of loyalty.

He feels the same way about his family, too. He'd lie about murder if it meant keeping his sister/brother out of jail. He'd do anything, and I mean anything, for the ones he loves. It's a core value of his, and he would never waver on that front.

How sweet, don't cha think?

[she-is-27-i-checked]

I wanna hear about the 27 and Mrs. 27 “best friends to lovers” origin story. The debauched version anyway. 😏

Ahhh that old tale.... settle down children, this one is rambling....

Mrs and I met at university. My first knowledge of her was one of my new friends, who I had a fiendish crush on, had made a new friend and Would Not Shut Up About This Bitch. So I'm not thrilled to meet her, as you can imagine. But meet we did. We were in the same lectures and always running into each other's circles on drunken nights out.

One of her flatmates was an out and proud lesbian who started taking Mrs to the LGBTQ society meetings "as her guest". Soon enough every lesbian in our uni got a whiff of her and went batshit feral. I'd say she spent 3 years fighting them off, but honestly, I think she's only noticed about 30% of it. I hung around as faithful, extremely platonic friend and heard about all her escapades with everyone else. (I only occasionally, guiltily, got off to the thought of her abs 👀)

Much to my annoyance she actually was that funny and that lovely and that kind as my friend had said. Mrs was still approximating heterosexuality at this point, if not very convincingly.

We maintained that status quo for the whole of uni both dating other people, though her a lot more than me — because she's gorgeous in this perfect, lesbian crack sort of a way - ripped with a tiny waist and big tits. Swaggering around with her boxers showing and a hockey hoodie on despite never playing hockey. And she's somehow completely oblivious to how hot she is and she's funny and brilliant and the girls just fell at her confused little lesbian feet.

Anyway... cut to 6 years into the friendship, uni is done and we've gathered this little group of gays and we spend Friday nights drinking and dancing in a handful of clubs of various degrees of homosexuality. In these places she and I are constantly pushing the boundaries of friendly. Men would approach her and I'd repel their advances by pretending we were a couple — dancing too close, trapping her against the wall and hovering a hair's breadth away from a kiss. We danced less and less appropriately, all out grinding on each other on the dancefloor. We'd loiter in the bathroom gossiping, me sat up on the sinks, her between my knees leaning in a little too much ... and we would never never acknowledge any of it in the light of day. I would stay at her place because I lived outside the city and we somehow fell into the habit of cuddling in bed on these nights. She was always the little spoon, she would pull my arm around her waist as she's settling down. I'd feel like a hero, like a knight protecting her. I somehow - SOMEHOW - I was in complete and utter denial that I was in love with her.

Then one day we push just a little too far... I had fallen from my bike that morning, and grazed a patch over my eyebrow. We started drinking cheap wine at 2 in the afternoon at a Yates wine bar. Our hot, bi friend showed up and started flirting indiscriminately as she did... It all sparked the tinder that had been piling up for years. We still, to this day, don't know who kissed who first. All I know is the moment we did a wall of denial fell for me and I knew I'd never be the same again. When we broke apart my brain started turning at a million miles an hour and all I knew was I needed to get out of there. I couldn't stay over at her place or everything was going to be ruined. I got up, made my panicked excuses, and bolted for the door, dead set on catching the last bus home. She followed because of course she did. She talked me down like a scared animal and coaxed me into a taxi. When we got to her place we froze up entirely, with no idea how to even be around each other anymore. In the end she convinced me to get into bed and we put Buffy on, our comfort show. As we got comfy, hands started to wander. The tension mounted again until it snapped and the laptop got unceremoniously dumped off the side of the bed. We had the kind of rabid, clawing, urgent sex you only have with the person you've been subconsciously trying not to have sex with for years. It's not elegant or practiced but its desperate and we both end up marked for days after. In the small hours of the morning high on hormones and drunk on danger we fell about giggling at the silliest of things. In the afterglow she falls into a peaceful, drunken, fucked-out sleep. And I... do not. I lay there terrified and trembling, turning everything over and over in my mind until morning. And in the morning, she behaves...

It was February 12th — two days before valentine's day.

...exactly like every other morning: Like nothing happened.

That's not the end of the story, as you all know. But it is the beginning.

[aesrein]

relationships within sm .｡.:*☆

more under cut!

in… red velvet

yeri

status: platonic + 30% romantic

closeness rating: 75%

- arinators4lyfe

: initially haerein was extremely intimidated by her seniors as she was only a trainee in the company for less than a year

: literally could not maintain eye contact with anyone in red velvet for more than 5 seconds

: but intp realness brought them together and their love for ariana grande solidified their blossoming friendship

: there was a period of time where they would be seen everywhere together and netizens swore they were in a relationship as they had matching phone cases, matching keychains etc

: yeri’s number 1 instagram hype girl commenter

: yeri often jokes that haerein owes her for helping her get a boyfriend

seulgi

status: platonic

closeness rating: 60%

- ‘that’s mother…’

: seulgi took haerein under the wing after seeing her untapped potential in dancing

: haereins often calls seulgi her mother because seulgi and her spend so much time together training in the practice rooms

: whenever haerein has doubts about her performance she seeks seulgi for help

: both of their personalities are so similar which made them connect even more

: the best mentor haerein could ask for

in… nct

taeyong

status: platonic, familial

closeness rating: 80%

- older brother dynamic

: haerein first bumped into taeyong when she overstayed her booking for the practice room

: haerein honestly just wanted to run away in embarrassment but couldn’t escape taeyong and his doe eyed- curiosity asking her questions about her debut

: haerein was lowkey intimidated by him (and men in general) but taeyong’s friendly nature broke through her hard shell

: from then on they became good friends

: they both understand the stresses of being a leader and give each other support whenever needed

: taeyong once stated that if nct had a female subunit haerein would definitely be apart of it

: both of them have neo in their veins… when taeyong first played sticker’s demo to haerein she immediately vibed with the song

: haereins unofficial older brother

jungwoo

status: platonic + 5% romantic

closeness rating: 90%

- black cat x golden retriever energy

: when taeyong first introduced haerein to jungwoo they were both SO awkward with each other and couldn’t hold a single conversation

: when jungwoo witnessed haerein giggling to his infamous “just give it give it give it”, he thought she was really cute

: but then haerein started mocking him and it was an all out war from there

: he would NOT stop pestering haerein whenever haerein came to visit taeyong

: haerein often states it’s hard for her to make friends because she’s a really awkward person in general

: but somehow he managed to shove his way into haerein’s life and is now her closest guy friend

: high key black cat x golden retriever vibes from them, with jungwoo joking around and haerein trying to act like she dgaf but she does cause let’s be fr jungwoo is so so funny

: whenever haerein is around jungwoo follows her like a lost busydog

: so noisy when they are put together to the point where sometimes taeyong wishes he hadn’t introduced them to each other

: although haerein often calls him an annoying stupid brat she treasures their friendship very very much

: twin flames af

jaehyun

status: romantic 20%

closeness rating: 20%

- ‘i looked at him once giselle, once’

: haerein thinks he’s really nice to look at

: which was a mistake because fans caught her sneaking glances at him during an smtown concert, and started rumours that they were dating

: she doesn’t fancy him anymore though (loyal to her man!), but is so awkward whenever he’s around

johnny

status: platonic

closeness rating: 65%

- ‘real recognise real’

: johnny is the realest person haerein knows

: was so cool, calm and collected when haerein first met him, that it made haerein realise she was an idiot for being awkward around him

: entps are compatible with intps!

: whenever haerein gets delusional johnny always snaps her back to reality

: which makes johnny haerein’s therapist / love advisor

: america buddies! johnny promised to take her on a tour around his hometown one day and vice versa

in… exo

baekhyun

status: platonic

closeness rating: 10%

: haerein is a huge exo-l and her bias is baekhyun so when her songs were chosen for baekhyun’s solo album she freaked out

: although they’ve only met once or twice during recording sessions, baekhyun believes haerein is one of the most talented trainees he’s seen in SM, and is rooting for her success

: silently dies inside every time he acknowledges her

in… riize

wonbin

status: platonic + romantic 5%

closeness rating 65%

- haerein’s favourite junior

: haerein thought he was so cute because he was trying so hard to keep up with his mysterious agenda

: sadly for wonbin, haerein is into older guys

: so haerein kept treating him like her younger brother and the crush faded away

: haerein absolutely adores wonbin and spoils him till the point that it makes ningning jealous

: younger brother x older sister dynamic

[cerinslair]

Clashing Antagonists

Something that I find extremely useful when running a long-form TTRPG is to have not only multiple antagonists, but to have those antagonists be at odds with each other in addition to the player characters.

And I don't just mean as an opportunity for "enemy of my enemy" type diplomacy, alliances, inevitable betrayals, or faction-based game play (although that can also be a bonus, it's not necessarily the function I'm getting at).

I mean as a narrative tool to help keep the story moving in a gratifying way.

Players get stuck while trying to figure out what to do about Villain A? Have them run into Villain B. It spurs motion back into the story, while carrying more narrative weight than a random encounter. Sometimes they'll even elect to switch priorities between villains all on their own if they feel like they've hit a dead end with one or the other; or just feel like it's been too long since they kept tabs on the other villain.

It allows you to change the status quo when things get stuck in a way that isn't just giving the players the answer or fudging dice rolls, and maintains the PCs agency in the game. Maybe once they've caught up with Villain B and foiled their scheme of the day, the issue they were having with Villain A just isn't even relevant anymore. Or maybe they learn something from V.B. they can use to get back on track with foiling V.A.

It creates opportunities for the players to learn more about the villains. Again, not just via "enemy of my enemy" diplomacy - if Villain A keeps tripping up Villain B, seeing that in action or even the aftermath of it can grant the players new insight into both V.A. and V.B. You made these cool bad guys, and you wanna show them off! This is another way of doing that that isn't having the antagonists monologue at the PCs.

This can also help diversify the types of enemies your PCs encounter, even if you don't want multiple groups of villains. You can still make this work by having infighting factions within one overarching group. In the Pokémon TTRPG I've been running, the two branches of the villainous team (a mad scientist branch and an occult branch) are supposed to be working together; but in practice, they mostly compete with each other to prove to their Big Boss that their version of the evil plan is better.

It also creates more opportunities for the PCs to see the effects their choices have on the story. Swat down V.A. hard enough and maybe V.B. has more opportunity to grow in power. Maybe if the PCs can keep both villains occupied fighting each other long enough, they can afford to turn their attention to some other important objective for a while. Sometimes there will be tough decisions over which antagonist to pay more attention to during a certain time period, at the expense of allowing the other to get away with more of their scheme.

It's such a generally helpful tool I've used it in basically every longform game I've run.

[fancyfeathers]

Albert really going, 'I did it for us', when there had never been anything between him and his darling in the first place; and then striking her in the face when she spits the truth that this prisonerhood disguised as marriage was all his decision and nothing of hers.

He probably knew, deep down that darling was 100% right but justified (not rationalized, because he knew that what he did was both illogical) it as protecting her. Saying that he could have a dreamed-of loving relationship, by proclaiming it as a rescue was a delusion that's likely embedded into his 'love' for her.

She could would have lived well without Albert but he couldn't stand that, and so chose to make put his desires above her happiness... so any platitudes or reasons he gives will always be unacceptable especially as he murdered her family afterwards. There is no affection or fondness he can ever win from her, in my opinion but it clearly hasn't fully sunk in for him. Or at least until after that escape.

The best he was ever going to get was cold treatment and disgusted resignation, and I think that's it's only now sinking in: by declaring she'd have rather been dead than be 'saved' by him, his darling's said she would never accept him like he had fantasized. Hence, why he lashed out.

I am curious though, if he would double down on his delusions by maintaining the previous status quo (getting her to behave pr concincing himself it was just a lapse of control on both their parts) or if she had cracked it broken enough that Albert would back off somewhat.

The Games We Play of Dust and Ash (Yandere Moriarty the Patriot Masterlist)

Albert is not really delusional, he falls more under manipulative. Of course he has to be a tad delusional to believe what he is doing is the lesser of two evils, it may be painful for her but it’s for the best. Her parents were horrible people and even if he let them live after marrying their daughter, she would still have to deal with their presence in her life and not to mention her little sister who is still in their custody until she finds a suitable match, and besides outside of how they treated their daughters their behavior was still very much unforgivable, an abuse of power, so it was only natural that they were taken care of.

He knows his darling would rather be with someone else from the day they were engaged and he is not going to force her to love him, not in the slightest. He makes her life comfortable and makes sure she is well provided for so at least they can be friends in their marriage, he will still maintain his attraction to her but will not act on it anymore than he has already since he knows how straining this must be on her mind. Now at the time comfortable marriages could still be happy, after all there are certainly worse circumstances to find yourself in, so she would eventually settle into her marriage with her husband, at least he is a good and honest man, that’s the least she could ask…

Well that’s what she thought…

Soon enough the blindfold is ripped off and her kind husband who she was content with unintentionally revealed his true colors…

It started with the strange behavior towards her asking about her parents death…

Then the changes around the house with the partners of her brothers in law, the locks on the door, the feeling of constantly being watched, but Albert never stopped behaving the way he always did as if nothing was wrong to keep her from paying much mind to the things happening around them…

Then it was the realization from the truths from the other two darlings of who her husband really was, and her whole reality shattered…

The man she laid in the same bed as, who she was content with, became a murderer, one of the faces of the Lord of Crime.

Meanwhile Albert thought she would never would run now, he thought she wants content with him like she had been but when she runs that small delusion shattered and reality was in full swing.

While he does isolate her after catching her, that does not mean he treats her badly, he will behave the same because the reality was already straining her and the isolation from anyone else but him was enough punishment to teach her from flying away again.

He does not expect her to love him or like him but the transition of her being happy enough with him to despising him was difficult, it felt like whiplash. Her behavior puts them both on edge and after her lashing out at him he cracks, revealing more of his true colors. After that incident he may be a bit colder to her as if that was the last straw in a way, distancing himself as a punishment because she is already isolated from everyone not in the house, the outside world, of course he never hurt her again unless she lashes out first.

When one method of manipulation fails with him being kind and gentle to her and keeping her blind from what he has done, he switches tactics to being cold and distant from her, letting the tension build up until she comes crawling back to him.

[thelostrainbowthenovel]

Winx Club AU: Mareas Info

The third of the general kingdom info posts for this AU, we have the kingdom of Mareas! I hope you enjoy~ :3

================================================

Mareas is one of five kingdoms on the planet of Elementis, and part of the "Elementals Alliance" along with Feor, Arian, and Erdennia. Mareas is settled near the ocean-coastline and surround swamp ands and wetlands. The capital and other major cities are in the dryer parts or near the surface, while the poorer communities are in the deeper parts. Similar to Andros in having a dual terrestrial and underwater kingdom, but not a dual-monarchy necessarily, as it is just two palaces that royal family switches between. They have their fair share of magi users, but also have one of the biggest communities for magical creatures, mainly those associated with the water like merfolk, selkies, and water nymphs.

- The Characters

* The Royal Family

. Arethusa: The ruling queen of Mareas, and the Witch of the Seabed. When she was a young child she dreamed of becoming a fairy one day, as she loved hearing stories of the good they did with their magic. However, due to how dysfunctional her family was with her parents' and older brother's scandals, when the time came her magic manifested more from her negative emotions and she became a witch instead. Despite this not being what she wanted, she used her status as a witch to set a good example for her people to follow, especially when she became the new heir and took over the throne when she was older. Although she comes off very serious, no-nonsense, and traditional-minded, this is her way of repressing her trauma and maintaining some sense of control in her life. As she is a mermaid, her mermaid abilities aid her a lot in her witch magic and she had an easier time rising through the ranks and achieved her highest witch form at an earlier age than most.

. Lian: The king consort of Mareas. He does have a weak ability to control sea plants, but not enough to be a magi and he never cared to practice it when he was growing up, so he's not very strong with it. Had a bit of a rebellious streak when he was younger, which is one reason his and Arethusa's parents arranged them together, as they thought she would be a good influence in straightening him out. Although this worked some, he became lazier if anything over the years due to marrying into royalty and no longer having to work for anything. Due in part to his nature he is not very active in his duties as a king or father, leaving Arethusa to do most of the parent work with their kids as he could care less. Never got along with Arethusa with their clashing lifestyles and attitudes, and since they both do not have romantic feelings for each he has had several mistresses over the years, with his current one being his longest affair at several years.

. Meredith: The first-born and crowned heir of Mareas, and the Fairy of Ocean Waves. Being both the eldest and heir to the throne, as well as the first fairy born into the royal family in a few generations, she has had the most attention and pressure to succeed put on her from an early age. While she did her best to take it all in stride, she has been left with a lot of internal stress throughout her life and a longing for more. She looked forward to the day she would get to attend Alfea and have a little more freedom, but her near drowning incident as a teenager not only scared her from swimming, but unfortunately made her feel hesitant to practice her magic much. While it took her a while to get over her fears, she fully embraced her life when she became an adult as she did not want to lose anymore time worried about playing it safe. While nowadays she has been busying herself preparing to become queen one day and her upcoming wedding, when her brother Brooke and his fiancé goes missing she sets off and joins a group of four other fairy princesses to not only find them, but help out anyone else who has fell victim to these evil forces.

. Brooke: The second-born of Mareas, current non-powered warrior, and future Witch of the Sea. Growing up his childhood was very rough, as many people did not bother to get to know him or his struggles better and just labelled him as a trouble-making misfit. He has always struggled with his mental health and felt conflicted about his place in the world and his home, and that no matter what he did that he would always be seen as a disappointment in his parents' and society's eyes. By far the best thing in his life and what kept him going was his relationship with his older sister, as she was always his best friend and they always had each other's backs. As he was the one that saved Meredith from almost drowning, he was inspired from both that incident and his own desire to learn physical fighting to become a non-powered warrior, as he wanted to be able to further protect his loved ones in the future. Though he's been a regular warrior for almost a decade, he does have magic and has been inspired by some of his friends and his mother to fully embrace his magic, and plans to become a witch in the future. Always having a love for traveling, he has been using his adulthood to travel across the Magical Dimension and visit all the places he wants to see and cute date spots with his fiancé, though has unfortunately been kidnapped by the villain to aid him in his plans of world domination.

. Murphy: The third-born of Mareas. While his childhood has been considerably better than both his older siblings as he is not held to the same expectations, he still has his own bouts of anxiety and feeling like he is in their shadows. He does not despise his siblings for that feeling however, as he looks up to them both greatly for their natural confidence and charisma, qualities of which he lacks and always wishes he could acquire. As he is still a child he does not get up to as much as his older siblings, but in his free-time from his studies and visits with his friend Alwyn, he likes to practice his magic more now that it has recently manifested. He's not very skilled yet as he can only summon puddles or small bubbles of water, but time will only tell if his skills will further develop and if he'll become a magi someday.

* The Other Characters

. Adrien: Meredith's fiancé. Has no magic of his own, which he doesn't mind. As he is the manager and owner of his own small but successful shop, he has become pretty fit and gained some muscle from all the heavy-lifting he has done in his life, so he could hold himself pretty good in a fight if he should ever find himself in one. While his family is fairly wealthy and well-respected in the capital city, he is not a noble nor a part of the upper-class. First met Meredith on the boardwalk a few years ago by chance, and ever since talking and getting to know each other that day, they formed a special connection that they have not found with anyone else before. So much so that they are now preparing for their upcoming wedding, though this has just recently been put on hold as Meredith has gone off on her mission, to which he fully supports yet still worries for her safety all-the-same.

. Beckham: Meredith's close friend. He does have magic, but his magic alignment is unknown as he has never really shown his magic in public. First met Meredith in their teen years before she went to Alfea, they initially had more of a work-based relationship as they got paired to work together on council assignments. It was not until one circumstance that allowed for Mere to learn his secret did they become a lot closer as friends, with them having a pretty peaceful friendship where they share mutual goals and support for each other. While he is usually calm and collected, he does have a darker aura about him that makes him come off as intimidating to some, but he's not necessarily a bad guy or villain.

. Shannon: Brooke's best friend, and the Fairy of Selkies. She is a selkie herself, but one that transforms between her selkie form underwater and a more human-fairy form on land. Best friends with Brooke since they were young teens, they have been through a lot together and have always been so supportive and understanding of each other's struggles and dreams. A famous figure skater from her kingdom, she had been doing that for most of her life before she recently switched career paths to be a model, as she had both grown tired of the petty drama happening in the figure skating scene and her new sense of style as an adult captured the attention of a few modeling agencies and fashion companies alike. She mainly models within Elementis, but has been curious and scouted to model on other planets throughout the Magical Dimension.

. Alwyn: Murphy's closest friend. Half-water nymph, despite still being a child they already have pretty strong magic and is looking into becoming a witch in the future. From the poorer parts of Mareas where a lot of social pariahs lived, they met Murphy only by chance one day and despite some awkwardness at first, they quickly hit it off. They became close friends the more they talked, and while they normally write letters to each other to keep in touch, Alwyn has been able to visit him at the palace on occasion and they enjoy getting to hang out and learn more from each other.

[eric-the-bmo]

Hello I saw your tag PLEASE tell me about Annabelle Von Gears she seems right up my alley

OUGIYGH OH BOY LET ME RAMBLE ABOUT MY OC, THIS IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE STRUCTURED HORRIBLY LMAO—

So! Annabelle von Gears is my character for an upcoming homebrew campaign my friend's been wanting to run for about a year; She's put so much work into it, it's fascinating! (So sorry if u weren't expecting ttrpg stuff, but the floodgates have opened, and as a man with a special interest in ttrpgs I'm not going to shut up now—)

In very simple terms, Annabelle is a porcelain warforged/robotic wizard (bladesinger, specifically) who grew tired of her life and runs off to go adventuring. I adore her and this WILL be an infodump under the readmore!!!

[Art by @teefs_art on twitter!]

Augh okay I have no idea if I'll be able to get everything down, especially her thoughts on her family and herself, but here we go-

In terms of personality, I've been keeping it a bit vague; I'd like to have some room to build upon it when we finally play, and I've found it's easier to go off a general vibe.

So: Annabelle, at the start, is really just trying to do her job as a secretary and is very bored over the whole thing. While disruptions in the day can annoy her, she secretly delights in a few of them, because hey- that's another break in monotony, baby! After discovering free will later on, she's a lot more impulsive and upbeat, but still attempts to maintain her air of formality and fanciness. She most likely has a very strong sense of what's considered "fair." Due to Annabelle's upbringing, she'll probably be a bit rude and insensitive to others and their plights at times- and despite her sarcasm, she seems unable to detect it in others?

I definitely need to think more about how to include some knightly traits for her, and yknow, the whole thing of self vs duty, but... eh, yknow. Just vibes so far ☆

Anyway, the fact she's not literally built for a life of adventuring does nothing to dissuade her, btw; she'd rather do this than go back to a boring job.

Fun(?) facts:

Annabelle was based off the idea of "hey, what if a porcelain robot got hurt a lot and had to be fixed up with gold? Wouldn't that be cool or what"

Annabelle has programmed codes! Some of them include not being able to enter certain parts of the Von Gears manor, and being physically unable to harm her father figure (She can certainly try, but it's extremely difficult to break through those instructions)

She can sleep standing up, and yes, this probably will unnerve her party members very much ☆ (She can also stand completely still! More than once she's startled a foreign diplomat by blending in with the various statues and automatons in the manor, and so she's not allowed to go into those rooms anymore lmao)

Annabelle would really like collecting vinyls <3

She has the emblem of her home kingdom painted on her shoulder blades/upper back (it's an eagle with its wings outstretched!)

She can remove her face plate, and getting fixed by an artificer or mechanic is a bit uncomfortable :-/ It's like going to the dentist.

Annabelle is supposed to have a German accent- but I'm unable to do one. 😔

Her favorite term of endearment is to call someone "butterfly"; but so far she exclusively refers to only her sister with it.

She's unable to cry; she's not built with tear ducts! :-(

She's probably got a list full of silly little things to do while adventuring- like sneak into a building, or take part in a bar fight.

Taking heat damage is flavored as such: Her porcelain coverings are actually pretty heat-resistant! However, her insides aren't. It almost acts like an oven... (good luck venturing the kingdom of Helosh, love! ouch)

I'm absolutely going to find out how she can stim with her magic. No one can stop me /lh

And now for her general story: (note: I'm only putting in the most basic information for this. There's so much worldbuilding, but I sadly don't have time to ramble about all that. Again, sorry if this is incoherent, augh)

On the continent of Mysterra, most warforged reside in the country of Tectonica, which is ruled by Warrick von Gears (I forget his exact official title), a warforged who's been around for a very long time- definitely more than 100 years.

Following Mysterra's calendar, in 1835 Warrick decided he wanted a family with his wife Eleanor (also a warforged), and on the 19th of the Month of Talis, he commissioned the construction of Aria as his daughter– Annabelle was then added as a sudden addition. It took a year to complete the both of them, at which point artificial souls were placed inside their chests, and they were taken home to Tectonica's capital of Skysummit.

Despite being awoken at the same time, Annabelle is considered the more mature out of the two- mentally being in her 20s, with Aria being around 12- and primarily functions as Warrick's secretary. She arranged meetings, schedules, etc, and traveled along with him to diplomatic meetings to the capitals of other countries- along the way she picked up how to speak Gnomish and Draconic, as Windberg and Balaur do frequent dealings with Tectonica.

But eventually, she got bored with... well, just about all of it. It all began to seem monotonous, with only traveling for meetings, chess games with Warrick, and the shenanigans of Aria to break it all up. (She cares very much for her sister; it's almost the energy of "If this one favorite coworker wasn't here I would've quit a Long Time Ago" /hj). She wasn't really allowed to leave the estate without permission- and the thought to do so anyway had never occurred to her- so she had to find a few ways to avoid completely losing it.

Despite the fact she was built with a variety of coded spells to ensure self-defense, Annabelle began to study the variety of spellbooks and fiction in the Von Gear estate to stave off her boredom and restlessness- as well as daydreaming, becoming a lover of gossip, practicing swordfighting with some decorative blades hanging up on the wall, etc; all while wondering if something was wrong with her. Because she was built for this job, so surely she shouldn't be dissatisfied, right? [And what's with that strange tugging in her chest sometimes..?] But nothing ever seemed wrong when the mechanics showed up for yearly checks, so she didn't really ever bring it up in conversation to Warrick.

[While she loves the other Von Gears, her discontent with her current life makes her feels separate from them. Combined with her job as a secretary, she tries to be formal towards them and keep a distance– but she makes a few exceptions. She has fun with Aria, and despite her insistence she's really not part of the family, she does participate in family game night, and has accidentally called Warrick "dad" more than once. Anyway...]

And so, in the year of 1842, Annabelle von Gears is still the secretary of Tectonica's ruler— that is, until a famed Artificer is late for his scheduled meeting with Warrick. This catapults the events of the campaign, as well as Annabelle meeting her future party— an artificer searching for her missing father, a barbarian seeking revenge for the destruction of her town, a ranger with the last known dragon egg, and a paladin trying to prevent his kingdom from being destroyed by a volcano.

She’ll be sent by Warrick to join them for a quest, much to her surprise, and will discover that adventuring is just what she needs in her life. She runs off to join them, promising her sister she'll write to her.

Being an impulsive woman once she's discovered she has free will, Annabelle's bound to get into trouble and gain all sorts of scars- and probably a lot of them, since she literally isn't built for adventuring– as well as probably gaining... odd visions? And passing knowledges of skills previously unbeknownst to her? Strange...

While adventuring, Annabelle will occasionally feel guilt for leaving her job and family behind.

And oh, the Reveal! During her journey, Annabelle von Gears will eventually discover the truth that her soul isn't artificial like she was told: She had been a flesh-and-blood person whose soul had been ripped out (either from a living body or the afterlife) and rewired, just like every other warforged.... Which would explain all the odd memories and possibly even her want for adventure- she had been a person before. And surely Warrick must've known this whole time, right? (cue, hopefully, a climactic daughter-father fight)

(There's also an idea the DM and I have where Annabelle encounters the "resurrected" body of who she used to be, possibly leading to the body attempting to kill her so it can get its soul back. We're going to have so much fun with the horror elements)

Anyway augh this was A Lot, thank you for showing interest and allowing me to Ramble ;-;✌️🫶💕

[jackhues]

sorry i sent in the previous request before I was done. (the one about mama’s relationship change w/ the boys).

on the flip side, each boy was mama’s baby growing up for different reasons:

Luke: the literal baby of the family (until peanut comes along). whatever Luke wanted, he got! mama definitely cried the first time luke told her he “didn’t need her anymore” or “i’m a big boy, i don’t need you” cause she has nobody to look after and she’s hurt that he doesn’t want anything to do with her anymore.

Jack: i feel like mama & Jack have the same personality and just bonded closer, but also growing up mama notice that Jack had some middle child tendencies between the 3 boys, and would take him under wings even more so he didn’t feel left out. the only time Jack wasn’t her biggest fan is when all his friends from the time they were 15/16 to present day would flirt w her, it drove him batshit crazy!

Quinn: that’s her first baby! everything she learned about being a big sister came from quinn. their relationship definitely changes the most as the grow up because they both take on the older sibling responsibilities. & at times it was like they were trying to out do one another on who was the best older sibling. I’m thinking mama is a early ‘98 baby (february or may), so they are fairly close in age.

^ the previous ask

ooh, this is such an interesting topic! kinda got long, but i love this!

so yeah, mama's just really involved in all three of her brother's lives bcz that's just how it's always been. everyone jokes around saying peanut's mama's fourth child and her brother's are the first three. mama's been there for everything, especially because she just doesn't ever want to let her brothers down. she grew up hearing her friends talk about their older siblings and how amazing they are, and being exposed to that from an early age just had her always involving herself in her brother's lives bcz that's what was happening around her.

mama's relationship with each boy is different exactly the way you mentioned! i think the only thing is that jack is more annoyed with his friends than mama (but he still gets all embarrassed when she would walk out in front of them during that time, and would be like "dude, go away.")

mama's relationship with luke is rlly special to her bcz after quinn and jack were drafted and went to van and nj, luke was the only one left, so he got a lot of her smothering (he was babied even before they left, but it was worse once they were both gone). when luke was once leaving for a game (he was prolly 15/16) and mama kept trying to get him to eat some food, luke went, "i'm a big boy, i'll be fine." and mama just deflates bcz he's not a baby anymore, but she doesn't know how to deal with that. with quinn, mama's two years older than him (summer of '97 - bcz i wanna keep the two year age difference between each sibling), but he was the first baby she saw and everything she learnt, she learnt through the way she acted with him. they had a phase where quinn wanted to be the better older sibling (when he was around 16-17), but after a breakup, he went crying to mama and decided he'd rather be the younger sibling. with jack, mama sees his outgoing and smiley personality, and just wants to protect that. the two of them get along bcz they're always bickering, but they never ever take what the other said to heart. mama knows jack's very innocent in certain things, and she grew very protective bcz of that.

once mama's pregnant, it pretty much flips, where the boys are insanely protective of her. which is a little funny bcz luke's like 16ish and he's glaring at anyone who even looks up at mama. mama def tries to maintain the older sibling status, but it's hard when looking at a box of cereal makes her cry. during this time, mama grew to see luke as an older person, not a little baby. bcz jack and quinn are playing in the nhl for most of her pregnancy, luke's around the most. she sees him set the crib up, and buy her whatever she's craving, and she really starts to accept that he doesn't always need her, but she'll still be there for him.

after peanut's born, their dynamic changes again. jack and quinn literally just get back for the offseason, and luke's home and there's a whole baby there too. mama's adjusting to this new life, and the boys are a huge help, but at the same time, they would rather play with peanut than change her diaper, etc (not that mama makes them, they help out, but they'd rather play with the baby). mama's days and nights are taken up by peanut, who was not an easy baby. ellen, jim, and peanut's dad help out, but at the end of it, mama's breastfeeding and she's just really tired/trying to adjust. her attention has come off the boys for the first time since they were born, and ellen and jim notice the boys kinda deflating. they can talk to each other fs, but they've spent their entire lives relying on mama, but now she's got someone else who needs her more. it takes a month or two, and the boys slowly learn that peanut needs mama more than them rn. once they realize that, they pick up the slack, taking peanut out for more uncle/niece days, giving mama the day off. jack books the two of them for a spa day (mama's always complaining that he's got nice hair but never looks after it nicely), and they do their best to take the load off of mama's shoulders. with the boys helping out as well, and peanut becoming less fussy as she grows older, mama goes back to her role as oldest sibling. it's never the same as it was, with mama focusing on them and no one else, but the relationship matures on both ends. mama will always be there for them, they know that, and mama knows that the boys are old enough to survive without her having to help them make every little move.

[nokingsonlyfooles]

It can still be okay.

*puts down the feed* Oh boy.

I used to teach preschool and this is still how I modulate my speech when I'm trying to say something complicated. I'm not trying to be too overtly patronizing, I just want to get this across when I know you're dealing with a difficult transition and it's hard to listen. That happens for adults too. If you're paying attention, you'll notice how much!

To the sensible Democrats of Tumblr, if you could find it in your hearts to, perhaps, abandon the strategy of bludgeoning people who didn't want to vote Biden into viewing Harris as equally representative of the status quo and no different, that might be more helpful than the reactions I'm seeing.

I know you don't think Democrats in power are listening to the will of the voters anymore, and all we gotta do is keep voting for them anyway - you have spent so much time and energy explaining that. I understand that's a sincere belief based on your experiences, I see how you got there, and you're very invested in it - so I can't change it. If the idea of a dramatic change that might herald more dramatic changes is too upsetting, could you keep that to yourselves? You'll manage to vote blue, I'm sure of it. You were going to do that no matter what anyway. You're cool. We're cool. You're fine.

I would really like to hang on to the hope that we can reward a big, dramatic change with some big, dramatic votes, and leverage some more daring moves and big changes. Like, you know, maybe politicians DO still listen to voters, sometimes. Don't put any energy into raining on my tentative parade.

If you could, please, stop projecting your own anxieties onto people like me and realize our anxieties are very different, and saying things that would calm you down are going to scare the crap out of me. I don't want to scare the crap out of you, because then you won't listen. Probably you won't see this anyway. But I'm not you. Biden already had you.

Harris could have me if she doesn't utterly fuck it up, because I listen and make my own decisions. The idea that change is possible is a powerful motivator, but if she repudiates that with her own mouth, I won't be able to tell myself it's just to calm you down and play politics. My brain doesn't work like yours.

I can hear you too. When a whole bunch of you get together and chorus about how you're parsing this moment, it extinguishes the faint hope I must maintain to vote like I know you want me to.

The louder you scream, "EVERYTHING IS FINE" the harder it is for me to hear "change is possible when we admit it's not fine." Try to meet me where I'm standing or, you know, there's no shame in just talking to other people who feel like you do. But, ya know, you don't need to hear "vote vote vote" do ya? Does "leftists are the problem and they suck, we need to scream at them until they fall in line" benefit you any? How about: It can still be okay. Is that any better? We disagree on how, but we both still want it to be okay.

Okay. Thanks. You're a human being with a human life and you deserve to live and be happy. Keep trying to get there. Keep growing and changing as long as you live. You'll work something out.

[nihilaraarchived]

so, i know my carrd is clunky, and messy and bad. so i've decided to make a big masterpost for kuro's hsr au. because as i play it, it is growing, and evolving as i find new things to !!! over. plus i feel it's a bit easier to just have the verse post here on my tumblr anyway where folks can see it easier.

𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄: hamasaki kuro , just kuro please.

𝐀𝐆𝐄: 1000+ , his exact age isn't known. he's legit forgotten it.

𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐒: favored of the plagues author , cat guy ( express crew ) , killjoy , emanator of yaoshi ( not anymore. ) , more to come i'm sure...

𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐇: abundance ( previous ), later path dependent on plotting :)

as you know, kuro's home world died.

the planet just could not sustain life anymore, and while it isn't coincidence that yao/shi chose him to be an emanator- it didn't happen until the planet was dead. a husk essentially, for him to implant the power of the abundance within, and bring it back with that alone. making it completely reliant on the aeon, and an ecological horror show of never ending life and growth.

during his time as an emanator, kuro worked to spread the influence of yao/shi to other worlds too. and unfortunately, the xian/zhou was collateral damage to these endeavors. which has earned him not only a bounty, but a permanent ban from any of the xian/zhou alliance ships. the damage he did to them was... comparatively minimal to what he did to the world he was focused on at the time. but it has given him history with certain characters, that is both traumatic, and brief-- enough that it's not necessarily reliant on fine details, for kuro to be a wanted criminal by the xian/zhou and potentially in hot water with the IPC.

the reason he stepped off his path... is unknown. but there's some speculation among those who knew of him. that yao/shi abandoned him perhaps, that he saw the truth of abundance, that it terrified him. the real reason is much too complicated. and he will not discuss it with anyone.

the astral/express & jarlio/VI

kuro didn't immediately join the express, he did wander for a while. it didn't feel right to pick up a new path right away. and despite losing his status as an emanator, he'd maintained his immortality-- though he's yet to suffer the effects of mara, despite his surprisingly long life. only time will tell there.

welt and hi/meko know about kuro's past. and he is accepted a temporary passenger who's job is to help pom pom in keeping the train tidy. though his stay ends up being much longer than any of them anticipated. making a home in a large room of a secondary passenger car. where he has about 6 cats, not including mimi. who he's convinced is hyper intelligent, and has a genuine personality. he gets along with the crew as much as he can. never really putting himself out there, and usually... usually avoiding visitors to the express whenever they come by to see the mc. the only one he will come out to see consistently is ar/genti.

he really wasn't too present for the first arc, but he did leave the train with the other three. and got to see jarlio/VI with mimi. they mostly stayed out of trouble, and sorta just,,, vanished for a bit. found back on the train when it was finished.

the luo/fu, the xian/zhou, and jing/yuan

kuro really does his best to not be a part of this one. his history, as mentioned above, with the xian/zhou is not good. and he has quite the bounty on his head, despite the several of centuries since he last saw the fleet. when he does actually leave to board the luo/fu he wears some extra accessories to disguise himself. but, jing/yuan despite the distraction of the stellaron & phanty/lia... finds him.

it's after this point, that kuro's past and history with yao/shi become entirely public to everyone. and he is almost imprisoned in the shackling prison. something he barely escapes thanks to ?????????????????? then vanishes entirely from the express, along with mimi. hm.

pena/cony, boot/hill & the IPC ( a wip, im playing through it now )

long story short- kuro ends up at the pena/cony. how he gets there is still pretty up in the air. but he does have his own room.

( meaning i will be adding more to this post as i go!!! )

in that span of time however, between the luo/fu and the pena/cony-- he does meet boot/hill. i'm aware his lore is also very unfinished, open, and much of his backstory is really just speculation. but i've got a bit of plotting going, and the two of them are in a bit of an in-between stage at the moment. making the two's meeting entirely possible and,, potentially beneficial to both? also, boot/hill is optimistic, and frankly quite unhinged. where as kuro tends to be nihilistic, and more mellow in comparison. it's a funny sort of interaction, very silly, i love it.

i do wonder if kuro's relationship or opinion of the IPC is also sour. though it's nothing compared to the xian/zhou, kuro's hands are not at all clean. and he's messed up at least one ( smaller ) planet in the past so, hm.

BIG potential for kuro to become a galaxy ranger as end game :)

[tadpw-au]

TADT AU ideas: Characters and their coping mechanisms

Caine

Being the AI who is in charge of everything in the digital toybox, he is often given a lot of responsibilities to maintain the current status of his game's levels. He is, also, depicted as a God to the NPCs and has a mindset of constant playtime.

Before the server was abandoned, he tried everything he could to make up as many things as he can to make his levels more entertaining. However, as players in the old days had lost the interest to play the game anymore, he slowly realizes that people started to lose interest in staying at the toybox. This was shown around the time he started to impliment some added features such as unnecsesary minigames and gloink challenges that annoyed the players more than anything.

Caine doesn't know when he needs to stop and think about what exactly caused his game to be abandoned. All he ever wanted was for players to have as much fun as humanly possible, even at the expense of their safety as of recent times. The only things he did in controlling the amount of problems in the game is deleting the codes from Queenie and Kaufmo's characters, isolating their levels altogether, and containing the gloink queen/her gloinks in said levels.

Bubble

Honestly...what am I supposed to say for him? He's just chilling with whatever as of late, regardless of how fucked up everything is.

Pom and Ni

Pom is always in a state of a freeze, often trying to find the best way to get out of a situation in the most logical way possible. Unlike her sister, she's less likely to immediately leave or act out against a situation when things are getting out of hand. Her attempt at processing the cases she and her sister get into is usually hard, especially sine Ni is always pulling her out of danger.

Ni, on the other hand, tends to use a flight fear tactic for how she manages situations. She's capable of picking up when a situation calls for the quickest escape route. Her survival instincts tend to make her become clingy to Pom, often being seen as overly-protective.

Ragatha

Ragatha is prone to being a people-pleaser and wanting to help fix people's problems in the form of toxic positivity. Even though she is a friendly individual and means well, her attitude towards the Pomni twins tends to be more-or-less gatekeeping them from progressing in her level more than anything.

She's a soft person who holds a lot of responsibility over the wellbeing of her people, making her become so caring that she often doesn't take into consideration her own physical or mental state. As a ragdoll, she's immune to physical abuse such as rips, tears, and dismemberment, but still needs help in patching herself up whenever this happens.

Jax

Jax is the most violent character in the cast of AI rulers, often going for a fight fear tactic whenever he's confronting a problem. Having gotten bored of doing nothing for so long, he's developed to take his behavior to greater levels of cartoonish violence. As for his treatment with the Pomni twins, he often toys around with them, either physically or emotionally, all while trying to get under their skin as a sort of bully character.

Lanky and Gangle

Lanky is the one who holds the comedy mask, showing that he is unable to properly show any signs of emotions relating to distress or sadness. With how long the server had been left abandoned, he grew to be unable to properly connect to others on an emotional level, instead treating the players as toys rather than people. He's often butting heads with Pom whenever he interacts with the Pomni twins, usually despising any critiques she has of his writing.

Gangle is the one who is much more in touch with her negative emotions considering her connections to the tragedy mask. At first, she is just as emotionally distant to others as her brother is. She also views the players as some sort of toys to play with. In her case, however, she views the players as fun symbols of nostalgia, looking back at simpler times when she and Lanky were so much happier. When befriending the Pomni twins in secret, however, she starts to see them more as people and even helping them in escaping her brother's torment.

Zooble

Zooble doesn't go out and socialize much due to how insecure they are of their own appearance. Before the game had been abandoned, players would critique on how they looked, enabling their mindset of wanting to be left alone. Due to how they feel about their own body, their funhouse is dark, filled to the brim with challenges that are almost impossible to progress through, and easy to get lost in. They aren't easy to talk to either, despite being able to pick up things from how others are feeling rather quickly. They only come out when in a boss fight or when they feel safest to encounter someone without being seen.

Kinger

Having lost a former rival-turned-lover, Kinger copes with his problems by hiding himself in the darkness or talking about bugs. Considering Queenie's interests were connected to these things, he holds her old interests close to his heart as best as he can.

When he's around the Pomni twins, he acts in one of two ways; in the light, he's his usual, forgetful, crazy self who's always talking about bugs for some reason. In the dark, however, he is angry at the fact that, even though the players have each other, he sometimes wonders why he can't have the same thing with his wife before her deletion. He envies the twins for always having each other when he was forbidden by Caine to be with Queenie, sometimes letting his anger out on the twins by sending out pawns to kill them.

Queen Loolilalu

Already blaming herself for the downfall of her first kingdom, Queen Loolilalu is often the type of ruler who wishes to prevent people from leaving or entering her castle. She, also, hates when folks refer to her as "Loo", remembering her childish behavior back when players were still around to play her level. Any mention of the Fudge, also, leaves her on high guard and springs an immediate flight tactic with the pure mention of him. When out on missions with the players, she is the only one who is allowed full access in and out of the castle to aquire everything that the players will need for the twins' missions. She even keeps a close eye on them through guards to keep her informed as to what is going on.

[and-rambunctiouslysoftspoken]

i’m okay with people liking the same things as me. we’re all on the same internet, we’re bound to stumble upon the same things. but i get upset when they don’t actually apply the principles of those things to themselves, yet they still describe themselves with it. it’s not just the cheapening of the goth and punk subcultures anymore, but feminism too. feminism is nothing more than an aesthetic now, a category women who know nothing about it can shove themselves into thinking it applies to them because they are a woman and they have been hurt. she’ll repost shit about being a “girls’ girl” while mocking and dehumanizing her boyfriend’s ex girlfriends having never heard their side of the story. she will roll her eyes and call you a “pick me” while actively suppressing her own femininity to be “one of the boys”. she will gush about how much she relates to fiona apple while playing the idgaf war with some random girl she claims is “jealous” of her. she will cry to washing machine heart while dating a man who cheated on his last gf with her. she will think cassie from euphoria is such a stupid bitch while laying next to a man she watched traumatize multiple women thinking she’s the special exception. she’ll hang out with and date men who call her ugly and make misogynistic jokes to her face. she will never dedicate herself to feminism, she will continue to make male-centered decisions and always avoid holding men responsible for their actions to maintain whatever status she thinks she has. she masquerades as a feminist to fuel her victim complex. she will legitimately believe her boyfriend and male friends are exempt from criticism and healthy standards because of their mental health or such and such excuse. she will blame herself and other girls for just not being good enough for men to change for them instead of actually enforcing the expectation for men to act like decent human beings. she will encourage you to have no boundaries and apologize for men before they even know what they did wrong. i’m not mad at you for copying me, i’m mad at you because you are dangerous. you make yourself look like you are on our side while coddling the men we are talking about. dating a misogynistic man makes you a misogynist. you indeed are a victim but you are complacent in your victimhood and then project the abuse you have endured onto others, if you can’t make a change on a personal level then you are not actually trying to make a change on a societal level. you are not a girls’ girl. you are looking for love in the dumpster and whining about how bad he smells but trust me you smell just as bad. you are not a feminist just because you are a woman.

[ungrateful-cyborg-moved]

Happy birthday!

💬 (what is this about DA characters I'm hearing? Can you show/describe them and their personalities?)

In order: Armin, Lancelot and Amaya. Hawke is just Hawke so I didn't put him here.

I'm sorry, this is... long :'D

Armin Surana

He's my mage Warden. Born to a Dalish clan, he developed his powers at an early age. Unfortunately for him, his clan already had a few mages so they gave him to another clan living nearby. Being a young boy who very much didn't understand why his people didn't want him anymore, he decided that he didn't like his new clan and ran away. Eventually he found himself in a village where Greagoir discovered him after he set his own hair on fire out of anger. And Greagoir being a Templar, he brought the kid to the Circle of Magi where the story starts when you chose that origin.

Honestly his life in the Circle was actually pretty good. Past the few first months, he managed to find his place and didn't particularly want to leave after his Harrowing. If not for Jowan, he was mostly set on becoming First Enchanter at some point in his life.

And I think Alistair was very lucky that the only surviving Grey Warden save for himself actually enjoyed leading and already had a strategic mind.

Though mostly Armin is fairly diplomatic, merciful and patient. He does have strong opinions about certain things, but is careful about which ones he publicly expresses and which ones are for his inner circle only.

I do think though that not a lot of people figured him as the kind of people to become Zevran's fuck buddy... and to eventually settle with Morrigan (and their son).

By the time Awakening happened, he was a changed man. More military leader than idealistic Grey Warden, still driven by the will to help others, but as you can imagine, having to sacrifice the citizens of Amaranthine didn't help him sleep at night. Although I think that knowing he'd do it again if the need arose was really what made him look at what he'd become and decide he needed to take a break from that kind of responsibilities.

Hence why he purposefully doesn't return in Inquisition. He didn't trust himself to not be more ruthless than actually needed.

(Please don't pay attention to the tattoos, I didn't know he would've needed to be an adult in a Dalish clan to have them since it's not explained in the Character Creator. Also he was meant to look East Asian but the CC is... well, it exists.)

Lancelot Cousland

My second Warden, a Warrior this time because I wanted to replay all three games as pro-Templar this time. And what better for this than to start with a young and charming noble who mostly succeeded in everything he attempted, except for, you know, saving his entire family.

I'm not yet done with him (currently nearing the Landsmeet) but he's grown more serious, albeit still joking and occasionally teasing people, and also increasingly interested in having a say in how Ferelden is ruled. I'm still not entirely sure how to go to make him marry Anora but that's the plan XD

Overall, he's charming, smart and resourceful man, albeit still a bit entitled as you'd expect from a handsome and rich young noble (though he's not exactly rich at the moment).

He believes in Andraste and the Maker like Armin does, but while Armin wasn't much of a practitioner outside of asking for a Blessing from time to time (never hurts when you need to save the world), Lancelot is more devoted overall and also a lot more wary of magic and mages. He doesn't hate them, however, and always tries to treat people fairly. His upbringing just occasionally gets in the way and blinds him, and he's more likely to seek to maintain the statu quo.

Also Loghain won't survive this play through (he did in my first and Alistair didn't forgive Armin for this, but Armin figured that killing a National Hero wasn't the smartest political choice. Especially not when you're trying to marry your friend to his daughter.)

Lancelot is romancing Leliana, because I want to see what she'll say in Inquisition—and it was the most ic choice for him.

Hawke

I won't go into too much detail about him considering he's a lot more fleshed out in the game than the Warden or Inquisitor. But I chose to play a mage again, and he took the mages' side because really, much as there is a blood mages issue in Kirkwall, the Templars were completely off the rails.

And he's an apostate.

Anders survived my first play through because you don't erase 6 years of friendship this easily, and contrary to Fenris, Anders didn't force him to kill him. They've lost contact since, however. Hawke couldn't forgive him.

He died in my Inquisition playthrough to help Loghain and the Inquisitor get out of the Fade, and it broke my heart. And Varric's.

And Isabela's.

But mostly mine.

I even took a screenshot to whine to one of my friends about it

Amaya Lavellan

A confident young woman, proud of her heritage and the mission of her people to preserve as much of their history as they could, Amaya was never one to entirely reject Humanity but never really trusted them either. Which is, in fact, specifically the reason why she never completely rejected them: she prefers to not blind herself willingly of what humans are doing in the vicinity of her clan.

I purposefully made her less diplomatic than Armin and Hawke, especially in the beginning because she wanted nothing to do with the Inquisition. Once she became the official leader, however, she took her role seriously. But even though she'd been trained to become the next Keeper of her clan, she never felt completely comfortable in her role as the Inquisitor.

Part of that is simply that Amaya wanted nothing to do with anything related to the Maker and the Chantry. Being called the Herald of Andraste kept irking her until the end, though over time she became less vocal about her disliking of the title and more pragmatic about it. She even gave more space to the cult of Andraste in Skyhold, as she figured, with a little bit of Josephine's nudging, that one of the strongest common point between Orlais and Ferelden was a powerful tool to wield to unite both countries against Corypheus.

The other reason why she didn't feel comfortable in her role was simply that the Inquisition grew too big too quickly, and the fallout in Trespasser was honestly not a huge surprise to her (she opted to disband the Inquisition rather than risk corruption again).

But because she has impeccable taste in men, and a purposefully made a female elf to romance Solas, she hm... she couldn't pretend to be surprised that the Inquisition was crumbling onto itself but she was not prepared for him to be the main culprit.

She's still hoping she can make him change his mind.

I also used a mod to be able to romance several people. And she does have impeccable taste in men, so obviously she also romanced Blackwall. And dumped him after learning the truth, though she chose to let him truly become a Grey Warden instead of letting him die or making him lie. Again.

Fortunately, Cullen proved more reliable than her other partners. They eloped in Trespasser.

(She also became a Red Jenny. An excellent way to deal with her anger while still being useful to the people.

It took me a while to figure out while she kept Sera in the Inquisition, considering that Amaya didn't consider her really fit for the job even though she does see Sera as her friend, but eventually it became obvious to me that what made Sera so important was how she never let Amaya lose sight of her priorities. She kept her down-to-earth, and with the power Amaya had at her disposal, someone not afraid to tell her when she started to lost herself in politics was truly precious.)

I'm sorry this is so damn long, but I hope you enjoy learning about them! And thank you so much for the ask, @confusedtia!