#totally not inspired by any one person in particular ^^

[virahaus]

Hi there! So, I’m new to the Star Wars fandom, and I’ve just recently discovered the Anakin x Obi-Wan ship — and I really love them already. Even though I haven’t started watching the movies or series yet, I really like the dynamic between Anakin and Obi-Wan.

I was wondering, what do you think about bottom!Anakin and top!Obi-Wan?

Because, even though there’s a bit of a balance in fanfics, it seems like there are slightly more bottom!Obi-Wan stories than bottom!Anakin ones.

But personally, I really want to find pages or channels that focus more on bottom!Anakin and top!Obi-Wan content :)))

I’d be really happy if you could help me out and recommend some channels or creators who analyze that dynamic well!

Hello there!

First of all, welcome to our obikin fandom! Always a pleasure to find new members.

Well, you have come to the right person about this because I'm the mod of the page @topwan-obikin which is focused on top!Obi-Wan/bottom!Anakin dynamic and I'm an author who writes that particular dynamic. You can say I very much love it eheh. In the topwan page I host the topwanfest and some other events focused on this dynamic, plus we also have a discord server who is open to all obikins who want to join!

I can also direct you to some incredible authors who write/draw top!Obi-Wan/bottom!Anakin, while some instead write them as vers, and also some fic recs! If you have any other requests/questions please let me know <3

@exonerin has a vast collection of fantastic topwan fics and I encourage you to check them out! My personal favourite is Eight of Cups because I'm a sucker for canon divergence fics and time/dymensional travel ahah

@tideswept is an amazing author (and my bestie <33) and she also writes topwan fics! My personal fav is her series the bones of a miracle which is a modern au and has werewolf Obi-Wan, one of my guilty pleasures.

@ragnarlothcat is one of the most beloved authors here and also has a great collections of really good fics! My favourites from her are the modern AU series a la carte and the fic The bottom of the ninth which is a sports Au about baseball which is really enjoyable even without knowing anything about the sport (and I can attest to that since I know next to nothing about baseball).

wesnensky writes some really really good smut and I totally recommend to give her ficlets a go!

@teaandjumpers a great author with some really amazing fics, my favs are Learn to Fly High and That's my Type.

@tomicaleto is one of og in fandom and she's both artist and author! I urge you to check her out. My fav fic of hers is The strongest starts...

@rexismycopilot has some great series, even if more BDSM based, but urge you to check them out!

@intermundia is another pillar of the fandom and has some of the most popular fics in the fandom. They have some amazing fics and suggest you check them all out! Their Prompted has an amazing collections of obikin aus, all amazing reads, and their Lex Talionis is one of the greatest fics in fandom.

@artemisthehuntress is another fantastic author that i recommend! My fav fic from her is A Good Epithet.

@obi-wkenobi is a fantastic author and i can only rec all of her fics! My personal fav are Something broken that can be fixed and Awed.

@binaryeclipse, another great author, has some delicious fics. Her series It's How You Learn and the fic Slow Learner are what i can only describe as indulgently decadent.

@sopherfly has one of my favourite fics ever, which I encourage you to read even if incomplete. It's just that good. The Shadow of a Dream is an amazing read and one I return to regularly.

@secretsolarsystem wrote an amazing Batman inspired fic which sits firmly in my favourites, Incorruptible, Everlasting. They also have other really good fics and i suggest you check them out!

@anakinspraisekink is another loved author which has a great collection of fics and I encourage you to check it out! My favourite is the series A Touch of Praise which, even if incomplete, is an amazing read. She also has other amazing fics and i suggest you check them out!

@himboskywalker is another beloved must read in fandom and I cannot rec their fics enough! They have such great fics and some of my all timess favourites like Redolent of You, The way he smiles at you, Conceal what I am, Invictus.... i simply suggest you go through their entire profile!

@tennessoui is another great author which writes both dynamic so you can take your pick from her! My fav are be careful not to choke on your admirations and me and my man, we get on like a house on fire.

@sendpseuds has a great collection of fics!! my fav is Terrorizing the HOA and Other Weekend Activities.

@underacalicosky is another great author who does both dynamics. My fav of hers is Anywhere else is hollow.

@grapenehifics write vers obikin and she has really good fics!! My fav is A moment of Peace.

@renlyslittlerose writes both dynamics and most of her fics are obikin vers but I urge you to check her fics! She has amazing stories. My personal favourite is Moonlight Serenade.

@palfriendpatine66 writes vers obikin and has some great Aus.

@starakins is a new author but she has some amazing fics! My fav is a throne for two.

@shatouto wrote some rally good obikin fics and art when he was active in fandom, and one of my personal fav is A Study in Tears.

@paracosm-draw is another amazing artist i totally urge you to check out. they also do both dynamics.

@kana7o has a great collection of obikin art and a twt accout where you can enjoy her nsfw art. and she always indulges me in my dirty ideas <333

@jarenka her art is amazing and I love especially her anakin!

@bi-wan is the OG topwan artist and i love love love everyting she has ever drawn. I urge you to also go on her ao3 for uncensored pics <33

@skynobi has some hauntingly beautiful obikin art and i tear up sometimes just looking at it. beyond recommended.

kirab0shy @kirab0sh1 is an amazing artist on twt who only draws topwan and her art is so so cute!!

@human-rocket has an amazing obikin comic going on an di can't recommend it enough! a must read.

@unspuncreature one of my fav artists check him out!

@bellybeansss, @gskywalker17, @deliquesaint, @chlobwers, @bird-prince-art, @oh-biwan, @nickytess, @yatsukisakura, @obikinetic, @weillschmidtdoodles, @delziae, @02png, @ma-works, @projectdrow, @dioscouroi, @zeizeizeizei, @aberrantcreature, @doubleggggs, @thehungreecat, @yasyart, @freemymercury @lovey-dovey-and-sad are all amazing artists, regardless of dynamic, and i cannot recommend them enough <33

@calyssmarviss, @mscoet, @daryshkart, @bakaramia, @roppppppop and golcompriton (twt) have some amazing obikin art for you to check out even if they are not active in the fandom anymore!

Now even if this a long list there's also so many others that i've definetly forgotten to mention (or tag because I physically can't tag anyone else here lol)! if i forgot about you you can drop a rec in my ask here or on the topwan blog and i'll post it! we are many and we hope to grow even more <33

[angeliteeyes]

Platonic Shenhe + Sibling Reader Headcanons

Inspired by an ask sent by @the-ultimate-puppeteer ❤️ hope u enjoy!

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

- For a period of time, you two were completely estranged from one another, an unfortunate side effect of her less-than-stellar history with your father. It's honestly a miracle that you managed to find and recognize each other later on in life at all, given how many lies and rumors clouded your understanding of your formerly close sibling. If it weren't for your timely use of a familiar exorcism technique, you two may have remained estranged to this very day.

- Shenhe ends up warming up to you rather quickly once her mind starts to fully process the situation. Something tells you that you're going to have to get used to being doted on sooner than later, with how tenderly she's already treating you, despite only having recently reunited.

- If anybody EVER dares to threaten you or harass you to any degree, they have essentially signed their own death warrant. There is no world in which she could ever forgive herself if any danger were to befall you. Even if you're the eldest sibling, it does not matter to her one bit. In her eyes, no matter your age, gender, or anything like that, it is her responsibility to protect you.

- You are easily her strongest motivation for improving herself as a person. Every step that she takes toward properly reintegrating with regular human society is—at least partially—done with the hope of making you proud and showing how reliable she can be. The thought of you is honestly just as, if not more, effective than the red ropes when dealing with crude individuals. She still might deck them though, if need be.

- For a while, very few people are actually aware of your shared ancestry due to the nature of her past and lifestyle. Many don't even recognize the fact that she's also human to be able to put two and two together. Still, those who are aware and have hung out with you as a duo always seem to comment on how it "makes total sense". If your personalities are roughly the same, they'll note how you're practically a carbon copy of one another. If yours are opposite, though, they end up noticing just how well you two balance each other out in a yin-yang type of fashion.

Xianyun, in particular, is a huge fan of you siblings. At some point, she's inserted herself into both of your lives far enough that she's essentially your adoptive mother. Bonus points if you take the time to write to her often or stop by for some afternoon tea.

- She tries her best with things like birthday gifts and the like. She really does. The problem is that she's not quite aware yet of what exactly constitutes an appropriate present. Unless you tell her in explicit detail what exactly you want for each holiday, you're basically leaving it up to luck whether you're getting a cute trinket or a pile of herbs you have absolutely no use for.

- Once she got her job as a waitress at Wanmin Restaurant, you better believe that she's bringing home leftovers for you on the daily. True, her own tastes are a little... peculiar, but that doesn't stop her from enjoying whatever goodies she managed to snag for you vicariously.

Speaking of, she really appreciates it if you stop by for a meal during one of her shifts. As much as the majority of customers who come in nowadays know to be on their best behavior, every now and then, a particularly obnoxious person winds up waltzing in and making a scene. Having you around really helps a lot in calming her spirit down once the altercation is over and done with.

- Another thing she'll greatly appreciate is if you decide to go out in the mountains and train with her. Your two fighting styles already are quite similar given your history in exorcism arts, so it feels only natural to her. Plus, it puts her mind at ease knowing that you're capable of defending yourself in a worst-case scenario.

- While she may still struggle somewhat with emotions, she's incredibly skilled in the matter of physical ailments—both detecting them and treating them, provided it's something curable via herbal remedies. You won't even get the chance to feel sick before she's already guiding you back home, quietly taking note of your temperature and other vital signs.

She gets that your taste buds aren't as accustomed to bitter flavors as hers are, so she does her best to disguise those notes with honey or other pleasant ingredients. Still... you may need to wash whatever concoction she gives you down with a generous amount of juice or whatnot. To her credit, at least you end up recovering far faster than you ever would've otherwise.

- Physical contact is a bit difficult for her to adjust to at first, admittedly. Simple things like feeling your forehead for your temperature come to her just fine, but hugging? Feels completely alien to her.

That isn't to say that she wouldn't eventually grow to enjoy it, though. Particularly if you're the sort to initiate that sort of stuff, she ends up actually enjoying it far more than she first expected. This cozy, warm feeling feels strangely familiar, even if she can no longer recall a time in which she would have experienced it before.

- Overall, Shenhe is easily the greatest sister you could've ever hoped for. It's a shame that you two spent so many years apart, but at least now you can make up for it as much as you like!

[electricscreaming]

Project Moon OC Ask Game

a total of 60 questions: 15 general questions, 15 project moon verse centered, 15 centered on nuggets from lobotomy corporation & library of ruina, and 15 centered on sinner ocs. many of them were sourced and adapted from the limbus oc server!

General

🏠 — What is the place they call home?

🌅 — What are they most proud of?

🌃 — What do they wish they could forget about?

🩸 — Do they have any scars? What do they think of them?

🖋️ — Are there any recurring motifs in their story?

��� — If they were a deity, what would be their domain?

👻 — What situations do they most fear happening? How realistic are these fears?

🕸️ — Do they have any triggers or phobias? Which ones?

💀 — What secrets are they trying to hide? How successful are they in this?

🚪 — Is there something they don't wish to admit to themselves? What is it?

🔭 — What job did they dream about having as a kid? Did they reach that goal? Why or why not?

🪀 — What were they like as a kid?

🧷 — What type of clothes do they prefer the most? Do they wear it often?

🍲 — What would they bring to a potluck?

📚 — Are they inspired by any preexisting works?

General Project Moon

💾 — What faction are they affiliated with? If not pre-existing, what's its specialization?

👾 — Do they love the city they live in?

🏚️ — Do they prefer the Nests or the Backstreets?

🗺️ — If they could choose, in what District would they live?

💭 —If they could change only one thing about the City, what would it be?

🗄️ — What Association(s) would they (or do they) affiliate with? What about Fingers?

🤖 — If they have no prosthetics, what kind of prosthetics would they get? If they do have prosthetics, what are their thoughts about them?

🍎 — What would their Distortion look like?

🌈 — What would be their title if they were a Color Fixer?

⚖️ — Do they believe in the "that is that, and this is this" way of thinking? What led them to believe it or not?

🌧️ — What would their worst possible end be like?

☀️ — What would their happiest end be like?

🚨 — What Abnormalities would they most resonate with? Whether they relate to them, share themes, or simply match each other!

🏔️ — Do they have any particular thoughts about the Outskirts?

🧳 — Do they have any items that would persist with them in every universe?

Lobotomy Corporation & Library of Ruina

🚏 — What was their life like before getting hired? How did they get into the Corporation?

👔 — What floor do they work in? Did they work on any others before?

🔮 — What role(s) did they play at their facility?

📀 — What is their relationship with their Sephirot/Patron Librarian like?

📈 — What's their relationship with the rest of their team like?

🐦‍⬛ — What do they think of Angela? Do they know her personally?

📋 — Would they attend Hod's consultations? What would they talk about?

🪢— What type of Work they do best in; what do they specialize in when fighting?

✍️ — For Librarians, what do they think about turning people into books?

🎭 — Do they have any EGO gifts or battle symbols? Which ones?

🪶 — What Abnormality(ies) did they work the most with? Do they have a favorite? What about least favorite?

🧬 — What would their reaction be to discovering how Abnormalities are made?

💥 — What are they like when panicking?

🌱 — What was, or would be their reaction to the execution of the Seed of Light?

⏳ — If they could go back in time with this knowledge, would they still join the corporation?

Sinner OCs

💼 — Why did they accept to join the company, or seek it out in the first place?

🪞 — What are their opinions on their Identities and Mirror technology in general?

✏️ — How do they write their observation logs? Do they have any notable quirks in their writing?

⛓️ — How does their base EGO manifest? What does the room in it look like?

⚔️ — What's their weapon's name? Why did you choose it?

🛡️ — What's their base EGO's name? Why did you choose it?

🎨 — Do they have a signature color? What's its name and why was it picked?

📱 — Do they have a signature emoji? Which one, and why was it picked?

🌀 — Do they have a logo? What's it like and what does it mean?

⚓ — What would be their season EGO?

💪 — What kind of role their IDs end up having most often? (Tanking, debuffing...)

🌐 — What aspects of their story are consistent across every Mirror World?

🩹 — After their Canto, are they doing better or worse?

🚌 — Are they in the Bus branch or in another one? What are their thoughts on it, and do they wish they worked elsewhere?

👥 — Who are their most and least favorites out of the canon Sinners?

[topazadine]

Remembering Perspective When Writing Descriptions

Just a short pet peeve of mine, inspired by a shower thought, where I remembered the most terrifying description I'd ever read.

It wasn't bad, or even horror. It was well written.

However. The POV character described his *sister* in a way akin to this (my recreation, not the actual text):

Braden met his sister at the gate. They'd been apart for several years, and in that time, she had truly become a woman. Her curves had filled out, and her red silk dressed strained across her tight figure. Her long black curly hair shone in the late evening light, while her blue eyes watched him intently.

No, this wasn't a brocon thing. The (male) writer was just horny for his female character and ... kinda forgot that his MC, her brother, would not feel the same way.

Now, of course siblings growing up together are going to notice the other one maturing, but it's not going to be ... that. This is how I describe 17-year-old Uileac looking at his little sister, 13-year-old Cerie, in 9 Years Yearning:

She'd shot up in height this past year - almost as tall as him, to his dismay. Whatever they were feeding her in the meronym was quite good for her metabolism, as she'd put on a bit of healthy weight. Her cheeks were losing their baby roundness, and the autumnal light accentuated the sharp intelligence behind her green eyes.

In this description, you can feel Uileac's paternal attitude toward his little sister. "Oh, she's put on a bit of weight and isn't a total twig anymore! I'm glad they're feeding her well. Her face looks more adult. Fuck, she's almost as tall as me now ... I wish I weren't so goddamn short ...."

This is a much more normal way for siblings to talk about each other, if a bit more "dad mode" than the typical older brother.

Siblings who grew up together are not going to say "holy shit I can really tell my sister has become a woman, wow her dress is tight over her curves." If my brother had said that about me while we were kids, I'd throw up and dump a pot of soup over his head.

This kind of thing is generally accidental and has to do with how *you* feel about a character. But the thing is that even the sexiest femme fatale is just going to be Jennifer, The Stupid Annoying Sister, to their sibling. Our brains are literally wired not to see our siblings as sexy if we grew up with them.

There are many other ways that you must take perspective into consideration when writing descriptions. Here are just a few of them.

Sexual attraction/orientation

You're going to focus on different things if you're sexually attracted to someone; namely, you'll focus in on things like breasts, legs, abs, etc. You'll also likely devote more attention to describing people of your particular sexual orientation than you would one that you are not attracted to, and you will focus on different things.

This is part of why we hate "men writing women:" they describe every woman as if they want to fuck them. (See the first example.) It has to do with the places that their gazes naturally linger on any woman, which is what they consider important and what they focus on.

But the thing that they miss is that just because we are sexually attracted to a specific gender does not mean we would want to bang anyone of that gender. I am a lesbian, but the way I would describe my mom or my therapist is vastly different than how I would describe a woman I am actually attracted to.

Romantic interests should get a more sexualized gaze; not exploitative, just more in-depth, and with more focus on their figure, specific details, etc. Everyone else should get a more basic look at eyes, hair color, height, build, and so on.

Feelings about a particular person

You're going to be more forgiving and complimentary toward someone you care about than someone you hate. Things that would be charming on a friend will be downright annoying on that one asshole at work who always throws projects to you at 5pm on a Friday.

A lover's thick eyebrows might be called "dashing" or "strong," while on an enemy, they'd be "overbearing" and "harsh." Your bestie's lisp is cute, while it seems babyish on your school rival. Your dad's meandering sentences give him a sense of harmless musing, but they make someone else look like an idiot.

If you have a character that is prejudiced toward a given group, they are always going to describe that group more harshly than they would a favored group. If they don't like authority figures, a police officer leaning toward them will seem menacing, when they wouldn't even notice it otherwise.

It can be very fun to give two characters similar traits but describe them differently based on the POV character's perspective of them. Readers might not even realize that it's the exact same physical feature!

Previous experiences at a given place

When describing settings, we're going to give more attention to somewhere we care about, like our home. I imagine you can tell me about every chip in the paint in your bedroom, or that one weird stain in the floorboard that you've tried everything to fix. Many times, this is a good time to add depth to the character's backstory by briefly mentioning previous occurrences there.

Would you notice any of those things about a place you're visiting for the first time? Probably not. You'll give a more global attention to the scene and provide impressions, not specifics.

Depending on how nervous or adventurous you are, you'll look for similarities or differences to things that you're accustomed to. You might compare it to other places you have been, trying to get a frame of reference.

If you're on a vacation and were really looking forward to coming to this specific spot, you will likely hone in on exactly what you came to see, whether that's the scene from a particular hilltop or a cafe, and this will get the most description.

Current Mood

Descriptions change with a character's mood, even if they've been in that place a millions times. People just notice different things depending on their mood; if they're happy, they'll look for things that support that mood, while if they're upset, they're pointing out the negatives.

For example, consider someone walking into a court room when they are on trial versus when they are there as a simple court reporter. The person on trial is probably going to be glancing longingly at the door, picking out the angry faces of observers (or assuming the observers are angry), focusing attention on the security guards, staring at the plaintiff with hate in their eyes.

The court reporter will likely pick out anyone they know in the room before looking at anything else. Then, they'll check out the defendant and plaintiff with idle curiosity. Since they are more familiar with the room, they'll gloss over the boring details that they have already seen a million times, giving them only a cursory once-over to see if anything has changed.

Current Need

Your character's objectives need to taken into consideration as well. As an example, remember the last time that you really needed to pee while you were out. Were you slowly and casually admiring the scenery? No! You were hunting for the bathroom. If literally anything registered for you, it was anything that looked vaguely bathroom-sign-shaped. Everything around that bathroom sign, and on your path toward the bathroom, got more attention and description to you than anything else.

Your character's interests

When describing a scene, you don't need to take time and define every single little thing in a character's path. It's annoying and overwhelming. You need to give us a basic overview (it's a forest, it's a grocery store, it's an abbatoir) and then hone in on the specific details that your character finds interesting in order to fill out the entire scene.

We, as people, focus on things we care about, things that we feel are relevant to us. Different people will notice completely different things when they walk into the same room. An animal trainer will appreciate a big pet bed and an ergonomic food bowl. An artist will admire the artwork on the walls. A computer nerd is going to roll their eyes at the scuffed-up Mac laptop.

This doesn't mean that you can't describe other things, too; it just means that your character's attention is going to be drawn to stuff that they, in particular, like or dislike.

Things like where a character's gaze lands, how they describe things, and how much detail they give to any particular element are an important part of secondary characterization: how we get to know a character beyond what they do or tell us. It helps to create a fuller picture of their relationships, their interests, and their thought process, and it deserves just as much attention as actions and dialogue.

If you enjoyed reading this, perhaps you'll consider purchasing my book, 9 Years Yearning. No weird sibling vibes I prommie

[anim-ttrpgs]

Fairytale Witch Player Character Rules in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

Eureka has six playable "monster" types, and about ten total supernatural character options all together. Each supernatural trait is taken basically as if it is a normal trait like the ones you have been seeing us post. You cannot give a character more than one supernatural trait--and from what you are about to read, you probably wouldn't want to. Playing monsters is recommended for "advanced" players only, people who like a lot of "crunch" in their games, as require you to keep track of a lot more mechanics than playing a normal human.

Here is the Fairytale Witch Trait. This is going under a Read More because it's long as hell but we really hope that you will check it out and comment. This is, like, the whole entire ruleset for playing a witch in Eureka.

Fairytale Witch (Monster Trait) 

A “witch” has been many things throughout history, so many things in fact that it is quite difficult to form a cohesive thesis statement about them, and, like vampires, and the Hollywood werewolf, are something whose origins are obscured and severely misunderstood by more recent pop culture and pop history.[1][2][3] The “fairytale witch” in Eureka draws inspiration from a vast range of folkloric sources, ancient, medieval, and early-modern. Literary and folkloric figures, typically women, who wield the power to heal and to harm, and whose aid or ire are nearly always earned.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] And like those things, many things which were said to be witches were not and are not.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] Certain more recent folkloric elements of the idea of “witchcraft,” including sacrifice and drinking of specifically children’s blood, have been deliberately omitted from mechanization, as these elements stand as direct and recent foundations of present-day antisemitic conspiracy theories. Both in real life and in Eureka, grand conspiracy theories are a comforting fantasy for those who turn a blind eye to actual problems which stand right in front of their face. 

[3. Off to the side in the final formatting] Most witch trials happened in America during the Enlightenment.

Fairytale witches in Eureka may draw on ancient knowledge of these arts passed down generationally, may have learned these abilities from their peers, or may have simply stumbled upon this knowledge some other way and discovered that, while it is simply a silly fantasy to most others, they have an exceptional talent for it.[1] Now what will they do with this power?[2][3] This particular Trait tackles some different themes compared to the other monsters.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Regardless, this is not something which can be taught to others over the course of an investigation. Plus, it’s said most people simply lack the talent for it in the first place.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Witches are not satanic, at least not literally. The idea that “the Devil” can grant anyone any arcane power is found nowhere in the Bible.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] You couldn't imagine the hazing.

A lot of a witch’s powers hinge on them knowing someone’s “full true name.” What exactly is meant by a person’s “full true name” is a matter of discussion between player and Narrator, but as a general guideline, if a person is named Jeremy Matthew Jones IV, then “Jeremy Matthew Jones IV” is needed, and just “Jeremy Jones” or “Jeremy M. Jones” won’t be enough. Nicknames also do not generally count.

A fairy cannot make their magic work by just guessing a person’s true name, but a witch can.

Curses

Assuming they have the right materials, a witch can place a terrible curse on an unsuspecting victim from anywhere in the world. More powerful curses have two stages, while simpler curses peter out or fall off after about a week.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] For all the many terrible things that the medieval Church was, stagnifying and technologically regressive do not make the list. The institution of the medieval Church was one of philosophy, education, and what we would now call “science,” and medieval clergymen were by and large literate, and relatively well-educated men for the time. The medieval Church’s suppression of “witchcraft” had less in common with the “satanic panic” of the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, and more to do with the idea that even believing that “the devil” or pagan gods could grant anyone wicked powers was a dangerous superstition, enabling of swindlers and charlatans, and this was likely to result in the wrongful persecution of people who behave oddly, as well as, and especially, Jews. This was true of the “satanic panic” and is still true today.

[1.1. Off to the side in the final formatting] This is not to posit that the medieval Church was a champion of religious freedom and equality. One might say they wanted uncontested control of who got to persecute Jews and exactly to what degree.

Casting a Curse Directly

In order to place a curse directly on a target, the witch must be in possession of the target’s full true name[1] clearly written on some material, or a large sample of their DNA (such as a large lock of their hair), or both. These items are destroyed as a part of the casting process.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] What exactly is meant by a person’s “full true name” is a matter of discussion between player and Narrator.

Casting a curse requires a supernatural ability Composure roll.

Casting a curse takes 1 Tick or 5 Actions, during which all components are destroyed.[1] The curse will last for 7 days by default before either wearing off completely, or advancing to the next stage. As the curse is cast, roll 1D6+1+[Relevant Skill]. Which Skill is used will vary depending on the curse. The result is the number of days by which the witch may extend or reduce the curse's duration. If the curse is an advanced two-stage curse, the result is the number of days by which the witch may extend or reduce the first stage’s duration. If the result is a negative number, reduce the witch’s Composure by the same amount. A witch may use the Focus Eureka! Point ability to add an additional 1D6 to this roll (and this also adds 1D6 to the advanced curse roll, below).[2]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] What the act of placing a curse actually looks like varies from witch to witch.

[2   off to the side in the final formatting] This works exactly like using the Focus ability when Incapacitated - add 1D6 per Eureka! Point spent to the roll, and then drop all but the highest two.

If a simple curse is reduced to a duration of “0 days,” it will only take effect for the duration of a single Scene. If the first stage of an advanced curse is set to “0 days,” the curse will advance to the second stage immediately.

When an advanced curse is cast, after the witch decides the effect of the second stage (see below), roll an additional separate 1D6+1+[Relevant Skill]. The result is the number of days by which the witch may extend or reduce the second stage’s duration. Like with a simple curse, the default duration is 7 days, after which the effects will wear off completely.

If the witch only has one of these components, then only a simple curse can be cast. If the witch has both the full true name and the DNA sample, an advanced curse can be cast. If the witch mistakenly has the true name and the DNA of two separate people, then, unbeknownst to the witch, both of those people will be struck with a simple curse.

Witches may place curses upon themselves if they so desire, without needing to use their own full true name or DNA.[1] 

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] They’ve already got it.

A second curse placed upon the same target will extend its duration, but only the effect of one type of curse can apply at once. If a simple curse is placed on a target already suffering the effects of an advanced curse, the simple curse will fail to take effect. If a different kind of advanced curse is placed on a target already suffering the effects of an advanced curse, the new curse will replace the previous curse if the caster can make a Full Success on a skill check with the new curse’s relevant Skill. 

Effects of Simple Curses

A simple curse makes the target suddenly feel extremely feeble and ill.[1] The target will have a -2 modifier applied to all Skill rolls for the duration of the curse’s effect. Simple curses that have no advanced stage always use the Medicine Skill. 

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Symptoms include shortness of breath, nausea, fatigue, muscle weakness, loss of appetite, excessive sweating, dizziness, and a sense of impending doom. However, no medical doctor will be able to diagnose exactly what is causing the problem.

Effects of Advanced Curses

Advanced curses typically have two stages, with the first stage appearing nearly identical to a simple curse, with all the same effects. When the second stage takes effect, the effects of the first stage cease. The effect of the second stage is decided as the curse is being cast, before the 1D6 is rolled.

Each advanced curse has a different Skill associated with it. This Skill is used for both the first and second stage of the curse. 

Curse of Transformation

This curse uses the Nature Skill. The target will be spontaneously transformed into an animal of the witch’s preference.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Their clothes don’t transform with them.

The witch must make a Full Success on a Nature roll to choose an animal that is not on the following list.

Cat

Frog

Mouse

Newt

Pig

Rat

Toad

Wolf[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] For the stats of a wolf, see p.xx “Werewolf”. The rest of these do not have official stats, but we expect you to be able to figure out what they would be good and bad at.

The target will maintain a functional degree of human intelligence while in this form, at least for some time. Once their human mind is lost, the curse cannot be removed, and will never revert after any amount of time. The curse will also never revert if the target dies while transformed.

For an NPC, the Narrator rolls a hidden 1D6+3. This is how many days the target will retain their humanity.

For an investigator, the Narrator rolls a hidden 1D6. After this number of days, if the transformed investigator ever reaches 0 Composure, their humanity will be lost.

Curse of Reduction

This curse uses the Visual Calculus Skill. The target will be spontaneously reduced to between 5% and 10% of their original size.[1][2][3][4]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Their clothes and items may or may not shrink with them, at the caster’s preference.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] For a 72” person, that would be between 3.6” and 7.2”.

[3. Off to the side in the final formatting.] In most cases, a person reduced in size like this will be at the mercy of the witch, and can be captured without any rolls needed. However, they still have opposable thumbs, and the means to explain the circumstances to others. Witches may wish to weigh the pros and cons of this compared to transformation into a rat, which can make victims quite hard to catch if they start running right away.

[4 off to the side in the final formatting] A person reduced in size counts as one meal. 

If the target dies while shrunken, the curse will never revert.

Curse of Petrification

This curse uses the Chemistry Skill. The target, including their clothes, will be spontaneously turned to stone. At the preference of the caster, they may or may not retain awareness of their surroundings. If kept aware, they will lose 2 Composure per day, and if unaware, 1 Composure per day, until they are effectively dead, at which point the curse cannot be reverted.[1] If the curse is reverted, either by it wearing off before the point of no return, or being broken, any damage the target sustained as a statue will immediately take effect. For example, chips in their stone body become lacerations in their living body. If an arm was broken off of the statue, their arm is now severed. If the statue suffers fatal damage, the curse will not be able to be reverted. If unaware, then reverting the curse will feel like waking up from a long and restless sleep. The target does not need to eat or sleep so long as they are petrified.

[1 off to the ads in the final formatting] For NPCs, consider them to have 1D6+1 Composure to lose before it starts to eat into their Superficial HP.

Curse of Slumber

This curse uses the Medicine Skill. The next time they fall asleep, the victim will fall into a coma-like state for the duration of the curse. The target will lose 1 Composure per day until the curse either reverts or they die.[1] Unlike with petrification, the body must breathe and be fed during this time.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] For NPCs, consider them to have 1D6+1 Composure to lose before it starts to eat into their Superficial HP.

Curse of Death

This curse uses the Blacked Out Skill. The target begins to take 2 Superficial Damage each day for the duration of the curse or until they die, and will be unable to regain HP or Composure through sleep. In addition, apply a -3 modifier to all their rolls.

Defense Against Curses

Upon being struck with a curse, a witch can recognize the intended effect, and may immediately make a Skill check of the curse’s relevant Skill in order to cast it off. This will take one Movement if time is measured in Turns.

Full Success: The curse is fully cast off.

Partial Success: The curse is partially cast off. The witch will suffer only the simple effects, at half the intended duration, and no advanced effects.

Failure: The witch will suffer the full effects of the curse as usual.

Placing a Curse on an Object

Cursing an object works similarly to placing a curse on a person, except no names or DNA are needed, the witch need only be holding the object with bare hands. The default duration of the first stage is 7 days and so is the second stage. Roll 1D6+1+[Relevant Skill] for each to determine by how much the witch can adjust them. After the witch has removed their hands from the object, it will be actively cursed, and anyone who touches it with bare skin, including the witch themselves, will be cursed. The Narrator rolls a hidden 1D12. The result is how many times the curse will transfer to people who touch the object.

Breaking a Curse

There are a number of ways a witch may know to break a curse. If the ailment is not immediately identifiable as a curse, a Full Success on a Blacked Out check by a witch will positively identify whether it is or not. 

The death of the curse’s caster will not remove the curse. 

Manual Removal of the Curse

A curse can be removed in the same way it was cast. If the curse was cast using a true name, the witch can remove the curse using the victim’s true name. If the curse was cast using DNA, the witch can remove the curse using the victim’s DNA.[1] If both, it requires both. Regardless, this takes 1 Tick or 5 Actions. If neither, the curse cannot be broken in this way.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] This has to be the victim’s human DNA. If they have been transformed into an animal, their new form’s DNA will not suffice, it will have to be something removed from their body before the transformation.

True Love’s Kiss

A kiss can sometimes be all it takes to lift a curse. The Narrator rolls a hidden D6 once the victim has been kissed. On a 7+, the curse will be broken by the kiss. If it fails, another kiss from the same person will not work either.[1] If time is measured in Turns, this will take an Action from the kisser.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Morgie’s kisses always lift curses.

Add +1 to the roll if the kisser truly loves the victim.

Add +1 to the roll if the kisser is female.

Add +1 to the roll if the kisser is of noble or royal lineage, or is a fairy.

Curse Removal and Cure by Potion

If all else fails, a potion can be brewed to lift the curse. A potion to lift a specific type of curse will require the same recipe as a potion that would have caused that type of curse, plus one additional Table 3 ingredient. However, the victim must be able to drink the potion for it to take effect, meaning a curse of petrification cannot be lifted in this way. See p.xx “Brewing Potions”. Using the same method, a Non-Lethal or Lethal Poison Potion can have an extra Table 3 ingredient added to make them antidotes for their respective poisons, and a Love Potion can have an extra Table 3 ingredient added to make it a cure for Love Potions, etc. 

Brewing Potions

If there’s one thing witches are known for, it’s potions.[1] Potions represent the most reliable and effective vehicle of a witch’s magic, and are often something of a magic spell in and of themselves.[2][3]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] A large metal cauldron is classic, but takes up a lot of space in an apartment, so a stovetop is usually fine.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] The “magic words” may or may not have any true power in and of themselves. Sometimes, the time it takes to recite the entire “spell” three times is just about how long the potion needs to be left on the heat.

[3. Off to the side in the final formatting] In the Middle Ages, until about the mid-1400s, the conception of a “witch” was often cautiously positive, and may conjure up the image of an unmarried woman living outside of town who has vast generational knowledge to draw upon in the way of midwifery techniques, herbalism, medicine, and poison.

When a witch brews a potion, it is often going to be something of an ordeal to gather all the right ingredients, but the payoff will be an effect that the witch can set the exact delay and duration of, and which can be applied to anyone who consumes it, bypassing both the element of uncertainty, and the prickly details, of casting a curse by hand. A successfully brewed potion can be made to have any length of delay between consumption and effect, and the effect can be made to last for any length of time, including permanency.

Potion brewing is as much an art as a science, and no two brews will be the same, even if they aim to achieve the same effect across the same duration. The process of brewing a magic potion is influenced by factors barely understood by the witch and certainly not under their control, it won’t be until the the process is underway that it becomes clear exactly what is needed to finish the concoction.[1][2] Not counting the time required to gather the ingredients, a witch must spend at least 1 Tick a day attending to the potion in between the time the base is added and the final two ingredients are added, as well as 1D6 Ticks finishing the potion once all of the ingredients have been added.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] When it became clear that prayer alone would not suffice, ordained priests may be the village’s most avid practitioner of “folk magic.” Folk “magic” of course just being another word for an observable effect to which the cause is not fully scientifically understood.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] Sometimes, the ingredients required for a potion will be realistically impossible to obtain in certain scenarios.

Every potion has three ingredients: A base, which is always going to be the same for the kind of effect the witch is trying to achieve, and two additional main ingredients which will become clear only after the brewing process has begun.[1] See below for the list of possible potion effects, the required bases, and the two other ingredients, which will be rolled on the relevant ingredient tables.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] This is not literally all the ingredients, just the ones that matter most mechanically and which will not be understood until the process has begun. The witch will be throwing all sorts of things in there in the meantime.

The base for a potion must be acquired and added, and after the other two required ingredients become known, those too must be acquired and added. For ingredients that would be reasonable to have on-hand, a Wealth roll using the witch’s home (or whatever home they’re doing this in) may suffice, but many ingredients will require the witch and any other investigators willing to help them to divert their plans to seek them out. If the investigators decide that a particular potion is necessary for their progress towards solving the mystery, then consider rolls that seek to gather information on where to find the necessary ingredients to count as Investigative Rolls.

Potions do not work on any subject unable to ingest or digest them.

Any potion which applies an advanced curse’s effect does so without applying the effect of the first stage.

If a potion is intended to be mixed with food, a witch may take steps to make the potion more difficult to detect by taste or smell with a Blacked Out or Chemistry roll, hidden by the Narrator.

Full Success: The potion is impossible to detect once it has been applied to or mixed with food.

Partial Success: The potion may be detected by a Full or Partial Success on a Senses roll.

Failure: The taste or smell of the potion is immediately obvious to just about anyone.

To make a potion undetectable in an autopsy or other examination of the victim, a witch can make a Chemistry or Blacked Out roll.

Full Success: The remnants and evidence of the potion in the victim’s system will dissipate completely before any examination can be conducted.

Partial Success: Evidence of the potion within the victim’s system will be undetectable by normal means, but a witch may still be able to identify it.

Failure: Any medical examiner will be able to detect the traces of the potion, but only someone versed in witchcraft will be able to properly identify it.

Potions which apply the same effects as curses count as those curses for all intents and purposes, including their removal. Thus a curse caused by a potion could be removed by use of the victim’s hair and true name, by use of a curse-removing potion, or by a kiss.

Starting the Adventure with Potions

A witch can start the adventure with potions already in their inventory in exchange for WP, either because they recently brewed them, or bought or traded from another witch (who is unavailable for a refund of takeback during the adventure). The witch will not be able to buy potions during the adventure. Any potion bought by WP in character creation can be made curative by spending 1 extra WP. (See p.xx “Curse Removal and Cure by Potion”.)

2WP: Random potion.[1] Roll 1D6+1D12 on the list of potions.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] It’s only random to the player, not the witch. They know what they got it for. 

4WP: Specific potion. Choose any one potion from the list.

List of Potions

2. Potion of Invisibility

Cat (boiled live), Table 3, Table 3. Renders one invisible to the naked eye for a single Scene, including clothing and small held items.

3. Potion of Transformation

Blood of the animal that this potion is intended to turn someone into, Table 3, Table 3. Applies the second stage of a transformation curse. See p.xx “Curse of Transformation”.

4. Potion of Petrification

Powdered marble, Table 2, Table 3. Applies the second stage of a petrification curse. See p.xx “Curse of Petrification”.

5. Potion of Waking Sleep

Apple, Table 2, Table 3. Allows one to remain awake for one full night without suffering any Composure loss.

6. Love Potion

hair of the subject of affection, Table 2, Table 3. All rolls made by the subject of affection towards the drinker of the potion have a +2 Contextual modifier.[1][2][3]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] This works like any other curse - though it can only be applied by a potion, the love potion’s effect may be undone by other means (e.g. with a sample of DNA and the person’s full true name).

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] The world is a little fuzzier when the subject of the affection is in view, but their voice is always loud and clear.

[3. Off to the side in the final formatting] Easily slipped into a drink - one more reason to be vigilant at bars.

7. Potion of Slumber

Sand, Table 1, Table 3. Applies the second stage of a slumber curse. See p.xx “Curse of Slumber”.

8. Potion of Nourishment

Bread crumbs, Table 1, Table 3. Consuming this counts as 3 daily meals at once.

9. Potion of Death

Rat (boiled live), Table 1, Table 2. Applies the second stage of a death curse. See p.xx “Curse of Death”.

10. Sleep Aid

Wolfsbane, Table 1, Table 1. Grants one 1 additional point of Composure restored after a single full night’s rest.

11. Pain Relief

oak bark, Table 1, Table 2. Grants one 1 additional point of Superficial HP restored after a single full night’s rest.

12. Potion of Glamour

Lavender, Table 1, Table 3. Apply a +2 Base bonus to this character’s Charm and Seduce Skills for a single Scene. 

13. Non-lethal Poison

Thorns of a thorny plant, Table 1, Table 3. Applies Poison (Non-lethal, OT: Witch’s choice, DF: Witch’s choice). See p.xx “Non-lethal Poison”.

14. Potion of Healing

Copper shavings, Table 1, Table 3. When applied with a Medicine roll, add +2 to the amount of HP restored, even with a Failure. This can also rid the body of non-chronic diseases, such as a short-term virus or bacterial infection. 

15. Juice that Makes You Explode

Gunpowder, Table 2, Table 3. When the potion takes effect, the Narrator rolls a hidden D6. On a 6, This causes the consumer to violently explode as a Shrapnel Explosion. On a 1-5, the option has no effect. See p.xx “Shrapnel Explosion”.

16. Lethal Poison

Hemlock, Table 2, Table 3. Applies Poison (Lethal, OT: Witch’s choice, DF: Witch’s choice). See p.xx “Lethal Poison”. 

17. Potion of Soothing 

Simmered liquor, Table 2, Table 3. Restores 3 points of Composure.

18. Potion of Reduction

Salt, Table 3, Table 3. Applies the second stage of a reduction curse. See p.xx “Curse of Reduction”.

Potion Ingredients Table 1

A witch with a +2 or higher in Nature can roll a second time on this table and use either result in the potion.

1,1. Beetroot

1,2. Beetroot

1,3. Adder’s fork (trout lily)

1,4. Beetroot

1,5. Wolfsbane

1,6. Yew leaves

2,1. Tiger’s blood

2,2. Oak leaves

2,3. Blind-worm’s sting (wormwood)

2,4. Eye of Newt (mustard seed)[1]

2,5. Eye of newt (actual)

2,6. Gecko’s blood

3,1. Tongue of dog (houndstongue, the plant)

3,2. Tongue of dog (actual)

3,3. Lizard leg (ivy)

3,4. Lizard leg (actual)

3,5. Owlet’s wing (garlic)

3,6. Owlet’s wing (actual)

4,1. Scale of dragon (the plant)

4,2. Tooth of wolf (club moss)

4,3. Tooth of wolf (actual)

4,4. Gall of goat (st. John’s wart)

4,5. Bloody fingers (foxgloves)

4,6. Bloody fingers (actual)

5,1. Tiger’s chaudron (lady’s mantle)

5,2. Baboon’s blood

5,3. Toe of frog (buttercup)

5,4. Toe of frog (actual)

5,5. Fillet of fenny snake (arums)

5,6. Wool of bat (holly leaves)

6,1. Wool of bat (actual)

6,2. Snakes

6,3. Snails

6,4. Puppy dog tails

6,5. Rose petals

6,6. Snips (eels)

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] There is little evidence that “eye of newt” and “lizard’s leg” and stuff like that was actually code for regular household ingredients, but there’s also little evidence that every witch would know that.

Potion Ingredients Table 2

A witch with a +2 or higher in Chemistry can roll a second time on this table and use either result in the potion.

1,1. Human hair

1,2. Cobwebs

1,3. Sugar

1,4. Human urine

1,5. Human bone

1,6. Human wart

2,1. Cat’s whiskers

2,2. Dog hair

2,3. Snake egg

2,4. Feather of crow

2,5. Chicken egg

2,6. Shark’s tooth

3,1. Booger

3,2. Salt

3,3. Silver shavings

3,4. Copper shavings

3,5. Tobacco

3,6. Gold shavings

4,1. Iron shavings

4,2. Magnet

4,3. Human liver

4,4. Human nose

4,5. Human lips

4,6. Sand from an hourglass

5,1. Bronze shavings

5,2. Aluminium shavings

5,3. Honey

5,4. Gunpowder

5,5. Rabbit’s foot

5,6. Eye of spider

6,1. Ocean water

6,2. Expired milk

6,3. A piece of burned meat

6,4. Tail of rat

6,5. Nightshade

6,6. Neon

Potion Ingredients Table 3

A witch with a +2 or higher in [Blacked Out] can roll a second time on this table and use either result in the potion.

1,1. Cat (boiled live)

1,2. Human hair (red)

1,3. Something sold based on a lie

1,4. Candy stolen from a baby

1,5. Witch’s blood

1,6. Washwater from the sheets of a deathbed

2,1. A picture taken moments before disaster

2,2. Something thrown away in anger

2,3. Blood drawn from a toe

2,4. A murder weapon

2,5. A family photo.

2,6. A divorcee’s wedding ring

3,1. Powdered skull from two-headed cow.

3,2. Cremated human remains

3,3. Picture of a sniper rifle from a video game released in 2009.

3,4. Ash obtained by burning wood from a shipwreck

3,5. a silk mourning veil (used)

3,6. Something stolen from a neighbor

4,1. Coffin nails

4,2. grave dirt

4,3. Blood of a virgin

4,4. Pants of Matt

4,5. A pet’s favorite toy

4,6. wine which has not seen the sun for at least ten years

5,1. Hair of a murderer

5,2. Orphan’s tears

5,3. Sock of Matt (oven baked)

5,4. Engagement ring (used)

5,5. A flower picked as it blooms under a full moon.

5,6. An adorable sneeze

6,1. Love

6,2. Water from the lungs of a drowned man

6,3. Menstrual blood

6,4. Gamer girl bath water

6,5. Something stolen from a friend

6,6. Human semen

Casting Spells

Without taking up a Trait slot, a witch can be considered to have any Power from the Mage Power List, but only one at a time. Swapping between these Powers requires a non-skill supernatural ability Composure roll, as well as taking an Action if done in combat. 

Enchanted Vehicle and Flying

As a non-skill supernatural ability, the witch may enchant a vehicle, broom, or other object of similar category (or theming), allowing it to fly under their control so long as they are piloting it.[1] The enchanted object will not fly for anyone but the witch, and will become inert soon after the witch stops piloting it. If done in combat, this takes 1 Action.[2][3]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Old-fashioned brooms are traditional, but there are a number of other objects, modern or otherwise, that would logically be suitable as a substitute. Figure it out.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] As a warning, virtually any flying vehicle will be extremely obvious and visible during the daytime.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] Watch out for birds.

Witches have a “Flying” Write-in Skill, used in place of the Athletics skill when piloting either a flying Manually Powered Vehicle, or a flying household object. It does not allow the witch to fly without an enchanted object. Unlike other Write-in Skills, the Flying Skill starts at 0 and can be set to any value between -3 and +3, so long as all of the witch’s Skill modifiers still add up to 0.[should this be able to go below 0?]

A roll is not required to control this device under normal circumstances, but intense maneuvers will require a Flying or Driving roll.

Flying objects have an Acceleration of +12, unless the object already has a higher Acceleration.

If I Can’t Have You, No One Can (Fairytale Witch True Nature)

Flat Composure Damage from Skipping Meals = Yes

Composure restoration from Three Meals a Day  = Yes

Flat Composure Damage from Skipping Sleep = Yes

Composure restoration from Full Night’s Sleep = Yes

Eating people, or using one’s powers against others for petty and/or entirely selfish reasons will restore a witch’s Composure, though the witch has no connatural need to do these things.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] A witch can’t stop being a witch any more than a soldier can stop being a soldier.

For use of powers, an act that temporarily affects the victim will restore 1 point of Composure, and an act that permanently affects the victim will restore 2 points of Composure. These acts do not necessarily have to involve the use of magic. If the witch has a non-magical opportunity to exert power over another individual for petty and/or entirely selfish reasons, this could work as well. 

For eating people, making a meal of a person will restore 2 points of Composure. Making a meal of a person who was alive until moments before preparation and consumption, or is still alive when consumed, will restore 3 points of Composure. If the victim happens to be a former friend or lover of the witch, restore 1 additional point of Composure.[1][2][3][4]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] This only restores Composure one time per victim. Eating multiple meals made from the same person will not restore Composure for each meal.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] Clever witches are said to make use of magic to consume their enemies more efficiently.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] Eating the flesh of a human that has been transformed into an animal by a curse does count, at least for Composure restoration. This is also, probably, a lot healthier.

[4 off to the side in the final formatting] If the witch makes multiple meals of a single person, only the first meal will restore the extra Composure. Any leftovers will count as “normal” food. 

Dangerous Games (Fairytale Witch Weakness)

As relatively normal people (at least by monster standards), fairytale witches don’t have much in the way of supernatural weaknesses, except for the fact that their bodies simply can not handle excessive prolonged use of so many arcane powers.

Whenever a fairytale witch uses a non-Skill supernatural ability, the Composure roll is made at -3 instead of +3. There are, however, ways to reduce the strain these acts of sorcery put on the body.

Casting Implements

There are certain tools of the trade which can relieve some of the strain by drawing the energy out of the witch’s body before manifesting it in reality or facilitating it by other means. [this sentence kinda sucks but I’m on 5 hours of sleep. Fix it in copy-editing]

Each casting implement in use provides a bonus to the non-skill supernatural ability Composure roll a witch makes to use her powers. A casting implement must be being touched (or held telekinetically) by the witch in order to provide this bonus.[1] The cumulative bonus given by all of a witch’s casting implements cannot bring the Composure roll higher than a cumulative +3. The process by which an object is prepared to be used as such a device is arcane and cannot be accomplished mid-adventure, nor can one of these be bought with a Wealth roll mid-adventure. They can only be acquired through Wealth Points.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] The implement does not *necessarily* have to be pointed in the direction of the target of the power, but many witches find that this helps them focus.

Jewelry 

+1 [2WP] A piece of jewelry. Multiple can be worn to further defer strain and increase the Composure roll bonus.

Wand

+1. [1WP] Could be a gnarled old stick or a black rod with a white tip, or anything in between, as long as it is elongated and about 10 to 24 inches. Only one wand or staff may be in use by the witch at a time.

Staff

+2 [1WP] Like a larger, more heavy-duty wand. Must be at least as tall as the witch themselves. Only one wand or staff may be in use by the witch at a time.

Spell Book

+1 [1WP] Could be an old leather-bound tome, or a spiral notebook containing the witch’s scribbled research notes. Must be opened and read from to confer a bonus, but does not necessarily need to be touched. Only one spell book can confer a bonus at a time.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I know this is primarily a TWST blog but the idea of Miss Raven suddenly being transported into the kpop demon hunters' world and becoming the Saja Boys manager is just too interesting not to explore. Do you have any other headcanons of Miss Raven & the Saja boys especially Jinu interacting? I've been rewatching the movie 3 times now. I need more brainrot of them or Huntrix!

[Referencing this post (more specifically, one of the comments there)!]

Why is this what you guys think of 😭

YEAH I’ve watched the movie multiple times now too… It’s so good 🥺 It also helps the brain rot that there’s been a huge influx of fan content! I’ve seen so much fan art and even fics + headcanons and written scenarios (including here on Tumblr). May that sate us 🙏

I guess Raven gets to have the Yuu experience of being isekai’d and having to adapt to a new life in this world while looking for a way back home to here?? Maybe she manages to snag a job at an idol management company to support herself in the meantime and that’s how she ends up being assigned to this hot new boy group. (Raven doesn’t know they’re demons!) It should be fine, right?? She has experience with helping her uncle managing school events and wrangling misbehaving pretty boys. It’s also fitting that a raven would manage a demon boy band since Jinu already has his little demonic magpie companion.

She’s not emotionally invested in idol culture or the entertainment industry at large (these things don’t exist to a wild bird), so I think she could just buckle down and focus on the work. Very stern, no-nonsense, “eyes on the prize” type of manager. Her understanding of idols is that they “sell a fantasy” to fans, so she tells herself it’s similar to sharing stories, just in song form. That helps her wrap her mind around all this glamour and press attention that she’s not totally used to.

When Raven has to give interact with the boys she manages, I see her mainly interacting with their leader. Jinu seems the most well-spoken, polite, and level-headed of the group. She likes him for his professionalism www but I think she’d soon notice that he’s hiding something (like, it seems he has a lot on his mind he’s not saying?) but never asks about it directly because she doesn’t think it’s her business + she figures this is only a temporary arrangement. She’ll just give him a part on the shoulder and tell him he’s doing a good job as the leader and that if there’s anything he needs, then she’s here for him. You know, leave the door open so Jinu can approach if and when he feels comfortable about it.

We unfortunately don’t get to see much of the other Saja Boys in the film so it’s hard to gauge their personalities. I recall Mystery acting like a dog during the autograph signing, Baby drinking out of various bottles and acting sort of nonchalant, and Abby uh… being very confident about his figure?? I don’t remember much of Romance, he’s supposed to be the sensitive and romantic type. (According to one interview I saw, each member is inspired by a particular Kpop role or trope.)

I can only think of Raven scolding Abby for the way he dresses and his arrogance… To which he might tease her for staring/j (It sort of reminds her of Leona 💦) That’s a losing argument though, she might just be told it’s normal in the industry to “show off what you have” so she has to endure it.

Mystery doesn’t talk much, but Raven might have to roll up her paper and bonk him to keep him behaved if he starts barking or snapping his teeth. She doesn’t like that she can’t see his eyes. Eyes are “the windows to the soul”, so the fact that she can’t see his leaves her feeling a little uneasy.

In theory, I think she and Romance could see eye-to-eye, but she’d become increasingly put-off by him?? Like, he seems uncanny valley because of how perfectly manufactured his “romanticism” is. It starts to feel fake rather than things said/done out of any real passion, and that saddens Raven, who is a real romantic.

She finds Baby the easiest to approach (if we exclude Jinu) since he’s the youngest and has a baby face, but his attitude in the film gives me the impression he’s a little bratty and casually does what he wants (which seems to be just guzzling condiments and drinks) 😅 Whenever she and Baby have a disagreement, it kind of looks like two little kids fighting on the playground.

I know this wasn’t explicitly asked for, but!! I imagine Raven seeing Huntrix as cool onee-sans and Bobby as being similar to her uncle www

[gobscene]

A Little Brain-rotting Theory on The King of Puppet's design...

A couple of nights ago I had a realization, something about the KOP's second phase body always looked off to me and I couldn't identify what. It's not his entire body but his pelvic area in particular. For a while i didn't give it too much thought, kept on drawing him mostly as human anyways so I wasn't observing his model as well as i should have.

Then one evening as I was scouring the web for refs for a piece unrelated to Lop it finally clicked. Now bear with me! This is going to get weird but trust me it'll perhaps make sense to you too. To be clear I am not saying that my mad theory is canon subtext nor is intentional or has any legitimacy. This could very much be a case of the devs taking aesthetic inspiration and nothing more. What I'm trying to get at is that there's probably no meaning/symbolism behind it at all.

Okay so, why does the KOP's crotch area interests me so much? That part of his body always remind me of something I'd seen but couldn't remember what. Now I do...

Romeo’s whole pelvis area bears quite the resemblance with Chastity belts.

I know, I know, I know! Absolute brain rot but hear me out! I already brought this up on Discord and had a wonderful back and forth with two lovely people who get the logic behind this theory. They both brought up some very interesting ideas and facts that had slipped my mind and made this headcannon even juicier. So let’s just entertain the idea that this design choice is intentional for a few seconds. Just a few seconds….

For starters we need to focus on who designed this, that bitter bastard Geppetto. We all know Geppetto planned most if not the entire chaos that happened in Krat. The confrontation between P and Romeo as well, note that out of all the bosses outside of the Nameless Puppet and arguably Murphy(but he’s there before we go into the boss battle so..). Geppepe only shows up personally to greet P after baby boi kills Romeo. It’s the only time he does so. Almost like he was both scared that something would go wrong and also in trepidation of what was to come. There’s a palpable glee in his voice post KoP fight.

In the dialogue Geppetto even acknowledges he shouldn’t be there, it’s risky.

First of all, what was his lard ass going to do to help P win this fight?! Bind P with his shiny puppet strings and force him to finish what he'd started? A question for another day...

The point being that this fight could potentially make or break all the hard work Gep put into his scheme. So he HAD to be there, to keep an eye on everything. On his “precious” son lest he step out of line and join the KOP or worse…

I'm also bringing this dialogue up because Gep said a line one of the people i was discussing with reminded me of and that i always found absolutely bizarre.

WTF is that supposed to mean?!! What do you mean Geppetto?! Why are we talking about Romeo's inability to reproduce?!!

The answer is simple. It's cause Geppepe is taking pleasure in all of this. In my mind this implies Gep probably hated Romeo. For a couple of reasons that are in the realm of hc but make sense if you think about it.

Romeo was up until Carlo's death, the closest male figure he constantly had around him. Living together in a boarding school would only help to strengthen their bond. Carlo would certainly seek him out first for comfort or advice before ever considering going talk to his old man.

Gep is a controlling father and possibly very possessive. With his neglect only widening the distance between him and Carlo. I could totally imagine a preteen/teenage Carlo ditching his dad to go hang out, write letters or talk on the phone for hours with his friend instead of spending "quality" time staring at the whites of Geppepe's eyes (or his back) during holidays. This defiant nonchalance could only anger Geppepe further.

Geppetto doesn't strike me as the type of person who's capable of introspection. He'd notice "terrifying" changes in his son's attitude and instead of questioning his life choices, he'd probably blame that street kid Carlo can't keep out of his mouth nor out of earshot.

We all know the reputation boarding schools had back in the 1800s, specially same sex boarding schools. So I'm going to point you to this banger of a post https://www.tumblr.com/ideas-on-paper/754559262628462592/on-carlo-and-romeos-relationship-homosexuality?source=share by @ideas-on-paper. They go a lot more in dept than i ever could. The summary is young boys and girls in same sex boarding schools got their freak on.

We see Gep's neglect truly peak in Carlo's early childhood, we don't know what went on in his late teens nor his early adulthood. This of course requires you to share a common hc that both Carlo and Romeo died around the ages of 16-19 at most. Perhaps during those later years Gep began to pay close attention to Carlo and his entourage. Worse yet. maybe he even began to intrude in his son's intimacy.

Putting those ideas together paints a very vivid picture of this trio's potential dynamics. Gep ignores Carlo, Carlo begins to resent Gep, Romeo and Carlo grow closer as they live and age together then Carlo ignores in turn his dad in favor of enjoying the company of the only male figure in his life that truly loved him and showcased it. Thus, hatred for Romeo takes root deep within that old bastard.

What does that have anything to do with Romeo's crotch being built to resemble a chastity belt you might ask. Well imma have to give you some historical context through screenshots of the most relevant bits of the articles on this obscure subject. I'll post their links at the end of the post(It's surprisingly hard to find more info on this subject and I'm not an essayist okay!!), in case anyone wants to read them.

For starters most articles corroborate the same story. The chastity belt legend meant to keep women from cheating on their husbands is a myth. An urban legend that gained fame during the 18th and 19th centuries. Before this period, they were mostly referred in satirical texts and works such as…

Most historians agree that the chastity belt myth became widespread due to 18th/19th centuries forgeries and the general modern populace (This includes Victorians, Belle Epoque era folks and us) unwillingness to believe our ancestors had a sense of humor. Apparently Victorians were fascinated with this type of nonsense and believing them to be true, gave them a weird sense of “superiority”.

So we now know that those belts were probably machinations from Victorian con men or tricksters. This brings us back to Krat and its Victorian/Belle Epoque ways.

Bet your ass, Krat had fuckery just like these irl examples. Crowds of rich folks ready to pay hefty prices to ogle at shocking spectacles and the likes. But we're going off the rails here...

Coming back to our main triangle here, I think the design of Romeo's pelvic region is no coincidence. Me thinks Geppetto is taking the piss out of Romeo. On top of turning his childhood best friend reincarnation/successor/physical clone or whatever you wanna call P, against Romeo. Gep had to add insult to injury, he felt a need to rub salt on an open wound.

Why? My first hypothesis is that Gep believed Romeo and Carlo were an item. And whether his disapproval for this relationship was motivated by homophobia or sick possessiveness is something i'm gonna let you mull over. Is there any evidence to support his suspicions? Once again I'll let you decide. Both versions of the story are equally as juicy to me. Gep growing jealous because he starts to notice healing hickeys on his son's throat despite a lack of girlfriend, is chef's kiss.

DISCLAIMER: THIS ISN'T A GEPPETTO/CARLO POST. My idea for his emotional turmoil resembles more that of a parent seeing their child not as a person and more as a possession. Think boymoms or girldaddies who hover over their child helicopter fashion but in a very toxic way. This isn't about incest but you can view it that way if that floats your boat.

In contrast, Geppepe's suspicions could be pure paranoia. Doubt he wouldn't have heard of the rumors about boarding schools, if he hasn't been to one himself as a young boy. Couple that with the strong bond Carlo and Romeo share and you get a lunatic psycho like Geppetto foaming at the mouth. There probably wasn't anything going on but just the thought that there might be, could push that man to do unspeakable things like trying to end a whole man’s ability to ejaculate/reproduce and emasculating him in the process.

Let’s assume for a minute that hypothesis number 1 is true. Carlo and Romeo are an item behind closed doors but being horny teens, they conceal it very badly. One could argue that Gep figured out or discovered through whatever means that Carlo and Romeo took each others’ virginity and boom! We have one possible motive for this suspicious design.

It’d be his way of saying “oh yeah?! You think you can sully my son like that you filthy gutter rat?!! Well think again! I’m ending your ability to nut and I’ll make it obvious to the whole world! No descendants for you asshole!” Hence the weird little line about no heir. Not that Carlo could get pregnant anyway but Yknow it’s said like a sadistic little reminder “oh I cut your dick off.”

Unless Carlo was trans…but that’s another story for another day.

Hypothesis number 2

Doesn’t change much from the first besides the fact that there is no romantic relationship. Romeo and Carlo are simply two lads who share a very close bond and love each other platonically. They’re there for each other when need be since both lack stable parental figures for differing reasons but manage to find common ground and comfort in this friendship.

Their closeness still bothers Gep, who blames Carlo’s “mischievous” attitude entirely on Romeo instead of reflecting on his own faults. This spurs Geppetto when presented with the opportunity to turn Meo into a puppet to “rectify”, take revenge or whatever awful sentiment might motivate him. In my opinion, even if they brushed the subject and Romeo denied it, Geppepe would refuse to believe him.

Either way Romeo’s gonna suffer.

Hypothesis number 3

Romeo was a compulsive masturbator and Geppetto thought it wise to put a stop to it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Frankly idk where I’m going with this…

I think I’ve said everything I wanted to say. Big thanks to the two folks on discord who helped me flesh this whole hc out.

That was long as hell and it’s almost 5am for me, so I’m gonna call it a night and thank u for reading this nonsense. I’ll probably edit this at a later date and add a few things i probably forgot.

[aeantizlkamenwati]

The Hound

So @the-kingshound updated and I dove headfirst into feelings and needed to get some feelings out...So I wrote a thing. As you do. A bit terrified to post outside of anon, but...2.5k words is too much for an ask and the discord...so...here we are.

Some moderate CW though, it contains depression, sexism (I know most people aren't going to want to delve into this sort of stuff because it's escapism, but I find it cathartic and validating when it's at least acknowledged how shitty it is to have a uterus at any point in time), and my Hound is not the nicest person around. (Arthur please don't give up on her, she'll get there)

OH and a part is inspired by a really old poll Kal asked about what color we'd like our dog-hounds to be and I know everyone went with the Christian Black Hound of Hell cause it IS iconic and spooky, but I was going...but a white hound would mean something to the Welsh. It makes a statement. SO I added it in the end to soften the angst.

Enjoy below the cut because I have no chill.

Guinevere stared across her small table at the King. Her husband, she supposed, though in the eyes of the court the title was not official. He seemed unable to meet her bright red eyes—not uncommon in her experience. Even in her own House people struggled to hold her gaze. More than once had she overheard whispers of the unsettling otherworldly heir, the one that must’ve been taken by some spirit or another.

Here was no different, only the terms changed. Annwn, Arawn, Mallt-y-Nos all were whispered as she walked past instead of Da Derga. ‘Bad omen that one’ was still the same though. ‘It’ll be the death of the Pendragons, letting one such as her share a bed with the King,’ in some form or another.

She waited patiently, stoically for the King to sort through whatever went on in his head. She refused to let her gaze leave him. To show any sign of weakness lest he go for her throat so to speak. She watched him as any prisoner might when face to face with their judge and executioner.

Arthur, as a person, was not…terrible. Though the most she saw of him was at their wedding, to be fair. Her hackles bristled at even the memory of the word. Wedding. It was nothing more than a celebration of her family’s downfall. The handfasting, nothing more than a shackle, a collar to show the might of Camelot.

But it was not yet a total victory.

After all, there were still more humiliations the king could bring against House Venegard. One, in particular, she dreaded more than others. She understood her duty, of course, and she would bear the torment like the cliffs do the raging sea…

That did not mean her stomach did not cramp. That bile did not coat her tongue. Her fists clenched in her lap, waiting those dreadful words, the terrible command. Her throat tightened against the rising emotions. Her skin prickled.

‘It won’t come to that,’ Saraah had told her. Radel and Ghaven had tried to comfort her as well. In their own way. Ghaven told her to use their wedding present on Arthur if he tried. It…it did make her laugh despite the crushing despair. Saraah had tried to tell her she’d be safe, that they doubted Arthur would force her to do anything.

She loved her siblings, but…she also knew they didn’t understand, not truly. They were, in the judging eyes of the law, men. They had the rights to their wives—not including Saarah of course.

They did not get the lectures from their mother about how to cut one’s own throat or womanhood should they ever be captured. They did not hear old wives tell horror stories of their first nights. They were not told tricks to get through it, how to fix themselves afterwards because their husband would just leave them once he was through—or fall asleep. They did not hope to die with the birth of their firstborn so they did not have to suffer anymore violations.

After all, what could be more symbolic of the King’s victory than breaking her in their marriage bed as his father did his mother so long ago?

Guinevere bit her tongue to keep her numbness in place. Pain forced her back into the hardened warrior her House had demanded she become. She remembered her mother telling her to never let any man see her scared, see her cry, and she refused to disappoint her.

Arthur cleared his throat. He straightened in his seat. He tried his best to look calm, but there was…some kind of nervous energy. He picked at his fingers out of reflex. His mouth opened and closed a few times. “I wished to ask you something,” he started carefully.

Her stomach twisted sharply. The slight dizziness that plagued her since her betrothal sent sparks over her eyes. She could already understand where this was no doubt going. The court had been rather loud as of late, crying that the marriage was not true. She was only surprised they didn’t demand the King show them the bedsheets afterwards.

She signed without feeling, as always, “Come to take your dues, then?”

Arthur blinked, reminding her of a puppy. “Beg pardon?”

She shrugged, each motion empty of any semblance of emotion. “I’m surprised they’ve let you wait this long. They seem quite eager for you to show me my place.” Her eyes drifted around the room. She noted the places she stashed weapons…assuming Gwyar hadn’t moved them again. They seemed exasperated every time they found a new hiding place…but they also didn’t take the weapons either.

“That’s not what I…” Arthur shook their head, as though trying to shake the thoughts into line. “I’m not—”

“So, a mistress then, that’s to be my humiliation,” Guinevere nodded to herself. “Probably for the best.” Her fingers gently traced the horrific scar across her neck, hidden by her bodice. “Wouldn’t wish to sully the Pendragon line with a wraith.” It was a stark reminder he did not wed a delicate flower, she fought and bled against him. One of his people nearly took her head off.

And the sick part was…she wished they had.

She shook her head against the darkness creeping up her spine. She figured out long ago she would never be a beautiful maiden; she would not be swept off her feet, or whatever Saarah’s fantasies were. She didn’t know why it still stung at this point.

She slowly rose from her seat. The fabric of her dress pulled and tugged uncomfortably against her movements. The neckline rubbed and scratched at the scar. Almost like feeling the rough, chipped edge of the sword again.

Her fingers were cold against her neck. She put them between her skin and the stupid Camelotian garment. Gwyar had convinced her it might be wise to attempt to acclimate to…here. Apparently, some of the court were scandalized by her tattoos. They apparently made her petite-self intimidating, like a barbarian. Or some other drivel.

Maybe they just didn’t want to admit her eyes scared them. Or maybe they were just trying to test to see if the King’s new dog would bite.

She plucked the letters from the table. The seal she was beginning to recognize as Saraah’s glared up at her in accusation. She assumed the others were from various other siblings he had corralled into sending to her. Probably sometime after the fifth letter she didn’t reply to.

She blew out a breath before placing them with the growing pile on her desk. Weight pulled at her bones. The old habit of talking to Saraah begged for her to try. Her chest hurt at the pain she must be causing them.

She drifted away before she could crumble. She had already broken in front of them; she would not do it again. She was the seventh heir of House Venegard. It was time she acted like it. Her feet took her to the window as they often did. Not to stare out over her new domain, but to the sky where birds played with the clouds.

A chair scraped over the floor. Perhaps the King grew tired of her. Or, more likely, he had other arrangements. Spending time with prisoners was hardly worth his time, but still nice of him to stop by, she supposed.

“I wanted to ask how you are,” Arthur’s voice disrupted her quiet contemplation of a flock of birds. She looked to the side as if she could see him behind her. Her back tensed. “We haven’t been able to speak since…” He didn’t say the words as she wrapped her arms around herself. “Your brother asked after you, well his husband asked, but on his behalf, I’m sure.”

Slowly, she turned, smoothing her face against anything that might show the crushing weight on her heart. “I am fine.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes at the simple answer. He kept quiet as he observed her carefully, as if he could pull answers from her like a sword from a stone. “If there is something I can do to make you more comfortable…”

“You cannot.” Her hands moved like swords, cutting off the line of questioning. “As I told Morien and Gwyar, I will remain living.”

Any more than that, she could not guarantee. She would pretend she was collared and leashed, sit when told, rollover as necessary, endure whatever she had to keep House Venegard alive. She would hide what and who she was, bury it so deep down it would crush her very soul into nothingness.

The two of them engaged in a strange staring contest. Her rubies as lifeless as the gems themselves against his captured-skies bright and beckoning freedom. He tapped a finger against the table. She could see him thinking and sorting through the thoughts, or perhaps he was trying to sift through the dense mist of her façade.

“Would you accompany me this afternoon?” he asked suddenly. “I was going to take Mordred, and I know we would both delight in your company as well.”

*****

Why she went was a mystery even to her. Perhaps it was strategic? To be seen with her husband and…stepchild? Show they did have some sort of relationship to keep the nobles at least somewhat complacent.

Maybe she just had a weakness for the child. Or was curious about the destination. Maybe after weeks drifting alone inside her rooms, only venturing out in the mornings to the dead training grounds or for mandatory appearances, she was going mad.

Arthur was pleased with themselves. They had a soft smile and a spring in their step as they escorted the group to a building. A kennel if the baying of hounds told her anything. Mordred’s hand tugged on their sleeve, eyes wide in either excitement or question. Arthur smiled wider. “Yes, they sent word this morning.”

And with those cryptic words, he pushed open the door and gestured for Mordred to go through. The child hesitated, but whatever was beyond the door drew them forward just the same. Arthur turned his smile to her, holding the door for her.

Guinevere eyed him oddly as she passed—well as best she could without pulling her neck muscles. She ignored the softest brush of warmth coming off him, reminding her how cold she always felt. She looked around the humble abode instead.

It did not take long for her eyes to find Mordred…being swarmed by wriggly, wobbly puppies. The mother hound watched over her litter like a queen, but didn’t appear to mind them entering her space. Her tail wagged as Arthur stepped inside behind Guinevere.

She blinked at the one, two, three…six puppies all bounding around on their tiny legs. Two were gnawing on each other’s legs, while a third played with one’s ear. One was pulling at Mordred’s tunic. Another was getting scooped by the child.

A bit of ice inside her chest cracked. It sizzled and popped at the scene. She turned to look up at Arthur. “Puppies?” she signed in confusion. “You brought me to see puppies?”

Arthur smiled. “Yes? They are cute and these ones the houndmaster said were old enough for a visit now.” He shrugged, though the way his eyes moved over the scene made her think he was up to something.

Of course, she always thought he was up to something, she supposed. Still…unless he was going to order the bitch to tear out her throat for good this time…what harm could puppies do?

“I was once told the Irish have great reverence for their hounds,” he eyed her, “even going so far as to give their great warriors and kings the epithet ‘hound’.”

She blinked at him, the nod almost involuntary. Why did he care to know that? Why bring it up? Her chest felt…twitchy under all the ice and darkness. She gave him a probing stare, trying to find answers. “Cú,” she spelled carefully, “it shows they are worthy of the loyalty hounds give.”

“I find it rather…beautiful to think a king is only worthy of his title if he is worthy of his hound first.” He smiled again, before motioning towards the puppies.

Ignoring the strange…prickle in her chest that his cryptic words seemed to conjure, she approached carefully, keeping an eye on the mother before gathering her dress to sit on the ground. The unoccupied puppy plodded its way towards her. It gave a little whine, perhaps a practice growl, before sniffing her. It was black like its mother with wavy fur.

Still, her chest clenched tightly. She made little tongue clicks at the puppies. Her hands petted the brave one that came up to her first. It wobbled and fell to the side. Her mouth parted in a soft laugh, more audible puffs of air than anything. Tiny teeth gnawed at her fingers as she tickled the soft belly.

When the puppy had its fill of her play, it tottered off to a group that gathered near Arthur. For a moment, their eyes met. Bloody red and heavenly blue. A strange pang struck Guinevere’s chest like a shard of ice had stabbed her heart as it broke away. She pulled her eyes down to his hands.

And found a tiny white ball of fur held safely against his chest.

She blinked. A glance at the rest of the litter found only blacks and a few red or fawn ones. The mother’s ears perked as the tiny bundle squeaked. She panted before sniffing the air as if trying to decide if the squeak was distress.

Arthur followed Guinevere’s eyes and gave the tiny bundle a soft smile. He shuffled over to her side, careful to keep a distance between them. He rubbed at the little puppy’s head. “This little one the houndmaster was worried wouldn’t make it,” he spoke softly, glancing up at her. “She’s the runt—and well,” he gestured to her fur.

Guinevere knew well what he meant. Pure white animals were often abandoned by their mothers, easily spotted by predators, or were otherwise ill. Runts were much the same. Her brows pinched together. She gently stroked the soft fur of the puppy’s ear. Her own white hair fell over her shoulder as she leaned forward.

“But it appears she’s much stronger than we thought—or just stubborn,” Arthur chuckled. “Some might say she’s a bad omen, that she’s already marked for Arawn’s pack and it is best to send her on her way…” He smiled wryly at her, like he knew the insults thrown her way. “Between you and me, I think they are just scared because they have wicked souls and fear she’ll sniff them out.”

He held the puppy out to her as another attempted to climb into his lap. The little thing was warm, soft like all babies were, but oh so still. She didn’t squirm or wriggle, just gave a dissatisfied squeak as Guinevere held her to her chest. The puppy’s tiny breaths pressed against her fingers.

Her heart twisted again. The bubbling need for this thing to survive choked her breath. She rubbed her thumb against its ear again, making clicking noises again. Fight, she told the hound mentally. She tried to impart some of her own will into the small hound. Fight and remind them hounds choose their master. And give them pity if they think they have any power over you.

[arknights-imagines]

hiii i hope ur doing well! is it ok if i ask for dating hcs for the lees detective agency group (so aak, hung, waai fu, and maybe even lee since he just came out on global? hope its not much of a hassle ^^;)

This has been a v v long wait sbsjhs... 🥹 But anon tysm for the request 🫶!

I'm v v happy to be back to this... It feels good to have something out for you guys 💕😭!!!

So I wrote for Hung and Mr. Lee here for these 🫶!! I felt like the piece was already getting so long with just the two of them lolsnsis and I was having trouble getting the right inspiration for Aak and Waai Fu 😭 I hope that's okay! (I can always do a part 2 sbjshs!)

In writing this svshs Lee definitely grew on me! (I hope I captured him okay svshgs 🥹😭!) I wouldn't mind writing for him again at all 🙏! Maybe relationship headcanons to follow these dating ones up ansnsjsb?

Anywho, to all of you guys, I hope you all enjoy 🥰!! (and with this, requests are properly open again as well 🤲 please feel free to send something in!)

Taglist for Lee's D.A/All Writing!:

@donsofwaste

@dracomultiverse

@marahuyos

@emburbaguette

Lee's Detective Agency Dating Headcanons

Headcanon format; in the perspective of the Operator, written in second person!

Contains: Hung, Mr. Lee, reader's role is ambiguous but for Hung I imagined Doctor reader and Lee Operator reader!, gender-neutral Operator/Doctor as the reader, crushes and fuzzy feelings lolojshd, mentions of an agegap relationship for Mr. Lee's part (reader is younger than him!), humor, shenanigans lolsnsis, and lots of fluff 💕!

Word count: a little over 3.2k in total!

——————–

HUNG

･ Hung — with how affable and big-hearted he was — found that he often felt warmth towards nearly everyone he encountered.

･ Such was apparent in the welcoming expression that painted his face when he was with anyone, a kind smile paired with attentive eyes.

･ Therefore, the way that smile of his so-quickly became effulgent and his eyes gleamed with a sparkle only when he was around you in particular, was surely nothing and couldn't be indicative of anything; right?

･ ‘....Right?’

･ Had he been an oblivious fool, the Perro undoubtedly would’ve let his own thoughts chase themselves each other around in circles — did he like you more than a friend or a colleague, or maybe this was just a passing crush? However, he could see it clear and with no confusion, that he truly, wholly, and deeply wanted you.

･ Hung never had any qualms in accepting that he had more intimate feelings for you; just your presence made him happy beyond words, and as soon as you were gone from him he already found himself looking forward to the next time he would see you again.

･ So, it only took so long before he amassed enough courage and offered just the littlest bit of his affections towards you.

･ With a hopeful grin on his face and a hand that held onto your forearm almost tenderly, he offered to you, “Hey! How are you, have you eaten yet? If you’d want to right now, we can go to the Landship’s kitchens and I can make you a little something to eat? Just us two?”

･ You’d stared and blinked for a moment - surprise painted on your face - before you smiled, a little timid but with an elated glimmer in your eyes, “Hung, hello! I didn’t eat yet, actually…I’d really like if you cooked something for me, if you don’t mind, of course…!”

･ Nothing had ever made Hung’s heart soar quite like your acceptance of his invitation did.

･ Dates with Hung that followed after were always the same. He would cook, always making sure the meal would be enough food for the both of you, whilst you watched with interest gleaming in your eyes; afterwards he would sit to enjoy the food with you.

･ On occasion, instead of Rhodes Island’s kitchens, he’d take you to the Detective Agency Headquarters in Lungmen and you two would have your usual cooking date there — by happenstance, Aak and Waai Fu returned from some work whilst he was in the middle of cooking for you, which is how they discovered that Hung was enamoured of you.

･ Perhaps some people — namely, Aak — were baffled as to why the Perro never suggested any different activities for dates with you, why he never went on any outings with you.

･ “Hung, my dude. You sure you’re into ‘em, or do you just dig cooking for ‘em or somethin’? Just saying! If you really like ‘em like that, why ain’t you taking them out places?”

･ Hung would simply shake his head and answer, “Hey, we don't just talk and eat when we have time together like that…”, however he wouldn’t ever elaborate further than that.

･ The Perro had an aversion to thinking of all of this, why he couldn’t just ask you to be his already — he didn't believe you'd view him as your perfect match.

･ ‘Am I too nice, or not interesting?’, prior to working for Mr. Lee he’d often been treated badly over his personality, his always-friendly attitude and lack of daring confidence.

･ In truth, for him, your dates together had nothing to do with awing you with his culinary skills or to dote you until he charmed you; they had everything to do with him having time he was able to reserve for solely and only you, time when he could stare wide-gazed at your smile and talk with you about yourselves or your lives without any intrusive eyes.

･ However, this self-doubt that restrains him doesn’t mean he was ever afraid to express to you how close he held you to his heart. The Perro will ensure — in every way he can, whilst still staying behind that line he couldn't yet bring himself to step over — that you know he was entirely dedicated to you.

･ “Hey, if you ever need something, just give me a holler!”

“Thank you…you don’t have to worry about me, Hung! But, ‘something’, like what exactly?”

“You know, anything at all! I mean it, when it’s for you, I’ll always be giving two-hundred-percent!”

･ After Hung said anything like that to you, you’d grin sincerely with eyes warmed by gratitude; he’d always have a hue of pink rise to his cheeks and a gleefully wagging tail as he parted from you.

･ Those who watched as he ardently stated to you that he would be there if you called for him, simply presumed it was only a gesture with the purpose of painting himself as thoughtful — Waai Fu had even mentioned to him, “Oh, well, from their smile, that definitely looks like it worked. Great job, Hung.”

･ Though, in reply to such comments, his komainu ears flatten against his head and his lips downturn into a perplexed frown before he’d reply, “What do you mean? I wasn't just saying that to them for the sake of saying it, you know…”

･ Hung’s words were never empty — in fact, it was quite the opposite, as he meant every syllable that he spoke. So, like he’d said, he was there for you when you needed him, with no exceptions.

･ If you were struggling to reach something on a shelf too high for your arm length, he’d pause whatever he had been doing so he could assist you, “need a hand? Let me, I’ve got you.”; he’d lift you up by the waist as if you weighed nothing, hold you securely until you grabbed what you had needed, then would set you back on the floor carefully.

･ The Perro always let his hands linger on your form even after he placed you down, fingers twitching as he tried to subdue the urge to pull you closer towards his chest, “...Got what you needed? You’re one-hundred-percent sure? I can lift you again if you need.”

･ When you’re tired from deluging yourself in paperwork or injured from an Operation, he’ll offer to carry you on his back where ever you need for however long you asked; sometimes, he’d even continue to carry you despite you arguing that you would be fine on your own.

･ “You’re still rubbing your eyes and yawning…you should rest on my back some more.” Hung would insist, komainu ears flat against his head as he looked at the fatigue evident on your face. You’d mumble about how there were matters that required your attention and you didn't have time for a nap.

･ Even so, you’d always end up quietly asleep on his back with your head rested on his shoulder; the Perro would carry you securely while strolling up and down one of the Landship’s quiet hallways, pacing faster whenever the thought of holding you in his arms instead of on his back prodded his mind.

･ No matter how much Hung tried to tie up and firmly tug back his heart, his physical strength was useless, his heart chased after you — always, without fault.

･ It was during one of your many cooking dates - this one in the Lee’s D.A Headquarters - that the Perro’s heart yanked hard in your direction then finally fell utterly, completely, and wholly into your hands.

･ You’d chosen to sit yourself atop the kitchen counter, to watch closer and to continue to talk with him as he cooked the meal you two would share. When he’d taken a moment to tear his gaze away from the child-like curiosity that was glimmering in your eyes, Hung had looked to the window nearby. It was dark outside, well into nighttime; how didn't he realize how long he’d kept you?

･ “Hey…You should get going, I can walk you back to the Landship, could just give me a minute to pack you some of this food so you can take it to-go? I didn't even notice it was getting so late, sorry about that-” “No, wait, Hung. I don’t want to go, honestly, I love spending time with you…whenever we talk, or I watch you cook, or we eat together, it makes me really happy. So I don’t mind staying long...”

･ After you’d spoken. You brought your gaze to meet his — then, ever-so-softly, you smiled.

･ As Hung stood there - eyes wide, jaw clenched tight to prevent it from falling to the floor, cheeks painted pink, and a heart that’d torn free of its binding ropes - he could practically hear Waai Fu and Aak, “You need to ask them out already.”

･ The two of them wouldn't have to worry for too long, however — if you kept smiling at him like that, so sincere and adorable, Hung wouldn't be able to last much longer.

MR. LEE

･ This is wrong; there is no need to tell him, as Lee had already scolded himself on such again, again, and again. For the love of everything holy in Yan, in Terra even, you were almost the same age Aak and Waai Fu.

･ And yet, he would somehow find his way onto your path anyhow.

･ Mr. Lee certainly is no fool. The growing warmth that cocoons itself near his heart the longer he spent time with you, the insistent tug like metal to a magnet whenever you were nearby, the way in which you sat yourself onto a shelf in his mind and refused to leave — were all too easily diagnosed.

･ It was accepting this diagnosis that begged effort from him, and this time his usual shirking couldn’t be used to avoid it.

･ For a small while, in fact, he wonders if he's sick or perhaps his age was somehow getting to him already.

･ But again, Mr. Lee is no fool.

･ He cannot do as he is — sitting in the Operator dormitories after a successful Operation, golden eyes shining like twin coins as they fix onto you inexorably, heart stirring in his ribcage — and claim he doesn’t want you.

･ His tea cup lifts to mask his bemused smile; ‘Well…seems I'm in trouble.’

･ None of this, his staring or the way in which a smile crawled onto his lips whenever his eyes fix onto you, go unnoticed by the rest of the D.A.

･“Lee? Why the hell are you starin’ at ‘em like that? You need your eyes checked?”

“Hmm? I’m not staring at anyone like anything, Aak. I'm not so old that you need to worry about me losing my sight.”

“Mr. Lee…are you sure? You know, lately you’ve definitely been looking at that Operator a whole lot--”

“Hung, Aak-- Come on, kids. Don't think too hard about things.”

･ Quite hypocritical to say, considering this thing regarding you — it feels too juvenile for him to call it a ‘crush’, so ‘this thing’ will have to do, he decides — was something he hadn’t thought this hard on in a long while, not even for his cases.

･ And like that, the Lung’s pursuit of you seems to begin before he can even attempt to halt it.

･ With his typical demeanor as disorganized and aloof as it is, one would easily assume that Lee would fumble in a situation like this — and forgets what Lee exactly does for work.

･ As a detective, he observes; as a businessman, he acts.

･ He’ll stare at you shamelessly, across rooms between Operations or while sat beside you while sorting paperwork for the Doctor during shifts as their assistants; he’ll smirk and raise a brow whenever you ask him about it, “Me? Staring? No, no. What? I can’t take a break, look around, smell the roses, enjoy the moment? Ah, speaking of, feels like that moment of day for a cup of tea. Care to join me?”

･ He’ll end up in your path during his ever-increasing visits to the Rhodes Island Landship — only by happenstance, of course, he’d always argue — , bumping into you when you turn corners or deciding to visit the cafeteria just when you’re heading in for lunch.

･ Lee continues this, steady, slow, and patient; what was the reason for any haste, any anxiety, or worry of how you’ll react, when he trusted in the expected, eventual outcome?

･ One of the many afternoons after you’d sat down with him for tea-and-talk after he’d ran into you after your return from an Operation, you’d asked finally: “Mr. Lee? How do you-- I mean, how are you always running into me?”

“Hmm? Well now, here I was, wondering how you kept running into me.” The rosy hue that flushes your cheeks softens his smirk into a grin, “Haha, I’m pulling your leg. Joking, joking…but, if bumping into me is making trouble for you--”

Your cheeks burn scarlet now, eyebrows furrowed, “No-- I mean... That’s not what I meant. I-I like when we... Spend time like this.”

His teacup lifts to conceal the smirk crawling onto his lips again, “Alright…well, maybe instead of running into each other, we set this sort of thing properly?” A twitch of the Lung’s pointed ear gives away his pleasure when you perk up at his words, “You know, I could take you to Lungmen. You should see it, properly, and not for an Operation. A friend owns this little restaurant tucked away from all the bustle, good food and a good view. Let me treat you to dinner?”

･ His teacup fails to hide the fond grin that paints across his lips at your eager acceptance.

･ Every date from then on comes to you much like a little gift. Lee will pop into the Landship without any notice, just in time to catch you returning from an Operation or finishing a paperwork shift, then whisk you off to Lungmen. He introduces you to every ‘unseen beauty’ in Lungmen, between restaurants and teahouses. Or, if your day was long, he will set up tea and dinner right there in one of the dormitories.

･ All of your dates only saw one activity besides the eating or drinking or walking: talking. Perhaps, to some, this would seem boring. If Lee wanted to ‘wow’ you, certainly he’d have to try harder than that.

･ Wowing you, however, is not his goal; his goal is your smile, the pink-hue of your cheeks when you blush, the sincere trust melting your irises more each date he takes you on.

･ And, to be frank, Lee adores nothing more than hearing you talk. He is fully convinced, one of these nights, he will end up simply sitting there with his chin resting in one hand and tea cup in the other, eyes softened at the edges and smile more like a lovesick teenage boy than a man his age, as you go on about anything and everything for hours — and he would adore every word.

･ Each date, he urges you to stay for longer, until one hour turns into so many that Aak, Hung, and Waai Fu start to ring your phone asking why you’re not back at the Landship yet.

･ His affection, his flirting perhaps, is old-fashioned. Lee leaves a lingering touch on the small of your back, tucks a lock of hair back from your face, tilts your chin up when you avoid his eyes. And yet, despite this, his teasing is ceaseless and almost boyish.

･ You’d stammer and halt mid-sentence just as your words hasten with excitement, “Sorry, Lee, I’m rambling-” A chuckle and a shake of his head, “No, no. Please, continue. You know, I like listening to you talk.” When your cheeks colour pink, Lee hooks his finger under your chin to guide your gazes together again before his tone leaves him, upturned with tease, “Well, don’t get all shy on me now.”

･ You’d grumble when he’d insistently drag your attention away from stacks of paperwork due the next day, “Lee…my Squad Leader wants these reports in by tomorrow--” “It’s past midnight, I never thought you were such a workaholic.” A chiding ‘tsk’ as his eyebrow lifts, not deterred by your fussing in the slightest, “Why a busy life when you can have a leisurely cup of tea? And…” The Lung drapes a blanket he nabs from your dorm bed over you, then tugs you against his chest and secures you there with gentle but firm arms, “Me to warm you up? Hmm?” The smirk in his voice is always palpable.

･ Nights he stole with you were simple, quiet, and each left a little piece more to the warmth amassing in his ribcage.

･ The warmth — an encompassing affection Lee was once-sure was long-past for his old heart to cultivate — which was insisting ever-louder that if he didn’t make you his and soon, he’d be a fool.

･ The night when he has you cocooned in his arms as he carries you back to the Landship, wrapped in his coat after you’d fallen asleep watching the fireworks show of one of Lungmen’s midnight festivals — is the night Lee reminds himself again, that he certainly is not a fool.

･ Crowded around your dorm when he arrives, is an all-too familiar trio that he greets with a light snort, “What are you kids doing out here at this hour?” His eyebrow lifts when their eyes blow to the side of plates once they settle on you bundled up in his arms. Aak explodes into rambles of ‘knew it!’ and ‘told ya!’; Hung’s fails in his typical duty to shush the Feline, too occupied with gawking at the two of you; Waai Fu simply huffs about how ‘well, that’s where you’ve both been off to’.

･ Lee rolls his eyes in attempt to mask the amusement painting a smirk on his face, “Kids, come on. Is getting drink or dinner with a friend what you call a scandal these days?”

Waai Fu hums, flat and unconvinced, “A friend. Definitely.”

Aak nearly cuts her off with an exclamation so loud, Hung rouses from his shock enough to shush him, “Whoa, whoa-- you got ‘em wrapped up in your coat and it’s not even official yet?! Hurry up ‘bout it--”

･ The Lung shoos them off — that is, by shutting the door of your dorm in their faces before they can prod any further —, then his attention settles wholly onto you once more. Affection melts onto his facial features and he makes no attempt to halt it, a small soft with affection replacing his lackadaisical smirk.

･ “...it'll happen if it's going to happen.” His hand lifts to brush the backs of gentle fingers against your cheek, a chuckle leaving him warm and low when your nose scrunches at the little disturbance to your sleeping.

･ No matter what might happen, Lee had already promised himself you would be his in time. Therefore no, there was no need for haste. He certainly would not be the old fool who let you — precious and holding his heart — slip away his arms.

ty for reading 🥹 please consider reblogging/following the blog if you enjoyed!! 🫶 all my writing is dedicated to loving AK's Operators~

[pain-in-the-butler]

Could you give us some good dadbastian fanfic? Oneshots, incomplete, completed anything really, i am starved and need some more food other than coattails(which i love very much!)

Hey there, thanks so much for being a Coattails reader! As an aside, I'm not sure if you're totally caught up or not, but sorry I don't yet have an idea of when the next part will be ready. I only have 4k words written so far and chapter 33 is looking to be another doozy... I'll be sure to keep everyone informed of when we're close 🫡

Anyway, I have no idea if you're like me when it comes to Dadbastian, but I'm pretty particular about what I enjoy. Angst has to play a factor in some form, for instance. I also don't like it when Ciel and Seb are too sappy with each other without it being earned. There's a reason Coattails had like 250k words of build-up before Sebastian actually accepted his Dadbastian fate.

With that in mind, here are my suggestions!

bottom of the deep blue sea by sunflowergiorno Easily one of my favorite Dadbastian fics, hands down. I remember going positively bananas waiting for the second part to come out. It's so gentle and tender and honest. It perfectly showcases the thoughts and feelings I'd hoped for Sebastian and Ciel to have to approach after their experience on the Campania. Words, Strings, and Butterfly Wings by Kimberly_T I love this story so dearly, and it's tragic that it's unfinished. This fic is a retelling of the Circus Arc, in which Ciel and Sebastian must actually pretend to be father and son, sometimes with hilarious results, other times endearing. A major inspiration behind Coattails for sure. I would die for Falco, an original character who to me is more endearing than any of the canon Noah's Ark cast members.

Dadbastian Week Drabbles by HeartLeftovers Nobody does angst like HeartLeftovers, and you'll drink up her poetic language like nectar. My personal favorite is Midnight, but read Magnifying Glass and Domesticated Wolf first for the full impact of the final stanza.

Sensorium by OtherCat Short but sweet. A story about how Sebastian helps Ciel at the beginning of the contract to stop thinking like a boy trapped in a cage. I love that it shows that Sebastian couldn't possibly have frightened Ciel into becoming an earl: he had to actually coax Ciel towards it.

Singing in the Silence by Kimberly_T Another one from Kimberly_T. Not strictly Dadbastian, but a story about the servants learning how to help Ciel with his PTSD in their very own inventive and roundabout way. Heart-meltingly adorable. It's canon to me, dammit.

Front Page News by TheArchaeologist Also not strictly Dadbastian (in fact, Ciel is incapacitated the whole time), but I only need the slightest reason to suggest this Phantomfam-centric fic. Mey-Rin's voice is especially realized. Even though you already know Sebastian, Snake, and Ciel will make it back from the Campania in one piece, you feel the Pham's worry palpably.

Through the Years by Kimberly_T Can you tell yet that I love Kimberly_T? Admittedly, this one I haven't read with perfect thoroughness, but I can tell you that the Dadbastian moments are peak. Ciel hires a new maid, a woman who nearly killed him when he invaded a brothel on a mission for the Queen. Please mind that this involves some discussions of SA. Also mind that the story largely centers around an original character, but no one does OCs like Kimberly.

ad perpetuam memoriam by redrobin1989 Only Dadbastian if you squint, but my god if you haven't read it yet go do it now.

I also have my Dadbastian week drabbles, Cutting Teeth, if you haven't read those! I hope that's given you some food for the time being. Eat up and enjoy!

[just-your-average-supervillain]

...So, that ending, huh?

I'm just gonna... deposit my thoughts here. Spoilers ahead.

Before we get into any of the heavy shit, uh... I think this is the first time the second part of a Canto ended with a comedic scene. Qiu, Huan(?), and Hong Lu all having an intense dialogue while Qiu beats the shit out of us until Hong Lu finally finds the Way he believes in, at which point Qiu forfeits the entire Evaluation and gives us all his coins to rocket us to first, Huan bows out with his coins to try and get second place (and the Bough), and we... go and find Xichun to put ourselves in second, securing the Bough and incidentally handing the seat of Jia Family Hierarch to her. I mean... I think most of us knew it was coming, just not in this particular way?

Not to say that the outcome is all good, though. We now know what the purpose of Hong Lu's jade eye is! It's a high-tech camera implanted at birth so that the ghouls called the H Corp Elders can get their kicks watching the sort of footage that would have K Corp flooding the streets with all the tears produced! And Xichun's ascension to the Family Hierarch means she's gonna go meet them! Hooray!

The politics of the whole situation are also kinda neat. The Shi rule H Corp, then the Kong take over, then Shi Mu (now Jia Mu) uses her high position to trick the entire Kong Family into transforming into Outskirts Monsters and getting the Head called down on each and every one of them. Now the Jia rule H Corp, and Jia Qiu (formerly Kong Qiu) has... just forfeited the possibility of reclaiming the throne.

Also, I think we now know where the aesthetic inspiration for the Three Birds comes from. Pretty neat that the Heishou get their powers from taking on features of Outskirts Monsters, and also that there's a type of Outskirts Monster that's just a bipedal bird-man with black feathers and ringed, glowing eyes.

...I genuinely didn't expect it, but we actually got to see Garion just sitting around and chatting. No ominous shadows or overwhelming auras, just the quiet menace of this one lady bringing about the annihilation of an entire clan. Pretty neat that they followed the original scene of her watching H Corp fall from the first game so closely, just with an added scene of her applauding Jia Mu for the effort and carefulness it took to balance the line needed to call the Head down on the Kong without being targeted for the knowledge herself. Fascinating how it seems that while everybody knows of the Claws, even the leaders of Wings are totally unaware of what an Arbiter is, only that they're people who bring Claws to accompany them.

Incidentally, terrifying that the outcome of a single person breaking a taboo is not running away as the Head closes in on your location, but rather having a Claw instantly teleport next to you and then kill you.

Uhhhh just my own complaint but I think that part was too damn long. That was like... 4? 5?? 6??? different boss fights, along with the whole bullshit of having to work though the Eight Trigrams room. Like, I started playing immediately after the update dropped, and it's now five hours later. I guess we now have a shitton of new factions or enemies to make Identities out of, but by the end my brain was melting and I was mostly resorting to winrating filler battles between boss fights.

Fascinated to see how they'll shift from the whiplash comedy of us unilaterally deciding that Xichun's gonna be the next Family Hierarch to the inevitable angst of the ending of Canto VIII. I'm also a touch concerned about who the fuck we're gonna fight as the final boss if Qiu already had his big battle and then seemingly fucked right off. Is it gonna be the Elders? Grandmother Mu? I feel like the way things are going, it'll probably be one of them, but I'm not sure how to feel about that... well, whatever the case, it'll be peak.

I might have some more thoughts later, I'm sure there were a few Weird Comments from the Sinners that'll give hints to their own stories, but for now I think I'd like to go to bed.

[decepti-thots]

For the ask game: Rodimus

It’s been a while since I’ve interacted with your blog so my memory is wack on whether you’ve already talked about him, but I’m back on my Transformers train so here I am lol

one aspect about them i love:

what DON'T i love about rodimus, lmao. my special guy who sucks so bad and i love him for it. <3 anyway, i really do love that rodimus is simultaneously so attached to being a showman- to giving the inspiring speech, to having the big dramatic moment- but also often not particularly adept at it. while he has his moments, sometimes he falls straight on his ass in the attempt, and i really enjoy that about him. he has a very imperfect charisma, strong enough to carry him through just enough he never quite loses his ability to leverage it but spotty enough sometimes his attempts actively hinder what he's trying to achieve through sheer determination, and the volatility is fun. when your entire project depends on your ability to rally people by convincing them you know what you're doing and you're just good enough to keep them interested but not actually consistent enough you can be totally sure this particular time it worked, the tension that gives the story is great. a lot of the first half of MTMTE leans on this in a way i enjoy a ton. keeps the reader on their toes.

one aspect i wish more people understood about them:

rodimus is more self-aware about his own flaws than he likes to let on, and i think sometimes the fandom takes him at face value when he acts like he has no idea of his own flaws or how others feel about the way he acts. my read on him is that he often does not parse it in the moment (see: that one prose story scene with mags and rung) but is reflective enough to understand after the fact in the abstract (see: him talking to Rung after Overlord). horrible combination, really; you know enough to regret saying something stupid but you never quite manage to stop yourself at the time. and i think treating rodimus as just blithely unaware of how he comes off 100% of the time doesn't quite get at how that dynamic really impacts him.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character:

rodimus is definitely and sincerely religious but not in any organized way. i think MTMTE is so much more interesting if we assume all his belief in the knights and all that attendant religious Stuff is completely sincere and deeply felt, and given what we know of his background it makes sense to me for that to come less from any kind of formal association with religion and probably more from somewhere more informal- but still, i think he's completely sincere about it. which makes the scene where he basically yells at god and wants to have an argument with him all the more delightful, imo. assuming his sincerity about that stuff makes him telling primus HI HELLO I WANT TO SPEAK TO THE MANAGER really interesting. plus, it gives him an interesting dynamic with drift and his notable religious fervor extra kick.

one character i love seeing them interact with:

i mentioned it above but yknow, rodimus and rung are a great duo. we should talk more about that tbh. rung is simultaneously kind of rodimus' worst nightmare (this man does NOT want to be sympathetically psychoanalysed, good lord lmao) but also a weird kind of parallel on both sides (you can easily draw a comparison between rung's being routinely overlooked and forgotten and his guilt at his own past failures he tries to ignore and rodimus' whooole deal). they share almost no obvious personality traits and yet when you actually dig into it, they have an uncomfortable amount in common. uncomfortable for them, that is.

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more:

i think we deserved more direct rodimus-whirl interaction. whirl would see through his bullshitting so so hard and it would have been. SO interesting to get more of them directly butting heads, i think. rodimus can be as disdainful as he likes about how whirl is the easy-to-hate social scapegoat on the LL, but deep down he would recognise that a lot of what he fears about himself (that he's an unlikable asshole kept around because he's useful, but not that useful because he's fucked up one too many times, so everyone is Managing Him) is reflected in whirl, only whirl is a lot less in denial about it. which kind of puts whirl one up over him, and that would rankle a lot for rodimus, who is trying to paper over shit by being as liked as possible and aware that he keeps failing at it.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character:

rodimus thinks nautica is really cool and while he'd never admit it he REALLY wants nautica to think he is cool too. nautica is this cheerful social butterfly who came onboard and immediately everyone really liked her and she was interesting and funny and all that without seeming like a tryhard, and on top of that she gets to not have all the baggage that comes from having been involved in the war that makes it very hard for rodimus to make people respect him (because of all his infamous 'fuck ups', whether fair to call them that or not, which people see when they look at him). in a weird way, i feel like nautica would be someone rodimus would look at and sort of be like: dammit, THAT'S what i need to do. he's watching her talk to his crew at the bar and make everyone laugh like. ugh. how do i do that.

[artbyblastweave]

As my favorite comic book meta person why do you think that the superhero genre crosses over so much with the noire genre (Batman, Daredevil, The Question) is there something intrinsic about them both like the sci-fi mystery crossover or is it something else? Btw I just wanted to let you know how much I love your analysis you really seem to know the heart of the superhero genre.

Thank you, that's very nice of you to say!

The answer to this one is pretty straightforward- Superhero fiction, during it's initial development, was fundamentally cooking in the same pot as what would become Noire fiction, along with everything else that saw publication in the bloody pulps, and it absorbed a lot of aesthetic elements of non-costumed detective fiction in the process of firming up into its own thing. In a similar way to how Superman is borrowing heavily from things like John Carter and Flash Gordon as an inverted planetary romance hero, Batman was rather famously inspired heavily by The Shadow, a radio-and-pulp-novel based vigilante from the 30s.

Batman was also predated and informed by adjacent gimmick-crimefighter characters like The Green Hornet and the Clock, and there's a slew of other golden age heroes like Will Eisner's Spirit and the Wesley Dodds version of Sandman who are sitting on what was at that point an ill-defined spectrum with "full-blown costumed hero" at one end and "mundane hardboiled detective with a gimmick or a nickname" at the other. There wasn't yet a totally clear split in the genre.

(You can find a lot more examples of this archetype- and modern pastiches of this archetype- under the Coat Hat Mask and Proto-Superhero pages on TVtropes; I've described this kind of guy as the quote-unquote "missing link" in the evolution of the superhero, which a pithy and somewhat uncharitable read. But the point is that it's a recognizable archetype, and you'll see it around if you go looking.)

Now, I don't think any of these characters were meaningfully Noire, because at the end of the day, all of these are still part of the big blob of Goodies Winning Out Over Baddies, and my (limited) understanding of Noire as an aesthetic is that it was in part a reaction against that moral clarity. But it ultimately isn't an accident that Question/Rorschach look the way they do- they're a deliberate throwback to this protosuperheroic archetype of the golden age. And if Noire plot beats are a reaction against more clean-cut "traditional" detective stories, it makes sense that when the superhero genre starts to react against its own assumed moral clarity it's going to hit on similar beats- they came from the same place, evolved out of the same things.

And, as I always do when this particular subtopic comes up, I'd also recommend checking out the blog of @maxwell-grant, who's significantly more informed than I am about the pulp heroes specifically, and how all of these archetypes and their developmental timelines are tangled up in each other. Very informative blog there

[nayatarot777]

Karma For Your Fake Best-Friend

• Pile One •

The first message that I’m seeing is that your fake best friend will have to give birth (figuratively) to a very difficult beginning. This is part of their karma because this beginning is full of Saturnian energy, and Saturn is the planet of karma. They will have to help other people with very difficult times in their lives which may be something that they didn’t do before because I’m picking up on a very selfish energy from this person. However, now other people’s situations and what other people have created for themselves and their lives will leave your best friend as the helper - which they’re clearly not happy about. I’m hearing that this person made their bed and now they have to lie in it. They’re stagnant. They feel restricted from creating anything new in their life. For someone in particular, I’m getting a very dark message and that’s about how your best friend could experience difficulty either literally giving birth or difficulty getting pregnant which will cause a lot of distress. The burdens that they are feeling from this karma are going to make them feel extremely aged. They are going to feel like they’re the one who is being forced to be responsible in comparison to everyone else - for the sake of everyone else - while they’re feeling like this should be in reverse. They feel like everyone else should feel responsible for them but that’s not going to happen.

They’re going to lose a lot. Their life is going to seem empty and bare. This could be about them losing possessions that they found integral to their identity such as clothing and jewellery, or they could lose their money which was a huge part of their identity. I’m just seeing this person really having to count their blessings and the little that they have left. I’m also hearing that this person is going to become physically sick due to anxiety and this will show on their face and in their body. They’re going to look physically unwell and that feeds into the message about them feeling like they’re physically and internally aging under this difficult change. One of the things that they are going to have to count as a blessing are the positive memories that they have from the past. They’re going to have to hold onto these memories quite tightly because they are incapable of creating new and positive memories for themselves again. They feel restricted from creating anything in their life. They’re not going to see a way out of their anxiety. They are constantly being placed in positions that confuse them. That make them worry and that leaves their minds incapable of interpreting what they need to clearly. They’re going to be trapped in their head and feeling like there is no way out.

For some in this pile, this fake best friend downplayed your anxiety or treated your anxiety as if it wasn’t a real thing or as if it wasn’t important, and now they’re experiencing severe anxiety that’s trapping them in a mental space that they don’t want to be in. There are three cards in total here about new life and new creation, so there’s a major emphasis on how nothing new will come into their life for a very long time because the energy of Saturn is very slow moving. It’s the one of the slowest moving planets in our solar system, so any karma - positive or negative - that we experience due to Saturn is prolonged for a very long time. This person‘s life will consist of the same-old stressful, burdensome routine. They have to watch everyone else around them in their life, moving onto bigger and better things. Moving onto new pathways and lifestyles that clearly fill them with inspiration and joy and happiness, but they’re going to be left out of this. This is definitely affecting their dating life too. They’re not going to experience meeting anyone new and their dating life could be something that they identified with. They could be very relationship-oriented people and they might feel like they don’t know what to do without a partner. Whether this is a committed partner or someone who is just entertaining them for the time being. Either way, they’re not going to experience any new flame or any new passions in the area of dating. This person is having to feel fragmented. There’s a lot of dissociation here. They feel like they can’t get up off the ground and they feel like they can’t move forward in their life because they’re plagued with a sense of weakness and fragility. Their mind is very fragile too. They feel like they are a very fragile person who’s easy to damage and break. They feel very broken. Especially mentally. Their intuition is also going to be damaged. Their perspective on people and things as well as themselves will also be very distorted. They won’t be able to see clearly in an intuitive way.

Extended Reading: How Do They Feel + What Do They Think About You/This Situation?

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• Pile Two •

This fake best friend pretended to be innocent. They wore a mask of someone who was all about helping and healing, as if they were someone who couldn’t hurt a fly. But in actuality, they pretend to embrace and accept others for the sake of helping people who they’re actually leading to their demise. It’s almost like this person sees people as lambs who they lead to slaughter. They underestimate other people’s intelligence and it’s probably because they prey upon genuinely innocent and soft people - and you are most likely one of them. However, as their karma, they’re going to end up being seen as the innocent lamb being led to someone else’s slaughter house. This sounds very graphic because it is. It’s very sinister - just like their energy is. They’re going to be baited by someone who also portrays themselves as innocent, just like they do, and whoever this person is that meets your fake best friend, they are going to see your best friend as a genuinely innocent and unassuming victim of their’s. This person is encountering someone who is exactly like them and this is someone who they’ll be in a very strange romantic relationship with.

They are going to be drained by this person energetically because this person is a huge energy vampire and this person is also very possessive over this fake best friend. However, the possessiveness is overlooked by onlookers because this person pretends to be loving and innocent towards your fake best friend, but there’s something very strange about their relationship. This fake friend is clearly not happy in this relationship but they feel trapped. And they might not even know why because, on the surface, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. But energetically they are picking up on the fact that this person that they’re in a relationship with is someone who is actually very dangerous for them to be around - although they can’t pinpoint why. This person who they’re with has a very good mask of innocence. It’s funny how this works because you’d think that your fake best friend (being a master of glamour magic to the point of being able to lure people in with an innocent facade) would also be good at pointing out another person’s fake and innocent facade - but they’re not. This fake friend will be trying to practice positivity but they’re going to struggle with this. They’re not going to see a happy horizon for them to move towards.

They are going to feel a sense of emptiness as if there are holes in their soul that they can’t fill. As if there’s a hole in their mind that they can’t mend. They’re going to feel like they can’t make sense of anything nor can they feel anything. This person is hitting rock bottom. There’s something about this person’s ability to learn being painful for them. This is a very painful learning experience for them. The lesson that they attract what they are. And that because of the fact that who they are is not a good person, they’ve attracted someone who is not a good person either. It seems like whatever they feel like they know about relationships or people or themselves is being shattered. They might have perceived themselves as a very intelligent person who could get away with anything if they were sly enough, but that ego is being shattered and it’s almost like they’re seeing the Uno reverse 😂. They felt like they were the one in control of others this entire time. When in reality, they’re the ones being controlled and encroached upon. People aren’t going to have sympathy for this person when they cry about how depressed they are. Nor about how much pain they are in. Nobody is going to have sympathy or empathise with them and that’s most likely because people can’t really see or feel the sinister energy from their partner like they can. I’m also seeing that people will dismiss their feelings and tell them to just be positive. Kind of like toxic positivity. Their anger and triggers in this relationship will also be downplayed and dismissed by their partner, so there’s an energy of them forcing themselves to pretend to be happy when they’re actually the complete opposite.

Extended Reading: How Do They Feel + What Do They Think About You/This Situation?

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• Pile Three •

This fake best friend was someone who enjoyed invading your boundaries and violating your boundaries too. This is someone who tried to dominate. This is someone who makes people feel like they are vulnerable and powerless. This person brought a lot of death moments to your life. A lot of permanent endings. They could’ve tried to dominate your energy and your boundaries through clinging to you in someway or trying to always be around you, and this was the way that they tried to cause permanent endings in your life. By distracting you from the things that you needed to do or not leaving you with enough space and time to focus on yourself. They made you feel obligated to do this. As for their karma, they’re experiencing all of this for themselves. They’ve invaded someone else’s boundaries and that person is getting vengeance. Your fake best friend is going to feel the need to go into hiding. And this is some intense isolation which is something that they are not used to because I’m seeing that they are quite vampiric towards others’ energy. They feed off of other people. So this intense isolation will cause them to feel very alone and ignored.

I’m seeing a lot of paranoia for this person. They’re not going to let anyone in because they’re trying to get away from the person who is now trying to invade their boundaries - but this is someone who your fake best friend invaded the boundaries of first. This person acts like they’re not aware of how they hurt people, but this person’s karma is that they’re going to hurt themselves and not even realise it. They’re going to be blinded to the pain that they are causing themselves through this paranoia and through this overprotective energy that they have over themselves. This person is trying to find peace inside of that isolation, but this is out of reach for them because they know that someone is extremely vengeful and out to get them. Someone is looking for them and waiting to act on their vengeance and this fake best friend can’t relax.

Extended Reading: How Do They Feel + What Do They Think About You/This Situation?

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[dingodad]

which of your fantrolls are derse and which are prospit. and do you believe there's a meaningful divide?

these guys inherited their dream moons pretty straightforwardly from the characters they were inspired by.

dream moon feels kind of like the most astrology esque of all of homestuck's astrology type systems LOL in that basically all of the characters inherited them based on totally arbitrary circumstance (same moon as the rest of my family members, same moon as the rest of the players who wanted to join team vriska / team equius, etc.) and the comic never once seems to try to explain it in any deeper terms than that. so any analysis of what they might mean is just trying to find patterns in disparate personalities. (i guess dream moon being significant is a real thing now that it's included in the official aspect test but i'm not even going to bother looking those up because i don't really care that much. lol)

there are some interpretations i've found interesting.. like prospit dreamers playing active roles and being protagonists while derse dreamers are behind the scenes actors and backgrounders is so obviously true but it also seems so redundantly similar to active + passive classes. and the one about prospit dreamers being upfront with their personalities and derse dreamers hiding behind a mask is fun for explaining oddities like dersite nepeta but falls apart for other characters.

so i've never once thought about what moon "fits" a character before deciding where they go, i 100% always just sort them towards the beginning of the design process and then soooometimes when i develop a character further i will take their lunar sway into account and think about how it might contribute to their personality or arc. but it's usually a more personalised thing, like, what does being on prospit or on derse mean to that character in particular.. so i wouldn't say i think of there being a "divide" between the two. their significances can vary. while being a derse dreamer obviously doesn't MAKE you a villain for instance it's easy to justify why a villain might belong on derse and a dersite villain might be very different to a prospitian villain. <- thinking about it harder right now than i probably ever have before in my life

[frodothefair]

Writing unspired and unmotivated. Yes, it can be done, and it should be done (but only if you want to).

I am a firm believer that if you want to learn to do something and do it well, you have to do it a lot. And in order to do it a lot, you have to do it even if you don't want to. With writing, this means that you have to write even if you're not motivated and not inspired. In fact, I've found that motivation and inspiration are unreliable partners. They are like the weather -- poorly understood, fickle, and largely outside of any tangible control.

So what do you do? Here is what works for me, as a person who (not to toot my own horn, but yes, to toot my own horn a little) has published 5-10K chapters well-nigh every two weeks for the last two years. I may not be the best, but I'm nothing if not prolific.

Now, granted, I will check my privilege and say that I would not be able to publish on such a schedule if I wasn't blessed with 1) a 4-day workweek, 2) a very supportive spouse and 3) the absence of any condition like ADHD, which can be a major barrier to getting things done. And if being prolific or finishing WIPs or getting as good as you can is not your goal and you're just writing for fun (totally valid, by the way), feel free to ignore everything I say. After all, none of us are pros here -- except for those who are, but they'll never tell ;).

But for anyone else, here goes.

When I think about writing, I start by checking in with myself and labelling my mindset in one of three ways.

ONE. Absolutely RARING to write.

If so, nothing to be done here. Just write. Off you go, run like the wind.

TWO: Writing feels positively PAINFUL. Oh, please, please, please don't make me write. I'll sob if you put me in front of a keyboard.

Ok, then. If that is really the case, then don't write. It will only burn you out, like trying to boil an empty pot. Go do something else, something that will soothe you and fill your cup. But then, after a few hours or a day, check in with yourself again.

And then finally, THREE - everything in between. Maybe I'm feeling "meh" about writing. Maybe I'm feeling inadequate or nervous or wondering "what's the point anyway." Maybe the inspiration isn't gushing like a fountain. Maybe I'm a little lazy or a little tired.

Well, guess what? It happens. In fact, this is how I feel about writing at least half of the time.

But I do it anyway, because I find that if I do it, the words will come. And I will feel more excited.

So here's what I do.

I make sure that my environment is comfortable and positive.

I sit in my comfy writer's chair, and I make sure my space is uncluttered, and I wear comfy clothing, and I have a beverage and a snack by my side. I put my earplugs in, or, if I'm in the mood, my brown noise, which is great for concentration.

And then I vibe with my characters for a bit. I have my desktop set up in such a way that I can always see small pictures of my main characters, even with a word doc open. I may pretend that they're sitting by my side, or that I am in their shoes -- wherever I left off the last time I wrote. I may reread some of what I wrote the last time.

And then I take some deep breaths and write The Truest Sentence I Can (TM). This one is from Papa Hem -- whatever his other flaws, he gave great writing advice. Another one of my faves: “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

Now, it doesn't have to be The World's Truest Sentence, nor does it have to be perfectly true. All it needs to do is have some authenticity. Make it the trust sentence you can write in that particular moment. You can always make it better and truer later.

And then you write another. And another.

And if you get stuck, get up. Get a drink or a snack, use the bathroom, stretch, look out the window. (But don't take too long, 1-3 minutes is usually enough). By the time you come back, you may find yourself pleasantly unstuck. And if you're still stuck, repeat the process of vibing with your characters, rereading what you wrote, and writing a true sentence -- the truest sentence you can in that particular moment.