#turns out when you don't make time for romance. you don't. have romance.

[cybershock24601]

Imagining a Ingellvar who still on reflex does things like have their breakable things sufficiently anchored in case gravity changes and keeping important documents under things in case of blood rain and just having a whole bunch of quirks that they don't really think of as quirks just because they're things she grew up doing because she grew up in a place where reality's rules change and twists. The team tries to ask her why she does what she does. Her and Emmerich's explanations raise more questions than they answer.

Ingellvar having a bunch of weird little habits from growing up in the Necropolis that everyone just passes off as personal quirks until Emmrich shows up and does the same things and suddenly what everyone wrote off as weird quirks become a bit of a mystery. The team does ask about it but everyone's convinced that Ingellvar and Emmrich are fucking with them because what do you mean you always carry an umbrella around in case of blood rain??

At least everyone is convinced they're being messed with until they're accompanying Rook and Emmrich to the Necropolis and start to experience how fucking weird it is.

Harding is tagging along behind Rook and Emmrich and suddenly Emmrich vanishes out of thin air and Harding starts freaking out while Rook's all like "chill, it's just a Chronological Incontinence Incident. Emmrich will be fine" and Harding's like "What does that even mean???" and Rook starts to explain going full Watcher mode and by the time she's almost done Emmrich is back and it's all good though he does disagree with Rook's preferred theory behind the phenomena and they end up having a rather spirited debate on the subject while Harding is slowly losing her mind and also takes note that Rook really does talk different in the Necropolis.

Neve's helping Rook and Emmrich clear out some more Venatori that have snuck into the Necropolis and suddenly the gravity turns off and everyone starts floating. Rook and Emmrich barely pause in their spell slinging while everyone else is freaking out. Neve too is freaking out but does an admirable job of composing herself after she falls on her ass when she hits the ground while Rook and Emmrich nimbly land on their feet.

Davrin's trying to keep Assan from turning the bones lying around into chew toys when suddenly the room is submerged in total darkness and he suddenly gets an armful of freaked out baby griffin as Assan tries to climb his way up Davrin in a panic at being suddenly blinded. Or alternately Assan ends up going right to sleep like a bird, I'm not sure whether the bird side or the cat side would win out here. Either way while Davrin's wondering what the fuck is going on, Rook and Emmrich are being super chill about the whole experience because sudden unexplained darkness is not that uncommon in the Necropolis.

Lucanis is the lucky one who gets blood rained on. It starts out like little droplets of water which is strange enough because they're inside but the smell of iron is unmistakable and the red color is pretty unmistakably blood like and Lucanis barely gets out a very emphatic "what the fuck" before it suddenly starts pouring blood rain. Luckily Rook and Emmrich always carry an umbrella around so Lucanis gets to share with Rook. Bonus points for this being pretty early in their romance and Rook is swooning over how romantic it is to have a nice walk through the blood rain sharing an umbrella while Lucanis is Going Through It and experiencing the horrors of Necropolis. The fact that Rook and Emmrich are so unfazed about the fact that it is literally raining blood almost makes the situation worse.

Bellara is the one that handles the weirdness of the Necropolis the best because Arlathan Forest gets pretty freaky too. Remember the story about the guy stuck in the clouds? So while the Necropolis' shenanigans are generally creepier, she takes the weird shit in stride and is actually very interested on the why and how of why all the statues in the room suddenly started crying blood.

Taash is the only one to escape the madness because they nope the fuck out of ever going to the Necropolis once everyone starts mentioning the weird stuff that goes on there. Necromancy is already bad enough but they are not going to haunted super cemetery.

Because I am a fan of semi-sentient locations, the reason the Necropolis keeps acting up like this is because it's excited it's Crypt Baby is back and that excitement is manifesting in weird unexplained phenomena.

[iid-smile]

content — michael kaiser x coach!gn!reader, enemies to lovers, probably ooc, some references to his past (choking), i got a wee bit carried away and then got lazy on the lover part, ok rereading i fear this might be really ooc idk i dont read the manga

enemy!kaiser who knows at first glance that he just doesn't like you. he could say that about a lot of people, but you're a different case.

enemy!kaiser who hasn't quite got the smarts, nor do you have the physical abilities, other than being a coach, to become actual rivals over something. but you know what's better? arguing over nothing.

enemy!kaiser that would do anything to piss you off and get his way. yes, he was there for the lengthy meeting for a new and reliable strategy for the next match, but he's going to completely disregard it simply because he's michael kaiser. who's gonna stop him?

enemy!kaiser who loves to get in your face, using his stature to his advantage. if you try to avoid eye contact, he only gets closer, opening his eyes much wider than needed and tilting his head so that he's the only thing that you see.

enemy!kaiser who makes you do everything for him just to spite you. from now on, it's your job to dry his hair — and don't do it too hard, otherwise you'll just mess it up. he's awfully picky about what you do and if you don't do it right, expect to hear an absolute mouthful.

kaiser who starts to talk to you normally. it's scary. every time you try to rile him up, he does respond with his usual array of insults, but they don't seem to be as sincere.

kaiser who starts to listen to you more. whenever you talk, he stares, and it's unsettling having him be so neutral. try to shy away, and as usual, he moves closer, placing his hands on his knees with his eyes boring into yours. is it just you, or are your noses touching?

kaiser who accidentally let you see how truly vulnerable he could become. it was all a big mistake, a misunderstanding, so he wished. he wanted to yell at you, to curse you out, but you didn't say a word, simply turning and closing the door and giving him the privacy that he needs.

kaiser who lets you touch his tattoos for the first time. he felt oddly comfortable that night, being surrounded only by your presence. he wasn't happy, nor sad, yet his heart was more audible than usual. he was an empty vessel, thinking and thinking about what his emotions doing to him.

kaiser who suddenly switches back to his old self. it's a defense mechanism of sorts — if he could at least act like he hates you, then he doesn't have to come to terms with his feelings.

but yet, he knows he could trust you. you've kept all of his secrets, protected him from harm, whether that be physically or verbally. never have you used his weaknesses to your advantage, or stooped too low to the point that it reminds him of his past. he wasn't looking for love, he didn't believe in love. but maybe, just maybe...

kaiser who doesn't know what he's doing. when was the last time he's ever experienced such a thing? what can he do? how can he show you how he feels? what if you reject him? no, of course not... but you've spent all of this time hating each other... how low could the changes possibly be?

in the end, you were feeling the exact same way.

lover!kaiser doesn't want to make things public immediately. it's partially his pride, but he's scared. he's scared of this entirely new part of him that was once broken before.

lover!kaiser seems to be more of a tease. his formerly rude comments come off as playful, with a smirk on his lips that is less forced, less hateful.

lover!kaiser is intimidated by the world of romance. gifts? touch? he doesn't think he could bear with it. you remained patient, teaching him slowly at his pace, and speaking your own language of love to each other.

lover!kaiser who has heart eyes that are only noticeable to you. you don't get how nobody else sees it, but perhaps they're mistaking it for his intense gaze.

lover!kaiser who finds it satisfying when you touch his neck. you only graze your fingers tentatively over his throat, yet his hand wraps around yours, urging you to make it rougher, to grip it tighter. despite his request, you don't, and he's almost relieved from that. it's not enough to completely erase the habit, but it's nice to have a better memory attached to it.

[meanbossart]

Hey, I was just thinking about Drow as a companion, you've talked a little about what you think he would be like. Have you thought about how he would act at the goblin vs. the tiefling party in act one?

Good question! Supporting the grove happens to be one of those unambiguously good choices that he is 100% behind. He finds Khaga (and the druids in general) to be insufferable, despises Minthara because she's a drow and a cultist, and most importantly cares about the tiefling children's safety. Because of this, he will likely be unhappy about the grove being raided... Yet, not enough to leave the party or strongly challenge a Tav on it. Massacring the grove would sate that blood-lust in himself, and he would draw pleasure from it, despite it going against his bare-bones morality. DU drow would be too conflicted about his own feelings about it to express himself strongly one way or another after the deed is done, kind of like Shadowheart reacts to the whole ordeal.

If you save the grove, you will find him sampling from Mol's secret wine stash. Mol tells you they cut a deal and you can either pay her the 100 gold you "owe" her for his antics, or tell her to sod off.

You can then find DU drow hidden away and drinking himself into a stupor. He's still coherent but occasionally slurring his words, clearly a really experienced drunk. He talks about Mol, how he thinks she's a riot and just thought he'd teach her a valuable lesson about business. If you ask him why he's isolated himself, he will jokingly say he's too humble to be showered in all this praise. You can succeed an insight check to find out that he's nervous about something.

If you ask what he thinks about what you've done, he's expresses indifference about the adults but, again, that he's glad the children are okay.

Tav: You're drinking like a man with a guilty conscience. Just to remind you - we're the good guys tonight. The drow: (Scoffs) The hellspawn aren't making it far. They are too... too bright-eyed. We've only put-off the inevitable. ...I only lament the fates of the children. The little sods didn't choose this life. Tav: They're clever enough. I'm sure they'll be alright. The drow: Cleverness can only get you so far. They're still little.

You can trigger his romance here, but you can't have sex with him yet. Through being flirtatious but not pushy he will promise you to pick this up another time, when he's not quite so indisposed. The scene would trigger during the next event-less long-rest.

In the goblin party, on the other hand, he will be found standing at his tent as normal. He's sober and there's no nervousness to be uncovered through any checks, in fact, he doesn't seem to be in too foul a mood - but he does treat you with a degree of coldness.

Tav: You seem a little pouty. Don't tell me you're sour about a few dozen dead tieflings. The drow: Not at all - the ceremony was quite lovely, I'm just finding the reception to be... Lackluster. Tav: Oh - the goblins aren't worth your company, your highness? The drow: They aren't even worth roasting for supper. To make no comment of the head-fanatic - you'd be spewing her out both ends for days, if you chose to indulge.

As long as you don't antagonize him for his diarrhea joke, you get to actually have sex with him that very night as well as trigger the romance.

As an addition - if he's in your party he will actually kill Minthara when she tries to turn against you in the middle of the night. You still have to fight all of the goblins after this, but she will have her throat slit by him during the cutscene. This means you can only recruit both of them if you knock her out at the goblin camp.

[moodymisty]

I am here to humbly request an impromptu make-out session in some dark corridor with chairon and a subby reader, please. I need that man so bas one of his kisses would probably make me cum I swear to G- *gets pulled into an inquisition dungeon by a fish hook*

Author's note: Awwww I love Chairon so I'm happy to give the man some love he deserves it. <3

Relationships: Chairon/Gn!Reader(one vague mention of him wanting to fill you)

Warnings: Lewd but not full NSFW, Making out, Size differences

"Cha-Chairon,"

Your arms bunch awkwardly against the massive ceramite chest plate pressed against your front; A firm metal wall blocks your way behind you, leaving you as the soft middle of a pressing of two cold, immovable forces.

"This is the first time we've had a moment to ourselves in weeks,"

Charion's lips ghost over the pulse point of your neck, before brushing up to the sensitive skin just behind your ear. His gauntlets grip your hips tightly but not enough to bruise- the control he has over his strength is nothing less than incredible.

"I know, but your brothers can still walk in here,"

This hall isn't exactly, private. While it is near the quarters where most of the serfs stay, there is still a chance that one of his brothers could come across the scene most innepropriate of an Ultramarine.

If one of your fellow serfs saw, they more than likely would just keep it to themselves. Even if you are Chairon's personal serf and don't have much interaction with them, all the baselines aboard the battle-barges tend to stick together and not rat each other out.

The Ultramarines however- duty and honor tend to come above all else.

The heat of his lips teasing your skin, Charion moves to steal a kiss; His slightly larger mouth covering your own. You helplessly moan into his mouth as his nose presses against your cheek, deepening the kiss and pulling you closer. He knows just how to kiss you, how to make your knees feel weak with the intensity of him. He's neither sloppy nor chaste, the soft noises of your lips meeting is like a whisper as his hand comes to cradle the back of your neck, tilting your head for him.

When he pulls away to give you air, you move to follow him as if you didn't need any to begin with. You'd gladly sacrifice it, if it meant another second of him.

It always felt like whenever he kissed you, that you were going to just fall to your knees. For a man who had next to no experience with such a thing, it was so surprising to learn he was such a natural romantic. You've read lewd contraband novels with blacked out covers that contained less romance than him, all the while he can sweep you off your feet with the sweetest of compliments and most thighquaking of kisses.

You know he can smell your arousal, the dampening of your underwear, but he doesn't have the time for it, not with this current mission.

"You are so desperate," He laughs at your parted lips and hooded eyes, and your cheeks grow warmer at the attention. "I promise you we will have time once my duty is concluded, little one."

Their current task of pushing back Tyranids on this planet has proven longer than expected, and what Chairon had originally said was meant to be a day or two at most had turned into a week of him being in his armor nonstop, which had begun to weigh on him; Emotionally foremost.

He wouldn't admit it of course, it's part of his duty. But you have keen enough eyes to tell that he's frustrated with the lack of progress, and is itching for this to be over with.

As well as take a shower.

Suddenly, a crackle in his helmet alerts you that your time is up. The sound of a vox channel tuning in is distinctive, and Chairon knows it as well.

Chairon kisses you again, groaning against your lips as his hand once again moves to cradle the back of your head. Your hands desperately grasp at the top of his chestplate, trying to hold yourself steady as your knees go weak. Your stomach is tied in knots and your body clenches around nothing, desperate for him to fill you.

Now every moment or two he's swallowing more of your moans and whimpers, the sloppy sounds of mixing spit and wet lips smacking against eachother filling the cold air around you; Earlier you were worried about it being too loud, now you couldn't care less. You just want more of him.

His lips pull from yours with a soft pop and a sigh from him follows soon after, as he moves to slip on his helmet. You assume he's answering the vox, judging by his moment of silence.

"I will see you soon. That is more than likely my squad telling me we are now ready for departure."

His metal thumb brushes across your swollen and wet lips, as you look up at him. Your hands come to hold his massive, armored wrist as his hand cradles your jaw, thumb still on your bottom lip.

"Promise?"

Charion chuckles.

"I promise, little one."

[ruiniel]

Another Way - XII

Fandom: Castlevania series (2017-2021)

Summary: what if someone in the 21st century stumbled upon this stranger during a turbulent storm, narrowly avoiding running them over, and what’s more they can’t understand a word coming out of their mouth.

Pairing: Alucard x Reader

Rating: Mature / 18+ only

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Explicit Language, References to Depression, First Meetings, character-meets-world, Near Death Experiences, References to loss, Grief/Mourning, Fantasy, POV Second Person, Language Barrier, Violence, Portal Fantasy, Isekai, Slow burn, References to canon, Rewriting show canon, Because why not, POV Alucard, POV original character, More tags to be added

Also on AO3

Part I

AN: been a while

XII.

He doesn’t like coffee.

This becomes quite apparent with the different flavor of mild disgust over his features after each sip.

“It’s an acquired taste for some,” you try saying with a straight face, because it is more amusing than you’d thought to see a grown man with a perfect jaw and bedroom hair seated at your small table, coming up with the most telling, candid expressions. 

After breakfast—during which he insists on turning the cooker on and off, ‘to learn’, and during which, once again, he eats little to nothing—you head over to your desk and obtain for him the work Adrian asked for. It’s not difficult to find, and happens to be the first book printed in the English language, in the 1400s. 

“Is… this it?”

His enthusiasm says ‘yes’ when seeing the title page, and you let him take your place and scroll through as you head to get ready for the adventure of helping him look less conspicuous. “All right, enjoy your courtly romance, I’ll be back in a bit.”

“All right.”

You pause, turning to stare but his eyes are feverish on the screen, attention absorbed by the text. Whatever works. You decided to stop wondering. 

Having made yourself presentable enough to be outside, you tap back into the room on bare feet. “Ready to g—...” you trail off at the sound. His voice. His voice, with that same mild inflection, but the words are oddly shaped to the ear.

He’s reading aloud from the online scan you fetched him, nodding, writing in the agenda.

“What’s… this?” You near him, narrowing your eyes at the screen. 

Adrian turns to you with an excitement you’d not seen or felt in a long, long while. Somehow, it’s endearing. This side feels like him too, a natural expression in contrast with all those confused, dour moods he’d been mired in. 

“I need…” He pauses, hand in his hair, eyebrows pinched together. 

“What… do you need?...” 

He points at the scan of the text, long fingers gliding along the little black rows of archaic words. “... from now.”

“From now?... Oh! A modern version, you mean? From our time?”

Adrian nods. “Possible?”

“Y-yeah. There might be one… wait…” As you search it for him, Adrian waits patiently with his arms crossed, rubbing at his chin. “I get it. You want to learn modern vocabulary equivalents, don't you?” You bring up the 1400s version of the work again. “Wait… you understand this one?” Not that it's impossible, shouldn’t be. But you didn't exactly take him for someone pursuing comparative historical linguistics.

“Yes,” comes the answer, leaving you bemused.

“You know what? I won't even ask. Go ham. Here, I found it.” 

As he nears and glues himself to the screen, you dare to gently pull on his sleeve.

“Remember…clothes?”

Adrian blinks in realization, then stares back at the screen with a sort of longing. You get it. He’s making a breakthrough here, or so he thinks, one that’ll be of help in wading through terrain unfamiliar to him. 

But the rare practical side of you insists. “You can pick this up when we get back, right?”

He meets your eyes, nodding in acceptance. “Right.”

~~

The bell rings as you open the door to the second hand shop you sometimes frequent, looking behind you to see Adrian entering with care, gazing about with mild interest. 

“Well, here we are,” you say as he meets your stare, before looking towards the shop attendant who’s sitting behind a desk, phone in hand, chewing on some gum and watching the both of you with piqued interest—no, rather, watching him.

You cough, “Hi, we’re looking for some—” 

“Men’s wear is over there,” she answers, not taking her eyes off Adrian.

“All right, thanks.” Starting to think this is a typical reaction. You make a gesture, urging him to follow. 

He has a befuddled look on his face, but walks after you as you reach the rows of clothing boasting jeans, t-shirts and jackets. 

“So, listen.” You turn, waving a hand around the space. “You look for something you like.” You pull at your own blouse, pants, and coat. “And there’s a cabin over there, where you can try stuff out, if you like.”

He seems to understand, nodding and tentatively following your lead as you rummage through the merch on display. You notice the way he feels the garments, looking at you with a question in his eyes.

“Take your time,” you offer, going over and taking a seat on a chair. 

It doesn’t take long, really. Soon enough he’s gathered a few items under his arm, a bundle of… mostly black, cream and white garments. “Want to try these on?” you ask when he nears, standing before you, uncertain.

When Adrian doesn’t reply but tilts his head in slight confusion, you rise and walk towards the cabin, drawing the curtain and showing him the space. “In you go, let me know if…” You pause as he pulls the worn shirt over his head without much ado, spinning around and drawing the curtain behind him. “... call if you need help,” you mumble, stiffly walking away.

Your heart beats strangely, faster as you meet the stare of the shop clerk, who apparently has less important things to do than follow your exchange. 

Whatever. You go and idly sift through the items of clothing, humming to yourself. 

“Your boyfriend’s out,” comes the clerk’s voice after a while, and you blink in confusion, head swiveling to stare at her.

 “Oh, he’s not my—” Before you can finish that thought, movement has you turning in time to see Adrian emerging from the cabin. 

“Right, uh, you look… they fit, don’t they?" Heat rises to your face, damn the air conditioning. 

Black faded jeans, tight. A simple, white fitted t-shirt—was he always this…slim? Fit? A dark blue coat, reaching to his knees. “They look like they fit,” you follow, scratching your head. 

“Oh yeah, they sure do,” comes the young shop attendant’s voice, and a niggling sensation you’ve been unfamiliar with pinches at your mood. 

Adrian seems to agree, looking at himself, then at you. “Good?” he says in English.

You nod. “Yeah, good. That’s one round. Things here are affordable, so uh…” you retrieve your phone, type it in, and translate. “Find another item of each, to have spare clothing.”

He’s surprisingly efficient after that, and it’s not long before you’re returning to your apartment block, Adrian following with a bag in each hand. 

“Okay, that was relatively painless,” you comment, turning to look over your shoulder at him, and—

“Adrian?...”

His expression is frozen, light-amber eyes wide and lips parted. It’s not out of fear as much as it is… consternation?

You turn back around, a different tremor running through your limbs at the person approaching.

A tall woman, wearing a flowing white dress suit, her red coat slung over one forearm. Her long, straight dark hair is done up in a ponytail, swinging languidly with each step taken on black pumps. She’s always had a distinct sense of style. Her attitude is the usual—one of those people carrying themselves like the world lies in wait at their feet. You never did know how to feel about her, nor do you know much about her. You do know this is but one of many businesses she has under her care. Well to do, in any case.

Guess it had to happen sooner or later. “Mrs. Hawke, hello.”

The landlady smiles in greeting, blue eyes alighting first on you, then focusing beyond your shoulder. She lands a hand on her hip, “How have you been, my dear?” 

The question was directed at you, but you’re perceptive enough—you like to think—to notice the unspoken query following the first. 

“Doing well, um. You know how it is…”

“Mm.” Her eyes are still on Adrian, but her gaze is different from that of the store clerk earlier. It holds no fascination, merely a calculating sort of curiosity that disappears the moment she stares back at you.

“I actually wanted to contact you, but didn’t get to until now. You see, Adrian here will be staying for a while, and I know that affects the rent, so…”

Mrs. Hawke tilts her chin. “That’s right, normally so—do you have an idea as to how long your additional tenant will be staying?...”

“Um. Well, I…” You feel an urge to turn and look at Adrian, but somehow her stare arrests you enough that you can’t.

Just then, she waves a hand. “You know, nevermind. I know you’ve had a difficult time lately. Consider no fee added to the rent, for now.”

The impossible has happened. Mrs. Hawke, being… lenient? Forgoing business? Not asking the ‘how’ and the ‘who’ and the ‘why’?

“Er… you mean it? Really?” Your jaw might be somewhere on the floor for all you know.

She nods. “I do. If the time of stay extends indefinitely, then that’s another matter, of course… but for now, we should be fine.”

“Thank… you…?”

She laughs, a light, glittering sound. “Oh don’t look at me like that. After all…” her gaze flicks back behind you, only briefly. “Life does seem to hold all manner of… surprises, doesn’t it?”

There’s something unusual in her tone, but, ah, the prospect of not having to scrounge up more money regularly is a godsend. “You can say that again…”

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to run!” And she does just that, without another glance, leaving the two of you alone in the hallway.

“Well, I’ll be…” you murmur, then remember Adrian. “What is it about you, seriously? It's either the worst of luck or the strangest change... Adrian?”

His stare is unfocused, like something blew a fuse behind his eyes. When you touch his arm, he snaps out of it with a start. “Let’s go up?... You wanted to continue reading, didn’t you?”

Shaking his head like someone having been splashed with ice-cold water, Adrian looks down at you. “... reading. Yes. Let’s…let’s go.”

Picking up fast, you think as he walks ahead of you towards the elevator. And maybe it’s just you, but his steps are more determined than before.

Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV - Part V - Part VI - Part VII - Part VIII - Part IX - Part X - Part XI

Taglist: @hornyf0ckers @the-keep-under-gresit @pencildrawer12 (this is old, let me know if you want to be removed!)

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MASTERLIST: CASTLEVANIA SERIES x READER

More of my work is on AO3 [many stories not on tumblr]

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Likes/comments/reblogs always and forever appreciated

AN:

Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye (1464) is a translation by William Caxton of a French courtly romance written by Raoul Lefèvre.

[itsnesss]

𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 | minho (xo,kitty) × fem!reader

summary | forced to work together on a school project, your rivalry with minho turns into unexpected romance as you uncover his softer side

warnings | fluff, slow burn romance, mild academic rivalry

word count | 2.0 k

author's note | it would help me a lot if you liked, commented and reposted so that more people read what I write and don't forget to follow me, thanks ᡣ𐭩

The first day you exchanged words with Min Ho, you knew you wouldn’t like him. Everything about him screamed perfection—from his perfectly styled hair to the arrogant way he glanced at you from his seat in the classroom. There was something infuriating about his air of superiority, as if he believed the entire world revolved around him and every word he spoke was an indisputable truth.

That first interaction happened during a literature class. The professor had asked a question about the protagonist of the book you were reading, and Min Ho, of course, raised his hand with a confidence that bordered on arrogance.

“It’s obvious the protagonist is the villain of his own story,” he said in that careless tone of his, glancing around as if expecting applause for his brilliance.

You leaned forward in your seat, crossing your arms as you studied him. There was something about his statement that felt simplistic, almost shallow.

“Do you really think the protagonist is the villain just because he makes difficult choices? That sounds more like an excuse not to explore his moral complexity,” you said aloud, drawing everyone’s attention.

Min Ho raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by your comment.

“It’s obvious you didn’t understand the subtext. It’s not moral complexity; it’s pure selfishness. Maybe you should read it again, this time paying attention.”

The entire class held their breath, waiting for your response. But you had no intention of letting him win that little battle.

“Maybe, or maybe you should stop seeing everything in black and white and realize people are more complicated than that.”

Min Ho didn’t respond immediately, but the small curve of his smile told you he wasn’t done with you. From that moment on, it was clear there was no escaping his sarcastic remarks, challenging stares, and, of course, his strange need to prove he was always right.

Weeks passed, and his presence became a constant annoyance. It didn’t matter if you were in class, walking through the hallways, or even in the cafeteria—there was always a reason for him to approach you with some critical observation or a comment that made your blood boil. But you didn’t hold back either; your sharp retorts and solid arguments left him speechless more often than he’d probably admit.

Your dynamic with Min Ho hit a new level of tension when the literature professor announced a group project that would count for 40% of the final grade. To your misfortune, fate—or perhaps the worst kind of luck—decided that you and Min Ho would be partners. There was no way out.

The first time you sat together in the library to work, the atmosphere was, at best, uncomfortable. Every time you suggested an idea, Min Ho found a way to question it.

“Are you sure that’s the best way to approach it?” he asked, leaning over your notebook with that critical look that irritated you so much.

“Are you sure you have to comment on everything I say?” you shot back without looking at him.

He shrugged, as if your annoyance didn’t bother him in the slightest.

“I’m just trying to make sure our project doesn’t turn into a disaster.”

“And I’m the one who’d ruin it?” you asked, turning to him with incredulity.

Min Ho smiled, a smile that had no right to be as attractive as it was.

“Well, someone has to make sure it doesn’t.”

Your dynamic continued like that for the first few weeks of the project: constant arguments, challenging glances, and, occasionally, moments where you forgot you were supposed to hate each other. Because, though you didn’t want to admit it, there was something about Min Ho that started to intrigue you.

One afternoon, while working in the cafeteria, it started pouring rain outside. Neither of you had brought an umbrella, and you were on the verge of panicking because you had an important meeting to attend.

“Don’t worry,” Min Ho said, taking off his designer jacket and holding it over your head as you ran toward the exit. “Just make sure you don’t ruin it.”

“Do you always have to be so pretentious?” you asked, though you couldn’t help but feel a bit of warmth at the gesture.

He glanced at you sideways, with a smile that, this time, didn’t seem arrogant but genuine.

“And you’re always so ungrateful.”

It was in that moment you realized Min Ho wasn’t exactly what you had imagined. There was something in his demeanor, in the way he interacted with you, that began to feel less like competition and more like… interest.

The project finally came to an end, and when the professor praised you both for your excellent work, Min Ho looked at you with something that felt more like respect than condescension.

“You did a good job,” he said as you both walked out of the classroom.

You looked at him, surprised.

“Was that a compliment? I think I’m in shock.”

He laughed, and the sound was so unexpected that it almost made you smile.

“Don’t make it a big deal. I’m just saying you’re not as terrible as I thought.”

That night, you couldn’t help but think about him. The way he had spoken, the way he had looked at you… something was changing, and you weren’t sure how to feel about it.

Weeks later, you ran into Min Ho at a school party. You were chatting with a group of friends when you saw him approaching. His presence, as always, was impossible to ignore.

“Can we talk?” he asked, ignoring the curious stares of the others.

You followed him to a quieter corner, wondering what could be so important.

“What is it?”

Min Ho hesitated, something completely out of character for him.

“I just wanted to say something.”

You looked at him, waiting.

“Since we started working together, I’ve… changed my opinion of you. You’re not as annoying as I thought at first. In fact, you’re pretty impressive.”

Your heart skipped a beat, though you tried to remain indifferent.

“Is this your way of apologizing for being a jerk?”

Min Ho smiled, but this time there was no trace of arrogance in his expression.

“Maybe. But I also wanted to tell you that I like you.”

The confession caught you off guard, and for a moment, you didn’t know what to say.

“What?”

He shrugged, as if trying to downplay the moment.

“I just wanted to be honest. I like you.”

You took a deep breath, trying to process what you had just heard. Finally, you smiled.

“You have a very strange way of showing it, you know?”

Min Ho laughed, and for the first time since you’d met him, you realized he might not be as insufferable as you’d thought.

[nebulations]

[ID: Image one is the chapter cover of Naruto chapter 485: "So Close, Yet So Far". It features Naruto and Sasuke standing in front of each other with intense expressions. Following is a collection of comments by redacted users left on March 3, 2010.

Is it only me that think Naruto on the cover looks sorta weird? / Looks like he's going in for the kiss

Is this a romance drama? Is Kishi watching too much soap opera? / Yes and yes.

this is a yaoi manga. kishi probably was in love with his friend or something / Brokeback Naruto (smirking sticker)

That's borderline gay AND stolen from Hinata's confession. Poor girl, he ignores her and instead tries to use her confession on Sasuke. (laughing sticker) / Kishi has trolled the NaruHina fandom once again (Cookie Monster sticker)

why are people acting like this chapter is off the scales gay? their part 1 meeting was many times gayer. people should be used to these little speeches.

BS (angry sticker) that doesn't make sense. this means that sasuke had the same influence on naruto as eurica had at that time (wailing sticker) / That flashback Naruto had at the VotE in which he smiled at Sauce and Sauce smiled back, love at first sight (Cookie Monster sticker)

Sasuke and Naruto, Ying and Yang, Romeo and Juliet... Epic love story right there,

I'm hoping I translated wrong...it sounds so...gayish... (horrified emoji)

This is the gayest manga in history. There are yaoi and shoenen ai mangas that aren't as gay as this

wonder what karin is thinking about this "no wonder sasuke never liked me he had Blondie all along."

I'm not bitching, I'm laughing my ass off. At this point, I want to yell out "Get a room you two!"

Kishi drew Sasuke with the rasengan and Naruto with the chidori as an attempt to strengthen the idea of Naruto and Sasuke being like "soul-mates"

wonder if there a fetish for Naruto and Sasuke trend to clash Rasengan and Chidori. They still don't realize that doesn't work? / That's how they express their love for each other (Cookie Monster sticker) It turns them on (Cookie Monster sticker) Sex through chakra (laughing sticker)

I have no idea where kishi gets his material from no kid ever have these gay talks about feelings is this how he got down in school??? He must be thinking naruto & sasuke are girls talking about these feelings crap. Is there a special edition chapter realese without teh gay lines???

yak... That's official Yaoi Manga / Not Yaoi. Shoenen ai. Yaoi would be Naruto buttfucking Sasuke on panel. And that won't happen no matter what.

Lol oh god. Terrible Naruto, just terrible

When will this gayfest come to an end?

lol at reactions/ NF is crowded by homophobes. End ID]

[hustlemeanokay]

Solavellan vs Dread Rook? When did it become a competition? Ship all the ships, I say.

So as much as people like Solavellan (or whatever they call it) - I don't get why people don't like Solas x Rook. It's all there. It's perfect. The tension, the range, the enemies to lovers trope or hell, just the potential for so much writing to be involved. Like, okay... so okay... I go into my personal opinions about what makes each of their relationships different (just a few opinions not like power point presentation style or anything).

When I first played Inquisition, when it first came out, I naturally picked an elf and unknowingly romanced the bald dude. And Solas' romance is a good one. But it's only good because he leaves Lavellan. It's the first time that's happened to a player character in either DA or ME games. A legit breakup. With, at the time, no real reason! It wasn't until after the game, of course, that we were like "OMG!!!" But on the whole, there really wasn't a lot to their romance if you remember what actually happened in the game. But you have to ignore all the fan fiction and fan art that has been done in the decade since then. Just counting the game itself? Not a lot going on there. A couple of kisses, a couple of talks, and that's about it really.

And the whole time, he wasn't being who he really was. He was playing a part. He was Solas version soft-core, so to speak. Because while he may not have started calling himself the 'Dread Wolf', he very much is that person. Solas is prideful. He is a bit of an asshole. He is cold and calculating. The Solas we see in the memories in Veilguard was already turning into that person so the Solas that meets Lavellan is 100% already there. He uses her. The fact that he falls in love with her has very little to do with him using her, he can compartmentalize like that. As Cole says, it changes everything but it can't. But, point being, Lavellan never really got to know him. He always had a mask on. Was always so careful about what he said and how he said it as to not raise suspicion.

But with Rook? Oh, he's pissed. Gone is his careful way of speaking. Gone is his gentle tone and light smile. Rook gets Solas unfiltered. Solas without a mask. Solas the Dread-fucking-Wolf. There's still parts of him that are recognizable. But on the whole, he's more real. Because he's not worried about pretending to be something he's not. Rook knows what he is. Rook knows he's going to betray them, knows he's going to turn on them, is expecting it. (And Solas' manipulations are painfully transparent, with the exception of Varric). What he's worried about with Rook is keeping their blood-magic link in tact and molding them into someone the prison will accept (still not sure how that worked but w/e). But as far as when he talks to them? Sees them? Rook gets under his skin and he slips up and lets it show. He nearly misspeaks almost immediately and he does misspeak later. Rook does that to him. Because he's not keeping himself at arms length with them, he can't.

So the idea of Solas x Rook? Much more... real, as in 'keepin' it real', than Solavellan to me. Does that mean I have zero fics with Solas x Lavellan? Hell no. I have like at least half a dozen with different Lavellans x Solas. But! What it means is that the relationship between Rook and Solas is very intriguing and compelling and is definently fic-fuel. It means that I already have 2 separate fics WIP for them.

You don't have to stand on either side of this line, you can draw a big circle, stand inside of it and clutch both Solavellan and Dread Rook tightly to your chest with you. I'm not sure why there's this insistence that you have to pick one. You've never had to pick one. That's what having multiple OC's is all about. That's how that works.

[jadeshifting]

— HOGWARTS SCENARIOS ( romance & friendship vers. )

˚　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　 ˚　　　　 . ★ ⋆. ࿐࿔

.　. 　 ˚　. ROMANCE

— you and your classmate ( the one that you have a blinding crush on ) bump into eachother in the library—outside the Restricted Section, in the middle of the night. turns out you were both trying to sneak in

— losing a “friendly” bet to one of your friends forces you two into a walk into the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night. you joke to dispel the fear under the moonlit canopy, but you freeze when you hear a twig snap nearby. it turns out to be nothing ( but when you grabbed their hand because you were scared, they didn’t let go )

— the two of you sneak into the Astronomy Tower under the guise of doing homework, but you end up lying side-by-side, whispering to eachother as you point out stars. the stone is cold against your backs, and it's safe to say you don't get any work done

— a casual Quidditch practice turns into a joyride, with the two of you taking off and soaring at draconic speeds across the grounds, the tails of your brooms skimming the top of the Black Lake and sending up a cool spray. the adrenaline of flying overwhelms your senses, matched only by the adrenaline of being together

— sparks ( both metaphorically and literal sparks of fire ) fly as the two of you exchange charms and hexes in a friendly duel, until one of you manages to disarm the other. though you try to hide your flustered reaction at being disarmed, they see it anyway, and their lips tug up in a smirk

— you're involved in a snowball fight in the courtyard, one that causes the two of you to tackle eachother and end up rolling around in the powdery drifts, wrapped in your big winter coats and covered in ice. when your laughter subsides, you're gazing at eachother's cold-nipped faces, entirely too close

— the two of you end up in shared detention ( though you hate detention, you don't mind being locked in a room with them for... a while. ) while scrubbing cauldrons side-by-side, you both can't help but sneak smiles every time your shoulders bump against eachother

— you fall asleep on the couch in your common room, though you shiver slightly in your sleep from the chilly nip in the air. taking notice, they tentatively drape their cloak over you to keep you warm

— you find a little gift in your owl post, one with a little note attached to it with string, signed with cryptic initials and a heart. you know it's from them, but your cheeks still burn at the gesture, and you giggle a little at the fact that they tried to hide it

— when you're seated at the same table in potions, you go back and forth teasing eachother over who's worse at brewing. however, the banter is interrupted when one of you has to reach over and quickly adjust the other's potion before it explodes, with a smug grin. that puts an end to that argument

— walking to class together, you both end up caught in a sudden downpour in the courtyard. you both have to race for shelter, and you end up much closer than expected when you squeeze under a small archway

— when you're partnered up together in Care of Magical Creatures, the two of you have the misfortune of getting assigned to deal with the most absurd magical creature, one that makes a horrible mess and causes a massive scene. the two of you manage to deal with it, though, and you find yourselves nearly doubled over in laughter by the time class is over, no matter how badly your robes are ruined

— one of you teaches the other how to fly properly ( subpar flying skills lead to a subpar flying grade, Madam Hooch can be unforgiving. ) gentle hands guiding their grip on the broom, both of you pretend not to notice the fiery warmth spreading across the other's cheeks

— you explore some of the castle's hidden tunnels, making sure to go together because it's not safe to go by yourself ( you would not wanna get lost down there alone. ) however, when the tunnels narrow and you have to turn around, you find yourself shoved much closer together than expected in the tight space

.　. 　 ˚　. FRIENDSHIP

— you pad in your slippers and PJs down to the Hogwarts kitchen long, long after curfew to collect midnight snacks. your hushed laughs echo against the stacked-up barrels by the kitchen entrance as you make your way inside

— racing across the Black Lake at sunset, the fiery golden and orange sunlight reflects off the water as you cheer eachother on and shout jeering remarks mid-air, seeing who in your group can whip back to the castle the fastest

— your group gets into a heated match of exploding snap, in the Gryffindor common room with another group of your classmates. cards flying, eyebrows are singed. by the end of the game, you realize that no one's actually even been keeping proper score, and you split not knowing who even won

— your group takes turns venturing further and further into the Forbidden Forest, in a test ( albeit, an extremely dangerous one ) to see who's the bravest. of course, most of them are shrieking at every crunch of leaves and swearing they saw a centaur after their turn

— when some of your friends buy some Zonko's joke products, you and a few others discreetly hex them to go off early, in public. when you're shuffling through Hogsmeade and one of your friends' bags starts vibrating and screeching, you're barely able to hide your laughter behind your scarf

— on a jaunt near the edge of the forest, your group finds a helpless, injured magical creature. though you bicker over whose plan is better, you all agree that you have to help it, and you tend to the little creature and help it regain its health. ( when it's better, you release it back into the woods, or one of you holds onto it as a pet )

— during the holiday season, your group goes on a "Hogsmeade hot chocolate crawl," where you sample a cup of hot chocolate from every shop in Hogsmeade. you rate them on various factors, but no two people can agree on which was best. when you return to the castle at the end of the day, everyone is exhausted, frost-nipped, and positively filled to the brim with chocolate

— you challenge eachother to harmless duels in the courtyard between classes, though you end up choking with laughter because someone always ends up on the ground from tripping over their own feet, not because they were hit with a spell

— you dare eachother to drink the harmless potions you brew in class, and try to stifle your giggles as one person's hair turns blue and another starts violently hiccuping bubbles

— on a dare, one or more of your group is forced to jump into the Black Lake fully clothed. soaking wet, one of you swears that you see the Giant Squid wave a lazy tentacle out of the water, and you clamber out of the water in a mad panic while the onlooking friends gasp with laughter

— you all send charmed notes to eachother during class, they zoom or skitter across the classroom as you send messages to eachother. when the professor snatches one out of the air, your eyes widen ( they're so gonna read it out loud in front of everyone ) but the note explodes into confetti all over the ground, and you realize one of your friends was much more clever with their charms than you thought

˚　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　 ˚　　　　 . ★ ⋆. ࿐࿔

[parkerloves]

FERNANDO ALONSO MOODBOARD+HEADCANONS

SURFER!AU + SUMMER LOVE

಄ The first time you saw Fernando was when you went back to visit your cousins at their house on the coast, and as you always have the tradition of going every evening to watch the sunset.

಄It turns out that your cousin and he had friends in common, an excuse he used to be able to approach you when he saw you in the distance taking off your clothes to stay in your swimsuit so you could swim for a while

— Hey, hi there, long time no see, who do you have with you?

಄ You remembered seeing him the previous years, or at least you remembered seeing a boy with that same board and that he was always in the sea when conditions allowed

಄ Your response was to simply smile at him and say your name before lifting him up to leave him talking to your cousin while you went into the water. You didn't notice, but his eyes followed you until you disappeared into the water, unintentionally missing what he was supposed to be listening to in the conversation he was having

— Mhm yeah sure... What?

಄ The next day he saw you at a party, and it didn't take him long to approach you with a drink for you, which managed to get you to give him a bit of your attention this time, he even ended up talking to you on the beach that same night.

಄ Just that was what that summer became your tradition, and although at first it was an attempt by Fernando to convince you to let him teach you to surf, he never got what he wanted

಄ What he did get was for you to get on his surf board with him to just go for a little ride, with him hugging your waist with one arm and paddling with the other

— Told you it wasn't that bad

಄ That's how it started, with little escapades when you were in a group until you finally started meeting him alone.

಄ The first time he came to pick you up at your house he had to practically swear an oath to your uncle who had been self-assigned as your protector since the first summer you stayed with them

— I swear they'll be home safe, don't know what time, but safe.

಄ That was one of the things he always complied with, he made sure you always dried off well when you got out of the water, that you had clothes to change into, that you could always eat something, no matter how much you assured that you were always prepared by yourself (which was a lie)

— Just go change into my car, i'll cover the windows I promise

಄ You certainly gained a nice summer romance, the bad thing was that, it was only going to last one summer, and although it had been nice, neither of you wanted to make much drama about it

಄ What did stay for the long term was the necklace that now decorated your neck, the one you always played with when you lay on his chest or that he would bite when he was concentrating.

— Keep it, it looks better on you anyway

[kerryweaverlesbian]

When will it be fingers in my mouth monday....

[depresseddepot]

trying to determine which parts of my relationship with sex are asexuality, which are trauma, and which are autism is like trying to have a conversation with three people talking loudly and all at once

[ruvviks]

made the realization my vampire story would work best as a video game and now i can't stop thinking about it

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

(I would love to hear your explanations in the tags, as always, share to get a larger data pool!)

[awesomestarfighter]

#it's an incredible disservice to the characters because the Fandom Popular Pairings typically are not canon! at all! #so of course there's more to the characters than this hypothetical relationship

It’s not that I don’t LIKE the Fandom Popular Pairings, it’s that I find the assumption that everyone ships them and the general all-consuming nature of said pairings to be kinda exhausting,

[genericpuff]

Tbh at this point you should just make your own webcomic app/website because it would probably be 100 times better than whatever going on with webtoon right now.

hahaha it wouldn't tho, sorry 💀

Here's the fundamental issue with webcomic platforms that a lot of people just don't realize (and why they're so difficult to run successfully):

Storage costs are incredibly expensive, it's why so many sites have limitations on file sizes / page sizes / etc. because all of those images and site info have to be stored somewhere, which costs $$$.

Maintenance costs are expensive and get more so as you grow, you need people who are capable of fixing bugs ASAP and managing the servers and site itself

Financially speaking, webcomics are in a state of high supply, low demand. Loads of artists are willing to create their passion projects, but getting people to read them and pay for them is a whole other issue. Demand is high in the general sense that once people get attached to a webtoon they'll demand more, but many people aren't actually willing to go looking for new stuff to read and depend more on what sites feed them (and what they already like). There are a lot of comics to go around and thus a lot of competition with a limited audience of people willing to actually pay for them.

Trying to build a new platform from the ground up is incredibly difficult and a majority of sites fail within their first year. Not only do you have to convince artists to take a chance on your platform, you have to convince readers to come. Readers won't come if there isn't work on the platform to read, but artists won't come if they don't think the site will be worth it due to low traffic numbers. This is why the artists with large followings who are willing to take chances on the smaller sites are crucial, but that's only if you can convince them to use the site in favor of (or alongside) whatever platform they're using already where the majority of their audience lies. For many creators it's just not worth the time, energy, or risk.

Even if you find short-term success, in the long-term there are always going to be profit margins to maintain. The more users you pull in, the more storage is used by incoming artists, the more you have to spend on storage and server maintenance costs, and that means either taking the risk at crowdfunding (ex. ComicFury) or having to resort to outsider investments (ex. Tapas). Look at SmackJeeves, it used to be a titan in the independent webcomic hosting community, until it folded over to a buyout by NHN and then was pretty much immediately shuttered due to NHN basically turning it into a manwha scanlation site and driving away its entire userbase. And if you don't get bought out and try your hand at crowdfunding, you may just wind up living on a lifeline that could cut out at any moment, like what happened to Inkblazers (fun fact, the death of Inkblazers was what kicked off the cultural shift in Tapas around 2015-16 when all of IB's users migrated over and brought their work with them which was more aimed towards the BL and romancee drama community, rather than the comedy / gag-a-day culture that Tapas had made itself known for... now you deadass can't tell Tapas apart from a lot of scanlation sites because it got bought out by Kakao and kept putting all of its eggs into the isekai/romance drama basket.)

Right now the mindset in which artists and readers are operating is that they're trying way, way too hard to find a "one size fits all" site. Readers want a place where they can find all their favorite webtoons without much effort, artists wants a place where they can post to an audience of thousands, and both sides want a community that will feel tight-knit. But the reality is that you can't really have all three of those things, not on one site. Something always winds up having to be sacrificed - if a site grows big enough, it'll have to start seeking more funding while also cutting costs which will result in features becoming paywall'd, intrusive ads, creators losing their freedom, and/or outsider support which often results in the platform losing its core identity and alienating its tight-knit community.

If I had to describe what I'm talking about in a "pick one" graphic, it would look something like this:

(*note: this is mostly based on my own observations from using all of these sites at some point or another, they're not necessarily entirely accurate to the statistical performance of each site, I can only glean so much from experience and traffic trackers LMAO that said I did ask some comic pals for input and they were very helpful in helping me adjust it with their own takes <3).

The homogenization of the Internet has really whipped people into submission for the "big sites" that offer "everything", but that's never been the Internet, it relies on being multi-faceted and offering different spaces for different purposes. And we're seeing that ideology falter through the enshittification of sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. where users are at odds with the platforms because the platforms are gutting features in an attempt to satisfy shareholders whom without the platforms would not exist. Like, most of us aren't paying money to use social media sites / comic platform sites, so where else are they gonna make the necessary funds to keep these sites running? Selling ad space and locking features behind paywalls.

And this is especially true for a lot of budding sites that don't have the audience to support them via crowdfunding but also don't have the leverage to ask for investments - so unless they get really REALLY lucky in EITHER of those departments, they're gonna be operating at a loss, and even once they do achieve either of those things there are gonna be issues in the site's longevity, whether it be dying from lack of growing crowdfunding support or dying from shareholder meddling.

So what can we do?

We can learn how to take our independence back. We don't have to stop using these big platforms altogether as they do have things to offer in their own way, particularly their large audience sizes and dipping into other demographics that might not be reachable from certain sites - but we gotta learn that no single site is going to satisfy every wish we have and we have to be willing to learn the skills necessary to running our own spaces again. Pick up HTML/CSS, get to know other people who know HTML/CSS if you can't grasp it (it's me, I can't grasp it LOL), be willing to take a chance on those "smaller sites" and don't write them off entirely as spaces that can be beneficial to you just because they don't have large numbers or because they don't offer rewards programs. And if you have a really polished piece of work in your hands, look into agencies and publishing houses that specialize in indie comics / graphic novels, don't settle for the first Originals contract that gets sent your way.

For the last decade corporations have been convincing us that our worth is tied to the eyes we can bring to them. Instead of serving ourselves, we've begun serving the big guys, insisting that it has to be worth something eventually and that it'll "payoff" simply by the virtue of gambler's fallacy. Ask yourself what site is right for you and your work rather than asking yourself if your work is good enough for them. Most of us are broke trying to make it work on these sites anyways, may as well be broke and fulfilled by posting in places that actually suit us and our work if we can. Don't define your success by what sites like Webtoons are enforcing - that definition only benefits them, not you.