#which also means the title will have to be different.....

[erinwantstowrite]

Hey! :) I’ve really been wanting to get into reading comics but I have no idea where to start 🥲

Do you have any recommendations or references for how to start reading about different dc characters? I mainly want to start reading about batman and the rest of his clan but I want to branch out to other characters as well

hi!! i've gotten this question a lot and i'm so sorry it's taken me so long to answer all of y'all! but i wanted to make sure if i made a list, it would be with the best references i could find, and that it made sense for even a beginner

what i've found is that... there's apparently no right answer? mostly, you'll find people recommending you to start with their favorite collections, like Batman: Hush, etc etc. from what i've been able to tell, getting into comics is about choosing one that sounds the most interesting to you, and going from there. if you like the collection you've picked up, then someone will recommend another collection, so on. a lot of people recommend that you start with a certain character, someone that you really like. so if Tim Drake is calling to you like many... many people, then you can find a reading guide for him and pick and choose from a collection. like this one from this blogger that helped me. one of my favorite characters is Cassandra Cain (though I don't write her as often, which kind of happens when I really like a character?). she has a Batgirl run!! Batgirl #1. (((please note that this link takes you to readallcomics.com, which you should use an adblocker for if you want to use this website. however!! it is very different from readcomics.com))) look how cool she is!!

however I personally like to try and read in chronological order because I don't like missing out on anything. in my search, i found an amazingly ordered, extensive website called comicbookherald.com

i started using this because they have a list in chronological order for many, many, many characters in the DC universe:

https://www.comicbookherald.com/reading-dc-comics/

one of the very first options on this list is Batman (listed in alphabetical), and when you click on him, you'll find exactly what you're looking for:

https://www.comicbookherald.com/reading-dc-comics/batman-reading-order/

the links on the actual titles in the list will take you to Amazon to buy the comic, but there are other ways to find these comics either online (like seen above with Batgirl #1) or through your local library (recommended). if your library doesn't have them, you might be able to find them at a nearby one or you can ask the librarian how a request works. they'd probably be happy to get it for you (support your local libraries!!!) you might find that you prefer going to a comic shop, and that's great too

i also looked up the publication history of the Batman comics using Wikipedia, just to make sure that I knew what i was doing, and i started with the very first on the list: Detective Comics #27. this is Bruce Wayne/Batman's very first appearance.

i also found some helpful videos that i personally have tried to follow:

"BATMAN 101: A GUIDE TO HELP YOU START READING BATMAN COMICS!" by History of the Batman

"Where to Start Reading Batman Comics | Best Batman Comics for Beginners in Collected Editions!" by Near Mint Condition

the issue is that it's pretty hard to read all of the characters at once and stay in order, which means you'll probably want to stick to reading one character at a time and piecing it together like that. but if you're feeling brave, i'd cross reference the years and publication history and go by the order of when each character shows up: start by reading Batman, and when Dick Grayson appears, look up his list and see how the publication history looks, and i guess start trying to read them side by side? the same would go for when Jason appears, then Tim, etc etc. but this might be VERY difficult, so i am very much recommending beginners to start by reading Batman's and branch out from there

my personal favorite right now is Batman & Robin: Year One because Dick Grayson is in it and he's so cute here in his Robin days

edit: adding on this ask i got about hoopla

[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!)

Want to be added to the taglist for updates? Drop me an ask

MASTERLIST: CASTLEVANIA SERIES x READER

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

BLOG MASTERPOST (all you need to know)

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.

[admirableadmiranda]

Hii! I hope you are having a good day! I have a question concerning Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji’s righteousness. Also I think this might also be a hot take? Many people have said that Wangxian are the only morally upright people in the novel, but in Lan Wangji’s case that's only when he matured yes?

I'm not trying to say Lan Wangji is not righteous, he is! He is better than most of the cultivators in the gentry, that's how he got his title after all. I'm just confused because I have seen people claiming that he is just as good as Wei Wuxian (before Wei Wuxian's death).

If Lan Wangji really was as good as Wei Wuxian that time. Why didn't he put the same effort in helping the Wen remnants the same way Wei Wuxian did? Why didn't he go and confirm whether or not the Wen remnants really were being unjustly abused?

Wei Wuxian gave up his reputation, his clan, his comfort, and nearly everything to save the Wen remnants. And I'm sorry to say this (I'm not trying to hate, I'm just stating facts), Lan Wangji didn't.

My problem isn't with Lan Wangji (I adore him). My problem is people saying to say that Lan Wangji was as righteous as Wei Wuxian pre-Wei Wuxian death. Yes, Lan Wangji did try to help Wei Wuxian (defending Wei Wuxian several times in the cultivation meetings, and supporting Mianmian, helping Wen Ning when he was just awakened). But my problem is when people equate those actions to what Wei Wuxian did with the Wen remnants. Lan Wangji at that time did not put in the same effort to help the Wen remnants just as Wei Wuxian did. That's what I'm trying to say. Lan Wangji pre-Wei Wuxian was still maturing, he has some hesitationto help the Wen remnants back then, he was not as good as Wei Wuxian back then. BUT Lan Wangji IS as good as Wei Wuxian post-Wei Wuxian death. He learned from his mistakes, and acted with more conviction to do the right thing.

Also another question, what made Lan Wangji hesitate to help Wei Wuxian all that much in the past (Wen remnants case)? Was it because of his family and clan? Or was it some other factor? Was he hindered in some way?

What do you think about this?

Hi anon, I’m not really recovered enough to do meta, but you caught me in a good mood, so I’ll give you some answers anyway.

First off I think that take that literally only Wangxian are morally upright is a liiiiittle reductionist, because that erases for example Mianmian and the juniors and Wen Qing and Wen Ning and a-Qing and Xiao Xingchen, all of whom are people who we know to have strong morals and the fortitude to do the right thing in the face of loud opposition and societal disapproval. But also I think that while Lan Wangji’s morality is much more apparent in the present, it is consistently strong throughout the entire novel. He just doesn’t shout about it.

First off, given the Wen Remnants claim, Wei Wuxian leaves right from the banquet to go chase them down, which is something he can do without incurring greater societal rancor because he was not a guest at the banquet. Lan Wangji is a guest and both host and guests do have rules and expectations to follow that would make it much more difficult for him to chase after Wei Wuxian without bringing down ire upon the Lan too. Remember, at this time in the book, the Lan Clan is still rebuilding their home that was burnt down with the help of the Jin, they are not quite as free to do as they please as the Jiang are. By the time he would have been able to get there, Wei Wuxian would have already spirited away the Wen from Qiongqi Path, meaning there’d be nothing for him to see. In addition it’s not as if he’s doing nothing at the banquet, he speaks in defense of Wei Wuxian both against the Jin and his own family, which is not doing nothing by any means. He’s fighting on different battlegrounds because he and Wei Wuxian are in different positions.

As for your latter questions, I wonder if you’ve ever heard of the concept attacking on two fronts? Yes, Wei Wuxian sacrificed everything to protect the Wen and give them time, but for all of that sacrifice, it’s doing nothing to stop the roar of the mob. He is an imposing figure to be sure, but he is one man and they are many. In addition, he is mostly staying in one place and working on keeping them alive, meaning that while the Wen are safe, everyone else who is not a cultivator is still having to deal with the hypocrisy of the cultivation world alone, which is where Lan Wangji, who appears wherever chaos is and helps people with their problems however small they seem. In addition to that, he is also continually speaking out at meetings on Wei Wuxian and the Wens’ behalf, we see him do this at the same meeting as Mianmian leaving her clan and we know he spoke up other times from when he and Wen Ning chat on the boat. Just because he wasn’t there in the burial mounds doesn’t mean he wasn’t doing anything and his morality was more questionable, it means that he was fighting those battles on other fronts - fronts where Wei Wuxian could not go, where Lan Wangji does have more power because he is a clan heir, because he is Hanguang-jun, because he is someone noble and strong willed enough to stand up to the bloodthirsty mob again and again and keep shouting back.

Also anon, the reason why Lan Wangji hesitated to “help” Wei Wuxian that much in the past (which he doesn’t, he gets rebuffed by Wei Wuxian half the times when he tries to help and successfully gets to help the other times) comes mostly down to Phoenix Mountain, where he made a significant, grievous error and crossed lines he should not have crossed with Wei Wuxian and that is what shakes up his confidence in helping Wei Wuxian for a while. He’s ashamed of himself for acting the way he did and wronging Wei Wuxian in his actions and it is that dissonance between his wants to be moral and his wants with Wei Wuxian that rattle and force him to spend time rectifying things. He keeps his distance and is cautious and careful with Wei Wuxian because the last time he did what he wanted heedless of what Wei Wuxian wanted, he ended up pinning him to a tree while blindfolded and forcing a kiss on him. That isn’t something that he is taking lightly, and it is clear that it has shaken him to the core.

Really, what I would argue that the biggest difference in Lan Wangji pre and post thirteen years is where he’s just done with trying to win by the rules the cultivation world sets. He’s seen what happens when you follow those rules, how even when you stand up to them in the ways they claim to respect that their words mean nothing, and he won’t give them the benefit of the doubt any longer. Which is something that can only come with maturity and is also something that Wei Wuxian learned in that same time span, Wei Wuxian never turned the defenses he’d made for the Burial Mounds so that they would respond to Jiang Cheng, and Jiang Cheng brought a siege on him.

The answer I have for you anon, is that they both have been equally moral in their youths and more so as adults because they are both learning and growing and developing that core within them as they grow. Be careful not to conflate sacrifice with morality, while it can indeed be a sign of great morals, it is not the only way such morals can be shown, and to suggest that Lan Wangji’s actions - helping others who still need his aid when the Wen are being taken care of by Wei Wuxian, speaking out on their defense, rescuing Wei Wuxian and taking him back to the burial mounds after the events of nightless city, and then surviving and living to save Wen Yuan and to raise him and other children so that they will not make the mistakes their elders did - are less moral because he gave up less than his life to do so is something that I find distasteful indeed.

[softness-and-shattering]

I think theres a couple adjacent conversations happening here, at least one about the ADL and one about goyims response to the ADL.

What I want to say is, I understand the idea of appeasement, and its possible thats what the ADL are going for, or perhaps theyre trying to not paint a target on their backs for musk and the president who unfortunately have a lot of power between them (which could be wishful thinking thaflt there isnt already a target there).

Re 'branding musk irredeemable' and his apparent auschwitz tour with ben shapiro, it seems to me that we're past that. He didnt get up and do a big sig heils as "first buddy" (which is a wtf title but the point is he feels incredibly powerful right now), to agree to walk it back. Hes got the power and hes not hiding or pretending, his is loudly declaring allegiance. I think then it stops being the ADLs job to try course correct him, its too late for that, and it is now their job to look at the spade and identify the spade and say "ALERT. THATS A SPADE. ALERT".

By instead calling it 'an awkward gesture' and hoping for UNITY with the guy doing the sig heil, theyre going "lalalala no spade here lalalalala" and as their mission to my understanding is identifying and combating antisemitism, this is a moment of major failure for them. You can work towards unity with all kinds of people with all kinds of differences, but you cant play nice with nazis or fascists, as their targets, and hope they'll change their minds. Maybe sometimes with some people on an individual level but this isnt as individuals this on the international stage. This isnt your brother your aunt your cousin sounding a little faschy and you can help them, this is elon fucking musk as empowered by president trump. Mr blood money billionaire and the president rapist.

It doesnt mean the ADL has never been correct, will never be correct, and are entirely untrustworthy altogether, as AOC seems to be stating, thats also an absurdity. It does mean that for many possible reasons, they have made what looks like a massive misstep. I *hope* they have good reason and I *hope* its part of some larger plan of damage control. I dont know though. Im not sure I believe anyone is playing 4D chess its just comforting to think *someone* has things under control. The ADL mightve just been panicking and I cant entirely fault them for that. We dont always make the best choices when we are afraid.

Guys... the ADL said, and I quote (quoting manually because fuck nazi twitter I'm not embedding it and I can't be arsed to screencap, google for confirmation if you want),

"This is a delicate moment. It’s a new day and yet so many are on edge. Our politics are inflamed, and social media only adds to the anxiety. It seems that

@elonmusk

made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge. In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath. This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing and work toward unity in the months and years ahead."

Bull. Fucking. Shit. That was a nazi salute, done to the crowd and then a second time to the flag. By a guy who's said a lot of antisemitic shit and sympathized with/endorsed nazis up to and including AfD in Germany.

The Usual Suspects are eating this up and talking about how this proves people talking about "antisemitism" are just trying to defend Israeli war crimes and don't care about Diaspora Jews.

You've seen the stuff I reblog; we're in a "broken clock sorta right twice a day" situation. While I disgree with them strongly on a lot of things (far more than I did sixteen months ago), I think they're right about one thing here.

We can't trust the ADL anymore. If they refuse to acknowledge Musk's fucking sieg heil, we cannot rely on them to reliably fight antisemitism anymore.

I understand why they may feel the need to make compromises to have continued access to the halls of power and avoid being institutionally attacked... but while those compromises may protect them it leaves those they exist to protect high and dry.

Stay safe everyone.

[a34trgv2]

Writing Tips: How To Build Your World

When it comes to storytelling, the setting is a major component in keeping the audience engaged. It's where the main events of the story take place, where the rules and beliefs are established, and most importantly, where the characters call home. But how to you introduce the audience to this world without making it feel like a tedious lecture? Well, that's what we'll discuss in this post and by the end, I'm confident you'll have a greater appreciation for world building.

A prologue is a very genius way to not only hook the audience but also establish the main themes of the world at the start. Some of the best prologues in fiction are brief, well paced, and engaging enough to make it feel like a necessary and rewatchable part of the story. Take the opening to Iron Man (2008) as an example. Right before the title drops, we're introduced to Tony Stark, where he is, what the big threat it, and why we should care. It was a very clever visual to show that the terrorists that attacked Tony were using weapons made by his company before he got shrapnel lodged into his chest. This makes the conflict in the film more personal to Tony and gets the audience curious like him as to how they got ahold of his weapons and why they kidnapped him. Starting the story with an entertaining prologue is a great way to world build, but as the story continues so too does the world building.

Another great way to world build without stopping the story to a crawl is to incorporate natural dialogue. By that, I mean having the characters converse in the story like they would if this was happening in the real world. Nobody's going to give some info dump on what they can do in real life because that's such a waste of time. Rather, they'd cut to the chase by showing what they can do with a sentence being optional. That's how Knuckles facing off against Sonic in Sonic The Hedgehog 2 went. Natural dialogue is a great way to make the fantastical seem believable. Just look at series like Harry Potter, Kung Fu Panda, Avatar: The Last Airbender, or Steven Universe. They all take place in such fantastical worlds but the characters talk like normal people instead of caricatures to make it all seem believable. They also make the worlds so much fun to explore, which brings me to my next point.

Making the world feel big and lived in is key to getting audiences to want to go on the journey with the characters. By establishing how vast the land is, what kind of people live in it, and what the rules are, you're inviting the audience on a tour of this world you made up and giving them an experience they can't get anywhere else. This is very much the case with Middle Earth from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. In both the books and the movies, Middle Earth is shown to be their huge land full of vast landscapes, lived in communities, rich history, and gorgeous architecture. This is shown by the characters being taken on a journey through this world and discovering the wonders with the audience. Of course, not every story takes place in a world that's made up by the author. Often times, it takes place in a real city or country; or to burrow a quote from Stan Lee, "a reflection of the world right outside our window." There are many stories that take place (or inspired by) New York City, which each story offering it's own unique perspective on the Big Apple. Marvel's Daredevil depicts Hell's Kitchen as a grimy, crime ridden neighborhood while King Kong (1933) depicts it as this idealistic city that never sleeps. Element City from Elemental is clearly inspired by New York City with it's mix of different cultures coming together to form one big city and Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Time makes NYC in the roaring 20s look like this magical metropolis full of wonderous creatures. With so many different ways to depict New York City, it's not wonder it's such a popular urban settlement for tourists.

World building is such a fascinating part of storytelling that many take for granted. For aspiring writers, it's important to make sure you're doing it well enough and subtle enough so that it's not overbearing to the audience. Proper world building involves getting the audience hooked from the get go, having natural dialogue, and making the world feel lived in and rich in history. Even if it takes place in a real city or country, the world should still be a place you want to explore with the characters. To conclude, I hope you learned how intriguing world building is and how to make you setting come alive.

[badgalsasuke]

Hi, how are you? Let’s say I’m new to the Naruto fandom. I discovered the series when I was 12, but I only started following it recently. I started reading the manga not too long ago, but since I was 12, I’ve never liked Sakura. However, as I mentioned, I don’t know much about the story or the Naruto fandom, though I’ve noticed there are many toxic fans of Sakura and Sasusaku.

I have a few questions I’d like to ask because I really liked your perspective on many things. I must admit I feel a bit embarrassed and afraid of bothering you with my questions, which might seem a bit silly or even incoherent. But I’ve noticed you always present the facts clearly and show who Sakura really is. So, I wanted to ask if I could send you these questions without being a bother, especially since you might have already talked about or answered them before. Also, knowing myself, they would probably be quite a few and maybe a bit lengthy.

First Question:

Did Sakura really stalk Sasuke? I've seen many people claiming this, while others completely deny it, so I’m not sure what to believe.

Second Question:

Can the novels and databooks from the Naruto universe be considered canon to the main story? Once again, I’ve come across various opinions about this, and I’d like to understand how it works.

Third Question:

Is it true that Naruto almost harassed Sakura by trying to kiss her while disguised as Sasuke? I came across this argument in a video made by a Sakura fan, where they discussed the hate the character receives. I have screenshots from the video if it helps clarify this point.

This is the whole screenshot for context.

Fourth Question:

Are many of Sakura’s accomplishments in the story real, or were most of them made up by her fans? I’ve seen discussions about titles and achievements attributed to her, but I couldn’t find confirmation that they’re true. Once again, I have screenshots of where I found these claims if you’d like to check them. (I also saw on the Naruto Wiki that one of Sakura's nicknames is "Second Tsunade." Is that really true?)

Since this is coming from a Sakura fan account, I highly doubt that it could be true.

To be honest, I’ll stop here because I’m feeling a bit embarrassed and don’t want to be a bother. Please only respond if you feel comfortable addressing these questions, as I know some of them might sound a little silly or incoherent.

If there’s any grammar mistake, it’s because I’m translating this using a translator, so the translation might not be perfect.

Hello!

Don't worry about your grammar, your ask is perfectly understandable.

First, welcome to the fandom! I really hope you enjoy this community and Naruto as a series.

Now, let's go bit by bits.

Did Sakura really stalk Sasuke? I've seen many people claiming this, while others completely deny it, so I’m not sure what to believe.

In the manga you won't see Sakura literally stalking Sasuke hence why some people deny she did it. However, in an interview Kishimoto called Sakura a stalker back in 2006

Can the novels and databooks from the Naruto universe be considered canon to the main story? Once again, I’ve come across various opinions about this, and I’d like to understand how it works.

The novels are filler, period. Anyone who tries to tell you they're canon are het!shippers coping that Kishimoto never gave them any official content for their ship so they have to settle for the filler novels.

People might think novels are canon because they're official content but there's a difference between official filler content (videogames, naruto filler episodes, novels and anything comissioned by Studio Pierrot and Shueisha editoria) and official canon content which is everything written by Kishimoto. They're both called official because even though filler has no impact on the story, it's still licensed/copyrighted content you need to pay to get.

The only official canon content meaning it's written by Kishimoto is the Naruto manga (700 chapters), Naruto Gaiden, Minato One-Shot and Boruto The movie.

Movies like Road To Ninja and The Last are hybrids in the sense that Kishimoto was involved in the projects creation but it was ultimately other people who contributed more to them and even started them.

As for the databooks, they're not canon either because Kishimoto didn't write them (he didn't have time to do so). The information you'll find in them often contradicts what you see in the manga. However, they're still useful resources because they contain Kishimoto interviews and a few comments here and there on the illustrations. You can read more about it here

Third Question: Is it true that Naruto almost harassed Sakura by trying to kiss her while disguised as Sasuke? I came across this argument in a video made by a Sakura fan, where they discussed the hate the character receives. I have screenshots from the video if it helps clarify this point.

No, Naruto did not transform into Sasuke to assault Sakura or trying to take advantage of her. Naruto transformed into Sasuke to ask her what she thought of him, Naruto, that's it. It was Sakura who tried to kiss Naruto thinking she was going to kiss Sasuke, Naruto did not initiate the kiss attempt and then he left because he got diarrhea.

As for the assault, it's also Sakura the one that's extremely creepy towards Sasuke. Not Naruto towards Sakura. She's the creepy character.

Here she's thinking about Sasuke (it was actually Naruto) looking at her "with bedroom eyes"

Here she's planning on how "overwhelm Sasuke with sex appeal"

here she's thinking on how if Sasuke had to pee then she would've liked to see his penis.

Fourth Question: Are many of Sakura’s accomplishments in the story real, or were most of them made up by her fans? I’ve seen discussions about titles and achievements attributed to her, but I couldn’t find confirmation that they’re true. Once again, I have screenshots of where I found these claims if you’d like to check them. (I also saw on the Naruto Wiki that one of Sakura's nicknames is "Second Tsunade." Is that really true?)

I'm gonna go based on the accomplishments listed on the screenshot you share.

-Is Sakura the strongest Kunoichi? No, this is one of the most pervasive talking points in the fandom to the point is treated like the truth but compared to Tsunade, who is stated in the manga to be the strongest Kunoichi that has ever lived, Sakura is defeated multiple times by enemies that Tsunade, managed to defeat or at least, harm. Tsunade managed to defeat both Kabuto and Orochimaru.

But Sakura couldn't do anything when she, Naruto, Kakashi and Yamato encountered Kabuto and Orochimaru and was rendered unconscious for the rest of the fight.

What's funny here is that even though both Kabuto and Sakura received the same impact, Kabuto did not lose consciousness. On top of that, Sakura had to be saved by Yamato

Sakura charged against Madara without a plan or strategy, doesn't even scratch Madara and then has to be saved by Naruto and Sasuke, Madara mocked her for this and called her "the side show"

Meanwhile Tsunade was actually able to hit Madara

-Is Sakura the smartest Kunoichi? No, during the chuunin exams she was the only rookie who did NOT understand the written test. Everybody else did [LINK]. On top of that she's never able to come up with strategies to fight against an enemy. When Naruto and Sasuke were unconscious at the forest of the Death and Sakura had to take care of them, she could only come up with flawed traps the enemy spotted right away and when she attempted to fight the enemy she got beat up so bad, two teams (InoShikaCho and Neji, Tenten and Rock Lee) and Sasuke had to come to her rescue. When it comes to both bell tests, it was Sasuke the first time and then Naruto the second time who had to come up with strategies on how to take the bells away from Kakashi while she was just there.

-The screenshot calls her Konoha's only female pillar, I have no idea where they got that from. I don't know if they're trying to insert here in the Hokage/Shadow Hokage thing Naruto and Sasuke are, or what.

-Director of Konoha hospital, I think this is true.

-Member of Team 7, this is not an accomplishment. Iruka made the teams randomly, it's not like all Team 7 in shinobi history happened to be made up of the strongest ninjas and there's this requirement to be outstanding to be a part of team 7. It's a random made up team and Naruto and Sasuke ended up being exceptional shinobi, the greatest of all time actually. Sakura stans are just trying to make it seem like she's also a part of that.

-Founder of Children Mental Health Clinic. This is false and comes from a filler novel. Canonically the character that opened up an institution to support orphan children is Kabuto, as seen in Naruto Gaiden

-Sakura is a Jonin and learned the techniques from Tsunade, a Sannin, but she, as far as I'm aware, did not come up with her own, which is what made the Sannin, well, the Sannin. Naruto and Sasuke were able to create their own techniques unlike her, though, like Rasenshuriken and Chidori Nagashi, respectively.

So, as you can see most of what's listed there are false made up accomplishments to try to make her seem like she's on the level of Sasuke and Naruto but in reality she's a pretty mediocre kunoichi.

Anyway, don't be embarrased to ask questions, we were all new to a fandom at some point and wanted our doubts and questions answered :)

[slothquisitor]

Chains of Expectation

Summary: In which Lucanis is named First Talon and everything changes. Eventual Rook/Lucanis, 4.4k.

Also on AO3.

_____________________________________________________________

“Lucanis is the new First Talon. His decision stands,” Caterina pronounces, standing regally in the middle of the opera house on the grounds of Villa Dellamorte as though she has not been locked in her own villa for months. 

Camina starts to step forward to protest the title she knows Lucanis doesn’t want, the open surprise still clear on his face, but it is Neve’s hand that grasps her arm, holding her back. 

“Not now,” Neve whispers beside her ear, using her fascinator to block anyone from listening. 

Camina turns to Neve, can’t she see what Caterina has done by shoving this title at him, announcing it in front of every House? “But…” Everything else she might want to say or argue is drowned out by the chorus of cheers. 

Lucanis has shown the Crows what he is, and Illario has been peddling the story that he is nothing but a demon. So she can at least see the importance of Caterina standing at the table offering him a wine glass and welcoming home her boy . As though nothing has changed. 

Lucanis’s fears that Caterina wouldn’t accept him as he is are unfounded. But nothing about this moment feels to Camina like a kindness. It feels like the end of some inevitable line, a perfectly crafted trap made of duty and acknowledgment, everything she knows he craves.

Viago hauls Illario away, and she knows they’ll have to question him later, but for now, there is nothing but celebration and cheering and toasting. Neve nudges her gently as she takes the proffered wine. 

Teia raises her glass. “To the new First Talon.”

Camina does her best to school her expression and follows Neve’s lead, raising her own cup. “To Lucanis.” She’s sure the wine is fine, sure that under different circumstances she might even enjoy it, but right now it tastes bitter. 

As Lucanis is absorbed by the group of Talons, Caterina on one side and Teia on the other, Neve links arms with her and takes them out of the center of the slowly forming crowd. The Venatori they dispatched have already been removed from the room and the rest of the Crows are converging on the floor of the opera house, no doubt interested in paying respects or attempting to ingratiate themselves with the newest Talon. 

She knows what this means. They’ll lose him. Maybe not tonight or even tomorrow, but eventually, he’ll have to take his place here. Which would be fine if that was what he wanted, but she knows it isn’t. 

Neve keeps a wary eye on their surroundings, and Camina is reminded that she’s not used to having to watch her back in the same way Neve and Lucanis are. “You’re going to need to find a way to at least look neutral about this, Rook.”

Camina does her best to fix her face. “Sorry.” She’s not happy, but she knows Neve is right. Appearing in any way less than thrilled about this latest development is only going to cause problems. Even jumping in to argue with Caterina as she wanted to, would have been impulsive and stupid. 

“You don’t have to be sorry for being no good at these games,” Neve says. The words are light, tipped out with a smile. “We don’t know who here might still be loyal to Illario, so let’s just not trade one problem for another?”

Neve is so much better at this than she is. She’s had to feign politeness before, even pretend not to hate some bigoted scholar in the Necropolis, but she’s never had to act fine in front of such a big audience before. The stakes have never been this high. She hates it. She knows Lucanis hates it too, and that makes it all the worse.

“We’re going to have to question him,” Camina says. 

Neve gives her an encouraging nod. “I’m a little surprised he didn’t kill him.”

“I’m not,” she replies. No matter what else Illario is, he’s Lucanis’s family and that means something to him. She’s not sure that Illario or Caterina could ever do anything that would cost them Lucanis’s love. That’s the tragedy of it all that she’d witnessed in his mind; he sees them as all he has left. 

She and Neve shift to polite small talk, keeping their conversation light and entirely devoid of meaning in case there are listening ears. She is surprised when Lucanis appears at her side. She hadn’t even noticed he’d slipped through the crowd over to them. 

“Shall we make a discreet exit?” he asks. 

“You sure? They’re celebrating you,” Neve replies.   

But Camina can see the silent plea in his eyes. “I’m ready.”

“Good,” he smiles. “I have other plans for the evening.”

They make their way back to the Lighthouse. Neve teases Lucanis about the recent discovery that he’s not only rich, but rich rich. Opera house on the grounds of his massive villa rich. It’s still a little wild to Camina, but she’s not feeling particularly like joining in on the teasing. Lucanis glances her way a few times, but she does her best to rally for now. He’s got enough on his plate tonight without being also worried about her feelings.

Back at the Lighthouse, Neve bids them farewell in the courtyard and Lucanis turns to her. “I’m going to make coffee. Would you like some tea?”

“Yeah.”

They walk silently into the kitchen, lit only by candles. Finally, they are entirely alone. She’s been wanting to grab a spare second with him ever since his grandmother’s announcement, and now, she cannot find the words. Her anger in that moment had burned bright hot and fierce, but in the time since, it’s shifted to something that feels more like sorrow. And it feels too selfish to burden him with it. 

She sits upon the table, watching Lucanis divest himself of his knives and armor, getting more comfortable as the water boils. Finally, she finds some words. “Are you holding up okay? After...everything.”

His answering laugh is an empty thing. “I wouldn't call it okay, exactly.”

It feels utterly selfish, but she cannot help asking. “Does becoming First Talon mean you’ll be leaving us?”

He shakes his head. “No. We have a contract.”

Right. The contract. Always the contract. Is that all this is? Still?

He pours hot water into a mug before dropping a tea bag into it. “Besides, she may have stepped down, but there's no stopping Caterina from giving all the orders. I still cannot believe she did that.”

She can. “I’m glad you’re not leaving…I…I don’t want to do this without you.”

He takes a step closer, eyes full of quiet intensity. “I couldn’t leave this place. Not with you here. You’ll have me for as long as I can put off the Crows.”

“And how long will that be?” She hates how utterly hopeless she sounds, and knows he hears it too. 

“Long enough,” he says reassuringly, handing her mug to her. 

“You didn’t want it. The title,” she says. 

“When has what I wanted ever mattered?” The smell of coffee fills the air as he continues pouring in careful spirals over the coffee grounds. 

“It matters to me.”

He glances up from his work, just long enough to meet her eyes. “I know.”

And what else is there to say? The silence between them stretches, but it isn’t uncomfortable. Not with the steady sound of coffee dripping and their natural proximity. As his coffee is finished, he wanders to the chairs in the corner. 

Sighing as he sits. “Fucking Illario.”

“Do you regret letting him live?”

“No. Though he won’t thank me for being under house arrest imposed by Viago, but the last thing I need is my fool cousin causing more trouble. Let Illario sit and think on his mistakes. It may do him good.”

He sips his coffee and sighs again. “Besides... I don't have a lot to lose. What there is... Illario, Caterina…” He looks at her with that same quiet intensity as earlier. “You.” Her heart jumps into her throat before he continues. “This team…I’m not giving that up.”

He sounds so sure. So committed. She wishes she had any right to tell him to refuse the title and everything that goes along with it. This is supposed to feel like a win, isn’t it? They’ve stopped Illario, and freed Lucanis’s grandmother, but somehow it doesn’t feel like a victory to her. 

“We’ll have to question Illario,” she says. “He might know something about Elgar’nan or what the Venatori are planning.”

Lucanis nods. “I planned to go back to Treviso in the morning. Would you come with me?”

“Of course.” And really, what else could she say?

***

The Dellamorte Estate is a sprawling collection of buildings. There’s the villa, the opera house, the guest house, the servants apartments, the gardens. In a city like Treviso, the ability to sprawl where there is such finite space between canals is its own mark of status. There’s no reason this morning to enter the villa via the roofs, but it’s habit now more than anything. He can’t remember the last time he entered the villa from the main entrance. If Rook is annoyed about traipsing across the city’s roofs this early, she doesn’t complain for once. She’s upset about the First Talon thing. She hasn’t said it in as many words, but he can tell she’s angry on his behalf. He wishes he was better at explaining that there’s no telling Caterina 'no', no changing her mind. He can’t believe that she’d name him after everything anyway, but she had in front of an audience of every Crow House. So, what’s done is done. 

They drop down from the wall into the vast gardens. Rook glances around before stepping near one of the large stone sculptures that dot the garden. “So, this is where you grew up? It seems even bigger when we’re not knee-deep in Venatori.”

“I know it’s lacking too many tombs and skeletons for your taste,” he teases. “But yes, until I was eighteen anyway.”

“Then what?” 

He shrugs. “Kept an apartment in the city. Paid to have it looked after when I spent months away…mostly to keep my pet snake fed. I haven’t been back since before…well. I hope House Dellamorte kept up my payments in my absence.”

“A snake…as a pet?” Rook looks highly concerned. 

He’s surprised, Rook seems to love all animals, dead or alive. “You don’t like snakes?”

She shakes her head. “That’s…putting it mildly.”

Well, assuming Sombra is even still alive after his year away, perhaps Viago will be happy to add her to his menagerie. “I learn something new about you every day.”

She nods. “Same. You’re stupid rich.”

No, Viago is stupid rich. “You’re a published scholar in the Necropolis…don’t tell me like Bellara you work unpaid.” Besides, Emmrich clearly has money. One doesn’t acquire that many books without plenty of gold. 

She laughs. “Not unpaid, no. But uh…only nobility in Nevarra live like this.”

“It’s a security nightmare, as you witnessed last night. And…it’s overrated.”

“Something only someone who grew up in a villa would say.” Her tone tells him that she’s not particularly impressed by his downplaying his family’s wealth, especially when he remembers her upbringing. 

He decides to change the subject before he digs an even bigger hole for himself on this one. “We should stop in the main house to see Caterina. She’ll be upset if I go see Illario first.”

Rook looks like she might want to say something about that, but keeps it to herself. He leads them through the gardens to the breakfast room where he knows Caterina will be. Assuming, of course, she has not changed her habits in the last year. The breakfast room sits on the first floor of the main house, jutting out into the garden. The greenery from the garden runs right up to the windows as large as doors, giving the illusion that the grass grows some ways into the house itself. The windows are open allowing the curtains to whip and snap in the breeze coming off the sea. And Caterina sits inside at the head of a long, wooden table already set for three. 

“Lucanis.” She doesn’t stand, presides instead over a breakfast spread that appears untouched, as though she expected his return…and for Rook to be with him. She turns coolly towards her. “Rook, join us for breakfast, would you?”

Rook glances at him, clearly waiting for him to take the lead here. He offers a quick nod and walks to the chair at Caterina’s right. “Caterina.”

Spite sniffs the air though he’s been rather quiet since last night, since the fulfillment of the terms of their deal. “Smells like suspicion…and disappointment.”

“Good morning,” Rook offers as she takes her seat across from him. 

Immediately, a servant appears to pour him coffee and fill his plate. He has no idea how long Caterina has been waiting here, but she clearly hasn’t eaten, and only begins now that he and Rook have joined her. He’s not sure how he feels about being quite so transparent to his grandmother. 

Lucanis knows that Caterina is a woman who will not be rushed, so he goes about enjoying a familiar breakfast in a familiar place despite the fact that for a very long time, the only sound in the room is the rush of the curtains in the breeze and the scrape of silverware on porcelain.

“Leave us,” Caterina finally says, and the servants standing by the table behind them laden with food quickly scurry out of the room. Caterina then turns her flint-like stare towards him. “So, you are an abomination? How much of my grandson still exists in your skin?”

Spite seems to curl back around the edge of his chair. “She saw and she did not understand.”

He is caught off guard by Caterina’s bluntness. “I…” He’s not sure how to answer her question. Hadn’t realized it would be a question after her actions last night. 

“He’s still the same man he was before the Ossuary,” Rook replies, tone inviting no argument. 

Caterina's flat stare fixes itself on Rook. “And you would know, how?”

The offense is clear on Rook’s face. There are a great many things he’d like to see in this world, but Rook and Caterina getting into it at the breakfast table is not one of them. He jumps in before Rook can earn Caterina’s ire. “I am still myself. Spite - the demon Zara tried to grow out of me in the Ossuary - and I have a deal. We’re not sure if it is because I am not a mage or because of Zara’s methods, but my possession is not��complete. I am still in control; I just have a somewhat unruly, but mostly helpful passenger.”

“Spite!” Spite adds helpfully. 

There hasn’t been a flicker of emotion on Caterina’s face. “That’s a demon.”

He shrugs and smiles. “At least it means they don’t have to change my nickname.”

Caterina ignores his remark. “No demon would have spared Illario.”

There’s some truth in that. Spite would’ve been happy to kill him, though he did not push for that in the end. “Whatever else he is, he’s still family.”

Caterina nods once, looking satisfied. “The other Houses will try to use this against you.”

“They can try.”

“Teia and Viago say there is much work to be done. The Antaam still occupy the city, and until that threat is dealt with, the others matter little.”

Lucanis glances at Rook. “We will do what we can to help; Rook has been a good friend to Treviso. However, I still have a contract to fulfill. We came to question Illario.”

“He’s in the guest house,” Caterina responds simply. “Under constant guard.”

How fitting, turning the prison he’d locked Caterina away into his own. “Have you spoken with him?”

“Not yet.” He’s not surprised, but that will probably make this harder. 

He takes one last sip of coffee; it’s not as good as anything he makes. “Thank you for breakfast. We’ll be on our way.” He stands and Rook follows suit, but she doesn’t say a word, even in thanks. 

He steps over to Caterina’s chair, bends to kiss her on both cheeks. She allows the gesture rather stiffly, hand tightening on her cane. He tells himself it’s the time and the distance and not his possession that is making this so markedly different from her greeting last night.

Caterina says nothing, remains sitting with her back straight, staring out beyond the windows. He has the distinct feeling that he has been weighed and measured and found…not wanting exactly, but that this morning was some sort of test. When he believed her to be dead, there had at least been a sort of relief in the lack of expectation. Now she is back, and that all too familiar weight settles upon his shoulders. 

He leads Rook through the labyrinthine hallways towards the guest house. She remains uncharacteristically quiet. He wants to say something, but he worries that there’s nothing really to say. Besides, they both know what needs to be done now. 

There’s a Crow waiting at the guest house door. They dip their head. “First Talon.”

That’s going to take some getting used to. “There are others posted inside?” he asks. Guarding a shut door does not a prison make, Viago knows that.

“Of course, on the Fifth Talon’s orders, two Crows on him at all times. Others posted at the exits.”

That sounds more like Viago. “Good. I need to speak with him.”

The Crow stands aside. The door is unlocked, it wouldn’t matter much if it had been locked. Any Crow worthy of the name could pick a lock like these in seconds. There’s a tray of uneaten food languishing in the corner of the room, and the last embers of the fire smolder in the grate. He clocks the two Crows posted in the shadows against opposite walls; he recognizes them both from House de Riva. He’s glad that Viago has his own people on this. Illario lays on the bed, but Lucanis can tell he’s not asleep by the way he tilts his head at their entrance. He knows Illario doesn’t need to look to recognize his footfalls. 

“Lucanis,” Illario croons before sitting up. His face is a patchwork of bruises, one eye swollen completely shut. “Or should I say, First Talon?” He stumbles from the bed and gives him a mocking bow. 

“Oh, and you brought Rook with you too. How exciting,” Illario deadpans, single eye alighting on Rook. “Have you come to interrogate me? Viago at least brought a cane full of poisons, so forgive me if this feels a little anticlimactic.” He hobbles over to the breakfast tray and gestures to the scant offering. “I’m afraid they didn’t give me much in the way of entertainment.”

There is something invariably sad about this performance, about the way Illario moves, the face he’s maintaining. They’re not getting anywhere with an audience. 

Lucanis turns to look at the Crows watching on either end of the room. “Please wait outside.”

“But the Fifth Talon-”

“We’ll be fine,” Lucanis replies and waits for the Crows to leave. “Tell us about Elgar’nan.”

Illario moves quickly, flipping the tray of food until it clatters against the wall in a spray of mess before turning. “I do not answer to you, demon! Or is it First Talon ? Tell me, cousin, how does it feel to finally have your birthright after falling so far?”

It feels much the same as everything else he’s never wanted. That’s the tragedy of this whole thing, isn’t it? That Illario had wanted this so badly that he tried to take it, and in failing, he has ensured that he would never have it. He blames and pities his cousin in equal measure. 

“You would have damned us all dealing with blood mages. Tell me, what did Elgar’nan promise you?”

Illario sinks down into the nearest chair, throwing one arm over the back of it and smiling with his split lips. “Elgar’nan….Elgar’nan…that’s not the name he went by for Zara. Lusacan was the only person she claimed to speak with.”

“I’m sure he appeared however he had to in order to appeal to Zara,” Rook says. “Zara gave you that pin, didn’t she?”

He gestures to the now-defunct bird pinned on his slightly askew vest. “She called it a gift. Which I suppose I deserved after I had to crawl back into her bed to find out why you weren’t fucking dead. She was so sorry…and then she gave me this, saying it was blessed by Lusacan himself. You see, it was our shared blood that allowed it to work. Rather poetic, don’t you think?” 

“Traitor hurt Lucanis. Traitor tried to control us!” Spite growls out the words. 

“That the very thing you share would be the thing that allowed you to control Lucanis, sounds like a gift from a blood mage. What else can you tell us about Lusacan?” Rook asks. There’s a hard set to her jaw, a firmness to her tone. 

He’s glad she’s here. He’s not sure if he speaks now whose words would escape him, his or Spite’s. So he remains silent. 

Illario shrugs as though this information doesn’t matter much to him. “He was calling the Venatori to some ritual in Arlathan. I didn’t care for his views of domination; the Venatori were a tool, nothing more. I wanted only two things: a free Treviso and the title of First Talon. Nothing else mattered, and I got neither thanks to you.”

Rook bends a little to look him in his one good eye. “You got neither thanks to you. Thanks to the choices you made. At every turn, you found a way to make this worse. So, let’s not get confused about who’s to blame here.”

“My cousin would tell you that’s my talent,” his one good eye rolling over to look at Lucanis and attempting a laugh that feels too jagged, too broken to be genuine. 

“You think of anything else that might be useful, pass it along to a Crow. They know how to reach us.” And then Rook is heading for the door, allowing the two Crows on guard duty back inside. Illario hasn’t moved from the chair, hasn’t even made an attempt at it. Rook is right to go, if Illario is telling the truth, and there’s nothing that feels false about it, he didn’t know much about Elgar’nan or his plans beyond what they already suspect. It at least confirms where they should be looking next. 

Lucanis turns to go. 

“If it is any comfort, I wanted you dead not…made into this .”

Lucanis glances back over his shoulder at the miserable heap that is his cousin. His brother. Illario. “Then you should have used your own knife.”

Rook keeps walking past the guards and out into the courtyard. She’s moving with such purpose, but he’s not sure where she’s going. She stalks into the verdant press of the gardens, past the fountains and the hedges and flowers. She doesn’t stop until she hits the end of the terrace overlooking the edge of the canal. It’s only when she stops that he realizes she’s scowling into the beautiful blue of the water. 

“Rook…what’s wrong?”

She turns to him in exasperation and gestures back at the villa behind them. “That….that is your family? Are you serious? Tell me they were both just having the world’s worst day and that any of this was a surprise to you.”

He sighs. “I was surprised Caterina was waiting with breakfast.” The rest had gone about as well as expected. 

“Maker! Really?” Her voice is raised and she’s started pacing in the bright sunlight. 

Lucanis has never seen her this agitated. Even after Weisshaupt, she wasn’t upset like this. “Rook. This is….what it is. As soon as Viago is sure Illario won’t get himself killed or into some other trouble, he'll be let free. And we won’t talk or see each other until some public gathering, maybe Caterina’s birthday. We'll flip some tables, scream, and take swings at each other in front of the celebration roast. Then, either Teia ties us both up and kicks us down the cellar stairs, or Viago poisons us to get some peace.”

Rook at least stops pacing at that. “You have to understand how deeply fucked up that sounds.”

He shrugs. “Crow family.”

“Was it a comfort…what he said about his intentions for you?”

“In a way. I thought he cared enough about me to grant me a quick death…it’s nice to know that I wasn’t wrong about that at least.”

She doesn’t look comforted by his answer, she wanders to the stone railing, leaning against it as she stares out towards the sea. After a moment, he joins her. He wishes he had something comforting to offer her, but mostly, he feels very little in the wake of this morning’s events. Caterina and Illario are his only family, so at least that much hasn’t changed. 

“What’s really bothering you?” he finally asks. 

She doesn’t answer at first, and he wonders if he’s not going to get an answer, but then she turns to him, her amethyst eyes filled with a sorrow he can’t reach. “I just know how much you love them, and I really wish they deserved it.”

He has no idea what to say to that, but there’s an ache that settles in his stomach, pressing against his chest at her words. He feels unmoored, as though the slightest change in the wind might take him away, so he reaches for her hand, for her solid and comforting presence. As their fingers lace together, she rests her head against his shoulder, and together they stay in the gardens for a long, quiet time. 

[zorilleerrant]

hi, anon! when people discuss DC 'canon' they mean the comics continuity where the main series titles take place, such as Detective Comics, Action Comics, Wonder Woman, etc. which can also be referred to as 'mainline' or 'mainline canon'. however! this doesn't account for reboots, soft reboots, crises, events, differing interpretations by various creative teams, retcons, oopsies, offensive things which have been walked back, changing terminology/genre expectations/visual language/printing technology, contextual shifts, acquisition of different publishing houses, metatextual references and jokes, crossovers, or multimedia relationships.

when someone refers to 'actual canon' they usually mean:

the first comic run they ever read

their favorite comic run they ever read

the comic(s) they are currently attached to

anything that meshes with that view of canon

other things they think are very cool

other things they think are very funny

NOT that author they hate

hope this helps!

hey! coming over to dc from marvel and the timelines are confusing me lmao. which continuity is considered “canon”?

[erythristicbones]

for the entire like...almost decade of having TOTLR as a story, ive always imagined it as one long book. but i woke up this morning with the intense urge to rework the outline a bit and now that im looking at it. idk man im starting to think i might like my pacing better if i make it a duology instead?

[chirpsythismorning]

Yeah a teaser dropping on ST day would be cool. But can we agree that a DNA board reveal would be infinitely better?

[mantisgodsdomain]

More notes for Roach conlanging. Roach has grammatical gender, in which only Male, Female, and Object are grammatical genders, whereas Worker uses feminine grammar, Queen and King use a slight variant on feminine grammar, and Drone, and Queen-Alate use masculine grammar. This is because King is derived from Queen, due to their similar positions in a colony, and Queen-Alate is derived from Drone, as both are forms of alate.

Queen is an alteration of feminine grammar that functionally just adds a handful of extra syllables to it, and King is an offsprout of Queen that uses the same grammar with different pronouns. Queen-Alate, despite the name, is derived from Drone, as they are both for referring to different types of alate ant.

Most Roach dialects are intelligible to speakers of Snakemouth Den Cordyceps Roach, but Snakemouth Den Cordyceps Roach is not entirely intelligable to speakers of Roach dialects due to a mix of the excessively specialized vocabulary caused by the specific needs of its speakers, the fact that its speakers do not necessarily have Roach mouthparts and thus may not pronounce syllables in a similar way, and due to the fact that Inanimate Object is a full grammatical gender that does not exist in any other dialect of roach and replaces a decent chunk of terminology for things that previously had Other Words For Them.

[arcadia-of-pluto]

Since Caleb's drop I've been brainstorming what exactly his trope and etc would be! I decided that his definitely would not be the "forbidden love" trope since that's just low hanging fruit, yk?

I've got the name for it, which is "Philo(philia)", since philia is one of the greek forms of love, meaning "affectionate love" and philophilia means "the fondness of falling in love" or "being in love". The only idea of a trope i have so far is...The "in front of you all along" trope. Which is basically just two friends and one is down on their luck with relationships, while the other has an unrequited love for them. And they eventually fall in love. I'm probably stick with this trope since I do like it 🤔 but let me know if yall have any better ideas and who you'd rather see chase who! Because im planning on the one with the unrequited love is the reader, since it would be nice to have her chase after him for once but I could also have him be the one in love with her and her down on her luck with dating...

Now by far, the fated series is most definitely my favourite of the ideas I have. I really want to start writing them soon. I might soft drop their names and re-drop their ideas since it's been awhile...

So for Rafayel, it's "Purple like the ocean during a tropical twilight..." and his soulmate trope is going to be a mix of two. So colourblind until first touch and the first touch leaves a mark on your soulmate, in this case it would be a watercoloured mark. And to make things extra fun, the reader was not born colourblind, she was a rare case of being able to see colour at birth. Unlike majority of the population, so she won't know she's met her soulmate until they touch and she gets a mark on her skin.

Zayne's is "Blue like the winter snow on a full-moon..." and his soulmate trope is "soulmates get opposing evols the moment they make skin-to-skin contact". In this au, for both soulmates to gain their evols, they both have to touch each other. If only one makes contact, they'll have an evol but the other won't until they do as well. So for this, the reader has a troubled past and has a fear of fire, she also is anxious to find her soulmate so she wears gloves. Zayne accidentally touches her and gets his ice evol, but realizes she'll probably have a fire evol once she touches him, and keeps this a secret. But when the soul bond is incomplete, the evol tends to damage the body and go a bit haywire.

"Red like the smoke drifting past the morning sun..." is Sylus's title and his trope is...a bit complicated. In this Au, there's something called a Soul Instance. These can happen up to three times, but usually the bond is completed after the first or second time. Only rare cases make it to the third and survive. These instances are different for every soul pair (so different tropes for everyone in universe). So for Sylus and the reader, their first is a red string connected to their wrists. The string causes no issues during their day to day routines, it's solely for finding your soulmate and knowing it's them, but for the reader, the string is never pulled taut. He's always too far away. So a few months pass and the second instance begins.

This one is "whenever one of the pair gets injured, a flower blooms on the other's skin". So if Sylus gets a cut on his cheek, a flower will blood on her cheek. Again, it causes no issues in their work, it's just mildly infuriating.

Now, the third instance is the most dangerous. It's has a 92% fatality rate since the pair have to both be on the verge of death. And this is the only instance that is the same for everyone. I'm not sure however if it'll be body swapping (so you're in each other's bodies and have to find yourself) or if you quite literally swap places. 🤔 let me know what you think here

"Golden like the stars glistening in the moonlight..." and Xavier's is another one I'm partially unsure about. But I believe I'm just going to do "guides and esper" + "soul bond tattoos". So like Xavier is an S rank esper (someone who specializes in attacks + having superpowers, but the drawback is they will go berserk without a guide) and the reader being an S+ rank guide (someone who can calm the esper with skin to skin contact), and she can also amplify an esper's power depending on how long she touches them.

Or I might just do the "soulmate tattoos" and make it a romantic fantasy setting instead 🤔 I'm still working on this one if you can't tell

And finally, Caleb's! "Silver like planes leaving contrails amongst the stars..." and his trope would be "reincarnated soulmates + dreams".

So everyone is fated in every lifetime and they get glimpses of their past lives in dreams to piece together who their soulmate is. Their soulmate is always in the same vicinity as them (they're never across seas from each other or anything), their faces and voices are obscured in these dreams as well– and it's illegal to discuss these dreams with anyone, since others can just lie and say they had the same dream. So every night, the soulmates always share the same dream (just from their own perspective), so maybe they see some old text and they both show up to the museum and go "oh what a coincidence you're here". Then, they realize they're looking for the same thing. And after you officially find your soulmate, you can share your dreams with them, and others to try and help them find their soulmates.

And I think that's it so far? 🤔 it's not really a story update or anything, but I'll definitely post Divisa's by the weekend since it's already done! I've just been holding back on uploading it since I haven't done the chapter after yet, but I'll probably work on that during the weekend as well!

Anyways, here's some new pictures I took in LADS and I'll see you on my next post!

Future mini-series and one-shot plans ✨️

I've got a few ideas for one-shots and fics to tide yall over until the smut hits in "Twist of Fate". 👀

I've already got a small, spin off mini-series of ToF called "Strings of Fate" (name pending), a whole bunch of hybrid one-shot series, a Fated/Soulmate one-shot series, a Tropes mini-series, a cam girl one-shot series, an android (based on Detroit become human) one-shot series, a fairy tale one-shot series, possibly a professors one-shot series, possibly a super heroes one-shot series, some possible OT2 (threesomes) and OT3 (foursomes) with not a single idea in mind, and some one-shots regarding the boys' myth 5 star cards!

I'll be explaining them below the cut! 🩷

So yall can let me know which you would like to see first, I'll tell you what I've got so far with each of them! Since I'm, also, completely unsure which I want to work on or if I want to change the idea entirely. Maybe yall will have some thoughts on how I can work the ideas a bit better as well!

The hybrid ideas though...I have a lot. I got most of these (if not all of these ideas besides the hybrid ones) from my scrapped BTS fic ideas so if I decide to write BTS ones, you might see some overlapping.

I can't say much on the spin-off since it's major spoilers for ToF and, so, I'll probably start it after I get up to 25 or 30 chapters in posting ToF.

Oh right, let me explain Hybrids for those who might not know. They're basically like nekos, think of those hot cat girls in anime. They're humans with animal parts or characteristics!

But anyway, the first section is "Prey Hybrids". I have Rafayel down as an axolotl, Xavier as a frosty Holland lop rabbit, Sylus as either a sika deer or a tufted deer (both are native to south asia and I have no idea which one to use), and Zayne as a Black Beauty sugar glider.

Next section is "deadly hybrids". I have Rafayel under Great White Shark (they have two penises so I could use this in the story), Xavier as a Grey Wolf (wolves can knot 👀), Sylus as a melanistic tiger, and Zayne is a leopard seal. Now, I'm not sure how I'll make Zayne into a leopard seal hybrid, I was going to use a snow leopard but...I have a "polar hybrid" section coming up soon and also I didn't want two big cats in one part.

Now, we're onto "domesticated hybrids" so think of your cats, dogs, any animal that humans have thought "hey, that'd be a good pet" fits here. Rafayel is a calico koi fish (still undecided here), Xavier is a Corgi (I thought golden retriever but I didn't want to say the obvious), Sylus is a black smoke Maine Coon, and Zayne as an Agouti Husky.

"Uncanny Hybrids" is our next category and for uncanny, I wanted to do hybrids that not a lot of people write for. Like you usually see cats, dogs, octopi, sharks, squid, and stuff like that so I wanted to do the ones that not many people would do and that's difficult. Rafayel would be a chevrotain (which is a mouse deer with little fangs), Xavier would (fittingly) be a sloth, Sylus would be a vampire bat, and Zayne would be a Kangaroo (I might swap Sylus and Zayne but do note that Kangaroo have two penises as well; and I have no idea how to explain to my FBI agent just why my search history is filled with stuff like this but I must do my research for stories 😞).

Two more categories. We have "Polar hybrids" as mentioned earlier and "Mythological Hybrids".

For the polar ones, Rafayel is an arctic fox, Xavier is a penguin, Sylus is a snow owl, and Zayne is a polar bear!

The Fated/Soulmate series! I'm unsure what to call this exactly. I might have it under "Fated mini-series" but it's going to be four different one-shots with each of the guys under a different soulmate trope. So you can give me feedback about this as well or even comment something you'd want to see instead or even help add upon the idea itself!

As for the mythological, it's half unfinished. I only have Rafayel as a kitsune and Sylus as a cerberus/hellhound hybrid with Y/n being the daughter of Hades.

Rafayel's soulmate trope would be the "colourblind until you touch" trope. Where everyone is colourblind until you meet your soulmate but for an added twist, the first touch from your soulmate leaves an imprint wherever they touched. So, for example, Rafayel grabs your arm as you try to leave and it leaves a pretty, water-coloured imprint on your wrist. I think that would be a fitting and cute combination for Rafayel.

Xavier's soulmate trope would either be "dreams of a past life together", so you both dream of your past life and have to find the person in your dreams, or "at a young age, you can make something and send it to your soulmate. This item will be key in finding your soulmate as an adult." So, let's say you send Xavier the star sword tassel and he sends you a crystal (imagine the protocore he tries to give the mc in his anecdotes). Then, as adults, you see Xavier walking to class with the charm on his backpack while your grandma, Josephine, turned the crystal into a necklace.

Zayne's is, by far, my favourite idea. It's "once you touch your soulmate, you get opposing evols". So similar to "opposites attract". You're childhood friends with Zayne and for some reason (spoilers), you wear gloves so you can touch anyone. Zayne also wears gloves in solidarity with you but, one day, he forgets his gloves and catches you when you slip. His hands touch your bare elbows and suddenly, he has an ice evol and yours is fire. For some extra angst, fire is traumatic for you and so is the thought of soulmates.

Sylus's is more of a funny idea than anything. A "tangible red string of fate" so similar to the evol linkage in game. He can drag you around with it and everything. It gets more visible and stronger the more you think about the other person, so at first its barely even noticeable and he can't move you with it. But soon, he can literally drag you out with him and you can play a funny game of tug-of-war with it.

I also had the fleeting idea of grumpy x sunshine but that's more of a "trope" than a soulmate trope.

The Tropes mini-series;

I also have another good fate idea for Rafayel, a stand-alone one. This soulmate au would be "your soulmate is from another world and you get dreams of their day-to-day life. You must decide if you'll cross over to their world by your 23rd birthday and, if you choose not to, you'll lose your connection to them." In this au, Rafayel would be the God of the Sea and you would be an average person. Rafayel would be more than willing to leave his life for his soulmate but as the last God of the Sea...You end up making the decision for him.

So this one is a four-shot with an accumulation of tropes. So each LADS boy will have a one-shot of a different trope. Like friends to lovers, rivals to lovers, etc.

I could've went the obvious route and chose Zayne or Xavier as childhood friends to lovers but I didn't want the easy way out to be honest.

The trope I chose for Rafayel is "amnesia". You've lost your memory and woke up in the hospital with a man seated next to you. His hand desperately gripping your own as if he were a balloon about to fly away. "Uh...hello?" You ask, your throat feeling dry as if you hadn't spoken in weeks. "Y/n!?" The man jerks awake with wide eyes. Tears flood his waterline and he gently cups your face. You can feel his hands trembling and you tilt your head to the side, confused, "Are you...my boyfriend?" "What-" Rafayel looked confused, but it only takes a few seconds before he nods, "Yes. I'm Rafayel, your boyfriend."

In actuality, you're his bodyguard and you got injured trying to protect him. He lies to you because he doesn't want you to put yourself in danger for him anymore.

Xavier's trope is a complete flip on what you would originally expect. I chose "rivals to lovers" for him, just because I had a small idea where he could be a lightseeker and you would be the other faction. (I forgot the names of the knights on Philo, they're from Xavier's lightseeker myth if you're confused) But you also get annoyed with Xavier because he keeps putting off his princely duties. Annnnd it would be funny to call him "Princess".

Zayne's trope is also not "friends to lovers". Instead I thought "forbidden love". This one is a bit of a stretch and I can tweak it if it's unliked but this would be a fantasy au where Zayne is from the Kingdom of Linkon and he's a saint blessed by Astra (the God from his Forseer myth) and you are a princess from the Kingdom of Philo. You were blessed by the Goddess Lux (I made her up and her name means light) and you've come to Linkon's Kingdom to possibly marry their prince, Greyson (I didn't want to use a love interest for this role), and unite the kingdoms. Instead you, a princess from a kingdom who doesn't believe in Astra, and Zayne, a follower of Astra, fall in love. Also, Zayne's powers cannot affect you because of Lux's blessing, which gives you the ability to resonate (make other's powers stronger), heal, and create a ball of light so hot that it feels like fire itself.

Now, Sylus is our friends to lovers! A modern au friends to lovers where your mother is a top operative in Onychinus, a crime syndicate led by Sylus's parents. You meet while young (but not too young) and have a seven year age gap. You've always had a crush on Sylus, since you were little, and Sylus possibly does but he avoids thinking about it because of your age difference. At 30, he feels like he's way too old for you, at 23 in this. Now, to not make it weird, your mother passes away and you're sent to your grandma, Josephine's to live a better life away from all the crime. You grow up there from highschool, all the way until college when disaster strikes. On your way home for springbreak with Caleb, your friend- who your grandmother took in, your home explodes. The blast kills both Caleb and your grandma. This was clearly an attack by a rival gang and Sylus steps in to take you back to Onychinus.

The next category is the "camgirl" mini-series. This one was a must-have to add because I've read so many BTS camgirl one-shots and loved them so much. I doubt any of the four guys would ever want their love on camera for everyone to see but they might not mind as much if they're on screen with her...

I hope you guys aren't tired of this by now! But either way, I'll keep going since I'm not done yet. I just wanna put my ideas out there and figure out which I should be working on as I post my weekly chapters for "Twist of Fate".

So for Sylus, I already have a name. I came up with it at work- "Welcome to the Puppet Show".

For the rest, Xavier's would be the usual. He's your childhood friend and he recently gifted you a necklace for your birthday. His friend, Jeremiah, tells him about this camgirl website and jokingly shows him a few videos. After this, Xavier has been watching your lives for a while now until he notices something peculiar in today's session. You're wearing the necklace he gave you. He instantly knows it's you because he got the necklace custom made and he confronts you about it.

The idea is as follows, "Sylus strings you up like a puppet with his evol during one of your weekly cam-sessions." That's it. That's all I got.

Rafayel is a tattoo artist and he recently gave you a tattoo. It was a pretty unique one so he'd never forget what it looked like, especially where you had it done. A cute, little koi fish ying-yang under your breast. He sees the tattoo in one of your cam-sessions and I'm not sure how you would meet up after that, if I'm honest so let's move on to Zayne.

Zayne is your partner during your cam-shows. He's your close friend from school and once he learnt of your cam-shows, he casually offers to be a part of them for when your fans get tired of your solo lives. He's always only lent a hand, never actually fucking you. Neither on camera nor off. But on your final live, you ask him to fuck you. This is your final live because you're planning on confessing your feelings for him afterward.

The Android mini-series is, once again, solo one-shots compiled into a series. This series was heavily taken from an old bts mini-series I had. Like Rafayel's would've been Taehyung's (his model would've been the Vante KTH7-1230), Xavier's would've been Jimin's (his model would've been PJM7-1013), Zayne's would've been Namjoon's (his model being Holmes 2.0 KNJ7-0912), and Sylus's would've been Yoongi's (his model being OG Holmes MYG7-0309). So, I might change Zayne and Sylus's models because I might want to write this idea for bts in the future, but just let me know if you want to see it and I'll make some changes!

Now, we're onto the most unsure one of all; the Android mini-series.

For Rafayel's, you were fully colourblind when you were younger but you were deadset on becoming an artist. Your grandma, Josephine, had always wanted the best for you so she worked many days of overtime at her job until she could finally afford a corrective surgery- but only for one eye. You've gotten the surgery, which was replacing your original eye with an android one so now you have one e/c (eye colour) eye and one magenta eye. Later on in life, you were finally in college for an art degree and your professor gifts you his old android. A Delaux model (the model is named after a famous artist who painted mermaids) with the ID number RF04-0306. The Delaux model of androids are used to help artists with colour correction and matching, give input on what would sell best or look more appealing to buyers, and even give an artist ideas for artworks or create compelling backstories that their artwork could be based upon. All Delaux androids have unnatural coloured hair since it's against their coding to have nature hair because it's normal and therefore boring for such an artsy android model. Rafayel is the only Delaux model with his hair colour.

Next up is Xavier. He's a Lux model android with the ID XV04-1016. Lux model androids are primarily used as an assist for the military and police force as replacements for the K-9 unit, so they're lithe and light on their feet. These models always have blonde or silver hair if they work for the police and black hair if they're affiliated with the military. If they have any different hair colour, then the Lux model is considered defective and is terminated. These models cannot be kept by the public because they're a higher caliber of android, unless they are protecting a rich client. For your story, you find him in an alleyway or maybe a garbage dump and he's half destroyed. You decide to bring him home to your mechanic shop (your home is above the shop) to repair him. Once your power him on, he remembers nothing so you decide to keep him around- almost as if he's a stray dog. Also, in this story, you have an android arm. For this one, I'm 100% sure if I want him to be a military android but it makes sense for him. It was either this or a sex worker android and I feel like that doesn't fit with him..

Zayne is a Holmes 2.0 model android with the ID number ZY04-0905. The one and only Holmes model in existence since the last one was shut down because it was ruled compromised (or deviant) after a various amount of tests. The Holmes model is a less animalistic version of the Lux model; These androids are more intuitive and less likely to instigate conflict. Black hair is their only choice of hair colour, anything else and they will be decommissioned. In this, you are a damn good detective. The best there ever was...until your accident. You miscalculated an explosion radius during your last big mission and it costed you big time. You ended up losing both an arm and a leg. Your boss (the chief of police) compensated you for your injuries. He provided you with an android arm and leg to replace what you had lost and a brand new Holmes 2.0 model android to be your little sidekick for the next few months, until you can get used your new limbs. This would be his first official test run before the EVER corporation created more of his model. But you hated it. You felt useless to your team and you felt less human with your new android add-ons. You pretty much took out your anger on your newly acquired android because they gave you an android to solve a problem that an android caused in the first place! Damn defective android almost killed you, all because it "didn't want to die". I love the premise of this but Holmes doesn't fit with Zayne's aesthetic. I can always swap him to a medical assistance android where Y/n has a heart condition and Zayne is her android that takes care of her but it's up to yall! If I change Zayne, I have to change Sylus's though because their models go hand in hand for the story.

And lastly, we have Sylus. He...can't remember his model name but he knows his ID number, SL04-0418. Though, every time he looks up his ID number, he gets no results. Nothing. It's almost as if his model never existed or...it was decommissioned. That would mean he's defective and he doesn't want to admit that. He doesn't want to be shut down. After searching, he soon learns that he might be the original Holmes model but...it's not like he can just ask anyone, they'd shut him down if he asked..right?

I think we're at the half-way point! This is where it goes downhill to be honest. The only good one here is the first one, I feel, but if I thought about it more, I'm sure I'd find better ideas for the other guys.

You have worked in the big, shiny and glaringly white EVER corporation building for years at this point, creating and customizing many androids that are constantly in every day use. You painstakingly detailed everything about these androids from their faces to even their personalities and the very first Holmes model was no exception. You grew very close to this android during the years of designing and creating him, you even gave him a name. Sylus. He was one of your favourites, out of all of your creations, and...he was decommissioned. You honestly never thought you'd see him again until you were brought in to shut him down and you couldn't bring yourself to do it. You had loosely based his looks on an old friend whom you had a one-sided crush on. From his hair to his eyebrows, his physique and even the scar on his chest. You were able to take full creative liberties with the very first Holmes model android because, well, it was the first in existence. But now, he's just called a failed prototype. You made him too...human. Too independent and strong willed. This wasn't the designated personality for a Holmes model android and this ultimately led to a cop becoming gravely injured on Sylus's first mission. The negligence caused by your own hand haunts your every day because you could've killed someone. It would've been your fault, after all. But now with that android, your android, standing right in front of you once more...You can't seem to let him go. You can't lose him, not for a second time. You're willing to throw your whole job away to protect him, sick and tired of androids being treated horribly just because they're becoming self aware and more human. So again, let me know if you like this idea and if you do, I hope you won't mind if I end up re-hashing it when I possibly make my bts android mini-series <3 because I genuinely can't think of anything that works with Sylus. Nothing else really makes sense but I'm also unsure of how the story would go with this one 🤔

Rafayel's fairy tale story is quite obvious. It's "The Little Mermaid" but flipped. You would be Eric and Rafayel would be Ariel, however Eric would be the one wanting to be part of Ariel's world. You've seen him in the ocean multiple times from your beach house. Honestly, the first time you saw him, you thought he was drowning but then you saw the beautiful purple and blue tail fin that adorned his lower half. He was...a mermaid? Every day for a few weeks, you'd take some time out of your day just to watch him breach the surface and play around with the seagulls. He would sometimes sit atop driftwood and large boulders in the ocean. He was a sight to behold. And then, he began to take notice of you. Eventually, the two of you begin engaging in conversation- but not before he accuses you of wanting to fillet him like a fish. As the two of you grow close and he tells you stories about his home, Lemuria, you decide you want to be a part of his world. You find a traveling witch and she gives you an ultimatum. You can become a mermaid to live with Rafayel but you must give something up equal in return. Now, the tricky part is, I'm not sure what I want for Y/n to lose. I don't want it to be her voice, her eyesight, her emotions, so I'm thinking maybe she gains a heart condition so she can be with him but not for a long time. Though, this heart condition can be cured with an act of passion. An action that would tug on anyone's heart strings would be enough to snap the strings of Y/n's heart back into place. Also some mermaids are depicted with two penises so...Yeah!

Xavier's is yet another obvious one. I decided to go with "Sleeping Beauty" but I can always change it if I can find a better one. On the day the little prince was born, a warlock appeared and let out a cackle, "I shall curse the sole heir to Philo's throne. This kingdom has brought many sufferings to warlocks and witches alike and it shall be brought down by the prince himself!" The warlock, named Luminous (I came up with that on the spot but it's a parallel to Maleficent and Lumiere) also cursed the king and queen with infertility so they couldn't just have another child. And so, on Prince Xavier's 23rd birthday, Luminous reappeared and unsealed the curse upon the prince. Thorns erupted through the banquet hall, wrapping around the entire castle, and whomever was pricked by the thorns fell into a deep slumber. 50 years have passed since the kingdom of Philo fell into a deep slumber and you, a witch who was also childhood friends with the prince, decide to sneak into the castle and plunder it for any treasures it may hold. While searching, you prick your finger on a thorn and panic, thinking you will also succumb to the curse. However, you don't. This could be because you're a witch or because you're just the protagonist. Either way, this leads you to believe that you could wake Xavier up and this option would pave the way for more money in the future so it's your best opportunity for some quick wealth. As you head over to Xavier, pondering on how you could wake him up, you end up tripping over something on the floor and you land on top of him. Your lips crashing into his and you can taste your own blood. Congrats, you've awoken sleeping beauty! :D

Sylus's story...I'm torn between "Rapunzel" and "The Beauty and the Beast". He's got the Flynn Ryder aesthetic but also the Beast's at the same time so once I come up with a storyline, I'll probably make my decision.

Here's where the ideas get less and less detailed. This was another mini-series taken from my old bts ones and honestly, I might not even write these but I thought it would be nice to add them here just in case.

Zayne's is also another hard decision. I could go for the obvious "Frozen" or perhaps Mulan. I'll explain my Frozen storyline though since that's all I've got. So Zayne is Elsa and you have the power of fire. (I haven't seen Frozen 2 but I think there's a girl who wields fire in it?) You don't know that you have this power and you were a princess who was just banished from your Kingdom, Philo, due to the false charge of trying to murder your step mother, the queen. You were banished from your warm kingdom to a desolate, snowy forest in the Kingdom of Linkon. And here, you stumble upon Zayne's ice castle that he created with his powers. Now, the story behind your false charges is, your step mother went from a mistress to a queen after your mother passed away and your step mother got rid of you because she wants her son, the king's non-bilogical, to be next in line for the throne instead of you. So, instead of fighting your way to go back home, you convince Zayne to allow you to stay in his castle until the snow storm outside subsides and you can leave. Soon, you learn of your fire powers and Zayne offers to aid you in learning how to use them. Also, Zayne's younger brother Greyson (He is Ana here) and his girlfriend Yvonne (She is Kristoff) are the rulers of Linkon because Zayne locked himself away in the castle in fear that his powers would hurt someone.

Zayne would be an English professor with you as his teaching assistant. Even though you're an assistant, you also do some classwork to bide your time when you're not busy and even turn it in to Zayne to have him 'grade' it. This week's essay for a romance essay and you decided to write a steamy little romance essay for fun and submit it to Zayne after class. A week passes by and you're worried he either saw it and didn't care or he's going to mention it when you leave expect it- which he does the latter. He's intrigued at how knowledgeable and intimate the scenes are, and questions if you've done something like this before. You respond that you're a virgin and Zayne asks, "Would you like to feel how your essay would play out?"

For Rafayel, I'd do the obvious choice of an Art Professor with you as his teaching assistant (you're always the teaching assistance because Professor x student feels a bit icky to me, just the power dynamic and everything. I'm not too into writing it). Anyway, he needs you to be a model for a painting but never tells you just what kind of model.

Sylus's could be a physical education professor, I'm not sure if that's even a type of professor? (I didn't go to college so I wouldn't know) but I'm on the fence about this one. I could base it loosely off of his boxing 5 star card.

Xavier would be the Theatre/Drama professor and he needs you to be his supporting actress for rehearsals. Maybe you both are participating in a big play with the students and you need to practice your lines?

Because these ones are specifically so short, I'm not going to add a break in-between. It feels unnecessary but the next idea is superheroes. Honestly since I love Spiderman so much, I might make them all spiderman but for now...here's the ideas.

Xavier would be Lumiere (comparable to Spiderman), Rafayel would be spiderman (because I don't want to write aquaman-), Zayne could be winter soldier, and Sylus might fit as Iron Man. So in these stories, you'd be Iron man's secretary (so think Pepper), spiderman's best friend, lumiere's biggest fan and probably a reporter, and I'm drawing a blank on winter soldier.

The superhero one is honestly my weakest link when it comes to these one-shots but I really want to give it a shot.

Then, the actual one-shots that wouldn't be in series's would be all of their 5 star myth cards but reimagined. So I wouldn't write them word for word, just loosely base them on it.

The only example I have is for the Sea God myth.

Annnnd that should be it! I really wanted to add my space/alien! Bts au since I really like it and will more than likely write it in the future, but this isn't a bts post so I don't want to write about them too much here but if you want to hear about it then I might make a separate post about it!

So in this story, you're still an orphan being raised by the emissaries as a sacrifice for the Sea God but you have grandma Josephine, who was a clergy woman at the church you were confined to. She would tell you all kinds of stories about Lemuria and the people who lived under the deep sea. Then, on your 19th birthday, she passes away and shortly after, you were thrown into the sea as a sacrifice for the Sea God. I set the age at 18/19 just because Rafayel's coming of age ceremony to become the Sea God is within the 5 star myth cards and usually your coming of age ceremony (at least in ro-fan manhwas) is around the age of 16 to 19.

With that being said, I hope you enjoyed reading through my ideas for the future and have some that you're looking forward to! Other than that, my next post will be Chapters Six and Seven for "Twist of Fate" on late Friday or sometime Saturday! I don't have an exact time since I'll have to cross-post to both wattpad and AO3 but it'll be one of those two days. I'll possibly even post chapter eight as well, but I'm not too sure yet since I'm writing chapter twenty and I don't want to post too many chapters at once. I'll see y'all once more on friday/saturday! 🩷

[shreddits-less-popular-opinions]

Real pretentious for rusties to call themselves burgundy…you don’t see any other caste arguing about what they’re called :////

}:0|

[toxicrevolver]

2024 K-Pop Wrapped Tag Game

Tagged by @onlyoneofsideblogtrashheep thanks for the tag 💚💚

Regardless of Spotify stats, share your personal k-pop favorites of the year. Of the k-pop content that was released in 2024, post:

Favorite Group Album: DREAM()SCAPE - NCT DREAM

Favorite Solo Album: Depth - Yuta (of course. The way I will never be over this sweeping my October receiptify. NCT solo albums are the best thing ever to me.)

Favorite Title Track: Work - Ateez (this bitch was number 2 for my Spotify wrapped top 5 songs if that tells you anything.)

Favorite B-Side: BOX - NCT DREAM (from the album DREAM()SCAPE) honorable mention to Flamin’ Hot Lemon - Jaehyun

Favorite Music Video: Liar - BUS

Favorite Collab Track: Hush-Hush - BE:FIRST featuring Ateez

Tagging (no pressure): @we-survive-endlessly @smushedmuffin @skinzchoerim and anyone else who wants to participate can blame me

My ramblings bcs me tags started being excessive:

The way I had to fully think and google what fucking albums came out this year is insane. 2023 and 2024 have just blurred together for me. What do you mean Fact Check came out in 2023 but Ten’s solo album was 2024. Whot. I deadass could NOT think what group albums came out this year that I actually listened to. I’m so behind on releases it’s ridiculous. I’m still not over most of 2023s music. How am I gonna cope in 2025. I ended up picking dream()scape purely bcs I clearly remember looping it several times at work or while playing video games and not skipping any songs.

The way Jaehyun’s solo music has had me in a CHOKEHOLD. UNCONDITIONAL WAS MY NUMBER 4 TOP SONG ON MY SPOTIFY WRAPPED. IT CAME OUT OCTOBER 24th. SPOTIFY STOPS TRACKING ON LIKE NOVEMBER 21st. I HAVE A PROBLEM. HIS ALBUM THREW ME FOR A LOOP BCS IM NOT TYPICALLY AN R&B FAN BUT GOOD GOD THIS SHIT SLAPPED. THERE IS NO WAY THAT MAN IS BITCHLESS.

Also. 3 NCT related things making the list. On brand. If NCT was just one giant lumped together Spotify group I swear they woulda been in my top 5 artists. But no. They’re separated bcs subunits and I gotta somehow divide my time or only pick certain subunits to make my chart. A hate crime.

[tgmsunmontue]

My barely awake brain just went somewhere with this.

Phoenix overhearing a conversation. A tiny bit of Bradley telling Jake he's not a horseman yet, misconstruing what Bradley means and thinking Jake grew up on a farm when actually Jake is the son of Thantos, one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse (aka Death).

Bradley knows this because he's also of that world (Carole as Persephone anyone? Goose as Hades?) Both Jake and Bradley being familiar with the underworld? Bradley's shirts because he is touched by his mother and is growth and renewal and Jake being all "you can't have all that without Death there..."

It's how Hangman sort of comes about, because he does stand to inherit the God of Death title in many many years, and he cannot die, but he is placed to take human life. (Plus one of the symbols for Thantos is a sword, which features on Hangman's helmet).

So yeah, I'm thinking of Phoenix calling Jake Horseman, and Bradley smirking over it, but for different reasons...

I think Phoenix finding out Jake grew up on a farm and starting to call him Horseman would be very funny thank you

[hausofanya]

i have to ask because ive seen the name spelled with and without the accent- is it cléo or cleo?

it’s cléo! and omg okay i actually had a written thing for this back when i was first setting my girl up but it’s lost in the void now…….. so her maternal grandmother grew up in france and was named anya right. huge huge pianist during her time. and it’s bc of her grandmother that cléo’s mom kemi grew up to be a child of the industry herself (MORE ON THAT LATER!) but kemi wanted to honor anya with her own daughter + just really liked the name cleo (which means to ‘make famous’ btw…) so: cléo anya! the accent is just there for decoration tbh i think it just makes it look prettier LMFAOOO