#wouldn't it be so cool if his quest was actually about him and not about some other bitchass squid

[utilitycaster]

Do you think the god debate and narrative around it in C3 would be more compelling if Ludinus only focused on killing the Betrayer Gods a la Cassida? As many pointed out, the impact that Primes have on mortals is largely positive. Aside from cool abilities, they give healing, meaning and comfort to their followers. Up until very recently (Braius) we haven't seen Betrayers do much of that and their followers are, more often than not, people who would cause great harm to others.

I actually do not. There's multiple questions in here, and honestly I could probably write 5000 words on any of them, which I'm not going to do, but I will split this up into components.

First: I don't think Ludinus is the problem at all. He is unambiguously the villain, but he is always narratively compelling. It is fun to make fun of him because he is genuinely a fantastically crafted villain. When I dunk on villains who are boring, it's nowhere near as fun because all you can say is "wow what do you even do. boring-ass" whereas Ludinus is full of interesting possibilities and hooks to be like how can you be so smart and have lived for so long and seen so much and come to the fucking worst conclusions. There's a reason why people have been side-eyeing him consistently since at least his first speaking appearance in Campaign 2, if not his first appearance ever, in Felderwin, and it's because he's a great character who I hope dies horribly. So his motivations are fine. I'm not saying the possibility you suggest wouldn't be a very interesting different story, but my complaints about narrative and the gods debate do not require anything different from Ludinus, who has been a consistent bright spot within the muddied narrative by being a consistent blot on Exandria and also sometimes the moon.

The narrative and the god debate are intertwined - the issue is a dull indecision that plagues both of them - so I'm splitting this one up a little differently.

What do I as a viewer think is the most reasonable stance regarding the gods based on my understanding of the worldbuilding of Exandria?

What is interesting to watch?

And therein lies the problem. I, as a viewer, think that killing the gods is a bad idea, and I've articulated this in various spaces and am not going to write another 5000 words about it right now, but between the events of past campaigns; the events of this campaign including Downfall; who within the narrative supports the choice to not kill the gods; and the complete uncertainty regarding the fate of existence let alone mortaldom should they be killed or chased away I have come to this position. Any counter-argument tends to rely either on entirely false statements, or a nebulous "a better world is possible" without any assurances that the allegedly better world is, in fact, probable. Ironically enough, I am not willing to take a leap of faith.

But as for what's interesting to watch? That's an entirely different story. My issue with the the gods debates is that they are endless, circular, indecisive, and between the least informed group of PCs we've had by a large margin. They say the same 5 sentences in different words over and over. It's like watching a bunch of high people while you're sober. It only hits hard if you're stupid. For more on this see here and here. If Bells Hells had decided 30 or 40 episodes ago to side with Ludinus, or to try to only kill the Betrayers, or to oppose Ludinus but kill the gods? Great. Fantastic. I'm not saying I wouldn't have had my critiques of it given the worldbuilding setup as described above, but I think it would have held up infinitely better as a standalone story, at least, than it does now. My problem is that instead they had endless circular indecisive conversations during a bunch of (comparatively much more interesting) fetch quests, finally came to some kind of conclusion that gave the end game some structure and direction like 4 episodes ago, and then had yet another wrench thrown at them. And convention panels and Cooldown have consistently confirmed my suspicions about the lack of planning in the places where this campaign really needed it. In my conversations after the latest episode, multiple people independently used the term "sludge" to describe their feelings about the plot.

In actual play, I want characters who have clear conviction and make bold and decisive moves because handwringing forever in such a slow-moving medium is excruciatingly boring. Like, do I think Percy in the Briarwoods arc is making good, informed decisions that make him a moral person? Absolutely the fuck not. Do I think the story where he's shooting first and asking questions later is infinitely superior to one where Vox Machina can't decide what to do for 50 episodes? Yeah.

The god debates are ultimately a symptom of this narrative aimlessness. The lack of an answer is the problem, not what the answer is.

[feroluce]

I love the fact that the Silvermane Guards are essentially just a very devoted "We Love Gepard Landau" fanclub, and I desperately need for all of them to get into ship wars about it behind their Captain's back. The soldiers are all split into several factions:

Some of them ship him with Sampo 🛡💣 (enemies to lovers/hateship enjoyers; this does not necessarily mean they like Sampo- in fact it's more like most of them want to sic their Captain on him skzjsmdm)

Some of them ship him with Bronya 👑🛡 (knight and princess trope enjoyers and also a sorta-kinda "that is our mom and dad" type of deal; this faction gets riled up and ridiculously hypes Gepard up to Bronya every time she comes down to the frontlines mskdkxmd)

Some of them ship him with the trailblazer 🛡💫 (the smallest and newest faction, but steadily gaining!)

Some of them ship him with Pela ❄🛡 (workplace romance enjoyers; Gepard once charged out into the Fragmentum alone to save Pela from an expedition gone horribly wrong, and when this faction saw Gepard carrying Pela back princess style they threw a whole party)

Some of them ship him with Dunn 🛡🗡 (also workplace romance; Dunn is very flattered by this because yeah wrong Landau, but wow, the troops really think he's good enough to woo the Captain, what an honor)

And some of them ship themselves with the Captain 🛡❤ (yumejoshi enjoyers; this faction throws a massive group effort every Valentine's Day and are also all very supportive of each other)

The final faction is an odd one, because they're defined not by who they ship their beloved Captain Gepard with, but rather by who they don't ship him with. Their name is generally shortened to the A.B.S. Group- Anybody BUT Sampo 🚫💣 DKSZJJSMSOZ

[bladesmitten]

that list doesn't even include the fact that wyll's act 3 quest isn't actually about him and is about [redacted] instead. lmfao

[sunderwight]

Crack SVSSS Mpreg AU where when Shen Yuan transmigrates in, the system impregnates him with the displaced soul of the original Shen Qingqiu.

For the purposes of this AU, we'll say that male pregnancies or trans men being pregnant in the PIDW universe are uncommon but not especially noteworthy concepts.

So now not only does he have to deal with recovering from his qi deviation and of course being pressed into the role of the scum villain from the novel he was just reading, he's also mysteriously knocked up, can't explain it, and doesn't even know for sure if the baby will recollect being Shen Jiu when its born -- and of course hate him for stealing the Shen Qingqiu life.

What's more, Shen Yuan can't bring himself to get rid of it, because he does have mixed feelings about stealing Shen Jiu's life as well. Even though he knows it's probably the best tactical move, and he doesn't even like Shen Jiu, and the system has said there wouldn't be any penalties because it wouldn't impact the major important plot milestones, he opts to just... keep it. And not think too hard about it.

Luckily(?) cultivators have a lot of control over their bodies, which means a pregnancy can last however long they want it to, so Shen Yuan doesn't have to worry about giving birth in a hurry. SJ seems fine in utero, stalling his development doesn't have adverse effects, so Shen Yuan just swears Mu Qingfang to secrecy and figures out how to keep his pregnancy at the early stages for as long as possible while he hashes everything else out. So apart from internal freak-outs, most of the early plot proceeds as usual.

Unluckily(?), this state of affairs changes when Shen Qingqiu gets infected with Without-a-Cure, as that makes it so that putting off the inevitable is no longer a viable course of action. He can't spare the extra energy and doesn't have the stability of cultivation required to mess around with his pregnancy anymore, so things have to proceed at a more normal rate.

Which means the other peak lords and the disciples on Qing Jing find out that Shen Qingqiu has been harboring a secret pregnancy for an undetermined length of time. Shen Yuan has to bite the bullet and use the amnesia excuse to explain his lack of insight to the existence of any other parents (he's surprised it works so well, because he doesn't know that the rest of the sect has already figured out he doesn't remember some things after his fever), which inspires a lot of behind-the-scenes chaos because everyone has ALSO figured out that Shen Qingqiu's amnesia seems to pertain to things that must have traumatized him in the past.

So if he's pregnant, and he lost his memories of how he got that way...

Well. Cang Qiong is now on the hunt for an attacker who might already be dead and doesn't actually exist.

But everyone agrees that Shen Qingqiu doesn't need to be troubled by these details, so if he's okay with not remembering, then they're okay with letting him not remember. The only one who tries to bring it up is Liu Qingge, and that's mostly in the context of wanting clues so he can track down the culprit and stab them until they are dead.

Luo Binghe supports the quest to find the persona responsible and violently murder them, but as a disciple he has no resources to actually go on some wild goose chase for a mystery rapist. Besides, he has more important things to do on the peak, like making Shizun's meals, keeping Shizun's house, and preparing to help raise Shizun's baby. Luo Binghe is not going to be the stepdad, he is going to be the dad who stepped up! (Binghe please cool your jets you're like fifteen you're going to give your future shizun whole new inner turmoil about whether it's possible to accidentally babytrap your own teenage disciple via immaculate conception reincarnation pregnancy...)

Anyway eventually baby SJ arrives, and Shen Yuan immediately decides to block all recollections of the childbirth process and never dwell on it again. Something happened, he's no longer going to think about it, oh look a baby! A potentially evil villain baby. With cute widdle toes and tiny fingers and a squished, grumpy baby face that gets all red when he cries...

Yeah. Despite his reservations, there's no way he's not getting attached.

He gets Binghe to help him pick out a name for the baby, partly because he feels terribly presumptuous when he actually knows this kid's real name (but he can hardly call his son "Shen Jiu"), partly to encourage Luo Binghe to have some fondness for the kid so that if he someday hates his old shizun, he might still spare his "son" from his revenge. Even though it's actually SJ's fault. Well, he's a baby now. He probably doesn't even remember anything! He sure does cry a lot! Would the OG villain cry and fuss and settle down only after being sufficiently cuddled?

Turns out, yes. Shen Jiu remembers everything from before his fatal qi deviation. He's just also still an infant. So what can he do but cry? And maybe pee on the beast and that body-stealing creature that has reduced him to this. He spends most of his early infancy waiting for someone to come smother him with a pillow, but the conspirators must want to keep him alive for some reason, because it doesn't happen. Instead he gets looked after and soothed and taken care of in a way he never has been. Also, his stupid baby instincts keep insisting that the creature which stole his body is actually the safest person in the whole world.

It's like a cruel joke. SJ finally gets the childhood he always wanted deep down inside, but the one giving it to him is some kind of monster.

[david-talks-sw]

So that whole interaction between Ahsoka and Huyang, where they talk about Sabine's choice to help the enemy find Thrawn (in hopes that she can then find Ezra) is clearly meant to be subtext for what happened with Anakin.

I mean change the pronoun from "she/her" to "he/him", tweak some of the names and...

... it's just blatant.

The parallels were already clear in the previous episode, as pointed out in this post here, and it still holds true:

Sabine's struggle with attachment mirrors Anakin's.

We know Filoni's whole stance on why Anakin fell to the Dark Side: he'll usually acknowledge that Anakin was ruled by his attachments, got possessive of Padmé, but then adds:

"HOWEVER is loving that way really that bad?"

"HOWEVER he never stood a chance because Qui-Gon wasn't there to teach him properly and be the father Anakin needed."

I've already gone into why both these statements don't track with Lucas' intended narrative here and here... but I wanna touch on this notion that "Anakin wasn't trained enough to make a better choice."

He was.

You know how we know? Because we saw him overcome his attachments before.

We saw him explain the theory of the non-attachment rule, before.

In fact, wee saw him pass down a lot of the Jedi lessons, in The Clone Wars, including being disciplined, following orders and not acting impulsively.

The issue is that - while Anakin knows the theory, even has a few minor successes applying it - he never builds the self-discipline needed to master it because... deep down... he doesn't want to.

This is partially because you got Palpatine telling him he doesn't need to, molding him into an arrogant, power-craving person... but the fact remains that Anakin made the choice himself.

Which Filoni acknowledges, sure... but not quite. The difference between his thesis and George Lucas' is that the latter picks a stance and defends it.

"He started out as a very loving and compassionate person. And as he progressed, it was his inability to control his temper, his inability to let go of things, and his quest for power that were his undoing." - George Lucas, E! Behind the Scenes - ROTS, 2005

Anakin fell because he was greedy, just like any one of us can be.

Cool. Filoni, on the other hand, doesn't seem to land anywhere.

He dances around the issue (as can be seen by the debate between Ahsoka and Huyang, with no clear winner) and merely questions whether it's as simple as that.

Clearly he wants to justify Anakin's actions to some degree... but y'know, the narrative considers those actions so reprehensible that Anakin gets friggin' burned alive for it.

"I felt it was important that we actually see that happen so that we could see the consequences of these bad things that he did. […] He forces his friends to turn against him. Which is heartbreaking." - George Lucas, “The Chosen One” Featurette, 2005

Because Anakin's actions are not meant to be justified.

It's easy to see why Filoni likes Anakin. One of the earliest tasks he had when writing The Clone Wars was humanizing a character whose sole functional purpose was to carry out a narrative about how:

"Without self-discipline, greed [can] force a character off the path to freedom." - Micael Hearn, The Cinema of George Lucas, 2005

And Anakin is a very sympathetic character.

His flaws are flaws that we all carry.

Q: Is it fair to assess Anakin is kind of cursed by his own goodness/good qualities? "I wouldn't say that’s true. He’s cursed by the same flaws, and issues that he has to overcome, that all humans are cursed with. There's a lot going on there. [...] The whole point is—and the reason I started the story where I did—is that Anakin is a normal, good kid. And how does somebody who is normal and good turn bad? What are the qualities, what is it that we all have within us that will turn us bad?" - George Lucas, Star Wars Insider #52, 2000

But narratively, Anakin is selfish.

He doesn't want to save Padmé's life, he wants to save himself from the pain of losing Padmé.

And while you're supposed to sympathize with him, you're not meant to agree with him. He's Darth Vader, the space nazi. He messes up and consequentially "leaves the Force in darkness" for 20 years, instead of ushering it towards the light in the chancellor's office, when he has the chance.

So to shift the blame and say that...

HOWEVER, Anakin didn't have the proper support system or training to make a better choice.

... when the whole point of the narrative is about taking personal responsibility and being selfless instead of selfish... well, it is missing that point.

He did know better. He just didn't want to choose better, so he convinced himself he wasn't able to.

[swampstew]

Tulips

Summary: sex pollen trope is infesting my brain.

Warnings: Eustass Kid X Female Reader, consent is implied, dom/sub dynamics, exhibitionism because its outside sex but no one actually witnesses it, vaginal penetration, etc etc.

Minor Do Not Interact

"Oi, Y/N. Where are you going?" the brash voice of your Captain stopped you in your tracks.

"Explore a little since we're still here. Is that not ok?" the carefree smile on your face creased with worry.

You had been growing closer with Eustass Kid day by day since you had joined the crew. In retrospect it wasn't that long ago he found you on your island and invited you to join him on his adventures. You did what you could to stay on his good side, and every opportunity you spent with him seemed to drag slowly as you learned more about each other; you wouldn't have it any other way.

He lit up every corner of your mind even when he wasn't in your presence. Infiltrating every region of your brain with his sexy, brooding demeanor. That only seemed to perk up when you kept him company. At least, you hoped that's what you saw and felt, and not something you imagined.

"How many times do I gotta tell ya - don't leave the ship without telling one of the higher ups! Don't wanna lose you, dummy."

"Well there's nobody else here so I thought it was no big deal!" you stuck your tongue out at him, "I'll try to remember next time."

Kid's face broke out with an amused look, "If you fall down into some ancient, underground dwelling and no one hears you, what then? Or if you come across a carnivorous plant that tries to eat you, you think you'd regret not telling someone you'd left the ship?"

"Oh my gods stop with your whataboutisms, I get it, I'm sorry! If you're so worried about me, come along then," you resumed your walk to the gangplank.

"Let's go on a side quest," you beamed up at him. Hoping your smile would win him over so you could greedily hog his attention.

Not that he was never not willing to give it to you. He seemed to enjoy making you beg for it lately, so you were trying a new approach that didn't feel quite so...pathetic for your own sake.

Kid studied you with a piercing gaze, the grin on his face never leaving. Only growing wider.

"Just us hmm? Sure, I guess I can spare the newest, and weakest, member some one-on-one time so they can feel safe. It's a big, scary world out there."

"Byyyeeeeee," you waved as you descended the ship, leaving him with a gaping mouth.

"Hey wait up!"

---

The weather was just right, not blazing hot and just enough cover from the foliage to create an intimate atmosphere. You could talk to him about anything and everything it felt like.

Coming up on a small field of flowers, the sudden burst of color made you hover over them in appreciation. Kid was standing behind as you smelled them. Admiring the way your curves and body rounded you out so perfectly that it made his eyes glaze over.

You let out a sneeze, straightened your posture and continued your walk. Kid watched you silently before moving, falling in step with you before you ever noticed he was gone. Soon you met a fork in the path.

“Which way?” you asked him.

“I dunno,” he smirked. Pulling a handful of flowers from behind his back, he handed them to you, not looking at you but at the two routes. “Pull the petals or something.”

Stunned, you took them, “Oh! But these are so pretty, I don’t think I can.”

With a snort, he plucked a stem from your fingers and began, “Left, right, left, right…”

You fidgeted as you waited, a sudden warmth taking over you, making you clench the stems in your hand hard enough to make them wilt.

“Left, right, aaaaaand left,” he shook the remains of the pollen in the air as he tossed the last petal. With a cool touch of his metal hand on your hip, he gently pushed you on, “C’mon, the flower decided.”

A blush touched your cheeks as you wordlessly let him lead. Kid’s touch lingered for a few yards before he let go, suddenly walking ahead a little faster.

“Everything ok?”

“Yeah, just scouting for a place to rest.”

You picked up your pace, yet you were no match against his long strides. He almost escaped your sight as he halted and let out a sigh of relief.

“This is a good spot. Hang out here, I need to take a leak.”

Without waiting for you, he jogged between the trees.

Perplexed, you reached a natural spring and some large, flat rocks stacked upon each other towering over the stream. You chose that spot to wait, enjoying the babble of water and low trill of insects in the breeze. Checking your watch every few minutes, you soon became impatient and rocked subtly against the stone, subconsciously seeking relief for a wispy ache.

After 15 minutes, you decided to look for your Captain. Maybe one of his wild warnings came true and he was impaled in a hole somewhere. Or he got lost. Neither option made you feel good. Thinking of his hulking, muscular body dirty and bloody, you bit your lip, gnawing on the idea of nursing him back to health in the wilderness all by yourself.

You heard frustrated curses and followed them to the source.

Eustass Kid, slamming through tree barks. The wood splintered from the impact, his mechanical arm not bothered by the strike moved on to the next tree. Grabbing the trunk with both arms—

--and rutting manically against it.

“Fuck fuck fuck!!! Go away!!!!” he bent his head down and seemingly screamed at himself.

“C-captain?” you stood a few feet from him, unsure if you should have called his attention or quietly run away while you had the chance. He seemed pissed.

Kid’s scowl should have sent your soul to the grave with how fierce it was, but the only thing you felt was your blood boiling and the ache in your body growing severely. You couldn’t help the way your body naturally shifted, thighs tightening and rubbing faintly.

He saw. His golden amber eyes never missed anything.

“Y/N,” his gravelly voice was lower than normal. Slowly, he stood to his full height and turned to you. A raging boner straining against his pants. “I-I think I’m having an allergic reaction or some shit,” he tried to explain.

Your eyes went from his face to his erection, to the flowers still in your hand. Cautiously you walked up to him, closing the distance he could feel your body heat despite not really being in contact with you. You dropped all but one to the ground, cradling the bulb in your palm as you put it in front of your faces.

And crushed it.

Puffs of pollen escaped between your fingers. Your body felt like it was a slow burning candle, and the fire was not where you yearned it to be. Kid’s pupils dilated they hardly left slivers of the color you love so much.

Your bodies crashed into each other with needy, hungry fervor. Kid’s lips devoured yours, metal hand clutching your body and pinning you to a nearby tree. You wrapped your hand around his covered cock and he let out a deep groan. He thrusted into your hand, hard enough that his body trapped yours against the tree, bucking with reckless abandon. It wasn’t long before you abandoned your grip and pulled yourself up and wrapped your legs around his waist.

He eagerly accepted the change of pace, using his flesh hand to grab at your ass to stabilize his grinding directly between your legs. A lovely melody spilled from your lips as he kept up his ministrations, unwilling to let go now after hearing the beautiful sounds you made for him. When he wasn’t even inside you yet.

It was for that reason he took his time walking back to the spring while groping and making out with you. Slamming you against every other tree so he could pleasure you both, drawing out the anticipation with agonizing edging and teasing.

“K-Ki—” you couldn’t speak, desperation robbing your brain cells as tears streamed from your eyes. “Please!”

“I’ll take care of you,” he bit your lower lip. Quick to shed both your clothes, he laid you against the smooth rock, caressing your shoulder and hip as you felt his hardened length pressing against your core.

You let out a needy whimper, Kid kissed you as he pushed in. Feeling your mewling cries against his lips, his tongue slipped into your mouth and freed your voice.

It rose higher and higher with each thrust of his cock. His own wanton moans joining yours in chorus as you climbed your peaks together.

“Fuuuck, I’ve wanted this for so long,” he groaned, panting heavily over you. “U-under different c-circ—”

You hushed him with a scrape of your nails against his back, “Me-me too! Don’t stop, don’t—”

Kid shifted and grabbed your legs to sit higher on his hips, slamming into you deeply. The edges of your being felt hazy as your core tightened. Your walls fluttered around him as he rolled his hips, your moans coming out near breathless as your orgasm washed over you.

You clamped on his cock with a strangled shriek, head hitting the stone and nails digging into his arms as you came. A veil of white flooded your vision as you rode the wave, feeling your body moving with his in synchrony. Sweet moans spilled from your lips with every slap of his balls against your sopping cheeks.

Kid’s hips stuttered, letting out a choked cry as his hips pistoned faster. You felt his cock twitch before it left your gummy walls. He jerked his hand on his cock and when that wasn’t enough he pressed his length against your quivering lips, tip of the head nestled over your clit, and rut his hips until he came.

You could feel the hot spurts land on your belly, smearing and spreading between your bodies as he kept going. Pushing you both to the point of overstimulation.

“I can’t I can’t fuck I don’t want to stop!!” he roared, burrowing his fingers deep into your skin to leave bruises.

You answered with your own grinding, hungry for so much more. With each slide of his cock, your stomach coiled, wounding tightly quickly.

When you came, it was pain, pleasure, euphoria, hysteria, and tingling numbness all at once as your body tensed and pulsed. You felt the wave crest and then wetness on you. Then hotter, heavier droplets as Kid followed you with his own bliss.

A pool of fluids mixed between your bodies as you stayed locked in position, both of you catching your breaths, hearts beating wildly against each other.

“I meant it,” he finally muttered. Raising his head to look at you, rubbing his fingers on your jaw, “I did and still do. Meant to wine and dine you first.”

You smiled tenderly, half-lidded eyes drinking him in, “You still can. I’ve been wanting that very much.”

“Yeah?” he leaned to kiss your cheek, his slight movements triggered his arousal as he swelled against you. “What else have you been wanting from me?”

“A few things,” you let out a shy giggle, “Want to try some of them out while we’re here?”

Kid grinned widely, “You can have me for as long as you’d like.”

Unbeknownst to either of you, the aphrodisiacal effects of the flowers you inhaled will last for several, several hours.

[autistichalsin]

So here's a hot take.

I see a lot of people saying that it would be fun to have a way to make Halsin worse. And I agree that it would totally be cool to be able to corrupt Halsin!

However, I don't think his canon arc would make the most sense leading to the Shadow Druids. Those are the tiny hints Larian dropped, yeah- the Shadow Druids being sent by Ketheric to corrupt the Grove to make them less of a threat against him, the Shadow Druids noting they are going to Baldur's Gate next, Halsin's brief moment of doubt that they were right. And a lot of other media love playing the ecoterrorist angle. So I can see why it's where a lot of people's minds go.

But from a characterization standpoint, I can't see it. Halsin dealt with the Shadow Curse for over 100 years. It cursed his home, and his childhood best friend who was the physical embodiment of nature. If he survived literally 100 years of darkness without being particularly moved to join the Shadow Druids, I just don't see how the sufferings of Baldur's Gate would push him into it. Those are much less personal stakes.

So, if we were to get a darker Halsin route, I would propose one of two things;

1. Introduce a failure state for act 2 that doesn't result in Halsin staying behind in the Shadowlands.

The easiest thought is that maybe doing part of the quest but not finishing it would result in him staying behind, seeing that there is hope to break it now, while doing nothing makes him think he's no closer to solving it than he was before, so things are unlikely to deteriorate while he goes with the player to solve the Absolute crisis.

Or if we wanted to make it REALLY awful, make it possible for Thaniel and/or Oliver to actually die, breaking Halsin's heart completely in the process. With his friend gone for good, his last hope gone, and with the Dead Three to blame directly, Halsin could become clouded by grief. Maybe it makes his story mirror Ketheric's in a sad way; Ketheric lost Isobel and became a monster, Halsin loses Thaniel and, while not becoming a monster per se, takes a darker, extremist path to avenging him, vowing to let nature reclaim Baldur's Gate in his memory.

Basically, what I'm getting at here is that there's nothing personal enough in Baldur's Gate proper to inspire such a radical shift. Canon, as it is, lets us see his momentary temptation and go "yeah makes sense" but there needed to be far more if I was going to buy his transformation to a Shadow Druid. This would provide that deep pain that cults are so good at preying on.

2. Similar to the above, but pushing it back to act 1. Make it so that the Grove raid, instead of being triggered by the player directly, can also be triggered by inaction; maybe once the player speaks to Minthara/frees Sazza, a timer starts for long rests, and at the conclusion, if the leaders aren't killed, the goblin leaders show up at the Grove. Halsin being freed already lets him fight on your side to stop them, while Halsin still being a captive lets the raid complete.

Similar to the above, Halsin's rage and grief at the defilement of nature then drives him into it. At first he just seeks out revenge, but later, after seeing the Shadow Curse and having those particular wounds opened back up (this one could proceed the same as canon) he gets pushed into something more methodical.

Shadow Druid Halsin could be a lot of fun IMO, but we would need something more than we have to establish a motive. Seeing sadness in a city for the first time wouldn't be enough to cause Halsin to drop every principle he has about nature being a balancing act between good and evil, darkness and light, order and chaos. For him to be pushed so firmly to an anti-society view, he would need to witness something far worse. So those are the two scenarios I can think of that would give just the little push, the sense of personal, direct harm, that would cause Halsin's morals to shift so drastically.

[loremaster]

CHAPTER 1 - Man Door Hand Nail Fur Door (Comic)

...aka the Zilara manifesto.

(tw: strangulation, suggestive themes) BOBA AU MASTERPOST: [link]

Yakou tells Yuma to go to the hotel and corral all the other detectives who have been sleeping soundly in the nice fancy rooms over there. Yuma, who got 3 hours of sleep on Yakou's creaky couch, says "Okay, sure thing, Dad." ((side note - wouldn't the train detectives have had rooms reserved at the hotel? Couldn't Yuma have had one of those?))

Instead of agreeing to meet up, they all send poor little Kokohead around the city doing side quests.

Pucci wants to know if Kanai Ward has any good symphonies; recordings of classical music are all well and good, but it's no substitute for the acoustics of a live concert hall. Closest thing Yuma can find is Aetheria Academy's chamber orchestra program. Musicians in Kanai Ward used to be part of a larger regional symphonic orchestra, but since Amaterasu locked off the city, they've had to resort to busking. Pucci seems disappointed, but resigns herself to checking out the high school girls' next concert anyway.

Aphex is cruisin' for a bruisin'. He spotted some suspicious movement in one of the districts on his radar (drug deals?), but every time he goes to check it out, he can't find out which people in the crowd are the suspicious ones. They must be afraid of Aphex's intimidating appearance, so Yuma goes in his stead to grill the people hanging around the square. Turns out they weren't dealing drugs, they were passing around anti-Amaterasu propaganda. They beg Yuma not to tell Aphex. Yuma goes back to the hotel to tell Aphex... who thinks anti-fascist action is cool, actually, so no need to do anything about those guys.

Melami wants to know about the local fashion scene, and is very curious about the dronebrellas she's seen around Kanai Ward. She sends Yuma to see what the big deal about them is, and once there, he gets roped into a long winding sales pitch for technology he can't afford. He relays as much of this as he can remember back to Melami, but once she hears they only come in one color, she decides she's not interested. What's the point if you can't customize it? Just get a regular umbrella. Or a rain coat. That's a much better way to show off your personality! Yuma tries not to scream about how much time he just wasted.

Zange shows Yuma a picture he took (with his mind) of a specific location in Kanai Ward, but can't quite remember where it was. Yuma has to go on a scavenger hunt to find the place that matches the picture and tell Zange how to get there. Zange assigns Yuma a numerical score based on how long it took him complete the quest (which is always too slow). This will be a repeatable quest/minigame with different locations every time.

As Yuma is about to leave the hotel, Zilch stops him. He offers a more formal introduction (since, you know, they didn't actually meet aboard the train) and volunteers (insists) to accompany the poor useless trainee as a senior detective, to show him how it's done.

Zilch has four animal companions with him at the moment: three caged mice and a dog named Bosch.

He doesn't seem to treat them very kindly, though. He isn't careful handling the mice's cage, and he orders Bosch around like one would speak to Alexa.

Anyway, Zilch and Yuma go look for the last remaining detective, Halara Nightmare. Canon ensues.

They run into The Boy and accept the quest to investigate the Nail Man murders. Halara needs some convincing.

At the church, Zilch makes a new friend, or so he thinks.

Zilch tactlessly asks the nun if her ears are natural or not, and starts bragging about how well his own surgery went. For the ears and tail, that is. The Nun doesn't like Zilch's attitude one bit. She watches him use his mice for spying and gets freaked out. The nun threatens to kill Zilch but he doesn't think she's serious.

Zilch says that he didn’t expect there to be a Metal Fox Church here, of all places. Yuma asks him to elaborate, and he says they’re a denomination that exists elsewhere in the world. The church near where he grew up was much larger and more spectacular than this one. The Metal Fox is a deity known for its fortitude and cunning, that offers protection from “hunters,” or persecution of any kind. Zilch doesn’t seem to believe in its teachings at all. #atheistpride

Meanwhile, the dog, Bosch, sniffs around and seems agitated by something. He can place the smells of all the church NPCs around the scene, but there's something else, too. Zilch barks the order - literally - for Bosch to track whichever scent doesn't belong, and the dog goes off on a solo mission.

Zilch has a plan to catch the Nail Man red-handed, but he won't tell what it is yet. He needs to prepare some stuff. So in the meantime, Yuma and Halara hold hands at several different crime scenes.

While Shinigami keeps blabbing about stripping detectives, Halara fucks off to who knows where and Yuma returns to the church to meet with Zilch. Zilch leads Yuma to the nearby woods and reveals his master plan to lure out the Nail Man by taking a doll with a slip of paper on it to the forest, and writing the name of someone for the Nail Man to kill...

"Yuma Kokohead," of course.

Yuma is terrified of being used as bait, but Zilch promises he'll intervene before the Nail Man can actually kill him, it'll be fine. So Yuma the pushover gets tied to a tree...

Halara unmasks the cloaked figure to reveal the priest of the Metal Fox Church, as they suspected. The priest begs for mercy - he was only trying to protect the people of Kanai Ward by purging it of corruption (and letting an innocent man take the fall for it)...!

Yuma thinks he might not have to rely on Shinigami's powers this time, but then...

Bosch leads them back to the church where Seth and his Peacekeepers are threatening Yakou.

And with that… it’s Mystery Labyrinth time!

Zilch’s voice is back to normal inside the Labyrinth. He seems oddly relaxed around Shinigami - because he insists this is not real and actually a dream. #atheist4lyfe

Yuma deduces that Zilch's name was written in the woods by the nun. She witnessed Zilch’s mistreatment of his animal companions and tactless assholery - but the thing that pushed it into murder territory was actually her recognizing the crest of the Alexander family on his fur coat. The full truth comes to light - the Alexanders have been known for generations as prolific trophy hunters. They “live alongside nature,” sure, but it’s a heavily controlled and subdued “nature.” This is antithetical to everything the Metal Fox Church stands for, so the nun, devout to her faith, believed Zilch to be an invasive threat to their way of life, and the peace of Kanai Ward.

And, since this revelation is taking place in the Mystery Labyrinth, of COURSE she gets a cool Mystery Phantom.

The gang also, like, solves the actual mystery.

Then once they find all the evidence they unmask the true culprit and his copycat, and the Priest's and Worshipper's souls are reaped.

Zilch is horrified. Somehow he didn't expect this was actually going to affect reality. Shinigami assures him that he won't remember any of the Mystery Labyrinth anyway, so...

Aaaaand eventually they do leave the Labyrinth. Halara is back to their usual steely exterior.

The masked priest in front of them drops to the floor dead. A scream from the church can be heard, presumably because the worshipper has just done the same. They go to check it out.

Then… Yomi shows up. He intimidates the group and doesn’t seem to deem any of the detectives worth his attention… until he notices Zilch.

Shinigami wonders if he recognized the Alexander family crest... but Yuma makes the connection and realizes Yomi might have had some sort of connection to the impostor on the train. That's pretty scary to think about. Was this the guy who tried to kill off all the Master Detectives coming into Kanai Ward? He seems dangerous...

Good thing Yomi has a devoted right hand to play around with. In front of everyone.

But anyway, regarding the Nail Man situation, Yomi decides to throw Seth under the bus, and punish him accordingly.

Bye Seth! Or should I say... Steve. :noes:

After his near-death experience, Zilch has a change of heart and decides he doesn't need a fur coat after all (seeing as it almost got him killed). Halara accepts it as payment for their services solving the case.... at least Zilch's half of it - Yuma still owes them a small fortune.

And with that the day is saved. Yuma plays a bit of baseball. Halara has a comfy new bed for their beloved strays. And Zilch... has a lot to think about.

-----

HELLO BOBA FANS!!! Thanks for your patience waiting for this update! I hope you can tell I've been working on this very hard (in between assignments for cartoon college)! The post didn't even fit all the images I made for this chapter - I'll be sure to post the other ones separately. At some point.

This chapter was an interesting challenge to write, trying to hammer down Zilch's character - how to make him distinct from his impersonator, but similar enough to lend credit to the impersonator. It took a while but I think I've finally landed on a solid backstory. I'll be posting more about him in the next installment of Boba AU - Zilch's Gumshoe Gabs. Then after that will be Chapter 2! Super excited to rub my gay little hands all over that one.

If you've made it this far, thank you so much for reading! If you liked this, then please... I beg of you... draw me some Zilara ;_;

BOBA AU MASTERPOST: [link]

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

do you have heretical thoughts on mudugnus fletcher? i never understood the point of his character.

I do have heretical thoughts about pointless characters.

Name Me a Character Who Has a Fucking Purpose in Harry Potter

Singling out Mundungus is kind of weird when we have equally pointless (yet sometimes treated as extremely important) characters who have either negligible influence on the plot or could have been replaced easily by someone else.

What's the point of Fred and George? In the story they only act as a) funny b) Deus ex Machina on several notable occasions c) Weasley brothers d) a tragic death we can all cry about (where it doesn't even fucking matter which one kicked it.)

Take a look at Charlie, he's even worse, we barely see him to the point where his personality is... earring? Or Bill for that matter, yes he gets to marry Fleur and get mauled by werewolf and work in Gringotts but... does he have any personality?

Does Ginny have any point besides "hot validation girlfriend" for Harry? (I'm not saying that wouldn't be nice, I'm asking if she was written in such a way that she does, because we see her in book two having to be rescued and then... she sort of shows up in book six for a few chapters to be Harry's girlfriend only to be broken up with immediately).

Honestly, I could even point to Ron and Hermione. Do they ever grow as people? Do they, in and of themselves, ever have a large influence on the greater plot or are they there to be Harry's cheerleaders or the friend he's mad at today? Is Ron just "funny friend" and Hermione "smart friend"?

It's just, I agree there's no point to Mundungus, but that's pretty much every fucking character even some of the main ones.

(Is the purpose of Tonks just to be "cool girl" then die tragically off screen after having given birth to godson for Harry?)

That Said...

All of the above isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it's actually quite good in some ways. People love the diverse cast of HP characters and all the zany people we meet along the way even if we only see them for two seconds.

If HP was a video game, I'd give JKR an A+ for side quests and funny NPCs who tell us all about their weird life stories while doing crazy things.

It's one of the things people really like about HP as a series.

But, that does mean pointing out Mundungus is pointless is kind of silly.

"So is everyone."

Thoughts on Mundungus

My spicy thoughts are "whoa, Harry, did you really have to strangle the guy out of nowhere like that?" and "... Huh, we just... never touched on that strangling incident again, did we? We really just let that simmer, didn't even question it, but I guess it's no worse than we let the Cruciatus Curse simmer/having absolutely no comment on that incident, so... in character."

Otherwise, Mundungus does seem to have an alcohol problem, he definitely has a pilfering problem and is known as such, he seems to be in the Order much for the reason a lot of people are in the Order, to round out their numbers for... purposes...

Even if that's a bit ridiculous when they ask him to do things he actually doesn't want to do (see him getting dragged into the Battle of Seven Potters and Moody ending up dead because of it).

As much as this isn't a "guess the author's intent" blog, I think JKR intended for him to be the scapegoat, of sorts, she needed shit to go wrong with the Order now and then (Harry getting attacked by Dementors in Little Whinging and no one noticing, Moody dying, the locket being sold off, etc.) and rather than spread the love among Order members we're supposed to like/think are incredibly competent, it all piles onto Mundungus.

[xxsabitoxx]

Cowboy | Kinktober Side Quest 2

Dinosaur Hybrid Kyojuro x AFAB Horse Jockey Reader

A/N: if this sounds fucking bizarre… it’s because I’m using Steel Ball Run Aka Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure pt.7 as inspiration. Listen… I’d let Diego Brando do horrid things to me when he’s in between transforming due to Scary Monsters.

If I don’t do a good job trying to paint this picture for you, you can always reference this to help!

Divider is from @benkeibear | @monster-october-kny-2023

Kyojuro, who makes a point to hide his “deformity” with his hair. His cowboy hat always casting shadows on his handsome face and fiery hair.

Kyojuro, who places bandages on his cheeks to hide the fact that his mouth extends all the way to the end of his jaw.

Kyojuro, who pulls away when you try and fix his hair for him.

Kyojuro, who’s heart falls to his stomach when the wind blows to hard and reveals the secret he’s been trying to hide.

“Woah…” you breathed out, hand reaching to ghost across the cracks in his cheek. Sharp teeth were pointing out of it, the bandage on his face peeling off a bit as he gasped. “I… don’t look at me please I know it’s ugly…” Kyojuro’s hand came up to try and hide how far his mouth extended, inching away from you out of fear. “No… Kyojuro it’s not ugly I just wasn’t expecting it.” You clarify, finding it oddly beautiful.

“You… don’t find it ugly?” He seemed hesitant, golden eyes meeting yours to try and decipher if you were serious. “Not at all… it’s pretty cool actually…” you took a hesitant step closer, not wanting to push the man before you if he wasn’t ready. Much to your relief, Kyojuro didn’t shy away. Your fingers brushed along his cheek, tucking a strand of golden hair behind his ear as you carefully observed the jagged cracks and elongated smile. “You don’t have to explain how this happened, though I must admit I’m very curious.”

Kyojuro, who tells you all about his bizarre quirk and how it happened.

Kyojuro, who tells you that he can fully transform into a dinosaur if he really wanted too

Kyojuro, who can grow a long, orange and red tail that looks just like a reptile's tail

Kyojuro, who now freely uses his interesting abilities to help you get ahead in the horse race

"Ya know, you're pretty hot like this, Kyojuro." you laughed softly, back resting against your bag of supplies as the fire crackled before you. On the other side, Kyojuro was attempting to put some bandages over his jaw. "You find my in-between stage hot?" the blonde countered you, causing the tape to peel away again. "I do." you grabbed your stick to prod at the fire as it began to dwindle, the desert was too cold at night to go without the warmth.

"Well, it's taken me some time, but I'm slowly getting used to it. Still, I wouldn't necessarily call it hot." he tried to put the tape on again, this time a little further up so it wouldn't interfere with his talking. "Do you think I could ride you, Kyojuro?" This time, the cowboy missed completely when trying to apply his tape. "And what do you mean by that, little lady?" he drawled, mind wandering to a much filthier place. "I mean in your dinosaur form, you probably run as fast as my horse."

The smirk on your face told him it was nothing more than a cover-up, you meant something far different. "I can assure you, little lady, that my dinosaur form is nothing in comparison to my human form." your tongue came out to wet your lips, smiling a bit as you innocently tilted your head. "And what do you mean by that, cowboy?" You could see his eyes burning even over the once again blazing flame. He was busying himself with the other side of his face as he spoke.

"My stamina, I can only last so long in that form. My human body can endure a lot more, it can last longer."

"That so, cowboy? Why don't you prove it to me?" you got up, making your way around the fire pit to crouch before the hybrid man. "Little lady... you don't know what you're asking me to." he breathed out, observing what he could of you now that you were covered in shadow. "Oh, I beg to differ, cowboy. I know exactly what I'm asking you to prove." Your tone was challenging him, the smirk on his face making heat flood you even with the chilly air surrounding you.

"Alright then, little lady, put your riding skills to work."

You sunk your teeth into your lower lip, trying to suppress your smirk as you stood again. Kyojuro watched you, straighten his legs so you could properly straddle him. “There we go.” He commented softly as you settled in his lap, knees digging firmly into the sand below you. “Go on now, show me.” You could feel his half-hard dick as you squirmed a bit, muttering a soft “testing it out” as he quirked his brow. Kyojuro merely hummed, calloused fingers finding their home on your waist as you began rocking your hips steadily into his. “Atta girl…” he groaned, head falling back so you could admire his defined jaw.

You were strategic about how you touched him, fingers dancing along the coarse material of his top before sliding up his neck. You wanted to touch his jaw, finding that part of him to be utterly hypnotic. You wanted to trace the jagged cracks that split all the way up to his cheekbones, kiss the soft lips that were parted so prettily for you as you grinder against him. “Cowboy… can I kiss you?” Your voice had a slight twang as you said your request, pulling a smile all the way up his jaw as he uttered back “I’d be honored if you did, little lady.”

You didn’t need much more confirmation that that, lips colliding with his in a messy kiss. You nearly yelled when his tongue slithered past your parted lips, longer than a human tongue as he swept into your mouth. Your fingers found their way to his cheeks, pressing into the uneven skin with care, eager to finally feel him how you’ve been wanting too. Your hips didn’t cease their movement, rocking into him with more fervor, until you could feel him through the leather of your riding pants. “Kyojuro…” you pulled away, salvia keeping you connected as his lips chased after your own.

“What is it?” He breathed out, thumb rubbing circles on your hip as he guided you to drag your covered cunt again him. “What if someone sees? We’re out in the open after all…” but the cowboy just shook his head, “then let them watch.”

[sandboxscenes]

A Halloween Reversal

Inspired by @matchaitham's post here and @i23kazu's post here.

A/N: My brain wouldn't leave this alone after I saw the posts. I thought the posts were cool and had a 'what if' moment. I haven't actually gotten past Sumeru's archon quest yet, but I wanted to write this anyway. Self-indulgent, but it's a fun idea to think about. Happy Halloween! :3

Characters: Diluc, Neuvillette, x gn!reader (hybrid), established relationship

Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst, Crack?

Summary: After some shenanigans, you ended up turning into a hybrid! How do they react?

Word Count: 3,203 (1,128 - Diluc; 2,075 - Neuvillette)

Diluc x Cat hybrid! reader

After Diluc had gotten his hands on yet another "supposed" Barbados relic, you volunteered to be the one to handle the exchange, as Diluc was supposed to get back from a trip that evening.

However, when the next day came and you hadn't left your room, Diluc was concerned. He heard your footsteps pacing around in your room, so he knew you were up. But yet, the door to your room was closed. He went up and knocked on the door. Then, he heard a muffled sound, a loud bang coming from your side of the door, along with a loud owww.

"Are you okay?"

The confusion and concern in Diluc's voice was palpable. It sounded like you had a cat in your room, but how could that be?

Diluc frowned. He checked in with Adelinde when he came back last night, and she didn't mention that you brought home a cat last night. All she told him was that you left the relic on the living room table for him, and that you were going to take a shower. She also informed him that after your shower, you curled up with a book and fell asleep in your room.

Adelinde's report seemed normal enough, so what happened?

Diluc knocked on the door again, more urgently this time. "Hey, are you-"

"Diluc," came your soft reply from the other side of the door. "Not so loud."

Diluc raised his eyebrow. He lowered his hand from the door. That was an odd statement. He didn't seem like he was knocking loudly any more than he did before. If anything, the way he knocked was perhaps a little more rushed, but not loud.

You continued. "I'm glad your home. I'm fine, and you saw the relic on the table, right?"

"Yes. It's a fake, like the others." Diluc paused. "Did something happen with the relic?"

"Um, yes."

Diluc froze. His heart sank. The idea that something could happen with the exchange was one of the possibilities he thought of, but didn't see as likely. Even though he figured the relic was fake, he didn't think the seller would give you trouble. In fact, since the negotiated price was close to what the seller wanted, there shouldn't have been a reason for the seller to be unhappy.

"It wasn't the seller," you hurriedly added. "It was after I got the relic. It was a little dirty, and I tried to clean it. I got all the dirt and dust off, but I felt sleepy. I wanted to take a shower to clean myself off, but when I got up, I…"

"You…" Diluc mirrored.

"Promise you won't laugh? Or get scared and run?"

"I've fought Hilichurls and Abyss mages. No matter what happens, I won't run."

"Promise me!"

From the other side of the door, Diluc was silent. Even though you raised your voice with him, he heard your voice quiver. He realized that whatever you were asking of him was serious, if it affected you this seriously.

Diluc nodded. "I promise. Please, let me see."

He heard the door latch unlock from your side of the room. The door creaked open. In a flash, you pulled him into your room, and shut the door.

It took a minute for Diluc to processed what happened. You literally dragged him into your room a single motion before he could blink. That was already weird, as you always seemed to have trouble catching him off guard prior. But now that his eyes could focus on you, he could see something was definitely weird.

Diluc saw two black cat ears poke out from the side of your head, and a long black tail behind you. His eyes widened. A light blush started to color his cheeks as he tried to look you in the eyes.

"This was from this morning?" he asked.

You nodded. "Yeah. I woke up, and I had these."

"Do you mind if I come closer?"

You shook your head. "Go ahead."

Diluc stepped closer to you. Now that he could see your eyes clearly, he saw that your eyes seemed bigger, in addition to everything else. Diluc raised his hand, unsure. It hovered in midair, until you took his hand and gently guided it to your ears.

"It's real, I promise. I found that out the hard way," you remarked. Your eyes traveled to the clock on your nightstand, as you sighed. "My alarm was twice as loud today."

Diluc ran his hand over your black ears. The fur on your ears was silky smooth to the touch. He felt how your ears twitched under his touch. Every slight movement seemed to bring you closer to him, and he felt you leaning into his touch unconsciously. He heard a purr, and pulled away, concerned that he was hurting you.

He watched you jolt back to reality. Your tail swang wildly. He saw your cheeks turned a deep red. He saw you pull away from his gaze and move away from him.

"I'm sorry," you said, "When you did that, I- I don't know what came over me. It just felt so good. But anyway, I think I ended up with some cat attributes as well."

Diluc's eyes widened. "When I knocked, that other sound I heard was from you too, wasn't it?"

"Guilty." Your head lowered slightly in shame. "I was surprised when you knocked. I didn't think you would be up. I thought you would sleep for a while yet, since you just came back and all. I was hoping these would go away when you got up."

You sighed and pointed to your ears. "Diluc, I don't think I can go out until these go away."

Diluc wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close. He gently squeezed his arms around you, enough for a secure embrace. He rubbed your back to comfort you. He wasn't a man that was good with words, but he hoped that his simple action would be enough to communicate how he felt. He was here for you.

"Then, neither will I," he whispered.

"Then, do you mind if I can request something from you, Diluc?"

"Anything." Diluc paused. "Within reason, at least."

Diluc smiled as he looked down at you. He saw a red blush creep up on your cheeks, and saw your ears twitch. He could see the relief in your eyes, and felt you relax.

Hand in hand, Diluc guided you to the bed. Both of you took a seat on the edge of the bed. Diluc felt a weight on his shoulder. He turned to see your head on his shoulder.

"Can you pet my ears again, please?" The words came out softly and quietly.

"Of course."

---------------

Neuvilette x Electro Dragon!hybrid reader

Today's trial lasted longer than Neuvillette thought. But it was finally over. In the end, the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale rendered the final judgement, a judgement he agreed with.

Now, it was finally time for him to go home. His eyes fell on the Melusine that ran up to him.

"Monsieur Neuvillette! Monsieur Neuvillette!" A Melusine stopped in front of him.

Neuvillette's expression turned serious. "Are they doing alright? Did something happen?"

"They are, but they are asking for you. I tried to take a look to see how they were doing, but they locked the door. They said that they would not open it until you came."

"I see. Let them know I will be on my way soon."

"I'm sorry, Monsieur."

"It's not your fault. I will handle this. Please thank everyone else for their hard work, and have them take a break before going back to their job duties. Send my sincerest gratitude to the rest of the Melusines. Thank you for watching over them."

It took a little less than an hour for Neuvillette to reach you, given that there were some minor technical issues that prevented the Aquabus from leaving on-time. But to him, it wasn't quick enough. His hand subconsciously gripped the cane in his hand a little tighter. In his head, he mentally ran over the possibilities about what may have happened to you to warrant such odd behavior.

Yesterday, you told him that you felt ill, so while he had to leave to preside over the trial, he asked a few Melusines to watch over you until he returned.

For a Melusine to come to him and inform him today that you locked the door to the room, and even more so, refused to open it until he came home, meant something happened. He wasn't quite sure what happened. Perhaps your illness got worse while he was away, but it didn't make sense for you to lock the door for that reason. He and the Melusines have seen you when you were sick a couple of months ago. Was this new illness you had that much worse?

When Neuvillette reached the house you both lived in, the house was quiet. The other Melusines that had been scheduled to watch you, left. But perhaps that was for the best, as you requested for him specifically. He cleared his throat.

He knocked on the door twice, and announced his presence. "I'm home. One of the Melusines informed me that you were looking for me?"

Neuvillette heard the door open slightly. He peered inside, but it wasn't open enough for him to see inside or to see you.

"Yes," you hesitated. "Are you alone? Did everyone else leave?"

Neuvillette re-adjusted his hands on his cane. "I am alone. I have informed the rest of the Melusines that they can take a break before they resume their original job duties."

"Okay."

When you opened the door, Neuvillete wasn't sure what to expect on the other side. Perhaps you would still be in your sleepwear, wrapped with a blanket. Or perhaps you would have made a blanket fort on the floor of your room, when the temperature in Fontaine got uncomfortably humid.

But when Neuvillette saw the purple patches of scales that decorated half of your skin, the black and purple horns sticking out of your head, and the very long purple tail behind you. He was speechless. Such a transformation was something that shouldn't have been possible.

Neuvillette heard stories about the adepti and other beings in Teyvat that had human and animal features, but this was the first time he had seen a dragon human hybrid. Given that you were born a human, this did not make any sense to him.

Neuvillette's thoughts were interrupted by a low buzzing noise that seemed to resonate above him. He looked up and saw that the lights above you and him were dim, dimmer than usual. Odd. There was only one setting for the lights - On. There was no way to control how intense the brightness of the lights were, but compared to the lights surrounding him and you, they were noticeably darker.

One word escaped from the Chief Justice's lips.

"How?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was when the Melusines and I explored Elynas last week? Or maybe it was when I went to look at the ruins of the old Fontaine Research Institute? Or when I went to explore the area around the Court of Fontaine?"

Your hand ran through your hair anxiously. Your tail swished frantically, and seemed to feed off your anxiety of the situation. "I don't know!" You cried, "I don't know! I don't know how this happened."

The lights above you and Neuvillette seemed to increase in intensity. But then, as you cried, the lights above you, cracked. Even with the cracks, the lights above you seemed to get brighter and brighter.

Your next words came out quietly. "Neuvi, I'm scared."

What happened next was pure instinct. Even if you asked, he couldn't explain it. Neuvillette grabbed your hand and moved both of you away from the lights, as shards of shattered glass came crashing down in the place you both were.

"Please. Let us go outside to discuss this."

You hesitated. "Do we have to?"

Neuvillette saw the hesitation in your eyes immediately. You were clearly uncomfortable with the idea of going outside. But then, his eyes noticed the lights above you increased in intensity. He kept his eye on the light and found that it was pulsing, and that the pulses were getting stronger. He didn't want the lights to shatter once more or for you to get hurt.

"We can stay near the house. We can go near the beach, away from people. I guarantee that there is no one there tonight."

You bit your tongue and nodded. Neither of you said anything. Up until you got to the beach, you didn't let go of his hand the entire time. Selfishly, Neuvillette found himself wishing that he wished it could last even a little longer.

Neuvillette stayed quiet while you sat down on the sand. You pushed your legs up to your chest, and cried into your lap. The clouds in Fontaine darkened.

It hurt watching you like this. Someone as strong and as capable as you, crying in front of him. You rarely broke down in front of him, and given how much you muffled your sobs now, he heard it in the way your voice cracked. He knew that this transformation affected you deeply. Even if he couldn't see your face, it hurt that he couldn't do anything for you. What could he even do? He didn't even know the whole story.

All he could do is watch silently as your tears fell and you cried.

After some time, the river of tears slowed, and the cries lessened to sniffles. More than once, he raised his hand in an effort to comfort you, but he was unable to follow through. He wasn't sure if you wanted him to touch you right now or if you would even accept it. Once he was sure you were more composed, he asked.

"If you want to talk, I will listen."

It was a short statement. Short, sweet, and to the point. Apart from listening, he was not sure what else he could do. In his observations of humans, he noticed that sometimes, being willing to wait for someone else to talk could yield more information than asking questions.

You nodded. "Neuvi, I woke up yesterday like this."

Once you were willing to look at him, Neuvillette noticed your eyes changed. Instead of your usual color, your irises were a deep purple. It was the same color as those Electro visions he saw people have, except deeper. Your hands touched your horns, and ran down the purple scaly over your right arm.

"I was scared. I wanted to take pictures to show you and ask you about it, but the minute I held my kamera, it buzzed, cracked, and then it started smoking. I did eat, but I wasn't able to finish the meals the Melusines cooked for me, so I threw it in there. After that, I shut off the lights, and locked the door. I didn't want anyone else to see me, and I didn't want to hurt anyone else."

Neuvillete stayed quiet. He wrapped his hand on top of your clenched one. He felt how tense you were underneath him and squeezed your hand securely. Enough so you knew he was there beside you.

When you tugged on his other free hand, Neuvillette allowed you to guide it. He felt warmth through his gloves. You turned his hand over, and faced it upwards. Your fingers traced the blue eye shape embedded in the palm of his gloves. The way you traced the shape in his palm left an odd tingling sensation in it.

Quietly you asked, "Neuvi, do you think I'll be stuck like this forever?"

The chief justice quietly pondered your question as he flexed his hand. While he had heard of the Adepti and other people with animal features, this is the first time he's heard of a spontaneous human transformation. Not to mention, it seemed like you turned into an electro dragon hybrid at that. This was new territory, even for him.

"I am not sure," Neuvillette admitted. "This is the first time that I have seen something like this."

Your face fell at Neuvillette's answer. Your purple eyes clouded over. It was clearly not what you wanted to hear.

Neuvillette sensed your unhappiness with his answer. But he wasn't sure what to do. Gently, he took your hand by the wrist and held it up in front of both of your faces. You blinked, and looked at him in confusion.

Neuvillette's eyes settled on the tops of your fingers. He narrowed his eyes and concentrated. There was a small bit of internal satisfaction when he saw little bits of electro energy come off your tips. He watched you gasp in surprise when you realized it too.

When you traced Neuvillette's palm earlier, he felt something odd. When you would trace his palm, it was gentle, but this time, it caused his palm to tingle. Coupled with the way the lights flickered and shattered, he intuited that you were radiating electro energy. He also figured that the amount of electro you emitted was at least tied, in some way, to the emotions you were feeling, much like how it rained in Fontaine when the hydro dragon cried.

"Is that from me?" You asked, a shocked expression on your face. "But wait, how have I not shocked you?"

As an answer to your question, Neuvillette raised his hand to show the gloves he wore. He intertwined his hands with yours, and he felt the tingling sensation in his hands intensify. "I can still feel your electro shocks through them, but it is manageable."

Your face turned red at his comment, and you released his hand. "Well, if it's too much, you can stop."

While Neuvillette found your reaction adorable, he knew that you were not pleased by his answer. He needed to rethink this situation and his answer. Neuvillette cleared his throat. "That's not what I mean."

"Then what did you mean?" You shot back.

Neuvillette took a breath. "I mean, that I find you beautiful."

Your eyes widened. Your jaw dropped. You were shocked. Shocked.

"How- What- Why?"

Neuvillette looked at you with a soft smile. "Simply that." He took your hand in his and kissed the top of it. "Even if this is how you look from now on, you are beautiful. No matter what form you take, human or dragon hybrid, you are beautiful."

At this unexpected confession, you got flustered. You tried to hide your face by leaning into Neuvillette's chest. A red tint graced your cheeks. Your tail curled around you both, and pulled you closer together. Neuvillette could feel the electro energy building in your hands. Then, he released your hand.

Even after Neuvillette released your hand, the tingling sensation was still present in his palm. But he could still feel you nuzzled his chest. It was comforting and warm. After a few moments of silence, you spoke again.

"Even if I am like this forever, will you stay?" you asked.

"Always." Neuvillette replied.

[candy8448]

Nothing like opening my eyes to a new linked universe update

Dawn pt8

My occasional source of dopamine XD

Its very satisfying seeing how all the traveling layers are put on. You can really imagine this scene animated

So a lot of important things were discussed, stuff the fandom have noticed before but its good that jojo finally mentioned them herself:

Shadow is the only this associated with the portals (pg1)

I LOVE how so many traits and experiences of the characters are shown here!!

Wild taking the blame first, he's got one heck a guilt complex (pg2)

We are just hit with everyone's emotions right off the bat and i love that!

I kinda like how blunt Time is

Wars talking about how "helping the wound isn't an option," things they must consider during war (pg3)

Legend trying to lighten the mood again like he always does (pg4)

I like to see how what they think of wolfie has changed now that they know it was twilight. Wars thinking its fine if the animal goes off alone cuz it doesnt understand but now making it clear that he doesn't like it

Secrets are getting in the way (such as wolfie) and hindering their process. Maybe it wouldn't have been so clunky if tgey knew exactly who wolfie is

WARS' SCARF IS BACK BABY! I got so excited when i saw it that page, dont worry guys, he has it back now!

Legend with his puzzle mind :))) my legend-centric brain is happy (pg5)

But his teasing almost boastfullness ("it just got lucky") but then turning in to actual contemplation, i love that he is also taking things seriously

Its actively seeking them out, Hyrule is wary that it will find them, like in his adventure (pg6)

They need to get better at teamwork

Four bringing in the joke about friendly fire. He definetly knows a lot about that (im reading the four swords manga for the first time and am near the begining sooo)

They need to use their arsenal

I just gotta say that i love this shot, very pleasing to my eye for some reason. But im so excited to see how everything goes with this! Im guessing in the near future, they will be taking these but to the extreme that it hinders them so they need to practice or something

Oof poor hyrule so tired of strong monsters, his games were HARD (pg7)

The power up on the sword! Ive seen a post about it before so its cool that they are noticing it, very important too!

I like the firmness with sky and time's ideas of the sword. Even though time says nothing about her we can see it, and the fact that she still sees him as her master (obviously!) It seems like they both need to sort out this dissagreement in order to not impact them even more (Pg8)

I love this especially because i just made a fic about exploring sky's and others' relationship with the master sword

I can't help but think that sky is thinking about more than just this quest in this update and back to his own adventure and maybe ghirahim. More bits in this update also make me think that ("he wants to fight" "yeah, 'cause he wont")

Wind being the one most eagre to fight! And Hyrule being the one most ready to go! I love that!

I was just thinking a few bays ago about what happened to those letters, i guess we get to see now! It seems like it might be one more update before we set off properly again (pg9)

Sky looking so happy about the mail at the end :)))

We really do get a piece of everyone and their personalities in this one

Im so excited for them to be on the road again!

[tortoiseguy]

If Capcom wants to make a compelling narrative for Monster Hunter, which they have shown they do, they really have to lean into portraying the guild as an antagonist.

The guild works closely with rich nobility, they have a set of rules for hunting that specifically hurt poor villages, and they frequently make catastrophic judgement calls when assessing threats that end up actively hurting the ecosystem. The guild has, so far, been correct once when taking out a potential problem monster with the magalas. In tri they thought that lagiacrus was MAYBE causing the earthquakes and then asked us to just kill it, no questions asked. In world they thought nergigante was MAYBE a threat to the new world and then asked us to just kill it, no questions asked. In rise they thought MAYBE that magnamalo was causing the rampage then asked us to just kill it, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

That's not just some mistake that's the unnecessary death of an animal! Think about that in real life and how horrible that would sound!

"Oh we thought this pack of lions was killing livestock so we sent some people to kill them all. Turns out, we were wrong and it was this other completely different animal. We are conservationists!"

Not to mention legends of the guild is an entire ass movie about how the guild fundamentally failed this small poor village on a systemic level that Aidan, a CHILD btw, was throwing himself into life or death situations just so his community wouldn't be wiped off the map. When Julius calls Aidan out on the fact that he's supposedly poaching and not hunting, that wasn't a fun opportunity to give an exposition about the world. It was pointing out the guild's hypocrisy! Aidan's reactive anger at Julius calling him a poacher was the correct response! They shouldn't HAVE to make a three day journey to dundorma every time a velociprey takes a chicken. That kind of thing should be handled by the guild. The guild doesn't allocate resources to helping these villages while giving an incentive to not help them to individual Hunters. Then when these villages finally decide they aren't going to wait around for help or go through the multiple day travel to register a quest with what little money they have and actually SOLVE their problem. ITS ILLEGAL TO DO SO!!!

And you know what's super cool about poaching? How the punishment is the guild sending assassins to take you out. For the multitude of Monster hunter fans who seem to think that's a reasonable response to that, lemme just tell ya it isn't. That sounds an awful lot like fascism! ESPECIALLY because we now know what qualifies as poaching! It can be as small as taking out a few small monsters who have been proven to be a threat to your village without a license. Aidan literally could have been assassinated for helping his village. A CHILD!

Quit trying and failing to get me invested in the villainous schemes of some fuckin dragon that's just acting on instincts, Capcom. You already HAVE a perfect antagonist right there!

[elle-p]

Why Elizabeth will never succeed

P3 spoilers for both the main game and The Answer/Episode Aigis

Elizabeth's quest to free P3Hero from the Great Seal, first explained in P4, elaborated on in Arena, then completely forgotton about(yet never by the fandom), is ultimately futile.

As said by Elizabeth herself, it's impossible. There are 2 ways it could succeed - Elizabeth replaces the Seal, or Erebus doesn't exist. Both can't be done.

Erebus not existing is easy - it's born of every single person's desire to die. Societal change at that level, especially something that has to be permanent and airtight with no possibility of failure, just can't be done. The Phantom Theives can't help: they don't ever actually get rid of the people's desire for control, they just force it to go somewhere else. P4Hero also doesn't get to kill any gods; he just manages to convince them to go away.

Elizabeth replacing the Seal requires a bit more explanation. The creation of the Seal was done by the Universe Arcana. The Universe Arcana shows that Hero is a fully individualised being; he understands himself and his place in the world. But so does the World Arcana, and that can't create the Great Seal. So what gives? My personal take is that the Universe Arcana is more tied to Nyx. It's name refers to space, where Nyx is from, rather than the Earth, where people are from. The way Nyx is described is also similar to the way the Universe Arcana is described(the fortune teller's dialogue could even refer to either the Universe Arcana or Nyx). Then Hero gets the Universe Arcana instead because he's tied to Nyx in a way that the others aren't due to having Death sealed inside of him. That's even alluded to by Igor with how he mentions Death when presenting the Universe Arcana. So, even if Elizabeth were to complete her Fool's Journey, she'd just get the World instead of the Universe, and so wouldn't be able to become the Great Seal, and she can't use anyone else to replace it, either.

Elizabeth's quest involves her going on her own Fool's Jouney. This involves meeting people who represent all the Arcana and seeing how they act to show how to live one's life. At the end, one becomes a fully realised individual. This on it's own presents some problems.

Hero went on his journey, and realised what his place on the world was - to become the Great Seal. He died happily and with no regrets. He's not in pain. Elizabeth's quest is more for herself than for him. She rejects the answer that he found, but she's still a fool. The whole point is that she doesn't know what to do, while he does.

Since Elizabeth is going on her own Fool's Journey, she needs to actually go on... a journey. So what's the flaw that she needs to get over? I think it's that she doesn't have vary many true bonds(I'd argue that she just has P3Hero), which goes well with way that the Fool's Journey is all about creating true bonds with others. Her disregard for others can be shown in how she interacts with people - she flits in and out of their lives without truly connecting with them. She thought Hero(both P3 and P4) had power because they're just cool like that, not because of the others they interact with. So, her journey would be about learning to cherish the bonds that she makes. However, it's her lack of true bonds with anyone other than P3Hero that made her go on the journey to begin with. He's the only one important to her, and he's the only one who cares about her, so she has to get him back! Which is exactly Yukari's thought process in the Answer! And how did that end? With SEES accepting that, even without Hero, they still have each other. They're not alone. So, Elizabeth's journey slowly culminates on the fact that she doesn't need to free him. As I said before, he's not suffering. She's doing this for herself. And realising that would mean abandoning her journey.

[storyofmychoices]

 Detention VII.V: A Brush of Magic

[Beckett Harrington x Emma Carlyle Masterlist] 

Pairing: Beckett Harrington x Emma Carlyle (F!MC) Book: The Elementalists (early in book one) Word Count: ~ 700 Rating/Warnings: general, no warnings (grumpy/sunshine) A/N: This is part of my Detention series at the beginning of TE1 and my Stolen Moments: brushing hair back series.

Synopsis: Emma tracks down a particularly mischievous book, while Beckett gets caught in their path.

Emma's brow knitted together in determination, her gaze narrowing on a particular mischievous edition of The Enchanted Pixie Scrolls. She tiptoed through the stacks, trying to hide in the shadows. No matter how quiet or how stealthy she was, the book swooped and twirled in the air, taunting her at every turn. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought there were actual pixies inside, laughing at her dismay. The thought lingered a moment as she considered it...it couldn't be, could it?

She shook her head, turning her attention back to her quest. It didn't really matter. The end result was the same; she needed to reshelve that book before she could leave detention for the day. Her gaze swept over the space. "Now, where did you go?"

Airy giggles floated behind her, the corner of the hard cover poking her in the back. She spun quickly, lunging toward the book. Her fingers brushed against the book's cool leather spine, but it fluttered away. "Get back here!"

She dodged left and right, avoiding other books and students, tracking the elusive book through the library. A playful smirk pulled at her lips. She shouldn't. It probably wouldn't even work... but what if it did?

Too late to turn back now.

With careful consideration, she leaped forward, a quick spell slipping from her lips as the floating books in the aisle came together, creating something resembling floating stairs. She tried not to waste time thinking about Beckett's horror if he saw her stepping on books. He was already wound so tight it might push him too far.

Each book shifted under her weight, her stride wobling under the uneven stairs; however, she was too far committed to give up now.

She lept up one more level, then jumped forward, extending her arm just as the book attempted to flit away again. "Oh, no, you don't!" This time her efforts were rewarded, and her hand clasped around the hard front cover of the book. Emma's added weight caused the book to drop...fast. Emma struggled to hold onto the book as it fought to be free. She quickly mumbled a spell, the air swirling around them, slowing but not stopping their descent.

"Watch it!" Beckett growled, trying to step to the side, but it was too late.

Emma and the book landed with a thud right on top of one Becket Harrington, his now trademark grumpy scowl growing.

"I got the book!" Emma declared proudly, lying across his ches. Her bright eyes filled with her accomplihsment as her gaze met his, not noticing how close they were.

"Good for you."

"Oh, don't pretend you're not at least a little bit impressed."

"You seem to be congratulating yourself sufficiently already."

Emma rolled her eyes as she eased herself off of him. "You don't need to say it. Your cute flushing freckled cheeks tell me all I need to know."

Despite his protest, the color only grew deeper at her words.

Emma ran her hand over his broad shoulders and chest, smoothing his blazer as he stood beside her. "There, all better. Not a hair out of—" Her words paused as she noticed a stray strand of his brown hair hanging over his forehead. Her fingers gathered the offending lock, brushing it back over his head. His hair was softer than she expected. Her fingers lingered, raking gingerly through his silky hair.

His eyes closed as he leaned into her touch. The frown on his face softened, giving way to something she might even consider a smile. The pair drifted closer, their faces only a breath away.

"Emma," her name slipped from his lips as his eyes met hers. He leaned forward, closing the gap until something smacked against their chests.

The book, still clutched in Emma's free hand, flapped between them, breaking the moment.

Beckett cleared his throat. "We should get that back where it belongs before—"

Emma cut him off before he could continue his thought. "—before you break your no-kissing rule and have to admit you like me." Her brow rose playfully.

She expected him to protest, his ears reddening, betraying his words, but he didn't. He paused before her. His cool grey eyes filled with rare openness. With careful precision, his long fingers gathered a loose curl of her hair, tucking it behind her ear. "Just returning the favor."

Without another word, he turned. "This way," he directed, leading them to where the book belonged.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little bit of silliness! 💖

[valentine-writes]

i just rly wanna luv u !

「 tws + notes: no tws, unserious asf, atsv ben reilly having kenergy (CREDS 2 @//KAIRISCORNER THE GOAT for this), ben is mad silly, reader is a spider-person, unedited, ooc (?) 」

↳ ft. scarlet spider/ben reilly

「 oblivious gn!reader, romantic relationship <3 」

author's note: im having so many thoughts about him in the movie always. bro had bare minimum screen time and i still go AWOOGA thinking of this stupid stupid guy </3 im gonna b real here, i luv my bitches silly!!! (*ﾉε｀*)

▸ you were teamed up w/ ben reilly on your first mission!!! this was the first time you ever interacted,,, which was. interesting to say the least

"scanning the area..."

"who are you talking to–"

▸ you just kinda have to get used to his narrating while you hunt down the anomaly miguel sent you two after. but!!! just because he's talkative (more to himself rather than you) doesn't mean he's incompetent

you end up locating it and capturing it in about an hour and a half. quick as hell.

▸ you seem to work well with him!!! progressively, you notice that you're paired up with him quite frequently.

this isn't strange– itz actually fairly easily rationalized this by the fact that you just seem to work more efficiently as a duo

▸ eventually, you two become friends and spend time together beyond just doing missions

▸ it's relieving for the rest of the spider society to know he does more than just ruminate over his harrowing past and distressing memories when he's not saving the multiverse

▸ but it becomes just... a little peculiar. you may be oblivious, but you're far from stupid. everyone notices how he's spending more time around you than anyone else– he follows you like a lost puppy

you ask him about this,, and he fervently denies it

"following you? pft. no. not even. you wouldn't get it–"

like... ok dude. um. anyways.

▸ you pick up on little things here and there, but you just figure the poor guy doesn't have a lot of friends.

▸ you are the only person who's allowed to call him "benny" (though he will feign distaste for the nickname, he letz it slide)

▸ you are the only person who distracts him from his dramatic monologues, the only one who draws his thoughts away from whatever he's brooding about

▸ you are the only person who he ever actively seeks out

"has anyone seen them today? they haven't been around–"

"searching for them... hm... nowhere to be seen... checking frequent hangout locations–"

▸ and all of a sudden, you're the only person who he wants to show off to. not like you notice this part. you just assume he's grown accustomed to talking to you about everything

"check it out. i've changed my arm routine."

and he's jus.. flexing.

you hit him w/ the "cool dude, it's really showing!!" and he immediately takes +5 dmg from u tugging on his heartstrings

▸ ur compliments just mean everything to him

▸ the littlest things about your appreciation get to him. even just you smiling because of him seems to make him a little weak in the knees though he tries not to show it too much

▸ he's... trying. again, he really isn't incompetent but sometimes he's straight up making himself a cringefail loserboy around you

"THIS ONES FOR YOU!!!!" tries to shoot a basketball into a hoop

it hits the rim hard

bounces back

hits him square in the face

he tried.

▸ so maybe you haven't noticed much. however, you've definitely noticed he's been trying so much harder around you. and though you reassure him always that he's just fine the way he is– he still always attempts to be more.

you don't understand why.

▸ "ben, this... really isn't necessary, y'know? you're cool as you are." you tell him. it seems like he's relentless in his quest to impress.

you make it simple:

"i like you." you tell him.

ben pauses, taking a moment to look at you. his gaze is focused on you, your face– he hears the sincerity laced in your words. he feels his face heat up just a little. "...really?"

you grin and for a moment, his heart skips a beat. he feels his breath catch in his throat

"of course! ben," you say, his name on your lips being akin to the sound of a choir of angels, "you'll always be my best friend, dude."

+50 dmg to ben reilly

he cries HARD that night into his pillow IAHWOEHDJW

▸ you two are free entertainment for the rest of the spider society. people are placing bets on whether ben's gonna stop pussying around or if you're gonna put two-and-two together before he actually confesses

▸ and they are DIVIDED abt how this is gonna end for you both

after all, you still seem to be absolutely clueless about the fact that ben was the one practically begging miguel to be teamed up with you on each mission.

▸ and now, he's REALLY trying

▸ shows up with your favourite flowers at your door

"oh!! benny, that's so nice of you! you really are such a great friend–"

+60 dmg to ben reilly

▸ "inadvertently" (aka: TOTALLY ON FUCKING PURPOSE) tries to cuddle up to you on the couch or put an arm around you while watching a movie

"are you cold?"

"no, i–"

"here, i don't really need this blanket anyways"

+65 dmg to ben reilly

+5 warmth

▸ STRAIGHT UP TELLS YOU HE LOVES YOU

"i love you too, ben! you're irreplaceable. the absolute sweetest friend i have."

UR KILLING HIM

▸ you two r just:

▸ atp the spider society is in SHAMBLES. it is no longer entertaining it is torturous watching ben reilly now lament over his "unrequited love burning like a wildfire in his heart" (his dramatic ass words probably) and you have no clue it's about YOU

▸ one day, he's decided he has to do something. he needs to make it completely and undeniably clear that he's in love with you.

-

you're hanging out as usual, in the cafe not touching the miguel burger that they're serving there for some reason becuz eating the face of your boss feels... wrong and he clears his throat

"no backing out now..." he declared to himself, narrating while sitting Right In Front Of You

he clears his throat, making you look up from your fries.

"so..." he begins.

"benny, what would you do if someone didn't like you back?" you suddenly blurt out.

he looks up at your face. you've been pouting this entire time, head held low as you pick at your food.

how did he not notice? his attention is constantly on you. he mentally beats himself up for this

in the anxiety of his plans to confess, he somehow completely disregarded how you were feeling. he was so in his head.

"switching directive–" he mutters to himself, now focused on what you wanna say.

you give him a weak smile. "look, i just... i dunno. maybe this is bad timing."

there's a beat of silence between the two of you before you speak up again.

"ben. i really like you. like... more than a friend. it hurts. so so much. because i know you only think of me as a friend and i just–"

everyone within earshot nearly explodes hearing this.

-

▸ like ok plot twist i guess. so the pining went both ways and you were both completely oblivious to it.

▸ the other spider-people who were betting on how this would end are all SHAKEN

but are also so relieved they don't have to walk past ben loudly declaring his anguish due to a broken heart

▸ ben is astonished by how you even thought that he saw you as just a friend. he did EVERYTHING to get through to you

but hey. something worked. finally, after the yearning, and the trying, and the fear of rejection– he finds himself on a date with you :3