#you are not a bad person for liking bad people characters!!!!!!

[angelltheninth]

When Arcane Men Get Jealous

Pairing: Viktor, Jayce, Ekko, Vander, Silco, Finn, Marcus, Loris, Steb x Fem!Reader

Tags: fluff, jealousy, possessive behavior, being protective, kissing in public, biting, holding hands, public display of affection, canon typical violence, suggestive

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A/N: Would die if they were jealous over me. Melt into a puddle. Gone.

When Viktor gets jealous he gets a bit more withdrawn than he usually is. Not that he was ever a social butterfly, however he was always more open and happy to talk when it was with you. So his behavior is odd, he even seems to get quieter whenever you walk into the room. Like he's trying to remove himself from you with silence.

"I am not avoiding you. Look, there has been a lot to do for the past week, I'm sorry if you got a bad impression but I was simply busy. If you want more company, go ask Jayce, or Skye, I'm sure they will be more than happy to entertain you, darling."

Viktor is short with his answers, saying as little as possible to minimize the amount of time he spends talking to you. Not because he doesn't want to talk to you, he loves talking to you, but if he keeps talking there's a chance he might say something he's going to regret. And end up hurting you.

"There you go again with these ridiculous accusations. You won't leave it alone will you? So now it's my fault that your project is running late? I would have been happy to help but someone was too busy talking with... you know what, nevermind. You're right, we both have a lot to do, so let's just drop this conversation and focus on work."

If you keep getting in the way of his work, Viktor will eventually come to a breaking point. Him not being able to work is only adding to his emotions, and he's never been the best at dealing with them. While he doesn't exactly yell at you, it's very rare that he ever raises his voice there's a notable frustration in his words, and pain, fear that you'd leave.

"If I'm being so unreasonable then leave. Go. Have fun. I know it's not idea to be cooped up in the lab all the time. There are so many more things to do out there. if you... want to go with other people I suppose I can't stop you, nor can I stop my own jealousy. How am I being even more unreasonable? I know you wouldn't leave me without talking about it. Look... I do not... want you to leave, working is more fun with you. But am I truly all that you want? Me? This lab? Because you're all I want. All that I can think of."

When Jayce gets jealous he keeps invading your personal space when you're around the person or people he's jealous of. His behavior is nothing innapropriate or pushy. It's just his arm around your waist, just him bringing you that drink you wanted, just him bragging about you a bit too loud and saying how much he loves you.

"You really are great, babe. How in Runterra did I ever find a beauty like you huh? What's that bashfulness for now, I always praise you, and I'm never gonna stop. You're my girl right? I can be a proud boyfriend and talk you up every once in a while."

Physical affection a big deal to Jayce and a way he shows he cares but also a giveaway to his jealousy. He holds your hand longer, his eyes flicker between you and the one he's jealous off, his smile is a bit more nervous when he has to leave you alone. Then there are his kisses, not as gentle, not a little, quick peck on the edge of your lips but a real kiss, lips pressed against yours until you let him know you need air.

"Got a bit carried away there. Ah, sorry, I can't resist you sometimes. All the time. Do you expect me to when you wear lipstick like that? Makes your lips look like they're made to be kissed. By me specifically. I'd kiss you all night long, for the rest of our lives and never get tired of it."

Jayce keeps denying that he's jealous when you bring it up in a teasing way. Logically there's no reason to get jealous, everyone knows your relationship is doing great, in fact you're hardly ever fighting and even when you are it doesn't last too long. How does he turn that part of his brain off? How can he not get jealous when all those people look at you the way he looks at you?

"They're always looking at you. How can you not notice? It's so obvious. You don't notice because... you're only looking at me? That doesn't even make sense! Of course they're looking, you're breathtaking everywhere you go. I just hope that wherever you go, you'll always take me with you, because I want to be by your side forever."

Ekko often jokes about being jealous so you don't pick up on him actually being jealous. A little jealousy is fine but not when it's getting in the way of his missions and operations with his team. He'd been a bit distracted in the past, by one of the Firelights flying too close to you, so he pushed his way between you two.

"It was the formation! Which you would have remembered if you weren't too busy chatting. Come on, Firefly, get your head in this. Otherwise you're gonna make your leader jealous. Wouldn't want that right? What if... what if you get demoted for it? Hey! Ow! I wouldn't demote you, who would listen to all my plans?"

When you have free time together Ekko makes sure to spend as much time with you as possible. If you're together all the time there's less chance that someone else will swoop in and flirt with you. He would never describe his behavior as being clingy, all he wants is to spend free time with his girlfriend. That is perfectly normal behavior.

"What do you say we go out to get some food? We don't have to spend all our time here. Not like the tree is gonna burn down if we're away for a couple of hours right? Besides it's been a while since it was just you and me all alone. Miss being alone with you. Don't you miss it too?"

If the person he's jealous of ever puts you in danger in any way Ekko will go off on them. Harder than he scolded others in the past. He might let some of his jealousy show then, but he storms off, well flies off before you can talk to him. As much as he wants to be alone he also makes room for you on his hoverboard when you float down next to him.

"Shouldn't have went off on them like that. I know, you don't gotta say it, I'll say I'm sorry. Let cool off a bit. You'd think that if they were flirting with you that much they could have been looking out a bit better. I'm always looking out for you. Maybe a bit too much. Sorry if I've been weird about it lately. Would you forgive me if I took you on a romantic hoverboard ride?"

No one wants to piss off a big man like Vander by flirting with his wife. Everyone values their life and their bones too much. But... they stare at you. Quite openly actually. You see it, and you bet he sees it too. He sees everything that's happening at his bar and he won't stand for someone ogling his wife, even if he has to get aggressive about it.

"It's my damn bar, I've got the right to break the table with their heads when they're looking at ya like that. Tell ya what, a lot more people would avoid this place if I started beating up every asshole that looks at ya wrong. Only reason I don't is cause I don't want ya to be mad at me after."

He hasn't banned anyone from his bar in a very long time. Vander knows he tolerates a lot, this is Zaun, and some people don't have the best manners, that's not exactly their fault. But on the other hand if they start something with him then he will finish it. When he tells them to stop looking at you like you like you were one of Babette's workers and they get in his face he will pick them up and throw them out.

"Bastards had it coming. I tried to be nice, then they had to go and call ya names. Ain't no way in hell I'm gonna let anyone insult my wife. Not here, not on the streets, not anywhere. I went there and I wanted to talk to them, tell them to fuck the hell off, they were the ones who started getting violent. So I responded in kind."

Vander calls you over to the bar a bit more often if he sees a particular table is trying to monopolize you. He carries some of the drinks over, the food plates too, or he simply walks up behind you when one of the guys is getting flirty. Seeing his imposing, huge frame behind you, his muscles bulging, is enough to get most to back off you.

"See, darlin', I can talk things out just fine. When people are being smart about it that is. Might have to stop selling so much booze in this place, then they won't be so bold with ya. Ya are a pretty sight, I can't say otherwise. But ya are a pretty sight for me, not them, ain't that right? Mhm. I know, I'm all yer's too."

Silco never ever says he's jealous of anyone. He is the most powerful man in all of Zaun, everyone is scared of him and with good reason. As the Eye of Zaun he knows when people are looking, talking too, and might even try to touch you. Those people are often payed a not so nice visit by his men.

"I did hear about that gang, yes. It's very unfortunate that they don't know how to keep their noses where they don't belong. It's not that big of a loss on our end. There are a hundred people who can do their work, and better. All that matters is that they won't even have to think about not touching you again."

He rarely has to get his own hands dirty when he gets jealous. All it takes is him saying who the target or targets are and he makes them dissapear from Zaun. That doesn't always have to be deadly, but if they're really dumb it is. If Silco feels that you're in some kind of danger then he will keep you close by. He tries to distract you from seeing he's jealous.

"All I'm saying is that we could take a break from work. Sevika and Jinx can handle a week of it. And you and me can lock ourselves up in our home and not come out. The bedroom works perfectly fine too, if you'd rather spend our time in there. And what is it that I'm doing, darling? Jealous? You are an observant one. I wouldn't want you any other way."

The only time Silco will threaten someone in person is if that someone is bold enough to flirt with you in front of them. He can scare people within an inch of their life just by talking to them, he's not just a good businessman, and some people tend to forget that. He has Zaun in the palm of his hand, and everyone in it.

"He did not actually piss himself. Did he actually. Hm, I wasn't look at him anymore to be honest. He was spineless, surprising given he talked to you like he did. Guess he was thinking with his other head a bit too much for his own good. Why are you looking at me that way? Ah, I see. Looks like someone enjoyed watching me put a scumbag into his place a bit too much."

Since Finn isn't someone who would take anything lying down he will be damned before he sees someone coming onto his woman and not do anything about it. He might have a certain charm about him but that doesn't mean he's not ready to makes heads roll the moment when someone crosses any kind of line with you. Imaginary or otherwise.

"Hah, did you see that doll? As soon as I threw one punch he went down. All his buddies ran like rats. Left him all alone there. After all that tough talk and he couldn't even defend himself. Serves him right. He's lucky all I did was break his nose when he flirted with you. I wasn't even that far away."

Finn will make out with you in front of who ever he is jealous of just to prove a point to them. And while he has you moaning, has your head buried against his neck and your body running hot he will look at the other person and stick his tongue out at them, right before making a V with his fingers and putting his tongue between them. He's vulgar but it gets the point across very well.

"All these people looking at what's mine. Now, I can't have that right? I love that you're showing off your body, it's a great body, you know how much I love it. But sometimes I want to keep you away from prying eyes. And if I can't the least I can do is give them a show. Make them know I'm the only one who can touch you."

His jacket is a signature part of his outfit, but Finn will let you wear it. Hell, he will walk over and drape it over your shoulders while not even looking at whoever you're talking to. Sometimes they're not worth looking at when he can look at the pretty way you blush as you touch his hand that's lingering on your shoulder.

"Thought you looked a bit cold there. Keep this on all night. Later on I'll help you warm up my way, a much more fun way. Don't even worry about your perfume getting all into this, love having your scent all over me. And by tomorrow you're gonna be wearing all of my marks."

There are a lot of people in the Enforcers who tease Marcus about having such a pretty wife. He knows you're pretty, but he doesn't like that the department is noticing it so much as well. Not that there's any way for him to hide it, or that he wants you to hide it, that would be a real crime.

"I was not pouting. That is so childish. I was glaring at them. Well, they were the ones who stared first. You visit me at work, like that's such a big deal. We're married, honey, I pick you up from work too. Why is it such a big deal here? I think they're just trying to get a rise out of me."

Won't deny that he's feeling jealous or shy away from showing it. When Marcus notices any of his men flirting with you he makes them work extra hard that day, he gives them more paperwork, something that everyone hates there, or assigns them to the toughest jobs that he knows will take them days to complete. He can't help but chuckle when you visit again and they're too tired to flirt with you, they just say hello.

"What do you mean I'm picking on them? Of course not. You know how hard it is to deal with all these extra cases. Someone has to take on a few more. No, the fact that it's the same Enforcers who gave you flowers that one time has nothing to do with it. You think it does? And do you have evidence of this accusation?"

Marcus isn't shy about kissing you in front of the whole department. If that's what it takes to send them all a clear message to back off. It's always perfectly chaste kisses, but he does make sure that everyone hears him say he loves you when you leave. He smirks when eyes turn to him and he wishes them all a good rest of their day.

"Now you call me petty. All of these accusations and you still don't have any evidence. That's not a very good way to have a case. You've been keeping count have you? Oh. You... actually have been keeping count? I'm guilty? Fine, you got me, you got me. Maybe... that was a little petty of me, but I'm not sorry."

Every time Loris is jealous it's almost impossible for him to hide that fact. He's a big guy, nothing about him is easy to his, not even his emotions. And he's loud, so every time he huffs, mumbles something, or grunts you hear it. Your eyes meet and he looks away, his hand grasping yours and running his thumb over the back of your hand.

'They were staring at you a bit too much for my liking, pretty girl. If they were as tough as they pretend they were they should have held their ground more. Proves they were all bark and no bite. People like that really get on my nerves, and then they talk to my girl like she's single."

Loris invites you to have lunch with him quite often, even more often when he gets jealous of someone who works with him. Dealing with them in any other way would be unprofessional of him, and might get him in trouble. This way he gets to avoid that, avoid them, and spend a nice lunch date with you. No matter how you look at it he's the real winner here.

"Looks so good. But if you keep looking at me like that I might get hungry for something else besides the food. Just try shifting the blame on me when you know exactly how you're looking at me right now. I wouldn't risk it at work, but... if you showed up with a few hickeys on your neck it might get the rest of the department to stop flirting with you."

As much as he tries to make his jealousy go away it's not easy. Loris knows he should be an example for others, after all he had been an Enforcer for a long time, he can't just let his emotions get the better of him. Hard to keep those emotions down when they concern you. If nothing else works he will intimidate people. Easy enough for him. But he would rather that be a last resort.

"If he wasn't ready to throw fists and words at me then he shouldn't have thrown flirty words at you. He should be able to back himself up if he's gonna be saying stuff like that. All I did was pick him up and throw him outside. Hey, I might get in a bit of trouble for it, but at least he'll leave you alone from now on. I'd risk my badge for you if I have to, you know that."

Since he is the quiet type Steb shows his emotions and jealousy is one that he works hard to surpress. Every time he notices that someone is standing a little too close to you he walks over and looks at you, lovingly, then he looks at the other person with a glare, a deadly one. All the while he's standing shoulder to shoulder with you.

"Come now, angelfish, they weren't even worth your time. We both know they only had one thing in mind when they were talking to you. I could see it in their eyes. I don't appreciate that they looked at you like that. And I know you don't either. So I felt like I had to step in."

He is very physical with his jealousy. Steb lets his eyes and touches linger a few moments longer when he wants to make a point to someone. While he knows you don't hate it he also doesn't want to come off as too jealous or too possessive over you. You can take care of yourself and he loves that about you, he's watched you put people in their place often, but there are times where he can't hold himself back.

"I could feel your fingers interlocking with mine. You wanted me to stand close to you when they weren't leaving you alone. Would you have raised your voice if I hadn't walked over? It would be amusing to see it. But I think those kisses we shared also sent an equally powerful message. You didn't have to bit me though."

Steb nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck when he's feeling really, really jealous of someone. He makes it look less possessive than it is, pretending like he's overhearing something you have to say, and then pushing himself just a little bit closer. His cold lips make contact with your neck, sending shivers down your body before he brushes your lips with his thumb and leaves with a smirk.

"That ought to be enough. I could have done more but marking you in public might have been a step too far. We can enjoy things like that in private however. I enjoy being close to you in any context, and if it makes others realize you're not looking for anyone because you've already got a man then I enjoy it even more."

[despiteyourwords]

a lot can change in 623 days, 1 year, 8 months, and 12 days. a lot can change in a day. I am not the same person. Do not pretend to know me. Do not pretend to know my intentions. Do not pretend to know my feelings. Do not pretend to know my heart. Do not picture me as I was. As she is long gone. Do not assume anything about me. Do not speak for me. Do. Not. Pretend. To. Know. Me.

You do not know my favorite things.

You do not know how I speak.

You do not know my day.

You do not know my character.

You do not know my favorite songs.

You do not know my favorite book.

You do not know if I even have a favorite book.

You do not know my favorite foods.

You do not know my orders.

You do not know my favorite hobbies.

You do not know my favorite weather.

You do not know what I do throughout the different seasons.

You do not know my favorite season.

You do not know what brings me comfort.

You do not know the things I can talk about for hours.

You do not know my favorite thing to drink.

You do not know my interests.

You do not know my favorite snack.

You do not know my humor.

You do not know what makes me laugh until I cry.

You do not know what a good day looks like.

You do not know what a bad day looks like.

You do not know how I like to dress.

You do not know the first thing I do when I wake up.

You do not know the last thing I do at night.

You do not know my scent.

You do not know how I like to wear my hair.

You do not know the flowers I like.

You do not know the things I dislike.

You do not know my routine.

You do not know how I love someone.

You do not know what makes me cry.

You do not know what makes me happy.

You do not know what makes me sad.

You do not know my personality.

You do not know my goals.

You do not know my wants.

You do not know my needs.

You do not know my friends.

You do not know the places I go.

You do not know what I think.

You do not know how I feel.

You do not know my outlook on life.

You do not know my opinions.

You do not know what I value.

You do not know my beliefs.

You do not know my morals.

You do not know my disbeliefs.

You do not know how I treat people.

You do not know how I spend my time.

You do not know what makes me, me.

You do not know who I am.

You do not know me.

I do not pretend to know you as you are. I know that I love you no matter who you are. but you do not know what my love for you feels like. you do not know what my love for you looks like. You do not know what it’s like for me to care about you. you can’t possibly know what anything feels like with me because you do not know me. Maybe one day you’ll realize people grow and change. Not everyone is the same at 16, 23, and 28. Nor will we be the same people at 30 and so forth. Any day someone can change. Any day someone can be different. Stop putting me in a box frozen in time.

A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN A MONTH. TRUST GOD.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Tips: An Unforgettable Villain

A villain is the antagonist of your story whose motivations and actions oppose the protagonist and drive the plot of your story.

A villain is the opposite of a hero. In contrast to the hero, a villain is usually compelled by a desire to commit acts of cruelty and immorality.

Bestselling author Dan Brown advocates for writing your villain first—even before your hero—because it is the villain who will make the hero heroic.

Tips for Writing a Great Villain in Your Novel

Choose a real-life model. Find a real person to model your villain after. It could be someone you know, a person from history, or a famous serial killer. Try writing a brief character sketch in which you list their positive and negative attributes, their physical appearance, and their state of mind. Once you’ve done some brainstorming, be sure to differentiate your fictional character from your real-life model (you don’t want to get sued!). You can do this by changing identifiable elements like name, age, and specific actions or events.

Put yourself in their shoes. When it’s time for your villain to act, put yourself in their place. Think about challenges or hardships that might tempt people to act out or behave badly. How do you react to bad things? Tap into those emotions and try to apply them to your villain.

Consider their motivation. Just like with your main character, determining your antagonist’s motivation can help you unlock other aspects of their character, such as their goals and their personality.

Introduce a villain with a bang. A strong introduction to your villain sends your reader a clear message that this character is malicious. In Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield features an unforgettable introduction to antagonist Uriah Heep, whose seeming politeness is overshadowed by a face so shocking and ugly that it is described as “cadaverous.” His introduction immediately establishes the character as a villain.

Characteristics of a Good Villain

Every great hero needs a great villain. Villains are the antagonistic force of your story that challenges your hero and drives the action. Most great villains share a common set of characteristics.

Strong connection to the hero. The best villains are inextricably connected to the hero, and aid in the hero’s character development through their inherent opposition to them.

Clear morality. Every villain needs to have his own morality. If a villain spends part your story killing people, you need to give him or her believable reasons for doing so. Make the reader understand exactly what desperation or belief has driven him to it. For instance, in Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, primary antagonist Captain Beatty’s mission is to find and destroy books because he believes that books cause people to reject the stability and tranquility of a life of conformity. He has a strong moral point of view, and the reader believes that he believes he is doing the right thing by trying to burn books. After all, every villain believes they are the hero of their own story.

A worthy opponent. A great villain should be a strong and worthy adversary to your hero. They shouldn’t be weak and easily beaten, nor should they be so powerful that they can only be defeated by random chance. In Sherlock Holmes, his arch-nemesis Moriarty is a criminal mastermind who is every bit as smart as Sherlock. Having a villain who is in many ways equal in skill and intelligence to your hero will raise the stakes of their encounters, as it creates a credible threat that your hero might be bested.

Compelling backstory. Any good villain should have an interesting and credible backstory. In addition to creating a deep and more three-dimensional villain, a memorable backstory allows ourselves to identify and even sympathize with the villain. For example, the Gollum character in The Lord of The Rings trilogy used to be a normal hobbit until he was corrupted by the power of the One Ring. In addition to deepening the character by showing us the full breadth of his journey from virtuousness to wickedness, Gollum’s backstory forces us to consider how we are sometimes tempted by bad or unethical forces in our own lives.

Villains should be fun. Let’s face it: evil villains are fun. In Thomas Harris’ Silence of the Lambs, readers hold their breath whenever Hannibal Lecter appears on the page. Whether it’s their black-hearted sense of humor or their odious worldview, our favorite villains possess qualities that we love to hate.

Source ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs ⚜ Villains

[pomefioredove]

can i order a sugar cookie, #18, with frosting and dry fruit please 💕💕 love your work

coughs weakly

order #18, sugar with frosting, dry fruit

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ intent to bite

summary: a miscommunication leads to sharing a small bed with lilia tropes: only one bed, first kiss characters: lilia additional info: romantic, gender neutral reader, reader is yuu, who is an adult, a lil suggestive

"Told you this was a bad idea," Grim mumbles.

"Why am I stuck with Sebek, anyway?! I should be with my hench-human!"

You hold a finger to your lips. So much for hoping Grim would mind his manners on this trip.

"We've been over this," Silver says, carrying a six or seven bags inside the house. "Malleus will take the first guest room, Lilia and the Prefect will take the second, because it has two beds. Sebek and I are sleeping in the lounge, where there's a dog bed for you."

"I'm no dog!"

"That's not-" Silver sighs, looking to you for help. You have nothing.

Then, there's breath on your neck and a voice in your ear. "Oh, don't look so glum. It'll be a fine bonding experience for you boys!"

You jolt, and Lilia giggles into your ear, the airy, cheerful sound almost as teasing as the prank.

Grim sighs. "I bet Sebek snores like a lawn mower..."

"And you don't?" you mutter, much to Lilia's delight.

"Khee hee. Personally, I'm tickled by this! The Zigvolt family is as welcoming as ever. Oh, Malleus, do you need help with that?"

The smaller fae leaves to hold the door open for Malleus, while Grim repeats "tickled??" in a grumble. Silver sighs again.

"It's been a long journey. We'll all feel better once we've slept,"

"This can't be right,"

You stand in the narrow doorway, overnight bag in hand. The guest room is dark, but you can still feel how small it is. There's no way two people can fit in here.

Lilia peers over your shoulder. "What's- ah. I see,"

Your eyes adjust to the darkness. There's only one. There's only one bed.

"Now, this is unfortunate. Our rooms must have been mixed up. And Malleus has already retired, poor thing..."

You look at him. "What are we going to do?"

"Do? Why, sleep, of course,"

"Where?"

Lilia smiles and pats your head, as if you were an adorable kitty cat rather than a very tired and disgruntled adult after a full day of travel.

"In bed, my dear. Unless you were planning on taking the bath,"

He slips under your arm and into the room, tossing his bag on the floor with no regard or interest for the clothes and trinkets that spill from it.

You follow, putting your own things away as he makes himself comfortable on the bed. "Well?"

"...You can't honestly act as if this is normal,"

Lilia giggles. "What are you so afraid of? I'm not going to eat you,"

You listen, if only a little, sitting at the edge of the bed, as far from him as possible. Why is this making you so nervous?

"I'm just not used to it. That's all,"

Shit excuse. He can tell, too, if that smirk of his is any indication.

"Ah, I see. You think, hope, perhaps? that I'm going to make a move on you, as the kids say,"

Your eyes widen and you stumble over yourself, trying to come up with a rebuttal, an excuse, a lie, anything at all.

His smirk sharpens. Literally- his fangs dig into his lower lip, and he sticks his tongue out at you.

"If you're going to be this tense all night, you won't get any sleep. I'll tell you what-" he says, sitting up. "I will graciously allow you one kiss to sate your curiosity. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Now that's just unfair. "That's- what makes you think I would-!"

You stumble some more, and he drinks in the sight of you, flustered and nervous and oh-so close to him.

Lilia lets you argue with yourself until you're spent.

"...Fine,"

He claps. "Very well. Come here, Prefect,"

You sigh, but cross the bed, anyway, feeling the soft, handmade quilt underhand. You can't believe you're going to do this in Sebek's house, of all places...

Curse this fae.

You sit before him, far more vulnerable than you would have liked.

"Very good. But you could come a little closer, don't you think?"

Again, you listen. You sit on his lap, straddling his thighs, much to his delight.

"Better," he mumbles, perhaps more to himself than to you, because then his hand is holding the back of your head and his mouth is on yours.

Lilia doesn't give you much, and you know that's his intention. The kiss is much too chaste for him, and much too slow for you, but passion and pace were never a part of the deal.

You let it go.

And with some reluctance, you part from him, warm and jittery. That wasn't enough, and he knows it.

"You look like you have something you want to ask," Lilia says, his fingers brushing over your neck, feeling the beating of your heart in your pulse.

"...No," you lie.

He smirks again, baring his fangs as if warning you of his intent to bite.

"Khee hee. Don't worry, desire is nothing to be ashamed of. And we all have our little secrets... I, for example, may have asked Malleus to switch rooms with us."

Despite what Silver had said, you can't imagine sleeping now.

[utilitycaster]

I follow someone who peaced out of C3 like a month ago, and while she still throws out the occasional post about it, despite mostly running on ✨vibes✨ since pre-Predathos fight. one of her latest takes caught my attention. The wording was a little messy, but the core argument seemed like it might have a point. She’s saying the biggest issue with the story is a lack of internal logic, which makes the characters feel kind of disconnected from their own world and setting. Her main example was the Schism, like, the general idea that the Titans were bad news for mortals should be widely accepted, and they’re dead so they’re not coming back even if the gods leave. She also argues that the idea that the gods would always choose each other over mortals isn’t really backed up by history. Basically, she thinks Bells Hells ignore some of the fundamental structures of modern religion in Exandria, which in turn makes a lot of their arguments about the gods fall apart.

So I guess I’m wondering does it seem like there’s a lack of internal logic to you? C3 is my first campaign, so I’ve been piecing together older lore as I go, and I can’t tell if this is a niche take or if there’s some bigger context I’m missing.

Yes. Or rather, I have a couple of different guesses as to what happened. In short: I think that either Matt wanted to set up a big dilemma and failed to do the worldbuilding to really support it textually; he didn't have a clear vision of what this would be at all (HUGE fucking mistake, like, actually concerning me re: the potential of a 4th campaign level of mistake and I hope it's not that); or, alternately, and honestly right now my guess is that this was the case, he straight up did not think the characters would be such selfish dickbags and thought going in that this would be a clear "we have to stop Predathos" and intended the familial connections within the Vanguard and the scene in Hearthdell to be added nuance to provide some understanding of the Vanguard not as simply mindless evil monsters but people who have genuine grievances that have been exploited by predatory cult leaders, and was not prepared for a campaign where the party immediately took the Vanguard's side.

Religion in Exandria has never been super formalized or organized. Some of this is, of course, that you don't have to like, convert or even attend services if you have a relationship with a god. But as a result, it means that any exploration of religion as hegemonic falls apart. I am not saying religion needs to fit the regular daily or weekly practices many people irl have (depending on one's levels of observance), and those characters whose powers canonically involve a deity often do observe either restrictions (Caduceus's vegetarianism) or have some form of meditative personal worship, but we never see like, a system of worship outside of Vasselheim, and Vasselheim lacks the powers that the real-world pope has (let alone the medieval era pope). Tuldus was forced by his family to pray, but it's never depicted as part of How All Worshipers of That God are expected to behave. This is really the crux of a lot of problems with this campaign - people keep taking very individualized issues - which are real, but individual - and treating them as a sign of widespread oppression that simply isn't backed up by the text. In fact, the biggest case of widespread religiously-involved oppression is the Empire going after worshipers of illegal Prime Deities (as we see with the Schuesters - the parents are arrested, leaving their young children to fend for themselves) - and the biggest case of widespread proselytizing and missionary work is from the canonically theocratic (and ruled by one person for over a millennium) Kryn Dynasty, which, hilariously, might end up even more powerful given that the Luxon - the source of their religion, their philosophy and cultural practices, and their arcane prowess - has been brought up as relevant to the gods-become-mortal plan by the Raven Queen and seems to not be under any threat from Predathos, and might even get more powerful. Vasselheim's colonial efforts, while certainly not defensible, are small potatoes.

The player character's grievances against the gods all boil down to "I prayed to the gods and they didn't make my life better" while failing to consider that a combination of genuinely wild specific personal circumstances (being Ruidusborn; being the child of an elemental-worship cult with terrible instincts and later running a heist on a Vanguard collaborator; being a shadow sorcerer who caught the eye of an evil Vecna-worshipping wizard in need of a host body) are the root cause. It's like. If your parents kick you out for being gay, that's homophobia, but if your parents are part of a cult that blows itself up and you are orphaned as a result that is not systemic oppression, that is a very specific cult and shitty parents. So that fails to really ground them in the setting. Compare to campaign 2, where Caleb wants to ensure the Volstrucker program is brought to light and eliminated - as he says, no more children on the pyre - vs. here, where arguably Laudna and Ashton are opening the door to far more unregulated cult/evil necromancy shenanigans now entirely unmitigated by the gods. At least Imogen will probably end the Ruidusborn I guess, as a side effect completely unrelated to her actual goals (which are, frankly, unclear) In a campaign that talks about tethers, the characters seem untethered to anything - institution, place, even for the most part family, and only loosely to each other, and it shows in their lack of care.

The other part is that yeah, a lot of things that were given to the Mighty Nein and Vox Machina as "things people would know" aren't given to Bells Hells. Now this could have a mechanical basis, namely, no one has much of a formal education and most of them are also not terribly intelligent on their own. However, it does feel baffling that they can't recognize holy symbols, or don't know the story of the titans at the time of the Schism (which...setting aside the many issues with the concept of "history is written by the victors" which is both inconsistently true in the first place and is frequently used in an anti-intellectual manner to undermine historical study that points out such things as historical racism; just because history might be inaccurate that does not mean that wild speculation otherwise is necessarily true, especially since we do know from EXU Calamity that titans did, indeed, intend to side with the Betrayers against mortals at the start of the Calamity). It furthers this feeling, after Vox Machina being relatively educated even in a story that was not as worldbuilding-focused, and the Mighty Nein having multiple research-oriented characters and a party deeply rooted in a rich world, that Bells Hells feel off and adrift and ignorant, especially since they don't even seem to remember history they lived through such as the Apex War.

Honestly, what I think is most interesting actually is that we don't ever get anyone express a motivation based on structural oppression in-game. Ludinus never got over his parents dying in a war where the options for the Prime Deities were leave mortals to die or fight the Betrayers, knowing there will be devastating casualties, but in setting up his elaborate plot he murdered countless people, destroyed through his communing with Predathos the first rebuilt elven society in Western Wildemount, and participated in actual structural oppression within the Dwendalian empire for literal centuries; he cared not for any widespread liberation and would remain on top, as an archmage, after this imagined revolution, which makes it not much of a revolution worth having. Liliana's problems were caused by Predathos, and many of the Vanguard we see are Ruidusborn. The only other Vanguard we really get to talk to are Bor'Dor, who was oppressed on the basis of his religion and preyed upon by the cult; Tuldus, who see above; and various Paragon's Call members who are mostly just following orders and getting paid. And Bells Hells, when they have the audience of Vasselheim and the rest of the world - a golden opportunity to call out the colonialism - fail to bring up Hearthdell.

In the end, the motivations are all personal pain - in many cases, inflicted, in fact, by Predathos and not the gods - or vengeance. I honestly don't know if the narrative is trying to claim there is something deeper, or if it's simply some of the characters and a chunk of the least knowledgeable fans, but yes, the worldbuilding fails to support a morally complex narrative. It fails to debunk that which was established earlier (and indeed makes the fall of Aeor far more sympathetic than when it was introduced during Campaign 2) and fails to establish any widespread harm the gods did that wasn't the result of someone threatening to kill them. I do not think one can meaningfully debate with someone who puts a boot on your throat, presses down, and claims you're the oppressor when you fight back, nor with someone who argues along those lines, and that's all that fans and Bells Hells have ever done. And yeah we might actually make a world with a formalized hegemonic religion as a result of Bells Hells' actions; it just will be a different god, underscoring that this is either motivated by people who don't know what the fuck is going on; or by vengeance rather than justice.

[skythesnake]

Additionally, sometimes the character *is* treated like a bad person for throwing babies out windows, but a side character who is suspiciously lacking in personality jumps in to explain to the reader that those condemning the baby throwing are Bad People who just hate the main character. Which is also when I start to wonder if you think throwing babies out windows is a Good Thing to do.

"writing about fucked up things doesnt indicate your values as a person" and "the way you write about things may indicate some of your values" are not conflicting statements if im going to be real

[abbysunderwear]

I’ve noticed most of caits supporters are white privileged people who’ve never been through any hardship in their life or have faced racism. “I thought you were different” a phrase that has been used against a poc suggesting that their race is bad or dangerous like I like cait but y’all saying she did nothing wrong is crazy. She gassed the undercity? She hated a whole city because one person did something wrong again another thing poc face. Yes she gets better but those things did happen and if she’s your favorite character, you need to realize that. Also sfop with that “you don’t like her cause you don’t understand her character” bullshit. Someone can understand someone and hate them.

[tooturtly]

Still on my locked tomb and feudalism bullshit, so here’s a discussion of John, and how I think he systematically uses the decentralized nature of the Nine Houses to avoid the realities of being God.

Essentially, what it says on the tin, but first, context. (Can you tell I’m somehow more unhinged now?). Feudalism is a political structure with a fair amount of decentralization of power. It usually came about in the past after a larger government/political system collapsed, such as Rome. Essentially, a King/Emperor cannot feasibly run large amounts of territory, with the citizens of those territories being from diverse backgrounds and customs, without a lot of loyal subordinates helping out. Enter the nobility.

The nobility do the work of running the lands so that the King/Emperor doesn’t have to maintain a large bureaucracy to, let’s say, collect taxes from each individual person, hold a census, or run a court of law. This does not mean the ruler gets to fuck off, they do have responsibilities to the realm, their court, their knights, and the nobles who support them. Some people have to like you to remain in power, otherwise you get assassinated.

So what does all this have to do with John? Well, first, I think it’s safe to say from what we’ve seen that the Nine Houses are very similar to a feudalist system. You have a collection of independent, semiautonomous populations that can generally keep themselves together. They have slightly different takes on religion, loyalty to the empire, and necromancy, but they are all unified under it.

Second, I think we can also say that John has a very specific perception of himself that does not always align with the reality. He wears worn, casual clothes that are not the type of thing anyone else wears, but includes a crown of infant bones. He has a casual, relaxed attitude, but also can pull out a speech about avenging death and fighting for the empire seemingly off the top of his head. He doesn’t want Harrow to treat him like God, yet also constantly quotes works from a world nobody but he can remember. His narration of his actions in Nona paint him as seeing what he did as something anyone would do, as not that bad, as the act of a desperate, passionate man. Yet he also rebuilt the world to make himself God and Emperor above everyone else, the head of a ten thousand year long grudge campaign.

The contradiction is inherent in his title, man who became god, and god who is man. Harrow especially points out moments where he seems mortal, human, calling attention to how he otherwise appears completely separate and divine.

John is a complicated character. People smarter than me have written more with better evidence laid out. What I’m trying to get at though is that, to me, John reads as a man who cannot view himself as having vast amounts of power over others on the regular. To a certain extent he has to view himself as ‘just a little guy’ so he doesn’t have to reconcile with the actions that have caused massive amounts of harm. He wants the Lyctors to be his friends and associates, rather than their boss.

The structure of the Nine Houses helps with that. He doesn’t have to regularly speak to the average citizen, or deal with the daily problems of the people and their Houses, or hell, even the people he’s conquered. Mercymorn says something in Harrow about how the Emperor’s seat is the Mithraeum, the place light years away from the people he is supposed to allegedly rule. The place only realistically accessible by traveling through the River, a feat only possibly by Lyctors (for the most part). And we learn that he’s only been away from that for 80 years, and he assumedly spent most of his previous ten thousand years there.

Because he is at the top of the power structure, he can lose himself in the bigger picture and forget about the reality, which is the fact that he is running a colonial Empire that requires the biological death of planets and people to survive.

[valenteal]

The story of Anakin Skywalker is about how anyone can break under enough pressure. It isn’t a tragedy about an inevitable doom, it isn’t about how power corrupts or about how caring is dangerous. It’s about how no matter how good and kind and selfless and seemingly invincible someone is they still have needs and they can still be hurt.

Maybe this is because Phantom Menace is my favorite Star Wars movie and so I have rewatched it a million times, but for me Anakin is the most genuinely caring and selfless character in Star Wars. He wasn’t just an innocent kid (kids can be cruel and selfish and they’re usually better when they grow up not worse) he was compassionate and kind and despite growing up surrounded by some of the worst scum in the galaxy he knew nothing of greed. That says so much about his character.

Anakin’s fall to the dark side took over a decade of carful manipulation that culminated in cascade of tragedy and loss. It wasn’t an accident. Every bit of the emotional trauma, physical trauma, and mental trauma from the moment Anakin met Palpatine and on ward was planned. We don’t see the decade he spent between Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones but immediately in the second movie we see how much Anakin has changed. Where he used to be confident he’s insecure, where he used to bold and fearless he is now arrogant, where he was once inquisitive he is now cautiously enthusiastic, where he used to build he now destroys. Every change in his behavior and outlook is the result of either the teachings of the Jedi Order which are pretty much the antithesis of his entire personality, the result of Sidious’s manipulation, or the result of the toxic attitudes of many Jedi towards him.

Now I know a lot of people have… misconceptions about what the Jedi Order is and what they stand for. It’s understandable, since I guess a lot of people think of Luke as an everything a Jedi is supposed to be but he is NOT, he wasn’t even taught their philosophy! Yoda and Windu and Luminara are everything a Jedi is meant to be. They take an impersonal approach to justice, they treat others coldly, they believe themselves to be above petty things like emotion and pain and human connection. There are Jedi who take a more progressive stance like Obi-Wan and Quinlan and Qui-Gon but you have to understand that they are not model Jedi and have their own struggles with the Order and its teachings. The Jedi code literally says “There is no emotion.” That is what Jedi strive for. And that isn’t even getting into the genocide or the politics. Focusing on how this affected Anakin. That’s what I’m doing.

Anyway, Anakin is a deeply emotional person. This is not a bad thing. It’s the source of his conviction and his empathy (which a surprising amount of Jedi lack). Anakin feels deeply, so he feels love and anger and sadness more keenly than Jedi who have worked their whole lives to shut off emotion. And he was never taught how to deal with it. The most the Jedi did was tell him to meditate, release his emotions into the Force, focus on the present or other platitudes that do not help! I would know. I’m also a deeply emotional person who feels things very keenly to the point where I had a full psychological evaluation when I was 6 years old. When a person deals with this it NEEDS to be addressed. I have wonderful parents who did everything in their power to help me from a young age and I still ended up suicidal! Anakin did not get help and was instead shamed for feeling so strongly and he ended up bottling it up. People complain about how he was “whiny” and I (a person who has also been called whiny) just go what the fuck do you expect?? Expressing his frustration verbally is literally the healthiest option he has! And we know what it looks like when he chooses other forms of venting! Anakin vented to Padmé almost immediately after reconnecting with her because she is literally the only person in his life who will listen to him (other than Sidious but he makes things worse on purpose).

So yeah. Sensitive people need to be taught how to deal with their emotions in healthy ways. Really everyone does but especially people with strong emotions.

But when Anakin isn’t overwhelmed by emotions he doesn’t have the tools to deal with, or surrounded by toxic people, or being actively manipulated by an evil dictator, that’s when you see who he really is. Which means pretty much all of Phantom Menace, a good chunk of the time he’s alone with Padmé, and… nothing else really. (I’m just going to say here that I am not including Clone Wars Anakin due to the purposeful butchering of his character. I still consider the show canon in everything but Anakin’s characterization in a lot of specific instances.)

Anakin has never been a selfish person. The things people perceive as selfish are his needs. He needs unconditional love. He needs Padmé because she is the only person who gives him that. Even without getting into his psychology and bpd and what a splitting episode is, it isn’t hard to recognize that when he places Padmé’s safety above other people’s it’s an act of self preservation more than self interest. He knows that he would literally go crazy without her. After years of being systematically isolated and traumatized she is the only thing keeping him together. In his desperation to save her and consequently his own sanity he lost both those things. But it’s important to note that he tried to do things right, that he went to Yoda for help, that he told Padmé so she could take her own steps to ensure her health. He did everything he could think of before getting desperate enough to go to Sidious. Not to mention he did everything right after discovering Sidious’s identity. It wasn’t until he was presented with a false dichotomy that boiled down to choosing his mentor and confidant of over a decade and his wife’s life or the man who has scored and distrusted him since he was child that he made the objectively wrong choice. And that was after not sleeping for weeks and having a traumatizing realization that triggered a splitting episode so he wasn’t in a head space to understand what was going on in an objective way.

So yeah. That’s my rant about Anakin Skywalker. If you want to comment or debate know that I will reply with an explanation of my thoughts that could be just as long as this post and that I will not stop until you do. You will not get the last word. I feel very strongly about this and if you’ve gotten this far you have to know that I have thought very deeply about this as well. I have heard every argument. You will not change my mind. I have done research. Engaging with this post to disagree will only lead to me expanding on this even more because this is really a brief summary of all my thoughts and feelings on the matter. If you’re just curious about the rest of my thoughts and feelings just ask.

Don’t try to attack my own morals and character because of this, I am NOT condoning Anakin’s actions or behavior, I am completely aware that he is a deeply damaged and unstable person. The point of this is not to deny that but to explain why Anakin is not naturally like that. The scariest thing about Anakin’s fall is that it happened to Anakin, a paragon of compassion and selflessness. Anyone put under the amount of pressure he was would go crazy. I doubt many people would last as long as Anakin did. He was insanely strong to resist for as long as he did.

[blackcrystalball]

I find this take really interesting, I also feel like a part of my doesn't fully understand what's off-putting about self-centred social media.

I was born in 2004, so when I was growing up, self-centred social media apps were on the rise and then at their peak. I didn't use any of it until I was like 14 because I didn't really care and I had books to read. I only really became earnest in my usage of Instagram during lockdown and I downloaded tiktok from the first time in 2022.

I started making tiktoks in 2023 because I was in university, away from home and finally in an institution that didn't have a uniform. So it was a lot of fashion and hair content. Near the end of last year and all of this year so far, it has been a lot of dancing and edits of celebrities and characters I like.

Overall my social media accounts are centred around myself and the things I like, 2 parts because I want to have a space to store those things that isn't just my phone in case something happens to it, and 1 part I just think I'm really pretty and I like looking at myself.

I find self-centred social media to be really fun because then you can easily find people you have things in common with and make friends, I live in a relatively small town and I was one of three alternative kids in my school. Since posting online I've made a bunch of alt friends in my area and the vibes are immaculate.

Self-centred social media kind of feels like having a communal diary with your mutuals and I love that about it. It's really fun to share the vibes.

But at the same time, I literally went through all my formative years with this type of media at its peak, it was literally every. Every piece of media tried to brute force social media into their stories and in general kind of normalised it to people my age. So my stance is coming from a person that literally knows no other way of life. I think my stance might have been different if I was born in the 90s instead because in general I'm a pretty private person. All my super personal information stays completely under wraps. The only things I put on social media are things I would comfortably talk to a stranger about irl.

Overall, I feel like it might be because of a bit of a generational gap and different influences.

I feel like I kind of meandered off topic a bit, but yeah, the idea of this type of social media being off-putting has never once crossed my mind, and maybe that's a bad thing. Being perceived on such a large scale really isn't a normal experience and it is probably doing some weird stuff to our brains.

social media has evolved into such a voyeuristic spectacle over the last five to ten years its truly shocking to me like excluding tumblr 90% of the explore pages on other apps is just videos of peoples faces set to music or people talking directly to the camera etc etc......by contrast on tumblr there is still a sort of sheen of anonymity based on how its formatted and usually when you interact with a post you read or watch the content first and then learn the users identity second by clicking on their profile ie the dash is not just a wall of people filming themselves unless its a repost......i remember even only a couple of years ago there was a distinction between people who were influencers and got paid to film themselves 24/7 for instagram but now its like every average person on reels/tiktok is performing the same kind of theater for free......i cant imagine what that would do to your psyche long term

[respectthepetty]

For such a simple man, Hagiwara Kazuaki has depth.

And Nakarai Sei likes that.

When they go to eat after the gallery, Hagiwara makes this profound statement about how the vastness of the Toyko metro reminds him of how connected people are.

The Tokyo underground is very deep like an ant colony in a clear box. If you look at the Toyko underground from a section view, it must be full of holes. Maybe somebody similar to us is surprisingly close to us. I think that whenever I visit Roppongi.

But when Sei presses him about "Why Roppongi," which is a place known for its partying and night life, Hagiwra simply responds "Well, the Oedo line is extremely deep" since it sits 150 feet below ground. Then, the fun music sets in to let us know that this man is a fool.

But, once again, Sei likes that. He even teases Hagiwara later because it's clear that Hagiwara doesn't always realize how funny he is being.

Because Sei likes that Hagiwara, even in his foolishness, is very serious.

In the midst of their very serious relationship issues, Hagiwara constantly makes Sei laugh.

Hagiwara, through email, has been so serious about the difficulties he is having in his relationship, yet whenever he and Sei meet, he is actually this goofy little guy.

He laughs. He smiles.

But he is also very serious when it comes to feeling.

Fujisawa is always serious. He is serious about his work and keeping the distance in his arrangement with Sei.

But Kairo is always smiles. She is always joking her way out of intimacy with Hagiwara. Then, there is Hagiwara.

He is good at his sales job. He is popular among his coworkers. He is the party planner of the group. And he is serious about his feelings, which must be refreshing for Sei who lives with a man who never talks about feelings. But it must also be nice for Hagiwara as well to speak to someone about his feelings.

Hagiwara, in his foolishness, is actually quite sincere. Hagiwara speaks plainly to Sei, so when he talks about his emotions of feeling dirty and like a bad person, we can feel the weight of what he is saying. When he asks Sei questions about his feelings, we know it's genuine. We can trust Hagiwara because he isn't trying to hide his feelings when he is with Sei. When he feels, we know it's serious because he is serious.

In a sense, Hagiwara is the Oedo line running under Roppongi. On the surface, he is all fun times, but when looking below the surface, his depth is surprising. Unlike the one dimensions we've seen of Fujisawa and Kairo, the more Sei gets to know Hagiwara, the deeper he sees his emotions run. And that's why he is easy to read.

Unlike the other characters who keep trying to cover up and dismiss their feelings, Hagiwara feels his feelings, and he takes those feelings seriously, so maybe that's why the Oedo line reminds him of connection since in all his dark layers of depth in this ant colony of life, he is looking for "somebody similar to us [who] is surprisingly close to us."

Hagiwara simply wants someone to feel

the same way he does.

[mizuribbons]

i had a longer than usual period of blissful ignorance where i forgot that way too many people in the pjsk fandom genuinely think rui is a bad person despite him being the complete opposite of a bad person. unfortunately i just checked ao3

very unfriendly reminder to everyone who genuinely thinks stuff like that is even slightly in character (to everyone with common sense, this isn't for you, don't worry) that rui is extremely kind and selfless and he would never do any of the awful shit you make him do!

if you continue, you will be boiled :3

[pseudonymousposting]

Just use the word from before. You don't really need to worry about having a different word for everything unless the difference serves a purpose.

If your story is first person or primarily follows a specific POV or is told by a specific narrator, wouldn't it make sense that the storyteller is not a walking dictionary?

When people speak, they tend to have patterns anyway, and you don't notice them unless you're looking for it. I can refer to Hbomberguy's bit in his plagiarism video where he mentions that an AI asked to write a segment in his style uses the words, "buckle up." This points to how he uses that phrase often.

He jokes that this is because he's bad at writing. I beg to differ. The consistent use is really fucking good, actually, and I hope he doesn't correct for it in the future.

The pattern, when used specifically by him, has certain implications that will prompt a fan of his videos to notice when he is making a salient point integral to the theme he is conveying throughout the entire video. You also know that the example he is about to use is probably pretty goddamn funny, or notable, or egregious. Maybe you noticed that before. Maybe. If you've watched all of his videos, like twice each, at least.

If you're a fan of Dimension 20, it's quite likely you know all the words Brennan Lee Mulligan uses ALL the time.

Rad

INcredible

Hell yeah

All are little communicators from him as a DM. They're used so often, even casual watchers meme about it. Also Matt Mercer saying "how do you want to do this." Also make note, if Brennan Lee Mulligan starts monologuing with a question, brace yourself.

The use of these common, consistent, repetitive phrases actually communicates more. It would be ridiculous if Brennan Lee Mulligan got shy about using the same term and clumsily said "inferno affirmative," or something. Unless he was purposely doing it as a clunky bit just for laughs, and even then, doing it unprompted would just get a blank stare at this point. The repetition has a benefit, not a deficit.

Your peerless vocabulary is not the most important component of your craft. Your story is. Care less about finding a million different words to say the same thing, and focus more on saying what you need to say. Story good, not word good.

When people read a story, they might say "the plot was well constructed." Or, "the suspense kept me on my seat." Or, "I laughed so hard."

You know what they won't say? "There's was a nice diversity of words there. The writer did a good job of making sure they didn't use a word twice on a given page." I'd argue that if that's what a reader notices, the writer failed to craft a good story.

Complimenting a person on their extensive vocabulary is more a thing an adult does for a 'gifted' child. It's better to write an excellent narrative at a 3rd grade reading level than to write a bad story at a collegiate level.

Hell, it's better to write a good story at a 3rd grade level than it is to even write an amazing story at a collegiate level. You're communicating. Make sure you are doing so effectively first and foremost. Everything else is just fluff.

This falls in line with the thing where people will try to cap off quotes with unnecessary modifiers where "said" does just fine and is almost invisible. Y'know, the ol' "'snape!' Slughorn ejaculated." Why say many words when few words do trick, eh?

Not to say finding the right synonym isn't useful. Sometimes, a synonym carries specific implications or a slightly different meaning more suited to that particular use case. In this case, that synonym might actually be a better fit to serve your purpose.

Alternatively, it's possible the character could be more likely to use that word over another for any particular reason. It can speak to who they are in a way that can help you avoid a little exposition here and there. Hell, using outdated terms might do the same.

For example, a now deceased man who was an instructor before I flunked out of college, who was nearly 90 years old. I think he sometimes used stories from his career to try and provide a point without giving answers.

He started one such story with "there was this guy I worked with a long time ago. He was uh ambidextrous, yknow what I mean? Uhh, he was a switch-hitter or a uhh..a bisexual..."

I'm not gonna lie, I was fucking awestruck at the term "switch-hitter," referencing bisexuality. That term instantly made me a patriot for about two weeks. I'd never heard anything more apple-pie, bald eagle with a single tear, and inside the tear, you can see the twin towers, Ole Glory waving proudly in the background with fireworks bursting over the top motherfuckin AMERICA than "switch-hitter" meaning "bisexual" holy shit.

Anyway, shortening things, I flunked out, met my abuser, and fled town because I just couldn't live in the same town as them anymore. He called to check on me.

He told me he keyed in that something was wrong and felt the need to check in. He believed my story. He said a lot that helped me with my recovery.

Part of my story involved the fact that I'm trans, as queer relationship dynamics were, like, central to the abuse. Interestingly, unlike many people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, this man pushing his 90s understood every single damn word of what I was saying.

I bring up this story because of the synonyms he uses and how we can think about their use in context. My mind trails back to the term "switch hitter," a 1960s slang term for bisexual used right after "Ambidextrous," an earlier term. Of course, the man immediately understood all this queer mumbo-jumbo I was saying and didn't flinch even a little about my being trans.

However, its use from a 90-year-old right after "ambidextrous" tells an entirely different story. It drops a hint that this guy may have been, at the very least, accepting of people who were involved in the gay rights movement during the time.

Desperately seeking a synonym for "bisexual" might yield you to terms which are today potentially offensive or harmful, but before the 1970s were descriptors that bisexuals would sometimes use to describe themselves. So, depending on who uses that term, it could be harmful, or it could be someone who fought against that harm long before that term ever had potential negative implications.

Also, note how many times I just said, "bisexual?" Did it feel repetitive? Probably not.

If the use of the synonym serves no purpose other than feeling like you need to use a different word, consider, "Why am I really looking for a synonym, here?" If it doesn't serve a specific purpose, then feel free to just use whatever word makes sense. If it matters for one reason or another, use that. Just use what works. This ain't a vocabulary test. You don't need to impress your middle school English teacher anymore. You're free.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Sympathetic Villain

Sympathetic villain - an antagonist in a story who has redeemable qualities.

Tips for Writing a Sympathetic Villain

Despite their immoral actions, sympathetic villains must have relatable motivations. Here are five tips for writing a great sympathetic villain for your story.

Make them believe they’re the hero. A sympathetic villain is willing to do bad things because their evil actions will bring about a positive change, from their point of view. Consider how your villain could see themselves as the true hero. Flesh out their perspective by imagining how they see your story’s protagonist as their personal villain.

Craft a tragic backstory. A tragic backstory gives your villain a sympathetic reason to justify their evil deeds. Slowly reveal your villain’s tragic backstory as the narrative unfurls. A slow reveal will add an aura of mystery to their motivations while also avoiding a colossal exposition dump early in your story.

Give them an internal conflict. Before you begin writing, sit down and flesh out the character. What event is the source of the internal struggle that informs their behavior in the story?

Employ supporting characters. Creating a supporting character who illuminates your villain’s sympathetic qualities is a simple way to help readers understand your villain’s point of view. In the X-Men saga, Professor X—the leader of the heroes—believes he can redeem Magneto, the villain, expressing that he is a virtuous person underneath his darkness.

Show them doing a good deed. Like good people can do bad things, bad people can do good things. Imagine a plausible good deed that your villain would perform in the context of their backstory. For example, if your villain’s sibling was a civilian casualty during a wartime attack, they may refrain from attacking your protagonist when an innocent civilian enters the line of fire.

Even when performing terrible acts or standing in the way of a beloved main character’s mission, the reader sympathizes with their motivations, often due to their redeemable qualities or tragic backstory. This type of complex character may be a tragic villain or an anti-villain.

A tragic villain is a character who becomes evil in the face of uncontrollable traumatic circumstances; this type of villain often despises their wicked nature.

On the other hand, anti-villains believe themselves to be a story’s hero, seeing their evil actions as noble.

These villainous characters are the opposite of anti-heroes, who perform good deeds despite having questionable motives or a cloudy moral compass.

Examples of Sympathetic Villains

Killmonger: Killmonger, the villain in Marvel’s Black Panther, dedicates his life to dethroning his cousin T’Challa, the king of Wakanda. In the process, Killmonger wants to stop the oppression of people of African descent by arming them with Wakandan weapons. However, he is willing to do terrible things to innocent people in the process.

The Joker: The Joker in Batman is fairly straightforward in his villainy, but his tragic backstory of being mentally pushed to the brink makes him compelling to watch. The audience suspects that if someone tested their sanity, they might act in the same way���and that’s all it takes to create a villain worthy of the caped crusader.

Thanos: Thanos—the main foe of The Avengers and the big bad guy in The Infinity Saga of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe)—has a goal of erasing half the universe’s population. His motivation stems from his own species’ extinction in the face of overpopulation, which exhausted his planet’s natural resources. Despite his nefarious mission, the audience feels sympathy for Thanos’ trauma and loneliness.

Source ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[wisegirl25]

People talking about “how can you criticize Caitvi for being toxic when timebomb literally tried to kill each other” PISS ME OFF so bad

Jinx and Ekko were on OPPOSITE SIDES OF A WAR

No shit they’re trying to fucking kill each other

Nothing romantic happened until well after a lot of growth for both characters (and even then it was in an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE)

Timebomb had history together—they were childhood best friends

Meanwhile Caitlyn HIT VI even though they’re on the same side (unprompted, they were arguing and not in a physical fight, that’s called abuse), asked her to become an enforcer KNOWING her trauma, and never apologized for a single thing she did

And all of this within at the very most a few months of knowing one another

It’s almost like—and hear me out—Vi fucking trauma bonded to the first person to show her kindness after being beaten and abused in a prison cell for 7 years

The difference between the ships is that for one, they BOTH tried to kill each other, it was even. For the other, it’s just one sided. Caitlyn in no way deserves Vi and I’m tired of acting like it’s such an amazing ship just cause it’s wlw

As a wlw myself, we deserved better representation than this half assed attempt at romance, season 1 caitvi was absolutely amazing, season 2 ruined it

[ifitsnotmethenwhothefuck]

Vil Schoenheit x Reader

So imagine this: Vil has been working really hard for this new product launch for his makeup brand.

The whole thing is this huge lip set of over 20 lipsticks, lip glosses, lip liners, lip stains, and lip plumper, all of them are standing from different shades and colors that he personally picked out.

Now the product should release on Feb 14, but before that he plans on doing a photo shoot to showcase all the different shades and colors, but he’s having some trouble deciding on what makeup look to do for the shoot.

So he asks you to come by and help him with his makeup, which nearly shocks you to death because you never thought he would ask you for help regarding makeup.

Story, type: one shot

Warning: Kissing, fluff, pet names

Pairing: Vil Schoenheit x Reader (surprise character at the end)

AN: I didn’t plan on this being a story, but it kind of turned into one I’ve never written for Vil before, but I tried 😅.

You got a text message from Vil early in the morning saying he needs help with his makeup. You’re dumbfounded. Shocked even, Vil Schoenheit needs help with his makeup, and he’s coming to you of all people to ask for it.

Well, if anyone wants the bragging rights saying that they helped Vil with their makeup, it’s you of all people. Wasting no time and rushing over to his room, you find him already with a full face of makeup. He looked amazing, a little bit more glamorous than normal with a smoky red eyes and dark red lips. You were confused; how exactly did he need your help if he looked this good?

“Oh, you’re here. Come inside,” Vil says as he closes the door behind you and makes his way back to his vanity, where he sits down. “I don’t understand. I thought you wanted my help with your makeup.” You asked slightly confused. He turns around to look at you.

“Oh, I do,” he says, looking at you like you’ve just asked him the most stupid question ever, as he proceeds to wipe his makeup off with a cotton pad soaked in makeup remover, wiping away his hard work with each stroke of his hand, leaving you speechless. That had to have taken hours. Why is he just wiping it away?

“I don’t get it; your makeup already looked amazing. How could I possibly help?” you asked as Vil finished removing the last bit of makeup from his face; you didn’t notice how his eyes averted from yours when you asked that question, “Don’t worry, sweet potato. I’m not asking you to do anything outside your skill set; just help me decide on a look for my product shoot.” He said with a small smirk as he turned back around and started applying new makeup to his face.

You both sat in a comfortable silence as you watched him apply new makeup; you noticed he was going for a more natural look than what he normally did. It didn’t look bad or anything; he could definitely pull it off. He could practically pull off anything, but you were a little surprised, ever since you’ve gotten to know him. You’ve never seen him. Try to go for this kind of look before.

“If you keep on staring at me like that, you’ll burn a hole in my clothes, and I don’t think you can afford to have these tailored.” Vil said as he looked at you through his vanity mirror, a blush forming on your cheeks as you looked down, realizing what you were doing. “Sorry,” you said softly, slightly embarrassed.

“No need to apologize, sweet potato; I was actually about to ask you for your help,” he says with a small smirk as he turns around to look at you. “You were?” You say slightly shocked you had kind of suspected you weren’t really going to help him with his makeup rather just help him pick out what look to do for his shoot?

“That is why I asked you to come over, isn’t it?” He says to you as if stating the most obvious thing in the world, which he probably was. “That’s true,” you say softly, mostly to yourself. “Anyway, if you’re going to help me, grab a chair and come over here.” You do as you’re told and sit across from him.

Several of his new lipsticks are lined up on his vanity in front of him as you both look at them. “Which one do you think we should start with?” Vil asks as he looks up at you. “I really like the dark red one,” you say, pointing to one of the tubes of lipstick. A small sigh escapes from Vil’s lips. “You mean the burgundy one?” Vil says, picking up the lipstick you pointed to. “Yeah, that one,” you say with a small smile.

“Okay, so all I need to do is put it on you.” You ask a little hesitantly as Vil has yet to hand the lipstick over to you. “Not quite,” Vil says as he looks down, avoiding your eyes. You tilt your head and look at him in confusion. “I actually need to put this on you.” Vil says, staring back up at you, “I don’t understand. Aren’t I supposed to be helping you with YOUR makeup?” you ask, confused.

“Patient sweet potato, you’ll get to do my makeup soon enough, but for now, can I please put this on you?” Vil asked as he took the lid off of the lipstick and gently placed it on his vanity. “Okay I guess there’s no harm in it” you say as Vil gives you a approving smile “that’s great to hear if you don’t mind I need you to come a little closer” Vil says as he grabs the bottom of your chair and pulls you closer to him your legs in between one another now “do I really have to be this close” you ask slightly embarrassed as a small blush forms on your cheeks, “unfortunately yes” Vil says as he gently grab your face. “Now please don’t move.” He says as he fully focuses on your lips as you stare at him, he gently applies his lipstick to you.

After a moment or two, Vil finally pulled away and gently placed the lipstick on the vanity. He stared at you, well, your lips at least, admiring his handiwork. “Alright, I think that’s good,” he says, looking up at you. “What exactly do you want me to do now?” You ask, not sure how this was supposed to help with his makeup.

“Well, you kiss me, of course,” he said, looking into your eyes to see if he could read your emotions; meanwhile, you felt like your heart had stopped beating as your face began to heat up. “Y-you want me to k-kiss you?” you said instantly, wondering if you had misheard him. “Only if you feel comfortable with it,” he said with a small sigh.

“Oh no, I don’t feel uncomfortable or anything. This is just a bit surprising,“ you say, avoiding his eyes “Well then, can you start off by giving me two right here?” he says, and as you look up at him, seeing him point his long, slender finger to his temple, you feel a little more relaxed, knowing you didn’t have to give him a ‘normal kiss,’ but there was also a part of you that was slightly disappointed. “Umm, okay,“ you said before leaning in closer to him and softly placing a kiss onto his temple and another one underneath it on his cheekbone, you pulled away just enough so he could turn his face so you could do the same thing to the other side.

When you were done, you quickly leaned away from him. “What now?” you ask, trying to sound confident. “Now we change the color,” Vil said dismissively as he grabbed a cotton pad and soaked it in makeup remover before looking over at you. “Do you want me to help you take that off?” He asked as his eyes lingered on your lips. You felt like your mind was going blank. What was he asking? He wanted you to take something off your face, instantly heating up. “Oh, umm, sure,” you said with a small mark.

Before you knew it, he was leaning in closer to you, one of his hands gently cupping your face while his other carefully rubbed the cotton pad against your lips. Taking off the lipstick when he was done, he picked up a brighter red lipstick and applied it to you. ”Okay, I need one right here and here,“ he said, pointing to two new spots, one below the arch of his brow on his eyelid and the other on the corner of his eye.

You gently placed the new kiss marks on each eye before leading away from him; a small thank you left his lips before he looked at himself in his vanity mirror. He made a few touch-ups, putting blush on the high of his cheekbones, then he handed you his phone. You looked at him confused for a moment before he spoke. “I need you to take some photos of me.” He said, casually, “Right,” you said softly as you snapped a couple of photos of him, as he give you his best model face.

You handed him back his phone as he looked at all the photos with a very serious expression. “Well, I guess my work here is done” you say awkwardly as he puts his phone down looking at you with a confused look, “not quite I still have a few more looks I want to try on” he said as he landed in closer to you, wiping your lips, clean with a cotton path,

He then wiped off the kiss marks from his face and touched up the rest of his makeup, giving himself a smoky purple eye that matched one of the dark violet lipsticks he picked it loo up, and started to apply it to your lips, carefully. “Okay, love, I need you to kiss me right here,” he said, pointing to his cheek.

You did as you were told, leaning closer to him and closing your eyes as you placed a kiss on his cheek. It was quick and simple, but it still left you feeling flustered as you pulled away. “Thanks, love, I just need to take a few more photos, and then we can move onto the final look,” he said, giving you a small smile as he handed you his phone. You nodded your head in understanding as you took his phone.

You proceeded to take several photos of him. Your favorite one was of him looking over his shoulder at you when you were done; you handed him back his phone, and he looked through all the photos. Deleting the ones that weren’t up to his taste. “What lipstick do you think we should try out for the final look?” he asked, as he started to wipe off his makeup before removing your lipstick.

“What about this one?” You asked as you pointed to a rosy pink lipstick. Vil didn’t really say anything in response; rather, he just picked it up and started applying it to you. “I have to touch up my makeup, and then we can start,” Vil said as he set the lipstick back down on the vanity. He then proceeded to touch up his makeup. Putting on a soft pink eyeshadow with a sharp black cat liner, when he was done, he traced one of his slender fingers along his jaw, down his neck, and across his collarbone as the words “from here to here” fell off his lips ever so gently. You felt a warm blush creep up again as you tried to stop yourself from feeling flustered, but it was getting hard to do so.

You leaned into him, your hands resting on his chest as your legs intertwined with one another’s, taking your time in between each kiss, your lips ghosting over his skin as you traveled to the next place you would mark with your kiss, your hot breath heating up his cold skin, sending goosebumps up his neck.

You placed random kisses along his jawline, leaning back for a second only to admire your work before traveling down his neck. As you kissed along his Adam's apple, you had to stop yourself from jumping from shock as you felt his hands grab your waist. “Was—was he enjoying this?” you thought to yourself as you placed more kiss marks down his neck and along his collarbone.

It helped that his shirt had a low V neckline, making it easy to access his chest as you placed random kisses onto him. You could have sworn you heard him make a low noise as you kissed his collarbone, but perhaps it was just your imagination. You slowly pulled away as you looked up at him. You both were just inches apart as you softly spoke, “I think that’s good,” you said, as you felt your voice get trapped in your throat. You hoped he didn’t notice how flushed you were.

He looked into your eyes as if they were his own choice of poison. “You did a great job. love, I’ll have to reward you for helping me.” He said, giving you a small smile, his hands still laced on your hips; you felt your body betray you. As your voice got stuck in your throat, your face heating up, “Well, thank you for thinking of me, but I think helping you was enough of a reward,” you said, not realizing you were leaning closer to him, the corners of his lips curling up into a smirk. “Oh, did you perhaps enjoy kissing me a bit too much?” he said in a teasing tone as his hand slid up your back.

“And if I did?” You asked, leaning in closer, your lips only inches apart from each other. His eyes lingered on your lips that were painted in his pink lipstick, and before you knew it, he closed the distance. Your lips met in a soft and delicate kiss. “Then I guess I wouldn’t have to feel so guilty for enjoying myself,” he said softly as his lips ghosted over yours.

A small smile played on your lips before you closed the distance again. Your lips met in a slightly more hungry kiss as his hands slid up your body and your own hands slid up into his hair, deepening the kiss, the taste of lipstick and roses, as your tongues danced with each other, soft gasps filled the room as you moaned into each other’s kiss, only pulling away to catch your breath.

You lean away from Vil as he takes a quick look in the mirror. Surprisingly, none of your earlier kiss marks were messed up, although he did have lipstick smudged around his mouth that he needed to wipe off after he touched up his makeup. He grabbed his phone. “Do you mind, love?” He said, giving you a small smile as he handed you his phone.

You were still blushing from what just happened, your whole body feeling hot. You were honestly a little jealous how he seemed to be handling it so perfectly. Not wanting to seem immature, you took his phone, and an awkward laugh left your lips before you spoke. “Not at all,” you said, hoping this won’t be the last time you get to kiss Vil Schoenheit, but you didn’t want to tell him that.

He gave you a thankful smile before you started to take more photos of him, some of which were him looking away from the camera and others of him leaning in to it. You thought each photo was breathtaking in your own opinion, but he looked at all of them with the eyes of a critic, deleting the ones that he didn’t deem worthy. “What are you planning on doing with these photos? anyway?” you asked curiously, hoping this whole thing won’t turn into something awkward.

“I’m going to send them to my makeup artist and manager to see what they think if this would be a good look for the product shoot,” Vil said, as he continued to look through the photos on his phone, sending the ones he liked off to his makeup artist and manager. When he was done, he finally looked up at you. “Thanks for helping me.” He said as he gave you a small smirk, You’re blushing now, creeping back up on you. “Anytime,” you say softly.

And then Rook busted in through the door the three of you just stared at each other awkwardly as you and Vil were sitting so close your legs were intertwined with each other. kiss marks, traveling down Vil‘s body that matched your snatched lipstick, perfectly a mischievous grin, forming on Rook’s lips as he watched you panic for an excuse.

Inspiration photos for this post, I found these photos on Google. Happy early Valentine’s Day. 😘🥰