#rewrite with necessary bits for your character if there's a need

[wolfsong-the-bloody-beast]

Ifan for like 80% of the game.

[luna-azzurra]

What to Give a Sh*t About While Editing Your Book

↳ Emotional Impact

Ask yourself: Do I actually feel something here? If a scene is technically “well-written” but emotionally flat, it’s dead weight. Your readers won’t remember your clever metaphors, but they’ll remember the way a quiet line of dialogue made their stomach drop. So yeah—give a sh*t about that.

↳ Character Motivation That Actually Makes Sense

If your characters are making decisions just because the plot needs them to… we’ve got a problem. In edits, zoom in on their choices. Are they acting like real, flawed, complex humans? Or puppets? Edit until their actions make you nod and go, “Yep. That’s exactly what that little disaster would do.”

↳ Cutting the “Almost Good” Stuff

This hurts, but it’s necessary. Some lines are nice. Pretty. Kind of smart. But if they’re not serving the story, they’ve got to go. Save them in a “kill darlings” file. Grieve if needed. But don’t let “kinda good” block the greatness trying to come through.

↳ Scene Purpose

Every scene needs to earn its place like it’s paying rent. Does it move the plot? Deepen character? Build tension? Ideally, two out of three. If the answer is “it’s vibes,” that might work for a paragraph—but not for 3,000 words. Cut. Condense. Clarify. Your future reader will thank you.

↳ Pacing That Doesn’t Bore People to Death

Look, I love a moody slow burn too. But if your story crawls for 50 pages without conflict, tension, or curiosity—your reader will ghost you. Read your scenes out loud. If you’re zoning out? So will they. Tighten that sh*t up.

↳ Dialogue That Sounds Like Real People (and Not AI)

If your characters sound like they're reading from a very polite script, it’s time to rewrite. Interruptions, unfinished thoughts, weird little phrases—those are gold. Make it messy. Make it sound like how people actually talk when they’re nervous, angry, or halfway in love and lying about it.

↳ Themes You Accidentally Nailed (and Can Now Strengthen)

Themes tend to sneak in while you’re drafting. During edits? Time to spotlight them. Don’t slap it on with a neon sign—but do lean into the emotional throughline you already created. It’s probably smarter and more beautiful than you gave yourself credit for.

↳ Your Voice

Don’t edit your weird out. Editing is for clarity, not sanding down your style until it sounds like generic internet writing. Keep the voicey bits. The odd metaphors. The lines that sound exactly like you. That’s what readers fall in love with—not perfection.

↳ Trusting That You’ll Need Multiple Rounds

This isn’t one-and-done. Your second draft will suck differently than your first. Your third might suck less, but still suck. That’s fine. It’s part of the process. What matters is that each time, it gets sharper, truer, and more you.

↳ Not Quitting Halfway Through Just Because It’s Hard

Editing is hard. But you’ve already done the impossible: you wrote a damn book. That’s massive. Now you’re just sculpting it. Don’t give up because it’s messy. Don’t panic because it’s not “there” yet. Keep showing up. Even if it’s just one scene at a time. Even if you’re crying into your tea. Especially then.

[harunayuuka2060]

*Note: I've decided to rewrite Twst Unseen with the main character now named Yuuzora.*

Yuuzora's father: I received a request from the Ministry of Education. They would like you to observe Night Raven College.

Yuuzora: ...

Yuuzora: What is it this time?

Her father: Nothing specific. They just want to ensure the school is running properly.

Yuuzora: ...

Her father: ...

Her father: It is not urgent. You’ll just need to report anything you deem necessary.

Yuuzora: ...

Yuuzora: I'll be on my way. *leaves the room*

Her father: ...

Her father: *glances at his late wife's portrait*

Her father: Your daughter is a bit stubborn. *smiles bitterly*

Yuuzora: *looking at the students, lets out a sigh of frustration, muttering under her breath* They're like faceless figures...

Crowley: Yuuzora?

Yuuzora: !!!

Crowley: It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm the headmage of the renowned Night Raven College. *smiles*

Yuuzora: ...

Yuuzora: It's nice to meet you, sir.

Crowley: I’m good friends with your father, so when he requested to enroll you here, I was truly delighted!

Yuuzora: How much did he pay you?

Crowley: *clears throat*

Crowley: He'd warned me that you're straightforward, but not this straightforward.

Yuuzora: I figured you wouldn't accept me so easily since I wasn't chosen by the Dark Mirror and it's already halfway through the school year.

Crowley: ...

Crowley: I've always been known for my kindness.

Yuuzora: ...

Kalim: You're our new dorm member?! *grins* Welcome to Scarabia!

Yuuzora: ...

Yuuzora: *confused frown*

Kalim: Hm? What's wrong?

Yuuzora: ...

Yuuzora: I think I'm in the wrong place.

Kalim: Nope! Your dorm is Scarabia. Right, Jamil?

Jamil: Yes. We're expecting you.

Yuuzora: ...

Yuuzora: Great.

[dropoutconfessions]

It makes me incredibly angry when people say "Riz is canonically aro/ace" and act like you're a horrible person if you ship him with people. Like. Nowhere in the show is it ever stated that he's aro/ace. The conversation people reference as him being "canonically" aro/ace is just him expressing his lack of very specifically sexual attraction, and even then the response from his dad (and by extension Brennan and the show as a whole) is that it's okay, and that it's specifically unclear whether he's ace or whether it's just not something that's happened for him in specific yet. It is intentionally vague as to whether he is ace or not, and there's genuinely zero indication in the show that he's aro other than that he doesn't have a love interest which could be completely unrelated.

Right so I'd like to share my opinion on this for a brief moment. I am still fully here to give people a voice, but this is just, an issue that kinda hits close to home since I'm demiaro.

The most annoying thing in a lot of media is when representation is shoehorned in as a list of labels and buzzwords we're given. Queer people should not have to turn to the screen and say their full identity in order for them to be canonically queer. That's what subtext is for. That's what good writing does. Is not spell it out for you when it's not necessary to do so. They do not need it to be spelt out for it to be very clear that he's ace/aro.

I am going to assume ignorance here instead of assuming malicious intent. The idea that the reason he isn't ace, is because "it's not something that's happened for him in specific yet", is an extremely common thought process behind asexual erasure. I'm sure that's not what you intended, but that is something to reflect on in general.

Both Adaine and Riz have yet to have relationships or display crushes (not counting junior year since most of the evidence comes from sophomore year) . Adaine hasn't gotten an entire nightmare sequence / arc around dealing with here friends all finding partners and leaving them alone. Adaine hasn't expressed or had conversations about any lack of sexual or romantic feels to the extent Riz has. Adaine is headcanoned as ace/aro by some people. Riz is more than that. Riz is very much canonically ace/aro if you do the slightest bit of character analysis. There's accidental coding and then there's Riz Gukgak.

List of every single Riz trait that is hella ace/aro coded

A lack of sexual and romantic attraction to other people (I'm not counting the time where he said he was kinda into Sexy Rat, that whole scene was a bit, and absolutely insane)

Making up a partner/crush in order to fit in (I have 1000% done that and so have a lot of acespec and arospec people)

A fear of being left behind by his friends because of a belief that they will find partners and move on from him, largely caused by alloromantic culture's insane emphasis on how the most important relationship is a romantic one

The fact that almost every other fantasy high pc has been in a relationship or a crush (kristen had tracker and gertie, gorgug had zelda, unit, and mary ann, fabian had aelwyn, ivy, and mazey, adaine had oisin and possibly zayn depends on your interpretation, and fig has had ayda and a string of professionals in a variety of fields across seasons 1 and 2) with only riz as a single character

The fact his sophomore year arc was entirely about his lack of sexual/romantic attraction and fear of being left alone because of it

Like not even a joke, it was that and his dad, that was the whole arc

His junior year arc was also about his obsession to stay together as a friend group, which like I mentioned above, is very clearly based in his asexuality and aromanticism

I am not going to stop people from shipping characters ever. If you want to rewrite character sexualities, that's fine by me, I'm a big believer in "Don't Like, Don't Read". I am not gonna pretend like characters are not their sexuality in canon so that people feel justified in writing their stories. People who rewrite character sexuality can do so without making everyone else assuage their guilt for them. I know I'm on the "piss on the poor" reading comprehension website, but it's not hard to tell Riz is ace/aro in canon, and pretending otherwise doesn't help your case.

[clearancecreedwatersurvival]

‘It’s different from the books’ sure it’s different but are you judging elements based on how they fit within the new transformative narrative that the show adaptation is presenting? Or are you purely judging each element based on how different it is from the books?

Does the new narrative that the show is telling have cohesive arcs and structure that work within its specific logic? Do the elements present, intentionally different or inspired or lifted directly from the books, work together to tell a story that shares most of the same overall themes and important story beats as the entire book series? Are they setting up the long term development of character arcs well?

Or are you just mad your favorite character isn’t just saying all their lines from the book directly and we need to have the ‘characters aren’t people regardless of our parasocial attachment to them, they’re storytelling tools that fill roles within a narrative conflict’ conversation again? Like, neither the author(s) nor the book characters themselves are gonna fuck you, just so we’re clear.

Mat having a weakness for helping and protecting children, Perrin being traumatized about using the axe as a weapon and worried about harming people he loves, Rand wanting to help men who can channel, everything about Egwene’s late stage character arc, Nynaeve’s innate potential and her constant early struggle with her unconsciously blocking that immense power away from herself have all been set up extremely well in the show, and all by making some pretty distinct changes from the books.

And every wot fan agrees that the books are not perfect in various ways, rearranging and tightening of the plot was always going to be necessary in an adaptation, let alone in one that is only allowed to span 8 seasons. But the main beats of the story are all there, and individual changes to characterization and the specific roles that characters play for certain bits of the narrative are not bad just because they’re different and I simply can’t take any criticism of the show that doesn’t account for that seriously.

Also like. Can we stop blaming the writers for stuff that is fully the producers’ fault. Season 1 episode 1 and episode 8 both got fucked over on rewrites and/or covid restrictions during filming, so the pacing and execution is kinda fucky there, but that’s not on the writing team. The rest of season one the pacing is better and better yet in season two, which honestly was kind of a banger start to finish.

The development in s2 of all the themes around channelers losing access to the power or autonomy over their channeling and the griefs of outliving your loved ones were explored so well, and all those ideas are very important for the rest of the plot from later in the books. And the choice to introduce all the forsaken sooner and develop them more than is present in the early books was brilliant, they’re incredibly effective and engaging villains and the show is utilizing them to full effect. Shit rules. I’m stoked for s3 for a lot of reasons but especially for more forsaken shenanigans.

When I want to reread the books I’ll reread the books. I’m doing that right now and having a great time. But I’m glad the show is different in a lot of ways and I like the way they’re reading the original text, including by changing the stuff that makes wot one of those book series you can’t really recommend without an asterisk because RJ’s grasp on feminism and queerness and gender theory was. Loose at best.

Idk man, just treat adaptations of books you love as really high budget fanfiction produced by a team of people who all care about the original text but are also of course gonna put their spin on it, and you might have a more enjoyable time watching them.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Miyazaki? Fanfiction.

NBC Hannibal? Gay Fanfiction.

The Wheel of Time on Prime? That’s right, it’s increasingly higher budget fantasy fanfiction with less gender essentialism, extra emphasis on all the milfy magical politics, and queer subtext made text, hell yeah.

[blog-by-kij]

I love the Inside Out films because in the first one, Joy—among other characteristics—is a huge arrogant, controlling, and self-centered ass and in the second one she’s a less arrogant, controlling, and self-centered ass BUT that’s the point! That’s great! They didn’t make her suddenly not any of those things in the second one, which is good because that would be a bizarre and bad character rewrite. What would she be if she’s not those things? She’s still those things but understands how to better use those characteristics to serve Riley the person, rather than her idea of what Riley should be. This is her whole entire job, and she does it well. Nothing wrong with being proud of a job well done.

BUT, when she doesn’t understand how the other emotions are necessary too, she ends up suppressing Sadness or attempting to curate Riley to make her happy, in a softer way than Anxiety did but still to the same effect—controlling and restricting Riley’s full experiences at the expense of Riley. She became not controlling of other emotions by the second film but turned out to still be a little bit controlling of Riley in that one. But by that time, she already had the experience of learning that she could be wrong and was therefore more open to the idea that she could be doing something wrong again. Joy will do literally anything to make Riley happy, and that includes—most importantly—growing as a character, reflecting on her actions, changing behaviors, and learning how the other emotions do in fact ultimately make Riley a happier and better person.

Another thing I like is that she wasn’t mad at Anxiety, she didn’t punish Anxiety or suppress her, because she learned from Sadness that all emotions have a valuable purpose for Riley and she didn’t ever need to be reminded of that. In real life, when does being mad at or punishing your anxiety or sadness or anything help? And then in the end, Anxiety drinks her tea on her special chair, suggesting that Joy and the others made a space where Anxiety could be close and a part of it all in a way that serves Riley best. They made a way to respect the function that Anxiety has without ignoring her or letting her have excessive control over Riley. Not exerting excessive control over Riley is a lesson that Joy learned alongside Anxiety, and perhaps couldn’t be learned from anyone other than Anxiety.

Joy has to be the one that the story is told through because she has to be the one to learn and grow—and by the end of both films, she is a much stronger character for it all, and Riley is too. This makes perfect sense, because when you think about it, your capacity for joy is strengthened when you understand and value the legitimate role that sadness and anxiety play in your life.

[4ragon]

Hello hello my brain has been churning so it’s time for me to completely rewrite spirit of justice

So this is a writing exercise for me. I already rewrote dual destinies, but I think my ideas for a SoJ rewrite would be way more intensive. And that’s because, more than dual destinies, I think the overall story needs to be completely gutted, completely reworked from the ground up. And that is for one reason and one reason only:

I kind of hate the premise.

Like. On a fundamental level. I hate Khura’in conceptually and in practice. I think adding the death risk for every other case and the country ending stakes just sort of serves to cheapen the core of ace attorney (and that’s not touching on the xenophobia just sort of always prickling in the background). Like. This feels like power creep, in a series where that absolutely should not have power creep.

And yet. And yet and yet. There are so many things to love about spirit of justice. I am not a spirit of justice hater in my heart of hearts. I like most of the cases, I like many of the new characters. There are elements to the structure, the back and forth of the gameplay, the new fun gimmicks, even the nostalgia bait can be fun. And hey, overall, the baseline story, the betrayals and twists, those work. It’s literally just the setting.

So this leaves me with this fun thought: how do I rewrite Spirit of Justice and keep it intact while removing Khura’in as a concept. How do I gut the entirety of Spirit of Justice and still keep the spirit of it the same? The spirit of spirit of justice if you will.

So without further ado, let’s get started.

Part 1: The macro level

So for the big picture, there are two massive changes I want to make. But to start with the most obvious, I want to replace Khura’in. But this leads to an obvious issue.

Replace with what?

The secret illegal underground court of course!!

This was from an interview with the SoJ team, where they talk about some of their original concepts for the game. And one of the first ideas pitched was this idea of a secret underground court for criminals, where everyone involved wears masks to keep their identities hidden. They just casually drop the coolest idea and then go with a way worse one. It drives me bonkers.

This presents us with a massive amount of retrofitting. Some of the cases work fine with this new format, and some don’t. It brings us to a whole host of new questions: with a story like this, how do we keep the core of what made SoJ fun? How do we take the new characters, who are completely tied into what the setting is, and recreate them while keeping their stories and arcs in place? How do we keep the dual protagonists of Apollo and Phoenix? Is there a way to manage this without throwing Athena to the side?

This I think brings me to my other massive change. And to be fair, this one isn’t NECESSARY to fixing SoJ. In fact, it may break it even more. However, it fixes several completely different problems, and I think it’s worth looking at.

Put Spirit of Justice before Dual Destinies.

What??? you cry, shock wringing through you like a hand has clawed its way through the computer screen and grabbed onto your spine like a handrail. What are you talking about? How does that fix anything??

Well, my fine feathered friend (sorry, I’m imagining you as a friendly parakeet to drive away my natural inclination toward anxiety) let me describe my vision to you.

First, we fix a huge issue millions of likeminded players have come across: we needed another story between AJ and DD. The shift in protagonists was too fast. Apollo needed time to breathe, to grow, to settle in before turning the status quo onto its head again.

And we, uh, somewhat fix another issue. That issue being that Athena is maaaaaybe a bit extraneous in this game. And listen. I am an Athena fan first and a human second. This is fact. However…she really didn’t matter to SoJ at all. So why not use SoJ to do more work with the boys and let DD have its own Athena-centric sequel, instead of introducing her and then just immediately tossing her aside?

Third fix: I fucking hate the ending of SoJ and this makes it easier to either chuck that bitch. (Or if you really wanted you could have him gone from DD until the final case so that Athena got more time in the spotlight but that’s a completely new rewrite and I don’t have time for that.)

Again. Second change is not a hard rule, because it does create just as many problems as it fixes. It means we get rid of Athena, which hurts me. It requires a LOT of work to make it fit. However. This is more writing exercise than anything else. As I said in my DD fix, the main issues there are thematic and structural, and so that rewrite is a completely different beast than this one. Last time, the bones remained in tact and we just had to adjust the meat.

So. Those are my two macro level changes. Now let’s debone this bitch.

Part 2: Plot changes

Biggest issue: how do we keep a semblance of soj’s plot with these changes? It’s time for a plot outline.

How does the story start in the game? We have Phoenix Wright, tourist. He travels to a foreign country, gets a tour guide, and fucks around while he waits for Maya. While he waits, his child tour guide gets arrested, and suddenly he’s thrown into a completely foreign justice system, in more ways than one hyuk hyuk rimshot. Everything is different. New judge, new rules, new mechanics. Everyone is hostile to him, even his own client. But in the end he prevails, and saves the kiddo.

We then spend the next several cases jumping back and forth between The Boys ™ as we introduce our new prosecutor and start dropping hints of an overarching plot. Near the end, Phoenix and Apollo confront each other, and then they go and defend Apollo’s old foster father in the other courts, basically starting a revolution and collapsing the old system.

And then Apollo jumps ship but I wasn’t crazy about that so w/e we’ll fix it in post

So. This is the general outline. Honestly, without the specifics, it doesn’t look too bad, right? There’s intrigue, there’s betrayal, etc etc. But now we need to start from the beginning. What are we changing and what are we making work?

To start. Why are Apollo and Phoenix separated?

Because Phoenix doesn’t have a badge.

We’re leaving DD intact for this project. Even if we’re putting this together with my DD rewrite, Phoenix doesn’t get his badge until the orca. That is non negotiable. You fools. You rubes.

And then this, naturally prevents him from participating in the normal trials. The legal trials. The Apollo trials. And hey. Maybe this also makes Phoenix more appealing to an underground court. He’s separate from the courts now. He still is an outsider, even with his name cleared, but he’s still very knowledgeable and good at defense. He’d be perfect for something underground, something secret, legal matters that can’t be brought to a real lawyer.

So now we have that divide, the same way we do in the original game. What else do we need to work on?

Ah right. The royal family drama. But I mean come on. Why wouldn’t this sort of stuff work with gangsters? Yakuza? Mob bosses?

So we have a powerful family. Powerful and dangerous, running a society. And there are power grabs, even within families, even ones that tear families apart. A man marries a woman of standing within this family. He’s a lawyer, and a good one at that. He helps keep order in this society, because I mean there needs to be some order within the chaos. But then he’s cast out after the murder of his wife, his own children maligned for his actions because these are people who rule through fear.

Like. I’m so serious about this. It fits just as well with criminals as it does with a royal family.

And. Hear me out. Okay we’re going big brain crazy here.

Why the hell can’t they be a Fey branch family from several generations ago that broke off and had to become criminals to survive? Look me in the eye and tell me why we can’t keep that connection and have that as a fucking twist???

Powerful family. Criminals. But they’ve always had an edge up from other criminals in the business because all of their girl children have ESP. They can interview the dead. They can threaten the living. They bastardized the Fey clan’s abilities to see a person’s final moments. No knowledge is beyond their grasp, and therefore they’ve well established themselves in the criminal underbelly since the main branch rejected them several generations ago (for, yknow, an assassination attempt because that happens all the time for the Feys).

There. Boom. Suddenly we have the same plot but different setting. We have a way to fit it all in. Hell, we can even give Maya an honest to god reason to be here with this, which was very high priority for the SoJ team.

And this leads me to another change to make. Because, yes, the tragic truth is that this story likely means that Athena can’t be a part of it. This does fucking suck. I’ve been trying to think real hard of a way to work her in here, as like an intern, or using this to touch on how Athena and Phoenix met. And while I’m not saying it’s impossible, I feel like it brings us back to the issue of DD: namely, too many characters vying for attention, meaning no one can have a satisfying character arc. And that’s not fair to her, nor is it fair to the cast we have now. She needs space to breathe, and I don’t think this game is it.

…Maya, however…

Maya needs more screen time. She needs an arc. She needs character growth.

What if…we replace Maya as Apollo’s assistant?

What if Trucy gets to be an assistant to Apollo and Phoenix throughout?

What if cutting down on one character who doesn’t get the chance to have an arc lets us focus on the two who need it?

Because let’s face it. The 3D games do the girls dirty. Trucy is barely a presence, and we don’t ever get to see the quick witted girl who fakes her own kidnapping. Maya feels like she’s just there for nostalgia and all of her growth seems so surface level. Athena has a fun introduction and then immediately gets shafted the first chance the writers get. Rayfa…no okay Rayfa is perfect, but everyone else! We need arcs. We need more women!!!

So. We have our baseline for the major overarching plot changes. Now let’s get into characters.

Part 3: Characters

First of all, here is my handy dandy chart of SoJers.

This is just a quick glance. In this overview I probably will not touch on that last section in much detail, those are mostly just pipe dreams.

So let’s take a snapshot of some of our main cast of characters, starting with just some baseline changes to the Khura’in cast.

Dhurke - So we’re going to keep him as a defense attorney I think, even before he joined ‘the life’. That being said, I do think it’s important to keep him as morally in the right as possible. We could do a redemption arc of sorts, but there is no way we can have him as ‘defence attorney that gets the yakuza off the hook for serious crimes.’ So we have to strike at least some sort of balance here.

My idea is thus: He’s still a defense attorney, and he does take up the defense of the wrongfully accused. He believes in justice and goodness and truth. He falls in love with a woman named Amara with a mysterious past, and she pulls him into The Life to help defend someone from the gang’s internal justice system. He’s not directly a criminal, but he’s helping them solve problems peacefully instead of just a life of an eye for an eye. He becomes popular, and is helping some of the people get out and lead an honest life. His girlfriend/wife/whatever wants out of the life, and he wants to help reform this family.

And then Amara is ‘killed’ in a fire bombing or something, along with a musician they just happened to have over the night of the attack. Gar’an convinces everyone that he’s actually been planning to kill the family and take over, and/or that he never really loved Amara yadda yadda. Dhurke has to flee with his son, and also the random baby of the musician, and live in hiding for a while. When it starts getting too dangerous, he sends Apollo to foster care, though he worries that the family knows to look for Nahyuta and can’t offer him the same kind of protection that way.

Again. Does it fit perfectly? No. Especially Amara: I think it’d be hard to justify keeping her as the ‘true queen’ in this scenario if the play is that she wants out of The Life. But on the flip side, I feel like so often when we look at Fey family politics, so much of it is “younger/weaker sister jealous of other sister” and honestly what’s wrong with looking at other ways this dynamic is fucked up? More on that when we get to Gar’an.

Rayfa - …Okay, yeah, I want to keep Rayfa as intact as possible. She’s very fun. She’s been raised in the lap of luxury, but also with immense pressure over her head to perform since she’s a psychic and this family needs to hold onto power very tightly if they hope to survive in the criminal underworld. She’s spoiled and headstrong, and she thinks she’s basically an adult because she’s been given adult responsibilities, even though she is just a naive little kid who’s barely even begun learning about the world. She pretends to know everything and has a nanny who has to whisper things into her ear so no one notices she doesn’t know everything.

This character concept still works so fucking great. We can even keep her doofy little dance. Her gimmick is very fun, and I would hate to have to delete it.

Nahyuta - Yeah okay Nahyuta needs the most work. However, the real Nahyuta also needs the most work. I wouldn’t call myself a Nahyuta fan. I kind of fucking hate him sometimes? Not all the time but. Like. He’s nothing. He’s so nothing. Maybe it’s because I’m not a fan of religious characters, and that’s kind of his only character trait? Like the moments I enjoy of him are the moments where he’s like “anyway and then I went to this fascinating restaurant called ‘burger time burgers’ and ordered a ‘burger’ and then I memorized the wikipedia page for knock knock jokes” and it’s like wait okay that part is fucking funny. But way more often than not, it’s this like “My religion tells me you're going to hell and also I’m better than you” and I get enough of that in real life thank you very much.

See like. Every prosecutor needs to start off as someone to hate. I think I hated every prosecutor to start with, because they were frustrating and condescending. But every one of those characters gets development before the final case. It’s about peeking behind the curtain and seeing a heart of gold, or someone struggling to overcome their own flaws. The mean shithead who is afraid of connection, the person struggling with grief and lashing out, the powerless martyr.

That last one is what Nahyuta is supposed to be, but we do not get enough peaks behind the curtain for me to feel any sympathy. And also, unlike Simon Blackquill, he doesn’t come off as a prickly jerk who is hiding that he cares. He comes off as a fucking self aggrandizing asshole who uses his religion to browbeat the people around him up until like hour 40. We don’t see cracks, we don’t see him struggling with that. He’s actively calling for our deaths and telling us that hell is real.

But religion is the lens that we see everything through for Nahyuta. If we’re getting rid of Khura’in, we’re probably getting rid of Khura’inism too. Does that leave us with anything if we’re yeeting his main gimmick?

So. What are we replacing Nahyuta with? Again, I want to keep the spirit of this game. I want to keep the core. Nahyuta as Apollo’s stepbrother is a good plot point. Nahyuta as a martyr too, who’s willing to sacrifice anyone or anything for his family. Like. That part is interesting! It’s the inverse of Blackquill: This girl is in danger, so instead of sacrificing myself, I’ll sacrifice the whole world and everything I believe in.

My thoughts are this: I want to keep him incredibly pretty and gentle and calm, and juxtapose that with him being a huge part of a crime syndicate in secret. He’s not a monk anymore, but he’s still dressed in white, with long white hair and a calm smile. I think we need more focus on the contradictions than anything else. He’s calm and serene, and he’s working for the mob, and he’s threatening, but not in an in your face way, because he’s way too pretty for that. He’s a know-it-all and condescending, but we get glimpses past the curtain to see he’s working WAY too hard to keep that up by spending all night researching rakugo and burger restaurants. I think it’d be fun for him to be very formal and polite and occasionally slip into like more aggressive speech when he gets cornered.

Also. Uh. Yeah, he’s still a prosecutor. Like legally. And he wears a mask in the underground court, which was part of the original idea for an underground court. Does this make any sense? No. But it’s not that left field for Ace Attorney so fuck you I’m keeping it. He joined the prosecutor's office to try to infiltrate it for the mob. Yeah sure that’s why Miles is there and him taking down a crime syndicate gets his promotion in DD. W/e we’re keeping Miles.

Gar’an and Amara - I mean, I touched on her earlier, but Gar’an as the older sister repeating the sins of the past. They escaped from the life of the Fey family just to recreate it. Sisters being pit against each other. Still trying to decide if Amara is the more powerful sister, but either way, Gar’an as the older sister who can and will do anything to prevent the ‘weaker’ sibling from usurping her. Because even when the Fey family dynamic is running smoothly, even when no one is trying to take over control, there’s still a power dynamic forcing siblings to see each other as competition, to see one child as less important, as expendable.

So Gar’an as a tyrant. Even though she’s in control, she’s terrified of slipping. She manipulates and lies, and to no end, because her sister loves her, and she was never in danger in the first place.

Also. A few quick changes to Amara’s story. As I put forth earlier, Amara doesn’t want power. She wants freedom. She loves her sister, but also hates the life of a criminal her family leads.

But also, what the fuck is the waffling between whether or not she believes Dhurke is trying to kill her. No. Delete.

In SoJ it’s played completely straight that she went into hiding, and then ran away with Dhurke and got pregnant, and then went back into hiding and became re-convinced that Dhurke was a murderer. That’s stupid. Why did they do this? What are you talking about, girl? Like you could argue she was lying about falling for it again, and maybe I need to rewatch that section but it really didn’t feel like it.

So we tweak it. We tweak the stakes, and also, we tweak the motivations for both Amara and Nahyuta.

I think in normal SoJ it’s kiiiiiiind of clear why Nahyuta was doing what he was doing? But also not. Because what danger is Rayfa in? If he disobeys, then Gar’an will tell everyone that Dhurke is her real dad. Or. Something? And then everyone will hate her ass because the child is responsible for the sins of their father.

Which is. Stupid. That’s stupid. Hey? That’s stupid. That’s nothing.

Does that mean she’s going to be persecuted? No, because Nahyuta wasn’t. It literally just means she won’t be princess anymore and everyone will shun her. Which. Yeah. That sucks that she won’t be rich and powerful anymore, and that she’s suddenly going to be miserable, but Nahyuta has probably been responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocents and letting people die so that your sister can be rich is Not It. Not proportional. Rayfa can survive suddenly being poor. It’ll suck. It’ll be awful. But she can survive.

Unless you make it VERY CLEAR that she’s actually in danger if this happens. Which is easy when you are a part of a crime syndicate.

So like. Now Nahyuta has an actual reason to let people die for his sister. And now we have a reason for Amara to go back into hiding for real. Because her sister gives up on just convincing her that her husband is evil and just goes mask off.

Is it perfect? No. But I want to keep Nahyuta and Rayfa as siblings, and this works way better than whatever the fuck was going on in that game.

Holy hell this is getting long, I’m so sorry guys, we still have a ways to go.

Phoenix - Less to talk about here. He’s Phoenix. He’s largely unchanged. Really I think the biggest thing to look at is his characterization, if we’re trying to bridge the gap between Beanix and Dual Destinies. He’s less sure of himself, especially being caught up in this weird underground court. He just cleared his name, but he hasn’t picked himself up off the ground yet. And suddenly he’s being dragged into a world of criminality and trying to protect the innocent even without a badge.

Again. It’s not a ton, but I think it’s more interesting than “Man from Japanifornia suddenly has to fix a foreign country.” That has some weird colonialist implications that I wasn’t fond of. Plus, now he can be cryptic some more trying to keep his daughter, friend, and protege out of whatever the hell he’s been dragged into.

Apollo - Also? Not much to talk about. In fact, I think Apollo’s story remains kind of identical? All the plot beats for him are the same. He still gets to work out his daddy issues. Good for him.

Maya - Heeeeeere we go. Now we're getting into something tasty. What do we do with Maya Fey?

So I kind of hated what we got with SoJ. Not so much in terms of personality, I wasn’t too put off by how she acted. It was just the idea that it was 9 years later and she still wasn’t ‘master’ material. What do you mean she had to study because she was still only getting a 60% success rate? What do you meannnnnn??

So yeah. Master of Kurain Maya. She’s matured a bunch and taken on a leadership role, but she’s still the same old Maya at the end of the day.

Honestly? Why not have the story of this branch family being ostracised and then recreating the same Fey dynamics affect her? Here she is, trying to manage the responsibility of a people, and here is a glimpse into what her family has been. Sisters controlling each other. Families broken apart by fear. What does that mean for her? She had this responsibility thrust upon her. She who wanted to run away by the end of AA3. She who is trying so hard not to let her and Pearly repeat the mistakes of their moms.

And here is all that backstabbing and hate, still happening because of the Fey family several generations ago. How do you contend with that? It’s not just you, it’s not just your mothers, it’s gone back generations.

Anyway. And then she and Rayfa become friends and Rayfa moves to Kurain. And Nahyuta too I guess? The And.

Trucy - Ohhhhhhhhh this is the hardest one. Because Trucy is so absent from this game but I want her to be a part of it so bad. What the fuck is she up to?

I think hers needs to be about family too. All of them need to be about family. This is a game about family. We need more about her figuring out her real family. Who’s important to her. What family even MEANS.

We have Maya trying to unpack her generational trauma, and so is Trucy. Case 2 is a great place to fit that in, and I wish they focused on that. And I think at the end of the game, Trucy has to convince Apollo to stay and also reconnect with his family from before. Because family can be a lot of things and Trucy needs to learn how to balance her new family ties and her old.

These are my starting points for her. Again, way less in the baseline to work with, but I think this is the basis of a compelling story. Because case 2 was my favorite in the game (I’m sorry Grace I’m so sorry Grace) but it also could’ve easily worked to hone in on that theme. Found family over a terrible family creed. It’s perfect.

OH FUCK I FORGOT EMA IM SO SORRY GIRL YOU SHOULD BE ON THAT CHART IM S

Ema - I’m so sorry I forgot you. I don’t think her being a forensic investigator yet makes sense timeline wise, but she is still the best choice for a detective. And hell, it’s not like detectives necessarily need a ton of development. God knows Gumshoe didn’t need some sort of wild arc to work in his role of recurring detective.

So yeah. Largely the same roll as the game for the normal trials, but she’s still miffed about not making forensics, and studying, and using cases for studying.

Maybe Phoenix can bring her in to do some forensics for him on the side during his section? After all, if he’s no longer dealing with a real court, it’s not like Ema being an official forensic investigator is going to matter.

Also. Like. I can’t believe they never touched on this in the game, but have her fucking call out Nahyuta on doing the same bullshit as Lana. Sacrificing his morals for the sake of saving his little sister, preventing them from having a real relationship in the process. Have her point that out!

I think her interactions with Nahyuta could go a long way in humanizing him. Because he’s condescending and a dick, but he cares about his family, and we need to SEE that. We need to FEEL that.

Part 4: the cases

Okay. This is going to need more restructuring than DD and so I’m not going to go through the entire game. In part because I think we’d need to create several new cases whole cloth and I’m not ready for that yet. So at the least I’m going to outline what we currently have, what I think works, and what doesn’t.

Current SoJ -

Case 1 - The worst tutorial in the series do not @ me, introducing us to the world of Khura’in, the new rules, new judge, and new gimmick. Establishing Phoenix’s reasons for being there, as well as Maya’s.

Case 2 - All case twos have a few things in common. They introduce us to investigations, to the full main cast, and they always have some personal stakes for a central character to pull them into the world. 1-2 Maya is accused. 2-2 Maya is accused. 3-2 Maya is robbed. 4-2 Trucy is robbed. DD breaks this habit, but I think bringing it back for 6-2 helped solidify it as memorable. While the Mr. Rheus stuff was a bit too retconny on the Gramarye stuff, I think the case itself is a solid intro to the world.

Case 3 - Reintroducing us to Maya, and giving us assistant Rayfa. Case where we learn the full stakes of the secondary setting. Maya is accused again, which is kind of annoying, but I think channeling a man who has incentive to lie was fascinating. Hard to translate since Maya has no reason to be a part of this setting, but we can work with it.

Case 4 - Rakugo. I know we usually have one case that is just to let the characters breathe, but truly this gave us nothing. I’m sorry. It’s a fun case! Even in base game it could be removed and not matter. Case three is usually where we start to see the facades of the prosecutor slip, or gain an important piece of information about them, but even if they did, Apollo and Phoenix aren’t here for it to matter to them.

Case 5 (Civil Court) - Conceptually interesting, but kind of annoying in execution. I adore Apollo and Dhurke adventures, and honestly, I kind of love Dhurke being dead the whole time. I think Maya being kidnapped again was a bit much, especially since the same thing happens again with DD. That being said, I don’t know what else would make Phoenix take what’s-his-face’s side without a LOT of rewriting. Also without the line of succession stuff this whole thing would need to be completely replaced with something new.

Case 5 (Khura’in) - Again, causing a coup in a foreign country feels wrong. But the family drama? Now that is juicy. This section I think can stay mostly intact. Even the part about breaking the queen’s hold on the people could be reworked as a tyrannical mob boss finally being dethroned.

I don’t have a ton of clear ideas what I want to do with the cases individually. I know replace the tutorial and the Athena case, but the rest still need to be refit with the new setting in mind. My brain has turned to mush though so that is a job for a future JJ perhaps.

Anyway. That’s kind of it. That’s all I got. I’m full of soup and my brain is full of empty. Tune in next time for my Athena Cykes sequel: Athena Cykes 2. And Knuckles.

[eclipsaria]

Pairing:

AI robot! Evan X human! reader X human! Heeseung

Warnings:

Usage of AI robots, fluff, mentioned of surgery, permanent amnesia if you squint, mentioned of alcohol,

Side characters:

Enhypen Jake and Sunghoon

W/C:

7 757

Note:

This actually appeared in my old wattpad account so I decided to rewrite it here lmaooo

@stvrrylove @sol3chu @firstclassjaylee

Song:

Enhypen Masterlist

The morning air still clings to the chill of dawn as you push open the café door, the soft chime of the bell slicing through the quiet hum of the early hours. The scent of freshly brewed coffee and warm pastries greets you first, wrapping around you like a familiar embrace.

Behind the counter, Jake glances up, his eyes lighting up the moment they land on you. His smile—bright, easy, and just a little bit lopsided—feels like the first real warmth of the day. The nametag pinned to his apron reads Jake, though you hardly need it; you’ve known him well enough to recognize him without it.

His outfit is effortlessly stylish, as expected—an oversized knit sweater layered over a crisp white shirt, paired with tailored trousers and sleek sneakers. He looks like he stepped straight out of a fashion magazine, if not for the teal apron that hangs around his neck, tied loosely at the back. It clashes terribly with the rest of his ensemble, an unfortunate accessory that no fashionista could defend. And yet, somehow, on Jake, it almost works. Almost.

“Morning,” you say, stepping up to the counter.

Jake’s fingers are already moving across the register, his head tilting slightly with a knowing smirk. “The usual?”

You barely get the first syllable out before he presses the final button, the machine whirring to life as it prints out the receipt. With a practiced motion, he rips it off, sliding it across the counter toward you.

“Wait at the side,” he tells you, flashing another grin, one that feels a little brighter than necessary.

You decide to say nothing, slipping the receipt into your pocket as you step aside. Your eyes linger on Jake as he moves behind the counter, seamlessly shifting between tasks. He moves with a certain ease—grabbing a cup, punching in the order, steaming milk—all with a rhythm that suggests he’s been doing this for a while. The sleeves of his sweater are pushed up just enough to reveal his wrists, a simple bracelet clinking lightly against his skin as he works.

Your connection with him is simple—just a customer and a worker exchanging casual words in the early hours of the morning. And yet, you hesitate to call it just that. He remembers your usual order without fail. You know he has a girlfriend. He knows you’re single. You know he works here part-time. He knows your morning routine well enough to prepare your drink before you even ask. Just basic information about each other, nothing too deep, yet the way conversations flow between you feels natural, as if you’ve been friends for years.

Unfortunately, Jake attends a different school from yours. If he were a classmate, maybe your interactions would carry a different weight, something more than just fleeting morning encounters. Once, out of curiosity, you had asked him why he chose to work at this café instead of somewhere closer to his school.

His answer had been simple, paired with a sheepish laugh.

“Because I don’t want my classmates seeing me,” he had said, tapping the counter absentmindedly. “Just feel embarrassed that they might come in just to see me. You know, Gen Z moments.”

At the time, you had only nodded, amused by his honesty.

Nonetheless, you’re happy for him—for the way fate seemed to have nudged him into this café, where he not only found work but also met his current girlfriend. It’s a strange connection, one that feels both distant and oddly close at the same time.

Humming softly to yourself, you let your gaze wander around the café.

It’s cozy in a way that makes you want to stay longer than necessary. The earthy tones of brown and white blend seamlessly, creating an atmosphere of quiet comfort. The wooden tables and cushioned chairs invite customers to settle in, whether for a brief moment of peace before the day begins or for hours lost in conversation and work.

Your favorite spot—by the window, where natural light spills onto the pages of a book—is empty. A small bookshelf stands nearby, filled with novels and magazines left behind by regulars. You’ve spent many mornings there, sipping on your usual drink while flipping through stories that sometimes felt more real than your own life.

The soft hum of the espresso machine, the clinking of ceramic cups, the occasional murmur of customers—it all blends into a familiar morning melody. And within it, Jake moves effortlessly behind the counter, like he belongs here.

And maybe, in a way, so do you.

The thought of Jake’s relationship lingers in your mind, naturally pulling you toward a different kind of romance—one manufactured, calculated, and, as some might say, foolproof.

Love AI.

A scientific creation designed for people like you—pathetic solos, as society so kindly puts it. It’s a solution for those who can’t seem to stumble into love naturally, an artificial bridge to what some call the inevitable human experience. A shortcut for those who are tired of waiting.

Jake never needed something like that. He had no crushes, no admirers waiting in the wings, and yet, destiny lined up perfectly for him. One moment, he was just working his usual shift, and the next, he and his girlfriend locked eyes, and that was it—instant chemistry, love at first sight, all those things that sound too cliché to be real. But for them, it was.

Thankfully, they were both straightforward people. No unnecessary hesitations, no misunderstandings stretched out for dramatic effect. They met, they liked each other, and they made it official. No need for an AI to step in, no algorithm calculating compatibility, no forced conversations to build a connection.

Just natural, effortless love.

Something people like you—solo humans—could only dream about.

Love AI, for some, is a disturbing concept—an unsettling thought for those who have no interest in relationships or prefer to let love happen naturally. But for you?

You’ve been solo for quite some time, yet you’re not desperate. You can wait.

Your mother once told you that love defies explanation. It doesn’t follow logic, nor does it adhere to human schedules. It arrives unexpectedly, sneaks up on you when you least anticipate it. Some people resist relationships, only to find their heart betraying them. Others enter one, only to long for another. And then there are those who actively seek love but somehow never seem to find it.

In this situation, you are the third kind.

But you understand—love, much like fate, isn’t something you can rush. Relationships take time, and you are willing to wait.

Jake once mentioned, in passing, that it took him five years to break free from his single life. Five years of just living, working, existing—until, one day, love found him. Now, he’s happy, settled into a relationship that seems as natural as breathing.

If love could find him after all that time, then maybe, just maybe, it’ll find you too.

You don’t keep track of time, lost in your thoughts, but the moment Jake calls out your name, it jolts you back to reality. You straighten up, quickly reaching for your order with a small smile.

"Thanks," you say, offering a casual wave as you step back.

Jake grins, resting his hands on the counter. "See you tomorrow."

And just like that, you slip out of the café, the warmth of the drink in your hands contrasting against the crisp morning air. The ten-minute stroll to school is unhurried, your pace lazy as you take in the quiet streets. These morning actions repeat every day—simple, predictable, almost comforting in their routine.

But not all routines stay the same forever.

Later that evening, on your way home, the café comes into view once again. You're about to walk past it, your mind elsewhere, when movement near the back catches your attention.

A man stands by the dumpster, tossing out a bag of trash.

You’ve never seen him before.

His features are sharp—high cheekbones, a defined jawline, and eyes that carry an unreadable depth, even in the dim light of the evening. His hair is dark, slightly tousled, as if he didn’t bother to fix it after a long day. His outfit is effortlessly cool—oversized hoodie layered under a sleek jacket, paired with well-fitted jeans and sneakers that look expensive. He looks like he belongs in a magazine, much like Jake does.

But there’s one thing that disrupts his otherwise polished look—the same teal apron that Jake wears, loosely tied around his waist.

A new worker, you assume. He must have started after you left the café this morning.

You don’t know how long you end up staring, but the sudden buzz of your phone in your pocket startles you.

Frowning, you fish it out and unlock the screen. A message from your brother, Park Sunghoon, pops up.

Sunghoon: There’s a parcel outside the door. Pick it up when you get back.

You blink, confused.

You never ordered anything online.

Curiosity takes over, pushing away any thoughts of the unknown worker. Without another glance at the café, you quicken your pace, heading straight home.

It’s only when you reach your doorstep that you stop short, eyes locking onto the parcel lying flat on the ground.

Human-sized.

The box is sleek and plain, but your gaze catches on a small logo printed at the corner—bold letters spelling out a name you recognize instantly.

Love AI.

Your breath catches in your throat.

Oh.

You stare at it, your mind scrambling for explanations. You never placed an order. You never even considered getting one of these. And yet, here it is, sitting at your doorstep like an answer to a question you never asked.

For a moment, you just stand there, speechless. Then, snapping out of it, you pull out your phone and press the call button.

Sunghoon picks up almost immediately. “Yeah?”

"Come outside," you say, still looking at the box. "I need help carrying something in."

There’s a pause. "What did you even buy—"

"I didn’t buy anything," you cut in. "Just come out."

You hear a sigh from the other end before the call ends. A few seconds later, the door swings open, and your brother steps out, his eyes landing on the parcel. His expression shifts instantly.

“…What the hell?”

You point at the Love AI logo without a word.

Sunghoon follows your gaze, and his eyes widen slightly as realization dawns on him. "Oh."

No more words needed—just a quick exchange of glances before he sighs and grabs one side of the parcel while you grab the other. Together, you carry it into the living room, setting it upright with a small thud as it rests against the floor.

Now, both of you stand in front of it, arms crossed, staring.

The silence lingers for a moment until Sunghoon suddenly exclaims, “If Love AI was sent to you, that means… someone has a crush on you?!”

You click your tongue in annoyance. "Hey, I can be liked, okay? Don’t think low of me."

He scoffs, rolling his eyes. “I never said you can’t be liked. I’m just surprised someone actually took the time to—" He stops himself before finishing that sentence, wisely choosing not to test your patience.

Instead, he steps away, muttering, “I’ll get a penknife.”

As he disappears down the hallway, you remain where you are, eyes locked onto the parcel.

There’s a strange feeling settling in your chest—curiosity, unease, maybe even a little anticipation.

Once Sunghoon hauls the robot out of the box, you take a proper look at it.

Its skin is a natural human tone, smooth and eerily lifelike, yet there’s something about it that reminds you it’s still made of metal underneath. There are no visible wires, no mechanical joints peeking through—just a perfectly crafted human-like form standing right in your living room.

But what unsettles you the most is its appearance.

It looks… familiar.

As if you’ve seen this face before.

Your mind races as you recall what you’ve learned about Love AI. The robots are designed to resemble the person who has a crush on you. That means—whoever likes you must have similar features to this robot.

Which means…

He’s handsome.

You inhale sharply, shaking your head. That’s not the point right now.

Another fact you remember about Love AI is that these robots aren’t personally sent by the admirer themselves. Instead, it all happens automatically, thanks to the microchip implanted in everyone’s brains from birth.

It’s a system so deeply embedded in society that no one questions it anymore. The moment someone experiences feelings of attraction, the microchip detects it, processes the data, and sends a signal to the Love AI company. Once the company verifies the emotions and cross-references physical features, they create a custom robot and ship it directly to the person being admired.

Meaning…

Someone, somewhere, developed a crush on you. Their microchip registered their feelings before they even had the chance to process them, and now, standing in front of you, is the physical proof of those emotions—whether the admirer intended for this to happen or not.

Your heart beats a little faster.

Who could it be?

Sunghoon unfolds the instruction paper, his eyes skimming through the steps. With a slight shrug, he starts pressing buttons on the back of the robot’s neck, adjusting settings here and there. You watch as he follows the manual’s instructions with surprising ease—until the final step.

Without warning, Sunghoon snaps his fingers near the robot’s ear.

The reaction is immediate.

The robot’s eyes snap open.

A shiver runs down your spine as it blinks, its head turning left and right, scanning the room as if trying to take in its surroundings. The movements are unnervingly smooth, too natural for something artificial. Then, finally, its gaze locks onto you.

"Y/N, correct?"

You freeze.

The voice—it's familiar, yet unfamiliar. Premade, obviously. But if what you’ve learned about Love AI is true, then this must be the exact voice of your admirer.

You swallow and nod.

The robot seems to take a moment, its eyes scanning your face as if processing your appearance.

Sunghoon, ever the casual one, steps forward with a grin and offers a handshake. “Hey man, welcome to the world.”

For a second, you wonder if the robot even understands the greeting. But then—

It turns to Sunghoon and smiles. Naturally.

Too naturally.

"And I assume you are her brother?" The robot reaches out and takes Sunghoon’s handshake, its grip firm, its tone smooth and composed.

Sunghoon laughs, nodding. “That’s right. Looks like you’re pretty sharp, huh?”

The robot tilts its head slightly, as if amused. "It was an easy deduction, given your interaction with Y/N and your familiarity with her."

You cross your arms, still wary as you watch the exchange unfold. This thing—this robot—is not only realistic in appearance but also in behavior.

The robot’s gaze returns to you, and for a fleeting moment, you swear you see something—

A shift in its pupils.

A dilation, as if… love sparked in its artificial eyes.

Your breath hitches, but you quickly shake off the thought, turning to Sunghoon instead. “What should we name it?”

Sunghoon taps his chin, thinking. “Well, other than Love AI mirroring the admirer’s personality, all personal information is off-limits. Names, age, nationality—completely prohibited.” He then shoots you a look, a teasing smirk tugging at his lips. “So, I guess you can name it whatever you want. It is your admirer robot, after all.”

You roll your eyes but don’t argue. Instead, you turn back to the robot, studying its face, its expression—eerily human-like, as if waiting.

A name…

After a moment, the name slips from your lips. “Evan.”

The robot blinks.

“Evan is your name then.” You smile, deciding it fits.

And then—Evan smiles too.

It’s not forced, not mechanical. It’s a genuine, warm smile, as if he truly loved the name you just gave him.

You and Sunghoon take turns introducing Evan to each room in the house.

“This is the kitchen,” you gesture, watching as Evan scans the area with quiet curiosity.

“The bathroom,” Sunghoon adds, barely stopping before moving on.

You pause in front of your bedroom. “And this is—”

Before you can even finish, Sunghoon snatches Evan away from you.

"Hey—what are you doing?" you protest, following after them.

Sunghoon ignores you, dragging Evan straight into the gaming setup in his room. You watch as he excitedly powers up his console, shoving a controller into Evan’s hands. At first, you don’t understand what’s happening—until Evan, with a calm expression, takes a seat and starts playing.

His hands move fluidly across the controller.

Precise. Calculated. Experienced.

And that’s when it clicks.

Right on the first day, your admirer’s secret is revealed.

Your admirer is a gamer.

A good one, even.

You lean against the doorway, watching Sunghoon and Evan battle it out on-screen. Sunghoon, who rarely finds worthy opponents, is actually struggling to keep up. Meanwhile, Evan remains completely composed, his fingers flying over the buttons with practiced ease.

A soft chuckle escapes your lips. You never expected this.

So, here’s your first hint—

Your admirer is one handsome gamer.

Your morning routine remains unchanged—waking up, getting ready, and eating breakfast with Sunghoon and Evan. Sunghoon is adjusting surprisingly well to having a love AI in the house, treating Evan like an extra sibling.

Evan, for the most part, blends in well. He greets you both with a polite "Good morning," and even offers to help prepare breakfast.

That’s when you notice it.

Evan drops everything.

Literally.

You watch as he attempts to pour cereal into a bowl—only for half of it to spill onto the counter.

Then, when he tries to pour milk, the carton slips from his hands, nearly toppling over.

Sunghoon snickers. "Dude, you’re worse than Y/N in the morning."

Evan frowns slightly, staring at the mess he made before quickly cleaning it up. “I… miscalculated my grip strength.”

You raise an eyebrow. “You’re a high-tech love AI, but you can’t even hold a milk carton properly?”

Evan looks at you, slightly sheepish. “It appears I still need some adjustments.”

Sunghoon laughs, clapping him on the shoulder. “Nah, I like this version of you. A little less perfect and a little more human.”

You shake your head, amused, before heading out for school.

After school, as you’re walking back home, you spot Evan again.

He’s standing near the front yard, attempting to carry in a grocery bag—but his grip completely fails him.

Right before your eyes, the bag rips, and everything tumbles onto the ground—apples rolling away, a carton of eggs landing with an unfortunate crack.

Evan just stares at the mess, seemingly processing what just happened.

You let out a sigh, walking over. “Seriously?”

Evan turns to you, expression neutral. “…Oops?”

Sunghoon, who had just stepped outside, bursts into laughter. “Oh man, this is gold. Your admirer is clumsy as hell!”

You roll your eyes but can’t help but chuckle. Second hint: Your admirer is a complete clutz.

Your morning starts like usual—except for one thing.

Evan is nowhere to be seen.

You furrow your brows as you step into the kitchen, expecting to see him attempting (and failing) to help with breakfast like yesterday. Instead, it’s just silence.

Sunghoon, already halfway through his cereal, barely glances up. “Yeah, he’s still asleep.”

You blink. “What?”

“He sleeps like a rock,” Sunghoon snickers. “I tried waking him up earlier, but he just groaned and rolled over.”

You stare at him. "He’s a robot. Why does he even need sleep?"

Sunghoon shrugs. “Dunno. Maybe it’s part of his ‘realistic human experience’ programming.” He shovels another spoonful of cereal into his mouth before grinning. “Or maybe your admirer is just a certified night owl.”

That makes you pause.

Could it be…?

Deciding to see for yourself, you march to Evan’s room and push open the door. Sure enough, he’s still in bed. His limbs are tangled in the blankets, his face half-buried in a pillow. He looks peaceful—too peaceful.

Forgetting, just for a moment, that he’s not actually human, you step forward and nudge his shoulder.

“Evan,” you call.

No response.

You push a little harder. “Wake up.”

Evan groans, turning his head slightly. “Five more minutes…”

You blink.

Oh. He’s deep in character.

This love AI isn’t just designed to resemble your admirer—he’s actually mimicking their habits.

And that means…

Third hint: Your admirer is not a morning person.

After much struggle, you finally manage to drag Evan out of bed. He stumbles into the kitchen, looking groggy—which is ridiculous because, again, he’s a robot.

Sunghoon snorts. “Man, you look like you just ran a marathon in your dreams.”

Evan slumps into the chair, rubbing his eyes dramatically. “You wouldn’t understand, Sunghoon. The digital realm is exhausting.”

You give him an unimpressed look. “What?”

Evan sighs, looking at you like you’ve just asked him to solve quantum physics before breakfast. “I had to fight off a malware invasion in my sleep. It was brutal. But don’t worry, I protected my firewall’s honor.”

Sunghoon bursts out laughing. “Dude, what the hell?”

You press your lips together, refusing to laugh. “You’re literally making that up.”

Evan blinks, feigning innocence. “Am I?” He leans forward, voice dropping into something dramatic. “Or am I secretly a hero in the cyber world, fending off viruses while you sleep peacefully?”

Sunghoon wipes tears from his eyes. “Y/N, your admirer is a comedian.”

You shake your head, but you can’t hide your amused smile. Fourth hint: Your admirer is hilarious.

By now, you’ve accepted that Evan isn’t just some emotionless AI—he’s practically a walking, talking personality bomb.

And today? He drops another hint about your mysterious admirer.

The morning starts off as usual. Evan wakes up late (again), fumbles through breakfast (again), and makes some ridiculous joke about how to “enhance” Sunghoon’s brain capacity through a software update. Sunghoon, ever the instigator, laughs way too hard.

But it’s after school that things take a turn.

You come home feeling exhausted, tossing your bag onto the couch before flopping down with a sigh. Evan, who was in the kitchen, immediately notices.

“Tough day?” he asks, leaning casually against the counter.

You nod, rubbing your temples. “Yeah, just a lot of stuff going on.”

Evan hums in thought before walking over, standing in front of you. “Well, lucky for you, I have a solution.”

You glance up. “Oh?”

He smirks. “Yeah. Look at me.”

You raise an eyebrow but do as he says.

Evan then leans down, way too close, his face inches from yours. “Better?”

Your breath catches in your throat.

What.

What.

He’s too close.

Sunghoon, who was walking past, chokes on air. “DUDE.”

Evan blinks, tilting his head. “What?”

Sunghoon bursts out laughing. “Are you serious?! You just pulled the oldest flirting trick in the book!”

It takes a second for Evan to process before his eyes widen.

“Oh.” He straightens up so fast he nearly trips over himself. His usual cool expression crumbles into panic, and suddenly, he’s looking everywhere except at you.

“I-I didn’t— That wasn’t— I wasn’t trying to—”

You blink, before a smirk tugs at your lips. “Evan.”

He flinches. “Y-Yeah?”

“You’re blushing.”

His whole system malfunctions. “I—I— NO, I’M NOT—”

Sunghoon wheezes, doubling over in laughter. “Oh my god, he flirts without knowing, but once he knows, he breaks!”

You chuckle, watching Evan desperately try to regain his composure. Fifth hint: Your admirer is flirty without realizing it—but when he does, he gets shy.

Since it’s your school break, you decide to head to the shopping mall with Evan. For research purposes. After all, the more time you spend with him, the more hints you gather about your admirer.

Evan, on the other hand, just seems happy to tag along.

Everything is going fine—until you pass by a gaming shop.

Evan immediately stops in his tracks. His eyes sparkle, and before you can react, he grabs your wrist and practically drags you inside.

“Wait, Evan—”

“Hold on, hold on, I need to check something,” he says, already making a beeline for the shelves lined with gaming keyboards.

You sigh, crossing your arms as you watch him inspect one with a fascinated expression. “You already have a keyboard at home.”

Evan barely looks up. “Yeah, but I can get more.”

“…Why?”

He finally turns to you, completely serious. “For my collection.”

You blink. “You’re collecting gaming keyboards?”

“Yes.”

You scoff. “You only need one.”

Evan places a hand on his chest, looking deeply offended. “You don’t tell an artist to have only one paintbrush.”

“Oh my god.”

Sunghoon isn’t even here, yet somehow, you hear his voice in your head saying: Your admirer is a gamer. A hardcore one.

Sixth hint: Your admirer collects gaming keyboards.

By now, you’ve gathered plenty of hints about your admirer. Handsome. Gamer. Clumsy. Funny. Flirty (but shy after realizing it). Obsessed with gaming keyboards.

And today? Another hint drops.

It starts with hunger.

Sunghoon is out, leaving you and Evan alone at home. After lounging around for hours, you finally sigh. “I’m hungry.”

Evan, who’s casually scrolling through game updates on his phone, perks up. “I can make something.”

You raise an eyebrow. “You cook?”

Evan grins. “More like I make the best ramyeon you’ll ever eat.”

You squint at him. “That’s a bold claim.”

“Then let me prove it.”

Curious, you let him take over the kitchen, watching as he moves around with surprising ease. No clumsy accidents today.

Minutes later, he places a steaming bowl of ramyeon in front of you, looking a little too confident.

“Try it,” he urges.

Skeptical, you take a bite— and immediately freeze.

What the—

It’s… good. Too good.

You take another bite, then another. The broth is perfectly balanced, the noodles cooked just right. It tastes like something out of a restaurant.

Evan watches with an amused smirk. “Told you.”

You narrow your eyes. “Why is this so good?”

He shrugs. “Guess I’ve got skills.”

You stare at the bowl, then at him. Seventh hint: Your admirer makes insanely good ramyeon.

It all starts with Sunghoon’s curiosity.

“Hey,” he says out of nowhere, glancing at Evan. “Can you drink alcohol?”

Evan, sitting beside you on the couch, blinks. “I mean… I don’t know? I’ve never tried.”

Sunghoon smirks. “Well, there’s only one way to find out.”

And that’s how you end up sitting at the dining table, three small glasses in front of you, a bottle of soju sitting in the middle.

You hesitate before pouring a little into Evan’s glass. “I don’t even know if this is a good idea. You’re a robot.”

Evan raises an eyebrow. “A robot with human-like functions.” He grabs his glass, looking unbothered. “Let’s just see what happens.”

Sunghoon grins. “Alright, cheers.”

The three of you clink glasses before taking a sip. You don’t react much, and Sunghoon handles it well, but Evan—

The moment the alcohol goes down his throat, his entire face turns red.

You and Sunghoon stare.

“Evan…?” you say slowly.

He blinks, then blinks again, looking completely out of it. “Huh.”

Sunghoon snorts. “Dude, you have Asian flush.”

Evan furrows his brows, clearly not expecting this reaction. “That’s… unfortunate.”

You suppress a laugh. “How do you feel?”

Evan blinks way too many times, rubbing his face. “Warm.”

Sunghoon laughs even harder. “Bro, you look like a tomato.”

Evan pouts, resting his head on the table. “I don’t like this.”

You shake your head, smiling. Eighth hint: Your admirer is bad at drinking and gets Asian flush.

Tonight, you, Sunghoon, and Evan end up at a karaoke bar. It wasn’t exactly planned—Sunghoon suddenly had the urge to sing, and Evan, being naturally curious about everything, wanted to tag along.

So now, you’re sitting in a private karaoke room, flipping through the songbook while Sunghoon scrolls through the machine’s playlist.

Evan leans over your shoulder. “I’ve never tried karaoke before.”

Sunghoon looks at him with amusement. “You’ve never sung before?”

Evan shrugs. “Not really. But I know a lot of songs.”

Sunghoon grins. “Oh, this is gonna be fun.”

The night starts off chaotic—Sunghoon picks an upbeat song, belting out the lyrics dramatically, while you clap along and laugh at his ridiculous energy. You take your turn next, singing something more relaxed.

Then, it’s Evan’s turn.

“What should I sing?” he asks, looking at the selection screen.

“Anything,” Sunghoon says, handing him the mic. “Just sing whatever comes to mind.”

Evan hums, thinking for a moment before picking a song. The intro plays, and you and Sunghoon sit back, expecting something average.

But then—

The moment he starts singing, you freeze.

His voice is perfect. Smooth, effortless, completely in tune.

Sunghoon’s jaw drops.

“Wait, wait, wait—” he cuts in, pausing the track. “Dude, what the hell was that?”

Evan blinks. “What?”

“That was way too good.” Sunghoon points at the mic. “Sing again.”

Evan shrugs and restarts the song, singing flawlessly. His pitch is perfect, his tone ridiculously stable.

You and Sunghoon exchange looks, realizing another major hint.

Ninth hint: Your admirer has perfect pitch and sings flawlessly.

It’s a slow afternoon, and you’re lounging in the living room, scrolling through your phone while Evan sits beside you, watching something on TV. Sunghoon had gone out for the day, so it was just the two of you.

Out of nowhere, you sigh dramatically. “Ugh, life is exhausting.”

Evan glances at you, unimpressed. “You’ve been lying down for two hours.”

You blink, caught off guard. “Excuse me?”

He shrugs. “You didn’t even go to school today. What exactly is exhausting?”

You narrow your eyes. “Emotionally exhausting.”

Evan doesn’t even hesitate. “Sounds like a you problem.”

You stare at him, offended. “Are you seriously giving me a reality check right now?”

Evan nods, completely serious. “Yes. You need one.”

You scoff, turning away. “You sound just like Sunghoon.”

At that, Evan grins. “Then that means I’m doing something right.”

You groan, grabbing a pillow and smacking him with it. Evan laughs, dodging your next attack, but the damage is done—you can’t even argue because he's not wrong.

Tenth hint: Your admirer is straightforward, gives reality checks, and is brutally honest—just like Sunghoon.

It was a fun day. Sunghoon had dragged both you and Evan out to a mini festival in the city, filled with food stalls, live performances, and games. At first, Evan seemed reluctant, but once he got there, he fully immersed himself in the experience—playing games, trying different foods, and even laughing at Sunghoon’s failed attempts at winning prizes.

By the time you all got home, Evan was quiet.

Like, completely silent.

You noticed it the moment you stepped inside. Earlier, he was joking and teasing, but now, he just plopped onto the couch, staring at nothing.

Sunghoon glanced at him and nudged your arm. “Your admirer’s battery is dead.”

You sighed, sitting beside Evan. “Are you okay?”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. Just… tired.”

It clicked.

He wasn’t physically tired. He was socially drained.

Just like some people—he could gather energy for fun events, but afterward, he needed time to recharge.

You nudged him lightly. “You had fun though, right?”

Evan smiled a little. “Yeah. It was worth it.”

You let him be, allowing him to sit in silence and recover.

Eleventh hint: Your admirer enjoys social events but needs to recharge afterward—he has a limited social battery.

Going on a date with Evan wasn’t something you had planned initially, but after spending so much time together, you figured—why not?

The familiar chime of the café’s doorbell rang as you entered with Evan by your side. Jake, who was behind the counter, looked up as usual—but his reaction was priceless.

His eyes widened before breaking into a grin. “Oh? You actually got a Love AI?” He leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “Damn, I knew you were single, but I didn’t think you’d resort to this.”

You scoffed. “It’s not like I ordered one myself.”

Evan, as usual, remained calm beside you, offering Jake a polite nod.

Jake chuckled. “Well, congrats, I guess. Oh! Since you’re here, I should introduce you to our newest worker one day.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Not today, though. He’s off.”

You hummed in response, making a mental note of it before heading to your usual seat with Evan.

Sipping your coffee, you glanced at him. There was something that had been on your mind for a while now.

“Tell me more about you,” you started. “Not as my admirer, but you as a robot. What do you actually… do?”

Evan looked at you, thoughtful for a moment before answering.

“You already know that when humans are born, a surgery is performed to implant an electric microchip into your brain. That chip detects your true feelings, and when you start liking someone, it sends a signal to the Love AI company.”

You nodded. That much was obvious.

“That’s when my job begins. Once you activate me, my purpose is to make you fall in love with me.” Evan’s gaze was steady as he continued. “Every interaction between us sends signals to the chip in your brain. Once it confirms that we both like each other, my contract is considered complete.”

You tilted your head. “And then?”

Evan’s voice remained calm—almost too calm.

“I will then be erased from your memory as a robot. Every moment you’ve had with me will be rewritten as if they were real experiences shared with your actual admirer. The way you ‘met’ him will be based on what makes the most sense for your life.”

Your fingers tightened around your coffee cup. So that’s how it worked.

By the time you fall for Evan, he would no longer exist.

Instead, the person who originally liked you—the real human—would replace him in your memories, as if Evan had never been here in the first place.

You stared at Evan, but he only offered a small smile, as if he had no problem with this reality.

You weren't sure why you suddenly made this decision. Maybe it was curiosity, or maybe—just maybe—you wanted to test something.

So, you found yourself standing in front of Evan, arms crossed, announcing:

"Let's go on a date. An actual one."

Evan blinked at you, seemingly surprised, before his lips curled into a smirk. "Oh? Are you asking me out, Y/N?"

You rolled your eyes. "I'm testing something. Just shut up and get ready."

It was strange, going on a date with someone who wasn’t technically real. But Evan felt real—looked real—acted real. He was modeled exactly after the person who liked you, and you wanted to see…

Could you really fall for him?

The day started off simple—a casual outing to the shopping district. Evan, being himself, was too excited for a robot. He dragged you into different stores, picked out matching accessories, and even made you try ridiculous hats for his own amusement.

But then, he did something unexpected.

At some point, you got lost in the crowd. You weren’t worried, but before you could even pull out your phone, you felt a gentle grasp on your wrist.

"Found you," Evan said, his fingers warm against your skin. "Stay close, okay?"

You stared at him, momentarily taken aback. He sounded so human. The way he looked at you, the slight concern in his voice…

If you didn’t know better, you’d really think he was real.

The last stop of the day was the arcade. You should’ve expected it, considering Evan’s gaming tendencies. He was a natural, easily winning rounds, and at one point, he even won a huge stuffed toy for you.

"Here," he said, handing it to you.

You raised an eyebrow. "You do realize I don’t need this, right?"

"Too bad," Evan grinned. "It’s yours now. Think of it as… a memory of today."

A memory?

You exhaled through your nose, shaking your head. This was getting ridiculous.

By the time you both got home, Evan was too quiet. Not in a bad way—just… different. You caught him staring at the stuffed toy in your hands, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Hey," you nudged him. "What’s up with you?"

Evan hesitated before saying, "I had fun today."

You scoffed. "Yeah, because you got to play games."

He chuckled but didn’t deny it. Then, after a beat, he added, "But I also had fun… because I was with you."

You froze.

Evan wasn’t looking at you, but his words hung in the air, heavy.

Your heart did a weird little jump before you shook your head, brushing it off. He’s just saying that because he’s programmed to, right?

Right?

It had been exactly one month since Evan arrived.

You had grown used to his presence, his clumsy antics, his teasing remarks, his way of making your dull days something worth remembering. And now, you knew your microchip had already sensed your feelings.

You liked Evan.

And that meant the contract was ending soon.

You weren’t sure how you felt about that.

You sighed, resting your chin on your palm as you sat alone in the café after school. Jake was behind the counter, busy with his work. Evan wasn’t with you today. He had wanted to stay home and "recharge" after your weekend outing.

You poked at your drink absentmindedly.

Then, a voice broke through your thoughts.

"Jake, where’s the extra stock? I can’t find it in the storage room."

That voice.

Your head snapped up so fast you almost knocked over your drink.

From the storage room, a figure emerged. Someone familiar.

Your eyes widened in shock.

Because standing there, wearing the same teal apron as Jake, was Evan.

No—not Evan.

A human version of Evan.

He was real. He was actually real.

Your heart pounded violently against your chest as your mind raced. Was this… Was this your admirer? The real Evan?

Your fingers curled around your cup.

This was the moment you had been waiting for.

So why did it feel so overwhelming?

You didn’t think.

Your body moved on its own.

Feet stepping forward, hand reaching out—your fingers brushed against his skin. Warm. Soft. Real.

Your breath hitched. The human version of Evan stiffened at first, his eyes wide with panic, but he didn't move away. Instead, he leaned into your touch—just slightly, just enough for you to feel the weight of him against your palm.

You weren’t imagining things. He was real.

And then—

"Now that you have seen what I did to you during the last month, are you ready to progress further on?"

A chill ran down your spine.

You tore your gaze away from the man in front of you, whipping your head to the side—Evan was right there.

Your Evan. The Love AI Evan.

He stood beside you, arms crossed, his usual playful smirk in place. But there was something in his eyes—a knowing look, a challenge.

Your fingers twitched, still resting on the human Evan’s face.

Your heart pounded against your ribs.

This was it.

The moment of truth.

The mirror reflected your carefully chosen outfit—elegant, fitting for a wedding, for your brother’s big day. But something was missing.

“Heeseung?” you called out.

Footsteps approached, and he stepped in.

Your fiancé.

Dressed in a tailored suit, he looked just like the man you fell for all those years ago. His eyes scanned you from head to toe before a chuckle left his lips.

He took slow steps toward you, hands gently resting on your hips as he leaned in.

"You look beautiful, darling."

You let out a small laugh, heart fluttering at his words.

"Which earrings should I wear?" you asked, showing him two options.

He tilted his head, considering seriously before giving you an honest answer.

You smiled, pleased, before leaning up to peck him on the lips.

Soft. Warm. Human.

Huh?

For a brief moment, you hesitated.

Somehow, you expected metal.

But there was no metallic sensation.

The air was crisp, filled with the aroma of fresh coffee as you and Evan sat across from each other at your favorite café.

He had just cracked a joke, something so stupidly funny that you burst into laughter.

"You’re ridiculous," you told him, shaking your head.

Evan only grinned, leaning in slightly. "But you like it, don’t you?"

You rolled your eyes, but the warmth in your chest told you everything.

Before you could second-guess yourself, you leaned forward and pressed a quick, light peck to his lips.

Cool. Metallic.

Your eyes widened slightly at the realization.

Evan blinked. Processing.

Then, the corners of his lips curled up into a teasing smirk. "Oh? Making a move on me already?"

You groaned, hiding your face as he laughed, the sound pure, joyful, and real in its own way.

You hadn’t known then—

That one day, those metallic lips would turn warm.

[brucewaynehater101]

I'm seeing a lot of asks about this and I want to give my two cents: I'm cool with Bruce being a bad father, but only if DC admits that he is a bad father.

You can't have him doing downright abusive shit only to never address it. The only character that consistently criticizes Bruce parenting is painted as entitled and vindictive. I genuinely think the reason why we can't have a decent Red Hood arc is because if you want Jason to make sense you're gonna have to admit Bruce is a fucked up father or rewrite canon.

Same reason for Tim "never aging", not so much physically but emotionally. Because to have the character establish itself like Nightwing did you would need to address at some point all the bullshit he went through. Even with Dick. Like sometimes it looks like they want to recognize how being raised by Batman fucked him up by they end up settling for "oh it's the pressure". Like that's the most DC will say "Batman puts his kids under a lot of pressure buuuuuut it's justified because they're fighting evil :)".

Not just the kids, I think Batman himself would be so much more interesting if DC was willing to let him confront these things. As a redemption arc or as a fatal flaw that keeps his family at arms length. But they want to have their cake (have Batman be edgy and give the Robins Character Development™ through good old child abuse) and eat it (have Batman be Dad of the year). And that's what doesn't work.

Batfam fandom is great because you have people making content for Good Father Bruce, Bad Dad Bruce (he's trying and it's a bit funny/tragic), Awful Father Bruce (with no intention of changing. Every option is way more interesting than DC's directionless mess. Like, we don't even need them to make Bruce Good™ we just want them to pick a side and stick to it.

Thank you. My gods that sums it up perfectly.

Like, I've got no problem consuming Good Dad Bruce content... if it's not the comics. The animated stuff is usually fine, and fanwork is also great. There's a ton to like about it.

Hell, I'm even chill if Bruce makes mistakes and errors and fucks up with his kids. That's realistic, as long as they address that he did, in fact, do that shit. They need to talk about how his actions have hurt his kids and his relationships with them. He can try to do better, or he can stay distant with his kids because of it (low to no contact). It's truly not that difficult to chat about.

Now, media that addresses all of the horrid stuff he's done and considers realistic reactions/solutions to it? Fantastic. I love that so much. It's so cathartic watching him get his ass handed to him.

It's not necessary, though. I'm chill with good dad Bruce.

Despite that, outright ignoring what he does or brushing it under the rug? That's horrific. That reads like a sickening cycle of abuse, and I can't stand it. It's the exact same shit an abuser pulls by harming their victim (psychologically, mentally, physically, etc.), apologizing (ish), finding a way to pin the blame back on the victim, and then love bombing. Like, my gods. Bruce will beat the shit out of Jason and say it's Jason's fault for killing someone... "I wouldn't harm you/take a machine to permanetly fuck up your brain if you didn't do that. It's not my fault that I decided to hurt you. It's your fault that I did."

I just fucking can't.

I think Tim, with his little statement of "I don't expect you to apologize" after Bruce caused him to have a nervous breakdown post 16th birthday, that's a close approximation to admitting that Bruce is a piece of shit that does tendencies like an abuser. No matter what someone's intentions are, they should still apologize if they've cause unjustified/unintentional harm. Only assholes who don't regret their actions or people who feel their actions are justified won't apologize. There's times when apologizing isn't necessary or desired. That's fine. I won't apologize if Comic!Bruce and I are in a room, and I "accidentally" set him on fire.

Yet, Bruce is out here fucking up his kids. At the very LEAST, they deserve a fucking apology. Maybe a restraining order.

I ranted a bit. My bad. Anyways, have DC acknowledge the shitty actions Bruce does or don't have him do them. It's simple.

[jollmaster]

I have many questions.

Are there cellphones or any tech of the like in the underworld?

What is the currency in heaven and hell, if any?

What do Charlie's family members think of the sanctuary?

Will Charlie's extended family(siblings, cousins, other mothers) be involved in the plot?

Can we see a map of hell, or at least the pride ring?

Will we see Helluva Boss characters in your style?

What are the characters' voice claims?

oh, thank you 💛 I love a lot of questions

cellphones/tech

• there are no cellphones and advanced technology in the underworld, — due to magic and general approach to life the local dwellers don't need them: their progress is severely delayed

• all innovations are local and most of all human-related, like Vox with his Alita-style techs

• hellborns think, that Rosie, old-fashioned by human standards, is too over-modern

currency

• their trade (both in Eden/Heaven and in Sheol/Hell) is mostly limited to barter or quid pro quo

• in the underworld locals have simple gold/silver/copper coins

Charlie's family members' thoughts

• "stupid girl; you shall never save the sinners," — Lucifer

• Lilith, for all detachment from parenting, supports her youngest daughter from afar

• Razzle and Dazzle don't know much about it, but they're always here to help and protect mommy

• Lucifer's wives have their own worries, but on the whole Agrat bat Mahlat considers Charlie a fool (she condemns the fact that Charlie is concerned about the situation of mortal immigrants); Eisheth Zenunim treats her with condescension (as an owner of temple, she's pleasantly surprised that the girl is starting to do well); Naamah, if necessary, ready to help as much as she can, although she knows that Charlie's unlikely to ask for support

Charlie's extended family in the plot

• Charlie has too many siblings, so they're often not very involved

• I wrote about the other mothers above (they're not always/not directly with her, but they're here)

• also Charlie doesn't give up trying to convince father to take pity on sinners and torture them less

about a map

• I'll draw a map later 💛

• technically the pride ring is the 9th circle, it's Lucifer's land

• the city as a place of action is eternal Dis, the capital and the 7th circle

HB characters

• tbh it's tricky, — the universe in this rewrite has changed a lot even in social structure, as I've been thinking about it (+ this based mostly on HH, not on HB)

• so if I do draw someone from HB, it'll maybe be OCs referencing canon versions

characters' voice claims

• I'll try to make a post about voices too, to bring everyone together with examples, if I understood right ofc

• I'll say in advance that Charlie's voice is similar to Sharm (gentle, but a bit more mature than Henningsen's in HH; you can hear it in the song "Where willows wail"), and Vega's voice is noticeably older than she looks (something like Imelda's voice in "La llorona")

[crossdressingdeath]

DAI does that with a lot of things. Morrigan gets to claim to be a Elven expert, even though you know that is far from the truth if you've played Origins where she didn't know shit. Cullen gets final say in his dialogue options despite you knowing that he's lying. Grey Wardens gets shit on and the Inquisitor can wildly overstep.

DAI has this weird mix of a) expecting you to have read all the books/comics so that they don't have to explain anything and b) assuming that you haven't played the previous games so they can try to rewrite what happened.

Yeah, the required reading for DAI was ridiculous. WEaWH is always the big one because most of the others you can get by without it (even Cole's backstory isn't necessary to appreciate and understand the character, and enough of it comes up in-game to get by), but knowing what Celene and Gaspard did is kind of fucking important, Bioware. And then even when Celene purging the alienage comes up it's used as a mark against Briala for being in a relationship with her at the time even though if I'm understanding the excerpts I've seen of TME Briala breaks it off as a direct result of the purge and (as Dorian rightly points out) that'd be more Celene's scandal than Briala's anyway. Like, they try to make Celene purging the alienage into Briala's crime because she was sleeping with the empress at the time and that's just... ugh. But it's like, I would argue that it would be fair and honestly best practice to assume that people playing the third game in a series have played the first two games? DA has an overarching narrative even if the connections aren't particularly close, if someone wants to start partway through they can but the writing should expect people to be familiar with the games' stories. Maybe have some codex entries summarizing the previous games or a little intro cutscene, but... I don't know, I'm worried about the fact that apparently DAV doesn't need you to have played the first three games when literally all the setup for it is in DAI. Expecting people to have played all the games in a narrative-driven RPG series and not to have jumped in partway through is fair! Expecting people to have read five supplementary novels and two coffee table lore books to understand the plot is ridiculous. At least Tevinter Nights and The Missing so far seem to only be relevant to DAV in that they show some glimpses of what's been going on between games and give us a point of reference for some of the new characters...

The thing that gets me with DAI is that the game really wants you to side with the Templars whether it makes sense or not. Like... let's take the choice between mages and Templars as an example. The game wants you to side with the Templars. It really does, it tries its best to dissuade the player from siding with the mages if you go that route (Cullen's little "Oh... it's so dangerous... we shouldn't do it..." routine is notable when compared to Leliana and Josie, both of whom favour the mages, being very professional about you picking the Templars), it does its utmost to claim that the rebellion was unwarranted when it absolutely was not, the rebels are constantly framed as weak or mean or evil or stupid while the Templars were just misled (by... a guy who told them he'd let them murder all the mages and left out the "in service to Corypheus" bit, they still joined his little walkout to murder people, but the game doesn't get into that), it even lets you switch quests well past what should've been the point of no return if you're on the mage route (WHY CAN YOU SWITCH AFTER LEARNING THERE'S A FUCKING MAGISTER IN FERELDEN TRYING TO ENSLAVE A BUNCH OF MAGES, BIOWARE, WHY THE FUCK IS THAT AN OPTION) whereas with the Templars you can't even learn what your advisors' plan for getting you in alive is until you're locked in. And I'm not going to lie, CotJ is legitimately the better quest. I did it once to see and god damn it is quality, I don't dislike IHW but... yeah CotJ is definitely stronger.

But then you actually look at the story and... why the fuck would you side with the Templars? They left the Chantry because the Divine told them not to murder people. That's explicit, people tell you that repeatedly. They're making excuses for it, but there's always an acknowledgement that... yep, that's why the Templars left, they wanted to kill people and were mad about being told no. Leliana (the most familiar face among the advisors and given Cassandra's previous appearance was threatening Varric and Cullen's was playing yes man to Meredith for nine years and only changing sides once she became a threat to him/because not doing so would mean fighting Hawke Leliana's the one people are most likely to want to side with) is pro-mage and dismisses Cullen's claims that the Templars could help close the Breach as speculation. Which... it is. This situation is completely unprecedented, no one knows what's going to happen. But given mages are incredibly powerful and Templars are repeatedly portrayed as mostly useless in any sort of real danger that doesn't involve children or indoctrinated Circle mages (it is not a coincidence that the only people locked in the tower in Broken Circle who survive with their minds and bodies intact without the demons actively choosing to let them live for funsies are mages; the only Templar who's alive and unpossessed is Cullen, and the demons very obviously could've killed him at any time and just chose not to because they were having fun toying with him) I'm gonna say the mages are a safer bet. Also because... they invited Quiz. That could be a trap, but you know what's definitely a trap? Walking into a fortress full of heavily-armed mage killers who openly want you dead. Meeting with the Templars is really, really stupid (especially if you're a mage) and you don't even learn the plan for getting you inside unharmed until you actually select the quest. Also that plan is basically just "if there are witnesses with societal power the Templars can't murder you unprovoked" because reminder: the Templars are the absolute worst. Why would you ever want these people around. And then if you meet with the mages first like "Well I'll figure it out once I've heard what they have to say, I don't have to commit if I do things this way so I might as well" you learn that there's a Tevinter magister serving an evil Tevinter cult just chilling in Redcliffe and why the fuck would you go to the Templars at that point this needs to be dealt with. The game wants you to side with the Templars but it gives you no reason to do so, I really wonder sometimes if the writers weren't talking to each other at all.

[cheekycreditcarddebt]

Arcane Legacy Challenge

This isn't the best challenge ever created but I couldn't easily find another legacy challenge themed around the TV series Arcane and I really wanted to play one - so here is one I made myself!!

Feel free to revamp, make graphics, etc., just credit me if you stay quite similar to my pre-existing prompts (no need if you're changing nearly everything, though)

Prompts do require packs, but feel free to rewrite them or skip them if you want!

Rules

-Mods are allowed, I love mods and would never want you to go without if you also play with them!

-Money cheats are allowed in getting/building a house at the start, needs cheats are allowed specifically with infants and other Sims while there are infants in the household because they're buggy as all hell or if you're playing with 5+ sims and aren't used to it, try to keep other cheats to a minimum though. Also, cheats for storytelling reasons are all fine :)

-Sims are allowed to move house unless otherwise specified, I know how crowded it can get in legacy households and not everyone has MCCC to increase household size

-Lifespan can be any length: I recommend normal but choose whichever you like best!

-You can choose your own heirs, though some prompts may leave you with only 1 option

-Sims may be of any gender despite the characters they resemble

-Max out every skill, the aspiration, and at least level 4 of each career

-It isn't necessary to follow every single rule and challenge, these are just my personal settings for this challenge and will depend totally on your own gameplay style!!

Generation 1: Silco

Aspiration: Public Enemy

Traits: Hot-Headed, Macabre, Perfectionist

Career: Criminal (Boss branch)

Skills: Writing

Other Challenges:

-Have your only positive relationship be with your child (therefore no marriage, etc.)

-Adopt 1 child and have no more

-Live with a "friend"/roommate until death (I'm meaning for this figure to resemble Sevika's role, a semi-parent figure to this gen's child and not actually a friend, more of an assistant)

-Die as an adult while your child is a teen (or ya, but depending on lifespan that may not be possible)

Generation 2: Jinx

Aspiration: Chief of Mischief

Traits: Creative, Erratic, Goofball

Career: Secret Agent (Villain branch)

Skills: Charisma, Mischief, Dancing (requires Get Together EP)

Other Challenges:

-Adopt 1 child and have no more

-Change your hair colour once a week and have permanently long hair after childhood

-Make your house a bit of a mess, a lot of clutter, mismatched furniture, etc.

-Stay close with your parent's roommate after they die

Generation 3: Isha

Aspiration: Friend of the Animals (requires Cats and Dogs EP)

Traits: Childish, Clumsy, Child of the Village (requires For Rent EP)

Career: Politician (Charity Organiser Branch, requires City Living EP)

Skills: Video Gaming

Other Challenges:

-Spend a lot of time voting on neighbourhood action plans and protesting for important causes (at least once a week)

-Have/adopt at least 1 child

-Go out a lot as a child without your parent's permission

Generation 4: Viktor

Aspiration: Nerd Brain

Traits: Geek, Loner, Proper (requires Snowy Escape EP)

Career: Scientist (requires Get to Work EP)

Skills: Logic, Rocket Science

Other Challenges:

-Go to university and choose any more scientific course

-Join either the debate guild or the brainiacs depending on which university you go to

-Have at least one child

-Have at least one disability aid (preferably a cc prosthetic, or brace if those exist, but can also be hearing aids or a patch)

Generation 5: Sevika

Aspiration: Bodybuilder

Traits: Jealous, Loyal, Mean

Career: Reaper (requires Life and Death EP)

Skills: Parenting (requires Parenthood GP)

Other Challenges:

-Have 2 kids via adoption (other bio kids on top of that are okay)

-Be a prominent/active member of a club, but not the leader (requires Get Together EP)

-Eventually try and lose your mean trait via self-discovery (can be replaced with any) or cheat it away if you're struggling (must replace with "good" trait)

Generation 6: Ekko

Aspiration: Master Maker (requires Eco Lifestyle EP)

Traits: Romantically Reserved (requires Lovestruck EP), Loves Outdoors, Maker (requires Eco Lifestyle EP)

Career: Astronaut (Space Ranger branch)

Skills: Gardening, Baking (requires Get to Work EP), Handiness

Other Challenges:

-Marry a childhood friend, bonus points if you drift apart then get back together

-Have at least 1 child

-Do a crafty hobby on the side like woodworking

Generation 7: Jayce

Aspiration: Renaissance Sim

Traits: Self-Assured, Good, Insider (requires Get Together EP)

Career: Scientist (requires Get to Work EP)

Skills: Handiness, Programming

Other Challenges:

-Become best friends with your lab partner (and/or go out with them if you want)

-Have at least 1 child

-"Make a dumb mistake with a science thing despite everyone's warnings" (clone your child)

Generation 8: Mylo

Aspiration: Fabulously Wealthy

Traits: Cringe (requires For Rent EP), Squeamish (requires Outdoor Retreat GP), Slob

Career: Entertainer (Comedian branch)

Skills: Comedy

Other Challenges:

-Marry a bartender and/or somebody who likes metal music

-Have at least 2 children

-If you have siblings, go out with them at least once a week

Generation 9: Vander

Aspiration: Big Happy Family

Traits: Generous (requires For Rent EP), Family-Oriented, Outgoing

Career: Culinary (Mixologist branch)

Skills: Mixology, Herbalism (requires Outdoor Retreat EP)

Other Challenges:

-Have a bad relationship with one sibling

-Adopt at least 4 children, you can have more and have them biologically if you want to

-Give your children basement rooms and bunk beds

-After completing your career to level 4, quit and open a "bar" run from your house (you can do this in any way you can find since it isn't a preset option in the Sims 4)

Generation 10: Claggor

Aspiration: Master Chef

Traits: Paranoid (requires Strangerville GP), Practice Makes Perfect , Foodie

Career: Freelancer (Programmer branch)

Skills: Cooking

Other Challenges:

-Stay living with your siblings forever

-Have at least 1 child

-Meet up with your parent(s) via a dinner party once per season

Generation 11: Heimerdinger

Aspiration: Bestselling Author

Traits: Cheerful, Genius, Green Fiend (requires Eco Lifestyle EP)

Career: Business (Management branch)

Skills: Fishing, Guitar, Violin

Other Challenges:

-Have at least 1 child

-Play the guitar on a public lot at least once a week

-Tutor a child in a skill you're level 10 at

Generation 12: Mel

Aspiration: Painter

Traits: Creative, Art Lover, Chased by Death (requires Life and Death EP)

Career: Painter (Master of the Real branch)

Skills: Painting

Other Challenges:

-Have at least 1 child

-Marry a scientist

-Be the leader of a club

-Become a politician after completing level 4 of painter (I would've done this as a main but I already had a politician so I wanted to do something else)

Generation 13: Vi

Aspiration: Extreme Sports Enthusiast (requires Snowy Escape EP)

Traits: Kleptomaniac, Skeptical (requires Life and Death EP), Bro

Career: Athlete (Bodybuilder branch)

Skills: Fitness

Other Challenges:

-Fall in love with somebody who you have "bad compatibility" with (can either be suggested in-game or another sim you think you're very different from)

-Have at least 1 child

-Come 1st place in 10 videogame tournaments (meant to be like that boxing machine but there isn't really a Sims equivalent of that)

Generation 14: Caitlyn

Aspiration: Seeker of Secrets (requires For Rent EP)

Traits: Adventurous (requires Snowy Escape EP), Neat, Overachiever (requires High School Years EP)

Career: Detective (requires Get to Work EP)

Skills: Archaeology (requires Jungle Adventure GP)

Other Challenges:

-Have at least 1 child

-Have a rocky relationship with one sim (at least 2 break-ups) but ultimately end up together

-Have a love-hate relationship with your parents and a best friend they don't approve of

Generation 15: Ambessa

Aspiration: Master Actor/Actress (requires Get Famous EP)

Traits: Ambitious, Active, Lazy

Career: Military (Officer Branch, requires Strangerville GP)

Skills: Flower Arranging (requires Seasons EP)

Other Challenges:

-Don't have kids (trust me, it's best you don't) - sort of a joke, if you want kids then have 2

-Have a lot of different partners and don't settle down with anyone

-Honestly I really want to see people being really mean in this generation, I want you to be such a horrible person to every please (again, optional, but... 🥺)

Enjoy the challenge!!

[bubblegumrabbitwriting]

hi again. here are my questions:

1.) if my MC have more scars than her intial one, will they come up later in the story? for example: will RO during naughty scenes mention MC´s bullet scars or lash scars?

2.) how influencial will choices be? will the decision between car and bike change the outcome of MC escape? if i decide to dont kill any guards, make sure im not seen by anyone and reach the scientist, will the result be different than going in guns blazing/killing guards silently?

3.) about the "figure in the shadows", we see in their POV after the red room incident. they creeped me out, and i mean REALLY creeped me out. the whole thing with the pet name "sweet apple" and the fact that they are hiding in the shadows and "…That single thought sends shivers through their body…" just gives me creepy stalker vibes. (english is not my native language, so the "whole shiver through their body" probably means/implies something different). thats why i have to ask: is this person a romance options (i guess so, why else would they have a POV)? and if so, will there be an option to keep them as far away as possible from MC? dont get me wrong. if this was your intended effect, then take this as another compliment to your writing.

i apologize if the third point sounds harsh, but this character would be the first RO, which i really hate. there were other RO´s in other IF´s, which i didnt like, but never hated them. and to clarify: i may hate this character, but this doesnt mean i hate you, the author, or the story in total.

thank you for your answers.

Answers for the questions below -

Yep, that's the idea. I want all the customisation options to at least have some mention so that they aren't just random options you select at the beginning of the game and forget about. They should be brought up in Chapter 2. I'm just trying to figure out how it will work with Cy and Echo, as realistically either of them at that point in the story might have already seen some of the scars. For Cy, I'm thinking of adding an option to choose if the scars are pre- or post-Cy leaving, but with how many options there are, if the player chooses all of them, I'm not sure if it would have even been possible to get that many scars in that amount of time. But it might just be one of those things where I sacrifice realism for an easier-to-write section.

So for the bike or car option, it will affect some flavour text for the mansion escape, but that's about it. For later in the game, it will be more influential, as it will give some different options for travelling and also for certain escape scenes. For killing the guards and being silent/guns ablazing, it will affect a scene after the sneaking quite heavily, and it will also affect how some of the RO's and some other characters will initially interact with the MC.

So the POV is supposed to be a POV for A; it was written before they were going to be an RO and was more just an enemy for the MC. I'm not super happy with the writing; as you put, some of the text comes off as pretty creepy. I'm probably going to rewrite/tweak it at some point so it's more of a general interest than an infatuation as it currently reads, as there will be options to be heavily distrustful of A and downright despise them, so the MC will only need to interact with them at the major parts of the story and not any more time than necessary.

No worries, it was really good feedback and made me re-read the section a bit more and identify some of the stuff that was already niggling at the back of my mind. All feedback is always good and helps with creating a better game in the edit, which is always the end goal.

Thanks for ask and feedback. 😊

[pascaloverx]

Rewrite The Stars

Chapter Twelve

Summary: One photo changes your whole life, when you accidentally bump into a celebrity and the world starts to believe that you are a couple.

Notes:

In this chapter, we have an extra character called Enzo, whom I'd like you to imagine as the actor Enzo Vogrincic. And for those who enjoy the fanfic, I appreciate if you reblog or like. Thank you to everyone who is following the fic.

chapter eleven chapter thirteen

It's been over two months since the chaotic breakup with Pascal. You'd like to inform that you're better than ever. That the fact that the relationship was fake made everything end well. But you'd be deceiving yourself if you thought you were fine now. At least your life has changed. You moved to a slightly more comfortable area, given the fact that Pedro had to pay you compensation for ending the relationship alone. You found a job that doesn't involve pretending to date anyone. In fact, you went back to working at a restaurant. But it's a restaurant closer to where you currently live and it's cozier and more spirited than your old job. It's clear that you've been avoiding anything related to Pedro Pascal, including him. He tried to contact you a few times, but you feel it's necessary to avoid talking to him or seeing him, at least until you no longer feel romantically attracted to him. You're almost finishing your shift at the restaurant when you hear that an important person is coming to dine and that the staff should prepare a specific area for them. It sends shivers down your spine to remember that this is how everything with Pedro started. But it's almost impossible for him to come to your new workplace. Besides being far from his home, it's not a very famous establishment.

"Boss, do you need me for anything else?" You ask after helping the restaurant staff organize an area for the important person coming to dine. Your boss looks at you, seeming a bit nervous. It's probably someone truly significant coming.

"I just need you to make sure to serve our last customers of the night with kindness when they arrive. Once they're taken care of, you can head home assured that I'll personally greet them and close up the restaurant." Your boss speaks gently, and you feel relieved. Finally, you'll be heading home to take a long shower and binge-watch a series.

"I'll head to the front of the restaurant to wait for the customer." You say, grabbing your notepad to jot down orders. Shortly after, you find yourself at the restaurant's entrance. As soon as you reach the entrance, a strong gust of wind blows towards you. Your whole body shivers, and you feel as if it's an omen. You see a man approaching, but then you remember that the table is reserved for four people. As the man gets closer, you start to recognize him.

"What are you doing here?" You say as you approach the man, making sure your boss doesn't see, and then you hug him. You're surprised he came here, but at the same time, it comforts you. After all, it's not every day that an ex-boyfriend travels to see you. You almost feel like this is your mother's doing.

"Your mother was worried about you, and I had to close a deal with a supplier here. I think it was a beneficial situation for everyone. And don't worry, I'm staying at a hotel so I won't bother you." Enzo speaks in a playful tone. You look at him gratefully for coming. You don't think it's a bad idea to have a distraction right now, and Enzo is a great distraction.

"You won't bother me at all. Besides, there's space at home if you want to stop spending money on a hotel. I'll just have to escort you to a table or the bar because there's an important client coming." You speak, lightly holding Enzo's arm and guiding him to a table near other customers who were already enjoying their meals. Enzo ordered a burger and a beer. You quickly informed the restaurant manager but then returned to the front of the restaurant to wait for the distinguished clients to arrive. And just when you think your night couldn't get any more surprising, you see the clients arriving. And your fake ex-boyfriend is one of them.

"Good evening, tonight I'll be your waitress and responsible for making your night even more magical here at La Noche Bela. I hope you enjoy the service and our food made with the freshest organic produce in town. Follow me, there's a table waiting for you." You speak as sweetly and politely as you can manage. Pascal is accompanied by a woman, and Oscar Isaac and his wife, at least that's what you think. You serve them as politely as possible, managing to maintain your composure even though Pascal is among the customers. You give Enzo, who is seated in another area of the restaurant, as much attention as Pedro and Isaac. 

"How long are you going to avoid me?" Pedro asks when you're leaning against the area near the bathrooms. He must have come here purposefully to talk to you. You look at him, angry, but you know you can't make a scene or argue about your relationship in your workplace.

"You should return to your table and enjoy the delicious meal that awaits you. Along with the lovely company, of course." You're being fake because you know you're burning with jealousy inside.

"No company is more delightful than yours. I... miss you. Every day." Pedro speaks with his eyes almost sparkling, looking like a puppy that got left behind. You stare at him, definitely wanting to hug him but knowing you can't falter. 

"Would you like me to come to your film set and discuss how I've been going crazy since we stopped seeing each other?" You ask, being direct but in such a gentle tone that anyone seeing your conversation from afar might think you're just having a casual chat.

"It might be inappropriate, but at least I'd know how you feel. Look, bothering you at your workplace is the last thing I want, so just... give me a chance." Pedro Pascal speaks, and you feel a strong desire to kiss him. Because he seems so sincere and passionate. Which would be crazy. Because he couldn't be in love, right?

"Pascal, do yourself a favor. Give a chance to the woman who came with you. Maybe with her, you'll have something real. Something that makes you feel love. Now, I need to go." You speak, even though it hurts inside. The hardest part is convincing your heart that Pedro will find with that woman, or anyone else, something you wish he had with you.

"I want to feel that with you. Unfortunately, you don't seem to have grasped that yet, but know that if you do, you can find me. I'll be waiting for you." He speaks almost behind your ear, and you can feel his hand lightly touching yours. Feeling the urge to turn around and hold him, you keep moving forward. Heading to change before finally leaving. As you're leaving, you notice Enzo at the exit, waiting for you. You wonder if you should stay and wait for Pascal. Maybe tell Enzo to go back to his hotel. But you prefer to do what's most sensible now. Acting with your head and not your heart.

"Ready to head home, cowboy?" You ask, teasing Enzo with the old nickname he had when you were dating. He smiles charmingly and accompanies you. Not only did he come to visit you, but he also brought your car that you left at your mother's house.

"Let's go. I'll give you the chance to drop me off at the hotel and get your car back. But tomorrow, let's take a tour of your city. I need to see everything before I leave." Enzo says, guiding you to where he parked his car. You smile, hugging him and silently thanking him for being with you.

tag: @wanniiieeee , @hungrhay and @leilanixx

[sualne]

20 questions for fic writers

@syrupfog tagged me! yeayy <3

1) how many works do you have on ao3?

currently five, but i used to have another account with two more (i think? i deleted it all and it's been a minute)

2) what's your total ao3 word count?

65,930!

3) what are your top five fics by kudos?

1. Worm in a Birdcage 2. The Villa in the Meadow 3. Learning Shame 4. The Opportunity of a Lifetime 5. Hunters & Family

4) what fandoms do you write for?

one piece but i used to write for bnha and [redacted].

5) do you respond to comments? why or why not?

I want to so bad but i don't know what to say, i think i'll just go with a bunch of heart emojis for those ones and try my best for the ones i really want/need to make a proper sentence for.

6) what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

technically Worm in a Birdcage but it's a pilot for the vamp au so even if it's completed to me it doesn't really count as an ending, i still have yet to finish a fic ○|￣|_

7) what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

again no endings

8) do you get hate on fics?

not currently (though i've been stressed) but when i was in middleschool i kept getting unwanted criticism for a certain someone for years. nothing was ever good and around 14 something broke. i wasn't able to write a single thing (including school work) until my twenties and even then i had to start by writing them sleep deprived and insane and post them as soon as i could before i could delete it all. now i can easily write hundreds of thousands words in a day and i've been having a lot of fun even when i'm struggling with it :] i still have the bad habit of rewriting and deleting it over and over until i go "good enough, whatever, fuck this thing" and post it but i'm working on it.

9) do you write smut?

alas it is necessary for the plot lmao. i think it's fun how there's a little bit of everyone in the world, ppl will write smut and go "arg! there's plot now! they can't do it just yet, noooo!" and then there's me kicking a rock a grumbling "for the plot, it's all for the plot and the characterization, why'd i put the foreshadowing in the butt fuck, hell."

10) do you write crossovers?

nope

11) have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of

12) have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

13) have you ever cowritten a fic before?

technically yeah! the fic was never published though, but it was fun working with someone on the same project!

14) what's your all time favorite ship?

i'll have to say lulawlu & kidkiller cause i'm too one piece obsessed to remember about everyone else but they are other ships that own my soul.

15) what's the wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

honestly, all my wips; i want to finish them all, i'm so sad i haven't gotten to finish anything yet! the vamp au was always more vibes and atmosphere than very concrete and planned plot so it's been difficult to write, i think i should've gone multimedia with it (technically i have with the art and comics but i really wanted to make animatics too) i think it would've been best to translate feelings and mood how i wanted rather than hard plot media like writing.

16) what are your writing strengths?

i have no idea 👍

17) what are your writing weaknesses?

getting too worried if it's any good and driving myself mad rewriting it forever and ever

18) thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

i forgot i'm already writing the whole thing in another language so i was going to say "i've been asking ppl about italian & brazilian portuguese and side-eyeing the german i was supposed to learn for the six years i've allegedly studied it for the villa fic because i think it's fun to throw some in. i don't know what language specifically in canon those characters speak but i like throwing in reminders that other languages than english do exist. plus there's an opportunity for puns! it's also a good excuse to learn, i've been wanting to learn italian since it's in my family but i don't have anywhere to use it and any tangible reason to do so except "cause i want to" so it motivates me! there probably won't actually be much of other languages in the fic but even then i'm glad i learned about them!"

19) first fandom you wrote for?

one piece! when i was 11/12, i've come back full circle writing about law again lol

20) favourite fic you've ever written?

the Villa in the Meadow so far has been the most fun to work with! even though the process to get the first chapters out and ready was like a years and a half long difficult digestion.

tagging: whoever wants to? i'll tag @thyandrawrites cause i loved reading your work and i've been meaning to go back to it <3 no pressure tho.

[pll-reimagined]

Pretty Little Liars: reimAgined

Hello Liars of tumblr!

I am a huge nerd for the Pretty Little Liars franchise – I adore the books (I’ve been reading them as far back as the original release of ‘Killer’), and while I love the show, I've always been more than a little disappointed that it wasn’t closer to the source material. During spooky season, I began both rereading the books and rewatching the show, and it gave me the creative inspiration to blend together the best bits of each canon into one cohesive narrative, start to finish. With that said, I present to you all my passion project, 'Pretty Little Liars: reimAgined', as what a retooled, more faithful adaptation could look like.

My primary goal is to tackle the books’ canon and adapt it to span across a number of 'seasons' in an episodic fashion - currently my plan is a 7-season format with around 13 episodes apiece, leaving wiggle room for more as I progress. I intend to weave in some aspects from the original show that were either invented FOR the show, or ones that it particularly excelled in translating… but not necessarily the ones people might expect. This will range from minor storylines and interactions to entire episodes from the OG - albeit through a different lens - if I believe it will help to flesh out characters and the tapestry of Rosewood at large, however this is not the priority. I may periodically condense, expand, omit, and/or change the order of storylines and arcs to make them stronger, and so as to cut down on unnecessary filler. I want for there to be nods that both book and show fans alike can appreciate while also keeping them in suspense over how events unfold; it'll feel familiar, but won't be a twin copy.

My overall creative concept is a period piece set in 2006 (so I'm keeping as much of the niche style and dated references from the books as possible), with a sense heightened reality and a focus on themes such as symbolism, luxury, and indulgence. Think less ABC Family/CW vibes and more HBO/FX, American Horror Story vibes: big on suspense, a dark and gothic aesthetic contrasting expensive and chic high society, somewhat realistic yet simultaneously a bit larger-than-life or fantastical, can range from slightly eerie to downright unsettling, and doesn’t shy away from vulgarity or adult themes and imagery, but does so tastefully and in moderation. Rosewood should absolutely DRIP with exorbitant wealth, lust, disdain, competition, and secrets, but in the flavor of Old Money. My vision is of a nice suburb in New England, where every yard has a white picket fence to hide the imperfections from your neighbors, and petty, political cold wars matter to your social standing at the country club.

The rewrite will have a more serious and mature tone: less teen romance (though, as it IS present in the books, there will still be some) and more focus on psychological torture, thriller/horror tones, the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Alison, the identity and motive(s) of ‘A’, and what ‘A’ puts the Liars through.

As of now, I have a very rough draft of the major story beats that I plan on covering, as I think the story starts to fall apart when you don't have your long-term mystery road mapped well in advance. My goal is for each story arc/season to feel well-balanced and important to the over-arching narrative, and the 'A' reveals are a large part of this. The 'A' thread is the most meticulous and delicate, as any misstep leads to inadvertent plot holes, which is exactly what happened to the show. Most importantly, the 'A' motivations need to make sense in relation to the Liars - that means no Shower Harvey's running amok in this fic!

I’m also going to fix some aspects of certain storylines, and the timeline in general, that were either rushed, dragged out, unnecessary, unrealistic, or flat-out didn’t make sense, adjusting the pacing where I deem it necessary (RIP Never Ending November). This is less so with the books, although they do have some instances - Sara Shepard wtf do you MEAN THAT ARIA STOLE THE STARRY NIGHT - and more so what I use from the original show. I want to give the story the proper room to breathe and the space to gradually build suspense, ensuring a structured flow for every episode within each season’s narrative arc.

I’m aging everyone up slightly, so the start of the series will take place on the last day of 9th grade (making the Liars around 15), and the time jump will be about 2 years, to the end of the summer before the girls’ senior year (making the Liars around 17). Hopefully this will make some of the plotlines a little less icky and statutory grapey when it comes to age.

I’ll also be combining book and show characters as I see fit, giving preference to the books. In particular, I'll be utilizing the ensemble of Rosewood Day students in a much larger capacity than the show did, so to increase the number of suspects while cutting down on extraneous random characters, effectively creating a small community of socialites not dissimilar to Gossip Girl. These people have largely known one another since childhood, and that should be reflected in their interactions.

I'm retelling the story through the mind and voice of none other than Alison DiLaurentis, and she will operate in a way similar to Mary Alice Young from Desperate Housewives: secretive, slightly omniscient, gone yet still very much a part of the Liars' world despite her absence, and playfully watching over her friends as they navigate past her disappearance. She serves as a narrator for the Liars’ inner thoughts and monologues, but will frequently provide her own insight on situations, occasionally injecting some dry humor into the series.

Lastly, the Liars will actually... y'know... lie lol. While the show captured their positive traits, it suffered from the fact that the girls either didn't do bad/selfish things at ALL, or they were coerced to by outside factors. The girls in the books are much more self-serving, petty, and willing to do bad things to achieve what they want. There will still be 'A' manipulation, however I want the general sense that the Liars are victims of their own actions. They should be much more uncomfortable in maintaining and balancing their social lives with the threat of ‘A’ always looming, poised to knock them off the top of the totem pole should their secrets be exposed. The outward appearance of perfection should be, at least initially, the driving force for the Liars. They’ll be more rational and cautious, making less immediate boneheaded and/or out-of-character decisions like the show portrayed, and a bit more reluctant to trust one another until after things have unraveled and bound them together.

I’m currently outlining the details for the first 'season', and I'm about halfway done with the prologue, which I plan to post by the end of the week to gauge interest. I'm open to feedback, so please let me know what you all think of my little passion project!