#'oh this is quite pretty' i know!! no reason to take the more straightforward way it's not even significantly faster

[placeofwonder]

lately: spending most of my time studying and watching the leaves change colour and fall

[partywithoutsmiling]

Another AU that has been knocking around my mind for a while XD I call it Moonlit AU

It can be summed as such: Pop Trolls are pretty wild bunch when it comes to looks, varying in colours, flocking/fur patterns, glitter, freckles, hair, you name it

It got me thinking, what sort of thing would they find attractive in prospective partner? While singing/harmonizing could be a part of it (and ngl, that did made me think of the Happy Feet movies, as silly as those were), my mind turned towards more physical attributes

Thus, this AU was born- where one of the reasons why Pop trolls like to be most active at night (to party) is that a Moon's Light also allows them to appreciate fur/flocking patterns otherwise hidden, where the complexity and style varies from troll to troll, as is thought to show one's inner self

Contrary to what one would expect from the Princess (and future Queen) of Pop, Poppy's patterns are rather simple- but striking nonetheless, firm and bold stripes, like taking a wide brush to a canvas- straightforward but chaotic in their hardly orderly fashion Poppy struts her patterns; they are unique and dominant among the general showing of swirls, polka dots and flower like spottings She is aware her stripes are not considered the most attractive of features- too similar to that of a predatory critter, too sharp for who is supposed to be cheerful queen of equally cheerful people- but she is a romantic at heart and believes that when it will be time to choose a consort, those physical features are surface-level importance at best, and this is the mentality she has going forward, looking at the glowing marks of her friends and considering them equally beautiful no matter what.

Until she manages to spot Branch one night outside under the full moon light that is.

Branch's pattern, in high contrast to Poppy, is far more complex. Symetrical but delicate in its filigree, and far more detailed than anything the Princess has ever seen before. Usually, Branch ventures out only on moonless nights, as he feels the glow of his marks are too visible, too dangerous to just show out and about, for every dangerous predator to see- and it is purely bad luck when bad weather caughts him outside longer than he would have liked, and Poppy manages to catch the sight of him while he is completely unaware he had been seen.

All her conviction flies right out of the window, as she looks at his delicate patterning and her mind just goes blank and - Oh

Usually she would have called out to him, ask him to come to a party- but she feels mesmerized, hypnotized by the elegance of the filigree, and her mind longs for a way to memorate it forever- with a photo, or a painting- and she stares at the entrance of his bunker long after he vanished inside, completely stupefied and wrong footed.

Before, Poppy hardly ever gave Branch a thought, when it came to this part of Pop Troll culture; as part of her, guiltily, sort of assumed that with his lack of colour, his patterning would be rather bland as well- and besides, it's not like he ever shown a desire to participate in courting dances.

But now she is left with sudden new, and unexpected feeling- her heart and breath going now a bit faster everytime she catches a glimpse of him from now on, her cheeks flushing and her tail wagging in excitement

(Her desk's drawer is filled with failed cut out scrapbook pieces of leaves and tiny detailed filigree, as she attempts to journal her sudden and new discover and cant get it quite right)

Tldr; Pop Trolls have fur/flocking patterns that appear only under the moon's light, and Poppy finds Branch's so irresistibly attractive she hardly knows what to do with herself

This pushes her to try and spend more time with him- just spend time with him, no trying to push him to go to parties with her or trying to get him to sing or hug

For his part, Branch is both secretly pleased his own crush is now paying more attention to him than to Creek (who is not happy with this development) but also holy shit Poppy is paying more attention to him, so it is kind of unnerving for him, freaking him out

[xxsidneywritesxx]

Hcs for Hashira men confessing!

Includes Tengen, Tomioka, Sanemi, Rengoku, Gyomei, and Muichiro

Warnings: Minor swearing! Minors MAY interact with this post, but hopefully only for Muichiro being as he is a minor <3 Reader is set as a female for these hcs!

This man already has three wives...he's pretty dang experienced in romance.

You're a hashira at the same time he is, and he admires how you dress. Your hair is also quite "flashy" to him.

"Hey, Y/n...looking flamboyant today. Nice."

"Oh....thanks Tenge-"

"No problem!"

If you have long hair, there's a chance he might want to style it for you. He's not a braiding expert like Kanroji, but he has three wives, so he's gotta know some good stuff in that department, right?

He admires you from afar for a bit before wanting to go on missions with you and hang out.

He'll go to his wives for help, and when he says you could possibly become love interest number four, instead of being jealous, they're ecstatic because they like you too.

So they scheme up a plan .

While you're out on a mission, Hinatsuru takes a...rather large rock, shoving it out in front of you while you were chatting with Tengen.

You're clumsy here so you don't notice it.

You trip, about to hit the ground WHEN

Ninja man catches you HAHA! He thinks he's so flashy and brags about it after that. He confessed to you while holding you.

"Y/n...can I be real with you?"

"Sure, but can you put me down first?"

"I...love you, Y/n, and so do my wives."

Your heartbeat pulses fast, and you smile. "I love you guys too...now put me down."

"No."

Giyu is stoic, quiet around the other pillars.

This doesn't change when you enter the scene...as his tsuguko. You're not much younger than him, maybe a year, tops.

While he does help you train, he keeps that same demeanor at the beginning of your mentorship.

He even has to get close to you to help you swing your sword at times, which for some damn reason...

It makes your heart beat fast??

No, there's no way you could-

Oh, yes there is.

After a few months or so of training with Tomioka, he seems to lighten up with you. He'll talk more frequently, asking you how your day was and what you were up to.

You'll definitely notice that he's warmer. But when out with the other hashira, his demeanor goes back to silence and staring.

You get curious, so you set him down and ask about it.

"Tomioka, what's been up with you? I mean, the changes aren't bad, but I wanna know why you've been acting so...social? Lately?"

He's blankly staring at you, looking at the floor, his haori, and then back at you.

"I thought you'd like it...if I talked more...because...I like you, I guess."

Hah. Awkward boi let's be honest.

You're another hashira in this hc.

You're very bubbly and talkative, kind of like Mitsuri. Of course, in the beginning, Shinazugawa Sanemi finds this annoying.

He'll shoo you away with every chance he gets.

It's only when you stop by his estate with a plate of ohagi for his birthday that his opinion of you slowly begins to shift.

You're still annoying as fuck in his eyes...but maybe you were tolerable?

It would take a few days of him ignoring you for you to storm into his estate, grab him by the collar, and scream at him.

Jk jk he'd fucking kill you

You'd actually walk into his estate and demand to hear what's up with him.

He'd attempt shooing you of course, but you're not gonna take no for an answer, are ya?

Didn't think so.

That's when HE grabs YOU by the collar, shoves you against the wall, and tenderly presses a kiss to your lips. He couldn't find the words to confess to you, so he used his actions. And they worked, becaue you kissed back, caressing his white, fluffy hair softly.

Rengoku would be straightforward with his feelings. He won't push you away, or ignore you, to figure out his heart because he's so in sync with his feelings that he doesn't need a second opinion or thought.

You'd be just another slayer, part of the kamaboko squad with Tanjiro and his pals, but you're the eldest, being around 19.

He'd invite you to have a picnic with him, classic, right?

You'd obviously be honored...I mean, a hashira invited you to eat with him!! What an honor!!

Not to mention he's a cutie

You meet up with him, it's around 12pm, he's there earliy, you're a little late.

"Ah! Y/n! Good morning!"

"...it's noon-"

"I know !! Good afternoon!!"

*Facepalms*

He would talk to you about your missions, what you've been up to, and one more question...

" I know we sincerely just formally met !! But you are gorgeous !! Would you like to be my girlfriend ?!"

You'd chuckle, covering your blushing face. Of course you're gonna say yes.

We're gonna keep Himejima's short n' simple.

You are a hashira, and you first met him at a meeting with the master.

His strength impressed you, and your friendliness intrigued him.

You talked a lot, being as you were both quite strong and were only called on extremely high ranked missions.

You both fell in love and told each other you liked the other in his estate.

Also, a plus, hugs with him are ALWAYS comfy.

You're a minor. And so is he, so it fits !

He's younger than you, but if he ever hears the word 'seniority' come out of your mouth, best expect a cold-hearted scolding.

He confesses through his crow to you. He can't bring himself to do it in person.

He won't admit it but he fell head over heels. He'll just say he loves you. You know how he feels, though <3

{ Sorry Mui's and Gyomei's were short </3 I got a lil lazy- }

[yoimix]

genshin men + love language

ft. kaeya, albedo, alhaitham

✽ kaeya believes his love language to be the short quips and flirty lines he throws at you more than anyone else. he does make it quite obvious how much he adores you, even through more than suggestive dialogue. however, you know for a fact it’s the little touches he never intends to grace you with: the hand on your shoulder when the tavern men glance at you, the fingers gently tucking your hair behind your ear, the way his head only ever finds your shoulder to rest upon. kaeya has the need to be engulfed in your presence in one way or another, especially if he’s feeling vulnerable. but of course, those moments for captain kaeya of the knights of favonius must be quite rare. surely…?

“you alright there?”

you try to hold kaeya’s head a little higher. it lolls back onto your shoulder anyway, kaeya burying his face into the crook of your neck.

“i love this new shampoo you’re using,” he mumbles. it’s not like him to be straightforward but the sheepish smile on his face makes you giggle.

“i never changed it, stupid,” you laugh.

“oh? i could swear you were stealing mine.” he chuckles. “just to smell like me...”

you shake your head. there’s hardly a reason to debate over shampoo (though you have been using his for quite a while).

“oh archons, i feel like shit,” kaeya groans, his arms snaking around you tighter and his head shifting to find a comfortable spot.

a friday night at angel’s share is uncommonly visited by diluc ragvindr and commonly visited by kaeya alberich. it’s not the best idea to have them in the same room. broken bonds cut deep even after they’re severed. a comment turned into an argument and the argument inevitably turned into a sickening pile of guilt held as a knife against kaeya. or, as he expresses it: drinking beyond his limits. of course, you’re nearly duty bound by your love to take him home and put him to bed.

“you have to take it easy on the drinks, captain,” you speak softly. “i know charles is terrific at his job but i’m getting concerned with how these nights turn out.”

“would it be so terrible if i could just pretend everything’s alright?” he hums, the sensation of his breath against your neck making you shiver.

he pulls away. he never feels quite deserving of your love, especially when alcohol whispers in his ears words he’s shut himself off from. he doesn’t deserve to be held, to be understood, to be cared for the way you do regardless. and yet, he cannot help touching his cursed ice cold fingers to your skin.

you place your arms around his waist, a hand reaching up to the back of his head to smoothen his hair.

“everything’s alright in this moment, kaeya.”

and kaeya swears he will never feel love like he deserves it unless it’s you.

✽ albedo’s knack for creation extends to gifts thought out extravagantly, almost out of character for him. he says he made them just because he could, that it didn’t take out a chunk of his time from advanced alchemical research. besides, he says, creation is a part of his experiments after all. however, it’s a little hard to believe his casual gift-giving is truly casual when he keeps away from you working on them for days just to see the surprise on your face. and every time, you’re reminded that it’s okay to just be, that being loved is enough to exist. you only wish you could return the favor in a way so meaningful. in his snow-covered lab, you can only stare at the wonders he flowers just for you.

“albedo?”

“hm?”

his focused gaze does not shift from the alchemical cecilia he just bloomed, only for it to wither away in seconds. 

“that was beautiful,” you whisper.

“i wanted to make it last longer.”

“oh, surely, it would have been just as pretty?”

albedo finally looks up at you, his eyes more or less softening. “i suppose so. i just wanted to gift you your favorite flowers as... something more permanent. i wish you weren’t risking the cliffs all the time.”

you look down, smile wavering. oh, how you wish he wouldn’t spoil you with his time and patience like that.

“climbing’s part of the fun,” you reason, not meeting his eyes. “besides, i have my glider. your glider, that you made sure was failproof.”

and a color so rich and beautiful, you’re sure only albedo could make it.

albedo goes silent. you bite your tongue, cursing yourself for making it so obvious. “is something wrong, (name)?”

“no, love,” you try to reassure him. “i just... i just wish i had... more of myself to express for you. i wish i could make something quite so beautiful.”

albedo tucks the hair away from your face, smiling softly. the snow outside slows, the evening glow accentuating their appearances and disappearances.

“my creations exist because you exist, (name). there’s a reason i can only make mockeries and imitations of the real feeling.”

he says it as though stating a scientific fact. you look at him, slightly confused. he simply brings you to an embrace.

“i’m confident i couldn’t make anything as lovely as you are. and how you make me, as i am, feel.”

✽ alhaitham shows love in private. you knew that when you were just friends, you know that now. however, his concerned bickering and lover’s gaze is all for the world to see. it’s funny how everyone around him can read the name on his heart. after all, yours is the only one he ever takes. he’ll often pin notes for you by your bed when he leaves, the adoration nearly oozing through his straight-laced words. it’s always, don’t risk this, (name), or, don’t be silly, (name), or even a daring i’ll be checking up on you, (name). your name is always on the tip of his tongue and it spills like coffee, staining every word. it’s no wonder gossip about him goes hand in hand with tales of you. it’s not a big enough deal for him though... till you decide to grace him with a teasing smirk. alhaitham can deal with teasing from kaveh and the rest, but you boil his blood like no other.

“is this alright?” he asks, hands still cupping your cheeks as he pulls away from the kiss.

“what if i say no?”

“i’ll never touch you again.”

“that’s quite extreme, mister.”

“then don’t say no.”

alhaitham places another kiss against your lips, touch as tender as freshly picked zaytun peaches. another follows, and another, till you’re giggling his name, begging for him to stop. a small smile graces him when he finally does pull away, a rare spectacle that blossoms just for you.

“i thought only rationality could guide you,” you tease, gently pushing his hair out of his face. “yet, here you are in my bedroom again.”

“you bring me quite enough rationality, (name).” he says it so casually, like he doesn’t care how romantic it sounds. perhaps he isn’t aware of the romance of it. after all, the only books he reads are research journals.

“besides, am i not paying for this room you’re renting? i don’t think you have the right to get cheeky with me.” he draws his hand away from you to lean back on your bed. 

you stick your tongue out. “i thought i’d sneakily extort some mora out of the akademiya’s infamous mr scribe.”

“your acting skills are worse than your sense for danger... which is saying something.” he shakes his head.

“and yet, your swordsmanship falls short of saving me.”

“it was one time, (name).”

“you still got knocked on your ass by an eremite.”

“only because you ran into me.”

“please, i hardly looked in your direction and you were already flat on your ass. i have that bedazzling effect on you, don’t i?”

“you’re...” he stops himself from bickering further. his self-restraint may be above average, but there’s no one who unties it quite like you do.

you beam at him despite his look of disdain, a wash of affection flooding you. 

“you love our little squabbles. don’t lie.”

“love is a strong word.” his eyes are mesmerizing even under the moonlight peering through your window.

“but you feel it?”

“yes. yes, i do.”

[gifti3]

okay im back with more for this arranged marriage AU! Heres the last thing i wrote

this time i made something longer--Asmo and MC doing their little meeting/date before agreeing to marriage its fun check it out :]

the only warning is "an upset asmo getting in ur personal space'" other than that i think thats it!

Tomorrow you were supposed to meet your possible future fiancé. This type of affair was not a first time thing for you so you already had an idea of how things would go. Which was the two of you being forced to interact for several hours.

Though you knew what was coming, was it not possible to be a little nervous considering who it was you were meeting?

Asmodeus Morningstar--one of the most influential families in Nefarelin. Their was no shortage of exceptional members in that tree. And to be crass, every other potential spouse you met before were like dried leaves in comparison.

And this didn't even factor Asmodeus's own appeal and popularity. You'd only seen him in passing a few times but you could tell he was quite beautiful even from a distance. On top of that, the general public were strangely obsessed with him. You weren't completely sure why, but he must be very likeable if that's the case.

God, how many people have probably asked for his hand in marriage by now? You could only wonder.

All around it would be pretty foolish to turn this down. And that's why you were nervous…. Your parents were giving you a choice. But it was one of those choices where the answers were 'yes' or 'hmm, okay I suppose'. You did not want to know what would happen if you dare declined.

You'd already considered the logistics of this situation, dwelled on it for days. And it would definitely be a loveless marriage from your side. And that was something normal…but you were fine with how your life was currently! You didn't want to deal with any expectations romantic or otherwise from a spouse.

And what about Asmodeus.

He was well loved by many, had a reputation for enjoying the nightlife and being the center of attention. It seemed highly unlikely that a man like him was looking to "settle down" all of a sudden!

Your hands stop fiddling with your hair.

Wait.

Maybe this arrangement could work.

~

God this is so uncomfortable.

Maybe you underestimated Asmodeus. For some reason the first time your eyes met his saccharine ones, you struggled with maintaining contact. Each time, it felt like he was staring straight into your mind.

Perhaps it was just your nerves but either way you were overwhelmed. You didn't feel like yourself so had trouble talking.

Luckily for you, Asmodeus didn't notice or didn't care as he had been talking nonstop this entire time.

"Hellooo?"

"Oh--sorry what did you say?"

Asmodeus repeats his question while fanning himself. "I asked if you wanted to rest for a minute. I need a break from the sun."

"Okay…"

It was sunny today but not too hot to take a walk. Though you had been outside for a good while with Asmodeus. You both make your way to a gazebo that provided good shade around this time of day.

You rest your elbows on on of the railings and prop your head in your hands. A small sigh escapes you.

"Can you make it any more obvious that you don't want to be here?"

Asmodeus rests a small distance away, smiling but you're not so sure if he's being lighthearted about it.

It was a fair observation. These meetings always felt like a waste of time to you. They were forced interactions. The worst type. And you already knew you'd agree with the arranged marriage at the end anyways.

"Sorry, I'm just a little tired."

You look back at him and try to give a friendly(?) smile. Actually why not just be straightforward now?

"It's kind of hard to believe you want to get married. It doesn't seem like something that would interest someone like you."

"Eh…I guess there comes a time in everyone's life where they think about these things."

Very vague.

Asmodeus leans back in his chair, looking up as if he's scraping through his brain. "But I don't recall running into you beforehand. I definitely would have remembered…so how would you know that?"

"I've heard a lot about you. Kind of impossible not to."

You had a bit of an idea about him before this whole situation. But once it got out that he was "interested" in proposing, well the maids had no problem telling you everything they knew. It was definitely not all true, but it pretty much confirmed what you already felt.

"That makes sense. Isn't it great that now you get to experience me in person instead of by word-of-mouth~"

"…Uh huh. Well I feel like I should tell you now. That I plan to say yes."

"Say yes?"

"Say yes to marrying you."

You watch for any negative reactions but nothing. Though you were still sure he wasn't really interested in marriage.

"…Oh?"

"Listen I understand if you were forced into this position. In fact, I'm sure that you were. And to be honest I've never been partial to marriage myself. I always thought it wasn't in the cards for me…"

You take a step away from the railing closer to Asmodeus. "But wouldn't it be foolish to say no? Outside of the benefits it would have for my family. You're definitely one of the most sought after bachelors…and well just look at you. I'm almost a little envious…"

Asmodeus's curious face changes to something else. Something you can't really place your finger on. You just knew he didn't look very pleased.

"Well at least I know you're not blind." His fingers play with his fringe. "And that's all fine and dandy but…"

When Asmodeus stands and looks back at you your heart skips a beat. You take a step back as he takes one forward. "I hope you're ready to handle me because I don't think you can."

Oh my god what was happening?

You were frozen in place as Asmodeus trapped you against the railing between his arms. You didn't even think to push him away and just stood there stupidly.

"I-I…"

Rustling sounds from a nearby hedge, but when you both look in the direction of the noise there's giggling and the sound of retreating people.

You sigh. At least someone was enjoying the show.

You gently push at Asmodeus's chest so you can make space.

"Sorry sometimes the staff gets bored haha…er should we h-head back?"

"If that's what you want."

Asmodeus turns away from you. "I just want you to know that since this marriage is just a title I'll be sticking to my usual. Hope you don't mind~" He walks away humming to himself.

Your brows furrow…that man. Why'd he have to do all that? You weren't expecting anything different in the first place?

You let out a huge sigh. Was this going to be the norm from now on?

Well at least you both were on the same page about the marriage…. but you couldn't help but think a serious misunderstanding just occurred.

[lotomber]

A Fateful Encounter・。.・゜✭・

SYNOPSIS: you went to have some drinks which lead to you meeting a certain handsome ginger

PAIRING: Chuuya x GN! Reader

WORD COUNT:~620

It was a tough day at work, your manager has been on your neck for the whole week and apparently you heard one of your coworker talking shit about you behind your back. You were really stressed and tired because of the drama so after work you went to a nearby bar to have a drink. You just sat there having some whiskey. The ambience was really nice there, suddenly someone came sit next to you and ordered some wine. He was really handsome, he had pretty ginger hair, grey eyes, wearing a fedora hat and from the way he was dressed you could tell he was pretty rich. You couldn't help but sneak glances at him. He was muttering curses, it seemed he was pissed at someone. Then he took out a cigarette, he was trying to light it but it seemed his lighter was not working. So you gave him yours.

"Here, it's not as fancy as yours but it works." He then took your lighter and lit his cigarette, after taking a puff he returned your lighter.

" Thanks."

" Oh it's fine! By the way if you don't mind me asking are you okay? You look quite angry. "

" It's nothing, today I just saw I face (dazai) I didn't wanted to. Even remembering about him makes me pissed. " he sounded really annoyed. You couldn't help but chuckle at the way he talked. You wondered who was it to make him behave like this.

" To me you look like the one who isn't okay. Drinking alone at this time, you look pretty stressed." he asked you in curious tone. Suddenly you remembered the reason you came to have a drink.

" Ahh Nothing much just... some work related problems " you said casually swirling your glass of whiskey as the ice inside it made clinking noise.

" Hmm is that so. If you want to talk about it I won't mind listening. " he said sipping his wine. You were taken aback by his response but either way you told him about your problems, how your manager is mean to you, dumping all the work on you and how your coworkers you thought were good to you, were talking behind your back. You don't know why or what made you say all those things . But there was just something about him which made you open up to him and maybe you just really wanted some company. And he just listened to you intently without interrupting. After you were done he stayed quiet for a while before saying " Hmm is that all ? From the way I see it, those people are just jealous of you." taking another sip of his wine.

" Hah! But why would they be jealous of me ?"

" Cause you are so good looking and more competent than they can ever be. " You were flustered by his so straightforward answer but before you could even answer him he got up and paid for both yours and his drinks.

" Wait ! I can't just let you pay for my drinks. You even listened to me, I would feel bad if I let you pay!"

" It's fine but if you feel bad, then how about it? Next time you pay for our drinks." he said as he started walking towards outside.

"Wait! I'm (name). At least tell me your name before you go!" you exclaimed.

" I'm Chuuya. And y'know you look more good when you smile so I hope the next time we meet you'll smile more." he said as he smiled before leaving. His smile was so charming and captivating, you couldn't help but smile to yourself as you felt butterflies thinking about meeting him again.

A/N- You can also ask if there's a particular story or character you want me to do.(｡>﹏<;｡)

[utilitycaster]

oh PLEASE elaborate on your thoughts about why people say Brenann's hogging the spotlight after you're back from work 👀

This is actually a very long answer, because morning me is someone with the bright sun shining behind her and a full cup or four of coffee who does not think of the consequences of her actions, so it's below a cut.

I think the first reason is something best described as cultural but in a very specific way. Like...the bulk of actual players we talk about are people who have, just by default, spent a lot of time in a handful of cities in the US where there's a significant entertainment industry presence, and for D20 they've specifically been comedians. I say this to set a particular scene: I almost never get it when people think the cast of an actual play show is angry at each other, or that people are being too pushy or that the humor is off. I suspect this might be cultural; I am from the urban Northeastern US and my mom grew up in Los Angeles and I have three siblings, and so a lot of what people clock as aggression or unkindness reads to me as simply banter or straightforwardness or decisiveness, all of which I see as very positive things. I mean obviously there is a such thing as inappropriate humor, bigotry and jokes at the expense of other groups and so forth, but most of what I see in actual play I watch/listen to is just, as NADDPod puts it, taking your friends to the raspberry patch. It's good-humored teasing. Anyway I think Brennan is very willing to engage with that banter and that decisiveness (and like, he spent a lot of formative time in New York City which I'm sure is an influence) and I think that reads to people who are uncomfortable with it as aggression.

Someone who took more linguistic anthropology or sociology than I could probably explain this better but it's just like...as a person I find the rapid-fire and heated but good natured heckling on D20, or Sam's satirical ad reads, or bold moves in any D&D game, or the arguments on NADDPod D&D court to be very normal and enjoyable, and I find hesitation and hedging and uncertainty and "are you sure?" and endless check-ins to be very negative and anxiety-inducing and draining.

With that said I don't think Brennan is particularly egregious (Evan Kelmp is the one case where I think this is a valid criticism, but even then I didn't find him an ungenerous player, merely one who by design was going to occupy a certain position) so I think that brings me to the really delicate part of this conversation.

I've mentioned this in the past but I think a lot of the actual play fandom on Tumblr suffers pretty severely from what's been labeled "the soft bigotry of low expectations." I've been vocal quite specifically when it comes to misogyny and how the agency of the women of the cast is treated as true only when convenient, because I feel that as a woman I'm able to actually speak on those terms, but I think it's true across the board. Essentially, this means that the bar is (often unconsciously) set lower, or people overly applaud, to a perhaps even condescending degree, people from minority or underrepresented groups. It is not, to be clear, having DEI programs or helping people be in something (in this case...popular actual play) in the first place and acknowledging structural inequalities that might make the path more difficult; it's instead assuming that once they get there they'll never be quite as good, or being surprised when they are. I think the most classic example is the overuse of the word "eloquent" to describe Black speakers, as it often comes with this connotation that being well-spoken is something the person providing the compliment didn't expect. You know, if you're an adult with no significant cognitive or physical disabilities and someone compliments you for tying your shoes, it's pretty fucking insulting. That's what we're talking about here.

The way this manifests in the fandom is that there's really no room to provide criticisms that are not motivated by bigotry. I'm a critic by nature, and there's a general veneer of obnoxious insistence on positivity across the board in this and many fandoms, but, as I've said many times before (and to be fair it's getting better) the pushback people receive for completely valid criticisms of Marisha is intense. I've mentioned that I've had issues with story pacing for Brennan, Matt, and Aabria as DMs at different points, and the backlash for Aabria was the strongest even though the criticism was by no means the harshest. There is a certain degree of nonstop fawning that at times occurs that doesn't actually permit engaging with characters or discussing the actual strengths of the actors, and which often wraps around into something insulting; see the "Emily, breaker of DMs" nonsense that's finally getting called out. Because it's not a compliment! Part of why Emily is such a good player is that she is immensely collaborative and makes characters who will help with party composition, and she self-identifies as a big fan of DMs, and treating her (or like, anyone) as a perfect force of nature rather than a thinking person who makes decisions, some of which are good and some of which are bad, is not praise! It's not praise to exclude someone from valid criticism; it's treating them as lesser, to do so.

For a number of reasons I am a person who is not generally stopped by this, but a lot of people understandably aren't, or are deterred even by that more general need for nothing but praise...except constant praise starts to become meaningless, and more importantly, people sometimes have negative feelings about a show! Maybe a character they liked died, or their predictions didn't come true, or their ship didn't happen, or they're just not very interested in a specific plot. But it's impossible to actually pick apart what isn't working for them, because there's this environment where, if you start asking questions, the answer might be "I don't like the choice a player who is a woman, or nonwhite, or queer, made, and how it weighs upon the story." And so, and this is where I am treading so lightly, I don't think the issue in the fandom or TTRPG is "oh the poor straight white men in D&D", because that's obviously fucking ridiculous, but I do think that if you block off any criticism of anyone else, it lands somewhere, and it's often not actually justified.

The example I actually have in mind more often is Sam Riegel. I've made some pretty harsh criticism of Sam and some of his characters in the past, but it has always been very much about his choices. But every single time I've gotten some weird (and uh...very uncomfortable, frankly) venting about Sam's sense of humor. I have never really focused on his sense of humor as the problem. I like it. I find it extremely relatable. At the risk of using the bigotry script again, Sam is, in fact, of the same ethnicity and region of the US as I am (ie, northeast US Ashkenazi Jewish) and when people act like his humor is discomfiting it's like a neon sign that to me reads "I HAVE NEVER MET SOMEONE FROM YOUR CULTURE," which on the one hand, not necessarily their fault, but on the other, does not feel great to have someone on anon venting to you while this sign is staring you in the face.

But that is a different point - my point is that I feel like there's this...seething magma of discontent sometimes, that has built up because there is an attitude that criticism is to be avoided at nearly all costs. And when it must be vented, there are only a small handful of acceptable targets (ie, the cis straight white men, although among the CR and D20 casts, Taliesin and Zac both get a decent amount of this despite Taliesin not being straight and Zac not being white), so the criticisms that come out are often excessive for the infraction (Brennan, a famously wordy guy playing a literal college of eloquence bard, turns into "Brennan is a spotlight hog" despite him being a player who is enthusiastically yes-anding everyone at the table), flat-out misdirected (my criticisms of Sam's mechanics are treated as an invitation to talk about a dislike of Sam's jokes) or just straight up bile (I am quite frankly never forgetting the somehow popular post that said Travis was too stupid to play a druid; it really was a breaking point where I said oh this positivity is all fake as hell, huh.) And eventually these criticisms become the "safe" and "accepted" ones in the fandom. Which is also bad because like, at this point, those three examples are to me just signals of someone saying "I'm not happy but it might not necessarily be at all related to this." And it is possible that someone might genuinely not enjoy Sam's sense of humor, or think Brennan is hogging the spotlight (though I disagree), but I struggle to believe them because these are just the well-worn codes, devoid of their actual meaning. I also think it's notable these all squarely blame people and not just like, "I don't vibe with this choice and no one is specifically at fault" but that's also a whole other post.

This is of course not to say that there isn't also actual bigotry within the fandom; looking at that person who freaked out about Utkarsh wearing a sweatshirt and not having an encyclopedic knowledge of the divine soul sorcerer class, or the person who called Deni$e unpleasant and abusive in the main tag, rather than simply saying their characters were not for them. Nor does it mean that you can't have criticisms of Brennan, or any of the many white guys in Actual Play, because my point is that thoughtful criticism based on what's onscreen is what I live for, and no one is exempt. But I think most if not all people saying this about Brennan are mad about something else in the Ravening War.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

There’s always been something that bothered me about whenever I try to explain the concept of Hatoful Boyfriend and most people’s immediate reaction is “oh! Like Doki Doki!”. My response is always just “…I guess?” because I could never quite explain why that felt wrong to me but I think I finally can put a finger on it now.

(To be clear, I’ve played and enjoyed both games. They’re both fun - this isn’t a criticism at all! I just think they’re, at their cores, two very different things. Also I don’t spoil anything for either game here beyond the obvious; that is, that these games are not what they seem to be at first glance, which I’m pretty sure most people know going in. If that amount of spoiler still bothers you, then stop reading here and play the games first!!!)

When people compare the two games, I 100% understand where they’re coming from. It’s the same gimmick I suppose: cutesy looking or joke visual novel actually turns out to be a smokescreen to hide the horrors within. But. Like. I feel like that’s where the similarities end.

See, DDLC’s whole point is to be shocking. It’s intended to make you jump and disturb you. It’s primarily a horror game with you, the player, as its focal point, and as a result the characters are only really there to be used by the story. The majority of the characters, with the exception of one, are pretty straightforward and lean heavily on the tropes commonly used in dating sims so the game can later distort them in increasingly horrific ways - with the intent of shocking and scaring you. The characters are more tools to be used to tell the story and create the experience than fully fleshed out people, which I think works out well thematically for DDLC. It’s effective in the sense where the characters aren’t really what draws you in, but rather the premise and the anticipation of getting a good scare out of it, with some existential stuff mixed in there for a pretty cool experience. You came to get scared right? Well that’s what you got.

But Hatoful is very different because its intent is not to shock or scare you necessarily. Hatoful, since its initial development, has been designed to make you care. Hato Moa made the game intending for people to start it because of its ridiculous concept, but then to discover it’s depth along the way. Hatoful doesn’t want to jump scare you. It wants to tell you a story. It delves into horror, that’s true, but the horror is much more psychological and it stems from the character’s actions. It’s a character driven story at its core, and it does this by taking itself seriously. It knows it’s completely absurd and leans into the absurdity, but the character interactions are real, so that when actual plot begins to happen, you’ll wonder when you started getting so attached. The characters twist typical dating sim tropes again, but this time to ask “hey why is this character like this? maybe it’s not so straightforward as you think”. And then the game goes a step further and reveals that there is an actual in-universe reason for its insane setup of “a human girl goes to bird school which is for birds and dates pigeons”. Hatoful is less tongue in cheek and more completely unabashed about it’s ridiculous premise and plays it straight - which in turn makes its serious moments shockingly genuine. That, to me, is why it works. The point is to delve into the characters. The plot is driven by the characters. It’s horrifying at times because the characters will sometimes make or be forced to make horrific choices. It’s not a gimmick. It’s a cohesive story. It’s just asking you to dig into it a little further to get there.

Tldr; DDLC is a cutesy facade and Hatoful is unabashedly absurd. DDLC wants to scare you and Hatoful wants you to care. DDLC uses its characters as tools for the experience while Hatoful’s whole point is the characters.

Editing based off a reblog that made me aware I was not completely fair with DDLC here (again, still trying not to spoil too much): The experience in DDLC is heavily based on its thematic content. When I say “the characters serve the experience” and “it wants to scare you” I don’t mean this shallowly, and I think it can and has been frequently misinterpreted in this way. In DDLC, the horror comes from the situation. In that sense, it’s thematically appropriate that the characters are tools in that way - that’s actually part of it and you are meant to feel bad for them - their situations, issues, and personalities are thematically relevant and sympathetic. I shouldn’t have juxtaposed “to scare you” and “to make you care”; that was far too simplistic a summary to the point where it is inaccurate. They both want you to care - a story only has power if you care about it. But I do still feel strongly that DDLC’s draw is the terrifying situation it impresses on the player, and the self-aware questions it asks (in which characters are put through the existential oppressive wringer to emphasize these themes), while Hatoful primarily relies on you slowly but surely acclimating to the absurdity so it can tell what is simultaneously an off the walls story that is also genuine and believable for the characters you’ve grown to know.

[hopeymchope]

Just me loving all over Fire Emblem: Engage

Years after being so thoroughly disappointed and even angered by Fire Emblem: Three Houses — which, it must be said, is deeply popular and incredibly successful because that's how it goes for me — I've found myself loving Fire Emblem: Engage. I put off playing it because the online reception was so "meh," but I needn't have been so worried. My deep affection for the series is back.

Play as Aquafresh OR Pepsi!

The two biggest reasons I'm happy? Well, FIRST, my biggest complaint about Three Houses has been... not cured, unfortunately, but still significantly alleviated. If you want to remain adequately leveled/competitive in taking on strategic battles, you still need to do a bunch of side chores that amount to "running around your home base doing boring shit" between each fight. BUT. 1) The sheer amount of those chores is significantly less now, and 2) all the blind guesswork has been removed from increasing Support levels. You'll never be trying to helplessly guess what to say at some fucking teatime or in some classroom conversation where every response seems valid, nor will be you making your best guess on what food to serve people. Because the game just fucking tells you the kind of gifts or food each person likes! (And tea events/random interstitial convos are blessedly absent.)

SECOND, however? It's the quality of the writing. Yes, I know people have complained a ton about the writing in "Engage," but in my experience, they're primarily complaining because they felt the story is so simplistic. And, sure — I get that. There's so much emotional drama built into the setups of the last three games (Three Houses, Echoes, and Fates) that this tale seems rather bog-standard by comparison. The overarching story of Engage can be boiled down to a tale as old as the franchise itself — essentially "Evil Dragon gonna Do Evil." There are also some aspects of the worldbuilding/subtextual implications that don't quite make sense. But I'm not talking about the overarching plot when I praise the writing here — I'm talking about how the characters possess more detail/facets than usual, and the dialogue/banter between characters is so damn fun.

A woman I feel completely normal about.

I don't even quite know how to explain it. Maybe the humor is just more to my taste, but I've laughed so much more at this one. And by the same token, maybe I'm just digging deeper into these characters because their dialogue is endearing them to me. But after playing the past four games before this one (yes, I started with "Awakening" like some Filthy Casual, I'M SORRY), I don't recall any other game featuring characters with so much detail to them. In Engage, many chracters possess more than the usual "two noteworthy personality traits/talents" that are typically found in FE's enormous casts. I'm talking about people like Citrinne, Lindon, Yunaka, Clanne, Ivy, Gregory... I can easily say like FIVE things about each of them. And yes, I consider this to be an important step forward.

Okay, so: I like the dialogue, I like the characters, I don't like all the side busywork, the overall story is bland. (The Fell Xenalogue's story is kinda sick though?) But hold up, what about the actual MEAT of the game — the core gameplay of having strategic battles? That's not usually a problem, mind you. But how'd it go this time around?

WELL. I'd argue we've got some of the best maps and best ways to optimize characters that we've ever had. There are still some lame straightforward corridors in here, but by and large? You get a lot more freedom in how you lure enemies to you, how you can split up and flank them while simultaneously attacking from the front, how you can now disarm (or "Break") them during one turn so other allies can attack more easily/do more damage — it's pretty rad!

One of the earliest maps to make me go "Oh cool."

There's even a main theme with lyrics, and although it's never gonna be the inescapable earworm that "You are the ocean's gray waves" became, it's not shabby either.

I've put over 80 hours into Engage so far, and although I'm finished with the main story, I'm not yet finished unlocking stuff. There's a lot to love here. I'm just happy to be back.

[arathenerd]

✨Fanfic soulmate AU idea for Merthur✨

Hi, hey, hello.

So. Here’s the thing: this idea has been literally living in my mind rent free and it has developed into a sort of monster idea at this rate. I NEED this thing out so maybe someone actually competent at writing can pick it up and make me very very happy. So. So. So. I’m gonna divide this post in three parts to make it more understandable and all that, starting with the world building.

World building 🌎

I know what you are thinking. “Oh, soulmate au, must be very straightforward and boring” NO MY FRIEND.

Usually, in a soulmate au, a superior divine power (be it a god, the universe, or whatever) chooses the characters partners without their intervention. In this world, the characters are the ones who choose their soulmate.

“What?” Yeah. Hear me out.

In this world magic not only exists, but it’s also widely accepted and integrated in society. That includes practices such as marriage, which can be accomplished in three different ways.

Your usual magicless ceremony, though in this world is not as popular as,

Emotional-bonding ceremony. Pretty self explanatory, I think, but nevertheless, is about bonding emotionally with your partner, which means people can feel what the other is feeling. Is believed that this bond allows for a deeper connection in the relationship. And then there’s the most rare one,

The soul-bond ceremony. Like I said, extremely rare. This is mostly because of a series of different reasons, but is also considered the most important marriage bond you could ever have, if you do, and is widely romanticized. Soul-bonded pairs, because of this, are deeply respected, to the point that separating them is considered a grave violation.

Some of the reasons why soul-bondings are extremely rare:

a. It doesn’t work for everyone. What I mean with this, is that just being in love with someone isn’t enough. The soul bond requires not only a deep mutual understanding, but a love that transcends the body. In a matter of speaking, your soul has to be in love with the other person's soul.

b. It’s not enough if you do happen to love that person that way, but the same kind of love it’s not returned. It needs to be mutual.

c. It cannot be forced. You can’t make an arranged marriage with a soul-bonding ceremony. If the people involved aren’t willing and don’t feel like that, the magic simply won’t take. And finally,

d. Not that many go for it? I mean, the prospect of a soul bond is daunting as it is but on top of that, this ceremony is not as simple as that. As the name itself tells you, this is a soul-bonding ceremony. You are literally uniting your souls. That’s not only permanent, my friend, it will also transcend your mortal life and bleed into the next. Do you have any idea how desperately and profoundly in love you have to be to go for it? Yeah, exactly.

As you probably noticed, yes, this is where the chosen soulmate thing comes into play 😏.

Reincarnation exists in this world, but mostly, people can never know if they are reincarnations or new souls… unless, of course, the had a soul-bond from a past life.

People really don’t get flashbacks or memories if they do happen to be reincarnations, soulmate or not. There’s no such thing as a soulmark but the universe does have its ways to push people that are supposed to be close together.

You know when you are about to go on a trip, add all these thing to your baggage, and feel like you have everything you need, except… no. Not quite so. There’s something missing. You turn around your room, even search the bathroom, but for the life of you, you can’t figure it out. The feeling it’s maddening, anxiety inducing, really. What is missing?

And then, you can’t wait anymore and need to leave, so you do. You get to your hotel, and, while unpacking, it hits you. Suddenly you know exactly what you left behind and, yes, it turns out to be something you very much need.

That feeling, that nagging at the back of your brain, it’s how it feels to be reborn soul-bonded. Not that people can recognize it easily. Besides that, there’s the hunches. Sudden strong feelings that say “yeah, if I do this, if I go down this path, I’ll get closer to finding this thing I need, even if I don’t know what it is yet”. It’s slow working, but people always get there. Eventually. It only takes one look for your soul to sing in recognition.

Also, just because they are soulmates doesn’t mean they immediately fall in love. They are still strangers to each other. It’s more like, meeting someone and having the perfect comfort that if you work for it, give it your all, you will find a love like no other at the other side.

Engagements are also done with magic, usually. The practice is as sort of more formal promise, because once a person is magically engaged to another, any magic done in a ceremony (marriage) that isn’t done with the person you are engaged with simply won’t take.

Not only that, but if you happen to already be married (either with an emotional bond or a soul bond) and try to get engaged, the magic won’t take either. This means that if you are a reincarnated soul with a soulmate, you might find something new about yourself at your engagement ceremony lol.

Unless you happen to do a magicless ceremony I guess, but like I said, it’s really not the preferred thing.

Arthur in this AU 👑

After laying down the basics, who’s Arthur in this AU, within my head?

He’s the crown prince of a kingdom (it can be Britain if you wish, or a modern Camelot, idk, it really doesn’t matter) and he’s about to go through his engagement ceremony. *gasps*

Is an arranged marriage, of course. If you write this, you can choose whoever you like to be the woman at the other side, but either way it’s not gonna last.

Arthur, of course, isn’t happy about it but knows this is his duty and all. Never mind the constant feeling that he’s doing something he really shouldn’t be doing, or the feeling of guilt he doesn’t understand.

The ceremony is a public affair. Nobility, high society and royalty are all there to witness the event as expected, including journalists to document the event. Then the ceremony begins, Gaius, the Court Sorcerer to King Uther, doing the spell casting. Except, it doesn’t take.

The guests, who had been silently expectant, suddenly start quietly murmuring. What’s happening?

Uther frowns, going to Gaius, wanting an explanation. Calmly, Gaius tells him that the engagement won’t be possible, since the magic bounced against Arthur. The murmuring gets louder. Is the prince already engaged? Married? Oh, my!

Uther turns to his son, red in the face, screaming “what have you done?!” But Arthur is just as confused as everyone else. He says as much.

Gaius intervenes, telling the king there’s no point in being mad at Arthur, since the soul bond was clearly done in a past life.

Now people are really going nuts with this. Soul bond? It’s rare of course, but do you have any idea how many centuries it has been since a noble, let alone a royal, was soul-bonded? Let alone the crown prince?

Arthur can feel his heart beat out of his chest.

.

This is pretty much the only clear scene I have in my head, so, yeah. I also played with the idea of having a sort of soul-tracking spell that lets you see who’s at the other side of the soul bond as if it was tv and make everyone look at Merlin and realize it’s him but I wouldn’t know how to make it work. If you can, I might kiss you.

Merlin in this AU 🧔🏻🪄

So, you probably noticed Gaius being Court Sorcerer to king Uther there, didn’t you. It will be relevant here.

Court Sorcerers and monarchs in this world work as a team. Usually, when a new king is crowned, a new court sorcerer will be named, and this sorcerer will be the most powerful one of the same generation as the will-be-king. Sometimes, they'll meet before the kingship, sometimes after. There aren’t really any hard rules about that.

The new Court Sorcerer prospect is not obliged to say yes, but it is considered a high honor. Not that Merlin in particular wanted to.

Merlin is not only the most powerful of his generation, but also the most powerful to be born in centuries. This is not surprising, since it doesn’t matter if he’s reincarnated or not, Merlin is always going to be the most powerful one. But I digress.

He was found by Gaius, when he was 17, barely getting out of school. He explained the process: he would go trough training, and when the time came, he’ll take his place.

Merlin really wanted to say no. He almost did, but something stopped him. A hunch, a feeling that, maybe, just maybe, saying yes would be worth it. The feeling was strong enough for him to doubt his original stance, and then, to yield.

And so, the man would spend years under Gaius’s tutelage on all things magic and royal customs and etiquette, these days being closer to his thirties (somewhere between 25 and 29 years old). And everything would be perfectly fine if he hadn’t had the most curious dream.

You see, I said that people usually don’t remember their past lives but Merlin is a bit different. He’s pretty sure this was a past life.

In the memory, he’s running through the woods. He runs, runs, runs, feeling the heartbreak, the pain, the tears running down his face.

Modern Merlin doesn’t know it, but his past self would dare to soul bond with prince Arthur of Camelot, even knowing he wasn’t his to have. They did it because they wanted something only theirs, for once. Something no one could take away. But, as was usual when it came to duty, prince Arthur would be forced to marry eventually. And that day was that day.

So Merlin runs. Eventually, he reaches a hidden stone cellar, abandoned a while ago. He goes in it, burying the precious item within. He buries it because he knows no one must ever find it. The gods only know what would happen if the nobles or, gods forbid, the king figured out what they’ve done. So he buries his dreams and hopes, protects them with magic so they are not eroded and damaged by the earth, enchants the cellar so it doesn’t fall apart on top of it, no matter how much time passes.

A sudden fear paralyzes him. What if he tried to recover it and didn’t find it? No. That wasn’t an option. He was being a fool, he knew. He would never get the item back. But just in case, he needed to make sure that he could.

And so, the Merlin of the past didn’t know it, but, the spell might have worked too well. The point was to brand the location in his brain, but he’s so desperate, so scared, he doesn’t realize he branded it in his soul.

Modern Merlin wonders at this memory, wonders at the sudden necessity to go look for the item. But the thing isn’t there anymore, is it? It probably never was. It was just a dream.

And yet, before he knows it, he’s already looking, something he can’t name driving him forward. He feels ridiculous, set for disappointment, but he can’t stop. He walks as if he knows where he’s going.

His heart stops when he sees the beat down entrance of the cellar. It goes up to his throat when he goes without stopping to the specific place the item was hidden. He chokes on it when he knows not only where it is, but how deep it was buried.

And then, it’s in his hand.

The ring is simple, but beautiful. A gold band with elegant Celtic runes. Merlin looks at it, fascinated. He can feel the magic embedded in it. Soul-bonding magic.

He gasps. It is believed that touching a soul-bonding item that’s not yours is bad luck, but he has the all encompassing feeling that this ring is his.

Now, within the library he seats with Will and tries to pretend there isn’t a necklace around his neck with a ring hanging from it, hidden under his clothes.

Finishing thoughts 💭

If you write this in a slow burn, longish fic, with angst but also mostly softness and drama from an external threat I would love you forever. Bonus points if you use third pov, specially with the media. I love when that’s included with characters that are supposed to be public. I mean, people gushing about the fairy tale with prince Arthur on twitter? Newspapers documenting what’s happening? Yes please. External pov is the best.

Super extra points if you write it without miscommunication being the center of the angst and the fic. Forget kissing you, I would soul bond with you.

Anyway that’s it. It’s pretty long, but hopefully someone feels as excited as I do about this AU and picks it up. If you do, don’t forget to leave the link in the comments ❤️.

[voxofthevoid]

Amnesia Wednesday #4. The fic is 6 chapters and 32k now, but this has been a pretty slow week in every sense for me. Hoping to get back into my usual routine before I start chewing walls. But I think I've got a solid outline for the rest of the fic now.

Snippet under the cut:

“You,” Yuuji says softly, a seething shudder of sounds, “know nothing of my tastes.”

Satoru dips his head a few inches, breathing the words against Yuuji’s mouth. “Don’t I, sweetheart?”

Yuuji bites him.

Satoru, quite literally incapable of not seeing it coming, doesn’t choose to allow it so much as take a second too long to process that this is Yuuji’s reaction, and then there are teeth sunk meanly into his lower lip, a raw sting that makes the flesh pulse hot. Yuuji’s eyes are all narrowed into a glare, burning into Satoru from mere centimeters away.

It’s not a kiss. It’s as far as you can get from a kiss with mouths still touching.

Does Yuuji know sorcerers can heal? Maybe. He must be used to the regenerative capacity of cursed spirits, and Satoru has suspicions about Yuuji’s own biology. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Yuuji has reasonably assumed that sorcerers share that ability.

Well, Satoru can afford to let him keep that assumption. So he waits very patiently to see if he’s about to lose half his mouth. For a moment there, it seems like it. Yuuji’s teeth sink a little deeper, not quite breaking skin but threatening to. They’re very sharp, the incisors built to cut and the canines poised to tear.

Then Yuuji lets out a shuddering breath through his nose, and his teeth release Satoru. Yuuji takes a few generous steps back, and the chill that creeps through all of Satoru’s layers has nothing to do with the weather.

Speaking of layers, Yuuji’s fully dressed again. He’s traded the worn sweatpants of earlier for thick jeans, and up top, he’s wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt under a thick, hooded jacket. Both the shirt and jacket are oversized, and the sight soothes Satoru in a way he’s not keen on probing into.

“I’m hungry,” Yuuji announces abruptly.

“I could take you out,” Satoru offers without thinking.

Yuuji scowls at him, but there’s a tinge of pink on his cheeks. “You can’t. Not unless there are restaurants serving up mon—curses. Wait, are there?”

“No one’s managed that yet,” he says, delighted by the sincerity of that question and impossibly charmed by the way Yuuji’s face falls. “But then, why would anyone try? Your…diet is unique among sorcerers.”

Suguru ate curses, strictly speaking, but that was different. It couldn’t have been pleasant, even if his expression never changed when he swallowed, but cursed techniques play by their own rules. Satoru has a feeling that Yuuji’s eating habits are a lot more straightforward.

“You can just say I’m a freak,” Yuuji deadpans. “Being polite doesn’t seem to suit you.”

“That feels a little targeted.”

“You kiss a guy and run off like that, and he’ll make assumptions, Gojou-san. Even if you come crawling back.”

Oh, it looks like they’re walking up to the elephant in the room and kissing its trunk.

“Cut me some slack,” Satoru says, the lip Yuuji bit stinging as he coaxes his mouth into a grin. “I thought you knew that another decade wouldn’t have been enough to teach me tact.”

Yuuji’s face shutters. “That so?”

Satoru’s smile feels hard and plastic on his face. The words he just said are ashes on his tongue.

Yuuji wouldn’t have been surprised.

The Yuuji who was in Satoru’s life and then just in his head. The Yuuji who never grew old.

This is another Yuuji.

And yet—

“Well,” Satoru says quietly, “I guess you do now.”

Yuuji’s clearly not happy. But he’s kind enough not to show any pity.

He turns away from Satoru and starts marching, a sharp jerk of his head the only invitation Satoru receives. It’s still more than what he expects, and probably better than what he deserves, so he catches up with a few long strides before matching his pace to Yuuji’s.

The hunger he proclaimed is there in his cursed energy, which isn’t getting up, close, and personal with Satoru the way it did the other day, but he can feel its attention like a brand. More than once, he catches Yuuji swallowing thickly.

Satoru’s not judging. He’d have been the most filling meal in the entire city even if Yuuji hadn’t picked it clean of nearly every higher-grade curse, but now, with all of Sendai so barren, Satoru might as well be a full-course meal parading in front of a starving man. The slim pickings are Yuuji’s own fault, of course, but when the end result is such a dramatic decrease in the number of cursed spirits, there’s no real downside.

“Do people ever tempt you?” Satoru asks idly. “Non-sorcerers, to be specific.”

“You ever start eating rocks off the ground just because you couldn’t find actual food?”

“Ah. Fair point,” Satoru acknowledges. But he can’t help adding, “You do want to eat me though.”

Yuuji’s mouth presses into a thin, unhappy line. “We’ve established you don’t want me to.”

“Oh, is that what you were trying to do the other day?”

Yuuji doesn’t dignify that with a response, but they both know it wasn’t. Even Satoru’s not sure where it’s coming from, this niggling need to push and push till something bites. Literally, judging by Yuuji’s reaction earlier.

Maybe he shouldn’t have taken any time to just sit in the dark and think till his brain hurt. He doesn’t feel any wiser for it. He has no fucking clue how to handle this Yuuji who’s not really Yuuji.

But Satoru just found out he can’t stand to see Yuuji kiss another man either, and that’s something. Probably nothing good, but it’s still more than the utter lack of insight those agonizing hours in his hotel room brought him.

[5eraphim]

the yandere mercs ranked from who is the most difficult to easiest to write for as an x reader writer-

(Note this isn't a ranking of least to most favorite, though obviously, that does impact my order.)

1. Soldier

Listen, I don't want to sound like I'm judging anyone here, but this is the one character I have the most difficulty understanding the appeal of. Not in a "he's just not my type" kind of way because I hardly feel that sort of thing holds me back when writing, I don't get the appeal, as in not only is he not my cup of tea, but I really don't quite understand how he is anyone's cup of tea or favorite of the group. (Again, I really don't want to sound harsh or meanspirited, but this guy is... something else, to put it gently.) But credit where it’s due, I think it’s cute he’s an animal lover, and just adopts feral animals, that’s pretty adorable of him.

2. Heavy

Only one spot above Soldier, but worlds easier to write for, in my opinion. Considering he's easily the most famous character in the franchise, I feel there's a greater scrutiny on my end to get his characterization right. It's really tough to find a balance between his silly/goofy side and serious side too. He's deceptively complex, and I could spend hours editing a piece for him and still not know if my characterization was entirely on the mark. In other words, he's fun to write for regarding short-term content, but when he's taking center stage, I have a lot of trouble finding inspiration.

3. Pyro

Unlike the other two, Pyro is either impossible to write for or effortless, with little middle ground. But, character-wise, they're certainly one of my favorites. I know it's a bit cliché, the killer on the outside, cinnamon roll on the inside trope, but that really doesn't diminish how well Pyro personifies this trope. And oh my gosh, something about their design sends my maternal instincts into overdrive. I don't know what it is, but their big googly eyes, cute little mumbles, childlike wonder, and bouncy chipper gait? He is baby, you cannot change my mind. Their design is absolutely my favorite, and  I don't think I'll ever get over how utterly precious they look! 

4. Demo

I'm putting Demo squarely in the middle of the list because, shamefully, I have yet to write much content for him. Don't get me wrong, I certainly see the appeal with this guy and all, character wise as well as aesthetically. But it's really more on me than him. Not much more to say other than it's about time I did right by Demo and got to work writing for him! 

5. Spy

I'm not sure how comfortable I am ranking Spy so highly. He's so mysterious and characterized as so intelligent and refined. It's really tough to get through the editing process without deleting everything because I fee like I’m not suave enough to write a character like this accurately. He's hard to start writing for, but once I get the ball rolling, it gets much easier, and there is nothing more pleasing than concluding the editing process after so much back-and-forth while editing, and feeling like I finally nailed down his character. Spy's challenging for sure but probably the most satisfying in turn.

6. Scout

To be perfectly candid, Spy and Scout's placements are pretty interchangeable, leaning comfortably on the side of easier rather than difficult to write for. But if I had to pick one thing that tips the scale ever so slightly in Scout’s favor, it would be how much fun I have writing his dialogue! He's a pretty straightforward character, too, so whatever my first draft of how I want to write his reactions and dynamic with the other mercs might be, it's usually what I wind up going for. He's a perfect inverse to Spy in this sense. Scout's easier to write for, and I could go on and on writing for him without worrying about burnout, while Spy is a character I find harder to characterize, but no character is as gratifying to write for once the editing is concluded.

7. Sniper

For purely selfish reasons, Sniper is so easy for me to write for almost entirely because he is the character I relate to the strongest. It's easy for me to get into the headspace of this reclusive, mild-mannered guy with abandonment issues because I see so much of myself in him, and it feels weirdly therapeutic to write for him? I don't know if I should be concerned about this, but it certainly helps the inspiration process! He’s honestly special, given his role as “the straight man” of the team, I hardly ever have trouble ensuring his character is distinguished from the rest of the team.

8. Medic

I adore writing for him with all my heart, oh my word. I've only gotten into the TF2 fandom for a few months now, but I definitely recall some very foggy memories from middle school looking at the TF2 cast as an outsider, and I instantly knew he was "the hot one." But hot may not be the right word exactly. (It is accurate, don't get me wrong, but it sells him a bit short, is what I mean.) He's just one of those rare characters you can tell is special merely by looking at him! He's so compelling and vibrant! The only hang-up/ hesitancy I have in regards to writing him is worrying if my writing is good enough to do such a show-stopping character justice. (Look, he's fictional- I get it, but still- I legit get so nervous publishing/editing my work which features him because I'm such an armature, and he just- Medic is a God and deserves nothing less than Tolstoy-tier prose.) 

9. Engineer

My beloved, my adored and most precious above all-  As I mentioned before, I've only just gotten into TF2, and I was astonished to find him become my favorite so fast! While some characters like Pyro, Scout, or Medic I remember liking back when I was in middle school and didn't know about the game itself, shamefully, I had no such memories pertaining to Engineer whatsoever! But I suppose it makes falling in love with this character feel all the more gratifying as an adult. His dynamic with the rest of the mercs is quite unique, and it's easy for me to write content for him without worrying if it sounds too similar to another character. It's so weird, but Engineer has this charm to him, and sometimes I feel like he's charming me as an author to so easily find inspiration writing for him. I will never get sick of this guy, and I can only hope this admiration shines through in my writing.

[zmediaoutlet]

hello z, i have tried to pick some fun ones! 36, 62, 93

!! o bud of buds!! holy cow!

36. do you base your characters of real people or not? If so, tell us about one.

this is a bit of a tricky question with fic, but of course the answer remains ultimately yes -- bc all those little details that don't exist in the original text need to come from somewhere, and it turns out that you can flesh out existing characters quite a bit in a way that still feels IC with details from your mom or bestie (cough) or that one waiter at that restaurant. With OCs, who are usually also NPCs, it's also best practice as far as I'm concerned to plagiarize wholesale from real life -- they don't really matter except as flavor or to act as a cog in the machinery of how the scene moves forward, so you might as well make it easy on yourself AND possibly get a tiny inside joke with yourself, and also they just naturally are believable because they're real. Trying to come up with someone Distinctive and Wacky almost always reads false, whereas if you just use a real human who is distinctive and wacky au naturel they just... work. Shout-out to the inclusion in one of my stories of that one Beowulf professor who looks and acts like Santa. (I wonder if he's still with us?) Making that guy up would be stupid and you'd be tempted to include Fun Details to color him in; as is he just. Exists. Much better.

62. what’s the weirdest reason you’ve ever shipped something?

I thiiiink I can say that my shipping reasons are almost never because something would be Hot (unless I'm lying, but I don't think I am), so I guess in the larger fic context that might be weird in itself. Off the top of my head weird is a big ask. I ship Sam/Eileen specifically in the sense that I want her to be really into it and I want Sam to think that he's into it and then realize very quickly that, oh yeah, he's never actually fully committed to a relationship and what was he thinking, and so they fuck once and then he takes a call from Dean practically before he's wiped off and Eileen realizes with sinking disappointment and humiliation that she's never ever going to measure up. Like -- the reason I ship it is out of weird spite, haha. That's pretty bad, isn't it. I also ship Paul/Jessica from Dune basically purely out of that one scene where they first climb into their stillsuits in the first movie, not because I actually want to but because they are so fucking weird about it, and what is shipping really but listening to the weird-ass notes that canon itself drops and going "...wait, you what?"

93. do you hear other people’s writing styles when they talk?

SUPER no. I mean for a given value of talk. I am lucky enough to have some writer-buds and the way they communicate in text hardly matches up at all to the stuff they put out, which I find really interesting. I've been told that I talk a little how I write but of course that depends on the fandom and the mood of the story -- like, Supernatural-from-Dean's-POV-the-way-I-write-it tends to be really naturalistic and straightforward and he even drops a lot of the same references I would (seriously, Dean would've gotten along with the z fam), so that just feels like--transcribing. But, you know, The Australian doesn't work that way, nor does The Ornithologist. (Last time I read narrative from The School was a long time ago but I think that was a little closer? We'd have to think about it.) I wonder if that's a deliberate choice from people? I wonder further if literally writing more volume of words might affect how you communicate non-narratively. e.g. David Sedaris (for this week's mild obsession) certainly talks how he writes, but which came first? Conundrums.

[vickyvicarious]

I won't quote all of it because it's quite long, but I find Victor's speech on September 5 very interesting. He essentially takes the sailors to task for cowardice, encouraging them to be brave and continue on with Walton's quest to the north. Here's just the last bit:

"Why, that requires not this preparation; ye need not have come thus far, and dragged your captain to the shame of a defeat, merely to prove yourselves cowards. Oh! be men, or be more than men. Be steady to your purposes, and firm as a rock. This ice is not made of such stuff as your hearts might be; it is mutable, cannot withstand you, if you say that it shall not. Do not return to your families with the stigma of disgrace marked on your brows. Return as heroes who have fought and conquered, and who know not what it is to turn their backs on the foe."

There are of course a couple of different reasons for this. In the moment, he defuses a very tense moment and opens up a chance for Walton to make a promise to listen if they decide not to commit to continuing. If he didn't step in and shame the sailors into taking a few more days to think things over, they may have gotten angry and committed to mutiny. Similarly, Walton getting to delay the decision to turn back by a couple of days might have been necessary; he may have reacted poorly without that delay, angering them further.

It's also important to bear in mind that Victor has a self-interested reason for encouraging them to continue: if they turn back he will lose his chance to follow the Creature further. I mean, he said he'd be willing to leave the ship in that case, but it's already highly doubtful he will live even with Walton's dedicated care; there would be zero chance of achieving his goal if he went off on his own again. So Victor is helping both his friend and himself, here. And that's not even getting into how he may be seeing his past self in them and possibly encouraging them to be more brave/successful than he was all of the times when he was unable to rouse himself from his grief/depression and destroy the Creature before more people were murdered. (Setting aside the morality or even practicability of the action, Victor certainly would have wished he'd done it.)

But it made me realize for the first time that the very premise of the story as a cautionary tale... doesn't really work? Or at least not in any straightforward way. That had been how I remembered it, but there's more nuance than that. Even if you think, well, Victor lapsed back into vengeful thoughts but later repented of them, or whatever. Right before death, Victor says this:

"Farewell, Walton! Seek happiness in tranquillity, and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries. Yet why do I say this? I have myself been blasted in these hopes, yet another may succeed."

In his last words, Victor warns Walton not to be too ambitious, fulfilling the promise of his story as a cautionary tale. And then he takes it back, or at least wonders if he has any right to say not to try. Maybe he's just considering an except in Walton's ambitions (as more clear-cut "good" and with less possibility of harm than his own), or maybe he thinks that even his own initial ideas could be successful in other circumstances. If someone else were to make a Creature and treat them with kindness and understanding, after all...

It brings us back to this kind of uncertainty, where on the one hand Victor and the Creature both are adamant that the secret of his creation will never get passed on, that he is a demon beyond all saving. But Victor seems to possibly wonder in his last moments if someone else could do better, and the Creature is pretty clear that he was initially good: "My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy; and, when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture." Circumstances, rather than innate evil, are what led to this terrible result.

And similarly, Walton's journey ends with the same kind of failure to commit to a single interpretation. On the one hand, he does listen to sense and honor his word. He turns back for home, abandoning his lofty ambitions, and thus putting an end to the danger those ambitions caused. (After all, while there weren't any murders, Walton's efforts had a death count as well.) He was able to take the lesson and stop things before it was too late.

But on the other hand, he wasn't at all happy about it. He isn't 'seeking happiness in tranquility' at the end, he is returning home in shame. For all that he is heading back to society, Walton is alone now, having lost the friend he'd so longed for. He says that "my mind is overshadowed by a cloud of disappointment." And while he is open to being consoled upon his return, he's still bitterly disappointed. He's lost years of effort without result and seems decidedly upset about that. In fact, his curiosity with regards to the Creature doesn't seem to have been checked by Victor's warnings either - he asks about how he was made, and also is motivated to talk to him instead of attacking him by curiosity as much as compassion. So there again is a mix of possible good/bad results of this kind of curiosity.

I honestly don't know that Walton has 'seen the error of his ways' in any larger sense - he might even try the voyage again, eventually. But then again, the narrative is kind of ambivalent about whether that would be a bad thing. Sure, it cost lives... but (unlike the casualties of Victor and the Creature's enmity) they were people who willingly took that risk, and the ultimate goal being achieved isn't a particularly harmful one outside of that. So if Walton found a crew who were as dedicated as he, as willing to risk their own lives, and went on the journey again... would that really be so bad?

In the end, the questions remain unanswered.

[seyaryminamoto]

These latest chapters have been pure brilliance. Azula stealing Rei was also really funny. Azula should someday invent the Avatar world's version of Child Protective Services, I know its not quite the same thing here, but near enough. I'd fallen behind so reading all the latest chapies in two sittings was a pleasure. I even had to remember I had a legit account here, I almost messaged as an anon again. Well, now for one of my usual random questions. What's your top 5 favorite OCs to write?

X'D glad you've enjoyed the chaos! While Part 3 starts out in such a heavy way, I feel like it hits its stride pretty quickly (probably because I really didn't want to drag out the hopeless misery any longer than necessary...). Rei provided a wonderful change of pace in Azula's story, the impact she's had on Azula is always lots of fun to write, and the development of that bond never fails to make me happy. I went out of my way to make a meme about it, some time ago...

Azula creating a Child Protective Services system sounds like something no one in the world would imagine Azula would do, not even Azula herself... and yet it sounds like a legitimate possibility as things stand x'D

As for your question... favorite OCs? Ooh boy...

Well, I think Rei would be #1 right now. She's just gold without even knowing it. I don't know how she won over my heart as fast as she did, but she just did. That's her secret superpower, I suspect. She's a really good remedy for all the hardships we've been dealing with, and giving Azula another unique bond with a character is always great <3

Xin Long is probably #2, though writing him as of late makes my heart hurt for obvious reasons... but he was always crazy fun to write. Writing his draconic monologues cracked me up every time, he's wonderfully chaotic and straightforward, writing this dork was always gratifying.

Might be sad that he'd be so low, but our #3 is Rui Shi... oh, Rui Shi. Don't we all miss our good man Rui Shi. *wipes tear*

I'll bestow #4 to Kino and I hope he takes the spot with pride, he's really fun to write too. It can be tricky sometimes to choose what to do with him, I really don't want Kino to feel redundant, or too comic relief, but we'll give him more chances to shine in the future for sure. He's great at easing up many heavy atmospheres, gotta love our reckless Fire Nation army deserter for that.

... I'm gonna go on an impulsive one right now and give an answer that might sound really weird right now to close up my top 5: my #5 is Anorak. Yep. That's who. Why? I think it will become clear relatively soon... though not too soon. To be 100% honest, I didn't even think I'd care about this character remotely as much as I've grown to... but a plot twist I devised for him recently has changed things, big time. I have a surprisingly large soft spot in my heart for this guy, crazy as it might be.

As for runner-ups... I feel bad for leaving him out of a top 5, but Renkai probably would have been right after Anorak, at least! The Priestess of the Flames is also an important one to mention because, as much as she's not a character we've seen often... she's basically one of my old OCs from my original stories, repurposed for Gladiator xD so I have a soft spot for her too and always enjoy writing her. I also reeeeally love Mei Xun, she's a very interesting character to work with. Naturally, all of Azula's guards deserve credit here, they're such a loveable group even though I didn't really set out with the intent of making them loveable x'D Seethus is also quite interesting to write, but unfortunately Ozai isn't giving him enough material to work with lately. More things to begrudge him for, I guess (?)

Anyway, hope that's a decent list :D

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Do you think Harry and his team have been navigating this stage of his career well? I feel like there have been some miscalculations in terms of publicity/public image but I can’t quite put my finger on it. It just feels like the few big press events / interviews / editorials could have been handled much better to give less of an impression of “jack of all trades, master of none”…

I have always been very frustrated with the way fandom approach the question about whether members of their teams do a good job.

It is impossible to know whether someone is doing a good job without knowing their aims and their limitations. You might look at something someone has done and say 'oh that's terrible', but not known that they had an hour to do something that would normally take five and in fact it would show their skill.

And that general principle becomes heaps more complicated when you're assessing something as broad as managing Harry's career.

For starters, it does sort of depend what's going on behind the scenes. If Harry is often an absolute asshole to people he meets - then his team is doing a stellar job of hiding that. If Nathan Hubbard is right and there are lots of women upset with how Harry has treated them, then his team are doing an amazing job. I don't think either of those are true, but there might be aspects of Harry's life that they're doing a very good job of hiding from us and the definition of them doing a good job is that we don't know we're doing that.

We also don't know what Harry wants and doesn't want. To give an example, which is very close to what I think is true, if Harry wants to play stadiums, keep his current ambiguity about his sexuality, and also play Tom in My Policeman - then it's not like his team can just magic their way out of that set of contradictions with their powers.

In addition, the goals of Harry's team are very different from the goals of fans. As It Was broke records. Harry's album has spent most of the first six months in the top five in both the US and the UK he's selling out residencies. The fact that people are making fun of him is not the end of the world and does not need to be top priority for his team. It may cause fans distress when people say mean things about Harry, but it's not a team's job to make sure that everyone only says nice things about a client.

I will answer the question in a second, but first I do want to address one last assumption I feel is in your post - when it comes to individual events - a celebrity and their team don't have complete control. Would it be easier for Harry if he hadn't made completely inaccurate comments about gay sex in movies? Probably, but people say things and journalists write them down. Was Venice a cluster fuck? Sure, but there were so many moving parts, so much surveillance, and so much bad faith reading that nobody is going strategise the way out.

So that's all reasons why I don't think it's that useful to try and evaluate their teams in that sort of straightforward way. I'm much more interested in asking why, then deciding whether they're good or bad. If I think I can see what motivates a particular set of decision, or why it might work, I'll talk about that. But I'm never going to have enough information to say this is a bad strategy. The most I'm ever going to say is that something doesn't make sense.

Anyway having said all that I'll try and answer your question. I think it's worth separating two things - the first is that some people are enjoying dunking on Harry on twitter. That is pretty inevitable and not that important. As big as he is it was that sort of reaction is inevitable. (I also think it's worth being very clear sighted about what has changed and what hasn't. I saw somoene say that Harry used to be the critics darling and now people are making fun of him. And then post an article saying exactly the same things critics have been saying about Harry since he released his first album)

The other question is have the contradictions got too much? In the current environment, is the way he's trying to engage with queerness and keep his fantasy boyfriend issue sustainable. That's far more important that people being mean about him on twitter, because it'll affect ticket sales. I think it does get harder and harder to exist in the space he's in, but I don't know if anyone will be able to predict when it becomes impossible, before it becomes impossible.