#And you are mc and I'm just gonna assume you're into it if you read these stories

[bonny-kookoo]

I'm really curious about what happened to tongue tied mc before she was with the boys. Can we get a glimpse of her past like maybe when she was coming to the hynr building or just in general when she was in a shelter?

Obvious Warnings for angst.

---

Sometimes, you think of yourself as a ghost.

No one really looks at you, no one talks to you because you can't hold a proper conversation, and so no one bothers to really try and interact with you. It's the same right now, as your caretaker leads you along with her and the new, unfamiliar people talking up front. They're talking about you- but it's like you're not even there.

"Does she need any safety measures or anything? We only have category two hybrids here, that's why I'm asking." A more older man asks, and your caretaker shakes her head.

"We initially put her at more of a category three anyways, but then in her last home things went a little wrong- you know how it goes-, so now most of her issues stem from past brain injury more or less." She clarifies, and the man nods.

"Alright so she can stay on her own?" He only wants to know, and your caretaker nods.

"Mostly." She laughs. "Its not like she can complain, so we just assume, really. But she rarely ever gets hurt; and if she does, she learns pretty quickly not to do it again." She seems to joke, and everyone laughs.

Except you. Because you don't think it's all that funny.

"Great, alright! I mean, I don't know if she can read so I didn't buy anything for her to I don't know.. occupy herself with, but I guess we might buy something in the future." The man shrugs, opening the door to a standard furnished small apartment. It looks like you; mostly white, no color, bland and lifeless.

Like a ghost.

"I mean, we can't tell either, so I'm not sure about that." The lady holding your hand explains. "Alright! You've signed everything, all is approved- I guess that's done then!" She says, almost a bit too happy, as she puts your hand and backpack into a younger woman's hands. "Now don't cause any trouble alright?" Your caretaker tells you, and only now does it really dawn on you.

You're going today. You're leaving today. You're staying here, right now.

And while no, the carecenter wasn't a great place to live, it's still familiar and comforting and somewhat home- you don't want to stay here, not today, not like this- but it's clear that it's not your choice.

Because it never is.

"No no don't cry now- keep a good hold of her alright darling? She's got a tendency to run off, and the last time she did- well, you see the results for yourself." Your former caretaker tells the young woman almost as if shes joking, before she leaves.

No amount of whining, crying or fighting against the new woman's hand is gonna help, and you know that.

But as a hybrid, you can't help your behavior, you can't help but at least try, at least somehow let the people around you know that you do not agree with this because they don't listen to anything else you do. They never listen.

Only when you're doing something bad- only then do they seem to see you.

And it shows, moments later- because as soon as you stop struggling, as soon as you accept your situation, the door to the apartment closes, electronic lock beeping to signal its now secured, all while you stand in the middle of the empty and cold apartment while rain patters against the windows. And weirdly enough, as you stand in the silent living room, no one around to look at you or notice you, you only ask yourself one thing;

Is this truly that much different from where you came from anyways?

[unhingedlesbear]

Okay fuck it yeah I'm making the post idc abt backlash. First of all the hidden agenda fandom doesn't exist anymore so whos even gonna have an issue. But if you do feel called out um. Maybe thats ur problem idk bc I'm not aiming at anyone in particular here.

Anyway long ass ramble abt the tiny dead Hidden Agenda fandom below the cut

This is mainly something I noticed looking through the very limited amount of Hidden Agenda fics on ao3, but it's VERY obvious on there. The vast majority of fics on there are centered on Adam and Finn, which I can understand more since they have an interesting backstory and are well written characters, sure. But then you look at the others and the other characters that are centered are... Riggs and Calvary?

In the actual game ofc Becky and Felicity are the main characters. Both of them not only are pretty objectively interesting characters on their own, and even more so together. On top of this they have the most shipping potential of any two characters in that game, it's literally basically canon, it's not even subtext atp it's literally just text. NO other two characters have that amount of chemistry in the game, and yet there is a noticeable lack of gravey fics in that tag. And I'll stress again bc I know how defensive people got last time I made this kind of observation, I'm not pointing fingers or calling anyone misogynistic/racist/homophobic BUT. but. When the two mcs are women, one of which is poc, and they're implied to be lesbians, and they get sidelined by the fandom despite being the focuses of the game... it's kinda hard not to assume there's some kind of bias there.

And on another point, it's similar when it comes to supporting characters too. In a way I'm disappointed but absolutely not surprised that Adam/Finn is prioritized in fan works over Becky/Felicity, but when characters like Riggs and Calvary are also given more attention than them it becomes way more suspicious to me. Riggs is a fine character, I like him enough and I can see why others might like him more, but wbk he doesn't really have all that much relevance. Calvary is even more confusing bc he basically JUST exists to be a creepy misogynistic asshole and as unlikeable as possible. Thankfully I haven't seen him getting a lot of attention but the fact that I've seen him getting any that isn't entirely negative is... hm...

Now there ARE in fact male characters that can be both relevant and likeable: Tom and Karl. (I talk shit abt Karl bc it's a joke I started with friends, I'm gonna drop that for this post obv bc we're being fr here) these two are pretty obviously more relevant than Riggs or Calvary, they're literally Becky's partners (Tom can even replace Riggs' entire role lmao, and if he's replaced himself it's by Karl) and I'd say they're also both likeable characters on their own too. And yet I'm pretty sure I found maybe one??? fic with them in it? Probably should have mentioned this earlier but yeah, they're both poc.

So like... I feel like it all comes down to what Becky/Felicity/Tom/Karl have in common and then what Adam/Finn/Riggs/Calvary have in common. It strikes me as questionable. But like maybe I'm just an annoying snowflake though idk🤷‍♀️ /s

This turned into more of a ramble than anything and I'm aware i'm also yelling into a void bc I'm posting entirely for a dead fandom that barely existed to begin with, but tbh this stuff applies to most if not all larger fandoms as well, i'm just looking at it from what I've seen in the remnants of the HA fandom. Again I am not attacking anyone here, I am making observations. If you're like mad or something I'm just gonna assume you didn't even read the whole post. Yes ur allowed to like characters, but I am also allowed to address what I've noticed about what characters seem to be more liked than others.

[princessasmosprincess]

Charmed, I'm Sure

Chapter 25

Summary: No human has ever avoided Asmodeus's charm. Except for you.

Pairing: Asmodeus x GN Reader/MC

Genre: Drama, angst, a bit of fluff.

Warnings: Canon-typical violence in this chapter. There's an old skeleton I briefly describe at one point so death implied but not of any named or important characters.

***

Author's note: Charmed is officially one year old today and I just wanted to thank everyone who has read it so far. It's been really fun to write and show how much I love Asmo. I've really enjoyed reading all the feedback I've gotten and every comment on my fic no matter how short is so precious to me. Hopefully the story will be finished soon, there's not that much left to go!

***

Levi, Mammon, and Beel came barreling through one of the corridors, screaming.

“OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN IT'S GONNA EAT US! LIKE, FOR REAL!” Mammon cried.

The huge, teal snake was hot on his heels, hissing angrily, its hood expanded on either side of its head to appear even bigger. Like a giant cobra. It easily slithered over the vines on the floor, navigating them quickly and avoiding holes in the tile while still seeking its target. It seemed to know this area very well.

“Gah...it's giant. And disgusting!” Asmo wrinkled his nose. “Ugh, I hate having to look at unattractive things.” He released you, the snake’s presence was a real turn-off. Maybe there would be time to pick up where he left off later. Assuming everyone made it out of the labyrinth alive.

“Hey, how 'bout you stop talkin' and HEEEEEELP!”

“I am a fan of eating, but l'm not interested in being eaten.” Beel dodged the snake’s fangs.

“As if we didn't already have enough problems as it is, they had to go and bring us another one.” Solomon shook his head. “Well, we'd better get out of here.”

“Get out of here and go where, exactly?!” Levi nearly tripped over a vine as he scrambled out of the way.

“Just shut up and follow me.” Solomon grabbed your wrist and started running down one of the corridors without waiting for the others.

These halls looked nearly identical to the ones you came from and the further you went, the more you really hoped Solomon hadn't somehow led the group in a circle. You tried to take note of certain identifying features as you went: a statue over here, ancient runes left by some poor wandering prisoner over there, empty chrysalises from vampiric butterflies littering the ceiling, anything to tell the passages apart.

Several minutes of running at top speed left you and Solomon out of breath. The demons behind you seemed a little better off, although Levi was trailing behind quite a bit. The snake wasn't that far behind him, hissing and thrashing its tail as it maneuvered expertly through the labyrinth.

Solomon pressed forward, taking a few quick, sharp turns before pulling you into a narrow chamber that branched off to the right so the two of you could catch your breath. The entrance was small, no bigger than an average doorway, too small for the snake to pass through. Probably.

The walls were lined with prison cell doors, a demon skeleton, half crumbled with age, sat in one of the cells. Its horned skull grinned at you with its somehow still white fangs and a blank stare and you tried to avert your eyes.

“Looks like we managed to lose it somehow.” Asmo leaned against one of the cell doors and pulled out his compact mirror, trying to fix his mussed hair under the low light.

“Yeah, but what're we s'posed to do now, huh? You expect us to hide here forever?” said Mammon. He had placed himself as far away from the entrance and the demon skeleton as possible.

“You're the one who woke that snake up, Mammon. You don't get to complain.” Beel grunted, pushing his sweaty hair back from his forehead. His hands were shaking as he slid to the floor, his back against the wall. Normally one of the strongest, his hunger was apparent in his physical symptoms.

“Hey, I didn't wake it up! I just saw a snakeskin lyin' on the ground and figured I'd sell it for a pretty nice sum!” Mammon protested. “But when I tried to grab it to take it with me, it turned out there was still a snake inside! That's when that monster suddenly came after us, all mad 'n stuff…”

“He's NOT a monster.” Levi dropped to his knees in exhaustion next to Beel, “He's Henry 1.0.”

Asmo snapped the compact mirror shut, his eyes wide, “What?”

“Henry...?” said Mammon, “Wait, you mean THAT Henry?!”

“Are you sure?” Beel asked.

Levi clutched his side, panting from the strain of all that running. “I know Henry when I see him. And that is Henry, no doubt about it. I can't believe I'd find him down here of all places.”

“Henry?” You asked. “What are you talking about?” The only Henrys you knew were the fictional one from TSL and Levi’s tiny goldfish back at the House of Lamentation.

“He's talking about the pet snake he used to have.” Said Beel. “Every time Levi gets a new pet, he names it Henry.”

“Um… I wanna say you're on your fourth Henry at this point, right?” Asmo chimed in.

“No, you're WAY off. I'm currently keeping Henry 2.0.” Levi adamantly corrected. “I kept Henry 1.0 in his glass case and took really good care of him, but one day he disappeared. How many years has it been, I wonder?”

So the snake chasing you had once been Levi’s pet. You suppressed a laugh, imagining Henry 2.0 somehow escaping unbeknownst to Levi and becoming a whale-sized goldfish. That scenario didn't seem that unlikely for the Devildom.

“I don't believe it. I never thought I'd see him again…” Levi was tearing up, “But here he is, alive and well-and he's gotten so BIG! Oh, it's such a relief. I'm so glad he's all right.”

“Well I sure ain't!” Mammon said.

“Anyway, I at least managed to snap a selfie with him as we were running away. Here, check it out!” Levi excitedly showed you the selfie on his now cracked D.D.D. screen, the motion blurred picture showed Levi’s proud smile as Henry brandished his fangs mid-hiss, only a few feet behind him in pursuit.

Solomon spoke up next, “If he used to be your pet, do you think there's some way to pacify him?”

“Nope, no way.” Levi frowned. “He looked like he'd forgotten me completely.”

“Well yes, I'd say so, considering he just tried to eat you…” Asmo gave him a pat on the shoulder for condolences.

“We should attack it.” Beel’s dark rimmed eyes flashed red for a moment, “We should take that thing down, then grill it up and eat it. I'm hungry.”

Levi grabbed Beel’s arm, “No! I won't let you hurt Henry 1.0! And he's NOT FOOD!” He was prepared to restrain his younger brother if need be.

“Okay then, what SHOULD we do? If we don't do somethin' about that snake, we're never gonna get outta here.” Mammon pointed to the entrance. Henry was slithering back and forth in the hall as if pacing the floor, his tongue flickering to taste the air. He was searching.

“Violence isn't the answer.” You said, lowering your voice and giving Levi a reassuring glance.

“Thank you.” said Levi, matching your volume. “MC is the only person making sense right now.”

Solomon peeked out the doorway, “We don't necessarily need to hurt Henry to get out of here. There's another strategy we could try.”

Asmo clung to Solomon’s arm, resting his head on the sorcerer’s shoulder to fawn over him, “Oh Solomon, I knew you'd come up with something! Not only are you good-looking, you're smart, too.” He tapped him on the nose.

“Thanks,” Solomon put his hands on Asmo’s shoulders, moving him back an arm’s length, a calculating look in his eye, “Alright, I'll be counting on you to make this work, Asmodeus.”

“Huh? ...Me?” Asmo looked incredulous.

“Ah, I see what he's thinkin! While that snake is chewin' on Asmo, the rest of us can make our escape!” said Mammon.

Asmo scoffed. “Uh, no. That should be YOUR job, Mammon. As the stupidest one among us, it's only right.”

“Oh no, nuh-uh!” said Levi, “No feeding Mammon to Henry 1.0! He'll get a tummy ache!”

“HEY! You guys are bein' REAL RUDE, ya know that?!” said Mammon.

“Are you thinking of using Asmo to mesmerize the snake?” Beel asked.

“Exactly.” said Solomon, “We should make use of Asmodeus's natural charm. If he can manage to tame Henry and win him over, then maybe he'd be willing to show us the way out of the labyrinth.”

Asmo thought for a moment. It did seem doable. And if he succeeded he was sure to get a lot of praise, hopefully from you.

From you? Why would he need or want praise from you? He brushed his hands against his pants as if trying to push that thought away. You and your praise didn't matter to him.

He still needed to get out of this labyrinth, though.

“Ah, okay...yes. Well, I suppose I could do that.” He sighed languidly, “You know, it really should be illegal to be so stunningly beautiful that you can even charm a snake. I'm so attractive sometimes I scare even myself.”

“Yikes.”

“Ah, so you find it scary too, Beel?” Asmo smiled, “I mean, I'm not surprised.”

“No, I said that because I think he just spotted us... Henry, I mean.”

The snake was flickering his tongue in the air right outside the doorway, his size preventing him from entering. He hissed and bobbed his head, trying to find another way in.

“Right! I'II begin by using my magic to amplify Asmodeus's powers.” Solomon rolled back his cuffs. “Then Asmo, you mesmerize Henry. The amplification process is going to take a bit of time. So Mammon,”

Asmo smirked, knowing exactly what would come next.

“Me?” Mammon protested, knowing exactly where this was going, “Why’s it gotta be me? Why can't one a’ them go?” He pointed over to Levi and Beel who both appeared to be at death’s door. There was no way either of them could safely follow through with the plan in the state they were in.

Solomon continued speaking, ignoring the ridiculous suggestion, “And MC, you two distract Henry in the meantime.”

Asmo’s eyes darted to you, his stomach flipped as Solomon said your name. “Wait,” he said.

“Something the matter?” Solomon quirked an eyebrow.

Asmo didn't know what to say. The idea of you facing Levi’s disgusting snake really bothered him. Mammon was a demon and could handle himself, but you were only human. You could get hurt. He looked down at his own clasped hands, “Um… I don’t–”

“Solomon,” you cut him off as the giant snake slithered closer to your hiding spot. “Will my bracelet protect me and Mammon from Henry?”

Solomon crossed his arms, letting out a breath in a whoosh. “I don’t know. The spell I cast on it was relatively simple so it’s hard to tell with a creature of Henry’s size.”

You took Mammon’s hand, lacing your fingers with his as he blushed and stammered, “Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

You gave a confident smile, winking over your shoulder at Asmo.

Asmo’s jaw dropped. What a tease. Where did this MC come from? Surely this wasn't the timid human who had been living with his family for the past few months. There was such determination in your eyes. Maybe your reaction to seeing the Demon King’s portrait earlier wasn't naïveté but actual fearlessness. Asmo felt his heart rate quicken. That was kind of attractive.

“We have to work quickly before he figures out a way in,” said Solomon, snapping Asmo out of his own thoughts.

“Right,” You tossed a loose stone past Henry and it clattered on the floor on the other side of the corridor. Henry turned toward the sound and slithered away to investigate. You had your opening. “Come on, Mammon.”

“HEEEEY! What's the big idea pushin' me right out into its path?! I mean, come on!” Mammon complained loudly as you pushed him out of the comfort of your hiding place. His voice alerted Henry to your presence. The snake began to charge after you.

So reckless. You’d gone out there without a plan beyond “distract Henry.” Asmo bit his lip, frustration building inside him. He had the urge to pull you back into the safety of the cell block. When this was all over he swore he would lecture you like he had before, it didn't matter if the others were around. And if you cried this time he would just have to take you in his arms and–

“Okay, Asmo, I take it you're ready?” Solomon cast his hands out in front of him.

Asmo tore his eyes from you and Mammon running from the snake. He took a deep breath, he really needed to focus, now more than ever. Everything was riding on him. He had to at least do this for you, “Yep, go right ahead.”

“WHATEVER! JUST DO IT ALREADY!” Mammon yelped, swerving and darting from the snake’s fangs. The two of you were doing your best to keep Henry close enough to the center of the hall for Asmo to be able to work his magic when the time came.

You grimaced as Mammon squeezed your hand, pressing on the developing bruises Asmo had left earlier. You were yanked behind him as little more than a rag doll, barely having time to jump out of the way each time Henry struck.

Solomon spoke the incantation, “Denizens of the darkness, awaken! You who are born of shadow, hear me! I am the one called Solomon. I call upon you now to lend your power to Asmodeus, Avatar of Lust!”

Solomon’s magic warmed Asmo from the inside out. It was a familiar, exhilarating feeling that washed over him, one he’d grown to love over the centuries with his connection to the sorcerer. “Ooh yes, I LIKE this! I'm SO turned on right now!” The magic coursing through him really got his blood pumping. Sometimes a pact could be draining, but other times, like when he and Solomon were in sync with their goals, it felt so good!

“AAAAAH! HERE IT COMES HERE IT COMES HERE IT COMES!” Mammon dodged Henry one last time, pulling you against his chest in an attempt to shield himself from the snake. Unfortunately it seemed like your bracelet was doing very little to deter the creature. Henry rose to tower above you, hissing loudly.

You grasped at Mammon’s arms which were so tightly wrapped around you, and you braced yourself.

Asmo stepped out into the hall directly in front of you, his eyes shining with rose colored sparkles as he locked his gaze on the snake, “That's right, Henry. Look me in the eyes.” He cooed.

Henry stopped in his tracks, his tongue flicking out once.

“...Yes, that's a good boy.”

You peered over Asmo’s shoulder as the charm took hold, the snake’s eyes glowing that same shade of pink. Asmo continued speaking low, enticing whisperings to the snake who was completely enraptured.

After a moment, Henry began to hiss as if responding to Asmo.

“What's that now?” Asmo grinned, looking back at you over his shoulder before turning to Henry again. “Well, how about that. He says he'll show us the way out of the labyrinth!”

Asmo listened carefully as Henry let out a series of hisses, pointing his tail from time to time like one might do with their hands when describing directions of how to get somewhere. After a few minutes he stopped, tilting his head to indicate he was finished.

“You got all that, Solomon?” Asmo asked.

Solomon nodded. “Nice job, Asmo!”

“Well, really, did you expect anything less of me?” He preened.

Levi ran out into the corridor to fuss over his pet like a parent welcoming his long lost child home, his breathing finally returned to normal. “My Henry!”

Asmo got Henry to lower his head so Levi could give him a kiss between his eyes.

“How long do we have before the charm wears off?” Beel asked as he stood shakily. Henry stayed in place, obedient and still mesmerized.

Asmo tapped his chin with his finger. “Well for a human it usually lasts for a few days.” His eyes flickered over you briefly. “For a demon it can be a few hours. Especially lower level demons, they are so easy!”

“Henry ain't a demon, though.” Mammon pointed out.

“Yes, that’s right,” said Asmo. “Henry is a creature, an animal. Unintelligent. His brain isn't as developed as even a lowly human.”

“Hey!” Levi said, not sure if he felt insulted for you as a human, or for Henry.

Asmo continued musing. “But he’s a creature in possession of some magic, that’s clear from his size, most snakes even here in the Devildom won’t get that big… You know, I’m not sure. It could last months, it could last a few minutes.” Asmo giggled. “So we better get moving in case he wakes up!”

Asmo and Solomon led the way down the dark, twisting corridors, keeping at a fast clip as they went even further into the labyrinth. The vines here were beginning to thin out.

Solomon yanked Asmo’s arm as he went to make a wrong turn.

“What was that about?” Asmo yelped in pain. “Didn't Henry say ‘Sss ssss ss’? That means ‘turn left at the Minotaur statue.”

“Wrong dialect, that would be correct in sea snake but Henry is a land snake. He said go right.”

At the next turn, the hall appeared to be better maintained. It was brighter, with more torchlight, and the cobblestones floor was even and flat. The walls were decorated with mosaics of Devildom beasts and demons, similar to the one on the floor of that large chamber with the old chandelier, but there were no missing tiles here.

“He said there would be a gate…” Solomon said, “Right there!”

The large wrought iron gate was flanked by two ornate lanterns, the flames burning brightly with apparent magic. The circle of light illuminated what looked like some sort of cellar, with rows of shelves full of Demonus and jars of pickled foods and preserves. The gate was locked with a padlock, a magical signature emanating from it.

“Henry said this cellar is right under the castle.” Solomon touched the padlock and then recoiled as its magic shocked him. “We should call someone and let them know we’re down here.”

Asmo pulled out his D.D.D., frowning when he saw the screen. “There’s no service.” He held his phone up to see if he could find a signal.

Levi and Beel did the same.

“Nothing,” said Beel. He gazed longingly through the bars.

A far off rumbling sounded deep in the labyrinth in the direction your group had just come from.

“Is that–” you began.

“Henry just woke up,” Asmo confirmed.

“We ain’t got time to wait for someone to come down here.” Mammon slid a credit card sized, enchanted lockpicking set from his wallet and knelt on the floor in front of the gate. “Let’s hope whatever locking spell Barbatos has on this gate ain’t too strong.”

Mammon got to work unlocking the gate. Emerald green sparks flashed from the keyhole but as long as he touched the padlock only with the tools, he avoided getting shocked.

The rumbling was progressively getting louder, it seemed that Henry was out for revenge, angry that his prey had escaped him.

“How much longer?” Levi asked urgently.

“I’ve almost— AHH!” Mammon dropped the tension wrench, his hand bumping into the padlock and sending a shock up his arm with more green sparks. He fumbled for the tool and began again, “Ain't a lock out there that’s a match for The Great Mammon.” He said, trying to hype himself up.

Henry's shadow stretched across the wall in the torchlight, coming into sharp focus before he could be seen. He was close.

“Come on!” Asmo shook Mammon’s shoulder, “He’s almost here.”

“Will ya stop that?” Mammon shrugged off his brother's hand, jiggling the lock as he doubled his speed.

The lock dropped to the floor and the gate swung open just as Henry rounded the corner, hissing loudly as he spotted you, Solomon, and the demons.

“Everybody in!” Mammon pushed you through first, and letting everyone else go before him. He slammed the gate shut as Henry lunged at his heels.

You passed through the rows of shelves. Everything was meticulously organized, from the Demonus categorized by millennia to the Devildom root vegetables lining the back wall and the jars of preserved goods with their carefully written labels lined up by type in the middle.

Asmo swiped a jar of Barbatos’ homemade blue rose crystal pickles from one of the shelves and handed it to Beel.

“Thanks,” Beel said, opening it right away.

“I’m proud of you for keeping it together, hon,” said Asmo.

The cellar was dark with no torches to light the way but then you spotted the staircase with a single door at the top. “There it is!” You could practically taste your freedom.

Despite being the last one to go through the gate, Mammon was the first up the stairs. He frantically banged on the door. “Someone let us out!”

“Please!”

“Help us!”

The cellar door opened and everyone tumbled onto the floor of the castle’s kitchen where several Little D’s were preparing dinner.

“Welcome back.” said Barbatos.

***

Cross-posted on AO3

[spoops-screams]

| MC who can cook but acts a complete wreak in the kitchen

Character(s): Diasomnia

TW: Food

Notes: Gender neutral MC || I mentioned that I was gonna write this ages ago and here it finally is! It's honestly basically just a summary of me in the kitchen lmao || It's the middle of August and I'm going to click a random date and time and queue this to pretend that I have some vague semblance of motivation or something or other so have fun whenever you read this <3

They are all absolutely elated when you come over to the dorm with the exception of Sebek who has a couple words to say to you but even he starts to enjoy having you around when you offer to cook as a thank you for them having you over

Almost anything beat Lilia's cooking and your offer gave them an easy ticket to get out of having to eat his disasters

Their trust in you goes up by a bit when you decline anyone who asks if you'd like their help. Hopefully that means to them that you know your way well enough around the kitchen that you don't want anyone else messing up your area

Aaaaand all of that trust flies right out of the window the moment that the resident fae hear you mumbling in the kitchen about having no idea what anything is

"Hell is this?" followed by the sound of you smelling it and then announcing, without a single care for the state of the food "Screw it, in it goes. Uuuuuh... How much should I put? Lemme taste... Ah yes... tastes like powder. Yeah, no idea."

At least Lilia makes an effort to sound like he knows what he's doing because he really does think that he's okay at least in the kitchen. You, however, sound like you are actively attempting to kill them. Unintentionally but it's all the same when they hear you do this a couple more times

You're mumbling to yourself all the while and eventually they send Malleus in to check on you rather than Sebek who seems about ready to drag you out of the kitchen by your feet to check on you

It looks a complete wreck when he walks in with everything strewn everywhere though there's a surprising lack of spillages of any ingredients and you're in the process of cleaning up

He's mildly terrified when you say that you're cleaning up while the food cooks over the fire since you have about half an hour

They're all getting mentally, emotionally and physically prepared to have to stomach something equally as bad as Lilia's cooking at the time that you give and the fact that the fire is on its highest heat while you're sitting with them after cleaning without a care in the world until you remember the food is on the fire and sprint to the kitchen with an "oh shit-"

They're too polite to leave and too polite to cook something in place of what you've just spent so much time cooking so they're fully prepared to sit and endure it even if Sebek is ready to burst your ear drums the moment that he finds anything wrong with what he assumes is your wreck of a meal

They - minus Lilia - don't think they've ever felt so relieved to see normal looking food. They're genuinely so surprised that you haven't just brought out a lump of ash on a tray not to mention the smell

The relief might just make them ascend along side the realisation that it tastes amazing as well

Whether or not they let you cook again, however, fully depends on how capable they are of sitting though a couple more almost heart attacks while hearing you cook before they get used to it and realise that that's just how you cook

Do not repost or claim. Only reblog 💕

[strawberry-cowmilk]

Can i uh request for the brothers and the side characs for mc thats like atsushi from bsd? Btw if u dont know that its fine and just do a detective mc. Love your works btw and one of the best ive read!

Hello anon! I have only watched one season of bsd so far, so I don't know how accurate my portrayal of an Atsushi-like character will be, but I'll try my best.

I'm happy to hear you enjoy my work, I hope this one will be to your liking as well!

the obey me cast with a detective mc

-> brothers and side characters

-> mc is based on atsushi nakajima from bungo stray dogs

a/n: since luke is gonna be here, this will be a non-romantic scenario

mc's gender is not mentioned, not proof read

content warnings: mild people pleasing mentions (not explicitly)

-----

Lucifer:

he's happy you are actually able to figure out who did something

the broken vase on the floor? yes, you knew who did it

you do ask lucifer to go a little softer on his brothers when punishing them

sometimes, when he is working late in his office, you'll bring him some coffee and snacks

you do encourage him to drop work and get rest, but he, as the avatar of pride, doesn't quite listen to your advice

Mammon

'you're a detective? can ya tell me smart ways to cheat at poker, then?'

you think such questions mammon asks you are funny yet worrisome

you actually do end up giving him some tips to cheat in casinos, but you also tell the demon the cheating is a terrible idea in the first place

sometimes, you help mammon out when he is in severe debt and needs to pay many witches back, he really appreciates your help

Leviathan

there's definitely a bungo stray dogs rip-off in the devildom called bungo stray cats

levi will point out you're kind of like the main character in that anime, therefore he likes you

he will invite you to play detective games in his room, and will ask for your help when he's stuck on an especially difficult part

thanks to you, levi gets really high scores in these games

Satan

you two instantly bond

we all know about satan's detective novel addiction, so meeting a real detective is like a dream come true for him

whenever there's a 'case', like a broken coffee machine in the house, and you're asked to figure out who broke it, satan is happy to be your personal helper

having an assistant actually boosts your confidence in solving the case, so you're glad satan helps out

by the way, belphie broke the machine

Asmodeus

asmo will ask you to answer the weirdest mysteries for him

mysteries like who stole his expensive bath bomb while he was in the kitchen at 12:36pm 50 years ago

honestly, you don't expect yourself to be able to find the culprit, but you still try to because you don't want to disappoint asmo

whenever you actually find the answer to such a mystery, he will cling onto you, praising and thanking you for your work, that's actually a nice feeling

Beelzebub

he thinks you're very sweet, he admires your personality

a whole new world opened up for beel the first time you let him try chazuke

now you and beel occasionally beg lucifer or diavolo to let you go to the human world for a while pure for the chazuke

food aside, beel believes your work must be exhausing at times

so, when you're hanging out, he makes sure you're at your most comfortable

Belphegor

belphie assumes you must be good at stealthy things, since you're a detective

so, he asks you to take sneaky pictures of lucifer, so him and satan can have a good laugh

you think it's a horrible idea, but you do it anyways because you want belphie to be happy

lucifer actually catches you and figures out what was going on

rip belphegor, he was a good man

Diavolo

let's just say he's happy you got selected for the exchange program

diavolo is very interested in your work and will ask you many questions about it

but, when he finds out detective work can be dangerous, he feels the need to assure your safety

before you go to your work, diavolo will stop you and hand you a hockey stick for self-defence

you thank him, it's nice of him to worry about your safety

Barbatos

you're the kind of person barbatos can really bond with

he will invite you for tea when he has a free day from his work

during your little tea parties, you mainly talk about work, but also about other things

barbatos is a very nice host, you feel the need to thank him for his efforts

so, you learn how to bake and make him a nice, fancy cake to bring to your next tea party

both of you, being very polite, keep throwing thank yous, it's nothings and no problems at each other

Simeon

he didn't really know exactly what kind of work detectives do, since he lives in the celestial realm and crime is very rare there, so there's no real need for detectives

once you tell stories from work, he is very invested in your words

so much, he writes a detective into the TSL franchise

but, when you write a book, you always have to do research on the topic aside from stories and simeon eventually finds out the work may be dangerous

so, as an angel, he decides to use his powers to protect you in silence

Luke

luke doesn't quite get what the concept of a detective is, as in he knows, but he's too innocent to understand they work with cruel criminals

like, he'll ask you where he can find the best apples for apple pie

you actually end up searching every store and market for the highest quality apples, and you bring luke some when you've found them

then, luke will insist you make the pie together

Solomon

the first thing you want to know is why his cooking is so terrible

turns out, that's a mystery nobody can solve

solomon will ask you to solve questions that can actually be solved by anyone

for example, he'll ask you why asmo is mad at him after he stole his bath bomb

jokes aside, he has great respect for you and the work you do

[vendetta-if]

Sneak Peek - Chapter 3 Part 1

Hey guys! As it's getting nearer to the public release of Chapter 3 Part 1, I decide to post a sneak peek of a scene here! I used to screenshot sections, but for this one, I'll be copy-pasting the sneak peek and I'll also try reducing as many coding as possible, so hopefully, it'll be easier to read. Since it'll be pretty long, I'll keep it under the cut.

This section I'm gonna show has a lot of variations all based on a number of variables and stats, so for this particular sneak peek, I'm going to assume MC is Sarcastic and more Emotional than Stoic, is on the shorter side, knows about Jackal, and is flirting extensively with both Ash and Rin.

Note: ${ash_he}, ${ash_him}, ${ash_his} are just all variables for Ash's pronoun, so whenever they pop up, just feel free to replace them with the proper ones in your head if you want to.

A click rings out as Ash finally steps out of ${ash_his} room as well. As you had suspected, ${ash_he} ends up not wearing ${ash_his} usual leather jacket, ripped jeans, and combat boots. Instead, ${ash_he}'s decked out in a more business casual style; ${ash_he}'s wearing a black turtleneck, an unbuttoned blazer, a pair of dark-colored jeans, and black leather gloves. 

It's not ${ash_his} usual style of clothing, and you're pretty sure this outfit must be a gift from Uncle Luka, since it's totally his style, even though you're not totally sure as to the reasoning behind it. But, all in all, Ash is looking fancy as hell right now.

$!{ash_he} seems to finally notice your staring and ${ash_he} blushes. "W—Well, can't exactly enter this fancy-schmancy establishment and blending in while looking like a thug," ${ash_he} stammers out a bit, trying to get ${ash_his} flustering under control.

"Far be it from me to criticize you." You grin, before reassuring ${ash_him}. "You look great, by the way. Really giving Uncle Luka a run for his money with how well you're pulling off his signature look."

Ash barks out a laugh at that. "Really? Maybe I should take a photo or something to commemorate this event," ${ash_he} jokes.

You perk up. "Huh, good idea. Let's do it." Ash contemplates on it for a second before complying, closing the distance between you in only a couple of steps. You pull out your phone and turn on the front camera as Ash gets behind you. $!{ash_he} bends down a bit so ${ash_his} whole face can get in frame for the shot as well, not only ${ash_his} outfit. You begin the countdown and then you grin lopsidedly while pointing at Ash before taking the picture.

You check the selfie you've just taken and show it to Ash as well. "Hey, not bad at all." Ash nods approvingly at ${ash_his} own outfit in the picture. 

"Yeah, I'm totally gonna send this to Uncle Luka right now." You open up your chat with Uncle Luka, attach the selfie, and then type: "Watch out, Uncle Luka, got yourself a stiff competition here! Be careful not to show this pic to your boyfriend!" You snicker as you press send.

Not even a minute has passed before your phone vibrates. You click the notification and read Uncle Luka's response.

"So… First, you flirted quite blatantly with Rin last night, and then tonight, you're going on a mission that doubles as a date with Ash? What a Casanova. Maybe one day you'll invite both for a date? You know what, you do you. I won't judge and I won't tell Rin about your little date, promise. No need to thank me 👍. Oh, and also, my boyfriend said that I still look better 😛."

You feel your heart beats faster at the thoughts of Rin, but then you take a quick glance at Ash and feel your cheeks warm up as well. What does this mean? Well, you're not ready to confront your confusing feelings, especially not before your first mission. You shake it off and groan internally before typing back a response: "Touché. You win this round."

Your phone vibrates again after a moment. "Stay safe, kiddo. Don't take unnecessary risks, alright? If you see something is wrong, just pull out and abandon the whole job. Nothing is worth your life. Promise me."

The worry in that text is so prevalent that you can feel it seeping through the screen. You send a final text: "Alright, Uncle Luka. Try not to worry too much, okay? Love you."

You put away your phone, but not before reading another response from your uncle. "Love you too, kiddo."

[yotome]

Chevalier's MC be like

(For those who aren't familiar with American cars, this is a Chevrolet Corvette. In other words … it's a Chevy. I am SO sorry. I could not resist the pun.)

I don't know if Chevalier will ever rise to a "favorite" of mine (if I had a nickel for every time he laughed dismissively, I'd be able to buy myself some fancy coffee), but I've come to the conclusion that it's actually his MC that drives me up the metaphorical wall. SPOILERRSSSS AHEAD if anyone still cares about that.

As a reader from North America, there's some amount of "otomeness" that I just accept, right? Oh, look, MC doesn't want to be affectionate in public, MC is innocent and adorable, MC is easy to read, etc. But when Chev's MC embraces that otome heroine stereotype hardcore, it gets way harder to handle.

I DESPERATELY wanted MC to challenge Chevalier far more than she does, whether that's in conversation or in action. The route would have been substantially stronger had she the ability to do so. Without being challenged either intellectually or situationally, Chevalier is both bored and boring. Since she can't mount an effective challenge to him, she's reduced to another plot mechanism to show him off - while simultaneously being incapable of doing just that. Because her understanding of him starts out at such a basic level ("It's a man … it's a beast … it's … a Chevalier!") and she rarely engages in challenging dialog with him beyond "DON'T KILL OMG", we have no means of learning about his character's depth. We just imagine it's there, because it must be. We get "I'll talk to them first because killing makes her sad", but we don't get any of the juicy thinking that underlies such changes.

She has some moments where she gets close (a.k.a. the ball and "aren't you being a little mean"), but when you're talking "love starved socially isolated man who has convinced himself that he is able to separate himself from his humanity and oh is also a killing machine", you've gotta be able to punch above your weight class. Calling him "mean" and holding onto his cloak ain't gonna cut it.

She also tends to nope herself out about everything under the sun. Nope, he's not a beast, he's a person. Nope, I was wrong, he's a beast. Nope, I don't want to see him, but nope again because actually, I do. I want to see him, but really nope, I don't. GIRL. Get it TOGETHER.

Because it's otome, we're supposed to assume that this is a fairytale "one true love" for them both and they'll be together forever. Honestly, the way she's written, I find this incredibly hard to believe. Maybe it's because I'm a jaded old fart, but it reads to me like he fell in love with her more because of a.) simple proximity, b.) emotional inexperience, and c.) lack of competition. Who else is he going to fall in love with, honestly? It's so otome, the guy never had a choice.

Though I wasn't a huge fan of the year of separation in the dramatic ending (thank you for stepping in and settling that BS, Clavis), I much preferred the dramatic ending overall. She got to run her own store, going so far as to establish a new booklending industry in Rhodolite. She got to be the source of her own success for once. The romantic ending, on the other hand, has Chevalier himself handing her an appointment for "palace librarian." She is the beneficiary of his gift rather than independently successful.

[sugar-omi]

all this talk of school makes me think of little cove getting an mc who is the local bad boy/girl/kid. like they always are getting in trouble or assumed to be causing trouble bc of history or assumptions. cove is pretty much their only friend too. cause everyone else is scared of this kid. everyone invites the nice, cute, popular cove to stuff but the mc is glued to him like he's glued to them so they show up too. they carve cove and their initials in the lunch table or spook others away from him. during detention they always text cove the entire time. cliff isn't sure he picked the right kid to be Cove's friend... but cove is. cove loves them. AND WHEN THEY'RE DRIVING AGE THEY CAN HAVE A MOTORCYCLE AND COVE IS SCREAMING THE WHOLE TIME ATTACHED TO THEIR BACK BUT FEELS VERY HAPPY TO BE ATTACHED TO THEM. Just. ugh I love the concept of bad kid mc/cove.

YES YES YES NO I THINK ABT THIS ALL THE TIME!!!

I literally fantasize abt mc going outta state or smth for college n just pulls up one day sees cove on the street n goes smth liken "hey pretty/sexy, wanna ride?" and he turns around ready to fucking bark at whoevers hitting on him n he sees its mc n freaks!!!!

is very afraid of the motorcycle but also he definitely thinks it's hot n he will get on, doesn't care that he's screaming n holding on tight he's having the time of his life!!!!

omg I literally use to write pastel x punk phanfiction...... shut up it was a time ok i have some shame 😭💀💀💀💀

ppl are all "you sure you wanna keep messing w them?" (cliff especially)

n coves like "💕💝💘💞💝yes💘💕💞💘💝" PLEASE HES CRAZY ABT IT

I'm always talking abt how cove loves when you stand up to Jeremy n stuff so ik he just loves punk!mc

cove feeds into it too, which I won't ramble abt too much since this is basically all my other jealous/possessive reade posts lol

but he feeds into you texting him whenever you want, he doesn't stop you from glaring all the guys n girls away, he doesn't really stop your jealousy if you're jealous of terri/y until it becomes ear they're gonna be friends n he's like "I love it but maybe.. stop growling?"

giving him your jacket!!! idc I'd you gotta buy a jacket 3x your size or you just give him your jacket even if it's too small, he loves it

mmmm cove has the keys to your bike?

man's even has the ability to unlock your phone, everything. MATCHING COMBAT BOOTS

I'm thinking abt the anime Nana where punk!nana's bf has a lock for a necklace

if you're up for that, he does it to you n carves his initial in the lock

MAKE HIM WEAR THE KEY..... NO WAY /pos

cove won't even care if ppl stop inviting him, he loves you n your punk style too much, even tho you could cut down on the trouble. can't go on a date if you have after-school detention 🤷🏽

[herotome]

What are the LIs reactions if they bump into MC while she's reading and when the book falls they realize it was a ruse to cover the actual book she was reading, which is a clear romance book with the LI('s job, trope etc) as the love interest? MC says "sorry you're hot af but I wanted to keep it low-key" 🤣

For simplicity's sake I'm going to just assume it's a very obvious knock-off of the LI.

Warden: "That's not-- official merchandise... Is it?? 😟" He starts to look very worried, doesn't even hear what MC is saying and wants to go review his contracts and everything he's signed during his career.

It hits him later that MC was reading this thing and it's a hair more embarrassing, but he just assumes that means this book is really, really common.

Mia: Stammers, confiscates it, accidentally rips it in half and then guiltily awkwardly buys MC a new copy..... and then asks MC out?? This one's a rollercoaster for some reason.

Dart: "🙄 When they come out with bootleg shit about you I'm gonna post em in the group chat"

Jade:

Jade makes a disgusted face and also confiscates it but then will gaslight the MC about it. The book never existed and will never exist again ooOOOOOoOOo.

Griffin: It's a secret. Ask me again later.

[forlix]

hiii, it’s me again, 🪷 anonnie

I’m so glad you liked the song! I love giving song recs, and music and lit are so intertwined in my brain so I’m thinking of the two together all the time.

now… onto ‘empty my mind’… spoilers below:

SO GOOD 😭🫠

idek what this trope is called but I love when one characters is soo devoted and desperate to do anything for their lover. like, just give everything up completely and do anything for them. and I love it even more when the target of their affection is immediately aware of this dynamic and feels so protective instead of, like, taking advantage of it? which for sure you can see jisung assumes will eventually happen, and he feels like he deserves to be used and dropped. but reader treats him so well like ‘no, you’re not a bad person you’re literally just a human existing. you’re doing your best baby’ like UGH! SO GOOD!

and then they actually talk at the end and get that closure? like jisung feels safe enough to open up and reader understands him completely. and this silent reassurance that is fully being vocalized really convinces jisung that he does deserve to be loved. and like, he believes he’s being fixed too which is so much development. going from ‘I’ll do whatever you want, I feel like nothing so I’ll be thankful for anything you give me’ to ‘I’ll do whatever you want, because you make me feel like something’. also there is so much care put into the metaphor of the ghosts that manifest in his nightmares representing his mental health that I can’t get into it because I will literally CRY! how reader handles his mental state so tenderly just wrecks me 💗

also, love the scenes with felix and the other members. especially when jisung and reader leave the study group. I imagined felix thinking ‘yes, she can fix him’ the whole time he’s trying to bring them together. and I loved the smut, car sex is always sexy. not to mention how intent jisung is on convincing reader that he’s not gonna leave, and then later during the storm she assures him that she wants him to stay. like YES HE NEEDS TO KNOW THAT YOU WANT HIM FOR MORE THAN JUST SEX

sorry for the short essay but I really wanted to say it all. I think next time I will just dm you but I’m very shy about interacting with people 👉🏻👈🏻 anywayyy, byye, take care 🫶🏻

hello my light, my love, my lotus anon, pls accept my apology for replying to this so late i wanted to store it in my inbox until it finally sank in that it's REAL and you're real bc what the fuck. i can't believe u took the time to analyze "empty my mind" so deeply and so richly i wept reading this the first time and i'm weeping AGAIN typing this out. thank you, thank you, thank you

re: the connections between music and literature, you're SO real for that. for most of my writings (except for the drabbles), i include lil playlists in the description so y'all can listen to the songs i derived inspiration from while writing :') i would be so curious to know your thoughts on the ones i chose for "empty my mind"! or if u made any associations yourself 🎤 lmk my lyrical genius

and i seriously fell over myself reading your interpretation of their relationship because that's EXACTLY what i was going for, like, for real, you hit every single point and articulated it so much better than i could if i tried. i loved all of what you said, but especially the part where the reader embraces rather than takes advantage of him. i like to think he got the sense he could trust her from the moment they met, so he very cautiously continued to give himself to her bit by bit as they grew closer even though he was deathly afraid of doing so. and it was all worth it in the end bc she's wonderful for him and wonderful in general (can u tell i love my mcs)

and it's so interesting that you used the word "fixed." i had to tread carefully around their dynamic, in part because i didn't want it to seem like she was hoping to change anything about him (or yk those memes that are like "i can fix him" and it's about the most toxic person in the world? yeah that was not her thought process). the core of their love, the reason why they work, is because she doesn't see anything that has to be changed in the first place. he is fucking perfect to her as he comes. so i love the way you described it: it's him who wants to change, not for her but because of her, thanks to her, because she reminds him that he can.

taking an intermission to fangirl over you bc

going from ‘I’ll do whatever you want, I feel like nothing so I’ll be thankful for anything you give me’ to ‘I’ll do whatever you want, because you make me feel like something’

the way you PHRASED THIS HOLY FUCK. A BILLION TIMES YES. you picked up on their very essence and i'm pressing consensual kisses to your mind because you read them (and me) like an open book

ALSO!! ABOUT FELIX OMG. you're so right, ofc our wonderful, emotional, observant lix can see the clouds perpetually hanging over ji's head and knows mc will be able to help him scatter them. my fav matchmaker

NEVER, EVER apologize for sending me an essay my star. you genuinely have no idea how happy your ask made me like it's not an exaggeration to say my heart is floating within me rn. that you took apart my fic so tenderly and so perceptively not only enforced my love for writing as a whole but strengthened it manifold. i don't even have the words to thank you as vehemently as i want to but just know i'll be safekeeping your words for a very long time to come 🤍

i treasure you so fucking much. THANK YOU.

[redstrewn]

The 7 august 2023 redstrewn perception of Leander

Before you read:

Nothing in here is new. It's all things I've already rambled about and theories others have already shared. I'm just dumping all my thoughts in one place.

I'm crass so there's gonna be sexual jokes in there

Disclaimer 1: This perception is based on many theories by other people. I don't claim to be the original speculator for these ideas.

Disclaimer 2: Plz don't yell at me for my insane delusions of Leander. You dont have to agree and I don't expect you to.

Onto my perception of Leander.

In my opinion,

His hogging of MC is due to the following:

Primarily, their power.

He has plans for it I think. The hands could have connections to fogfall (Vere, paraphrased from memory: "You're like me: not quite human, not quite monster." Vere emerged from fogfall. The soulless that attacked MC seemed more interested/distracted by their hands).

Leander could be interested in fogfall serving him—increasing his ability with magic, which is a distortion of/messing with reality. He's got motifs of what's often considered the territory of god(s) that mortals aren't to meddle with, lest they suffer terrible consequences. (Heaven, underworld, life cycle/resurrection, immortality/eternity, crossing planes/boundaries, dislike of the unknown.)

Along with his apparent egotism from his uquiz result, his erased fatal flaw, repeated use of the word "hero," and "Mages lust for power. It's always their downfall," I think it's not unreasonable to assume he intends to meddle with exactly the things mortals are told not to mess with. He's described as a rebellious mage after all (I think. Going from memory here).

Leander is taken aback by MC's power, noting its contrast from other curses he's dealt with. Considering it can completely overtake another's mind and, in my opinion, also affected Leander before he got ahold of himself (his expression dropping and seeming to reach for MC's throat), it seems to be highly powerful and thus...something exactly a mage would lust for.

Secondarily, their vulnerability.

People have many differing opinions on Leander: whether he's a yandere, if he treats MC like special or if he's just like that to everyone, if he's actually an asshole or just naïve, etc. But there's one thing that's pretty much indisputable and canon: he's got a mad savior complex. He and his Hounds act as Lowtown's helpers and his attitude to Vere in his relationship chart spells this out clearly.

Enter MC. Completely hopelessly clueless on even the most basic customs of Eridia. Desperate and broke and with nobody to turn to. To top it all off, he can give them something no one else can: normal touch that they're starving for.

If that isn't the ultimate wet dream of a guy with a mad savior complex, I don't know what is. Pretty sure he would've cum on the spot after MC responded "yes" to his question, "Am I the first person you've touched like this?" if he didn't care about weirding out MC LMFAO.

Thirdly, his egotism

Truthfully, this is related to his savior complex—it derives from egotism.

He loves attention and dislikes being ignored canonically. To MC, he is special to a metaphorically and literally magical extent: because only he can continuously, over a possibly infinite future, offer them something they've never had in their entire life.

Won't an egotistical guy get excited over that?

MC is special to him because he knows he is special to MC. He knows his magic can't cure them. But he can offer a taste of it the way no one else can.

Fourthly...loneliness?

"Despite his popularity, he isn't close to anyone." Like the saying goes, being alone in a crowd (Bloodhounds in his case) is the loneliest feeling of all.

So why isn't he close to anyone?

It's on purpose

Eridia's currency is information. Baring oneself (metaphorically at least) to anyone poses more risk in this city than elsewhere. He's a leader. Leaders need followers. Followers need someone to believe in. For people to believe in someone, they must have good reputation. Baring his flaws poses risk to that.

Nobody want him lol

I think it would be funny if he's popular and has a good enough reputation that people respect and adore him...but know that they're better off not getting with him lol. Vere looked into his soul and fucking hates what he saw. I don't have enough evidence for this take. Just that it would be fucking hilarious.

Was he chasing after the other LIs because he's lonely?

He seems to be the type to chase anyone down (or at least anyone that may be able to offer him something) whether that's just to gather information talk over drinks/dinner or recruit them into his Bloodhounds.

So, okay, yeah maybe it's not just that he's lonely but he also gets to gather more information by picking people's brains. And also he gets to add onto his growing gang that does his bidding. And also he could convince and influence others to do things he wants (like he does with MC! "Noooo haha MC stick with me the rest can't help youuu").

He could be both lonely and networking like the business major that he is 🤷‍♀️

What's his fatal flaw?

"Mages lust for power. It's always their downfall."

🎵 Love's gonna get you killed. But pride's gonna be the death of you, and you and me 🎵 — "PRIDE." by Kendrick Lamar

God complex! Savior complex! Egotism! The deadliest of the seven deadly sins! The sin of Satan himself that caused him to be cast out of heaven! The cause of Icarus's great fall! The damnation of Faustus! Give it up for HUBRIS everybody!

It's all about arrogantly believing you can handle or know better about greater powers you're told no one should or can.

Gosh, how embarassing this would be if people knew your fatal flaw was considered the worst of all flaws...and about being the biggest failure too. If I was an egotistical guy worried about my reputation, I'd scratch out my fatal flaw too.

Does he care about MC at the time of demo?

He cares about them a lot! Because of their power, his savior complex, and his egotism! The loneliness probably helps. He's special to them so they're special to him!

So he likes them?

Sure! He loves how much their power can do for him and how much they feed his ego!

Wait what? Is he just using them?

😬🤭 Don't worry, he's lonely. He'll probably end up actually caring enough to honestly think about what's actually best for MC and not just his selfish intentions...eventually...at some point...maybe?

But he's jealous! He likes them then, yes?

I mean...I wouldn't want to lose a source of great power and ego boost to anyone else as an egotistical mage, personally. Especially not my rival that I'm actively trying to kill.

This perception of Leander is too dramatically horrible. He can't be as uncaring as you think.

I think he likes to think he cares! He probably likes thinking of himself a hero who does no wrong and only does what's best. Even if the means might be a little unconventional or reprehensible to some people.

But I also think he's highly fucking delusional about it all. Probably why people get deranged/insane vibes from him.

I think his head is so far up his own ass he can't fucking see he's clearly being more selfish than he might like to think. He's so convinced he knows better, runs away from his cushy home, runs away from enrolling into the elite institution to do his own thing and make his own group to run his own set of people. He says something like, "I'm just as good as the Senobium. Better, even."

That's some audacious shit! That sounds like a man who doesn't know his own shortcomings. And he is according to his uquiz and the fucken slashing of his fatal flaw. HUUUUUUUBRIIIIIIIIS. He's delusional about himself: his feelings, intentions, knowing what's best, whatever.

I want to fucking swing a bat against his thick skull, honestly. He'd make a great piñata.

End note

Honestly thought this post would be longer but I don't know what else to ponder about this rascal.

[haru-naechi]

Second Rant: The Villainess/Mob/Side Character/ Random Girl Who Wakes up in a Novel She Read

Whoopie! Reincarnated to a novel/game, an interesting concept really. Seeing how there is already a pre-determined story to follow, I do wonder how they'll go about this.

*Several reads later*

Oh boy. They can't really think of anything else can't they?

Okay so, one thing I really really like genuinely hate about these stories is how the mc always acts so dumb. Like, girl, come on, I think for the past few years you've been in this world you ought to think that things develop.. idk NaTurAlly? Why do you keep saying that "things are changing" like no shit things are changing, you've changed and that's practically gonna cause a ripple effect on everything.

Oh, oh, and I hate it when ml is like obv showing feeeeelingsss but mc is just: (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠). "No OmG tHaTs NoT PosSIblE, cu'Z he'S supPosEd to FalL foR ThE OrigINaL FL!"

Fuck it even when the ml admits his feelings the girl is just like "no".

It's frustrating to me because authors tend to develop these ladies as quick thinkers and determined, always trying to find ways to avoid death flags set to them. But then they do those aforementioned things and it kinda makes you think how shallow they are. It's like they don't see the relationships they build as real ones and are all just superficial for specific reasons.

I understand the concern when you feel like you're trying to fight against fate but most of these stories don't even actually have that. Things do change and usually nothing terrible happens, but mc acts like there will be even though the author clearly only puts "horrible" things as plot advancers and nothing too serious.

Also, for those mc that woke up in their new body with a shit reputation paired with what everyone knows has a shit personality, why is everyone just okay with her changing all of the sudden — like its just plain stupid. If I knew someone who is evil suddenly becomes good overnight, I would not only be sceptical but also assume that she's possessed (seeing how magic always exists in these worlds i don't that's too far from the realm of possibility right?). This one honestly is what bugs me the most.

Suspicion is removed cu'z mc does something heroic or wonderful (blegh), but that kinda undermines the suffering other people have gone through with the original character. Some authors have even shown fully blown flashbacks where the original character is violent, verbally abusive and typical in every possible way. And these people just, flips a damn switch and say "Oh! She's changed!" Which boggles my mind every time I read something like that.

Which puts me to my next complaint. There is no real villain or even when there is they aren't really appealing. The problems set by the "original" story already gets destroyed like a couple chapters in, so what next? There are quite a lot of stories that just turn the OG Female Lead into whatever the villainess is supposed to be like: delusional, fake, etc. Which to me is, fine, but if you're gonna turn someone else in that world into a villain for the sake of having a bad guy, then why not put the stakes higher? Or at least give them more of a reason than just them feeling entitled to have the boyz. They don't have any substance to them and are bland af. Its a story vying for a downfall you already know will come.

Overall these ladies think too much and too little at the same time. Istg their dialogue can be summarized into "That didn't happen" "This didn't happen in the original.." "Is there a bug in the game..?" or "Why are things not going as the orignal!?"

It burns my brain trying to see through their eyes and understand their logic, until you realize they don't have common sense at all. They are geniuses only when they need to be, but is dumb af everywhere else.

Also, as much as I love puffy, frilly dresses I'm tired of mc changing the og characters seemingly sexiness into this cutesy vibe doesn't sit well with me. They're obviously trying to put this as more of a visual dichotomy between the original character and the current mc, but its not much of a statement. (But honestly this just may be me because I want more sexy mc you know?)

Trust me when I say this post barely covers half of what I truly feel about these stories and this is just the general gist of it. Also couldn't be bothered to add specific titles like the last rant.

[aroaessidhe]

Also do you know any books without friendship, family, or qprs? Im arospec and apl and atertiary and very repulsed by nonrose relationships

I'm gonna be honest, if a book doesn't have any platonic relationships it's gonna slide right out of my brain 99% of the time

do you mean like books with no form of relationship at all, like I guess books with only one character, or one MC & everyone else is an unrelated antagonist? There's definitely some of that floating round in the literary or short speculative fiction spheres, (+ other stuff I just don't read) but it's not really something I take note of, and nothing immediately comes to mind that I have a specific enough memory of, sorry.

I assume you're not meaning books where the only relationship is romantic/sexual? (because like, clearly not usually my area of interest haha) but I guess there's the occasional book in the sffh direction I'm into that's more or less that, such as:

This Is How You Lose The Time War (it's just romance and scifi and there's not really any other significant characters) The Luminous Dead (it's really just the two characters, who have some kind of non-platonic thing going on. I guess there's a dead parent but like. who is dead, so) Feed Them Silence (sort of semi-divorce, plus workmates but I remember them being mostly background?)

anyway that's probably not what you're looking for, but this is quite literally the opposite of what I am interested in so I'm not sure if I'm the best person to ask sorry!

[wttcsms]

Amber, I'm back to yell at you!!!! I'm literally dying over Most Noble what?! Its sooo good, i literally took a deep breath while my eyes watered cause of that ending! Oh to be in love with Sir Nanami 😍 He really is too much, the way he wants the mc so much, it gives off enemy to lovers vibes, with a lot of slow burn! Its so good the way I gasped when i read it on AO3 cause it said chapters 1/1 😭 No, its too good, YOU'RE the reason i even love Nanami so I refuse to believe thats it for them. But also thank you for that, it was such a good read the pining got me right in the feels i had to take a moment for myself to calm down. Please don't say its over 😭

Moving on lols, the way I read Balancing Act this morning! I wanted to scream, and I'm in no way a morning person but that one woke me up! Gojo being so self assured, I love that for him. The way you wrote the whole crew working for Gojo and Getou! Nanami saying that Getou is just like Gojo but would give himself 6 months instead KILLED ME!!!! Also just Nanami, and his whole work is shit rang through my head when you said he left then came back 😭 Just the way you wrote them all is soo good, the interaction between Gojo and Mc oooomph absolute genius! Utahime and Gojo friendship! Personally that little bit got me hook line and sinker cause i dont ship them 🫠 Finally that flashback of them as teenagers in high school!!! Yes queen him falling in love and not realizing it but also i loved that the mc ruined what i assumed would be his year of just fucking around! Its god tier I know im going to add this to my list of comfort fics!!!

hi hi, i was waiting til when i was less busy so that way i could give this lovely msg a proper response!!! as always, i love love love hearing ur thoughts and seeing u in my notifs makes me so happy, like kicking my feet and giggling happy because ur such an amazing reader and i love hearing ur thoughts on my work.

first of all, even w/out me, u would have fallen for nanami bc that's just the type of man he is. most noble was so fun to write purely bc i didn't have a set plot line in place, i just let the word vomit spew all over my docs and clicked post on tumblr. that being saidddddd, i am always open to revisiting our princess and sir nanami bc the fun part in writing mutual pining is the eventual getting together. like all fairytales, they are so gonna have a happy ending <3

im so happy you've read balancing act because for me, it's such a fun project and a way for me to not so subtly vent out any pent up feelings i had towards my experience in working in banking in nyc BAHAHAHA. i think workplace dynamics are so fun to write as well & i really wanted to incorporate just how blurry boundaries are within the field but also how close knit they truly are because most of the time, you see your coworkers more than your family and your significant other and it's hard not to become friends or something more (it's either that, or u all hate each other's guts LOL). geto and gojo would not be besties if they weren't both absolute menaces, i stand by that. utahime + gojo are lowkey MY dramione HAHA, and so i always like to write them in some type of relationship, whether that be platonic or romantic. they def squabble like siblings in this fic + it's going to be so much fun writing them in a diff light than i normally do (what's up for debate is whether or not i hint towards nanami x utahime :O) nanami found out that working in academia is JUST AS TOXIC as industry, so he's back bc, hey, at least he gets paid hella money, but we'll explore more nanami lore in balancing act once i decide on his exact role in the fic muahahaha.

thank you for always reaching out with your thoughts on my writing and just to chat in general, it means the world to me <3

[starwell-tarot]

Hey! Pardon! I didn't see the Ateez version until after I saw the stray kids reading and I really, really loved it!

And it got me thinking, I sent this to Aurora as well but I just wanted your opinion on this is too.

You don't have to answer this if you're cool with it.

As someone who is a Seonghwa and a Lee Know stan, they both give me 'siren' energy, they are so hypnotic and alluring in their presence.

How can I turn my siren view and appreciation for them and a create a sprinkle of siren energy to my life?

I just want to be a siren sooo bad!!!

Ahh they're so beautiful!!

I have no problem answering this but trigger warning for people who find the ocean/ sea creatures / mythological creatures scary or uncomfortable!

Hi!

Just to set the record straight, when you mean siren you're talking about the mermaid like creature that allures sailors to them with their voice? Based off of the picture you sent I would guess so? Because sirens in Greek mythology are actually half bird creatures and there's always a confusion about that haha

So! I'm gonna assume you mean a mermaid like siren.

I too, really have a thing for monsters and creatures and the such 😂 The owner behind the wellness tarot page is a horror enthusiast oops-

But anyways! I didn't know if you wanted me to answer this from my own brain or ask the cards about it. So I did both just to be sure 😂

If if was up to my own brain, I couldn't really have given you a very genius idea tbh. I would have said to make some fanfiction, or fanart, depicting your favorite boys as sirens. But the cards were interesting!

(this is the horror tarot deck)

The first card is six of wands. Yes, it is sideways because my deck has an obsession with confusing me by giving me the cards sideways lmao. It was interesting. It mentioned embodying achievement and talking up the name or honorifics. Acting like what you have is already yours. That made me think, it's probably saying you should embody the siren yourself 😁 visit the ocean, take a bath with a blue bath bomb (make sure those are safe i personally don't trust em lol), maybe even find a tumbled aquamarine stone to keep around (if you can find em at affordable prices. I swear I'm not sending you to buy stuff lmao) You can even encourage yourself that you are in fact, rare and mystical and alluring. (It could be a form of self love!)

The second card is three of cups which definitely points towards sharing this interest with peers. Keep talking about what makes ya happy!

The third card is four of wands and it's description of success and happy home gave me the idea that you could even decorate your room with ocean themed so that it could feel cozy! Shells, stones, maybe even paint an octopus on the wall! (Ngl I've actually been debating painting an octopus on my wall too 😂)

NOW! THERE'S ALSO A FANFIC IDEA IN THE CARDS!!!

Haha I love underlying messages.

So! Embody the siren. Your main character IS a siren. Three cups, we have a love triangle! Seonghwa and Minho and MC are in a love triangle. But since there's also the theme of community, there's an underwater community! How about a full blown mermaid/siren AU! where all your characters are sirens? You don't see the main character be an evil creature often lol this could be fun! But also, the four of wands says "you've achieved a happy home after lots of conflict" so I'm guessing the love triangle ends with MC picking one of them after lots of fights and competition 😁 and they have an underwater siren wedding.... Wonder how they eat cake in the ocean! 😂

Well, i tried! I'm sorry if this isn't satisfactory I tried my best to give creative answers 😖 idk what the conflict of the fanfic could be maybe the MC is the next in line to lead the community and she must find a mate to marry??

[satanswrathussy]

mystic messenger playthrough day 5 i think??

this is literally just a thought dump there's no need to read this unless you want to read my ever spiraling confusion while playing this for the first time !!

TL;DR I DIDNT GET THE DAY 5 BAD END !! I'm on Jaehee's route and I'm terrified of messing up lmao

Word Dump

I already forgot how i've been formatting these- but i'm mobile so i doubt it matters anyways :,)

Anyways I discovered I have to start from Day 1 every time I get an ending, and I didn't want to do all of that just to see the Day 5 bad ending- so I looked up transcripts of the dialogue and ... I'm definitely getting ddlc'd because what the fuck bro

I think my favorite part is how Zen talks about his freaky dream, and SOMEHOW if you don't pick someone by Day 5- Yoosung gets woke then JUST DIPS????? WITH SOME RELIGIOUS CULT PPL?????? HUH?????

I'm assuming this isn't canon, like it was just thrown in to shame the player for not choosing lmao, bUT I'm also convinced the cult is involved in the story- and I'm absolutely blaming Rika for it even though i have like..... minimal evidence............. and that she's dead............ i still don't believe she's dead

Also I know this is a game so real world rules don't apply- but I didn't expect THAT to be the bad ending? I'd expect something like that to happen in a Yoosung exclusive bad end, not necessarily just a neutral "oopsie you're indecisive!" ending. I think it would make more sense if- because MC didn't get enough hearts for anyone -the RFA decides "actually let's NOT trust this random person to replace our dead friend."

So I'm on Jaehee's route- which may have been a bad choice, because the internet says the story makes the MOST sense if you play Zen/Yoosung/Jaehee ... but since I chose Jaehee when I started, I decided I'll just .... work backwards or something lmao.

OH ALSO I FOUND OUT JAEHEE IS NOT ROMANCE-ABLE AND IM SCREAMING CRYING AND THROWING UP

Anywhooo I'm not sure how I feel about this route so far, because it kinda just feels like a Jaehee pity parade? Like the devs decided "yes. she shall be a punching bag.", because so far it just seems like I have to keep reassuring her? Which I don't mind- but like please just let her be hAPPY SOON???

Predictions

Although I think the Day 5 bad end was meant to be a cop out, I think the cult ACTUALLY has something to do with the game.

is it bad i wanna invite the cult to the party

I think Rika faked her death and then started that weird Yoosung snatching cult. I don't care I REFUSE to trust her.

I'm also convinced Rika is Unknown and she's gonna make MC convince the RFA to join her weird Yoosung snatching cult.

I am very anti Rika despite never seeing her (outside of the cutscene before Day 5)

I bet Rika is just THE WORST. Like the way everyone talks ab her??? No one is just NATURALLY that nice unless they're covering shit up.

Theories

Would saying "Rika is the worst" count as a theory?

I JUST CAME UP W THIS- BUT I WOULD BET MY RIGHT HAND THAT RIKA WAS EMBEZZLING THE FUNDRAISER MONEY TO START HER WEIRD CULT

okay i forgot anything else i was wanting to say. it's only 5:30 so there's probably more day 5 chats coming up (i missed a lot bc i slept until 9am >:( )