#and i was so excited but then the stats wound up being so so so much harder than i anticipated

[mocolococoffeesimp]

Juri and Manon with a S/O who's fighting style is just an outright violent and animalistic version of all four boxing styles combined into one brutal multitude and combination of different and bone crushing punches, and their appearance matches their boxing style perfectly being big AF (6'9 or 206 CM making them 3 inches shorter than Zangief), intimidation and fear inducing stats maxed out with having a demonic sharp toothed smile that you'd see from a toon-ified shark and a giant scar that stretches across their face, surprisingly fast for their size and just forgets about blocking entirely when fighting an opponent who can excite them so they end up having incredible endurance and durability, but, when not fighting, they're so sweet just standing next to them would make you think you'll get diabetes, like sunflowers look at them like their the sun. Thank you for your time and have a good day :)

-When you and Juri first met, you were covered in blood, your teeth glistening and your eyes shining. Juri was really excited for a good match, but when you started acting like the sweetest person ever, Juri got both confused and disappointed. Asking her, if she was alright or scared of you right now.

-She appreciates your sweet side, but she does slightly prefer it when you're just a blood-hungry beast. Especially, when you just hold her, with your large frame. She both likes it for the comfort of it, and the idea of you destroying your opponents with the same size.

-Juri gets really into it, when she sees you fighting. The way how you fight so brutally and get into it. How you just keep on fighting, even when you've got small wounds and cuts on your body. How you have the dangerous glint in your eyes. At times, she joins you in the beatdown, just absolutely obliterating your enemy.

-If, she doesn't join, you can sure as hell bet, she will cheer you on as she cackles on the sidelines at the sight of her absolute sunshine, just being this blood covered maniac. "Fuck em up, babe!" She yells from the side as she throws a empty can, to further agitate your opponent, who was already in poor state, from your pummeling.

-Manon absolutely adored you being the sweetest thing. How you helped her with whatever, got her gifts, did chores, anything sweet you would. Your size was just a plus to her, in cuddling and in day to day life. Not to mention, she absolutely got you some custom fitted clothes for you, because of your size.

-She is less thrilled, when the switch flips in your brain, going from sweet to violence. She sees it in your eyes, when you grin revealing your sharp teeth. She sighed knowing, what would happen.

-She watched as you rushed at your enemy, delivering violent blows, hitting each one of them, Manon swore she heard bones cracking from both, blows you received and you delivered. When your opponent went down, and you kept on hitting Manon stepped in. She gently grabbed your hand, holding it down.

"Mon amor, please ease. Knock out not kill." With that, your fist loosened and you turned your attention to Manon. Completely ignoring, your now knocked out opponent.

"Good, mon amor. You know, I don't like you getting dirty." She wipes blood off your face. And, again the switch was flipped from violence to sweet. You nuzzled your cheek, against her hand, actign like a sweet puppy. Manon was pleased you could be sweet, but at times she was little worried, how fast you flipped between the modes. But, at the same time, she found it nice how you could protect her.

[jamespotterismydaddy]

Thicker Than Blood (Aemond x OC) Chapter 3

Word count: 1379 words

Last part —> next part

We stand in the throne room as Otto Hightower sits on my grandfather's throne about to hear claims for a title that is Lucerys' birthright. Jacaerys stands on our mother's right side and Luke and I stand on her left. I give my little brother a soft smile and squeeze his shoulder as I wait for what is inevitability going to be an shitshow to start.

People continue to file in and I look around the room impatiently as the anxiety starts to set in. My trepidation is not helped when my gaze fall upon Aemond. His eye is already fixated upon me, an emotion behind it that I cannot discern. He must feel no shame in being caught staring at me because when I turn away bashfully, with the excuse of fussing over my brother, I can feel his eye boring a hole in the back of my head.

Otto begins to speak.

"Though it is the great hope of this court that Lord Corlys Velaryon survive his wounds, we gather here with the grim task of dealing with the succession of Driftmark." Otto says, probably creaming his breeches in excitement of possibly disinheriting a son of Rhaenyra. "As Hand I speak with the King's voice on this and all other matters."

I highly fucking doubt that.

"The crown will now hear petitions. Ser Vaemond of house Velaryon."

Vaemond walks up, giving my mother the nastiest glare he can conjure up.

Cunt.

"My Queen. My Lord Hand. The history of our noble house extends beyond the Seven Kingdoms to the days of Old Valyria. For as long as House Targaryen has ruled the skies, House Velaryon has ruled the seas. When the Doom fell on Old Valyria, our houses became the last of their kind. Our forebearers came to this new land knowing that were they to fail, it would mean the end to their bloodlines and their name."

Gods this man is dull.

Daemon and mother make eye contact. It's as if they're having a wordless conversation. My mother nods to Daemon.

Interesting.

Vaemond goes on saying how he is Corlys' closest kin, his closest blood.

"The true, unimpeachable blood of House Velaryon runs through my veins."

"As it does in my sons, the offspring of Laenor Velaryon." My mother pipes in. "If you cared so much about your house's blood, Ser Vaemond, you would not be so bold as to supplant its rightful heir. No you only speak for yourself and for your own ambition."

"You'll have chance to make your own petition, Princess Rhaenyra. Do Ser Vaemond the courtesy of allowing his to be heard." Says the Queen, the spite in her voice apparent. This was obviously personal.

I wish I could wipe the smug smirk off Ser Vaemond's face. what joy it would bring me.

"What do you know of Velaryon blood, Princess? I could cut my veins and show it to you and you still wouldn't recognise it."

To myself, I can admit that Ser Vaemond speaks only truth. But life does not run on truth, he is either ignorant or stupid to believe that he has any right in challenging our family. The man thinks with his heart, not his head, speaking this way will have him end up dead.

Mother nods, unimpressed.

"This is about the future and survival of my house, not yours." Ser Vaemond turns to the Hand and the Queen.

"My Queen, my Lord Hand. This is a matter of blood, not ambition."

I notice Luke look over to Aemond. I feel our uncle's stare switch from me to my brother.

"I place the continuation of the survival of my house and my line above all. I humbly put myself before you as my brother's successor... the Lord of Driftmark and the Lord of the Tides."

"Thank you Ser Vaemond." Otto says. "Princess Rhaenyra, you may speak now for your son, Lucerys Velaryon."

"If I am to grace this farce with some answer, I will stat by reminding the court that nearly 20 years ago, in this very--" My mother is cut off.

I try to hide my smile as I see my grandsire in the doorway.

"King Viserys of House Targaryen, the First of His Name, King of the Andals, and the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm." The Hightower cunt removes himself from my grandsire's seat.

Vaemond and Otto share a sneaky, concerned look.

It's lucky that the King came because they obviously had a plan.

There is a long span of silence as the King makes his way to the Iron Throne, the Queen looks anguished and my mother looks hopeful. Mother and grandsire look to each other and then he looks to the Hand.

"I will sit the throne today."

"Your Grace."

The Kingsguard attempts to help him up the steps but is quickly brushed off. My father follows instead and I have a soft smile at the tender show of affection as Prince Daemon places the crown on the King's head. I feel Aemond's stare on me once more.

"I must... admit... my confusion." The King huffs out. "I do not understand why petitions are being heard over a settled succession. The only one present... who might offer keener insight into Lord Corlys's wishes is the Princess Rhaenys."

"Indeed, your Grace." Rhaenys steps foreword. "It was ever my husband's will that Driftmark pass through Ser Laenor to his trueborn son... Lucerys Velaryon. His mind never changed. Nor did my support of him. As a matter of fact, the Princess Rhaenyra has just informed me of her desire to marry her sons, Jace and Luke to Lord Corlys's granddaughters, Baela and Rhaena. A proposal to which I heartily agree."

My heart drops into my stomach. I hope what I heard was a lie, that it is Rhaena marrying Luke and that is the end of it. I hope nobody notices how tightly I am squeezing my hands together, I feel as though I am about to shatter my bones. My entire life's plan has just crumbled before my eyes as Baela sends a quick smile to Jace. Every thought comes to my head.

What does this mean for me? What if I don't find a man as good as Jace? I'll never be Queen. Did I even want to be Queen?

I will not kid myself by saying I was in love with my twin brother. Loved him? Yes. But in love with him? I was happy for that to come with time. Now I have no idea what will become of me. Jacaerys was safe, this is not safe. I feel as though I am hyperventilating and I still feel his goddamn eyes on me.

I am broken out of my panicked state by Ser Vaemond shouting.

"That!" He points to Luke. "is no true Velaryon, and certainly no nephew of mine."

"Go to your chambers." Mother tries to send us away. "You have said enough." This time she speaks to Vaemond.

"Lucerys is my true-born grandson." the King speaks. "And you are no more than the second of Driftmark."

"You... may run your house as you see fit... but you will not decide the future of mine. My house survived the Doom and a thousand tribulations besides. And gods be damned... I will not see it ended on the account of this--"

"Say it." Father, hisses.

"Her children... are bastards! And she... is... a whore." The crowds gasp at his absolute audacity.

"I..." the King unsheathes his dagger. "will have your tongue for that."

Dark Sister slices through the air as my stepfather relieves Ser Vaemond of half of his head. His body slumps to the floor.

"He can keep his tongue." I can see the hint of a smirk coming onto the prince's face.

"Disarm him!" Otto shouts.

"No need."

In all the commotion and stress, the King falls to his throne.

"Call the maesters!" The Queen shouts.

Everything is happening in such a rush, I hardly have time to think as the King is escorted away. Daemon returns to my side, a spot of blood on his face. I absentmindedly reach for my handkerchief.

"Kepa?" Father. He turns his head to me and I wipe the blood from him.

"Dōna riña." Sweet girl. He smiles softly and tilts my chin up with his finger. It's an affectionate gesture, meant to calm me I suppose; it does little to quell the deep feeling of dread that is once again rising.

taglist: @valeskafics

[pastafossa]

Stumbling and crashing and tripping with various crashes and a Wilhelm scream into your askbox to ask, YOU PLAY BG3????? ISN'T IT GREAT?!?!?!! I LOVE IT SO MUCH AKSHQKXBQ it's been my Focus since December!!! Who's your favorite so far?? How far are you in?? What kind of route are you doing?? Have you discovered any funny loopholes yet?? What race do you favor playing?? I LOVE to hear about other peoples playthroughs,

IT'S GODDAMN AMAZING AND I ALREADY HAVE MULTIPLE PLAYTHROUGHS PLANNED BECAUSE ONCE IS NOOOOT ENOUGH! I AM IN LOVE. Like I know these types of games (I've been a Bioware slut since KOTOR 2, so I looove this genre), and so I feel very confident saying holy shit, BG3 is one of the best! ALSO IT'S HUGE??? INSANELY HUGE??? AND FULL??? I LOVE IT SM.

Oh god favorites are hard, I'm gd attached to all of these little ducklings following my Tav. So far at least, storywise it's SCRATCH HE IS THE BESTEST BOY maaaybe Astarion. I LOVE his arc, his voicework is stunning, (I accidentally killed him with the big monastery laser and his reaction was hysterical) and his quest has been very moving. A close second is KARLACH, MY GIRL, MY FIREY BFF, like damn I HAD my little battle group (Gale + Astarion + Wyll) when I found her but I adore her so much I'm rotating Gale and Wyll to keep her permanently, SHE JUST WANTED A HUG. 😭

I'm in act 3, I just hit the city! I have no idea how but I am also STILL on my first PT after over a month of play. I love to sniff around under every nook and cranny granted, AND YET I STILL MISSED THINGS, IT'S SO BIG???

So far my route has been a chaotic good route! Outside, uh, occasional murdery hiccups goodbye creche but ya'll were assholes I've mostly managed to follow that alignment, and somehow still made friends with Lae? That was unexpected. I thought she hated my Tav's guts before she hit on her. 😂

Hilarious moments: setting off the giant laser at the monastery cause why wouldn't I grab the shiny weapon (sorry Astarion); being instakilled by Vlaakith at said monastery after basically mocking her with 'if you were really a god you'd be able to just kill someone yourself ha ha-splat'; friends telling me to talk to animals so I got excited when I saw a squirrel and ran to talk to it - it proceeded to bite me, then I failed a persuasion roll about being friends and it told me to fuck off; trying to get to that dwarf lady's husband in the Underdark and shooting an arrow at one of the mushrooms in the field he was in, thinking I could clear them one by one to get to him, only to set off a chain reaction that incinerated him and left the entire field a smoking crater (me as the explosions begin: oh, OH, oh no - wait, sir! Sir! Oh you're fine, you're - oh fuck, RUN SIR RU-shit he's dead); placing my druid in rothe/battle cow shape at the top of a ladder and charging whatever bad guy comes up so they fall back down (catchphrase: MOO, BITCH); and finally, I was having trouble with that one boss guy in the goblin camp, the one that sits on the throne. So when I saw I could get to the rafters, I painstakingly dragged every last explosive barrel and grenade I could find into the room and innocently placed them around the throne, then went up to the rafters and had Astarion shoot a fire arrow. I figured I'd at least bring the guy's health down but instead I set off the fourth of july, blasted that guy so hard he bounced around the room like a pinball before his body wound up glitch-stuck halfway through a wall, but hey, dead as a doornail sooo... it worked? Chaotic good alignment: MASTERED. 🤪

I'm playing a half-elf druid CAUSE I CAN BE AN OWLBEAR OR DINOSAUR TO FIGHT. I now have a chance to run around as a dinosaur druid with my 200 yo elf boyfriend, my BFFs, and find random bowls of poutine, this is the BEST GAME EVER. Also hilariously, I didn't check the stats closely and her intelligence wound up quite low, so she is very wise but also dumb as a bag of hammers, I love her, my first Tav is a good-hearted, unintentional bundle of chaos.

[damisalakowrites]

How I Found My Publisher

I knew querying was going to be a hot mess for me. I’m an over-planner and over-thinker. I’m the "put 19 different brands of socks in my amazon cart and spend three months agonizing over the different fabrics before realizing they’re just freaking socks for the love of wool and polyester just pick one" type of person.

So when the time came to start putting together my query package, I did what I did best: I overanalyzed. For months. Until finally, on 8/21/2022, after reading an obscene number of reddit posts and tweets about querying and publishing, I took the plunge and sent out my first batch of queries.

As is the case for virtually every first time querier, I thought I was ready.

Reader, I was not ready.

In retrospect, my first batch of queries weren’t my finest work. I received a lot of rejections, and a few manuscript requests...which were followed by more rejections. Authors can receive over 100 rejections before an agent says, "yes." So I was prepared for this.

In fact, one could say I was primed for rejections. I was born in it. Molded by it...

For those who don't know, I'm a doctor. This means I completed 4 years of undergraduate studies, 4 years of medical school, and another 4 years of residency training in my specific field (psychiatry). The process is grueling and can take a huge hit on physicians' mental health and sense of self. So even though the rejections while querying stung, it was...familiar. In some ways, medical training prepared me emotionally for the querying journey.

So thank goodness for that, I guess.

I queried for a year. During that year, I improved my query letter, made some changes to first pages, and made slight revisions to my manuscript as a whole (query stats coming up I promise).

In March, I saw a tweet from Lauren Davila, the acquisitions editor at Inked in Gray. The tweet was just a generic request for more "superhero" manuscripts to hit her inbox. By the time I saw the tweet, it was weeks old and her submissions were closed - so I did nothing. But a few days later, I decided to shoot my shot and slid into her DMs to ask if she was interested in looking at my manuscript, or if she would prefer I wait. She responded quickly, and encouraged me to email my manuscript and query, anyway! So I did.

More on that later.

In June, I was accepted to the WriteMentor program and got to work with Melissa Welliver - a YA speculative fiction author. I stopped sending out new queries and started workshopping ways to improve my manuscript. I started expanding upon some themes and worked on implementing revisions...

In truth, I'd given up on my story getting picked up by an agent around this time. My plan was to workshop, rewrite, and probably shelve for a few months before querying again. But after a few weeks of working with Melissa and thinking about my manuscript in different ways...I started to look at my story and feel excited again.

And then, on my 31st birthday, I got an email...

Thank you so much for your patience as I took the time to look over your MS and chat with the rest of the Inked team about your fantastic novel. It is my absolute pleasure to extend an offer of publication…

The week leading up to The Email were rough. I own my own private practice and the month before, I'd started working at a college counseling center 2 days a week. Which meant I spent the month of September working 6 days a week. The icing on the cake was that the weekend leading up to my birthday, I wound up in the ER for an infection. And I remember being immensely annoyed that I had to go to the ER for an incision & drainage on my only day off.

So waking up to The Email on my birthday was a real treat.

I'll save the rest of the story for another post (nudging agents, talking to a contract lawyer, "The Call," etc) but here's how it ended: I signed on the dotted line. And in the summer of 2025, my debut will be published with Inked in Gray.

And, as promised, my stats:

Queries Sent: 128

Rejections: 101

CNR (closed, no response): 19

Full Requests: 8

Partial Requests: 2

Offer: 1

[nothwell]

Thanks to Ash for this heartwarming review of Fiorenzo!

~

PRE-READ THOUGHTS This sounds SO interesting!

STATS ⚠️ Stay Safe, Friends: many CWs but the author thoughtfully provides them all at the beginning of the book ⛰ Cliffhanger: no, but I would say it's a hopeful open ending 🌶 Spice Check: Carolina Reaper, are you serious? (you can find it in my profile!) ⭐️ Rating (?/5): 5/5!!! 🔂 Re-Readability: Y E S!!!

I am shocked, thrilled, and excited to find another 5-star cozy comfort read! HOW LUCKY AM I.

TROPES SPOTTED IN THE WILD

hurt/comfort

rich/poor

bedroom surprises (this applies in more than one way, iykyk)

height difference

"reversed dynamics" (this is very much a thing here but also putting it in quotations because society shouldn't be judging who does what in a physical relationship based on looks and size saUR)

secret/hidden identities

SUMMARY + BASIC CHARACTER INFO AND RELATIONSHIPS A determined courtesan and a masked gentleman come together (welp) and find comfort and enjoyment in the other. Together they explore their chemistry with each other and help soothe wounds and worries when secrets and scars are set to be revealed.

����️Fiore: great at his job, strong, resilient, proud, determined to make his own way, prefers to give rather than receive (this plays a role), enjoys art - observing, participating, and doing, struggles with self-worth but deserves so much, intelligent

👑Enzo: hulking but gentle and sweet, bends for the people he chooses to bend for (emotionally and otherwise), loyal, thoughtful, more of a wallflower (or as much as he can be), appreciates the little details that make up a person’s personality instead of just focusing on outward appearances or obvious characteristics, also enjoys art - observing and doing, has a unique family line, and with it a unique physical make-up

WHY YOU SHOULD PUSH THIS ONE UP/DOWN YOUR TBR

UP

This setting reads as steampunk pirates in mythological Italy. Somehow. I really love it. Also, there are solid mentions of the plague as a timestamp, which further develops the universe. Although we are in a fictional universe, it reads as real-world adjacent.

Love that Nothwell normalizes so much in this universe: sex work, queerness, "unconventional" sexual dynamics. This is the type of delivery I love and appreciate so much when authors really feel like they want to say something or make any kind of statement, intentional or not.

Fiore and Enzo’s relationship develops pretty organically and naturally. While some could argue that it is an insta-love situation, I think the nature of their first meeting and the focus of their interactions being sexual due to Fiore’s work forges a closer bond faster. So, in this context, it felt like a normal progression for people who are engaging in intimate acts but who also choose to spend valuable clothed time together.

Enzo and Fiore are just pure affection with each other; it is so precious to witness and it makes the reading experience feel cozy and warm. I love them and their journey so much.

The ending is understated and felt right as it matches the almost gentle wave of Fiore and Enzo’s relationship. While I would have adored a more direct love confession, I think the simpler and subtler ways they expressed their love for each other worked well for their story.

The descriptors are rich and the language and imagery are vibrant. Nothwell manages to write such detail without it being overwhelming or impossible to imagine and he brings that ability over to fleshing out and bringing his characters to life.

I love good world-building and magic systems, and while the world-building was awesome in this, the “magic system” Nothwell constructs is medical, which I had so much fun reading. It almost connects my love of true crime-related science books with a historical romance.

I love the realism Nothwell puts into his characters and their relationships; they’re flawed people but make the effort to enjoy each other, faults and all. Reading relationships and characters that aren’t absolutely pristine and sparkly makes for a more endearing pairing, I think.

I found another comfort couple and read! There is just something so warm and delightful about this book and Fiore and Enzo that just make this tome of a story so fun and easy to read. Some points can feel a bit like stepping over a tiny stone curb, but the overall experience is great and relatively smooth.

OVERALL This was such a great time. I was amazed to find ANOTHER 5-star comfort read right after finding the first one in a while! I am absolutely going to dive into the rest of Nothwell's works because his writing is gorgeous and his characters are so full and complete. I am so excited about his other works, I'm going to need to add them to my TBR immediately!

Until next time!

~

FIORENZO is a queer fantasy-of-manners romance featuring secret identities, hurt/comfort, and a happily-ever-after. Out now wherever fine books are found!

Amazon • Apple Books • Barnes & Noble • Kobo • Smashwords

[honourablejester]

D&D Character Concept: Lightning Tiefling

This idea for a character started from the Tiefling feat Infernal Constitution, where tieflings can get resistance to cold and poison damage on top of the fire resistance they already have. And I was looking at that, and idly looking at some classes that would give more elemental resistances, and I wound up looking at the storm sorcerer. And I don’t know why, but I was thinking about tieflings and lightning, and I wound up thinking horns. And horn jewellery. Nice shiny metal bits that are up on the tallest part of your body.

So I was thinking … a tiefling who got struck by lightning. And there is a bit of my brain, because catholic education, that marries that with ‘road to damascus moment’, and also you probably shouldn’t get magic just from getting hit by lightning, so lets make it divine lightning. Lets have an actual god hurl a thunderbolt at this tiefling.

And this is not just so I have an excuse to then throw some tempest cleric on top, honest. Although I do want tempest cleric, because Destructive Wrath.

But, going back to the lightning. Imagining a tanned young tiefling girl who was always in love with storms, a wild, giddy kid who’d climb the tallest trees or towers or buildings in her vicinity to be closer to them, to feel the rush of freedom and air and danger and thrill from a good thunderstorm. A kid who maybe didn’t quite comprehend the actual danger of this, not in any real way, not when laid against the excitement and the immortality of youth, and maybe a thunder god saw this and wanted to maybe demonstrate that storms are not safe. That you can have all the excitement and freedom and power of elemental storm, but you have to know the price for it. So one of those days, maybe when she’s a teenager, maybe when she’s experimenting with horn decorations, maybe when she’s up the tallest tree she can find with her glorious copper-dressed horns pointed straight skyward …

Iskuur the Storm Lord gives her an object lesson on the very real danger of storms.

(Or a storm god of your choice, I’m just going with my homebrew dude)

And then she wakes up. On the ground, battered and bloodied, one arm broken. One of her horns is splintered to a charred stump. Her once-red eyes are now sparking gold, and her once-dark hair is now pure white. And, all across her body, down the side of her face from the broken horn, down her neck and across her chest, hip, and legs, are feathered, fern-shaped lightning scars. (Lichtenberg scars, despite being terrifying and requiring almost dying to get, are kind of awesome looking?)

And this tiefling, being that kind of kid, goes cool, and names herself Fern after them. And tries to throw herself into more storms. And Iskuur, rather impressed in a chaotic storm god sort of way, grants her his blessing and a seed of elemental magic.

So. Fern the Lighting Tiefling. I’m thinking start storm sorcerer until fourth level, to get the feat that started this mess and also metamagic, then two tempest cleric levels for Destructive Wrath (and medium armour, heavy if mithral ever becomes available), and then go storm sorcerer the rest of the way. The character sheet below is for eighth level, so she can get up to Heart of the Storm and get thunder/lightning resistance and have five elemental resistances. You know. Just to have.

I rolled stats for her, getting 16,16,15,14,9,6. I put the 6 in strength, and was thinking mildly that, she’s tough as all hell, but maybe her magic actually drains her physical strength? Because Iskuur and being willing to pay the costs of power and freedom.Might as well make it thematic.

And I chose Distant Spell and Transmuted Spell for her metamagics. So that, once per short rest, she can drop a fourth level transmuted fire thunderball for max damage, and misty step 60ft and vortex warp/thunderstep 180ft. She’s a rather mobile boom boom sort of girl.

Character Sheet: Fern

Name: Fern (after her Lichtenberg scars)

Race: Tiefling (Glasya)

Age: 27

Background: Far Traveller

Class/Level: Sorcerer 6 (Storm)/Cleric 2 (Tempest)

Ideal: Live free and do what you want, so long as you’re willing to pay the prices for it

Flaw: ‘Impulsive’ is putting it mildly

Deity: Iskuur, the Storm Lord

Statistics: Strength 6 (-2), Dexterity 14 (+2), Constitution 17 (+3), Intelligence 9 (-1), Wisdom 16 (+3), Charisma 18 (+4)

Resistances: fire, cold, poison, lightning, thunder

Hit Points/Hit Dice/Armour Class: 6d6 + 2d8, 65 Max HP, 16 AC (breastplate)

Proficiencies & Languages:

Armour: Light, Medium, Heavy, Shields

Weapons: daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbows, martial

Tools: flute

Skills: Insight, Intimidation, Perception, Persuasion

Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma

Languages: Common, Infernal, Primordial, Celestial

Equipment: Breastplate, staff, holy symbol, explorers pack, travellers clothes

Traits, Feats and Background/Class Features: 

Race/Background: Darkvision, Hellish Resistance (fire), Legacy of Malbolge (spells), All Eyes On You

Feats: Infernal Constitution (cold & poison resistance, Con +1)

Sorcerer: Spellcasting, Wind Speaker (Primoridial), Tempestuous Magic (bonus act to fly 10ft before/after levelled spell), Font of Magic (6pts), Metamagic (2): Distant Spell (1pt), Transmuted Spell (1pt), Heart of the Storm (lightning/thunder resistance, half sorc level light/thun damage to creatures within 10ft if cast levelled light/thun spell), Storm Guide (mild weather control)

Cleric: Spellcasting, Ritual Casting, Bonus Proficiencies, Wrath of the Storm (Wis/day reaction on attack for 2d8 lightning/thunder on Dex save), Channel Divinity (1/rest), Channel Divinity: Turn Undead, Channel Divinity: Destructive Wrath (max damage on lightning/thunder)

Spells:

Cantrips: Minor Illusion, Mage Hand, Message, Mind Sliver, Chill Touch, Shocking Grasp, Guidance, Sacred Flame, Toll the Dead

Sorcerer Spells Known: Feather Fall, Comprehend Languages, Misty Step, Vortex Warp, Counterspell, Fireball, Thunderstep

Cleric Prepared Spells (2 domain spells + 5 1st level spells): Fog Cloud, Thunderwave, then 5 of: Healing Word, Detect Magic, Shield of Faith, Protection from Evil & Good, Guiding Bolt, Cure Wounds, Bless, Sanctuary, Command, Detect Poison & Disease, Create/Destroy Water

Tiefling Spells: Disguise Self, Invisibility

Spell Slots: 4 1st level, 3 2nd level, 3 3rd level, 2 4th level

[entwifeexperience]

Bloodless by Ennio Final Entry

Final Event  

CW: Blood, Death, Bereavement

Sunrise approaches and you're almost at your goal.  

4d4+1=7  

You survived the night but there’s still a problem. Describe how your situation got more complicated. 

The sun glares at me from the horizon as I duck into the ruined mausoleum. 

The first thing I realise is Isobell is dead.  

The smell of her blood hangs thick in the air. I know what I will see when I enter our room, but I force myself to witness it myself; burn the nightmarish tableau into my mind to haunt my sleeping hours, so my waking ones are not filled with recriminations and regret. 

The door stands ajar. Darkness pours through the gap in the doorway and threatens to consume me. The glow of my eyes is dimmed in this abyss, but I compel myself to enter the room. 

The stench of blood and dead organs exposed to air fills the room like a funeral shroud. She adorns the room. I cannot take in the horror. It is too much to take. 

I stumble and fall to the wet floor. Pulling a bloody sheet from the bed, I wrap myself in what’s left for her and sob in dawn darkness. 

*** 

When I wake, my eyes are sealed with clotted tears, but I feel the twins on either side of me. 

*** 

I had an absolute blast playing this game and writing this narrative. Most entries were written in the wee hours or first thing in the morning, so I apologise for any lack of clarity, grammar or quality.

Bloodless by @enniogoes

A Vampire Survival Solo RPG

I have played a lot of solo journalling games, which makes me confident to say that this is a perfect example of the medium and inspired use of the Caltrop Core system by @titanrpg!

Ennio takes the classic vampire tropes and inspiration from "the Vampire the Masquerade actual play “LA by Night” and the What We Do in the Shadows series", and uses them to great effect, especially with the clever framing of the badly wounded and exhausted vampire fighting the coming dawn.

"Chances are good that you won’t see another twilight"

The Caltrop Core system framework with the assigned stats allows for variously-focussed characters with the use of Blood Tokens and how they are gained and lost in Absolute Successes/ Failures lends to incredible highs and lows that made for a genuinely exhilarating experience and exciting narrative.

The prompts themselves are the most paired-back element of the game, which I could see being a little tough for some, but this is beautifully balanced by the scenario, stats and character prompts, and richly flavoured tables for rolling up who your vampire is, why they are in their predicament they're in, and what else you have at risk.

This game reignited my love for solo journaling game and made me start working on my own Caltrop Core game!

[percystrouds]

avan jogia . cis-male . he/him . wasn’t that perseus stroud walking the palace grounds ? it’s nice to see the spy/assassin from the ottola empire out and about on such a fine day as this. i’ve heard from the court spies that they’re notoriously irreverant, whilst also managing to be quite intrepid. the thirty year old is eager to find out who exactly is behind the killings from what’s being said at court. i heard that they themselves are not vrajiit. it’s funny, whenever i think of them, i think of a winning card game when the stakes are too high, a cluster of old wounds twisting like pale vines across his back, a sharp-toothed grin before he speaks - “is that a knife or are you just happy to see me?”. great to see the crow around, isn’t it ?

CHARACTER STATS:

FULL NAME: Perseus (Percy is preferred) Stroud.

AGE: Thirty.

BIRTHDAY: 07 February 120 a.d.

GENDER & PRONOUNS: Cis-male (he/him).

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Your guess is as good as mine.

VRAJIT: N/A.

RELIGION: N/A.

KINGDOM: Ottola Empire.

THREE POSITIVE TRAITS: Intrepid, Ambitious, Clever

THREE NEGATIVE TRAITS: Irreverant, Selfish, Calculating

CHARACTER INSPIRATIONS: Zevran Arainai (Dragon Age: Origin), Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean), John Murphy (The 100), Billy Butcher (The Boys), James 'Sawyer' Ford (Lost).

MBTI: ESTP

EIGHT TV TROPES: Wild Card, Punch-Clock Villain, Death Seeker, Tattooed Crook, Lovable Rogue, Gallows Humour, Artful Dodger, Card-Carrying Villain

PHYSICAL INFORMATION

HEIGHT: 5′10″

EYE COLOUR: Brown.

HAIR COLOUR + STYLE: Also brown, medium-length, unkempt.

CLOTHING STYLE: Typical style features laced-up leather boots, a blouse in which the buttons have fallen away, a penchant for leather. See here, here and here.

EXTRAS

tw death, loss.

- born to a fisherman and wife, percy grew up more familiar with the smell of sea salt than the lavish perfumes associated with nobility. he saw little of the confines of the city, a stranger to cobbled streets, preferring to sit by the docks and listen to the tales his mother would spin. whilst the family were depicted as penurious, they often fed from the fish which did not sell on market stalls. when the fisherman died - presumably from disease - food became scarce and percy's mothered ushered him to the street to beg.

- eventually, the boy was seized by a passing guard he attempted to pickpocket. they held him by the scruff of his collar and heckled every swing of his arms. the spirit of a feral cat, they would howl. taking pity at the sight of protruding bones and a god awful stench, they returned him to the empire and raised him as their own - or rather, they provided a sword and raised him as a weapon. he slept no better, tossing and turning at the thought of his mother. she was a name on their lips, attached by a thread to the city's brothel. a community which grew familiar with housing the impoverished.

- as he aged with the seasons and both swordsmanship and trickery developed, percy was tasked with far more complex duties - all of which came with the promise of coin. thievery, murder, no challenge too great; dangle a coin purse before him like a thread before a feline. whilst he speaks of this job fondly, disclosing stories around the fire with his fellow rogues, they do not utter the nightmares which plague them; where they're captured at knife-point and the lashes to their backs form scars.

- his latest mission is what excites him most - for none are ever foretold to last quite as long - but a spy for the ottola empire is one which could span years. their curiosity is piqued by what exists within walochnia, tales of vrajit lurking behind these walls, coin so plentiful he'll never feel the ache of hunger again. for now, he pretends to be but a mere merchant - a fisherman by trade, of course. though he can be typically found in the far corners of taverns, hustling strangers out of their coin with his greatest weapon: a full deck of cards.

[musecaravan-info]

Alejandro Manolo Ramírez Montoya

"A monster lies in wait in me, a stew of wounds and misery, but fiercer still in life and limb, the me that lies in wait in him." ~ Clive Barker ~

Basic Information

FACE/BODY CLAIM: Antonio Banderas

AGE: Approx. 2500 years old

EYES: Light Brown

HAIR: Dark Brown

HEIGHT: 5'9

PESANTA FORM STATS:

HEIGHT: 3.5’ (Nearly 8’ when standing on hind legs)

EYES: Bright Orange

HAIR: Deep Black, almost void-like

PRIMARY OUTFIT: Mostly dark/muted colors; long sleeves, sweaters, and jackets - even in summer; a little nicer than business casual; any patterns are also muted and 'tasteful'

Personality

Alejandro can often seem a little off-putting, but it's not intentional. He has a brooding sort of aura about him that's usually a little too intense for most people. He's soft-spoken under normal conditions, and has a, almost graceful appearance. All of his movements have an air of thoughtful intent.

LIKES: books, quiet, stormy weather, sweets

DISLIKES: stupidity, cruelty, pettiness, excessive talking

HOBBIES: reading, collecting antique weaponry, collecting antique books

Powers & Weaknesses

To avoid repetitiveness, see this post.

Romance

When it comes to sex, Alejandro will often use this as a precursor to feeding off of someone. There's a lot of guilt he associates with what he does, so he often enjoys taking someone to his bed before giving them horrible nightmares (unless he thinks the person deserves those nightmares.) Essentially, he'll flirt (and sleep) with anyone who seems receptive to the idea.

Developing an actual relationship takes more time. There's a part of him that never recovered from being forced to kill his lover all those centuries ago. It makes him cautious about allowing the potential for that kind of pain into his life again.

Where to Find Him

For most RPs (unless we're doing an AU of some kind) i'll have Alejandro working as a librarian for an art or history museum. He maintains the collection, helps people with research, restores antique books, etc. To keep things open, I'm willing to have him working just about anywhere.

Random places to find him would be coffee shops, public libraries, botanical gardens, etc.

If you want something a little more 'exciting' he unintentionally can gravitate to places where there's fear/suffering - a battle, a natural disaster, a tragic accident, etc. If there's enough people in one place all feeling fear, he can feed without laying a hand on anyone.

Verses

Just because a verse isn't listed here doesn't mean I'm not interested in writing it. I adore all kinds of AUs, and welcome the chance to get creative with my muses. If you've seen a verse that another of my muses has, and you'd like to see this muse in something similar, let me know. You can also check out my 'Plot Ideas' tag, too. ^_^

Main Verse:

This takes place in the present day, and follows Alejandro's backstory. Often I have him searching for a way to protect himself from magic-users. After being captured and enslaved by a dark wizard back in the 15th century, Alejandro's constantly on the lookout for ways to make sure it never happens again.

Marvel Verse

This is basically the same as his Main verse, only set within the Marvel universe. The only difference being that Alejandro will acknowledge the existence of mutants and superheroes/supervillains. However, he isn't a mutant himself; he's still a mythological creature.

Werewolf Verse

This is currently a private verse, however if the idea of Alejandro as a werewolf appeals to you, let me know and we can come up with something different.

Current/Ongoing Threads

If your thread with Alejandro isn't listed here it's probably because it's been long enough since your last reply that I thought you'd dropped it. Message me to let me know you're still interested, and I'll happily add you to the list (with no pressure for a reply.) ♡

Arn:

Through the Woods (Werewolf!AU)

Cam:

Accidental Ties (Marvel!Verse)

Kurt:

With Waking Nightmares (Marvel!Verse)

Completed Threads

I don't have many of these on any of my blogs, but RPs I've actually completed deserve to be acknowledged, I think. ;)

Cam:

The Fire (Main Verse)

Maximus:

Now You See Me (Main Verse)

Stuff That's Good to Know Before Starting a Thread

The face and name he currently uses once belonged to his lover... a man he was forced to kill back during the 15th century. If you want an RP taking place somewhere before the 1400's, then Alejandro will become Matheo Compagni, and his faceclaim will be a 20-something Raoul Bova.

This isn't something you NEED to have you muse know, however, I'm going to tell y'all here so that if you think it's something your muse WOULD know, you can write it in. Alejandro's last name is Ramírez, NOT Montoya. If your muse addresses him as Mr. Montoya he will most likely correct them. If your muse addresses him as Mr. Ramírez he'll probably be pleasantly surprised that they knew enough about Spanish names to get it right.

There may be bits of Alejandro's past that are potentially triggering. I won't go into any gory/graphic details in an RP without warning you, but things are likely to be mentioned in passing, even if it's only in Alejandro's thoughts. He spent several centuries enslaved to someone who abused him in every way you might imagine. It wasn't pleasant, and those years have stayed with Alejandro even into the present day.

Links

Please keep in mind, this blog is an ongoing work in progress. Not all of these links may lead somewhere, but they're here because they link to potential tags for this muse.

All Things Alejandro

Headcanons

Drabbles

All Threads

Ask Replies

Meme Replies

Aesthetics

Face

Special Links

Original Blog

Alejandro's Canine Form

Alejandro's Car

Alejandro's Collection

Alejandro's Home

Alejandro's Magic

Return To Full Muse List

[hella1975]

good morning hella! i saw you on my dash and thought i'd say hi (: i am having a giant melting moment pastry thing for breakfast and its like. real crumbly and doing my head in but im eating it anyway (trying to)

i hope you have had or do have a fantastic day <3

(capt-snoozles)

ps. my nephew says "dedududahgahda" i am unsure what this means, but im fairly certain it was meant for you bc he was pointing at my phone

omg hi theo! i hope your pastry wasn't too annoying bc it lowkey sounds nice but that might just be me being fucked up. tell your nephew i say dedududahgahda right back. you dont need to know what it means we are simply communicating

hope you had a lovely day <3

[purelyfiction]

If I Didn’t Love You

Nathan Drake x Female Reader

Word Count:  2,594 words

Summary: After nearly a year of running away from it, you’re starting back into a world you’d left when you’d left your ex-boyfriend. And into old wounds.

Content Warning: literally nothing, just mushy emotions.

Time heals everything, if you love something let it go, insert another corny breakup saying. At the end of the day, they all suck. Which is why you’re not surprised that you’re still feeling the effects of your break up with Nathan, even 8 months later. It was a rocky start, with days on days of ignoring the world, hating everything because it all reminded you of him. Every part of your apartment had part of him. He was never at his own house when the two of you were home. It was your place or bust. Which really screwed with your head. You’d thought about moving, but that meant subletting your current lease, packing… it wasn’t worth it. So instead, you spent far more time away from home than actively at home. You’d find someone looking for a translation, for anything. Fly to Italy or Japan and spend weeks with your clients, exploring and avoiding anything you could to get your mind off him. It was a real challenge since you’d met him on your travels. So, the plane rides without him rambling on about the active treasure hunt the two of you were on, the history of a language, how hockey stats were … it was beyond difficult. 

So when you booked a job with a Chloe Frazer - someone also in Nate’s line of work, you were content to take it, to possibly get a different perspective, to overwrite the memories. She met you at the airport baggage claim, smiling with a wave. “Hi love, thanks for coming out.” The brunette smiles at you and you return the greeting. 

“Oh my gosh, no thank you for bringing me!” You cheer, lugging your duffle bag over your shoulder, the Australian woman extending a hand for it. You try to decline, but she eventually takes it from you without another word. She would then go on about the location, why she’s there. 

“My business partner told me he could speak fluent Malay but he’s a right liar.” Chloe laughs as she reaches the vehicle, making you giggle as well. 

“Some people like to think they’re qualified until they see the material firsthand. Then they’re overwhelmed and confused and looking for the bathroom and getting to a coffee shop instead.” You joke, climbing into the car with the woman before setting off. “Where is this partner?” The question leaves your lips as you pull out your pair of sunglasses. 

“He’s at our accommodations. I told him I needed to swing by and pick you up, we’d then get food and talk over the literature he needs translated. From there we’ll be able to determine where we need to get to.” You nod and find yourself looking around at the scenery, smiling, naturally. It was the first time you’d had a smile that was genuine, not forced or made up for the benefit of a client. Maybe it was because it was so exciting, the familiarity of it without being the same song and dance entirely. 

Pulling into the motel lot, you’re easily grabbing your bag from the trunk, following Chloe to her room. She’s undoing the lock in the door before making a comment. “Alright bags here, asses in the car, let’s go, I’m hungry.” You let out a laugh, moving to the doorway but when you do, you run into the other person. 

“I’m so sorry-“ “Crap, my bad-“ Both of you freeze. Looking up at him. Him looking down at you. He speaks first, and it’s the quietest utterance of your name. 

“Nathan Drake.” You return, and Frazer speaks up from behind you both. 

“I’m sensing tension. Should I walk away or…?” You glance back at her, seeing her waving her hands about. You slide to the side, Nate sliding past you to move to the car.

“There’s a lot of things you should do.” He mumbles. You move to drop your bag into the motel room, hearing Nathan and Chloe start to go at each other. “I told you we didn’t need a translator!”

“You could barely make out what they were saying on that map, no? I really don’t want to waste more time than necessary.” 

“Who said it was a waste of time? Either still if you were getting a translator you could’ve asked my input on who to pick??”

“She had the best ratings alright -“

“She’s my ex. Are you trying to make my life miserable? Because if so, you're succeeding.” He’s climbing in the car, slamming the door before Chloe greets you in the room again. 

“He’s chipper, ain’t he?” Chloe grumbles, grabbing her wallet, her weapon and her radio. 

“Always, why do think I’m not with him anymore?” You snide. 

“Is this going to be an issue? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” She reaches out a hand to grab your bicep reassuringly. It’s nice that she was taking your side - granted she likely doesn’t know what went on between you - unless Nate was going on about it. 

That would be uncharacteristic of him, but it hadn’t been the worst thing. The two of you wanted different things, which was fair - but it had occurred to you that you were still doing the same thing without him. You’d wanted to settle down, move in together, maybe plan a wedding and get a dog, but he’d not been ready for that. He wanted to keep moving, keep going, find the next adventure. So you’d split. 

It was really only that factor that had driven you apart. You two got along together rather well, always joking that the two of you were the only puzzle pieces in entirety of the puzzle that actually matched. Everyone else had too many confusing ridges. Which had been a large portion of why this breakup had been so difficult. Right person wrong time. A part of you had worried that you would never have a right time. 

“Let’s get on the road, we don’t have all the time in the world.” You hear his voice from outside, booming and straining with annoyance for the two of you. 

Finally, you answer Chloe. “No, we won’t have any issues, so long as both of us can be civil and professional, I don’t think you’ll have very many issues. But knowing Drake, that’s not a promise.”

Chloe lets out an audible laugh, before the two of you climb into the 4x4. Finding the right stale, you finally speak. “So, Drake. What inevitable shit show are we entering into this time?” You can see how his shoulders shift. The only people who called him Drake were the people who weren’t you. Nate, Nathan, Babe, Baby, Goldrush - you had a long long list of things you called him. You used to call him. So maybe that’s why it’s tense between you again. Despite it, you hear him clear his throat over the sound of gravel running under the tires below you, holding on to anything and everything you could. The road was getting shadier and shadier with each turn, and both you and Chloe are clearly rocked by this. Maybe he’d done it on purpose just to mess with the two of you for conspiring against him. You finally hear his response. 

“Well, to catch you up to speed, Chloe and I and this jackass went and found a pot with this mysterious resin and this paper which told us about the Cintimani stone, a legendary sapphire with the ability to…” Nathan would evaporate into his story and the history of the treasure they’re up against. Every now and then Chloe would look over her shoulder with a roll of her eyes. He explained how he’d spent 3 months ‘rotting in a Turkish prison’ before Frazer and Sully came to break him out. Safe to say you were on their side that Flynn was a right asshat who could get bent. 

Eventually, you come to a point where the Jeep wasn’t viable to find the temple that Nate’s after, so you’re on foot. You’d faced quite a few run-ins with mercenaries that had been hired by Flynn’s partner, so you’re all a bit on edge.

As you round a corner, following closely behind Natha, you jump when he comes face to face with someone - with a camera? 

“Whoa, whoa whoa!” A blonde woman approaches with a weapon aimed at the male, Chloe also pulling her weapon on her. “Nathan?”

“Elena? Shit- I could’ve shot you!” He groans, the other male nodding. 

“Guns are still out so that’s a possibility here…” Jeff mumbles, Chloe looking at Drake. 

“You know her?!” She sighs, pushing her weapon away, Nathan doing the same as Elena does. 

“Ugh yeah.” A hand runs over his face as he groans. Elena grins and waves to the two of you. 

“Hi, Elena Fisher. Last year’s model.” She hums, holding out a hand, leaving you to gasp. 

“You’re camera girl? I’ve read all of your articles, Drake, what the hell, you never told me?” You huff, Chloe looking between the three of you. 

“So, I guess this is a Nathan Drake ex-girlfriend convention?” She hums, before the man accompanying Elena speaks up. 

“Um… no. I mean -“ Elena cuts him off. 

“This is Jeff, he’s a coworker of mine. And yes, I’m… ‘camera girl’.” She gives Nate a look and he shrugs. 

“What? It’s better than the other things people have called you.” He shrugs, and you shake your head. 

“Also - ex-girlfriend convention?” You ask, looking at the raven haired woman with confusion. Chloe looks at you with a laugh. 

“Oh! Right, yes. Being Nathan Drake’s ex is something you and I have in common. To be fair I was before blondie, but we’ve worked things out.” She hums, and Nate grunts. 

“Sure, that’s what you can call it. You and Flynn roped me into this so-“

“Into what?” Elena questions slowly. You look at him, and huff. 

“Treasure hunting? What else could this idiot do?” You snicker and the other women nod. Elena gives him a look of distaste. 

“I can’t believe you. You’re still running with gunfire on your heels, aren’t you?” The blonde looks at him with a look of distaste. You clear your throat, looking at the small group that you are all forming. 

“Yes, and that’s an active situation, so we should probably get off the streets.” It’s a suggestion that they all take. 

It’s not long before Nate finds the temple he’d been looking for, leaving Chloe, Elena and Jeff in the entryway, asking you to come with him in case there was text he needed translated. For now, they were to stay as lookouts. You had followed him into the temple further, being greeted with a large gold statue, and a perplexed Nate. It’s the first time the two of you are officially alone, leaving an awkward quiet in its wake. You can hear him mumble to himself as he looks over the room. Looking around the room, you can see points to climb up, so you start. When Nathan finally looks up from his spot in his journal to see you and calls out to you. “Get down from there, you’re going to get hurt!” 

Turning your head to look over your shoulder you see him climbing up behind you. “I think one of the two of us has gotten hurt far more than the other.” You note before pointing to the statue. “I think the arms move.” He looks at you and then to the statue, back to his notes. 

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” Nathan then hands you the journal leaving you to look at the figure in front of the two of you. His breath is on the back of your neck, which is already sweaty from the heat, making you sigh. 

“Give me some space will you?” You grumble, fingers carefully moving over the image as a forced breath of air moves through him in disbelief. Eyebrows furrow as you look at him, “What’s your deal?” 

He shakes his head, looking at the totem in his hand, chuckling almost. “Nothing. Just ironic.” Its your turn to be astonished. 

“Seriously? Nate-” 

“No, no, it’s nothing.” He’s attaching the artifact to his belt again, looking at you, blue eyes burning. You take a step towards him, an accusatory finger pushing to his chest. 

“It’s not, nothing. Clearly, you’re still pissed at me.” A scoff comes from him. 

“‘Yeah, I am. Because you showing up is hugely hypocritical of you. How you went on about wanting to settle down, cozy into a house somewhere and stop traveling. Yet, here you are, doing just that. On an adventure.” The hurt that comes from him finds itself cutting deep into you. Part of you knew that if he’d ever found out, that he’d be angry about it - you were right. 

“It’s been 8 months, Drake. Of course I’m not married off in a farmhouse somewhere.” You retort, throwing his book at him, causing him to grip it to his chest to catch it. “So, yeah. I threw myself into work. Because otherwise I would be at home sulking.” 

“Sulking? About what? What could you possibly be sulking about, you broke up with me.” He snarls in response. 

“If I wasn’t here I would have to sit in an apartment alone, lingering in countless memories of you. Thinking about who you were with. How you were doing. Not staring at my phone and wondering if it would ever ring with your name again, if you were as miserable as I was. If I weren’t here I would still have to face loving you.” When it leaves you, you can see the shift in Nathan’s expression, surprised at the admission. You’re already off the edge, might as well go on. “If I didn’t love you I would be good by now. I wouldn’t need a distraction. I wouldn’t be crying myself to sleep every night, thinking about everything you said to me. That last conversation we had haunts me at night. Because loving you means you’re all that I want. I don’t want to settle down, the house on the farm, the dog and the kids without you, Nate. If I didn’t love you I wouldn’t find myself hoping and wishing to see you, and hate that I still want you. Even after everything, I still want you. As unfair as that is.”  

You barely notice the tears running down your cheeks. You just know the stillness of the air. The thick mugginess of the heat and the incredibly hard gaze Nathan has trained on you. The two of you stand in the silence for a minute or so more before he finally says something. 

“If I didn’t love you I wouldn’t miss you. If I didn’t love you I wouldn’t be out here giving myself a reason to stay away. I’m still out here chasing something, when I already had the greatest thing I’ve ever had.” He draws closer to you, rough and tired hands resting on your sides, looking you in the eye. “I had found everything I needed in you and I was blind to it.” Your own hands find a home on his forearms, looking at him with soft breaths, waiting for a word. “I’ll be damned if I lose that again.” Before you know it he’s pulled you into the tightest hug, leaving you to hide his face in his chest, a sigh of relief moving through you. 

“Who said you ever lost it to begin with?”

[iwadori]

Hiiii!!!! can you do like when you guys are supposed to meet up and they waited for about an hour or so and kept texting you you but you haven't replied so they thought you ditched them and got mad at you and stuff then they decided to go home and while on their way home not too far from their school they found you unconscious body with a large wound on you back and your head bleeding?.

can you pleaseease do tsukishima, yamaguchi, ushijima, bokuto (I'm sorry if that's a lot)

Haikyu Boys when you get hurt Pt 2 (Ushijima,Bokuto

Part One Part Two Part Three

Word count: 2.6K

Genre: angst, fluff

masterlist

Ushijima

You were having the worst week this week,  from battling a cold and your boss making you do all sorts of extra jobs (that were definitely not under your job description.) As easter was swiftly approaching you and Ushijima had your annual plans of going to the local kids community center and helping them with an easter egg hunt. But you don’t think you can manage it this year.

Ushijima gets home from practice with 4 bags just filled with easter eggs ranging from all different sizes, “woah there Toshi, you’ve got enough there too feed all of england” you laugh  

“I don’t think these eggs will be able to sustain England Y/N” he says seriously making you laugh even harder. As you were laughing, you felt another migraine come along making your cringe in pain. “Toshi, I don’t think I can do the easter egg hunt this year?”  

He sits down next to you alarmed that something is wrong, “why what happened Y/N” he asks

“I’ve been feeling terrible all week, and I even have a migraine right now” you say to him thinking he would understand.

“That’s it?” he questions thinking what you said was a joke “I think you can handle a migraine, remember we’re doing this for the kids”

His words were making you feel slightly guilty since maybe you were being over dramatic. “Y/N if it’s really ‘that bad’, i’ll make you some tea so you can feel better,” he says going into the kitchen to start on your tea. You murmur a quiet “thank you” and you end up falling asleep, hoping that by the time you wake up your head stops pounding.

As you wake up, you realise you slept all the way through the night and over to the next day as when you look at your clock it says 12:32 pm. You look at your nightstand and saw that Ushijima wrote you a note saying:  

Y/N I've left out early to set out the easter egg hunt, I’ve made you breakfast so eat up and get prepared for the event which starts at 4pm. Please don’t forget.

Sincerely – Ushijima Wakatoshi.

You chuckle at the fondness of the note, before realising your pain. Your brain felt like it was having a live concert inside that definitely was not going to end soon but you still got up prepared for the day. You didn’t want to let Ushijima or the kids down.  

When you go to the kitchen , you see the cute breakfast that Ushijima made you consisting of all of your favourite foods and with another simple note of him saying ‘ I love you. ‘ Ushijima has always been a lovely boyfriend, treating you like the queen you are always making sure that you were okay. Of course, his bluntness and his lack of social cues was something to get used to but when you did get accustomed to it, it only made you fall in love with him more.

You got ready, feeling even more sick as the piping hot shower that you usual have, did not help as when you were showering you felt heavily faint. However, you persevered since you did not want to let Ushijima down.

You finally were prepared to leave the house, with the community center being on 15 minutes walk away you were leaving out at 3:50pm since you were planning to take your car anyways. When you leave your home, you realise that you forgot your car keys so you dash up the stairs (a bit too quickly) to go and find them. Scrambling through your draws, your head is pounding harder and harder and the more it pounds the quicker your moving making you even more faint. You eventually find your keys and you’re ready to zoom to the community center but your body gave out and you pass out tumbling down the stairs landing at your front door.

Ushijima was waiting outside of the community center waiting for you to arrive it was 4:05pm and he was wondering where you were (knowing that your place was only a 10 minute drive away) he sent you a few texts asking where you were but when you don’t respond Ushijima becomes slightly annoyed, plastering a fake smile on his face and entering the community center, starting the easter egg hunt.

The easter egg hunt came to a close at 8pm and Ushijima assumed that you would’ve showed up some time in the middle of the event, but you obviously didn’t show. After making sure that all the kids left safely Ushijima decided to call and text you more and when you continuously don’t respond and your calls go to voicemail he says ‘Y/N, im really disappointed with you right now. How could you do this to me? You said you would show up, the kids were really upset, how could you be so selfish?’

He walks to your house knocking on the door, but when you don’t immediately answer he knew something must be up now, since you haven’t responded to any of his texts and calls and didn’t show up he figured there was something deeper then you just ditching the event.

He used his key to open the door, surprised when the door hit something. He tried again hitting the ‘object’ that was laying at the door again. He carefully pushes the door to make enough room for him to fit through the gap. When he entered, he was startled at the sight of you, there you lay completely knocked out with a blood stain next to your head. He knelt down next to you and touched your cheek you were extremely cold, he had to get you to a hospital stat. He called an ambulance, panicked. Worrying about how long you’ve been out for since it would have to be atleast more than 4 hours he assumed.

You woke up in a foreign room, with your head slightly stinging. You place your hand on the back of your head and wince, then you remember you need to be at the easter egg hunt so you bolt up ready to move.  

“I don’t think that’s wise for you to do that Y/N” Ushijima says to you  

“Toshi, what happened?” you ask still in pain

“It seems you fell down the stairs and hit your head” after he said that all your memories come flooding back, and you remember rushing to the community centre, looking for your keys, and then falling down the stairs and everything going black.

“I’m sorry Ushi for missing the easter egg hunt, I really tried to get there,” you say with an apologetic look on your face  

“It’s fine Y/N of course you wouldn’t of been able to get there after falling down the stairs” he says “Also, this is proof of why you shouldn’t run down the stairs”

You eventually get discharged with the doctor telling you all you need to do is rest and stay off your feet. Ushijima took the doctor's orders very seriously, becoming your loyal servant and waiting on you hand and foot, tending to your every need. He did also make you were eating healthy and taking all your medicine so you could have the best recovery possible.  

Also, after realising that this could’ve all been avoided if Ushijima didn’t guilt trip you in the first place for having a migraine, he made sure to never ignore or dismiss when you say you are ill or have anything wrong with you even if it’s a migraine, a lost limb or a simple paper cut.

Bokuto  

The Olympics were coming up and Bokuto couldn’t be any more excited than he already was. Everything he’s talked about for the past month he manages to find a way to relate to the Olympics, and as annoying as it got sometimes you were just as excited for it as much as Bokuto was.  

Bokuto was heavily busy with extra practices so you were bored and lonely, since your boyfriend was at practice all the time so you chose to take up a new hobby. You decided to paint, although you weren’t an award-winning painter you still found joy in it. Being Bokuto’s girlfriend you had some slight unwanted attention on you: the usual fans of Bokuto that just followed you to have an extra aspect of him in their life's, or his fangirls that adored him.  

You didn’t mind the fangirls for the most part since majority of them were pretty tamed and did fawn over your relationship. However, there was the minority of fans that did make it known to you that they DID NOT like you at all. When you started posting your paintings, it seems their hate for you amplified since they always found the need to leave an astray of mean comments on your post. But that didn’t mainly bother you since you thought that they only had that energy behind the screen.

The days went by getting closer to the Olympics, with Bokuto always asking you every day “Y/N you are coming to my games, right?” to which you always replied “Of course Kou, I’m coming” which always made him smile.

When the Olympics came, you’ve went to all the games cheering Bokuto and the team on as they were winning round after round. Whilst this was going on, the group of girls that were sending you horrible messages and making mean posts about you weren’t stopping. At first, you didn’t care for them but it seems their posts only gotten worse making comments about your artwork, your face, your body type ect.  

You didn’t want to tell Bokuto as you felt that it would ruin his Olympic momentum and you thought you could handle it all on your own.  

It was nearing to the final game of the Olympics, and Bokuto was ecstatic he made sure that you promised you’d be there claiming that you was his ‘good luck’ charm.’ You were excited to go too, the feeling of watching Bokuto play was exhilarating seeing him fully in his element was great for you to see.

On the last game day, Boktuo was already at the stadium since him and the team had to be there earlier to practice and you planned to meet him there just before the game started at 4:30. You went to a florist before the match getting Bokuto the biggest boquet that you could buy.  

On your way to the stadium you here somebody whistle from behind you, you turn around and see a group of girls waiting behind you smirking. “Hi?” you say more like a question then a statement “do you want something from me?”

Some of them laugh, but the one standing at the front who you mentally lable the ‘main one’ steps closer to you and says “We want you to stay away from Bokuto” you realise that these were the girls sending you hate online for these past weeks.

Before you can even blink, the girls jump you, hitting, kicking and clawing at you. You are in pain, screaming and crying for them to stop and leave you alone. You lay there, letting them beat you up thinking that you’ll probably end up dead out of this. All you can think about is Bokuto, you didn’t get to wish him good luck, or give him your flowers (that you spent a fortune on) or even tell him that you loved him one last time.

You think the girls eventually stopped but you couldn’t tell because your body was throbbing and you hurt all over. You tried to get up still wanting to go to the match but you collapse going out cold.

Bokuto was scanning the crowd over and over for you, hoping to spot you there. But he couldn’t, he was wondering where you were getting sadder and sadder by the second since he really believed you were his good luck charm and he probably wouldn’t be able to win without at least seeing your face once.

They didn’t win. Bokuto knew he wasn’t playing at his best, since all his mind was on was thinking about where you were. You’ve never missed one of his games, so he was incredibly worried. After he accepted his second-place medal, he rushed out the stadium to go to your house but he was stopped by some fangirls ‘I guess signing autographs is the least I can do’ he thinks, the fans were being a bit odd today but he didn’t have time to focus on that as his mind was racing thinking about you and your whereabouts.  

One of his fans did give him an alarmingly big boquet of roses which he appreciated ‘these must of cost a fortune’ he thinks. Although it was a probably a long shot, he decided to ask the fan if he saw someone who looked like *whatever you look like* to maybe see if someone else saw you. Which the fan replied “yeah I saw them with some guy at this restaurant whilst we were going to see you!” they exclaimed.

‘A guy’ he thought ‘that most likely wasn’t you.’ Seeing Bokuto’s confusion, the fan followed up with “I'm pretty sure it was her I mean we all know who Bokuto Koutaro’s girlfriend was.” Bokuto didn’t reply just walking away making sure to thank them for the flowers.  

He was rushing towards your house on foot (since all the taxi’s and ubers were fully booked because of the Olympics) whilst running he stumbles across your passed out body all black and bruised with scratch marks and bleeding all over you. “what happened” he whispered, knowing you obviously weren’t going to respond.  

He picked up your near-dead body, and cradled you in his arms taking you back to the stadium (since he knew that getting an ambulance to come here or running to the hospital would basically be impossible.) When he got back to the stadium, he did get odd looks from strangers but he didn’t care, his only agenda was making sure you were okay.

You woke up, and saw Bokuto pacing the room repeatedly you tried to get his attention by saying his name but your throat was damaged. He eventually notices you and runs to your side, stroking your face softly and giving you a gentle hug making sure not to hurt you.  

“Who did this Y/N?” he asks with worry in his eyes  

You ignore his question and look at the silver medal wrapped around his neck making you sad “I’m sorry I didn’t make it to the match, I tried I really did try” you said with your voice sounding even worse after you said every word.  

“Don’t be silly, I’m just glad that you’re okay babe, I was really worried about you.” he said

The Medic came in and said that you had multiple broken ribs, but beside that you were fine you just needed to rest your throat and let your bruises heal. You eventually told Bokuto that it was some of his fans, he was upset that you hid this from him for so long but he was just glad that he got to you as soon as he did. He managed to play at the next Olympics and you were there fully present, with your even bigger boquet of flowers watching win gold.

Authors Note: I tried to make it as close to your request as possible, but I hope you enjoy as I really do think this is my favourite work so far.... :3 Comments and feedback appreciated.

[waywardtakami]

- don't leave me

✦pairing: hawks x gn!reader

✦c/w: language, slight mha manga spoilers, 16+ only , angst

✦a/n: hello!! I'm very excited about this fic, it's my first gn one! It's been sitting in my wips for so long and I'm finally happy with it. hopefully people will still read this without there being smut. thank you! <3

✦summary: hawks gets hurt during a mission...

✦w/c: 2k

Keigo had left you again to fight in another mission. He had only been gone for a few days, but you wished he was with you instead. You missed him so much. He hadn't been physically by your side in so long, causing your heart to ache again. Times like these were practically torture. Waking up without him by your side was agonizing, but you were used to it.

His job was all-consuming and you knew him being away for large amounts of time would affect you when you committed yourself to this relationship. There was a constant worry for his life and maybe a little for your own. 

You and Kei decided to keep your relationship as private as possible so no one would go after you. He didn't want anyone to kidnap or hurt you. 

Even though his musk scent was flooded throughout your shared home, you still tried distracting yourself the best you could.

After making your favorite food, you plopped onto the couch and turned on the TV to try and take your mind off him. 

As the TV flickered on, your boyfriend's face flashed across the screen. A gruff voice played over what was being shown. You assumed it was just something about his stats or a recent interview per usual. It didn't help the feeling in your heart subside by seeing him.

You changed the channel, again and again. But every channel had been taken over by the same broadcast. You eventually fixated and listened.

Your heart dropped.

Hawks had been accused of murder. 

"Murder...?" you mumbled to yourself. "No..he...what?" Your heart was beating so fast it felt like it was about to thump out of your chest. You were stuck in a pool of emotions of confusion and immense shock, it was like your head was on fire. 

Dabi...one of the League of Villain members was behind this. All the information you received was from Keigo's colleagues and the media. 

Keigo had been hurt bad...real bad.

The fact that you couldn't do anything about it had you overwhelmed and panicked. When you finally found out which hospital he was brought to through FatGum, you drove yourself there.

Of course he was brought to one one of the furthest ones from where you guys lived. On top of that, traffic was horrendous. With everything that had gone down, the citizens of the city were frantic and trying to get home to their families.

Your hands and entire body practically trembled while driving. Your eyes pricked with tears at the thought of Keigo's wounded state. "He's fine he's fine he's FINE!" You kept telling yourself over and over. 

When you made it to the hospital, there was a large number of people in the waiting room. The sounds of people clamoring in and trying to get a room were deafening. You hurried over to the front desk. 

"Hello Ma'am I need to see Hawks, he should be here." She wouldn't let you in his room. You wanted to see him, no you needed to see him. You started crying, pleading, begging for her to let you go in his room. But the front desk lady apologized and insisted he needed to rest and isn't accepting visitors. 

You knew it was really because she probably thought you were just some fan of his. Or maybe even a reporter trying to sneak in photos. But no, you were his baby, his life, and they weren't going to let you in.

"I'M HIS DAMN PARTNER FOR GOD SAKES!" You yell while slamming your fist against the counter. You didn't realize how much impact you put into your fist until you felt pain in your hand. The waiting room goes almost quiet and heads turn to look at you. You glance back to see all the faces turned to you. 

Your voice softens from embarrassment. "Please...just let me see him." Your fist still against the counter looking at the nurse with tears streaming down your face. 

She stands up and moves closer, "I'm so sorry, I believe you…" She slides a clip board with a few papers attached. "...but we can't let you in just yet he's still recovering from his injuries, he needs to rest right now. Please fill these out while you wait." She looks back up with you with a faint smile. She really does believe you. She can see it in your eyes, the pain, she understood.

You release your hand, and pick up the clipboard. Looking at her on the other side of the counter you give her a face flustered nod and mouth a quick "thank you."

You go sit down comfortably in one of the empty chairs to wait for keigo to wake up...

The news of your wounded boyfriend was already half across Japan. After filling out the forms you scroll through your phone to calm yourself down. You kept seeing post after post about him. Almost all news headlines had his name. 

You think to yourself about how much of it is all bullshit and that he's fine. Deep down you weren't sure if the words your brain kept telling you were true. You click on one of the posts about him that reads: 

"THE NUMBER TWO PRO HERO DEAD" 

Your heart skips a beat, but quickly you realize it's just a fake. You scroll through, lightly skimming the bullcrap you were reading. You scroll and see a photo taken of him the night he was brought to the hospital. You wonder how the press even got a photo of him. You focus on the photo, he does look dead. It only showed his upper body, completely covered in burns. More tears forming at the corners of your eyes just seeing him in the photo. Oh and his wings, his big bright vermilion wings...gone.

You were a complete mess at this point but your sniffles and choked sobs were interrupted by the front desk lady waving to you. "He's awake." 

Quickly following her into the room you see him. As you stand in the doorway for a moment, your heart sinks. You hurry to him. He had bandages wrapped around his head. His hair was short and mostly singed off. And his wings...they really were gone. "I'll leave you two alone," the nurse walks out and closes the door behind her.

You turn back to him.

"Kei?" you whimpered out.

His half lidded eyes look at you. His formerly bright, charming and yellow pupils have become dark and filled with anguish. He was wearing a mask over his nose and mouth with two tubes coming from the sides of it. He couldn't speak or breath himself, due to his throat being burned. 

Of course he knew it was you. Tears welled up deep inside and coursed down his cheeks. Seeing him like this had your body nauseas. You move to cup your hand on his face, feeling the material of his mask rather than his soft subtle skin. You graze your thumb against his cheekbone to wipe away his tears.

You pick up one of his hands to hold it in yours. "Kei….I'm so glad you're okay." You were sniffling through each word. He slowly raises his arm to point to the phone sitting on the table near his hospital bed. Handing it to him, you watch as his calloused fingers type out what he wants to say. 

"Angel, I've missed you so much, please never leave my side." You faintly smile at him, wishing you could hear those words come from his mouth and not the AI voice. 

"I won't leave you Keigo, I'm here, I won't go anywhere."

He types again. "I'm pretty beat up, but I think I'll make it."

Your ears focus on "think" for a moment. "Yes Kei you'll be fine, everything's gonna be okay. You felt a bit better being in his presence but you still couldn't bear the sight of him. Your eyes began to prick with tears once again and this time Kei was the one who bought his hand up to brush your tears away just like you did moments ago. 

You try your best to wrap your arms around him without causing him anymore pain. You could feel him wince when you laid your head against his chest. "Sorry Kei I didn't mean to hur-" He waves his hand and shakes his head, signaling that it's okay.

Your body looked calm despite how tangled your mind was.There were many questions that flooded your mind. So many things you wanted to say. But you could worry about the details later. Right now you were finally with him again, there was no way you were letting him leave you ever again.

You were bent over, upper body on top of him at an awkward position. You didn't want to hurt him, so this had to work.

Despite the position, you took in the moment with your boyfriend. Feeling his chest slowly rise up and down. You close your eyes and imagine you were back home with him in bed. Just snuggling on a weekend afternoon, light shining in on him making his wings light up beautifully against the sun. His golden locks and glowing skin, his scent washing over your senses. Your warm bodies practically glued together. You wanted that again, you wanted everything back to normal.

He moved one of his scarred hands to your back, slowly rubbing up and down. He knew he wasn't going to make it. He was fighting so hard on the inside. So damn hard...for you. He didn't want to leave you, he couldn't. His mind wandered about the life he had planned to have with you.

He faintly smiled under the mask when he imagined you walking down the aisle...holding your first child...sitting in little rocking chairs growing old together. That's all he wanted.

Both of your tears never stopped. You were both silent. The only sounds to be heard were each other's quiet sniffles and the monitor Keigo was attached to, making a faint beep to his heart beat. Still laying on his chest, his breathing started to slow and so did the beeping, being lost in the moment you didn't notice really but he knew.

He waved his hand signaling for you to stand up and brought his hand to take off his mask. He couldn't hold on much longer. Every aching pain inside him felt like knives stabbing his insides and with each stab more time from his life was taken.

"Kei, you need to keep it on to breath, please." He shakes his head and takes it off anyways. The beeping still started to slow. The mask hung off the side of his face. His honeyed voice now husk from the burns. 

"Baby...I love you so...so.." He coughs making him hiss at the pain.

"No..fuck..Kei stop, you're going to be okay just put the damn mask on." 

"I'm too..far..gone, I have no more fight left." 

Holding his jaw in your hands,your face inches from him. "No you have to stay strong for me, please don't leave me again, I can't do this without you." 

"Kid...please...when I'm gone...find someone else and-

"NO- I ONLY WANT YOU!" You cry out, holding his head to your chest. Long-lasting sobs leaving your mouth.

"I love...you" His breathing is heavy from trying to speak. He needed to tell you this. He needed you to understand how much he loves you.

Moving his head from your chest. "I love you too...kiego." You manage to say through your choked sobs. 

You move to have your lips brush his, softly, delicately, like butterfly wings, just long enough that he could inhale your breath, feel the warmth of your skin. He closes his eyes and connects his lips to yours. It was deep and passionate, like you were kissing him for the first time. You held one side of his face with one hand, and held his hand with the other. 

But when you pull away, his eyes don't open. It's like that's all he wanted, no needed. One last kiss, one last touch. To feel you. 

His breathing completely slows, and you're left with the prolonged beep of the monitor. He was gone. The man who was always too fast for his own good, had left you and the world too fast.

✶tag list: @levithestripper @sleepysnk @conniesspringersgf @regretfulfairies @miyanom @sashatotie @romeoandjuliet96 @strawberry-pp @megvmi-s @cinnamonnn-roll @gooddayzarerare @kkodzvken

[warmcoals]

give us deets on the elden ring playthrough! what's the tarnished up to these days? which npcs are you vibing with? have you put together a cool outfit yet? the people wanna know!!

plain doll put into human form, like text run both ways thru goog translate. started confessor bc it seemed like faith would be her magic more than int. stats all over while i get a feel, so i havent rly leaned into faith yet thru beating godrick, but i hear theres respec so thats the future. though knowing ranni is int...we'll see.

my actual play style wound up being just sword and shield, brass for full block guard counter, buckler for parrying (which is so satisfying). high stamina, slam r1 pretend i have a saw cleaver, roll. do wish i had better than broadsword +4. full cleared limgrave and south island thing, lv40, got godrick p quick (thx aurelia), raya next.

the plot is blowing me away, gruesomeness of everything. what if high fantasy was properly all around fucked, and not in a fun cutesy consumable way. like the languages of this game....beast/undead, fingers/bodies, gold/rot, sins of humans as usual. so many items to read w lore, the npcs, the paintings, what the fuck.

outfit main problem so far. confessor drip is rly good, have confessor robe+cape plus bandit mask looking good w plain doll's white pony and dead eyes. excited to get more armor that i dont absolutely hate to wear at this point in the game...more exploring, more grinding helps. gonna win fashion souls just like bloodborne i swear 😤

[phoenixtakaramono]

Character Design Thoughts for Shen Yuan & Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky in ‘The Untold Tale’

(This is a Follow Up to This Post)

Hello, @averydrearydiana! Loved reading through your tags! I’m excited that you’re excited! Since I’m also seeing comments on AO3 speculating about how our transmigrators are going to appear as in The Untold Tale, I might as well give my current thoughts and have this archived on tumblr for future reference.

A fun fact about TUT is that a lot of the imagery in the story is inspired by Chinese PVs and popular C-dramas and literature. Since TUT is conceived as a lovestory to SVSSS, one element that I’d wanted to incorporate is playful attempts at satirical genre deconstruction. With that comes with me playfully poking fun at some clichés or things I’ve noticed in Chinese works.

Shen Yuan’s Celestial Design

Before I talk about his mortal appearance, I have to give a lil context about his celestial design in the story. We already know what he looks like as the celestial fortuneteller in TUT’s cover art that I’ve already posted on tumblr. As everyone knows, I was heavily inspired by this Chinese PV:

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(TUT ch1 - Excerpt)

Among the things I’ve noticed are the fictional characters with white hair. We have a whole subculture of fans liking male character designs with white hair in anime and animation. Taking that a step further, they’ve even shown up in C-dramas, i.e. Teng She from Love and Redemption (technically more blond than platinum white, but shhhhh, just let me have this), Dong Hua Dijun from Eternal Love of Dream aka Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms (rest assured, I’m aware of the source material’s controversy, but let’s not get into that here), etc. One of the tags for TUT is Opposites Attract. Luo Binghe’s color coordination is aligned with black and red mostly. Now, visually speaking, what’s the opposite of that?

The yin yang symbol.

Fun fact, besides black vs white, green (SY) is the complementary color of red (LBG) on the color wheel. Now taking everything I’ve said, to take it even one step further, my thought process at the time was, “why not go the extra mile then and just have SY be albino? Within context of the Heavenly Realm, that character design makes sense.” TUT is me subtly riffing off what I can (for the good ol’ meta humor), but making the content come across as a legitimate story experience. As Protagonist A and Protagonist B, LBG and SY have to look visually striking together. With all that said, let’s talk about....

(In reference to the original tumblr post)

Shen Yuan (Mortal)

I’ll keep some elements of his albinism from his celestial form (light sensitivity and pale skin mostly), but SY’s mortal form is essentially SY pre-transmigration but within context of the xianxia genre.

For his appearance, let’s just keep this Author’s Note^ and TUT’s summary in the back of our brains. This is the fanvid I was originally inspired by for SY’s mortal appearance:

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(TUT Summary - Excerpt)

For what he wears, I’m currently feeling very heavily inspired by this PV:

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His mortal appearance wouldn’t be considered as “strange” or “otherworldly” compared to the “ethereal fairy-like beauty” SY retains in the Heavenly Realm, but as a side-effect of the 【PROTAGONIST’S HALO】 and his +20 CHARISMA stat, he would still be considered attractive to people even when he takes on a mortal appearance. (Mainly, I like the idea of Bing gē taking large shots of vinegar seeing SY turning heads no matter which appearance SY takes on, and Luo Binghe glaring at these “insects” for even “daring to lay their unworthy eyes on his fated person.” The thought of it just makes me laugh.)

What I mean by how SY’s mortal form being very much based on how SY appeared pre-transmigration but in the xianxia genre context, I mean he’ll have his dark hair (but longer), a “scholarly air” (as a nod to his novelist background), dark eyes, and even his glasses technically (the divine monocle mentioned in ch3, which is also a subtle nod to Sha Po Lang and a riff on men wearing monocles in other Chinese works andit’salsoforeshadowingbutshhhh).

(TUT ch3 - Excerpt)

Shen Yuan originally was an author in his forties pre-transmigration, so I like the idea him having a mature air about him in the Cultivation World as well. So for both our Protagonist B’s celestial and mortal appearances, the idea is that you can look at him and immediately recognize him as a protagonist of the danmei setting. My only two prerequisites are that his appearance screams “hello, I’m Protagonist B” and that he appears in “scholarly” attire.

Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky (Mortal)

Keeping in mind the original tumblr post where I wrote my thoughts on who I’m transmigrating him as, currently I’m thinking it’s a combination of these two PVs for his mortal form:

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As a nod to him being a successful novelist, I wanted him to also appear scholarly. A scholarly crown prince, if you will. For his attire, imagine all the C-drama clothing you’ve seen actors wear in period dramas, and you already have a good idea already of the direction I’m heading down.

As the prince of the cannon fodder emperor, I very much like the idea of Airplane perhaps having a baby face and brown hair (as a small nod to fanon!SQH from SVSSS) but with a great body (a huge source of inspiration are clothing worn by Prince Yu and Prince Jing of the three princes from the C-drama Nirvana in Fire). Since Airplane will also be able to select his Character Creation stats like Shen Yuan had, one thing I’m fairly certain is that he will max out his CONSTITUTION—because “game logic” and not wanting to die. (For those who don’t know, the CON stat in tabletop RPs essentially indicates a person’s overall health, wellbeing, and vigor checks...so him maxing it out is equivalent to him being as invulnerable as a cockroach. A high CON means overall healthiness, which means your character probably is full of energy and vitality, can heal rapidly, and will rarely get sick—if ever. Low CON usually means a higher susceptibility to sickness and disease, wounds that fester and linger, and a general fatigue would haunt you, etc.) Like how SY zeroed in on his CHA, Airplane would have prioritized +20 CON (+5 modifier), especially knowing the fate that’d await him as a prince and the vicious environment that is expected for palace intrigue plots (the harem is a big factor, with concubines and consorts and even the empress sabotaging each other—just to win the favor of one man). Against poison or whatnot which is a cliché in palace intrigue plots, rather than relying on luck, you typically stand a better chance of passing the CON check if you have a high modifier aiding your checks. He’s basically become impervious to illnesses, most poisons (probably being able to spring back quickly), and is considered the healthiest prince in all the mortal imperial line. <- This could be taken both seriously and humorously simultaneously.

Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky (Deity/ Celestial)

For Xiàng Tiān Dà Fēijī’s “actual divine body” that is currently asleep and won’t be awakened until Airplane completes his mortal trial to “regain his cultivation powers,” the face should obviously be similar but, as Xiàng Tiān Dà Fēijī, he would appear regal and dignified as a god of this world:

Imagine something along the lines of mortal Airplane as the man on the right, celestial Shen Yuan in the center, and deity/ celestial Airplane as the man on the left. I envision a respectable appearance that would knock the air out of Mobei jūn and make him recognize Airplane despite any visual dissimilarities, and in a way we have the Four Beauties of China: Luo Binghe, Shen Yuan, Mobei jūn, and Xiàng Tiān Dà Fēijī.

I will say I currently have an idea of making Airplane have “golden” eyes in both his celestial and mortal forms. (Spoiler alert: in my notes, I’d written down to give Airplane yellow eyes as an Easter egg to Yanxi Palace, I believe, where there was an episode where someone of the imperial harem schemed against the empress and almost had the newborn baby killed because that and the yellow skin was an inauspicious omen. We later find out through a timely intervention that the true reason was due to jaundice—because of the diet/ pregnancy cravings she ate for a period of time which resulted in her son’s symptoms. With Airplane’s high CON and another trope I’m bringing in which’ll have to do with the Medicine King’s Valley/ Valley of the Medicine King, his yellow eyes are the only side effect that lingered from that traumatic event which would have killed him had they gotten away with their scheme. A lot of palace dramas have to do with the vicious harem plots, so this would potentially be one such example.) The reason being that this is the identifying marker for MBJ to clue in that they’re the same man he will have loved. And I think that has romantic potential.

Misc.

Now addressing the other tags, yes, essentially speaking, Mobei jūn might just very well experience his very own Big Damn Reunion trope that Bing mèi had suffered from SVSSS. Poor MBJ. He’s in a tumultuous ride of his own with him considering Airplane as his own fated person, hahaha. But for the Moshang dynamic, I want him—a demon—to find himself taken with Airplane in his mortal guise—and subsequently his true celestial appearance once he finds out. I very much also want SY to jokingly snark to his fellow transmigrator-and-writing-colleague about him getting in a relationship with his own “creation” (MBJ). And Airplane would jokingly snark back about SY “ruining his ‘first son’ as well” (LBG). If you can read between the lines of that, then kudos. I’m glad to hear you’re looking forward to the palace intrigue.

I’m especially very happy to hear you’re looking forward to the descriptions! I personally love worldbuilding in the stories I consume I’m an interior designer and realtor irl, so I’m glad my love of house details and landscape, etc shows in TUT. For the pseudohistorical vibe, in the Mortal Realm, I will be referencing the Forbidden City of our Chinese history and a couple popular period C-dramas. Take the settings of period C-dramas like Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace, Yanxi Palace, and Nirvana in Fire as examples for what will be awaiting us when we finally meet Airplane in his mortal body. In the Heavenly Realm, the descriptions will be heavily referencing shows that contain aesthetics such as those of Ashes of Love, Love and Redemption, and Eternal Dream.

Take this with a grain of salt just in case I change my mind later on, but in the chapter when we meet Airplane for the first time, I probably won’t say which character he is in the first scene. I’ll give plenty of hints in the first scene so that you all can make your guesses before the big reveal, but I’m fairly confident you all or most of you will be able to pinpoint who he is among the cannon fodders. We’ll meet the emperor, who is discussing with his sons about the matter regarding the approaching calamity that is Luo Binghe. Then when we transition into the second scene, we’ll know exactly which “royal prince OC” it is that our beloved Airplane has transmigrated into, hahaha.

(*Keep in mind, for everything written above, some details are subject to change. Nothing is official until it appears in the story, or I’ve actually drawn my ideas out and posted online to both my tumblr and twitter. These are just my current thoughts.)

A goal of mine for TUT is to make the story widely accessible, meaning it doesn’t matter if the reader is new to the SVSSS fandom or aren’t familiar with the Easter egg references or meta jokes or subtext or even the Chinese culture, or even if English is not their first language. Having knowledge beforehand might help someone notice more hidden details in TUT, yes, but it is a humble wish of this writer for her esteemed readers to be able to dive into the story and get the enjoyable feeling like they’re reading a genuine danmei novel. It really makes me smile whenever I hear feedback that I am able to emulate that experience.

Very exciting developments indeed are in store!

[donvilaro]

Don Niccolo Vilaro

Stand name: The Reaper

Born into the well established organisation, Niccolo is also a born stand user. The Reaper is a phenomenon stand that manifested in his childhood after an intense fever, however, the nature of his abilities weren't visible at first. Niccolo's stand manifests in two ways: as blood tendrils from his back which can be as malleable as he needs them to be, or as a cloaked humanoid figure whose limbs turn into said blood tendrils. The tendrils are essentially Niccolo's blood, allows him the ability to nullify and destroy the stand ability of another if they're wounded by his stand. His body's reaction to the stand manifestation had effectively turned his blood into the anti-virus to the stand virus. The stand isn't very durable as the bloodloss negatively affects Niccolo, however this is made up for how fast and powerful his stand can be.

Trivia: Niccolo’s father, Ignacio co-owned a pharmaceutical company with Mahin, (Bria’s father) and used to regularly perform experiments on Niccolo and with his blood, and had harnessed a way to crystallize his blood into tiny weapons to eradicate stand users who posed a threat to him. His research center was shut down when Mahin found out, but there are still prototypes of the weapon in circulation in various labs in Eastern Europe.

Fausto Aglieri

Stand name: Forgotten

Faust grew up with Niccolo and Elio, his father being one of Ignacio’s most loyal advisors. History repeated itself when Niccolo chose Faust to be his consigliere. His stand, Forgotten, had proved to be useful, allowing the wielder to access, rearrange and delete the memories of its victims. It manifests as a humaniod figure with scythe-like digits. Physically, the stand isn't the most powerful, and Faust has been constantly working with the stand so their growth potential is decreasing, the speed, and range at which Forgotten operates turns it into a devastating stand.

Trivia: Faust gained his ability when his father and Ignacio had acquired a stand arrow, being the first successfully acquired stand user through their arrow.

Elio Toscano

Stand name: Spectre

Spectre is an energy based stand that allows the user a variety of abilities, some of which Elio is yet to discover. The most notable of his abilities allows him to create clones of the people he encounters at will as well as disrupting electrical signals. He is yet to fully harness the power of his stand, and often loses control when he's especially anxious or upset.

Trivia: there have been many occasions in which Elio had lost control of his power and Niccolo had to step in by temporarily disabling his stand ability.

Thanks again Bri @mrsgiovanna for making my OCs everyone is so gorgeous 😏 I'll make a full post with all their stats soon, I was just excited for these.