#cause I dabble with a few handful of fandoms

[vinnybox]

I’d love to do fan merch some day… idk what fandom would y’all wanna see tho so maybe I’ll ask in the future when I can make plans or something

[solisvia]

Marion, Queen Regnant of Domino and Elder Keeper of the Dragon Flame 💚

She's not a mama bear, she's a mama dragon

Headcanons and design choices below

The Great Dragon and her Flame are a cornerstone of Dominian culture and religion, though before the Fall of Domino, people believed them both to have disappeared. The truth of the Flame's continued existence was known only to a select few, the inheritors of the Flame, the head of Domino's religious institute and the Royal House among them.

The Royal House and the Keepers of the Flame were separate lineages before Marion's grandparents married. This caused their daughter, Marion's mother, to have a very inflated sense of self and to exert enormous pressure on Marion to live up to her standards. Marion excels in many things, magic among them, but as a result of her upbringing struggles with self doubt and feelings of unworthiness.

During the final battle for Domino, Marion knows the secret of the Flame can never be worth the lives of her people. In that moment there can be room for doubt, she has to wield her power to its fullest. The moment Marion decides to stop hiding, her fairy form changes to reflect her resolve. Her crown shifts to resemble horns, she grows claws on her hands and her armor gains draconic details and a fiery golden color. It's all in service of showing friends and enemies alike; the Flame is mine and mine alone, look at me, turn to me, I am the Great Dragon Incarnate. The more people pay attention to her, the less they do to Daphne, and maybe, Marion prays, that's enough to keep her - and thus both her daughters - safe.

There are a few different versions of her looks in the Company of Light era so I took inspiration from all of them. The cloth on the front of her dress was a must-have, because from what I could tell, at least half the Company have them, including Marion in the photos I found. The armor on her shoulders is from another design, I just tweaked it to make it more draconic, and her crown is nearly identical to the one she usually wears. Beyond that, the dress and armor combination is to make her look like a warrior queen. She's in Enchantix, so I kept the most recognizable design elements from that intact.

The colors were a struggle and a half. I circled through so many different versions before I came around to this. Out of everything I tried, these colors look the best together as well as fit the mood I was going for. I darkened her green and pink to contrast all the bright gold as well as get rid of the softness of her usual looks. She's not the kind and gentle woman she usually is, she's a queen who's giving the fight her everything.

I'm unsure if her being a fairy has ever been confirmed in canon or if it's just an idea the fandom ran with, but either way she's a fairy to me. Still, the design works with or without wings, so mayhaps she dabbled in witch magic at some point.

[typh0nas]

The Things He Does When He’s With You(Luxiem)

__________________________

Content Warning(s): none!

Character(s): GN!Reader(no pronouns mentioned), Vox Akuma, Ike Eveland, Mysta Rias, Shu Yamino, Luca Kaneshiro

Authors Notes: Hello everyone! I guess I wanted to dabble into the NijiEN fandom on Tumblr seeing as I’ve really been into that recently. Apologies if any of my writing is OOC because I don’t have much time to catch a lot of their streams but I do watch a lot of their clips, as well as taking a long time to complete this. I kinda hit writers block and lost some motivation but I’ve been slowly adding to it. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!

Man my luca bias kinda slipped out in this wHOOPS

__________________________

Vox Akuma {👹🧧}

The way he holds your hand gently, as presses chaste kisses against your skin. He was once the leader of a magnificent clan, but now, lost in time. He can't remember the last time, he was like this with someone but for now he'll enjoy the moment.

The way he smiles gently at you in adoration, his hand resting on your cheek. His hand stays there for a moment before dropping back to his side. Though his touch is fleeting, there's a slight warm that lingers. You wonder if it's because you're blushing, but regardless you can't help but want to cling onto his touch more.

The way his words flow out easily, flirtatious comments all directed at you. You deflect his advances with a blush and a slight scowl, but nothing can hide the longing glances the two of you give each other. When one is caught staring by the other, it's masked by a thinly veiled excuse.

The way that he’ll go out of his way to make your favorite meals. We all know that Vox is a phenomenal cook, I mean, have you seen his posts on Twitter? Even when you don’t have the right ingredients and you leave to go get what you need, when you come back, the food is miraculously on the table. Vox claims that he went to go buy it for you, but you always know the distinct taste of specifically his cooking. 

more under the cut!

Mysta Rias {🕵‍♂️🦊}

The way he’ll purposely do something dumb or silly just to make you feel better. Mysta’s awfully perceptive when it comes to you, so any mood change on your part, he’ll pick up on fairly quickly. If you’re happy then he’s happy, and if you’re sad, well, Mysta will try his best to try and make you happy again. 

The way he’ll vehemently try to deny that he’s clearly a fat simp for you. With a bright blush on his face and stuttering words, he’ll try to hide his flustered expression from you. His genmates will constantly tease him on stream, finding his reactions funny.

The way he’ll drop everything to help you with something you're struggling with. Though he may not seem like it, Mysta is more reliable than he comes off. He'll give you little reminders, like to drink water, or asks if you've had something to eat. All way that he shows just how much he loves you.

The way he'll drape his coat over your shoulders when you say you're cold. He'll say he's only doing it cause he'll feel like an ass if he doesn't but literally everyone else knows that he's doing it for other reasons. It's good for two reasons, the first being that it keeps you nice and warm, the second being that it's a firm declaration that you belong to Mysta.

Ike Eveland {🖋🔷️}

The way he'll extend his free hand out to you while his other hand is busy writing away at his notebook. His fingers are long and thin, wrapping around your hand quite easily. His thumb rubs small circles on your hand, a soft but subtle smile on his face.

The way he'll compose songs just for you when he's thinking about you. You give him bursts of creativity as he furiously works away. And once he finishes, he'll present the finished song to you, an air of pride about him.

The way he'll converse with you in Swedish, even if you don't understand. He finds it cute how you look at him in confusion, before asking him to translate it. He'll refuse for the first few times wanting to see if you can get it, but relents after seeing you pout up at him, unable to resist how adorable you are.

The way he'll gaze at you while he writes, creating all sorts of scenarios in his mind. One day, Ike knows he'll be able to work up the courage to ask you to be his, but fearful of ruining the relationship the two of you have, he'd prefer to stay silent. So for now, he'll keep on writing, hoping that one day you'll confess you feel the same as he does.

Shu Yamino {👟☯️}

The way he'll crack that familiar cheshire grin whenever he sees you. When you ask him what he's smiling about, he'll shake his head and says that he'll tell you at a different time.

The way he'll tease you if he catches you staring for a little bit too long. As that familiar laugh resounds in your ears, you look away, flustered. What you fail to see is the fond look he shoots your way, a faint hint of wistfulness in his gaze.

The way he’ll smoothly slip an arm around your waist or your shoulders when he sees that someone’s bothering you. It’s evident by the uncomfortable look on your face and the way you constantly keep glancing over at him, asking for his help in stepping in.

The way he hugs you tight, almost as if he's scared that you'll disappear on him. Being a sorcerer, Shu can summon things as he pleases, but materialistic items can only bring so much happiness to an individual, but is that happiness even real? The way he feels with you is true, a genuine kind of affection and he'll be damned if he lets that slip out of his fingertips.

Luca Kaneshiro {🦁💰}

The way he’ll immediately turn to you, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, wanting to hear you praise him. To hear you say something nice about what he did. And upon receiving your praise, he exclaims a loud, “Pog!” beaming at you. If Luca had dog ears and a tail I’m sure you would see his ears perked up and his tail wagging out of excitement.

The way he’ll pull you into his lap, dismissing his bodyguards so that it was just the two of you alone. You squirm in his lap, feeling your face grow warm because of how close in proximity the two of you are to each other. All of your senses are just filled Luca, not that you’re objecting to it.

The way he’ll buy you whatever he sees that catches your eye. Being a mafia boss, Luca has a lot of money and resources. It’s no trouble to him if you like it. You can try to deny the gift but as soon as he pulls it out, he’s not taking it back, it’s yours to keep. Luca treasures you a lot, and to him, he would give you anything if he could. If you asked for the moon, he would give it to you in a heartbeat.

The way he’ll come up to you, asking you about how your day was without fail. The bright smile on his face, he pulls you into his embrace, his voice echoing around his office. Depending on your response, if you said that it was a good day, he’ll grin and go, “that’s great!”. But if you had a not so good day, he’ll frown for a brief moment before brightening up and grabbing your hand, pulling you along. When you question him on where you’re going, he tells you that he’s taking you to your favorite restaurant or favorite place, and everything’s on him. 

Back to Navigation {☆}

[dkettchen]

It's my 10 year web comic anniversary!!

10 years ago this month, after the first TTDW trailer came out, I made a silly little fan comic and sent it to the MCU facebook page (that only had like idk 100,000 or so followers at the time cause noone outside the mega geeks knew the term MCU yet) and for some godforsaken reason they actually posted it, and it got like 1000 likes, which was an unfathomably big number to teen me at the time.

A few months later I made a deviantart, where people found me because they recognised that first comic. A little later still, I made a tumblr too, which over the years rose to be my most popular account. (Thank you reblog button and tag reader, I owe you my life)

In 2017, disillusioned with the franchise, its lost purpose, the american superhero genre as a whole and the hard limits it puts on its characters' development to keep them eternally stagnant in their roles rather than let them grow, as people (let alone superhuman ones) should, I broke up with that fandom and finished my last begrudging long form fan comic two years later.

Lacking a lasting muse/self-insert, I dabbled in some other fandoms, and after one of my One Piece AUs got out of hand, and out of character, I figured I might as well make it its own thing. In 2021 I finally started my first long form original comic! @somethingaboutlemonscomic Check it out!

This time I was not beholden to anyone else's canon, let alone that of the cishet men whose fandoms I'd previously frequented. I didn't have to survive on scraps of queerbait, on lazy, generalising labels by uninformed non-queer writers trying to shoehorn their previously cishet characters into being something more than that rather than actually represent us, on broken promises of canonisation left on the cutting room floor as if it was something trivial, on character design that didn't reflect the reality I saw in my community.

I didn't need to limit my characters to the ignorance and status quo of others anymore. I could actually represent the glorious mess that is my community in all its diversity and complexity and humour and beauty and limit breaking potential for change.

And so I did.

And I am barely getting started.

[suspendingtime]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

I've been tagged by @stars-of-kyber and @andthebubbles. 😁 So although I feel barely qualified, I guess I best do this...

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

7. 🤗

I started about 2 months ago, so... and yes, they're all Kanthony. Initially just started as a way of contributing to Anthony Week 2023, and I didn't even expect that I'd actually do all 7 days.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

13,370.

Currently ranging at 661 to 3,779 per fic. Rookie numbers!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

So far, just my beloved Bridgerton.

But there have been a couple other shows that have tempted me...

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Astride  - 166

Nursery  - 118

Hunt - 105

Yours - 94

Temptation - 88

Having published a handful with various ratings, it's quite interesting to see the kudos, bookmarks (private vs public), and subs ratios! Much to think about.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes.

Why... I sort of have a need? Idk, when I see a comment it's hard to just leave it hanging there and not to reply. Like irl if someone looked at something I made and verbally commented on it... and I just stared back blankly not saying anything. 😐 This is how it feels to me on the receiving end at least haha. And my replies saying various forms of 'Thank you!' is probably quite repetitive, but hey ho.

Plus comments give you that lil hit of dopamine; from both povs as a writer or reader. Being on the reader side for most of my Ao3 activities I tend to comment on most of fics I read, I can't help it - I must tell you what I loved about it and why, and there's a pleasure in reciprocating that back too. Look, now I've written half an essay on the subject, gaaah. (I've not been on Ao3 as much as I'd like to recently, and because I opened it to scoop out the stats for some of the questions above I can now see that I have some unreads... and the need is happening.)

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm *thinking really hard*, I don't think any of them have an ending that is all that angsty. If I had to choose, maybe Temptation?

The pattern I've shown so far in my posted works is that it's gonna be 90% fluff. Though that is liable to change. 😆

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably Nursery?

I'm not sure, cause they've all ended on a pretty optimistic note so far. But that one has Kate and Anthony with a few of their kids, so it's the furthest on the Kanthony HEA timeline.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet...

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Ummm 👀 I may have dabbled in some smut.

What kind... hm, the kind where both people are panting for each other, and end up caving because they literally can't hold their horniness in anymore (this totally explains why I went feral for Bridgerton S2, ha). Another pattern I seem to have is making Anthony a submissive man puddle.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not yet, but I do have some crack ideas I may explore.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, I very much doubt it.

How often does this happen to people?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. I'd certainly be all for it if anyone ever wanted to translate any works of mine. 😊

If I was proficient enough to write in other languages, then I would probably try publishing the different versions from the get go.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Kinda?

Nothing formal, but there was a lengthy comment thread on Reddit some months ago where myself and another user went back and forth re-writing the script for that stormy library scene 😅 (not so much re-writing what was already there, bar the last few lines, more of a continuation in a universe where Kate hadn't fled).

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Must I even answer this? Kanthony, c'mon now.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

There's only 1 work that I have, where I've actually started a chapter 2. And I have all the faith that I will finish it. ✍️🤓

Other potential WIPs, that are currently just posted as one shots, only exist in my head... who knows if they will see the light of day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

This question feels illegal to be asked.

I have no idea, I'm very new to this whole writing thing. At least in terms of fiction, so I'm not sure what I'd consider my strengths to be. I feel like I need some more practice before I can get a real sense of this?

I would say that dialogue usually comes very quickly to me, and it's having to fill in the bits around it that takes more brain muscles. So that might indicate something.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Everything apart from the answer to the question above.

But really I think it's remembering that there is a world outside of the main couple happening, and trying to describe the details there. Also other general 'setting the scene' stuff like clothing, weather etc etc. I usually just want to jump straight in with some random dialogue.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

On writing it... no thoughts; not done it yet!

If I needed to for some unknown fic reason in the future, I'm sure I'll be apologising profusely in the author notes for trusting Google translate and probably butchering whatever language it is.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Still just the one so far, Bridgerton. 😌

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Hunt 🥺🥹 I was a lot of feels, and just very indulgent tbh.

I also really enjoyed my shortest one, Obedient, which was in 2nd person (hadn't done that before). The writing of that one was just really fun and I idky but I've reread it quite a bit!

__________________________________________________

I'm woefully looking at my Ao3 bookmarks (which has grown exponentially since joining Tumblr), full of things that I've not got round to reading yet. So I'm tagging partly based on stuff hanging out on top of that pile: @islemeadow, @ladykettlechips, @hydriotaphia, @eleanor-bradstreet, and the smut aunties @colettebronte & @fayes-fics 😋 (if y'all wanna do it, ofc. I tried to find those who hadn't been tagged/done it yet, sorry if you've actually already done this and I've just not found it).

[suzukiblu]

sorry if this is weird (and i realize now that ive said that a lot…) but ive been sending anons in for a while and ive been thinking of making an ao3 to post fics that are kind of inspired by yours. unfortunately, i’m absolutely terrible at making usernames. do you have any suggestions for coming up with usernames? or just. suggestions for usernames. either. or neither. idk

Friend, you have not even scratched the surface of weird here, haha. Also fyi I would love to see any of those fics so please link me if you do in fact post them. ❤️

As for usernames, I'm gonna be honest, I inherited my main and best-known username by taking over my favorite cousin's old LiveJournal back in, like, literal high school and have just decided to stick with Brand Recognition(tm) in the twenty years or so since, hahaha. It is a horse's name. Literally, literally it belonged to a horse. I very rarely come up with new usernames, especially these days, but when I do I kinda tend to just pick random things I think sound good at the time? Like, whatever quote or lyric or interesting word pops to mind, I just take that and do some kind of combination/complementing thing with it.

Idk if they'll help/inspire you, but a few of the old usernames I've used over the years:

sunfreak

witch_knuckle / warlock_knuckle

scarlet_yvette

thescuttlebugg

scarlet_yvette was a reference to a semi-obscure X-Men/Generation X character who was one of my diehard faves as a teenager, but the rest I just came up with 'cause I liked how they sounded, pretty much. Actually I also liked how scarlet_yvette sounded, haha, I thought it flowed nicely. And thescuttlebugg was for a side account I mostly wrote Miraculous Ladybug fic on, so I figured a bug-related name that wasn't EXCLUSIVELY fandom-oriented would be good for that.

Honestly my best advice for making a username is don't go with anything too generic so you have a better chance of getting it on multiple sites, and don't go with anything too obviously tied down to a specific fandom, because if/when you migrate or wanna dabble in other ones it can be annoying, especially if you end up having a bad experience in the original fandom and getting soured on it. Basically names that aren't too heavily linked to someone else's work are my personal preference, so you can take or leave them as you please, but that's also just what works for me.

Hope any of that helped, hah. Feel free to message again if you still need a hand!

[ten-cent-sleuth]

for the fic writees ask, 49? (im reading a galling yoke so i hope youll talk about the next chapter 😂😂) and also 15 33 and 41 bc im curios

What’s your favourite AU that you’ve written?

My best AUs are for Philinda lol. My favourite is Committed to the Cause, a POTUS/USSS one with Coulson as the president and May as his head of security.

If you write chaptered fics, what’s your ideal chapter length to write? Is it different from your ideal chapter length to read?

My ideal chapter length to write is 4–7k, which is also about my ideal chapter length to read. Maybe my reading ideal is on the shorter end, so more like 3–5k, but gfhjsgdhs that’s not too big a difference.

Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.”

There are a few that come to mind. The main ones are literally anything by @indilwenofmirkwood (but especially What Makes Her Tick, which can be read here on AO3 and here on FFN) and Kismet by @midnightlovestories (can be read here on AO3) for how they developed plot/romance, analysed my comfort character, and got some whumpy goodness snuck in there. The former is for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. while the latter is for The Addams Family.

Feel for You by @parksanddownton603 (can be read here on AO3) made me fall in love with a specific tone of AU and gave me the motivation to try my hand at writing an AU like they did (also for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). On the flipside, Defensive Wounds by @rebecca-in-blue (can be read here on FFN) is an in-universe fic but I greatly admire the characterisation in it and would love to know and honour my blorbos as well as they do. It’s for NCIS.

Another one for the Addamses, Human by @unhappychildhavingfun (can be read here on AO3) packs the kind of emotional, meaningful punch that I want my writing to throw. Though I also aspire to churn out numerous one-shots that just put my guys in situations the way @suallenparker does (if I must name particulars, the ones that affect me the most in this way have been Bulletproof, Lifeline, Safe and Sound, Liar, Mayism, Second Chances, and Being Someone Else, all for Philinda hfjsgdhhd).

And can’t play dead by @widespindriftgaze (can be read here on AO3) is…simply some of the best creative writing I’ve ever read. I love how they dabble in various, sometimes small/short-lived fandoms; I long to do that.

Welp, that was more than a few.

I hope the authors don’t mind being tagged—I wanted anyone who reads this post to be able to click onto your blog directly, but if you’d rather I not tag you, let me know and I’ll neutralise the ping right away. Sorry!!

(And of course, the one you’ve been waiting for, anon—)

What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

I am currently working (well, focusing) on A Galling Yoke, my Sherlock Holmes x Reader exes-/friends-to-lovers casefic. (It was actually supposed to be enemies-to-lovers lolol.) I’m like a third or so into Part 12, and I’ve got like seventeen chapters planned total plus an epilogue. Exciting stuff!!

And hey, you want a few lines? >:P

“No.”

“Mr Holmes, I cannot impose—”

“It shall not happen!”

You straightened in your seat, shoulders tensing. Sherlock groaned and dragged a hand down his face.

“I meant not to be…domineering,” he said. “But […] am I not to assume that you came here…for a reason?”

He and you looked at each other for a long, open moment.

I grabbed that out of the middle of a conversation for Maximum Suspense. I cut out […] because what I have written there currently is a bit of a placeholder. There was another part I wanted to share because it’s got a long quote from Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton”, but I figured that excerpt was a tad too spoilery. I’m sure you guys will prefer this romantic tension anyway. ;P

Thank you, and please feel free to send in more!

[inevitablemoment]

“you don’t want to do that.”

Word Count: 723

Warnings: Captivity, locked in a closed-in space, broken bones, possible concussion, fainting

Fandom: Moonlighting

Pairings: David Addison x Maddie Hayes

I thought that I’d dabble a bit into June of Doom, and I left it up to a random generator to decide which one of my ships that I could use for each prompt. And first up is the OG “will they or won’t they” couple that walked so Mulder and Scully could fly. Fair warning: I don’t feel like I have a good grip on their characterizations, so if David and Maddie seem OOC, just bear with me.

Set in late Season 1.

————————

Maddie blinked blearily as her eyes open, only able to make out a few vague shapes before realizing that she was lying in complete darkness. Her calf muscles were aching, even worse than the time that she had to run in knock-off Prada heels that were two sizes small for her feet through Time’s Square, and her head was throbbing as if her brain and her heart had switched places in her body.

“Maddie? Maddie?” a familiar, husky voice echoed through her ears, even though it was such a small space.

On any other day, she would have groaned with frustration as if just the presence of the person whom owned that voice was causing her pain.

But now, it was almost an relief.

And besides, David Addison’s presence could not cause as much pain as she was feeling in that moment.

“David?” she almost slurred his name as she tried to lift her head, realizing that her head had been in his lap.

“Welcome back,” he greeted, brushing a lock of her hair away from her eyes.

Maddie began to try to sit up. “Wha... what happened?”

“No, stay down,” David told her. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Running,” Maddie told him as bluntly as she could. “An outrageous amount of running-- then something that felt like a hard slap to the side of my head.”

“That was Atkins,” David said. “He just grabbed that plank of wood and whupped you-- then some guy grabbed me from behind before I could catch you, and they dragged us in here. I tried to wake you up, but you were out cold!”

He raised his pointer finger, holding it inches from her face. “Follow my finger, follow my finger--”

“David, it’s pitch black in here,” she reminded him.

Even as he continued protesting, she began to sit up. However, she sat up a bit to quickly and began to feel dizzy, the pounding and searing pain in her head growing worse. She scrunched her eyes closed to try to take a moment before opening them again. She squinted as she tried to look for the door. She finally saw the light peeking in from outside.

Maddie pressed her feet-- now bare after having to discard her shoes while Atkins was chasing them-- against the wall, forcing herself to stand up. Her knees were wobbling-- even worse than when she had taken the runway for the first time.

But still, she stumbled towards the door as if she were drunk. She leaned against it and closed her eyes again, trying to will her head to stop hurting. Her hand found the knob and she turned it, but the door remained closed. Pressing one foot to the wall, she pulled and pulled with each ounce of strength she had left.

Maddie let out a frustrated cry that seemed to bounce off the walls and make her ears ring, pounding her fists on the door as if to seek some sort of catharsis for her frustration.

She turned around to look at David’s shape. “Get back-- I need momentum--”

“You don’t wanna do that, Mads,” David warned. “I-- I tried myself, but I-- I knocked my shoulder outta it’s socket.”

Though her chest tightened up a bit with concern upon realizing that David was hurt (and something in her heart twinged at the fact that even though he was injured, he still tried to make sure that she was okay), Maddie tuned him out, backing up and ramming her shoulder into the door.

Again. And again. And again.

She couldn’t remember how many tries it took before the door finally slammed open. The light was a shock to her sensitive eyes, worsening the throbbing sensation in her head. She turned around, holding out her hand to David. He took hold of it and she pulled him to his feet.

“I-- I loosened the-- the lock thingy for you,” he insisted.

Maddie scoffed, but she couldn’t help but let a little smile appear on her face. “Keep telling yourself tha--”

Before she could even finish the damn word, she felt herself falling forward, almost feeling as if her whole body was shutting down.

David caught Maddie in his arms.

They could forget about the Atkins case for now. He needed to get her to a hospital first.

[riddle-me-ri]

Hi hello!! What’s your favorite anime?? And do you have any recommendations? :3

(Hope you’re having a cool day/night time!! ^^)

-🐭💤

Hey dormy anon! Thanks so much for asking!!

Ooohhhh so anime is something I dabbled in very briefly lol. Like..maybe 6-7 months in between hyperfixations lmao. I'm not sure how much of a reliable source I can be but I did dabble in it!

I've had a weird on/off relationship with anime. For one, as an animation lover I appreciate the feats it's accomplished and being one of the main examples of how not all animation is for children. However in high school, I remember being absolutely turned off by it because it was EVERYWHERE and being shoved in my face constantly, it was almost a weird spiteful thing that I never looked into it any further than Studio Ghibli movies lmao. But because it's been 8 years, I was like you know what, I'm gonna give it a fair shake lmao

I sorta went off on a tangent sorry so there's a read more tab lmao

I will always recommend Studio Ghibli films, if you haven't seen a few already. Spirited Away is one of my favorites, Kiki's Delivery Service is fun too (I've been compared to Kiki a few times hehe)

As for like shows, I've only really watched like 3-4 and I'm not up to date on them (had to cancel crunchyroll and a handful of other subscriptions for financial reasons).

BUT I do remember enjoying My Hero Academia and I love Jujutsu Kaisen. I know I know... those are both fairly overrated at this point, but I really do enjoy the characters in both of those shows with a slight preference for Jujutsu Kaisen.

The fight animations and the style of JJK is absolutely fantastic to me. I got two JJK art books that I look back on cause the sequences are just amazing. Plus I love stories that have to do with demons/curses and hunting said demos/curses. It kills me Season 2 is out and I haven't been able to watch it hnng also Nanami is absolute husband material adfghhjkll I love him more than words can possibly describe.

Some other ones I recall enjoying are Bungo Stray Dogs, Devil's Line (Devil's Line is HIGHLY NSFW, with blood/gore/sexual themes), and The Case Study of Vanitas. So it's not all entirely overrated anime I've watched lmao.

Granted I never fully completed or entirely kept up with these stories so I'm probably a wee behind on some (most) of these shows, but I do remember them making a lasting impression on me. Maybe one day I'll try and catch up (and maybe by that time they've all been concluded so I can just binge-watch it all lol)

I do have Jujutsu Kaisen listed in one of the fandoms I write for, just because I've read the manga long past the anime (not fully caught up at this point but you get it lmao) plus I just really like the characters lol.

Anyways so sorry for the long post lmao. Anime is one of those things I rarely get to talk about but also because I kinda sorta barely know about it lmao

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

For the fic asks: 1, 3, 4!

1. What was the first fandom and/or pairing that you wrote fic for?

oh you’ll love this. the first fic i ever wrote was a gundam wing/sailor moon crossover that i wrote out by hand in pencil on looseleaf in a green three-ring binder before painstakingly typing it up and uploading all twelve or so chapters to FFNet in one go. because FFNet is the most stable site in existence it does still exist there, which is how i rediscovered a while back that it came in at something like forty-three thousand words, which is not bad considering that i was like, thirteen.

i did some additional dabbling in sailor moon & maybe a few others, but i would say gundam wing was definitely my first real Fandom in that i read for it a ton and wrote another three and a half fics for it (with that half being, like, a lot), and also in that when i look at the stuff i wrote for it, i can see with somewhat humiliating clarity the very obvious seeds of some concepts and themes that i continue to feel compelled by - in particular the last big fic which i never finished was very much in part an early attempt, in like eighth grade, to answer the question “what do you do when you keep living after you were supposed to die?” which is a persistent theme of both things i’ve written (not just fic) and things i’ve gotten obsessed with. it’s a real chicken and the egg situation whether gundam wing permanently imprinted that question on my brain (the show, IMO and IIRC, broaches it on a couple different occasion but ultimately never spends enough time in any kind of aftermath that it comes up with an answer), or whether there was already something there in that question for me and that’s why as a person with really zero interest in giant robot fighting shows i got obsessed with gundam wing.

3. Do you write fics from start to finish, or jump around?

i used to be verrrry strict about going from start to finish, because often with a project of any length i’ve been writing towards some kind of final image or idea that compelled me enough to figure out how i could get there, and i feel like if i eat the carrot too soon i’ll get off the hamster wheel and the story will never actually be finished. i think i also tend to have a fear that if i jump past the place where i don’t know what goes next, i’ll just never figure it out. i’m trying to cultivate more flexibility around this and convince myself that building up words is a good thing even if it leaves me with gaps i have to fill in, but it requires some degree of deliberate effort.

4. Do you outline before you start writing? If so, how far do you stray from that outline?

i would say i usually start writing without an outline, and then at some point hit a kind of critical mass where i feel like i need to make an outline in order to continue because i need to sort of feel the shape of the thing i’m writing. i think very consciously about cause/effect, character, and the general problem of how to get from one thing to the next, but i work out the structure much more intuitively - my first incarnation of an outline will usually be a mix of scenes i know i need or want in there, and placeholders for scenes that i suspect will be necessary in order to get the pacing right or give it enough room to breathe or keep a thread alive between larger developments, etc. so my outlines are pretty undetailed and tentative (lots of things like “julia - hedge talk maybe?” and “idk some kind of spellcraft thing here?” and “eliot feelings convo”), and the idea of straying from them is, like, well there’s not really that much to stray from. the main ways that i’ve deviated from outlines are (this is constant) situations where i realized i needed more scenes to do something properly, and times when i’ve incorrectly problem-solved the first time and had to go back and re-do something that wasn’t working. i have yet to write a fic where it turns into substantially different (as opposed to just… much, much larger) than whatever i had in mind by the time i jotted down an outline.

[delirious-donna]

Hello dear,

May I request 11, 14, 25?

As well, happy new year! I'm so glad I discovered your blog in the fall. It's been a blast reading your work 😘

Ah, sweetie, has it only been so short? Feels like you've been here a lot longer, and that is said in the nicest way possible!! ^^

11. fandom you enjoyed writing for the most this year

Naruto, hands down. It is such a supportive and loving fandom or at least the parts I dabble in are. The first two stories I posted to tumblr were for Obito and Kakashi respectively and the Kakashi one kinda exploded for me! I didn't expect it and I seemed to become known for my content for the handsome silver-haired sensei.

I write in a lot of fandoms and I dearly love them all, but I will always be drawn back to Naruto. Given its age, it's very impressive with how prominent it still is and I hope it remains that way for a long time to come cause I have a lot of content planned, specifically for a certain Hokage who will not be named... ahem.

14. a fic you didn’t expect to write

I never thought I'd dabble in cnc but kinktober really changed that for me. I enjoy cnc, but I wasn't sure if I could do it justice. So choosing to write such a piece for Ran and Rindou Haitani was quite the challenge, and given it was the story for the 31st and I was running on literal fumes at that point, I'm pretty pleased with it. I'll link it here but it is dark content so proceed with caution!

Stalked by Night

25. a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read

Answered here! ^^

A few more recommendations are below because there is so much amazing writing, some are stories and some are multi-character drabbles!

Quiet In Class, Please (JJK men x reader) - @satorini

The White Wolf of the Woods (Obito x reader) - @pinkrelish

The Hand That Feeds (Chifuyu x reader x Mitsuya) @dottores

Fanfic end of year asks!

[astriiformes]

Behind on a whole backlog of neat things folks have tagged me in (hello, moving/job/freelance writing chaos), but I have every intention of getting to most of them so, here’s one @marypsue tagged me in last week (thank you!)

Rules: tag nine people you want to get to know better/catch up with!

Favorite color: Equally split between nice bold/dark/jewel-toned blues and greens, with blue maybe slightly winning at the moment, but I go through phases. I especially love them together, and am extremely excited because we actually get to PAINT THE WALLS in the new unit we’re moving into this week, and I am incredibly ready to use both of them decoratively.

Currently reading: Anything I am “currently reading” is very much in theory, but I have been dabbling in a couple books on trans history and, if I am really going to bear my soul here, a suspicious amount of Star Wars fanfiction.

Last song: “Starsoul” by Urban Tapestry!

Last movie: Fairly certain it was when Scribe and I watched The Mitchells vs the Machines a little while ago, which was a delightful choice -- highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet.

Last series: Uncertain if this is supposed to be the last one I dipped my toes into or the last one I finished, but for the latter, Critical Role (Campaign 2, at least), in an act of immense hubris because I stayed up until 3am to catch the entire 7-hour finale (worth it, absolutely worth it, especially for a story that has really meant a lot to me!)

Sweet, spicy or savory: Another equal split -- I swerve between wanting sweet and savory with wild abandon. As far as my body thinks though, it’s savory; I actually need to consume extra salt/electrolytes for chronic illness reasons and have been reaching for the kettle chips and cheesy garlic bread accordingly.

Craving: Hm, at this moment nothing in particular; I’m not really someone with much of an appetite or all that prone to cravings. Always down for some really good black licorice though, which might be the best answer for this one.

Tea or coffee: I want to be a tea person and drink it fairly frequently these days -- especially when we have syrups and foraged ingredients on hand, but I regret to admit that even now that I’m trying out ADHD meds that cause my anxiety to worsen on caffeine, I am still very much a coffee man. A fan of both, but inclined to hubris all the same.

Currently working on:

MOVING; you have no idea how ready I am to be unpacking instead of packing, and done with the endless chain of logistics the last few weeks have been. Even once we’re moved we’ll need to paint the walls and have some furniture projects to tackle (staining, changing out hardware), but at least there will be less emails!!

Updating my Fjord Criticalrole playlist, an endeavor that has turned out to be far more sprawling than expected. It’s getting there though! And I am excited to have it be my first playlist I crosspost on both Spotify and 8tracks now that the latter is fighting to stay alive again

The Back to the Future trans headcanon fic duology that occupies half my waking thoughts these days; progress is happening, they are just both going to be long and I am slow! I got some fabulous trans history research help from a librarian friend though, since I am stodgily committed to writing something that feels properly like a product of the 80s trans experience, not the modern one.

Also, Chapter 7 of I Breathed A Song Into the Air, my aro Legolas fic, which has been languishing without an update for an embarrassing amount of time. I had a burst of inspiration during an aspec Tolkien week that was going on in May, but it didn’t get me anywhere near the finish line, despite my deep commitment to seeing that fic all the way through.

Theoretically a High Rollers fic focused on Quill and Sentry before they met up with the rest of the party? The difficulty of confirming canon events in a smaller fandom with an in-progress wiki and a massive amount of canon to sift through has been a bit of a stumbling block, but it’s my third Google Doc existing as a pinned tab currently all the same.

Logistics for a couple of filk concerts (one virtual and one, surreally enough, in-person) that are rapidly sneaking up on us this summer. More to follow on that soon, actually.

Truly a hypothetical here, but getting back into cosplay after a long break. I want to keep a narrow focus even though there are so many projects I’d like to tackle, but finally getting my ANH Luke up to Rebel Legion standards is a primary goal for sure (I just need the right shoes and to buckle down and make my belt!!). I also am on the hunt for two denim jackets to cannibalize into a single horrible 80s one for Marty McFly, after the realization that his is decidedly more a relic of its era than people usually recognize. And last but not least, plodding away on Quill, especially after learning another coworker of mine is also making a bird(-ish) cosplay, so I have someone to talk wings/feathers with! First up might actually be his talons though -- I just need to stop being so intimidated by sculpting!

I am frazzled enough after a few days that have truly been Days that I think I’m going to skip out on tagging people, but if anyone else wants to pick this up, I am handing you the baton. Carry on!

[lythecreatorart]

Star Sanses Studio AU: Puzzle pieces finally fit.

Alternative name: very long ramble of when an “AU” finally consider itself as an AU thanks to Template and Pale (also upcoming characters)

One thing I need to admit, Star Sanses Studio AU was just silly ideas that might be good for a fan fiction (which Shandy did her thing) material. I really never see it as an AU, I just called it an AU because here need a name for this thing after all😂.

Most of the draw, ideas, and dabbles are just an ideas, it not as big coherent by accident plot like 404&InkRE that I been drawn since I got into the fandom to somewhat connected Ink and Error’s timeline together.

Recently, I finally got to put one character (plus another) that I been wanting to put in any of my UTMV work but too scare of not get it justice. Finally know what character have like Pale show his emotions only when it Extreme, Core’s reason to not fire Ink and Error because what they see in their “All Seeing Eyes” and so on. This AU somewhat expand but still not really connect to each other much, it just a dabble after all. This AU just a mini side story that I write when I try to get my head out of 404&inkRE for once.

Each character have their own gimmick or personality they have, heck there is not plot or anything at all. Just young talented people work together and chaos just happen because two idiot can’t frickin communicate or have their ego too high. Their some character development through here and there but never find the way to make it happen, so I just go “well someone gonna write it eventually or no one even see it at all, why bother”.

And then I have a dream with this scene few days ago.

After long animating on the special effects, Pale’s file just crash. For the first time, Pale cry in front of someone that is not Template. Epic, who is basically his instructor to teach Pale from start but bless his fast learning ability, panic and don’t know what to do and ask Template for help. When Template got there, without any word from his mouth, Pale jump into Template and cry his soul out.

Template, who still never see Pale as a friend even how long they been stuck together AND HAVE HAPHEPHOBIA, try to calm Pale down even he about have a panic attack from the rough touch. As whole fiasco happening, Error was in the scene. Error just looking at them as they pair go to the break room to calm them down, he follow them in...

And I can’t ya more because of this scene became a snowball on the hill that causing me to go sleep less at night from idea rush of how everything can go together.

ALL THE PUZZLE PIECES ACTUALLY FITS!

The new interns character, this scene, and what happen after it. Template and Pale’s not-really-friendship tiny subplot became something that might drive the situation with Ink and Error in this AU. After long struggle of writing Ink and Error’s plot other than fighting or what happen after the “doodle sphere incident”, I actually know what going on in their surroundings that make them think so the “doodle sphere incident” can take place!! And this scene make me realize that there so many unexpected fun interaction that can entertain and grow these characters! And then everything make sense!!

I actually want to write a story about this chaotic mess that is Star Sanses Studio of how these characters interact to each other!

I finally see it as an AU now!!

This might just be me overreacting about my silly story but after this revelation happen in my head, I learn a lot. I finally want to know more about 3D animation just to write these idiots’ work right as a research, and been learn a lot of things from in. It might not be perfect when I draw it down since I don’t have a first hand experience, but I just learn other side of animation that I been avoiding to look into. Every knowledge is good knowledge, they said.

Template and Pale’s little subplot in this AU might small like it was, but effect the others’ arc more than ever. With new intern character that I will post tomorrow will spice everything up more too, even tho they come and go quite quick too. This going to be fun writing the interns arc!!

So, to my boi @unu-nunu-art ‘s Template (the OG Template),

ya want to be like Ink, right?

Guardian of the AU, the inspiration that help the creators to create.

Guess what,

You did it boy, YOU DID IT!

You inspire me to make me consider this silly dabbles as an AU!!

If anybody actually reading this rambling, thank you.

And have a nice day!

Error-CrayonQueen or loverofpiggies

Epic- yugogeer012

Template & Pale- unu-nunium

[askbrae-burn]

ooc update: plot in coming and modblog

Mod post! A big thank you for the welcome back from so many of you that stuck by that?? three?? or so?? year hiatus! I started braeburn during my final years of uni so that quickly took over ( ive since graduated finally ). The last few recent posts were to get things rollin’ again and to test waters. Seems ya’ll are still game for braeburn so Im happy to start workin’ on the plot comic coming in next post!

But to keep consistency the askbox will be closed until planned intermissions! Some plot blogs out there have a good idea of opening ‘em on the weekends or during intermissions! Ill answer casual questions and plot related asks ic then! 

Id also?? like to start a patreon or get my ko-fi going cause I know if I can get just enough daily I can cut back my outrageous work schedule so I can update more then once or twice a week without worrying about groceries or net bills! If peeps are game for that! and I’d be a lot less stressed gfhhg 

Last thing! My old mod blog ( @sheepdeo-blog ) is defunct. Originally I had several mod blogs for specific fandoms but that got really out of hand quick. You can now find me at @shiny-miltank​ for all the blogs/art I work on! You can also catch blanket updates, ideas, wips and shenanigans. Besides horses I dabble in Pokemon and such! If you have a twitter come by here!! Which I also update with shenanigans! 

thanks again! I hope I can get this blog back to its former glory with your help n’ support, asks and reblogs n all that good stuff! 

[fiction-in-my-blood]

Obey Me! Brothers x MC’s Job HC

So this is a headcannon based on each brother’s MC having a job or experience in a field that would be somewhat benefit to them the most in work and play ;). Ya girl just wants to feel useful TT 

Warnings: The SLIGHTEST reference of NSFW in some of the HCs

~~~~~~

Lucifer: 

Okay, maybe an elementry school teacher wouldn’t directly help Big Brother Lucifer the most, especially when you were just out of supervised training, but you sure as hell can help keep some of his more troublesome problems at bay. 

Having to deal with overexcitable, emotionally unstable, and honestly frequently hyped-up-on-sugar children just out of infancy has given you a backbone, not to meant a glare that’s strong enough to stop everyone still, but not scare. 

Unless you wanted it to. 

Not to mention that voice. 

The range of your vocal cords could be heard even by Diavolo in his castle. 

You needed it, dealing with crying children and sometimes parents who thought their child couldn’t possibly bully the girl they ‘crushed’ on when you had seen it with your own eyes.

And even after grabbing everyone’s attention in a room full of strong personalities, you’re more than capable of turning it down a bit to explain what the issue is.

“Levi, you can’t chop off Mammon’s hands to stop him from stealing your things.”

“Don’t you laugh, Mammon! You’re not off the hook just yet. Give Levi his figurine back before I put Goldie in the microwave, hm?”

“Asmodeus, you can’t go around stealing my underwear! What would your mother think of this?”

“Beelzebub, you can’t eat other people’s food without asking. How would you feel if I went along and ate all your blackbelly newt legs and your monkey brain pudding?”

“Mammon, this is your last warning. Put the money back where you found it.”

“Belphegor, you need to stop sleeping on the floor. Mamo keeps tripping over you and I don’t think we can afford any more screaming in this house.”

“Mammon! Do I need to send you to the quiet corner again?”

“Satan, clean up your books or they’re going back on the shelf out of order.”

Your use of their full names definitely felt like their were being reprimanded by a teacher.

Even if you sometimes treat the younger brothers like children, which will often cause a few snickers, you can’t really help it when they act the way they do. 

Sometimes you get a little too carried away, on instinct threatening to cancel the end of year pizza party unless they start behaving, but Lucifer appreciates your attempts to restrain them all the same while chuckling along with everyone else. 

You may act before you think, but you’ve brought his family closer together. 

Mamo: 

Being a professional pocker player would be just too easy. 

That’s why it’s your weekend gig.

Besides from your backers and frequent trips to pocker tournements, you spent your nights, and sometimes at day parties, as a mixologist. 

It may not seem like much, but bartending has helped you nuture a skill to read people and help them talk out their problems.

Which is the only reason Mamo hasn’t been thrown into the fiery pits of hell when a revengeful witch comes knocking every now and then. 

You hear out his fraud victim’s troubles and show your understanding, wondering in the back of your head why, in Diavolo’s great Devildom, Mammon would agree to give away some of Satan’s incantations for a credit card that looked similar to Goldie?!

You manage to talk her out of taking his liver as payment and agree to help mix some potions you recently learnt at school, being a mixologist has helped in that regard as well.

A few times you’ve had to play some other demons in a game of cards in order to get Mammon back home safely. 

It was only when you beat Soloman that Mamo first noticed your professional-grade talent. 

You didn’t really want him knowing, you knew he wouldn’t be able to help himself but use you to his advantage, so you first said that it was a natural skill humans had- which no one believed and only made them all curious.

Eventually, you gave in to Mamo’s pestering and it was then you said you weren’t going to give him money. 

At first, he was a little offended you’d think he would use you like that, but, for once, he listened to everyone’s harsh words and understood why you had that idea. 

He was the Avatar of Greed, after all.

Ever since, he’s been working hard to show you he would never use you again.

Unless it was a life or death scenario with that one witch he conned a dragon’s egg from. 

Levi: 

It was impressive when you picked up Ancient Languages so quickly, but the otaku didn’t question it, at that time he didn’t have that much interest in you. 

Then you were able to annunciate those words better than Satan or Lucifer or Diavolo, but maybe you were a quick learner?

It was only when you nonchalantly offered him the latest, unreleased, series of a longer-than-necessary-anime-title did Levi think to ask. 

You were a translator in the human world. 

Had more interest in the words than the story, but that was enough for him to start treating you less of a normie and more of a fellow recluse like him. 

It didn’t take long after that when he realised you were THE MC. 

The MC who had translated most of the anime he watched, even though he didn’t need to read subs, you were stil famous, and not only for translating. 

You had dabbled in voice acting, mainly due to one conference call you had where the client asked you to voice for a minor character that would only be in for a few episodes of TSL. 

It was a disasterous when the character died, having been quite a noble and vicious knight to the Lord of Shadow- who, of which, the lord also liked.

You weren’t going to tell him the character was booted off because you weren’t comfortable voice acting anymore. 

However, he will have you read aloud lines he had found on a certain website where many like-minded fans wrote their own stories about the characters. 

Lucifer caught the skript-like paper when he saw the word ‘master’ printed next to a less than savoury subject the eldest brother would not allow you to be tricked into saying. 

Levi wasn’t too happy about that, ranting and raving how it was unfair and he needed to hear the Shadow Knight confess to the Lord of Shadow the way the fandom, and most of all, he, deserved.

You may have little clue what the animes your translating are about, but you never again reject the offer to have one of your own, walking to Levi’s room the second it reaches you in the mail and you spend practically all night binging on every word you wrote for him.

Satan: 

When you first came to Devildom, you were particularly overly-curious.

Maybe it was because you were in a knew place, surrounded by beings you once thought only existed in stories? 

Maybe you had that same respect for knowledge as Satan did? 

Well, it would be easy to think that if it weren’t for the types of questions you asked each of the brothers, as well as the angels, Soloman, Barbatos and even the Prince of Devildom himself. 

“What do you like to do on your days off?”

“Are you a tits or ass guy?”

“What’s your relationship like with your family?”

“Do you like men, women, or a bit of both?”

Every demon, witch, angel and whoever you met at RAD had the pleasure of being interrogated by you, your gracious smile and genuine concern for their answer coaxing them to tell you more than they would think to like.

When you wrote in that little journal, stock full of flyaway papers, the victim of your inquisitive nature would worry, for some reason, what you thought of them. 

Still, you never let anyone look, not until you had the perfect match for the client.

A matchmaker, that’s what you were in the human world.

You paired couples, looking for marriage or a short term thing, with their perfect better half. 

And you had been struggling to pair Satan with anyone.

“You have no interest in either of the sexes. How am I meant to find a girl for you when all you care about are dusty old books?” You muttered dismissively, speaking directly at the pages of your book, the two-page profile you had on Satan spread across the fine lined sheets. 

You had been so enraptured in you quest for love that you didn’t notice the warmth looming over you. 

“Who’s dusty old books?” The familiar teasing whisper graced your ear, way too close for comfort. 

You turned, slamming the journal shut, but it was too late. 

He had discovered your plan. 

You quickly explained that you were a matchmaker back home and it was hard to hold back. 

Even when you were with your human friends, you got carried away, pairing them with nice guys you met in the bar when you went on your weekly girl’s night. 

Satan laughed at first, who couldn’t find their own mate? 

Until he realised you couldn’t find anyone for him. 

You’ve never seen him combust into flames so quickly. 

You would be scared if you weren’t so annoyed. 

“This is exactly my point! No one will want to be with you if you get this angry all the time!” You pouted, not realising the brothers that had run in at the drop of the proverbial hat, frozen in the doorway as they watched you, a human, talking smack to a demonic Satan.

They had come to save you once they heard him roaring in anger, but you seemed to be coping just fine on your own.

It took both of you a few weeks to realise, the reason you couldn’t find him anyone is because you wanted him.

Asmo: 

You and Asmodeus had surprisingly philosophical conversations when you had only just met.

You would answer his teasing comments with very deep and personal questions, asking about his past relationships and how it made him feel to flirt with everyone he laid eyes on.

You had caught him off-guard a few times with your out of left-field inquiries.

One time, after you asked about any childhood trauma he may have had that could lead to his sexual nature, he actually got a little angry, losing his cool and throwing your question right back in your face.

He usually seemed to enjoy the strange back and forth, so you watched him devole into his demon-form with a startled gaze.

“I-I’m sorry, Asmo, I shouldn’t have asked that. Force of habit.”

You were blunt, distant and sometimes rude with your short questions, but when you told him those questions were something you were so familiar with they were a large part of your vocabularly, he had to know.

“How could that possibly be a habit?”

You were a relationships councillor. 

You spent your days with arguing couples, coworkers who just couldn’t get along, and the odd friendship that had been torn apart thanks to one sleeping with the other’s partner.

You weren’t used to dealing with overly-friendly cilents, most would be crying about how sorry they were or silent with stubbonness, so you wanted to put that professional gap between the two of you.

But you never intended to hurt him or rehash memories you had no right to know.

“I’m meant to help people, but I can’t even treat the people I care about right.”

Before you had arrived in Devildom, you were pretty much a loner.

You were ambitious, pretty much a recluse outside of work, mainly because anyone you talked to would also get your brain shrinking questions. 

“No human likes being asked if they really trust their partner.”

The self-deprecating laugh that left your down-turned lips in that moment pushed Asmo right back down to his usual laidback demeanor, imploring you to explain what you meant by that.

It was only right, you thought, you had been far too invasive for too long.

Asmo respected the work you told him about.

Even if long-term relationships weren’t his thing, or they hadn’t been until he met you, he understand that not everyone could live off the joys of primal lust. 

Most people needed a lifelong partner that understood everything they were, ever the dark, twisted parts of them.

But, he didn’t like you tales of the threats you received when certain couples didn’t make it through your counciling sessions.

One too many times had a brick been thrown through the windshield of your car or had been generously gifted a death threat in the mail.

They never worried you, you were used to people finding you odd and anti-social, but it did hurt.

You had only ever wanted to help.

From then, Asmo learnt the psychologist tricks you had up your sleeve, intending to use them on his brothers if they were being particularly secretive.

Especially when you were the subject of their conversation.

He would often bring you to parties, pointing out couples on the dance floor or groups of people who were meant to be friends, asking you who had sexual tension and who were on their last straw with their other half.

You told him time and time again that it didn’t work like that, that you couldn’t just look at someone’s face and defer they were a serial killer.

But body language is a hell of a thing.

Beel: 

Being a chef, you were often in the kitchen during the day, trying out recipes Mamo, Satan or Asmo had suggested to you.

Of course, they would often be pranks, potion recipes that would literally blow up in your face the moment you added the frog’s leg or eye of newt. 

But, even the smell of the fire place blazing brought the Avatar of Gluttony sniffing around.

At first, he didn’t care what you made, he always cleaned up the mess of your failed experiement made.

When you actually started acting sad when his brothers pranked you again, it was his time to step in.

Instead of leaving you to do your own thing and reap the rewards of your failures, he sat in a wooden chair much too small for him, bearing with the emptiness of his stomach so he could really teach you about the ways of his world.

He told you what you actually needed to make his favourite meal, which he had overheard you ask Mammon one time as you walked to class together. 

It was gross and difficult to learn how to cook with a cauldron and entrails of creatures, but you dealt with it because the look of pure, yet subtle, joy on Beel’s face when he ate what you meant to make was far worth the displeasure you went through to cook it.

When you got a couple days vacation from RAD, you somehow talked Mammon into taking you to the human world so you could buy real ingredients you were used to cooking with.

You wanted to prove to them all you weren’t as useless as you seemed when you first got there.

Of course, you would have to alter the recipes to the demons, but it shouldn’t be too hard. 

You were a trained professional, after all.

And you definitely proved them all wrong.

Plates of fine dining, fresh vegetables, cakes and sweets.

Abundances of foods of varying cultures and spices. 

It took you a whole day to make it all, but the stiffness in your back as you watched the demons, angels and Soloman alike walk into the banquet hall with looks of awe on their faces was enough to ease that pain.

You were exhausted and didn’t want to eat anything yourself, but that went unnoticed by everyone else.

Everyone else but Beelzebub, Avatar of Gluttony.

He pulled his attention away from the amazing food in his mouth long enough to see you sitting in your chair, hugging your legs to your chest and eyes closing a little longer every time you blinked.

You had never looked cuter, but he had never been more worried about you.

“You’re not going you eat anything?” His mouth was full of the fruits of your labour as he leaned over to grab your attention, continuing to shovel food into his mouth as he waited for you to reply.

“The best thing about my job is watching people enjoy it. I’m not hungry.” You yawned through a smile, letting your head rest on his shoulder as your heavy eyelids almost completely restricted your view of the show. 

Everyone finally seemed to be getting along.

Diavolo noted to himself he would have a few words with you once the dinner was over. 

Belphie:

“You’re a barista.” 

Soloman smirked as you two sat together in class, waiting for the ending bell. 

“No, I develop energy enhancers, which does include coffee. I literally make new, healthier products that help boost energy and motivation.”

Sure, your part-time job was in a coffee shop, but that was only to pay yourself through college. 

The course was nutrionism, paired with a course in chemistry. 

You had hoped to use your degree, when you did graduate, to make a product that didn’t cause heart attacks with the sugar content or make people stressed beyond belief on addictive caffeine. 

You were a tired teen and survived high school on coffee, but that didn’t do well with your heart. 

Now you had a medical condition and got even more tired than you did back then. 

Since you couldn’t have coffee anymore, your research was mainly for you.

That’s why, when you hung out with Belphie, sleeping, ironically, you couldn’t be more jealous. 

He slept and slept and slept, not a care to the centuries he was wasting doing so.

When you two got close, closer than he and Beel, you somehow managed to get him to test a prototype you had developed with the help of Solomo. 

Being the only other human, he actually understood your aims, even if no one else did.

The brother teased you about the fagility of man until you told them about your condition, showing them the medication you had to take everyday to keep your heart beating. 

The ones that did bully you, take a lucky guess, first unbelievably guilty, but you got them to pay you back by being your test subjects.

Often, they wouldn’t work, you were still trying to figure out what all these new potions meant and trying to work with the differences between demons and humans. Not to mention the strongest demons there are. 

When Belphie did get tricked into drinking the energy concoctions you made, and when they finally worked, he wouldn’t be off the walls like Mammon and Asmo.

He remains docile, talking for a little longer than usual, actually showing interest in what his brothers, and you, did.

It’s not like he was a completely different person, he was still your Belphie, but he had just that little more energy he needed to seemed interested in life as a whole.

When you did admit to him that you had been esstentially drugging him, he took a moment to compute.

MC, the first human he had trusted in so long, had been tricking him to stay awake longer?

To ignore the sin he repesented?

You quickly explained that you had tested it hundreds of times, several times on yourself, like a true scientist, and that you just wanted to spend more time with him, he managed to calm down, just a little.

He jokingly second guessed every drink you handed him from then on, but, honestly, he was happy you had used him like that.

The reasoning for it, for you two to be able to spend more time together, getting to no each other when he wasn’t half asleep or yawning at your every other word.

Mammon had invested in your business venture, but Belphie would be your top customer.

[worryinglyinnocent]

Fic: Brave New World

AU-gust Day Nineteen: 19th Century AU Fandom: Once Upon A Time Pairing: Rumbelle

Rated: T

Summary: Moving from the small village of Avonlea to the bustling and industrialised town of Storybrooke, Belle finds it hard to adjust. Then there’s the small matter of the landlord, Mr Gold… (Sort of inspired by North and South.)

Brave New World

Although Belle knew the reasoning behind her father moving them away from the small, rural village where she had lived all her life, she could not understand why, of all the places he could have chosen to take her to, he had decided upon Storybrooke. 

Storybrooke was about as far removed from Avonlea as it was possible to be. A northern industrial town, the air hot and thick with soot and smoke and cotton fibres instead of cool and fragrant; a sea of bricks, mortar, and cobblestones, far from the greenery that Belle had grown up with. 

After her mother’s death, Belle knew that her father had wanted to leave Avonlea, where there were so many memories of her mother that caused him grief and pain on a daily basis. Belle would rather have stayed among the reminders, with all the memories of the happier times that they had shared, but she wanted to give her father ease, so she had swallowed her own feelings and agreed to the move, throwing herself into packing up their belongings and shutting up the house ready for sale, trying to keep busy so as not to dwell on the huge unknown that was now looming over her.

After twenty years in one place, she didn’t know how she was going to cope with the change. She didn’t know how her father was going to cope with the change either; although he had not lived in Avonlea his entire life, he had never strayed this far north in the country before.

It had been hard to keep cheerful as the train had moved away from Avonlea and gradually the greenery, forests and meadows had given way to factories and slum housing. Belle could only stare blankly at the place that was to be her new home for the foreseeable future.

At least her father seemed to be positive about the change, enthusing that this would be a new start for them, a new life with new opportunities. Perhaps there would be for him, with his dabbling in various investments now having a wealth of new potential with the mills and manufacturers in Storybrooke, but Belle didn’t know what her own prospects would be.

Not that she’d had all that many prospects when she’d been in Avonlea if she were to admit that to anyone. Although the other local girls had been envious of her face, she hadn’t had many admirers, and certainly none that she had any inclination to marry, Lord Chevalier’s son Gaston being a case in point. No, she was too bookish for most men. Too much knowledge in her pretty little head to be a good little docile wife. Belle had resigned herself to spinsterhood, and if it wasn’t for the fact that she wanted to be a mother one day, she would have been content with the idea. 

The home that her father had rented in Storybrooke whilst they searched for a permanent place of their own was roomy and well-appointed, and despite the soot-stained exterior that it shared with all the other buildings in the town, it was scrupulously clean and neat on the inside. Belle was pleasantly surprised. The only thing that disturbed her was the noise. They were situated in one of the quieter streets on the outskirts of the town, but she could still hear the thumping and thudding of the factories a mile away. 

Belle was in her room unpacking her books when she heard the knock at the front door, and she did not think anything of it until her father called her downstairs into the parlour. There was a man sitting there with her father. Although he was quite slight and did not appear to be all that tall, his presence was still imposing, even more so than her father, who was a tall, broad man in all respects and always seemed to fill up an unfamiliar room, no matter how many other people were in it. 

“Belle, this is Mr Gold. He owns the house.”

Gold stood as Belle entered, giving a respectful bow, and it was clear that the cane he carried was for function rather than fashion. Despite having only just met him, Belle found herself morbidly wondering what had caused the injury. “Miss French. Welcome to Storybrooke. I hope you’ll enjoy your time here.”

“Thank you, Mr Gold.”

“I’ll leave you now, Mr French. Remember that rent is due on the first of the month, and I expect it paid on time and in full.”

Astrid, the maid who had refused to leave them when they made the move from Avonlea to Storybrooke, showed Mr Gold out of the room, and Belle found herself staring after his retreating back for a long time. 

“Well, he seemed charming,” she said eventually. 

“Yes.” Her father sighed. “General consensus has it that he drives a hard bargain and he’s not to be trusted, but if you want property away from the centre of town, then he’s the only decent option. Still, hopefully we won’t have to see him too often.”

Belle nodded her agreement, but all the same, she couldn’t help but be intrigued by their new acquaintance, the first person she had met in Storybrooke. He had not made a wonderful first impression, but it could have been infinitely worse, and throughout the rest of the day, she found herself pondering on his life outside of property ownership. Each time she caught herself in flights of fancy, she had to shake herself crossly. She wasn’t likely ever to run into him again, and if she did, it would be purely transactional as rent was handed over. He wasn’t the sort of person that she was in a position to get to know. It was a shame, in a way, because Belle desperately wanted to get to know some people in the town. 

Perhaps it would start feeling more like a new home then. 

Belle spent the next couple of weeks getting her bearings around the town, slowly acclimatising to the heat and the noise and the bustle. It was a shock to the system going from a small village where everyone knew everyone else to a larger town with so many more people, all of whom were strangers to her. She managed to befriend a few of the local shopkeepers, but there were still so many people around who were unknown, and who seemed suspicious of the new faces in the town. The general chatter seemed to be that no one of Belle and her father’s standing moved to Storybrooke. The manufacturers came looking for profit and the lower classes came looking for work in the factories and mills, but Belle and her father were oddities. 

Still, at least being an oddity in Storybrooke was as familiar as being an oddity in Avonlea. 

Her father was out at the bank looking into investment opportunities when Belle saw Mr Gold again. It was the first day of the month, and she had been expecting him to call for the rent all morning when she noticed him coming up the steps. His limp seemed heavier today, and she wondered if it was due to the cold snap that had turned this morning. 

“Miss French.” He tipped his hat as she opened the door. “I’ve come for the rent.”

“Of course. Do come into the parlour.”

The rent notes were counted out in an envelope in her father’s study, and once she had Astrid showing him in, she went to fetch it. He was standing awkwardly in the centre of the room when she returned and handed over the envelope, as if he wasn’t sure of his etiquette now that he was alone with the unmarried daughter of the house. 

“Would you like to sit down for a spell, Mr Gold? I couldn’t help but notice that you seemed to be in pain as you were walking.”

Gold nodded. “That would be most kind, Miss French, but I wouldn’t want any accusations of impropriety on your part.”

Belle smiled and shook her head. “We have Astrid here as a chaperone. I’m sure everything will remain above board.” 

She asked Astrid to bring in some tea and Mr Gold sank gratefully into a chair. 

“Your father told me of the circumstances surrounding your move to Storybrooke,” he said eventually once tea had been brought and poured. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” Belle didn’t know how she could explain to Mr Gold that she was grieving so much more than just the loss of her mother. The loss of her childhood home and all those memories, the loss of her friends, the loss of all sense of familiarity and comfort. 

“I can imagine how difficult it’s been to deal with the upheaval since.”

Belle nodded. She hadn’t had to explain it after all; he had reached the same conclusion himself. “It has been hard, yes. It’s just me and my father, we have no other family, but at the same time, we’ve left a lot of friends behind, and it’s been hard to make new ones here in the town. Everyone seems distrustful of strangers.”

“Yes, I know that sentiment. Luckily, I’ve been here long enough now that although everyone is still distrustful, they’ve had to accept, reluctantly, that I’m not going anywhere.”

There was a small smile on his face, and Belle could tell that he was aware of his reputation within the town and wore it like battle armour against the mistrust. It made her want to see beneath it, to see the man that he really was aside from the rumour. 

“Do you have any family of your own, Mr Gold?”

“A little, but like you, not much. I have my son and his wife, and a grandchild forecast to arrive within the next month. They recently moved out to the country. I can’t say that I blame them too much. Storybrooke’s air isn’t the best place to raise a babe.”

“So, you’re alone in the town?”

Gold nodded.  “I lost my own wife several years ago, I’m used to the solitude.”

“Maybe we can be friends to each other?” Belle suggested. 

Gold chuckled, but there was no humour in it. 

“I don’t think it would do you any good to be associated with my reputation, Miss French.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think that the reputation is entirely warranted once one gets to know you a little better. And I think that I would like to get to know you a little better. Perhaps we could take tea again? The same time next month?”

“Well, since I’ll be coming anyway, it would be rude indeed not to accept an invitation.” Gold smiled warmly, the first time that Belle had seen him do so. “I look forward to our next meeting.”

“As do I, Mr Gold.”