#i still understand very little about the actual game itself

[nocturnowlette]

do you have any hypnosis audio files youd recommend?

Honestly, the answer is a "maybe".

In my opinion, in my 8 years of listening to files, not even 1% qualify as something I'd consider well made. The vast majority are nsfw, and the vast majority of those just throw any actual hypnosis away for a sake of roleplay. That being said, here are some files that, in my estimation, are at a minimum decent.

And always, read the description of every file before listening, even after reading my descriptions.

There's puppy ones at the bottom, by the way.

First, not an audio file, but an itch.io game.

brainwasher_program by sleepingirl (18+)

This is the most competently made thing I will be showing. Sleepingirl is someone I would consider a good hypnotist skillwise.

There is also test hypnosis game1 and ithinktherefore, also itch.io text hypnosis games/sessions.

Next, to my knowledge, the best file I've personally stumbled on (though it still didn't quite wow me),

Failing to Resist by Jack Drago (18+)

This file is a trance trainer, as in a file meant to use the ideas of resistance and turn that idea against you. It does a passable job, and you might find it quite powerful and helpful if you have some stubborn tendencies as a subject.

Next is another passable trance trainer,

Mind Melt by LilithUnleashed (18+)

This file uses arousal to bring about a specific philosophy of trance, one you might find more conducive to effectiveness: enjoying trance for the sake of trance itself, not just using it as a means to an end. There is no wakener at the end.

Next, a twin pair of files,

The Call of the Void and Hypnotic Acceptance by LilithUnleashed

The Call of the Void is a sort of run of the mill hypnosis file meant to be looped, and designed to condition you to trance and specifically to Lilith to some extent. Hypnotic Acceptance is a conditioning file meant to be played out of trance and doesn't bring you in to it. It's a nice idea that can have some small potential benefits, it's also relaxing.

Lilith, in general, is a competent hypnotist, if not a bit... much... at times. That's more of a taste thing, though. She does a good job, and these files are good.

There is also this conditioning loop file by her which is also nice, as well as this one.

Next is one for the pups,

Collared Obedience by LilithUnleashed (18+)

This one is, at a minimum, a very enjoyable time. It creates a mental collar and links it with actual collars if you wish and have the means. It forms one made out of various concepts relating to obedience. The suggestions didn't stick for me, but I'm a tad stubborn.

Obedience 101 - Welcome to Class! by FlowLikeTea

If you haven't noticed, I like trance training files. It's primarily because they're some of the only ones that aren't trying to just do erotic roleplay with the facile idea of hypnosis and hypnotic aesthetics. It reminds me of the ASMR sphere in that way.

Anyways, this file is just nice. Not much else to mention.

Slow and Gentle Hypnotic Induction by GoddessSoft (NotSoftForWork)

Thank you, Ms. Soft, for making an actually competent SFW hypnosis file. Soft is quite the competent hypnotist, and we'll be showing a few of her files coming up, but this one remains my favorite. It's simply a very well done relaxation file by someone who knows her stuff and has a good understanding of most aspects of audio trances.

Good Puppy Clicker Training by GoddessSoft (18+)

This is a beginner-centric clicker training file by Ms. Soft. It's thorough, long, and pleasurable. If you haven't noticed, I have not recommended files intended to make you finish in any way. I don't like them. They do not work for me. You'll have to ask someone else. That being said, GoddessSoft's page on the link has many different puppy files to listen to. Most deal with that.

Puppydog Fractionation by GoddessSoft (18+)

Another not-specifically-nsfw-focused puppy file from Ms. Soft. If I recall right, the sound balancing might be a little iffy on this one, though. Fair warning.

That's all I remember for now, but I might have more recommendations in the future. I hope you enjoy, and be sure to tell me how you respond to some of them. Enjoy!

[jamesrodayrodriguezpresents]

Scott Fish Bowl Live Draft LA

(x,x,x,x,x,x,x,x)

[probablygayattorneys]

Congrats on finishing Ghost Trick! How was it?

I cannot BELIEVE I WAS A FUCKING [redacted] THE ENTIRE FUCKING TIME

(More detailed and spoilery review in the tags)

[scarefox]

The way some people straight up deny soft criticism of the BL industry (stuff that isn't even a secret if you don't close your eyes and ears!!!) Criticism by literally LGBTq people working in said BL industry in Thailand..... basically one of the only ones who's voice are most valid here in this discourse. That's not hypocrism of people working in the industry to open their mouth! That's called self-awareness and using this genre to convey a message and trying to fix issues. This is about Step by Step and Lovely Writer atm. But those are not the only dramas who brought up some critic but somehow people get salty now about that little poke from SbS? Did you sleep the past 3 years?? And it's not a coincident that it's always the same topics certain BL dramas brought up!

I feel like some people here don't get that you can criticize your own work place, your own industry, your own country WITHOUT hating, shaming or demonizing it completely! Yall need stop this black & white thinking and the constant urge to feel personally attacked by something like this...

Especially the message of LW (the same people who make SbS now) was that there is nothing wrong about loving BL stories and they do like producing them. BUT that there are some things in the industry that are bad and harmful NOT ALL OF IT, SOME THINGS! Like the treatment of actors and certain topics by companies and producers. And the main theme of LW: the toxic overstepping and overcontrolling shipping culture that can (and did) destroy real life relationships / friendships under the weight of the pretend relationship (pretend as in they are not dating for real (everyone knows that! or should know that! this is also not even a secret if you watch interviews outside of the fun and couple game shows) at least in most of the cases.... in some rare ones yes, in some very rare cases some actors actually date but they are too afraid to come out due to homophobia and the way the industry & fandom treats those cases (source Dr. Thomas Baudinette who studies the industry as a form of queer asian media and interviewed companies and actors since years... somewhere in this he talks about actor relationships, I can't find the time stamp atm))

ALSO the point about exploiting the LGBTq community is NOT about the fans or LGBTq audience who love these dramas. But about businesses and literal Thailand itself. For using those stories and actors / couples for advertising, for marketing, for tourism even. BUT at the same time some don't care for real life LGBTq issues and rights or the fact that Thailand is still not agreeing on equal marriage (which is not just about them not being able to marry but they get denied a lot of things married couples get. alone the fact that they can't see their partner in the case of an emergency in the hospital because 'they are not family'). In the said SbS scene they were literally discussing which pretend couple has the most fans and how they could use their fandom and fan clubs to gain profit. Don't you guys get how fucking frustrating this is for the LGBTq people and allies who work in the BL industry, to get paraded in front of the camera for money and image but still don't get treated equally??? THAT is what they mean with exploiting.... And it's a lot of producers, writers and some actors who voice those points, not just these few self-aware BL dramas. But doing it through the medium they adress is the best way to reach the right people, to make the right people aware and ask for their support. Since they can't say such things directly (even though they should) unless they want to lose their job, they still like to a degree.

And I am sorry but the opinion of actual thai people who are inside that industry is more valid than some random fan who just doesn't want to understand those things in order to enjoy their shows without feeling bad.... What if I tell you that you can do both and that this is not about shaming you or making you feel guilty (unless you participate in toxic overstepping behavior or are actually LGBTq-phobic, then yes feel guilty)! Acknowledging issues, supporting to fix those issues and still have fun with these dramas and actors.... Those things can and do coexist and nobody said otherwise!!

[imfinereallyy]

#38 "i was eavesdropping and i heard something i can’t scrub from my memory" sounds like it could be very funny, especially from a kid's perspective!

you read my mind, it 100% needs be a kid POV, sorry this one is a bit shorter than my usual but it was fun to write. *it actually ended up being longer than I thought cause I have a problem with not knowing when enough is enough lol* ♡

find the request game here

Lucas was going to throw up. He liked to think he had a strong stomach, he really truly did, but this was too much even for him.

“What the hell is your problem?” Max asked him as he came back to Steve’s living room.

“Yea you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Will pipes up, head leaning on his knee.

Lucas swallowed dryly, he had to phrase this carefully. “Well I was eavesdropping…”

Max snorted from her seat on the couch. “You Lucas Sinclair was eavesdropping? Didn’t think I’d ever see the day. What about the whole ‘respect people’s boundaries’ thing you rave about?”

“And I still stand by that! It’s just I didn’t want to interrupt and…” Lucas thought back to a few minutes ago. He had gone into the kitchen to grab Max an ice pack; she was having a bad hip day. When he had reached the door, he had heard Steve and Eddie talking, and it had sounded serious. Lucas felt bad about interrupting, but he also couldn’t go back to Max without the ice pack. They had been good for months now, and he didn’t want to risk it. (He knew this was ridiculous considering they weren’t really that dysfunctional, and she loved him, a reluctant secret smile confession on her end. But there was this deep part of Lucas who was terrified of disappointing her). So he was content with waiting outside the door until they were done.

Lucas really should have turned around and left.

“What if they don’t…want to be around us Stevie?” Eddie whispered.

“Baby they are just kids. They are good kids. They are our friends. They won’t be upset.” Steve murmured back.

This was the point Lucas should have turned around, but he was confused and wanted to understand.

“You aren’t even the slightest bit worried, that maybe they won’t be accepting? I don’t think any of them have been exposed to gay culture, let alone two men dating?”

Oh. Oh no. This was really private. Lucas should have really turned around but at that point, his feet were glued to the ground.

“I mean yea a little bit…they are shitheads. Especially Mike—“ Lucas had to hold back a snort, “—but they are good. It’s why we are friends with them. As much as it pains me to admit we are friends with children.”

Lucas wished he could see their faces.

“What if…what if they are more than shitheads this time?” Lucas had never heard Eddie’s voice sound so small.

“…do you want to wait a little longer?” Steve’s voice asked gently, with no anger.

“If that’s okay. I just…want to live in our bubble a little longer. Well our bubble plus Robin.” Lucas imagined Eddie biting his hair in that moment.

“Yea baby. We take this at the pace you need. And Robin already knows, which is pretty much the only person I can’t keep a secret from. And I like our little bubble too.” Lucas heard shuffling around, like fabric reaching around itself.

“Yea?”

“Yea. I think I can go a little longer without the twerps making gagging noises every time we kiss. We can wait to tell them we’re together.”

“Hmmmm should we do a practice show right now, to prepare for when we need to freak them out?” Eddie’s voice turned suddenly flirty.

“I like the way you think.” This was the last words Lucas heard before the sounds of the two of them clearly heavily making out came through the doorway. It was at the first moan that Lucas ran away.

Lucas was brought back to reality when Max snapped her fingers in his face. “Want to share with the class loser?”

Oh god, Lucas was gonna throw up at the memory.

It wasn’t the fact that they were men and that they were dating. Lucas was, in fact, really happy for them. He had never thought about it, but in a weird way, it made sense. He wanted them to be happy. And if he was really being honest with himself, he was hoping maybe this would get Max to stop staring at Steve when he doesn’t have a shirt on (a few months later, Lucas would be horribly proven wrong of this theory).

It wasn’t this kissing that made him want to vomit either. Sure, the idea of his older brother figure making out with his dungeon master wasn’t a pleasant thought, but he had witness Mike make out with El, so he was pretty immune to grossness.

No, the problem was Lucas realized with great certainty he was going to have to keep a secret.

He gagged at the thought.

Sure, he could keep a whole other dimension and government conspiracy theory a secret from his parents (and, ya know, the world), but he caved relatively quickly when it came to Max. And Max could tell whenever he was lying. But Lucas wasn’t stupid; he knew you couldn’t just tell other people that someone you know is gay. He didn't know the word for it, maybe there wasn’t one, but Lucas knew what it was like to be different. He didn’t want to make Steve and Eddie feel bad, or cause others to be mean to them. He didn’t think the rest of the party would care about the gay? Bisexual? Queer?—wait, that’s a bad word, Lucas thought—it didn’t matter what specifically, but he didn’t think they would care about the gay stuff—more like Lucas knew his friends. El and Max would have a million, invasive questions. Mike would be a dick, but not for serious reasons. More like “I have weird insecurities” reasons. It would probably be good for Will (again, Lucas isn’t stupid). And Dustin, holy shit, he would most definitely either be pissed he didn’t know sooner, or would rub it in everyone’s face that he made it happen. Both of which Lucas knew would be horrible reactions.

God, he was going to throw up. He was going to lie to his friends. His girlfriend. He couldn’t just share this secret. It would go horrible if he told, it’s not his secret! His stupid, stupid friends (not El and Max) would blow up if it came from him first. And then Eddie and Steve would be upset, he told, and they would think that the party hated them for something out of their control, even though they love them no matter what! And oh god, he’s gonna have to lie so much—

He was spiraling, he needed to calm down.

“Lucas?” Max’s face suddenly softened, like she knew he was having a hard time getting the words together. Lucas looked at her face, and took a couple of seconds to count her freckles but lost track quickly. He didn’t mind; he would to start again later. He followed the laugh lines around her eyes that weren’t there last year, and thought about trying to make her laugh.

Max said nothing as he stared, even as the guys pressed him to answer. It was strange, he was terrified of lying to Max, but he knew deep down she would understand. That she would know he was lying but wouldn’t call him out on it.

“I was eavesdropping and I heard something I can’t erase from my memory. I almost walked in on Steve giving sex advice to Eddie, so I walked away before it got gross. I forgot your ice pack; I’m sorry.” Lucas apologized; he did genuinely feel bad he didn’t succeed on his mission.

The guys started chattering behind him, asking questions and yelling out in disgust, but Max stayed quiet for a second, then said, “It’s okay, stalker. Didn’t have high hopes for you anyway. You always get distracted.”

Lucas sent her a grateful smile, and pretended to be offended. “Are you saying I don’t finish what I’ve started? You should know better, Max.”

Max threw her head back, and full body laughed. She scooped Lucas’ hand and wove her pale fingers between his. “That’s me being nice, Lucas. Don’t go around telling people that. Or I’ll have to up the ante.”

Lucas kissed the back of her hand and whispered, “Maybe I like it when you’re a little mean.”

Max blushed and looked to check if the guys were paying attention (they weren’t; they were still arguing over sex they weren’t having), and leaned over to give him a soft kiss on the cheek. Max didn’t ask any questions even though Lucas knew she knew he was lying.

Lucas didn’t let go of her hand, and quietly hoped that Eddie made Steve feel the way Max made him feel.

He deserved something special like that.

**

I need you guys to know that I had to keep backtracking to correct boys into guys, cause I’m so used to writing from an older persons perspective. But I wanted some steddie and lumax mixed together. And Lucas! Deserves! More! Attention!!!

thank you so much for the ask I had so much fun with this one.

[themisteriousentity]

Do you ever think about how perfectly the three house leaders embody the concepts of "past, present, future"? At least in Houses, it gets a little more muddled in Hopes

Dimitri heavily embodies the past and the way it can drag you down. He forgets the importance of the present and even when going to the officer's academy, he's only going to get access to church records to investigate the tragedy of Duscur, as evidenced by that one event where Dedue and Byleth happen upon him researching late at night in the library and he's investigating Arundel. Even by the end of Azure Moon, he's still not thinking about the future, only putting a stop the the present cruelty and focusing on trying to help that girl he knew in the past until he realizes he can't. It's not until the very end of the game that he breaks from the shackles of his past, but he's also never 100% in the present due to, in Azure Moon, the past never 100% being demystified, as shown by how those who slither in the dark are only eradicated in specific epilogues if you recruited the right characters + bought the DLC.

Edelgard easily represents the present. Her entire focus is on the events of her lifetime and the conclusions she came to based only on (incorrect) past and present information. She came to a conclusion very young and never waivered from it nor investigated it further and only looks towards fixing the problems of the present. The present is built upon by the past, and she perfectly shows that by holding onto past facts to influence the present, but she does not consider the long term future. A youtube video I watched but can't remember the channel name for (I will edit it in as a link if I can remember it) once pointed out that with a merit based appointment system, it'll fall apart as soon as Edelgard is gone and no longer there to maintain it. Not to mention that, like Azure Moon, Crimson Flower has the same issue of only borderline mentioning those who slither in the dark's ultimate demise, and we don't even get a satisfactory ending to that in Crimson Flower. (Side note, Silver Snow is better abut this but is not entirely relevant as that is a Lordless route).

Claude meanwhile is always looking towards the future, informed well by the past and present. He is, of course, aware and affected by the past and present, but like the future itself uses it to build the road to tomorrow. And unlike Dimitri and Edelgard, who have a single minded focus and don't plan for backups, understands that there's no guarantees in anything and is always planning contingencies when he can. And because the future is built from the past and present, he's also the character who most seeks out to demystify them in order to build that future, because even if you don't know a past event, it will still have ripple effect into the future. It's what makes it very important that, unlike Dimitri and Edelgard, Claude steps down from leadership of Fódlan entirely once he uncovers the full truth and realizes that, for all intents and purposes, his type of leadership isn't needed in Fódlan after what it went through and that his next best step is to go back to Almyra and start the next steps there. In fact, in Verdant Wind, they actually almost entirely take care of those who slither in the dark with the only remaining one being Cornelia, but even THEN he had a contingency when he came back to save Fódlan with the Almyran army in the epilogue. Even in other routes, he manages to always perfectly plan for both his demise and his victory, culminating (outside his own path) in Crimson Flower where he plans for his own death. He never stops thinking about the different twists and turns the future can take and plans for it.

This ended up a little bit Claude heavier but to be fair, he usually gives me more to think about.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I still share plants opinion regarding IG. I think they’re phasing harry out, in part because he contributes very little compared to what they spend on him. And secondly the UK military no longer want him as the poster child post spare release. And the only reason why it hasn’t happened yet is because of Charles. But I personally don’t think that Charles influence will continue that much longer. IG wants to get rid of them, and if he doesn’t show up to the event in may it’s rather easy for the UK to not award the next games location. Would harry put up a stink?? Absolutely, but that’s when they’ll pivot on in on her and ARO.

I agree. I wouldn’t be surprised if Invictus Games has been trying to cut Harry lose since Megxit when they lost their Royal prestige. Because without Harry’s Royal status connecting them to the UK Ministry of Defense, what exactly is he needed for?

I think it was Plant who said this (but it could’ve been another blog) but Harry and Meghan have managed to make *every* *single* Invictus Games about them:

2017 Toronto IG: they debuted their relationship and it was all anyone talked about

2018 Sydney IG: they announced Meghan’s pregnancy and it was all anyone talked about. Not only, there’s pretty consistent gossip that the Sussexes only showed up for the ceremonies and barely attended the actual events/games.

2020 Dutch IG: postponed to 2021 because of Covid

2021 Dutch IG: postponed to 2022 because of the Olympics and no one wanting to risk their spots on national teams (though the official story is that it was postponed for Covid).

2022 Dutch IG: they turned it into Meghan’s Fashion Show (and stiffed IG with all the bills) and a BetterUp sponcon. But all anyone talked about was their pre-IG visit to Windsor to see The Queen for the first time since Megxit (a visit that Meghan had to leak directly because there were no photographs).

2023 Düsseldorf Games: another Meghan merchfest and BetterUp sponcon, but all anyone talked about was Harry’s papwalk visiting his grandmother’s grave on the anniversary of her passing and his comments about it.

It’s not good for any charity’s bottom line if their patron or sponsor is dominating the news to the point that their spotlight excludes the charity itself. There are definitely people at Invictus who understand this and who are probably fighting hard to let Harry go.

After all, Germany is able to do its own national Games independent of the charity and without Harry. Reading between the lines: Germany Invictus has some kind of corporate backing from the “main” charity to do this spin-off version. Especially if it was made clear that they didn’t want the Sussexes involved (as the press did when the announcement was made).

I know I said this before but I think it bears repeating: if Germany Invictus does really well without “main” IG and without Harry “promoting” it, I think they’ll go ahead and cut Harry loose altogether because it will have proven what’s been known since 2018 - that the Sussexes are a huge liability for the people they claim to support and advocate for.

[astridthevalkyrie]

cw: afab reader + she/her pronouns, creepy stuff, yandere ig??, very very very brief and extremely mild use of phone as a vibrator, if you've seen gravity falls this is inspired by the soos and the real girl ep 💀

You pause and exit out of the app right as you open up the video call link, ignoring the twinge of guilt you feel at leaving during such a steamy scene. It's not real, you remind yourself, like you have a million times in the past month. A part of you wants to find the coziest corner of this library and play until you've leveled up all the memories you can and gone on all nine claw machine dates you're allowed to, but it's time to unplug.

Besides, you have an actual date.

"Hey!" your boyfriend greets as soon as the video loads up, grinning when he sees your face. "Are you in the library?"

"Yeah. Booked a room all for you," you tease, setting your phone down to focus on your laptop.

"Wow, I'm flattered. So what's been up lately?"

You sigh. "Nothing much. Same old boring stuff. What about you?"

He starts talking about his new job, the entire reason that you and he have been long-distance for the past few months. You're not going to lie to yourself—it's rough. It feels like torture, not being able to see him and hold him and kiss him. You've really, really missed him. That's probably why you've turned to dating sims of all things in the first place.

Your phone buzzes while he's talking, and your eyes flick over to the screen.

new text from alien boy <3

Your brows furrow in confusion. This app doesn't notify you about new texts, because they only come through while you're on the app itself. And you never just get texts, unless you've leveled up on affinity, which you haven't in the past half hour.

Whatever. Probably some new feature or event you don't know about yet. You turn your attention back to your boyfriend.

"—And my break will be in two weeks," he finishes his story, then smiles. "Which means in two weeks I'll be seeing you, pretty girl."

Eyes lighting up, you lean in so you can blow him a light kiss. "I can't wait. I already have the whole weekend planned out. We'll go to the park, the museum—I thought we could go canoeing if you wanted to—"

Once again, your phone buzzes.

alien boy <3: didn't we have plans that weekend?

Your stomach flips unpleasantly.

Huh?

"What is it?" your boyfriend asks, noticing your struck expression.

"N-nothing, just—this app I downloaded, it gave me a super weird notification. For a second, I thought it was, like, listening to me."

He chuckles. "Creepy. What app is it?"

"Nothing," you say quickly, not sure if you should even tell your boyfriend that you've found solace in fictional characters during his absence. "Just some stupid game."

This time when your phone buzzes, you jump a little in your seat.

It's not a text. Someone's calling you. Your shoulders almost sag until you notice there's no name on the caller id, just a small spaceship emoji.

"What the hell," you mutter under your breath, putting one finger up to the camera. Your boyfriend nods in understanding, leaning back and muting himself while you swipe and answer the call. "Hello?"

No answer.

"Hello-o-o?"

Still nothing. You almost hang up, until the barest of sounds makes your ears perk up. If you strain them and press the phone so close it's smushing your cheek, you can hear something. It sounds like someone whispering, but you can't make out anything.

"Hello? Um, your audio is super low, I can barely hear you. Hello? Can you hear me?"

With no change, you hang up, frustrated. It might be a prank call. You're in the library on a Friday night and there's barely anyone here, one of your friends might've thought it was hilarious to mess with you.

"Spam call." You shrug uneasily, slipping the phone down between your thighs this time instead of on the table. He nods in understanding, then starts saying something.

"You're still on mute, sweetheart, I can't hear you."

He makes an oh face, then leans forward a bit to use the mouse. After a few seconds, though, his eyes narrow in focus and he shakes his head. He looks up, mouthing can you hear me now?

"Nope. Can you still hear me?"

An affirmative nod. Weird. It's still showing that he's muted on your end. "What, is it not clicking?"

You see him look back up to the screen, whether to nod or shake his head, you don't find out, because the screen glitches out for a moment, and all you see is a door.

You shriek, clamping a hand over your mouth.

His face is back in front of you again, and you still can't hear him, but he clearly sees how freaked out you are, because he tilts his head up concernedly, as though to ask you what's wrong.

You didn't scream because of the glitch.

You screamed because you've visited your boyfriend at his new place before, and that door was his door.

"Can you hear me? Is your door locked?" He only looks more confused, shaking his head like you're the one who's muted now.

Your phone lights up before you can grab it and call him, and you gasp when it buzzes against your core and doesn't stop buzzing. It doesn't vibrate this much when you get a call, and there is no call on the home screen, nor text, nor any kind of notification. It feels like it presses itself into your skin more, and you grip the table with one hand at the brief jolt of pleasure before snatching it and unlocking the screen.

Before you can click the phone app, Love&Deepspace opens. You groan in frustration, trying to swipe up to no avail. Did you accidentally click on it? It wasn't even in the list of apps on your main page.

Movement from your laptop catches your eye. Your boyfriend's looking forward, but not at the camera. He's looking at—at something, and he backs up in his chair, looking terrified all of a sudden.

"What is it?" you say as loud as you can, but even if he does hear you, he doesn't respond, and instead, his mouth falls open in a silent scream.

The screen goes black, and then so does the entire library.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit." You look back down at your phone, ready to crack it if it doesn't swipe up and get out of this stupid app—

There's no one there.

Your heart stutters in its chest.

There's always someone in the Destiny Cafe.

There's no one there.

And on the little white armchair in the background, there's a dark streak of red dripping down and staining the cloth.

"What the fuck," you whisper, eyes wide. Your laptop screen flickers.

The facetime has been replaced by grey-blonde hair, that gently brushes against baby blue eyes with a soft, unassuming smile.

"You shouldn't pause me," he coos, "now, where were we?"

a/n: i hope no one tells me that people don't put their phones between their thighs while sitting bc i very much do. also. i'm talking to a guy on FT in the library tomorrow. hope i don't have gift of foresight. or maybe i hope i do muwahahaha. this is actually mad goofy and not scary at all

[certifiedlovergirlsstuff]

vampire king

pairing: dick grayson x batgirl!reader

wc: 745

warnings: blood i think. should be clean

A/N: idea came from the dc comics event DC vs Vampires. yall should read. prompt "one way or another, you're gonna die tonight" from@nightprompts

divider from @firefly-graphics

masterlist / dick grayson

🎧 vampire

vampires were taking over the streets of gotham. it was quiet at first, only the upper class had already been the mythical creatures or they were turned at the idea of mortality the greed of being young and rich forever.

slowly people were disappearing off the streets only to come back looking ghostly, sunken cheeks and pointed teeth baring two holes into victims skin to suck them dry of blood.

when you first heard batman talking about it you thought it was some prank he was actually in on, but when you visited the ME office and saw the bodies for yourself you quickly realized the severity of the situation.

batman called the justice league for a worldwide level emergency. gotham was the main priority since it was quickly being swallowed by the monsters, you and the others could only do so much with only gadgets and stun guns.

“nightwing and batgirl, both of you take lower gotham. the docks, shipping yards, junkyards. any place dark and dangerous for the normal person.” batman gave commands to groups and duos quickly, everyone split up to their locations.

“you think theirs a higher up?” questioning nightwing through your helmet comms. your motorcycle zipping through the top quiet streets while heading to a north-east shopping yard. the two of you were side to side, nightwing zooming just a little quicker ahead.

“probably. usually there always needs to be one to grow more vampires. they always need a king or queen.” he sounded bored while replying. “keep your head clear, almost there.” then revved his engine and sped off.

powering down your cycle killed the sound and lights leaving you in a dimly lit space with only the sounds of the water close by. pulling your helmet off slowly and clipping it to your handles, you noticed he wasn’t anywhere nearby. it kept you on alert.

“nightwing,” pressing on your wrist com. you waited two seconds before calling his name again. “nightwing, come in.” cautious steps deeper into the maze of shipping containers.

a sharp thud stopped you short, gadgets at the ready. no noise followed so you continued further in. then it came again so you called out, “come out and this will be over quickly.”

no response. “i’m not here to play games. either cooperate or get ready for a fight.” flicking a batarang open.

a deep lifeless chuckling filled the air, a large shadow stalking over white and green containers. “you’re very funny, batgirl.” small knocks echoing out, “thinking you're a threat to anyone. such a small human, weak boned girl. i can easily snap you like that of a toothpick.”

“why don’t you step out of the shadows and follow thru with that threat.” shuffling your feet and legs into a combat stance.

another low chuckle followed by a sign, “oh i will. can’t wait to see your reaction to this news.”

your face screwed up and before you ask what they were talking about, they step out the shadows and stood illuminated by over headlights. hands held out at their sides, a twist grin.

“dick?” body relaxing itself. not understanding what was happening. “this- this isn’t funny, dick!”

his grin twisting further, “oh, this isn’t some joke, y/n. you were asking about a higher up. so i thought you deserved to know who that was.” stepping further in, your heart pounding.

“i’m the king. and no matter what happens tonight, your gonna die. whether that be permanent or immortal is up to you.” hands sitting on his hips with his head cocked. white eyes emotionless and face stone still.

you couldn’t help the quiver to your lips or the crack in your voice, “this isn’t you, dick.”

he pouted and kissed his teeth, “oh sweetheart, this is me. well, dick has been gone for a long time, probably six months at this point. but that doesn’t matter, time is nonexistent when you’ve been alive for thousands of years.” he took slow, calculated strides closer. his hands now held behind his back, still carrying himself strong and high.

a sniffle of your nose before sitting back to your defensive position. eyes steeling hard and flexing your muscles hard, the sharpest point of your weapon aimed at the enemy. dick, the vampire king stopped short of a foot away. arms still held tight behind him as he cocked his head again, a mirthless quirk of his lips.

“are you ready to die tonight, mighty batgirl?”

-

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

I know I’ve spoken about my issues with ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ (2023) before, both in my initial thoughts post about the film after it released and a couple of smaller comments since, but I’ve realised something this past week after rewatching the original Disney cartoon and the 2003 non-Disney live-action while sick, and I feel I need to talk about it.

It’s about Wendy Moira Angela Darling.

While I stand by that Ever Anderson was one of the highlights of the film and that she did a great job as Wendy, the Wendy in the film is not really the Wendy seen in Barrie’s book, nor the one in the play and other films adaptations. It’s a very different character in a lot of ways, and while it’s normal for characters to differ from adaption to adaptation - especially over the course of 70+ years - I feel like the Wendy seen in the 2023 is more like Jane, Wendy’s daughter, from Disney’s Return to Neverland sequel in 2002.

Let me preface by saying that I actually love Jane in the sequel as a character - I see a lot of myself in her, and while the sequel in itself is not really my favourite, I do have some nostalgia for it because I grew up with it and it’s a cute little story. I like that Jane is actually different from Wendy in a lot of ways; she’s a lot more headstrong and more of a tomboy, and while she’s also a storyteller at times like her mother (mostly to her brother Danny), she is a lot more practical I think and seems to be opposite to Wendy in that she’s trying to grow up too fast. Wendy believes in Peter Pan and doesn’t want to grow up, meanwhile Jane believes Peter Pan to be silly childish nonsense, that she has to grow up quickly and be more adult due to the war/her father being away - Wendy says to her, “you think you’re very grown up - but you have a great deal to learn”.

Obviously the 2023 Wendy doesn’t want to grow up, that’s still the same, but in terms of personality, temperament and the way she treats her brothers after the broken mirror incident (blaming John for it), she reminds me more of Jane than Wendy. Like Jane, she also doesn’t seem to have a good time going to Neverland (at least not at first?) and she seems to take on a lot more action than Wendy did in the animated film.

Of course, it’s not the first time that we’ve seen Wendy wielding a sword and fighting pirates - the 2003 Wendy was shown to play with wooden swords and use real ones, even remarking, “who are you to call me ‘girlie’?!”. I’m not saying that Wendy can’t be a sword wielding girl and fight because she can, it’s one of the additions I love the most about the 2003 film.

The problem with the 2023 version of Wendy is not her being a main character (she has always been a main character), nor her sword fighting and being generally bad-ass - it’s the erasure of the other qualities that make her Wendy Darling.

One of Wendy’s primary character traits is her mothering nature - she is very motherly to her brothers, and when she hears that the Lost Boys don’t have a mother, she’s aghast and agrees to be their mother. The whole “Peter is father, Wendy is mother” idea is clearly a reference to how kids in the playground will play games like “mummies and daddies” - kids imitating what they see around them. It’s all a big pretend game in Neverland for fun. It’s also undeniable that Wendy pretending to be the Lost Boys’ mother is clearly reflective of her own mother, who she adores and is portrayed as the loveliest lady ever, and how she’s imitating Mrs Darling in a lot of ways during this “game” - singing to them, telling them stories, medicine etc.

Some would argue that Wendy is “forced” into being the “mother” and that while all the boys are off having fun, she’s left playing house, which I understand. But what a lot of modern audiences and filmmakers don’t understand these days is that motherhood is NOT an anti-feminist idea - there seems to be this view that portraying a girl wanting to be a mother or expressing the wish to be married/have children is some old-fashioned misogynistic notion, which is absolutely bizarre to me.

As a feminist myself, I believe that there is no clear cut definition of “womanhood” or what it means to be a strong woman with autonomy. Some women want to have careers and not have children, and that’s fine; some women want to have children, that’s fine; some women want both, and that’s fine. What matters is that it’s the woman who is deciding what she wants.

For me, Wendy has always been this remarkable and extraordinary character to look up to because she chooses to grow up - and for her, that means having her own children to tell her stories to. That’s what she wanted, that’s why she went back to England, and that’s part of her character arc, realising that by growing up she has things to look forward to.

For some reason, when 2023!Wendy thinks “happy thoughts” to make herself fly when being walked off the plank, her vision for the future that she looks forward to involves piloting automobiles that haven’t even been invented yet and then dying alone? Which… I mean, if that’s how someone wants to live then fair enough but that’s not Wendy. That’s not the Wendy Darling I grew up loving.

A lot of my issues with the 2023 version of Wendy do in fact link with other issues of the film in general: the Lost Boys including girls, for example. Like I get wanting to be inclusive, and I 100% wanted to be a Lost Girl growing up, but the Lost Boys are boys for a reason (“girls are much too clever to fall out of their prams”), and when Wendy arrives it’s a huge deal because they’ve never actually lived with girls before, and the only concept of girls they have is their memories of “mother”, which is why Wendy becomes their mother figure - because they literally don’t have any other female figures in their lives to compare her to other than the tiny scraps they remember of their mothers.

There’s also the issue of the thing prompting Wendy not wanting to grow up being changed; in the original, it’s because it’s her last night in the nursery and moving from the nursery - aka the room she has spent her entire life thus far in - to her own room is a HUGE transitional worry that a lot of kids probably go through (usually it’s in the form of moving from toddler beds to big kid beds but still). In the 2023 version, she’s being sent off to boarding school for some reason which doesn’t really make sense to me because the Darling parents a) are so poor they have to have a dog as a nursemaid and b) love their children so much that they would never do that to them. I’m not saying that being shipped off to boarding school ISN’T a worry for a young girl or a huge deal, but it isn’t one that I think necessarily fits with the story.

There’s the fact that Wendy is no longer the storyteller; in most versions, the reason Peter visits the nursery is because he likes her stories. Instead, the reason he comes to the nursery is not because he likes her stories but because he used to live in the house? And instead of bringing her to Neverland to tell stories, he comes to take Wendy away as he apparently heard her saying she didn’t want to grow up? It just doesn’t sit right with me, but maybe that’s just my opinion.

Also, for some reason, Wendy and Peter don’t actually seem to like each other at all in the 2023 version - I’m not saying there should have been romantic hints or whatever, but even just in a friendship way they really don’t seem to care in any way about each other. They just seemed rather indifferent towards each other, and it’s kind of jarring to see.

In some ways, I feel like 2023 Wendy was made a little too bad ass and on the nose super feminist: “this magic belongs to no boy!”, slapping Peter across the face (which was just…??? Why?!?!), constantly criticising Peter/Neverland, having WAY more action and heroic moments than Peter Pan himself… maybe in a different story it could have worked but for this one, it came across forced at times, like they were intentionally trying to show “look! Look how badass she is! She can fight off grown men all by herself! She doesn’t need a boy to help her! She can do everything by herself!”

This is why I feel like the 2003 version of Wendy is the best one (so far): while they modernised her slightly by making her sword fight and express an ambition to write novels about her adventures, she was still a storyteller and motherly figure to the Lost Boys/her brothers. For me as a child, seeing Wendy be the storyteller and her journey of acceptance about having the grow up was really important to me because I could completely relate to it.

Of course, I recognize I’m very biased because this is the one I grew up with (along with the animated Wendy of course) so I’d be interested to hear other people’s thoughts!

[youcouldmakealife]

SOTM: Bruno Roy, various Roys (Morgan/Theo); contraband

For the prompt: Does Bruno Roy notice the tension between his poor rookie and Theo in the house?

Bruno would like to think he’s a pretty observant fellow. His teammates would certainly describe him that way. He’s been keeping an eye out for his younger teammates practically since the start of his career, and that takes paying attention, because fuck knows most of those guys would rather get their teeth knocked out than actually ask for help.

His wife would probably disagree, though. She’s the one who notices what’s up with the kids, always filling him in. He doesn’t know if that’s because she's more observant, or if it's because he spends close to half of his time on the road during the regular season, sees his kids less than his teammates, most of the time.

If that’s it there’s nothing he can do about it, and honestly, the last time he was around for an uninterrupted stretch, laid out with a groin injury, his kids were as happy as him when he got cleared to play, and Celine was the happiest of all. He is, he’ll admit, not very good at staying still, and there was a lot more of that than he’d like on bed rest. He’s best in motion.

But with three of his kids firmly in the teen years now, the problems are multiplying. Matt barely leaves his room unless food or school’s involved, and there’s a hell of a lot of reluctance on the school thing. Alexia’s reached the baffling stage of teenage girlhood Bruno won’t even pretend to understand, where everything that used to make her happy makes her mad instead, plus her friends are all dicks. Celine puts it a little more diplomatically, but they’re in agreement on that one.

And Theo, well — Bruno thought the hard part was over after Theo came out to them, and it mostly was — before that he and Celine spent an entire year debating whether they should tell him they knew or wait until he was ready to tell him, and they were getting precariously close to the first one when he sat them down.

But now Celine says something’s up between Morgan and Theo, and scoffs at him when he says he hadn’t noticed. He’s sure she’s not wrong, and he might worry if it was anyone else billeting with them, but Morgan? Morgan’s the opposite of a worry.

“Morgan’s a good kid,” Bruno says. “It’ll probably work itself out.”

“It hasn’t yet,” Celine says. “And it’s been awhile.”

“Can’t be that bad if I haven’t noticed it,” Bruno says, and that’s when he learns just what his wife thinks of his observational skills.

Frankly, he doesn't think she needed to laugh that loudly.

*

Bruno keeps an eye out after that. Not that he doesn’t keep an eye out, but, you know, he keeps a focused eye. Like the difference between casually watching a game and scouting the opponents. And of course, now that he’s paying close enough attention it’s pretty obvious that as usual, Celine is right.

‘The vibes are off’, as he’s pretty sure his kids would say. Also pretty sure that they’d call him embarrassing for saying it, like he doesn’t share a locker room with kids barely older than them. Houses a good number of them too, though thankfully it’s been one at a time. They’re all good kids — his teammates and his children — but they can be, well —

Matt slinks out of the kitchen, hunched over in a hoodie, arms wrapped around his torso. Bruno doesn’t need to be around 24/7 to recognize that trick. And unless Matt’s suddenly gained a significant amount of weight in one area and one area only, Bruno suspects he’s smuggling something. A bag of chips, Bruno believes. Family size too, it looks like.

“Matt,” Bruno says from his spot on the couch, and Matt guiltily pauses, one foot on the stairs. “No chips before dinner. Also, no eating in your room. Take your pick on which rule you’re breaking.”

“I don’t have chips,” Matt says.

“You pregnant?” Bruno asks, and Matt sighs and pulls a bag of chips from where he’s been hiding them under his hoodie. They keep the AC on high, but not that high: hoodie is an immediate tip-off smuggling’s happening. Well, that or that his kids have been in Texas too long.

“I could have been pregnant,” Matt mutters as he goes up the stairs, which is an argument so nonsensical there’s no way Bruno should be dignifying it by replying.

“No you could not have been pregnant!” Bruno says, because it’s an argument so nonsensical Bruno can’t help but reply, dignity or not.

The front door opens just in time for someone to overhear that, because of course it does. Morgan stands frozen in the doorway, wide-eyed, looking like he’s considering turning right around and walking away rather than deal with whatever he just walked into. Bruno doesn’t blame him at all. It’s kind of a wonder they keep letting him billet rookies, though Kai and Grigory did okay, he supposes, considering the level of Roy exposure they got. Morgan’s struggling. He’s too nice a kid for his own good, honestly.

“I was talking to Matt,” Bruno says.

“Um,” Morgan says, then smiles weakly without asking a single question, even though he must have a dozen of them. Too nice for his own good, like Bruno said.

“He was smuggling chips,” Bruno says.

“Under his hoodie?” Morgan asks, relaxing, before shutting the door behind himself and slipping off his shoes.

See? In this house hoodies are only used for smuggling. Even Morgan knows it, and he’s only lived here a few months.

“I didn’t know I lived with the KGB!” Matt yells from upstairs.

“That doesn’t exist anymore!” Theo calls from the kitchen — Bruno didn’t even know he was there, but say something wrong and he’ll appear from nowhere just to correct you, like a genie that provides fun facts instead of wishes. Also not so fun facts. Usually they’re not actually fun facts.

“I’m sure they haven’t stopped spying or anything,” Theo says as he comes into the hallway. “They just changed their name.”

“Thank you, Theo,” Bruno says.

“You’re welcome,” Theo says, then, “Um.”

“I’m going to,” Morgan says, then heads upstairs without actually finishing the sentence, taking the stairs two at a time.

Okay, if it’s been like this the whole time, maybe Celine was right to cackle.

“Anything you want to tell me about?” Bruno asks.

Theo’s eyes dart toward the stairs, and Bruno swears he can see him debating whether it’s a better idea to flee, and potentially look like he’s following Morgan upstairs, or stay where he is and have to answer Bruno’s questions.

Looks the exact same in his house as it does the locker room, and Bruno’s roster has been young enough, in recent years, to see that struggle plenty of times, guys in a snit with each other, stuck on the road. Worst case is when you’re pissed at someone and they’re right ahead of you getting onto the plane. No choice but to follow, and if you’re going anywhere cold, you’ve got to deal with them putting their shit up in the overhead bins.

“Got homework,” Theo says, and retreats back into the kitchen. Bruno had forgotten about option three. That was an oversight, especially when it’s Theo: he always seems to pick the option Bruno hadn’t considered.

“Did you want—“ Bruno says, cut off by Theo’s “No thanks, it’s due tomorrow, bye!”

Bruno sighs, eyeing the stairs himself, then decides to go sit back down. If intervention is needed, he needs to call in the cavalry first, because he’s all out of ammo.

He's got chips now, though. So at least he's got that going for him.

[manias-wordcount]

hello :) can you write a black butler oneshot w/ sebastian michaelis x fem reader?

reader is a succubus demon and she and seb are ex lovers of some sort then one day seb is surprised to see reader working as a servant in the manor. ciel accepted her without seb's knowledge but ciel also did not know about their history. seb is a bit skeptical of reader cause he does not know her motives so he acts a bit cold towards her but reader actually did it just cause missed seb (but not that she'll admit it cause she is too proud for that. also maybe seb feels the same who knows lol) reader is the teasing and provocative type if thats ok. pls ignore this request if ever its complicated to understand, i just based this on some random imagination i had hehe. anyway thank you :>

What You Couldn't Do (Sebastian Michaelis x Reader)

𝗔/𝗡: 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼!! 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗱 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗹

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘅𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱

𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚? ⇒ 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩

𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙧?

The door to the kitchen shuts behind you with no fanfare. That is to say, there’s no light-hearted, half-shouted greeting from one of the other quirky members of staff. Nor was there a harsh, barked order from the young master of the household. There wasn’t even a small, near silent yet warm grunt of acknowledgment from your favorite tea-sipping house steward. 

  So naturally…

  “Oh, Sebastian!”

  …you knew who it was…

  “To what to owe the pleasure of this-”

  …and all that it entailed.

  In an instant, you find yourself cutting off your own words with the swiftest of tongues. You suppose it truly is the smartest choice. You had only been working at the Phantomhive Manor for a mere couple of days. You were still in all sense of the word. You didn’t yet have the young master’s good favor. Nor did you think you could ever be on the receiving end of any sort of sympathy from a boy such as him. So it’s only right you learn your place and you learn it well. Because while such a feeling make be odd and discomforting, you imagine it’s still better than the feeling of the knife being held between Sebastian’s gloved hand plunge itself into your throat.

  “What is your aim.” His low murmur comes from behind as he traps your body from behind between himself and the counter. Despite his words, you know to take everything as a demand rather than a question purely based on the dull pressure of the boning knife pressed lightly against your jugular. That, among other things of course. “Why are you here.”

  You pursue your lips, fully aware of the way his eyes would follow your every action through your faint reflection in the mirror. His voice is as cold as you remember it to be. Unfeeling and so very cruel. The unspoken threat to you is loud and clear. His utter disdain for you? Even louder and even clearer. Yet, you find that it’s terribly hard to hide your excitement. The arm that crosses over your chest to hold the knife to your throat brings up so many memories. The way his body presses and molds into yours reminds you so much of the past. When the two of you weren’t so-called co-workers serving under the most irritating of charges. When the two of you weren’t so-called enemies who spent your days and nights, far, far apart. When the two of you weren’t anything to each other. 

  But when the two of you were lovers.

  “Knife play, Sebastian? That’s a new one…” And fueled by those resurfaced memories, you respond to him. It’s obvious in the way that his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits through the window’s reflection, you know you’re not exactly giving him what he wants. But you hope- no, you don’t hope, you know- he’ll play along with your typical game. Just for a little longer. Just one last time. “You certainly seem like a much different man than from what I remember…I wonder how that little brat managed to whip you into-!”

  Once again, you found yourself cutting your words short in favor of a long life. Your murmured words were meant to be heard. Meant to rock the boat. Meant to get yourself in trouble. They always were. But you know when enough is enough. Even when your entire life is about toeing the line and saying the things that men and women wish they could say- you when it’s not your turn to speak. At least, not your turn for the moment. 

  Though you can’t help but feel pleasantly surprised now that the threat you’re faced with is being phrased a little differently than before. No, the knife is not being pressed further into your skin. It still sits where it was originally- relaxed in a comfortable grip as it delivers the lightest of kisses against your skin. Rather, it’s Sebastian himself who has changed. It seemed that with your bold words, he was no longer content with just trapping you with weight. The arm that had now snaked against your lower waist and was holding onto your hip with a vice-like grip tells you as if the action was words itself. 

  “I won’t ask you again.” He bites out behind you in a harsh whisper and it’s almost shameful how your body instantly reacts to the feeling of his breath just dancing over your ear. “Why have you followed me here.”

  The way you just shivered at his words? The way you just gasped at his tone? You’re worse than you thought. God, what are you doing? Chasing a man like you weren’t the one who should be chased in the first place? All while trying to play coy as if you weren’t practically shaking with excitement at the thought of seeing him again. All while trying to play powerful as if the first thing you wanted to do when you saw him after all this time was to get on your knees and listen to his every command. 

  You’re not going to last like this. You’re not, you’re not, you’re not. So with one last selfish act for yourself, you decide that you won’t That you had come all this way. That you had pulled all these strings to get here. And the very least you could do for yourself after all this time running and running and running after a man you know doesn’t deserve you was to be kind to yourself. That’s all you could do. Be kind to yourself. Because if not today? Because if not now? Then when?

  “I missed you…Sebastian.”

  As if you could ever be kind to yourself at all…

  “What…” For once, he sounded stunned. This great and powerful demon that you knew so well sounded like he was taken by surprise. But even then, you couldn’t enjoy the feeling. Even then you couldn't look in the eyes- even as he released you from his hold and stepped away. You couldn’t. Not with your heart beating so fast you could have sworn you were alive in this moment. Not with your throat shaking so much you could have sworn that you were truly the blushing virgin you tried to appear as. “No. No, that cannot be true.”

  Not with the way he denies you after all this time.

  “Oh, but it is, Sebastian. Even after all this time…” You murmur softly, a sad smile crossing taking over your beautiful face. Words left unsaid. Memories left on repeat. And heartbreak that begins to take shape. You couldn’t look him in the eyes now that your life has been spared. You couldn’t look him in the eyes now that the two of you are no longer close. You couldn’t look him in the eyes when you feel like this. “Even after all this time, I…I continue to miss you.”

  And you certainly couldn’t look him in the eyes right now.

  Because how could you stand to see such a handsome face through the blurry mess of tears?

  You just couldn’t. 

  You just couldn’t.

[nychta-luxury]

An Imposter or a God's Helper?

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You are a normal person, with a pretty average life. Your favorite game is Genshin Impact even though the fanbase is can be..Very concerning to say the least. Ignoring the amount of toxicity, you still loved the game and would play it at every opportunity.

One day, your friend Darling wanted you to look after their account, which kind of surprised you considering Darling was a Genshin fanatic until you learned that Darling needed to focus on their finals. Which is fair. You don't exactly go to collage so might as well help out. what's the worst that can happen?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part one (here) Part 2

First story I posted, any advise would be appreciated! Please comment as well :)

Warnings: Not proofread, cult behavior, worship, religious themes.

Darling au

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"What the actual fuck" You say as you get no five star artifact.

"I'm doing a level 90 domain how is it possible that I don't get a single 5 star in three runs?!" You yelled annoyed. Look you understand if it happened in one run but three?!

"Darling, how in the world did you live like this??" You wined

"I JUST WANT A GOOD SANDS" You were hopping that you get some luck in Darling's account with the sands...We don't talk about the luck you get in your own account alright? It could leave a meta player 6ft under.

"Ugh, fine screw luck I can just fight some bosses" You say confidently, after all bosses don't need luck. Sure you can hope to get three of the boss drops but other than that everything else is guarantied!

You hum as you go over to Oceanid with Raiden and start it's battle

.....

"Why are they level 100..?"

--------------------------------

"AHHHH RAIDEN WHY IS YOUR BURST NOT UP YET????"

"WHY THE FUCK DOES ZHONGLI'S SHIELD BREAK IN ONE HIT??? HE HAS 50K HP??"

"TIGHNARI I SWEAR IF YOU DONT AUTO AIM AT THOSE DAMN BIRDS-"

"YAE MIKO WHY ARE YOU NOT CRITING YOU HAVE 70+ CRITE RATE???"

----------------------------

..... You died over five times trying to fight Oceanid and only got one Cleansing Heart..

"This game makes me want to quit." You say before logging off

---

---

In Teyvat the dear acolytes were so happy to see their grace yet again, oh how much they missed Darling! They don't care if they saw Darling yesterday, they are always pleased to be in their presence anytime.

However, some of the more observant acolytes have noticed something is off about Darling.

They don't dare question their grace but something is definitely off. Darling has been interacting with the acolytes a little too much not that they don't mind! However they have been muttering things about how they will miss them.

Darling would never leave them right? Their God would never.

So imagine when they got greeted with you and not their beloved grace.

Many of the acolytes are filled with rage especially the immortals. They have been worshiping the divine one for hundreds of years. And when they have been blessed with Darlings guidance, you a lowly creature dare try to steal the almighty's creations?

No one is happy how dare an imposter try to steal the beautiful world the all mighty has created? Even Teyvat itself is displeased with the new management.

They may not be able to kick you out however, They will make your stay here as miserable as possible.

[ezdotjpg]

I have a silly little question about your silly little comic!! I love your versions of the Links so much. Loft is such a mood FOR REAL!!

anywho,

How did you come up with the original concept? If this is somewhat spoilery- then don’t answer it. But i’m more so wondering what let you to go

“i want to make a comic about the silly links accidentally breaking and fucking everything up. also trauma lots of trauma”

Did you come to the understanding of, looking at other peoples AU’s? Or was it something in the games itself? I’m just curious on what your thought process was when brainstorming originally yk?

Also, small bonus question/comment thingy

when making backgrounds- like Zelda and Wilds house or Lofts home with Zelda and Groose- did you base the backgrounds on your own ideas of what the characters would live in? Like if they’d have clutter or silly little notes in the background. I love how your backgrounds are just- chefs kiss- so simple but shows us a glimpse into the characters mental state (as all good rooms do *stares at my messy one*)

that is all, i very much so enjoy your comic. it’s gotten me through the bad Wednesdays of highschool. Keep going!!! i am excited to see it’s conclusion.

waugh thank you so much!!!!!

And I guess the answer to that first question is all of them above? Bonus Links is, of course, an extremely derivative work. LU was my first introduction to the links-meet-au format, so I’d be remiss not to give credit where credit is due! Probably many ideas I’ve absorbed from fics I’ve read, and headcanons I vibe with that come from the wider fandom. The idea for Bonus Link’s actual plot though originally started from my fascination with Skyward Sword’s lore. I know not everyone’s a huge fan of how much that game retconned, Demise’s “curse” in particular, but there’s a lot of ideas in that game that I find REALLY interesting, especially in ways that the game doesn’t really acknowledge at all. How would Skyward Sword Link feel, if he found out he truly didn’t finish the job? That the cycle continues on and on beyond him? That was the jumping off point.

Because it’s a cycle, I get a lot of ideas from like, which Links have experienced similar events, and how their experiences compare and contrast. What becomes history, and what actually happened? And I also use a lot of my own experiences playing the games as inspiration! I’d played as many as I had access to when I started the au in 2021, but I’ve made it my mission to play every single game a Link is featured in before they get introduced in the comic lol. Still got a few more to go, but I’m almost there!

As for the second question, absolutely! If I’m showing someone’s home in the comic, I try really hard to add details that tell you something about them. At the very least, I want them to look lived in lol

like, Slate still having the champion’s weapons on display in his house. Zelda’s mostly taken over the first floor as her workshop, even adding a Sheikah tech furnace somehow. She’s filled her room with pictures she’s taken on the walls. She’s got a sand seal plush from Riju, a Sheikah jacket from Impa. Her workspace is a little cluttered!

On the other hand, Slate’s room upstairs looks a little less personal. He’s got some pictures on the wall, and some plants growing from around hyrule (that Zelda has kind of commandeered for research lol) but otherwise he’s left it how Bolson and co furnished it. If anything, it’s mostly just for storage. He doesn’t actually spend much time sleeping here, but Zelda still doesn’t want to take it from him.

Loft, Groose and Zelda’s room is very cozy ( I should have added more blankets. Imagine like 4 times the amount of pillows and blankets) and tidy, but there’s still a little mess— shoes left out, basket of poorly folded clothes, etc. Cute knickknacks, mostly made by loft and groose! It’s not in this sc but groose’s comb is somewhere I think lol

Idk if iced shared this detail before, but Loft put a lot of effort into designing and carving (probably with some assistance) these columns for the house! Even though carving’s hard for him these days. It was his biggest contribution.

anyway, those are some of my thoughts!! I’m so happy to hear you’ve been enjoying the comic! Thanks for reading!!

[williaml0ver]

☆ <3 Naib Subedar General Dating Headcanons ☆ <3

[🖇️] word count: 1423

[🖇️] warnings: g/n reader, talks of ptsd, miscommunication, not proofread wdgaf!!!!!

[🖇️] author's note: I don't really know how big the IDV fandom is since i am still quite new to both the game and tumblr itself. I have no experience in writing so i am sorry if my work seems tacky, i will be working on it 😭 Like i said I don't know if this fandom is active here so someone will either read this or i will be feeding myself self delusion for these sweet characters. I'm confused but i got the spirit id love to make some mutual followers!!!!

I love Naib. He's so precious i want to cuddle and take ibuprofen with him. I'd like to write more about him if i stick around.

☆ ☆ ☆

-You are his soft spot.

-Everyone in the manor would notice that his attitude changes when he's alone with you.

-He is going to absolutely always have his eyes on you when you're near. It's his love language.

-Naib's life has been forever stained by his early years in poverty and fighting during war, after so many hardships he would definitely try his best to make his loved one feel safe. He couldn't stand losing someone close once again. Showing you that you can feel protected near him means the same as saying "i love you".

-Naib is a mature person but you may sometimes hear flirtatious compliments from him.

-He sometimes questions himself why do you love him. While he doesn't necessarily understand he doesn't need any answers - he will cherish the moment as long as it lasts, making sure you know he is devoted to you.

-Naib may be a little insecure, but he'd like you to think he actually isn't. Whenever you'd praise him he would answer "I know".

-He's not afraid of showing you affection in public. And while he's not going to make a big show out of it, he would simply kiss your palms and hold them. Or hold you by your waist, sending death glares. That's enough for everyone around to understand that you're his and if someone messes with you they better start running.

-If you ever tell him you feel threatened by someone, he will tell you to go to his dorm and take matters into his own hands. You can beg as much as you like, but he will never tell you what he did.

-When someone hurts you, someone attempts to hurt him too.

-A lot of people may consider his ways rather weird, but to him, as someone who was forced to be the head of his household, defending his significant other is something very important.

-He would stand up for you every time.

-If no one is paying attention to what you're saying, he'd quickly tell everyone to let you speak.

-When he comes back injured from a match, if it's not something life threatening, he prefers when you take care of him. He's capable of bandaging himself etc. but the fact that his dearest one worries about him makes him feel loved.

-While Naib is protective it doesn't mean he believes you are defenseless. He will respect if you want to be individual, he hopes you understand that you are free to do whatever you desire, though if in need, he will instantly be there. If you are scared or anxious, please come to him.

-He may not be the tallest, but he is still strong, he wouldn't mind carrying you if you're tired.

-If you ask him to teach you some self defense moves, he would proudly instruct you.

-He may not always read you properly. But he's not doing it on purpose. Tell him about your mood and he'll do anything in his power to cheer you up.

-His protectivness may lead to some arguments. He is not going to hesitate to scold you for doing something rather dumb.

-He could come out as mean sometimes.

-If you are injured, he is going to take it very seriously. That moment pulls a big trigger. Naib becomes very aggresive.

-He worries. A lot. He is afraid of hurting you because he is aware of his mental struggles. He may even raise his voice at you - but while it seems scary please be understanding. He's never had a lover before and he wants to shield you from danger. He tries to quickly apologize to you.

-He just needs you to be safe.

-Communication is key in your relationship.

-Early in your relationship, there may be some misunderstandings. At first glance, Naib may seem closed off. He is not the best with his words.

-He TRIES for you.

-As a soldier, he developed an unhealthy habit of keeping every emotion to himself. It will take a lot of time for both of you to open up. You promised to Naib that if anything ever bothers you, you will immediately talk to him. And vice versa.

-He's a man of few words, he may struggle with talking you through it, however he's going to make sure his partner feels comforted and heard.

-His advices are always well thought and wise.

-You spend a lot of time together just talking about your worries, thoughts or hopes. Sometimes in his bed, sometimes on a peaceful walk. He may make a few comments, or give advice if you ask him, though he mainly just listens carefully and holds you. He wants you to feel like he's a boulder that stabilizes you.

-While supporting you, he has issues with opening up with his worries. He fears you would call him weak.

-Naib struggles with PTSD, therefore he's also in need of comfort and reassurance. He likes when you ground him, by covering him with your body, your face hidden in his chest. But there are also times when he may push you away during one of those times. It's important for you to keep talking to him. Not shaming him for who he is.

-He desires honesty.

-He'd like you to sing him to sleep.

-He is a considerate lover. While he rarely initiates any touches without reason or words of affirmation, Naib shows his love by being with you.

-But when the touches or kisses ARE initiated, you know he absolutely means it all.

-Speaking of which, he doesn't have a need to take you out for fancy dates. But don't take it wrong. He thinks all you need is spending time together, simply in bed or on a walk in solitude. If you don't feel like talking - that is fine too. You can sit on the grass and watch him train. Those are worth more than the most expensive restaurant. That doesn't mean he will never take you to a more lively place though.

-Naib isn't also keen on huge, extravagant gifts. Roses, necklaces, love letters are his favourite of showering his lover with romance.

-He is a good listener. He remembers several small details about your interests or preferences.

-Extremely supportive. He may not word it directly, but he worships you. Your inside and outside. He would very indescretely check you out when you wear something pretty.

-If you ask nicely, he is going to give you some of his clothing. He feels absolutely proud of the fact that his love wants to wear something that is his AND he could smell them when wearing it later.

-He would keep a photo of you in his pocket, along with a photograph of his mother. He captioned it "My treasure" in his native tongue. He never tells you what it means.

-His favourite photo of you is a picture of you wearing his elbow pads.

-Pet names are not his thing. Though on rare occasions he will refer to you as his love, or his treasure.

-A treasure he worships and is willing to die for. Naib may be very reckless when it comes to your safety. You have to make sure he is well taken care of as well. He enjoys taking baths with you, when you wash his hair and cuddle.

-Although enjoyable, he sometimes may push away your need for physical closeness. He just sometimes needs to be left alone. It's always good to ask if he would like to be touched. Consent is very important for Naib. He doesn't mind it if you are very clingy. In fact, it makes him feel appreciated. He himself though thinks that intimate contact is meant only for special situations.

-One of the few ways into his heart is, of course, through his stomach. He loves waking up to breakfast made by his lover. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Just the fact that you cared enough to prepare something for him is enough.

-He would love to show you some traditional nepali dishes and guide you while preparing them!

-As cliche as it seems, he'd like it if you'd directly feed him.

-I feel like he swears a lot, both in english and nepali. You'd unawarely pick up a few of them because of him. He would feel surprised that you paid so much attention to him you even managed to memorize a few words in a foreign language.

-He'd teach you a few sentences in nepali if you'd ask.

☆ ☆ ☆

This took longer than expected to. The way i had to post this once again because of a certain issue. Ijbol... i'm kind of intimidated by this fandom. By the way if anyone's reading this i'd love to do William headcanons next omg

[wren-kitchens]

oh if you didn’t stay (I would wait anyway)

it does make him think though, that maybe, if he was still so determined to ignore it all, he could have blamed the warmth in his face and chest on the fires that had been surrounding him and ren for the past half hour rather than the man accompanying him for a pretty lengthy improv session. honestly, he isn’t quite sure when he decided to stop lying to himself, but he didn’t realise how.. freeing it was until this moment—to be able to feel and feel- and to let himself feel. a smile has been unmoving from his face since he first started talking, and his cheeks hurt, and martyn doesn’t care. void. he really missed ren, huh?

this is a secret santa gift for @loveroped!! I haven’t written treebark before, so I hope I did them justice hkfhd

can you tell i’m messing around with the way I format things here

martyn might have just had the best day. like- ever.

of course, he’s not sure if anything could top a reunion with ren, regardless of the circumstances. not to discredit decked out, of course- it’s an amazing game! a wonderful game! it’s extremely clever and fun and interesting and he loves it very much.

(martyn is pretty sure that the game can both hear and understand his thoughts. after his experiences with thought-reading things, he is not about to take any chances.)

it does make him think though, that maybe, if he was still so determined to ignore it all, he could have blamed the warmth in his face and chest on the fires that had been surrounding him and ren for the past half hour rather than the man accompanying him for a pretty lengthy improv session. honestly, he isn’t quite sure when he decided to stop lying to himself, but he didn’t realise how.. freeing it was until this moment—to be able to feel and feel- and to let himself feel. a smile has been unmoving from his face since he first started talking, and his cheeks hurt, and martyn doesn’t care.

void. he really missed ren, huh?

“man, they need to make more rifts.” martyn says, leaning against the blessedly cold wall of the citadel, eyes closed. “this has been so fun.”

ren chuckles, and martyn’s heart jolts as he realises that they are much closer than he thought they were. “you’ve been in the actual game like- once, dude.”

martyn hums, cracking an eye open. “who said I was talking about the game?”

“I-“ ren’s breath audibly stutters, and martyn finds his own has been swept from his lungs. when did he start holding it? “you mean the- pictionary, and stuff?”

“kinda.” martyn looks down, realising that his newfound confidence has left him entirely. oh good, that’s exactlywhat he needs right now. “y’know and the- the people who I don’t.. see as much.”

martyn can feel ren’s eyes on him, burning into his skin. “it’s been amazing to see you again, dude.” ren says with just enough honesty to make martyn feel as if he could be floating.

when martyn looks back up at ren, he’s smiling the smallest, softest smile martyn has ever seen grace his face. in truth, martyn thinks that may just be the best thing he has ever seen in his life; he wants to put that smile in a locket and keep it around his neck forever.

“you as well.” martyn says, maybe too genuinely.

ren’s face flushes in pleasure, and he squishes down a very obvious smile. martyn might just be in love. “well, i’m- i’m glad.”

martyn grins, nudging ren with his shoulder. “what, you didn’t think I missed you?”

there’s a quiet thumping noise that martyn thinks is coming from behind ren. probably just all the machinery behind decked out making itself known. “well, I- y’know. I found myself.. hoping that you would but.. I was never sure.”

“aw, c’mon,” martyn says, voice far more casual than the reaction to that statement should be- than it is. because- man, is it a weird feeling to be the cause of nervousness, to be the cause of that ‘does-he doesn’t-he?’ feeling. “I was practically lamenting over you. just ask jimmy; i’ve been so annoying.”

ren snorts a little, and some of the tension that martyn didn’t notice was between them dissipates. “I have to admit that i’ve already had a complaint from jimmy.” he says it like a joke, but there’s a distinct undertone of fondness that sends martyn’s mind reeling.

“well, there you go.” martyn grins. “i’m nothing without my king.”

“no.” ren says softly. so softly, in fact, that martyn suspects ren never meant him to hear it in the first place, but he just- he can’t stop listening; not when ren sounds so sure, so honest. “you’re everything.”

before he can stop it, a gasp escapes martyn’s lips, and ren’s eyes widen as he seems to realise that he was not as quiet as he meant to be. martyn wants to respond, to let ren know he feels the same as—well, whatever ren is feeling right now, it sounds pretty fucking close to what martyn is feeling—but his voice is stuck in his throat. 

“i’m sorry- I shouldn’t-“ ren looks almost scared, and martyn silently begs his voice to return. he can’t let ren sit there and not know-

“I love you.” martyn blurts, breathless and a little too loud, but ren is looking at him as if he’s the only person in the world, so he doesn’t stop. “I think- for several years now, and i can’t keep doing the- the skirting around our feelings thing, because all i’ve been doing this whole time is pining over you and- i’ve had enough of waiting, okay. so i’m- i’m telling you now, and you can do whatever you want with this information. but i just- I love you. always have.”

“I- martyn.” ren half whispers, looking for all the world as if martyn had just given him bedrock or a block of void or- or something very good. he’s running out of metaphors, okay, leave him be. martyn vaguely notices the quiet thumping returning. what part of the game could that be?

“that’s- that’s me.” martyn says, unsure whether to be reassured or terrified by ren’s response.

“I can’t- I don’t even-“ ren stammers, running a hand through his hair. martyn is leaning towards terrified when ren finally lands on- “I love you. this whole time, i’ve loved you, and I thought- oh my goodness.” he gives a huff of laughter. “you’re serious?”

“am I ser- of course i’m serious!” martyn grabs ren’s hand, who is smiling more than martyn thinks he’s ever seen ren smile. “you thought i’d pour my heart out for it to be a bit?” he laughs.

“well I- you’re very committed sometimes y’know.” ren grins, intertwining his fingers with martyn’s. 

“it has been- what, three years now?” martyn leans into him. “I am extremely committed to you. i’m probably too committed, honestly.”

“asking someone to kill you is a great way to flirt—who knew?” ren says, mock-solemn, and martyn cackles.

“i’ll have to try it some day.” martyn teases, looking up and finding himself much closer to ren’s face than he expected to be. 

and- okay, martyn won’t pretend that he’s never watched ren just a little too closely from across a room, or that his gaze has never lingered for a few seconds too long after ren left, or even that he hadn’t found himself lost in his eyes—cheesy as it is. 

but this- this is different. because martyn has never admitted his love before, and ren has never reciprocated those feelings before, and so there’s never been a moment where he could just look and look and look until right now. and you’d be kidding yourself if you don’t think that martyn is sure as shit going to take advantage of that.

“you know,” martyn murmurs, reaching a hand up to brush the stubble on ren’s jaw, watching with the utmost interest as ren melts ever so slightly into the touch. “I don’t think i’ve been able to do this before.”

“do, uh- do what?” ren’s voice comes out just a little too high for it to be entirely natural. martyn suppresses a smile and the thumping grows faster.

“look at you while you’re looking back.” martyn says simply, and oh, that shy little grin that slips onto ren’s face is perhaps the most gorgeous thing martyn has ever seen.

ren rubs a thumb against martyn’s hand that he still holds, and- okay, maybe martyn’s insides have gone all mushy because of it, but who are you to judge? “then I think we must have kept missing each other.”

it takes a moment for martyn to process the words. when he has, he pouts jokingly—even as his mind reels. “what, you’re telling me I could have been doing this years ago?”

“that is absolutely what i’m telling you.” ren grins. is he getting closer? martyn thinks he might be getting closer.

“well then,” martyn says, and the smoothness of his voice sounds entirely ludicrous when his brain is so frantic, it’s probably on fire. ren is leaning forward, and martyn thinks he might be too, and they’re getting so close to each other that martyn can feel ren’s breath ghosting his lips. “I guess we’ll have to make up for lost time.”

“I suppose we shall.” ren’s voice is low and soft, and martyn thinks he might just die.

that is until their lips meet and martyn decides- no, he knows he’s going to die. because ren’s hand is in his hair, and martyn’s is still cupping ren’s cheek, and it turns out that ren’s lips are exactly as soft as martyn always imagined them to be and he’s going a little crazy over it.

the kiss is fairly short, but martyn feels like his brain has entirely short-circuited by the time they part—in the best possible way. 

“we- that happened.” martyn stammers. “oh my god. I didn’t think i’d ever-“

“I thought i’d chicken out.” ren sounds equally astonished at his own confidence. “I- dude, you are a great kisser.” martyn’s face burns and ren puts a hand in front of his mouth in an obvious attempt to keep from laughing. “well you are!”

“I- thank you, I-“ martyn can’t see himself, but he’s fairly certain that he is beet-red right now. 

the thumping returned the moment they kissed and has not left, and martyn realises it is far too close to be part of the machinery. regardless, it sounds familiar somehow; the weight behind it, the rhythm of the thuds, the softness of it. martyn knows he doesn’t have the best memory on the server, but he’s pretty sure he should be able to remember what-

wait a second.

“ren,” martyn says, a grin creeping slowly onto his face. “are you wagging your tail?”

it’s kind of cute how fast ren goes from cocky to deeply flustered within a matter of seconds. it’s also very funny, especially as ren’s ears—which were resting casually—are now stuck straight up into the air.

“I- I don’t know what you mean!” ren says in a failed attempt at his usual suaveness. martyn stifles a laugh. “i’d- that’s a preposterous thing to suggest, you-“

martyn, deciding to test a theory, leans forward and presses a chaste kiss to ren’s lips (he is never gonna get over the fact he can just do that now) and watches with glee as ren’s tail wags even harder.

“I.. might be wagging my tail, yes.” ren mumbles, thoroughly embarrassed.

martyn fails to stifle another laugh, and ren honest-to-void pouts. “oh my- ren.” 

“yep?” ren practically squeaks. he clears his throat, blushing pink. “um- just pretend you don’t see that.”

“why would I do that?” martyn teases. “it’s cute.”

“you say cute, I say embarrassing.” ren says, but he’s grinning shyly, and man if that isn’t the best thing martyn has seen all day.

“ren, trust me when i say that if I had a tail, it’d be entirely a blur by now.” martyn half laughs. “I love seeing you happy.”

“then you’re in a great amount of luck,” ren says, and his gaze drifts to martyn’s lips. martyn would make fun of him, if he weren’t so flustered by it that he’d forgotten the english language. “because seeing you has never failed to bring me joy.”

martyn feels all the air leave his lungs. “you- i haven’t-“ he stammers a few more failed attempts at a sentence before landing on, “oh- just kiss me.”

ren grins, and his canines push ever so slightly against his lower lip, and martyn is going to die. “gladly.”

and- okay, it’s a little embarrassing to admit, but.. well. they may have gotten a tad carried away, and before they knew it, jimmy’s turn was over and tango was looking for martyn. it’s not his fault, okay! when you’ve been wanting someone for as long as martyn has wanted ren (and vice versa apparently, which- no, martyn is never gonna get over that), time starts to fly a little.

so when tango stumbled upon them both, accompanied by half the guests and half the hermits, that was entirely not martyn’s fault! in fact, it was theirs for being so damn quiet. if they were louder, ren would have heard them, and then they would have time to- stop making out.

yeah. martyn is never gonna live this down.