#if being loved by MC is being doomed by the narrative

[localravenclaw]

Fifty OC Questions

1. Describe your OC's physical appearance in detail.

2. Why'd you choose your OC's name?

3. How does your OC feel about their birthday?

4. How does your OC and their parents get along?

5. What's something you'd never put your OC through again?

6. What's your OC's go-to comfort meal?

7. What career path would your OC take?

8. What's something your OC can't do?

9. What is your OC's ideal romantic partner?

10. Does your OC like to spend time alone or with others more?

11. What time does your OC usually go to sleep?

12. Where in the sibling order is your OC?

13. What's the worst thing your OC's ever done?

14. What would it take for your OC to kill someone?

15. What item does your OC hold most dear?

16. How does your OC unwind?

17. What's your OC's star sign?

18. What kind of drunk is your OC?

19. Who does your OC end up with?

20. Who is your OC's role model?

21. Is your OC big on revenge?

22. If your OC ever got the chance, would they go back in time? When would they go?

23. What's your OC's favourite memory?

24. Will your OC ever admit to being wrong?

25. Is your OC doomed by the narrative?

26. Would your OC get along with you?

27. What's one thing your OC will never get over?

28. Is your OC going to make it?

29. Does your OC look their age?

30. What weird pet would your OC have?

31. Does your OC care a lot about their appearance?

32. What's one food your OC can't stand?

33. What animal do people associate your OC with?

34. what's your OC's "thing"?

35. Random fact about your OC

36. Would your OC sleep with a clone of themself?

37. What part of yourself do you love in your OC?

38. What's the lowest point in your OC's life?

39. What's your OC's biggest achievement?

40. Does your OC ever go back home?

41. How would your OC adapt to the modern world?

42. Does your OC have any unique talents?

43. Does your OC exist in canon or AU timeline?

44. Is your OC a people person?

45. Did your OC ever have an alternative name?

46. Does your OC possess any special powers?

47. Is your OC allergic to anything?

48. Does your OC have a lot of uncommon knowledge? How do they know it?

49. Does your OC have any scars or birthmarks with an interesting story?

50. What do you love and hate most about your OC?

I've been meaning to put this list of questions together to get to know more about my friends' OC's/MC's. I've always been very fascinated about other people's character's lore and this kind of helps me flesh out my own OC's as well. There's already an HLMC question list out there, so I tried to list different ones this time.

Many of the questions are from @ocprompts. Please give them a follow for daily questions about your OC's! ♡

[2smolbeans]

Me and Alex starting that enemies to lovers doomed by the narrative romance 💕💞

Yandere Obey Me Replacement Au (Lovers to Rivials Scenario)

◇About The Rivial Student◇

In a nutshell:

Rivial student and Mc were once lovers.. But doomed by the narrative, they're no longer together. Instead, in a twisted sense of humor, the brothers decided to manipulate and mold the most important person in Mc's life into someone who hurts them the most as a form of punishment and 'education'.

_____________________________

To be honest in another scenario or similar universe, you and Alex could've been lovers. Maybe you knew her before transfering to RAD. Maybe during the 'rivalry' between the two of you, there was some lingering tension. Perhaps there were some moments that would leave her confused on how she felt about you.

Maybe she in love with the brothers until you snapped her out of her thoughts and freed her from their hypnotic spell. You'd have her guessing on why you were acting the way you were with her and why she was so frustrated whenever you'd look at her in a certain way that felt so familiar..

She'd ask you why you were like this, why you were acting so..Weird with her- but you'd just smile at her with that stupid heartwrenching smile.

Perhaps she was your girlfriend before you were dragged to hell. Perhaps you never saw her in years until you snapped and screamed during the brothers suffocating moments of intimacy- breaking down, saying you had a life, how you had everything, how much you missed your nerdy girlfriend before they took you away.

Of course this didn't slide very well, especially when their pride was hurt. So as a twisted cruel prank, they thought it would be funny to bring this 'girlfriend' of yours to you! You miss her afterall right?

Maybe that's why you're so desperate to reach out to this 'rivial replacement' student. Perhaps it's why you endure their bullying and crude insults. Because you knew her, you loved her - and it hurt seeing her being twisted into this ugly person you knew she wasn't. God looking back, the brothers were really rubbing the salt in your wound by making her so in love with them, huh?

[rikan-oo]

So I was thinking about creating a loose list of recs for ORV fans or, in other words, "If you liked ORV, you also may like this." I decided to add things less obvious because I think people already read works like Trash of Count's Family, etc.

Princess Tutu

“The beginning of a story is a sudden event; the start, a happy accident, the end, the fate for which it's meant. A story that never ends is a sad fate.”

Let's start with Princess Tutu (PT), anime, not manga because they're different. I watched it about a week before ORV and after finishing both, I can't help but notice their similarities. However, meanwhile, ORV is about the relationship between the reader, the author, and the protagonist, and PT is more about the relationship between the author and their creation: the story and its characters. Don't let the name fool you, don't be like me. It's much darker than I expected from this style and genre. Be ready for angst.

Plot: Ahiru is a small duck in a pond. One day she notices a dancing boy with a very sad gaze. Boy every day goes to dance near the pond and the little duck is completely mesmerized by him. She can't help but notice sadness and loneliness in his dance. She wants to make this boy smile and at that moment a writer Droselmeir appears. He tells her that she could do this by collecting shards of his broken heart but under some conditions. He gives her a magic pendant that can transform her, first into an ordinary human girl, then into the graceful ballerina Princess Tutu, a fictional character from the tale that was doomed for tragedy in the original story.

Later we find out that this city is kinda enchanted by Droselmeir's tale (reverse isekai before it became mainstream) and some characters broke out of the tale like the boy by the lake - Mytho or Raven - the villain of this tale. Tale elements blend interestingly in the city and its residents.

Also, I have no idea wtf is happening with the main characters' dynamic in this complicated rectangle, but there is no straight explanation for this.

I can't help but see some parallels between Mytho - KDJ, Fakir - both YJH & HSY, Ru - HSY, and Droselmeir - Dokkaebi. I love how the story describes characters doomed by narrative and the struggles of being a writer. Also, all of these subtle references to fairytales at the beginning of the episode? Love it. I bet there are more references for the ballet part, but I probably didn't get it. I gently encourage you to check it out. (Definitely not gently, I'm as desperate as Kim Dokja trying to advertise TWSA to other people)

“May those who accept their fate be granted Happiness, may those who defy their fate be granted Glory.”

Miss not Sidekick

It's a much simpler read, just to chill and have fun while laughing at Mc shenanigans. Plot: Typical isekai story, where Mc is a fan of the internet novel of the reverse harem genre. When isekaied decided to invent popcorn and enjoy full time 4d immersion in the story.

There are not so many similarities in themes like with Princess Tutu, but more the role of MC – Latte as reader. I liked how she continued to behave like a spectator of a story inside Isekai world, treating it like she's inside a special 4D theater, not existing in this world as a part of it, until she couldn't.

Until her 4th wall is shattered (*badabums* it's a bad pun, she doesn't have it like kdj) and she realizes she could actually die, (quite shocking I know). Also, MC invents BL for this world and converts other people into it. Overall, the art style is different from other isekai romfant and it's something you need time to get used to, but after a while, you understand it suits perfectly for the narrative and silly tone of the comic.

Inso's Law or My Life as an Internet Novel

I feel like it's more reverse isekai similar to orv, where the story becomes part of your life. But if in KDJ's case, this transition is obvious and life-crashing, then in MC's situation is really creepy. It blends seamlessly into her regular life making her feel insane because everything remains the same except having a whole new friend who behaves like your bestie and a different school, where everything starts to feel like a romantic novel full of clichés. MC like KDJ is also unreliable in her perception of others here and thinks her knowledge of clichés like a reader-outsider makes her more omnipotent than she really is. Too bad they used 3 person POV, so it's really obvious, but funny nevertheless. (One of the cases where she thinks one of her classmates is a girl pretending to be a boy cause of some kind of cliché family drama, when in fact it's just a boy and I find it funny how this classmate looks like Jang Hayoung twin and have similar fate, poor souls) guess she also has similarities in her character to pre-scenario or regular life KDJ. They both seem to have this introverted avoidance type of personality. I'm curious about supernatural events happening in manhwa and I hope we'll get some explanation for it.

Pandora Hearts

Nice little thing with funny and cute tea parties that everyone would enjoy. 😍

SHHH, nothing about the plot. Let it be a small surprise for you.

It's all vibes and similar tropes now, folks.

Like dynamic between the main trio: Gilbert - Oz - Alice YJH - KDJ - HSY. Also this time loop thing? Daddy issues? Self-sacrifice as a form of love? Ugh. (Also, I need this scene with Oz and Brake "Where in the world are you?" But with KDJ. Maybe I even draw it).

It's all for now, maybe I'll write more. Please share the recs if you have them!

[honeyfizzly]

I love tabitha but this women is so doomed by the narrative. Like there's gotta be a couple endings where she ends up dead

Edit- for the question of question on "wouldn't that make tabitha's sacrifice null?" The devs have already confirmed the mc can die on some endings and I doubt being old or not is gonna lock you out of dying so I feel like the same could apply to tabitha. In fact it could make her death hit harder, with the lingering feeling that maybe she died because she took on the sacrifice for you. Idk give the player some survivors guilt or something.

[team-avia]

Hello, I am currently sleeping deprived, so I’m leaving a question here that I hope doesn’t sound stupid.

Do any of you guys think that if the loops go on long enough, Bela will eventually end up like Donna, where she has clear memories of past loops from time to time?

i like to think that eventually if the loops go on long enough that all of them will remember and then miranda is forced to break her own system and has to actually not reset anything at the slightest inconvience. that way being loved by mc no longer means being doomed by the narrative

of course this is just my view on it but ur open to interpret the loops and the future of all the residents in ur hc's

[ge]

what do you like about rotmhs? like what draws you in?

GAHH IM SO GLAD YOU ASKEDDD at the top of my head thhe top three things i felt really drew me into and made me fall in love w rotmhs is the found family/bonds before blood narrative, the action/fight scenes, and the comedy..

rotmhs is not a romance and i feel like that really pushes people away from reading it, especially folks who were first introduced to east asian novels through bl (specifically mxtxs novels like mdzs tgcf etc etc) which i feel is incredibly disappointing because yallre missing out on a certain depth of writing and nuance you otherwise wouldnt get in a romance focused novel. (orv is another extremely popular knovel with no romance.. if you like orv PLEASE give rotmhs a shot)

rotmhs is about a dead man resurrected a hundred years into the future having to come to terms w the fact that everyone he loved is dead and that the only home he ever had was destroyed, its inhabitants and centuries worth of teachings burned to the ground, and that it was partially his fault these things happened, so in order to prevent a future catastrophe he knows is on the horizon, he trains the youth of this new generation and finds a new home surrounded by ghosts in the wreckage of his home of his past

⬆️…very dramatic but somewhat accurate barebones synopsis of rotmhs which is fairly faithful enough methinks.. rotmhs doesnt make a point of going ‘heyy these guys are family nowww theyre brothers and sisters and love each other like familyyy’ LOL the growth is very subtle and before u can really blink ur like ‘oh man.. chung myung would kill for these kids. obliviously though. i dont think he knows he even likes them’ all the while hes still aching w the loss of his loved ones before.. if we’re being really really honest chung myung, the mc, truly is the star of the show and a character i got attached to incredibly quickly.. hes so stupid but so smart he has so many issues i want to hit him with my car then nurse him back to health just to hit him again

chung myung himself is a whole other thing i could get into but he has so many layers.. so much depth.. on the surface ud look at him and think what a punk but look a little closer and then ud think oh this punk has depression ptsd survivors guilt hallucinations etc etc LIKE DAMN.. I THIUGHT HE WAS JUST A FUNNY LITTLE GUY WHYD I GET SUCKER PUNCHED

what was i even talking about. OH right romance. please please dont let the lack of romance dissuade you, imo it is soooo refreshing to read something that isnt focused on romance like i love yaoi like the next bl reading bitch but damn.. ive always been into found family and while the bl novels i have read did always have a little hint of it, i always wanted more and rotmhs fills that void

(that being said i cant stop yall from shipping if yall want LOL im guilty of shipping charas too despite everythiing i just said… if yall want yalls yaoiyuri fix may i direct yalls attention to the ‘doomed by the narrative, tragic best-friends-to-almost-lovers tangchung’ & ‘love at first sight sweethearts iseolsoso’ ….. :SMILES: I LOVE TANGCHUNG..!!!!!!)

NEXT, the action and fight scenes in rotmhs, even in written text form, are sublime to say the least.. my fail cis dudebro trait is that i love crazy insane adrenaline rushing heart pumping shounen-esque battles so much that i could typically care less for the rest of that specific piece of media as long as the fights are good.. FORTUNATELY FOR ME rotmhs is crazy good at balancing its comedy, action, and otherwise more ‘mundane’ scenes together so harmoniously that its such fun read even when theres no swords crossing or heads being beaten in

also important to note, despite being a knovel w korean naming of characters/places, rotmhs actually takes place in ancient china in a wuxia setting so jumping head first into it wont be all that confusing for first time readers/cmedia fans and u can use ur knowledge of cnovels to fill in the gaps.

theres not really much more i have to say on the topic of fighting, im just personally a huge fan of the crazy spectacles rotmhs brings to the table.

saved this for last but THE COMEDY…!!!!!!!! after being soo dramatic w all my previous points and comments ur probably thnkng rotmhs is heavy and somber w no breathing room.. WELL YOURE WRONG. ROTMHS IS FUNNY AS HELL quips and jokes and simple funny actions and scenes litter nearly every page. i mentioned this novel balances its action and comedy well and im NOT LYING youd think maybe the heavy action and light comedy would awkwardly clash but u cldnt be more further from the truth.. rotmhs wears action and comedy like a pair of twin gloves

rotmhs handles its action and comedy in equal doses and it all fits together like matching puzzle pieces, like i really cant stress enough how fun it is to read. not every fight scene is somber, most of the time its chung myung oneshotting someone by hitting them across the head so hard they pass out..

unfortunately im not really the best at listing instances so its be better for u to go read it for urself but this scene from one of the later chapters is soo funny every time i read it i start giggling

(LIGHT/MINOR SPOILERS FOR THE NOVEL it probably doesnt even matter u wont even remember this when u start reading)

right so i think thats most of it.. too lazy to read through everything i just wrote so if nothing makes sense… well. …well!

rotmhs deserves to have the same amount of fame as ORV and MDZS and TGCF have and it is my civil duty as one of the oldest mxtx novel outlets on tumblr to put yall on it..

my thumbs hurt from typing so im done now but if u have anymore questions PLEASE ASK IM SO DESPERATE TO TALK ABOUT ROTMHS ok byyyeeeeeeee

[mousesquared]

˗ˏˋ┊Doomnarraprotag / Doomnarramc┊´ˎ˗

A gender related to being doomed by the narrative & being a protagonist/main character; a protag/mc who is doomed by the narrative.

For day 10 of our Blorbosquared 2 event! For blorbo #2! Day 10 Prompt: A term that is like a love letter (or hate letter) to your blorbo

Feel free to guess our blorbos in our asks! (Guessing day is Dec 20th but you can guess before then!)

[PT: Doomnarraprotag / Doomnarramc. A gender related to being doomed by the narrative & being a protagonist/main character; a protag/mc who is doomed by the narrative. For day 10 of our Blorbosquared 2 event! (Link) For blorbo #2! Day 10 Prompt: A term that is like a love letter (or hate letter) to your blorbo Feel free to guess our blorbos in our asks! (Guessing day is Dec 20th but you can guess before then!) /End PT]

[fruitsaladgame]

When you’re trying to have a nice weekend out and your love interests can’t stop arguing

Hey you there! I don’t know if anyone will see this post but I made it to reach out to anyone who likes romance horror stories, psycho pop art, meta commentary on dating sim style games and anime tropes more broadly, boys kissing, trans allegories, small artistic teams working on big projects, bad endings, polyamory, frivolous violence, gratuitous fan service, outfit reveals, time loops, memory loss, being doomed by the narrative, unhealthy coping mechanisms, slow burn catharsis (unless you make bad decisions), and fruit (please tag yourself)

This comic is based on an early scene in our visual novel style dating sim titled Fruit Salad! You can actually play this part of the game already on our Patreon for just one dollar or if you’re curious but not ready to invest we have a lot of fun art you can check out for free on this blog which we absolutely love to get feedback for! I think you’ll like our game a lot if you were intrigued by the idea of Yandere simulator but wanted the characters to get actually fleshed out with backstory and maybe even consequences for their actions and also why not gay people? We didn’t make this project with the intention of “doing Yandere simulator but good” it’s more of a convergent evolution situation where we started playing with these ideas because of our own experiences with anime tropes and wanting to play with them.

The bulk of the art and all the writing for Fruit Salad is done by yours truly and my co-conspirator (we are each one half of the immaculate pair, CheezDuoz) but in general we divide the art and writing by character. We both do a lot of writing for the titular main character, MC-kun, and stuff like his sassy inner monologue is probably some of the most fun to write. Well, if you managed to actually read all this I really hope you’ll check out our project, it really would mean a great deal.

[mvalentine]

lots of complicated feelings towards this book but genuinely my main gripe with it is the mc. they’re so mellow and mary sue-esque it drives me insane. the mc should have been mad and angry and resentful for way longer. also the mc not telling kieran about the heart piece should have been more about them fearing for their own life (and that kieran would k**l them for it) rather than oh no! i can’t betray the trust of the person who literally kidnapped me like???

also kinda like the idea that their love story would end as a tragedy. that they wouldn’t end up together. kieran not being able to get that final heart piece back and not having the heart (ha) to hurt them…. the mc being too fearful to be with them. idk! once again pb has so much potential. this story could work so well as an anti-hero tragedy doomed by the narrative romance but no…..

[rosencrantzsguildenstern]

Hi dost!!!!!!!!

First, LOVE the pink it brings me joy.

Second, I would like to ask you about your favorite metanarratives!!!

hiiiiiiii omg!!!!

my tumblr experience just looks like this <3 i really like pink and i love searing my eyes

did u know you are the first person who's ever taken me up on the 'ask me about my favorite metanarratives' header? :0 thank u for that!

my favorite metanarratives that i'm talking about there are the play rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead and the webnovels omniscient reader's viewpoint and the scum villain's self saving system! basically, ragad is about two self-aware hamlet side characters, svsss is about a guy who enters the world of a story, and orv is about a story that enters the world of a guy! but the reason my header is that is that i just generally like 1) stories that are straight up just about someone ending up in the world of a story/a story world being real for whatever reason 2) stories that look at themselves and their genre and analyze it in depth, and 3) stories that use #1 to do #2, as well as analyzing something deeper about the human condition!

for example, rosencrantz and guildenstern is about fate and mortality; my transmigration (person ending up in the story world stories) favorites are often about how one person's actions can make an impact, as well as taking apart all the vices of the genre they're in!

orv is BRILLIANT at sending a message via its meta format btw, because the protagonist has this tool called the fourth wall which basically stops his emotions from being affected as much by things- because he views what he's in as a story, is what the text tells you from his pov, but it's kind of just disassociation which was ALREADY a thing he did because he had mad trauma! and also, there are themes about understanding each other and how well you really know each other, and the protag kim dokja thinks he understands the protag of the NOVEL and he doesn't, and just like. it's good!!

but in terms of taking apart genre vices, scum villain's amazing at that, and balancing comedy and this inherent tragedy of the situation they're in; i have another thing i like, mistakenly saving the villain, which takes and saves a cannon-fodder type danmei (Chinese boy's love) character who would often have been ignored/genuinely looked down on by the story, and saying 'hey, screw this, nothing of what happened to him was his fault and also maybe he's right and bloody revenge IS okay' and exploring the ramifications of that while deconstructing these ideas of like. young virgin mcs and stockholm-syndromed mcs and censored stories!

and you can tell a light-hearted story while still going a bit meta! my favorite book series as a kid was story thieves, which did the AMAZING thing i'm still thinking about of having each book be a different genre with one of them being a choose-your-own-adventure novel with a self aware protagonist. that stuff awakened something in me for real! and stories that don't have that literal story-within-a-story aspect can still do all this stuff, like gekkan shoujo nozaki kun is a manga about shoujo manga that gets a bit meta occasionally with characters in the story having more stereotypical equivalents in the main character's manga, and mostly uses that to uhh (checks notes) be incredibly gender! it's good!

tbh i think these are just the people i follow/am mutuals with but i see a lot of posts about things being metanarratives or characters being 'doomed by the narrative' or whatever by people who aren't talking about this stuff that is GENUINELY so meta and that bothers me, like those elements are there but come on!! u would like all of this stuff i'm talking about if only you knew about it . ... (let me introduce u to character doomed by the narrative: yue wuhuan who quite literally keeps getting LIGHTNING thrown at him from the sky because plot reasons GOD HATES HIM AND HE SHOULD BE DEAD) (also, we're all usually actually talking about metafiction but shh. ignore that there could be a more precise term.)

sooo uh yeah!!! thanks for asking haha i hope this ramble is the start of a beautiful friendship

[hellfirenacht]

🧍‍♀️🎥 🤔

🧍‍♀️what fic is begging for your attention right now but you refuse to give it?

Can't Be Unseen is SO CLOSE to being finished but I just can't do it. I just need like 3 or 4 more chapters and it'd be done.

🎥If you could make a movie/tv show for one of your fics which one would you chose?

Honestly, Isekai Chronicles would be so fun because who doesn't love a good Isekai story? I mean an MC who knows that the person she loves is Doomed by the Narrative and does everything she can to change it? That would be very fun

🤔 which fic do you want to send in time out?

I orphaned an old Miraculous Ladybug fan fiction because I liked the concept more then I liked writing it so does that count?

[niermortem]

TW// VENT POST

I hate venting but god it has been plaguing me for months and I am at a low point; I know it’s not me that’s the problem but I can’t help but feel that way.

They look at me differently now, smile at me different. This always happens. I feel like I am doomed by the narrative.

Sometimes I think it’s my fault for indulging in my needs of comfort and to trust someone. But as a autistic non-passing trans ace aro man it’s just so hard. Dating apps aren’t designed for non-allo people. I can’t hook up. Friends don’t fill that requirement but I don’t know how to suggest relationship anarchy/QPPs to allos.

Even though it hurts, I can’t help but miss the way they held me. The way they looked at me without a single shred of expectation - just lovingly. The way they held me through an episode where I was overwhelmed and kissed my forehead. It was all non-sexual and I felt so loved and enough.

It hurts to relive those memories. I grasp onto fleeting moments of intimacy because it’s just so rare for me. I guess it’s my fault for letting my ‘guard down’ but they always used to text me, to hold my hand, but not anymore. Things are different now and I feel so used. They’re talking to someone else and their attention is entirely on them and I wonder if this always meant to happen. Of course, they’re still my friend. I value them as one. But I’m not a dog that’ll sit and wait for fucking scraps. This has taken such a toll, I haven’t been attending lectures recently. And I relapsed after being about 2.5 years clean of SH. This all feels like one big joke. They promised they would be long-term. That they’d talk more. I’ve been left on delivered for 1.5 months. God.

It took me months but after reading 18th century etiquette books, mc-Graw hill social guides, and other resources I felt that I’ve been able to mask my autistic traits and be more ‘normal’. But with the way people socially categorize me I don’t think it’s working. Sometimes I think of dropping everything that makes me ‘me’ and being normal; no vampire goth things, strange hobbies, anything. I’ve been considering cosmetic surgery too. I was told the other day that to ‘get’ people, you have to be either cool or attractive - and I’ve got ‘one of them down’ (asking for clarification on which, I was told the ‘cool’ aspect). I don’t make a pretty girl but I don’t pass as a guy. I don’t even want to look masculine. If I just. Stopped being trans then maybe things would change. Stopped being so weird. I don’t know. Skipping class today.

[midnights-call]

For the ask game!

Malachite and Jasper 👀

Thank you for the ask!

I’m going to pick a wip for these so for this one I’m a going to do Arcanist’s Gambit, which you can read more about here x

Malachite: What do your characters have to lose?

I’m going to go character by character for this since I have three mcs

Teali: Teali has tons to lose, and boy, do they go through it in this book. First thing is their life and freedom at the hands of Ober if he finds out they stole Umbra from him, which is definitely super bad. Then there’s everything with their shitty parents, who could also take away their freedom at any time, along with their resources, their home, everything short of their life. They could lose Umbra, who they come to care for a lot during the book, and their best friend since childhood in Julien. And the thing they wrestle with the most, the thing they aren’t sure if they want to lose or not, is a chance at revenge against everyone who ever hurt them, and the opportunity get everything they think they want. That’s the title of the book, the Arcanist’s Gambit; what’s worth more? What do they want? What are they willing to lose?

Umbra: Arguably, he has the lowest stakes of the three due to not having very much of anything to begin with, but that also meaning he technically has the most to lose? For him, it’s his freedom from Ober and a life of hardship and abuse. What he suffered within the walls of the Vautour Estate is horror beyond comprehension, but thanks to Teali, he no longer has to fear that. But Ober still lives and if he found out what Teali and Umbra did, he’d do anything to get Umbra back. But other than that? Just his life, really. Umbra stands to gain the most out of the three, and I’m happy to say he does eventually. Y’all know me, I don’t like to write a sad ending, especially not for a character as important to me as Umbra.

Julien: Julien is an interesting case, because his stakes aren’t always explicitly discussed or seemingly as pressing as the other two. It’s not a looming presence on the narrative, this impending sense of doom. But it exists, it is there. Mainly, it’s in the form of his reputation. As the head of the illustrious Archambeau house, he has a lot to maintain and take care of. Harboring Umbra is dangerous business, but he and his father can afford it due to how powerful they are. Ober would have a lot of trouble touching them. But it still looks poorly to have participated in such a thing and to bring this strife into any kind of public eye. So long as certain affairs stay private, few will ever truly care that they exist at all. And calling in so many favors to protect Teali has also damaged certain relationships, since Teali has never seen a bridge they didn’t want to burn, and Julien frequently has to come and bail them out of bad situations. He does it because he loves them, they’re his best friend after all, but it isn’t healthy, and he fears losing them to themself someday.

Jasper: What is your antagonist’s greatest strength / weakness?

Lithara is a very conniving villain, one who is always thinking ten steps ahead and knows how to manipulate people to get what she wants. She’s an excellent puppeteer and easily pulls strings to make Teali do what she wants and isolate them from the people who love them. But her downfall comes in the form of her domain. Each god in this world has a domain that can vary, from being something niche and specific like “the god of forked rivers” or something really broad and abstract like “the god of grief.” Her domain shall remain secret for spoiler reasons, but it along with her desire for vengeance leads to her eventual defeat. That, and her choice in Teali as the one to be the one to free her, since everything that made them ideal also makes them the perfect person to destroy her. So it’s a lot of the thing that makes her strong also makes her weak, showing that anything you are or could be is always capable of being some sort of double edged sword that leaves you bleeding.

Original ask game

[bbnibini]

Slow Dancing in the Dark (Barbatos)🎵

"MC has Hanahaki and Diavolo is worried why MC is coughing up petals, MC is reluctant to tell him why and goes to Barbatos for advice." (anon requester) AO3 vers.

The title was based on Joji's song of the same name, but this was actually inspired by Zack Tabudlo's song, Binibini (aka "Lady/Miss" in English and yes. My name is a pun of that). I was initially planning on making this Diavolo-centric but I can't resist the second male lead ✨A N G S T✨ I apologise if it derailed from the winning request but, I still hope you will enjoy this! ;;

addendum: I wrote this in the midst of a terrible writer's block so most of the lines here are just strings of ideas rather than a narrative soz;

It had not been the first time he ever taught anyone to dance. Yet…something about the stolen nights he had with them felt…different.

“Welcome back, MC.��

No matter the time they come to him, Barbatos would always find himself smiling at them. With a bashful expression, they would smile back and offer an apology for being late, mostly due to a protective Mammon breathing down their neck, or an anxious Lucifer who worried too much about their safety—he would smile back and say he did not mind, and would offer his hand for theirs to take.

“I’m bad at this,” they would say as he takes their hand and clasps it with his. At times, he places his palm on their back to soothe the ache they felt at every cough. They would miss a turn or two and lose cadence, only for them to look up at him and smile again.

With silence as their guide, their feet glided through the dance floor with leaded steps. His heart would stop at the sight of their hands covered in blood, petals of daffodils falling on the floor.

The words he had always wanted to say would lodge in his throat, unable to be uttered. He wondered if they ever knew.

The best he could do is to offer his hand, undoing the gloves blocking him from feeling the warmth of their own. Tiredly, they would rest their head on his shoulder and breathe softly.

“I’ll be okay.” They had danced through the same conversations for millions of times now—he knew it was a lie(of course it was)…but it still hurt to see them like this.

“Is that so?” He would say back, squeezing their hand as if letting them go for even a small moment would let them slip through his fingers. He refused to look at the future doomed to happen in eventuality—he denied its existence with all of its being. To change their future would be selfish. They chose to love despite it all, so he wanted to do the same.

🎵🎵🎵

The sight of their smile upon seeing his young Master was beautiful. They had carried out the pointers he had taught them in their impromptu etiquette lessons with poise and grace. As Diavolo guided them to the dancefloor, he dared not to close his eyes at the way theirs glowed and brightened when the prince took their hand.

He looked at his own hands—remembering the bloodied daffodils he had caught there last night. An ugly feeling started to knot in his stomach.

He would never know how much you’re hurting, if you would only—

He stopped thinking then and there.

Seeing the way they looked at the happy couple made all of his jealousy and its ugliness go away—the whisper of “Congratulations”, they said to them both, no matter how well-intentioned hid the heart that screamed for him to look their way. His own heart stopped once he sighted them coughing again. The composure he had thought he already mastered was lost entirely. He rushed towards them without rhyme nor reason, and ignored the concerned comments from the confused crowd. He took their hand and left, half-tempted to leave everything behind.

“It seems I’m running out of time,” They whispered at him, cruel yet kind.

Time? What irony. What was he, a demon of time worth if he couldn’t even save the one he loved?

But he will never speak of it. The feelings pouring out of his heart weren’t meant to be said.

It was a truth they should never know. It was the last act of kindness he thought he should give them so they could leave him with no regrets.

🎵🎵🎵

“Good evening, Barbatos.”

He was angry. Why were they here? What of the final moments they have left?

As if reading his mind, they smiled at him and offered their hand. “I wanted to dance with you, one last time.”

He bit his lip and forced himself to smile back. “May I take off my gloves?”

Cluelessly, they asked. “Why? I don’t feel cold right now.”

“I do.” He answered, feeling comfortably warm as he laced their fingers together.

They were thinner and paler than the last time he sighted them. The brothers were at a loss of the reason—Lucifer attributed it to a human world illness—terminal, with no known cure. If the eldest brother actually knew the truth, he never voiced it out, perhaps as his own way to show kindness.

“I snuck out…” They laughed. Barbatos couldn’t take his eyes off them, wondering if every step they take would be their last. “Lucifer told me to get some rest but…for some reason…”

“Reason?” He forced himself to say back. He squeezed their hands tighter as they made a turn.

“…I kept on thinking about our dance lessons for Lord Diavolo’s wedding.”

“MC—”

“I really am happy for them. It’s nice to see him smiling so brightly.”

“…Is that so?”

The sound of his name coming out from their lips made his heart clench.

“for some reason…I couldn’t stop thinking of you.”

Ah. He was hopeless.

“Barbatos?”

He didn’t want to let go. If he did…

“Please let me hold you…for a little longer.” He couldn’t say anything more. If he did, the three words he had been holding back would come out of him next.

Do they know? Was he being obvious? Were they…finally looking his way?

No…the bloodied daffodils on the dancefloor said otherwise. They hugged him back with the laughable strength they had left. He sat them next to him by the grand piano, with their head resting on his shoulder.

“I don’t regret anything, Barbatos. It had been a great life.”

“What are you saying? You’ll live for a hundred years more.” They both knew it was a lie. The silence consuming them was being buried by the words they were hesitating to speak to each other. To utter it out would change what they had, and they both knew one of them didn’t have the time for it.

“Can you see it? The future I would have?”

“Yes…” he pulled them closer to him. “It’s a bright and happy one with the people who love you.”

“…that’s nice. Are Lucifer and the others in there?”

“Yes.”

“What about Mr. and Mrs. Diavolo?”

“Of course. With a cute nephew for you to spoil.”

He felt them take his hand, lacing it with their own.

“…what about you, Barbatos? Are you there in my bright and happy future?”

The warmth of their hand was disappearing, as well as their smile barely holding back tears. It took all of his being to respond.

“In each and every one…I will always be there with you.”

How could he have been so foolish? Why was he holding back all this time? The words he never dared to say were now spilling out as it tried to grasp the laughter they shared with him in their final breaths.

“I’m so happy…”

.

.

.

.

.

.

The final words they have spoken will always be there with him, scattering in his heart, like the gentle daffodils beating on their own.

“…in my next life, I wish it would be with you.”

[nyehilismwriting]

Hello! I just read Project Hadea and I absolutely love it! (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

Slightly spoilers for some who hadn't read this yet! But-

I love how the mc was like- Really calm even though they were plummeting towards their immediate doom and the part where the mc just clings onto nash like a koala- just made me laugh tbh xD

Oh! And joia too- even though I just met her my initial thoughts immediately wanted me to adopt her and make her my child 🥺-

Will she be staying with us in the future? If so I'd be enthusiastic haha-- xD Not many IFs include children because of it being hard for some to write-

glad it made you laugh hehehe

and yeah, joia's gonna be there for the rest of the story. mild spoilers below the cut ig.

while some characters do have a chance to die throughout this story, joia is firmly in the ""heavy plot armour" category (also, from a narrative perspective, a whole bunch of people looking after her), so she'll be ok

[antiloreolympus]

6 Anti LO Asks

1. I’m sorta confused on the pomegranate thing in LO (I know the original story enough) but what I’ve been reading is that Persephone is “fated” to be Hades’ wife?? If the fruit sprout around 100 years ago Minthe could have been thought that too right, since they were dating?? Idk how long Minthe and Hades were together but it doesn’t make sense to me that the writing or Persphone’s character is talking about becoming queen or eating a 100 year old pom. I total could have missed something.

2. TBH the fact we're going into a fourth year of LO being published and still the main couple is so underdeveloped and so much is still uncertain (what about semele? or kronos? what will happen to apollo? does anyone care about minthe? or the trial? the list goes on) that im not anticipating any adaptation or even the actual comic being produced and finishing on a good note. its such a convoluted mess that it seems doomed to disappoint a big section of the readers/viewers no matter what it does.

3. that tv news has been out for almost two years now where has that anon been lmao. LO fans even threw a fit because netflix is also making a lesbian hxp show (kaos) and they thought it would cancel LO somehow, because as we all know only one project is allowed per mythology story. just ignore the countless heracles and trojan war adaptations and the fact netflix already countless myth shows and movies on it and in production. i swear LO fans think she created mythology by how they talk about it.

4. see its weird because the only tv news we've been getting out of webtoons is all live action (idk why, tbh) and im just like oh yes please, strap the animated idea for LO and accurastely cast them for the ages, then maybe everyone will noticed it'd a bit weird this 40+ year old man who is actually way older is lusting after a baby-faced 19 year old. then again we saw those tiktok lo ads and they were horrendously acted and the make up was terrible, but 🤷🏿‍♀️

5. demeter's name literally means "earth mother" and rachel "homer jr" smythe is like well shes not a fertility godess shes actually powerless and unimportant actually like??? ok?? how is persephone so powerful then if demeter created her? where did she get it from then?? because you cant claim metis or gaia either since metis's "creations" along with demeter dont have those powers either and gaia was defeated. its literally forcing a "chosen one" narrative on PERSEPHONE. who asked for this???

6. lmao werent LO fans the ones who were pissed netflix released Blood of Zeus and hated it because it DIDNT focus on hades and perspehone? like it has zeus in the name, dumbass, why would it be about them? they also hated hades was "ugly" (ie he actually looked pretty unique and the creators confirmed he'd be a big part in S2) and that BOZ hera deserved to murder the MC's mom because she loved zeus. like?? If LO is so good y'all wouldn't need to tear everyone else down to prop it up, just saying.