#if it was the main goal it would be a better choice to write a human system rather than an AI operating within a similar to it framework

[weareuniqueandimportant]

EMPATHY GLAMORIZATION IS NOT ABOUT EMPATHY BUT SUPERIORITY TORWARDS APATHETIC PEOPLE BIGOTRY TORWARDS THEM TYPICAL BIGOT EVIL. SIMPLE AS THAT. IF YOU SEE THEM AS LEFTIST YOU'RE NO LEFTIST YOURSELF. HORRIBLE. THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE ONLY EMPATHY AND BAD TO THINK EVERYTHING YOU DO IS SUCH ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE CLEARLY BEING APATHETIC IF ANYTHING WHEN THEY DO THIS...

COMES TO SHOW BIGOTRY TORWARDS CRAZY AND DISABLED PEOPLE ASWELL AS PARAPHILIA PEOPLE ISN'T TAKEN AT ALL THE SAME AS SEXISM RACISM AND QUEERPHOBIA... OR PERHAPS... LIKELY... THEY ARE ALL THE BIGOTED THINGS EVIL AND TAKE NONE THAT SERIOUSLY... BELITTLING DOWN THEIR PAIN AND DAMAGE...

[logicpng]

hello! I'm a fellow Ukagaka developer (o/ hello from the Dream Team) and while looking at Aster's code, I noticed you were wanting a VS Code extension for surfaces.txt; kanadelab has published one such thing! Also, it's extremely cool to see a Ghost with a focus on multiplicity, from one plural to another.

oh!! that'll be extremely useful given I want to try doing more complex stuff with animations in the future! thanks for letting me know!

yeah!! aster is a bit of a vessel to write about our own plural experiences and write fictional ones twisted into it. in part our reason for the project is a subtle introduction to plurality as a concept to more people! primarily the goal is to just have fun with it, but if our work helps in the bigger picture it would be nice!

[paigemathews]

Whenever I actually sit down and start posting the next gen series, one of the things that I really wanna do is kind of... incorporate reader's choices into it? Not in big ways bc my plan is to write like a full season before I start posting episodes and that can affect it, but like. smaller beats.

One example is that I have an episode idea where there's a big emotional thing for three different characters and our resident empath has a discussion with each of them, but it's reader choice which scene we see. Another one is an episode where it's reader's choice for who gets hit with some kind of emotional puncture and just spews emotions everywhere. It'd be mostly character and relationship scenes for arcs that are already happening, but readers would have the chance to see their favorite or the one that they're most curious about up close on "screen." Not for every episode, but like. maybe once or twice a season or something. Idk, thought it might be interesting.

[hellisharchive]

Heyoooo! You probably know me from messaging you but I wanted to ask if you could write a Vox x Fem!reader where reader just takes care of a really wasted but infatuated Vox?

☆ my queen

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▏C/TW! ▬ 18+, drunk Vox, jealous reader, fluff fluff fluff, bathing

▏C/TW! ▬ Literally wrote this at 2 am and got done at 3 am, so not beta read <3 TYSM for the request! I hope you enjoy it!. AGAIN HOW THE FUCK DID I ACCIDENTLY POST THIS THIS WAS A DRAFT. I dont like how this turned out tbh

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You and Vox were close, but you wouldn't dare say that you two were dating. You did have a small crush on him and was scared that confessing would ruin your fiendship. Little did you know he also had a crush on you as well, it was just unfortunate he was letting his business and brand take importance over his personal life. You were an honorary Vee and his best friend. Sure, Velvette and Valentino were his friends too, but you always got jealous as you watched Val and Vox act in such a romantic way with each other all the time. You always suspected that they were a thing, and even if they didn't have a label, you respected it. So, you always kept your feelings hidden deep down

. But you did need a break, it got so tiring having to watch and hear them act all cute and making sexual advances from the time to time. You've been ignoring Vox for at least two weeks, probably not the best choice but your emotions got the better of you. But tonight, you decided to get out of the tower and have some fun. You went to a pretty well known nightclub- not owned by Vox, a rare occurrence- to let off some steam. Your goal was to get laid by the end of the night with a convenientially attractive stranger, but life doesn't always work out as you want.

Yet, when Vel called you as you were about to get on the dancefloor with a hot bull, you dropped everything to take care of the television that was drowning his sorrows in alcohol. According to her, he kept talking about how he wished he could tell you something and how beautiful you were. You mulled over it as you walked back through the tower in your fancy nightclub dress just an hour earlier. While on your way there, you came across Velvette who looked very pissed off and scrolling through phone in the main living area of the personal living quarters. When she saw you, she flipped you off and rolled your eyes.

"Fucking finally! Vox has been throwing a hissy fit waiting for his queen to come and shut him up. Fuck you for taking so long, he's called me twenty fucking times asking where you were bevause he forgot he changed your contact info!" That was all she said before growling and walking away, signalling that you were going to handle this yourself like normal. You never let what Vel says get to you, that's just how she normally is. But he changed your contact info? What to? You've calmed down a drunken Vox many times before, but this time seemed bad.

"Vox?" You knock and call out before opening his door to find a very wasted man laying on his couch, hiccuping and looking incredibly sad. He was slumped over with a wine bottle in his hand, no wine glass, and the red liquid was spilled all over himself. Wine? Really? He got drunk on wine out of his entire collection? He's usually a fun drunk, cracking jokes and overall being the most funny in the room from the out of pocket shit he says. So seeing him so down makes you feel guilty for ignoring him. But as soon as he looked at you, his face lit up and a smile immediately popped up. He dropped the glass and stood up, trying to rush up to you. However, because he was so inebriated, he started to stumble, which caused you to rush up and catch him from his shoulders.

"My Queen! Where did you go? I missed you my sweet!" The comment about Vel calling you his "queen" you just passed off as Vel being Vel, but now he was calling that you too? Maybe playing into this fantasy would be best, drunk people are never rational and don't know what they're even saying.

"Well my king, I had a very important meeting with another kingdom to attend to. But you requested my presence immediately!" You spoke matter-of-fact as you navigated him to the bathroom, it was hard already with him being unable to properly walk, but he also kept staring at you, so he stepped over his own feet countless times.

"Hehehe...I like when you call me that. YOUR king. I'm your king! How lucky am I?" He giggled and that made your heart beat faster. How lucky was he? What was he talking about? Maybe this was just his drunk self talking, you knew he didn't feel that way, he absolutely had a thing for Val, not you. Gulping, you finally manage to drag him to the bathroom where you sat him on the toilet. He would be so sticky with all that wine that soaked through his clothes, so you were going to bathe him. Sure, getting him in and out his going to be a challenge, but you still cared for this man a lot and wanted the best for him.

"I'm getting you your pjs, do not move ok?" You started to leave the bathroom when he whined loudly, making a swipe for your wrist but missed as he looked at you with puppy eyes. Due to his television screen head, his facial expressions can get extremely animated, unlike normal sinners. His eyes basically took up his entire screen, only leaving a little bit of space for a pout. The sight made your heart ache.

"Don't leave again my lovely queen! I need to tell you something!" Sighing, you gave him a soft smile and walked back up to him. Picking up his hand, you put your other hand on top of his and gave him the most softest smile you muster..

"It is bedtime, my king, you must be bathed before heading to our bed. You can tell me once we retire" Our bed. Saying it made your heart do flips.

"Oookkk my beautiful queen! Hehehe you're so pretty..." He had a dopey smile as you walked away, heart hammering so loud it should have been echoing in the room. He thought you were pretty? Fuck- why does he made you feel this way? You knew that look too, it was a look of complete love. He certainly couldn't love you though, that has to be impossible. He was with Val, he had to be. Going on autopilot, you gather up his favorite pyjamas and mentally prepare yourself for going back into the flames. When you get back, he was still sitting on the toilet, giggling and staring ahead as he was talking to himself about how in love with him he was.

What?

He was drunk, he was drunk, he was drunk- why couldn't you even entertain the idea of him returning your feelings? Why was it so hard to accept that fact? Taking a deep breath, you walk into the room and he lights up again.

"My queen! Are thou ready to bathe me? You got my favorite pjs! And you have an amazing ass! There's a reason why I married you!" Freezing once again, you ignoring his comment about your ass in luei of the last thing he said. Married...you? Did Vox think you two married each other? The thought made you shiver and face warm with how amazing that sounded. Being officially tied to him forever, waking up with him together, and getting to love him forever. Standing up after finishing setting the dials to the right temperature, you looked at him and now needed to know more.

"And why else did you marry me my dear?" Battting your eyelashes with the most innocent face you could gather, you started to stip him of his clothes. You've seen him naked a handful of times which always made you incredibly flustered, but undressing him? It made you nervous, especially with how he's acting towards you.

"You're the beeeeest, like, THE best! You're so pretty and gorgeous and have SUCH a hot bod! But you're so so sweet and amazing and help me with everything!" Did he...did he actually love you? Was whatever he was doing with Val was nothing? Shakily manging to get him completely undressed, you stood him up to maneuver him into the large tub. Not trusting yourself to say anything more, you gently lay him down in the perfectly warm water and start lathering him up. You also never bathed him before, so your nerves were going to overdrive. He took your silence and silenced himself too, maybe he somehow knew you were really anxious right now. Taking great care in not getting water on his head, you see as his face turned from a happy one, to a somber one.

The rest of the process of getting him out, drying him off, changing into his pjs, and moving him to his bed was deadly quiet. You felt like you would be breaking some unsaid rule. Tucking him into bed, you left a glass of water and painkillers on his nightstand, turning off the big light and turning on the lamp. Sitting down next to his curled up body, you rubbed his back and felt conflicted. He's drunk as balls. He probably won't remember any of this. Getting up and saying goodnight, he yells for you one last time.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I did wrong but I'm sorry. Is it Val? We aren't anything serious. I was too scared to tell you because you're so beautiful and I didn't want you to leave me. I love you" Vox looked down at his lap with a sullen expression. Heart hurting for the countless time today, you gave him a kiss on his screen and turned away with a smile

"Tell me when you're sober"

[writingquestionsanswered]

how do i make my writing more ‘mature’? i always feel like no matter how sophisticated i write and no matter every which way i change it up it always has a sense of being childish or juvenile.

Making Writing Sound More Mature

1 - Better Plot and Story Structure - One of the telltale signs of juvenile writing is a story that meanders, has no obvious plot or structure, has no conflict or has a protagonist with no goal. So, make sure you have a well fleshed out plot, with a conflict, protagonist goal, and which hits the beats specific to your story's genre.

2 - Three-Dimensional Characters - If you're writing plot-driven fiction, make sure your main characters have a fleshed out personality, stakes, motivation, goal, and compelling relationships with other characters. If you're writing fully or partially character-driven fiction, do all of the above, but also make sure your main characters have a relevant internal conflict and a thoughtful character arc.

3 - Well-Developed Setting and World - One common hallmark of juvenile writing is a lack of "sense of place" and under-developed world building. So, make sure you put a lot of thought into where your story takes place... not just the immediate setting of each scene, but the overall world of the story, or at least the parts of it that are relevant.

4 - Incorporate Literary Devices - Juvenile writing tends to be lacking in the use of metaphor, simile, symbolism, irony, themes, and motifs. So, make sure to include those, but also take the time to make them relevant to your story.

5 - Include a Broad Range of Vocabulary - One common element of juvenile writing is a reliance on limited, simple vocabulary. Don't be afraid to use a thesaurus to find more interesting word choices--just be absolutely certain to crosscheck your choices with a dictionary to make sure they are the right choice. Online thesauruses in particular are bad about offering up bad suggestions. Also, make sure to learn and use special vocabulary that is relevant to your story, genre, or setting. For example, if your character is a retired police detective trying to solve a murder on his stalled cruise to Alaska, you need to make sure you know the proper investigative terminology, because he will definitely use it. And, by that same token, you'd want to make sure you know cruise ship lingo as well. And, part of this, too, is getting better at description and the inclusion of emotional and sensory detail.

6 - Use Varied Sentence Structure - This is a big one... juvenile writing tends to use repetitive sentence structure, such as simple sentences (she stood up, she went to the window, she waved at the man), lack of subordinate clauses (Tad Smith, who was a seasoned and retired investigator, had looked forward to this cruise his whole life...), repetitive starts (every sentence begins with a pronoun, for example), uniform length (all short sentences, for example.) So, make sure your sentences are varied. If you read them out loud, you don't want it to sound rhythmic, but more like a complex melody.

7 - Show, Don't Tell... Most of the Time - Telling definitely has its place, but most of the time you want to show rather than tell, meaning that instead of stating things simply and directly (the sun was shining) you want to paint a clear but indirect image (dappled sunlight shone through the trees.)

8 - Avoid Cliche Phrases - Human language is littered with everyday phrases like "to each their own" or "better late than never." Generally-speaking, you want to avoid these phrases in your story, especially in exposition. If you include them anywhere, they're best spoken as dialogue by a character who it makes sense would say something like that. Likewise, be careful of cliche genre or character-type phrases. For example, villains who say things like "we're not so different, you and I..." or "I finally have you right where I want you!" These overused phrases tend to make stories sound juvenile and unpolished.

9 - Avoid Cliche Tropes - Another type of cliche to avoid if you want more mature-sounding writing is cliches of various tropes. Tropes on their own are a good thing, but when tropes are used the same way over and over again in a genre or type of story, they become predictable. For example, the super gorgeous protagonist who everyone is in love with, but they view themselves as plain and not special. Or the broken/hopeless/addict mentor character. It's not that you can't use any cliche tropes at all, just make sure your story isn't riddled with them, and do what you can to put your own spin on the ones you do use.

10 - Read, Read, Read - And I can't stress this enough... the absolute best way to improve your writing style and take your writing from juvenile to polished is to make sure you're reading a lot of fiction, in a lot of genres, by a lot of authors. Audio books, short stories, and poetry count, too. The more you read, the more you begin to: understand plot and story structure, recognize well-developed characters, easily envision complex settings and worlds, learn vocabulary and literary devices, become attuned to varied sentence structure, and learn to recognize cliche phrases and tropes.

Happy writing!

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[arielleslipgloss]

It Girl Habits!!

(none of these photos are mine)

“You cannot live your life to please others. The choice must be yours.” - Anne Hathaway

Stay busy!! Do you see those it girls like Serena Van Der Woodsen scrolling on their phone all day? No, you rarely do. It girls are always busy doing something. So, therefore do some self care, study, workout, read, journal, go shopping, go on solo dates, hang out with friends, paint, have a dance party, etc. Do fun activities and take care of yourself. Another example of a busy it girl is, Elle Woods. Elle Woods wasn’t becoming one with the couch everyday. She had goals to achieve. She had people that doubted her to prove wrong. So get up! Start planning out your day or week. Start making goals!!

Have goals! You wanna know why you’re bored all the time? Well, it’s because you have no goals. You practically don’t have a life because all you do is sleep, eat, scroll, and repeat. You’re wasting time doing nothing. You could’ve had a clean room by now. Maybe you could have finished that book. Whatever it is, you could have had it. You could’ve been 1% better than yesterday. You don’t though because you have no goals. That time you’re wasting, can be used toward your goals. It can be used toward your dream life. Maybe, you do have goals? Yet you don’t even take action. What are you waiting for? For someone to do the work for you? No, get up and start taking action.

Be mindful of what you consume online!! Just like how who you surround yourself with affects you. What you consume online affects how and who you are. For example, listening to sad music makes you feel sad. Music is meant to tell a story that you feel deeply. You may not even relate to the song, but you feel as if you do. So, you become sad and continue to listen to sad music. When listening to uplifting music you gain confidence. You still feel like you relate to the song. Just with a more positive effect. As for what you watch and read. Don’t read/watch stuff that will put you down. Watch/read content that will help you.

Complimenting yourself every time you pass the mirror!! Some may say it’s cringy, but DO IT. Would you rather be cringy or be the best version of yourself? Exactly, so either say it out loud or in your head. Say it even if you might not believe it. Say it because you deserve it! Try to be creative with your compliments. Not all compliments have to be about your looks. It could be your personality, your thoughtfulness, how creative you are, etc. Also loosen up, be your own hype girl. When you see the mirror you could say, “Omg I look like the main character.” “Oh wait, I am!” Lastly, don’t forget to have fun with hyping yourself up.

Mediating or journaling when stressed!! When stressed we start to feel a lot of tension. So, that’s why meditating is so important to do when stressed. All you have to do is sit down and focus on breathing. Plus, It calms down your nerves, relaxes the mind, body, and soul. Not just that, but plenty of other benefits. Which includes, helps focus, betters mood, helps you sleep, slows down aging, etc. As for journaling, it’s practically free therapy! That is, at least in my eyes. All you need is a notebook, a pen or pencil, and yourself. Journal what’s making you stressed or anxious. Let all your emotions out, write freely. Your words don’t have to make sense. Nor do you need to have perfect writing. In fact, when you journal it may be all over the place. However or whatever you write, just let it out.

Expressing your gratitude!! Life is so beautiful and has so much meaning. So, either write down what you’re grateful for or thank God. You are so blessed to be here today. That is only just one thing to be grateful for. There are so many things to be grateful for, air, family, friends, your mind, being born as you, water, books, food, shoes, clothes, and so much more!! Express your gratitude everyday. It could be the most random thing like, a poster. As long as you’re truly grateful, then express it.

7. Having a low screen time!! Cliché, I know but it’s true. Your devices are consuming you. Think about what you use your device(s) for. Good examples are, for work, for motivation, tips, workout videos, inspiration, knowledge, and maybe even faith reasons. Now here are bad examples, procrastinating, sinning, hating on others, scrolling, because you’re bored, to watching videos of people that make you insecure, and lastly to cope with something. Which to clarify, trying to cope by using your phone, I understand somewhat. On the other hand, it could make what you’re coping with worse. I say that because there are so many studies on why our phone is bad for us. Seriously, so many and we are completely unaware of the damage it does. So for that reason, try to use your phone only for the good. I know you’re probably going to make an excuse. Which we all do and that’s ok, but please try.

8. Encouraging yourself to do better!! You should always be working hard to be 1% better everyday. So on the days you don’t feel like doing anything, encourage yourself. Show up for yourself, you will be so happy after. Lastly, trust yourself to get whatever done!!

9. Having a healthy sleep schedule!! For me, I try to aim for 8-11 hours of sleep. For others, it may be 7-10 hours of sleep. Whatever makes you feel the most well-rested should work. Just try to be consistent and mindful of the time. I also recommend to be off your phone for at least 30-60 minutes before going to bed. It will improve how you sleep a lot. That also being said, try not to be on your phone when you wake up either. It’ll help improve your health by a lot. Especially, the health of your brain and eyes. As I had mentioned, try to be consistent. Set a certain time to go to bed and turn off your phone. Then, get your lovely beauty sleep gorgeous!!

10. CLEANING!! The last habit is, cleaning. Now, I don’t just meaning cleaning your room or house. I mean even your body and mind. For starters, a clean room equals a clean mind. Therefore, stop procrastinating and start cleaning. Turn on some fun music and maybe even romanticize cleaning. Just make it fun and DEEP clean. I know someone reading this has been procrastinating on cleaning. You know who you are, so clean everything. Then, for cleaning the mind a little extra meditate. I feel like I already went over a bit about meditation. So lastly, for the body, take your showers consistently. Also, please wear deodorant. I see way too many people nowadays not wearing deodorant. Seriously, wear your deodorant.

“Always walk around like you have on an invisible tiara on.” - Paris Hilton

Remember, always apply lip gloss and stay pretty! Love you, dolls 💋

Info I used: https://reallifecounseling.us/blog/benefits-of-meditation

My Pinterest: @arielleslipgloss

[periwinkla]

How Takumi writes romance - and narumitsu thoughts

I feel the way he writes it is.... dare I say realistic? If dramatic. Which is also very realistic honestly. To be fair all AA characters are kinda.. dramatic themselves so any couple that comes from that HAS to be dramatic. Anyway the point I want to make is that I honestly LOVE the way he writes romance, like come on LOOK at the canon ones: -the Delites (crazy in love and also in general <- perfect AA couple example) -Maggey and Gumshoe (not a canonical couple per-se but canonically down bad for each other and also both kinda wild, one in a way the other in another.... it's left to interpretation whether they get together after AA3, but it is fairly hinted) -Mia and Diego (very realistic? love can be tragic, also love leads you to make bad choices sometimes) -that one wild tgaa couple (don't wanna spoil) -actually multiple tgaa couples This is unironically peak romance to me. We never see the actual development of these couples here. Takumi shows they love each other, he doesn't simply tell you by making characters confess or have cute moments together. You see them do foolish things for each other, you see them care. You see them being illogical and that leads to them doing bad, messed up things sometimes. When I think about that one discussion going around Suekane telling Takumi he wasn't writing the narumitsu scene right so he better scrap the scene (which is honestly a bit of an ambiguous info to be taken with a pinch of salt imo, but let's analyze this anyway) I think the main problem is that that's just not how he writes. It's just not! He didn't write AA that way and it shouldn't be forced like that. It would feel out of place. Like, look at this (obviously just trilogy stuff because that's what Takumi wrote): -Miles' very odd conversation with Iris -generally every poetics Miles spews in the trilogy... -his agreeing to doing something so incredibly foolish at the drop of a hat such as donning a defense attorney badge? (after an harrowing hurried flight over in the middle of the night) He even suspends his disbelief and still resorts to using an artifact that reminds him of the ugliest event of his life? -Phoenix's depression after Miles disappears...? He already wasn't accepting any clients after 1-4 (Ema had to force him) which I think was a mix of things (Mia's death, Maya's departure, the fact that he had accomplished his goal with Miles but apparently they didn't keep in touch?) but then after Miles' note it just went even worse - if Maya wasn't there to basically drag him around, what would have happened? How was he paying rent? Groceries? He wasn't working. How was he planning to continue living exactly? -Phoenix's I-am-the-only-one-who-can-save-him obsession is similar to Godot's I-blame-myself-for-not-saving-her, who has it over someone he canonically loves... and they're both very pretentious about it as well. While these are definitely character flaws, they show as I said that love doesn't always lead to logical and healthy thoughts or choices and sometimes it leads to you doing very messed up things… This is all way more telling to me. And of course I don't believe in a million years the games will ever make it a canonical couple, but in my heart they care so much for the other that all I can discern from this is that at least they canonically love each other. Was it meant to come across that way? Who knows. But sometimes your own creation gets away from you (also it's not like Takumi made AA123 all by himself, other people were involved).

[writing-zelda-brainrots]

The Apothecary’s Travel Guide Chapter 1

Quickly, before we begin, I want to set some things straight about this little fic series.

This fic will use Fem!Reader in both pronouns and body descriptions. I usually stick to gender neutral stuff, but this fic just works better with a female main character in mind (or at least I think so).

While I won’t be going into actual nsfw stuff (maybe in the future, I haven’t decided), this fic will still contain sexual themes and scenarios. This fic is meant for older teens and up. I don’t write with a young audience in mind, both for this fic and in general.

For those of you who are not familiar with The Apothecary Diaries (wtf are you doing here, go watch it), the series takes place in a fictional version of Imperial China. You don’t absolutely need to watch it to read this fic, but you will have a better understanding of things if you have (also, it’s just a really good show, very well written with one of the best female protags I’ve ever seen).

Also, this fic starts before Sunset, so the whole “Twilight is Wolfie” and “Hyrule can heal” things are not known yet.

–

It felt a little strange to be back in the busy streets of the pleasure district after spending months in the rear palace. But it was the good kind of strange. The smell of grilled meat skewers that you missed so much, the paper lanterns hanging overhead, people haggling for better prices in the street side shops, playing games on the side of the road, or drinking tea in teahouses. And of course, beautiful women calling men over to offer ‘special services’ in the many brothels.

It’s a sight you’re all too familiar with. Having grown up here, raised by the women of the famous Verdigris House, these things did not phase you. One would think that working in the palace would be quite the change of pace, but if there’s one thing that you’ve learned over the past however many months, it is that the palace and brothels aren’t all that different. A beautiful caged garden full of flowers for the emperor to enjoy looking upon.

In truth, if you had the choice, you would not want to have anything to do with the imperial palace, but given your situation, what could you do? You certainly didn’t ask to be kidnapped and sold off to the palace back then and you didn’t ask to be promoted to lady in waiting to one of the four highest ranking concubines. You were doing just fine as an apothecary back in the pleasure district, thank you very much.

You had originally attempted to stay low, worked as a simple, low ranking servant until your contract expired and then head home. You hid any signs of value that could get you promoted; you hid your ability to read and write, as well as hid your ‘true beauty’ so you wouldn’t become a concubine (even if a servant could only ever become a low ranking concubine). Any extra money you would have earned  from those promotions would just be swiped by your kidnappers, anyway. At least you still got paid for your regular work.

Had things originally gone according to your plan, you would have worked hard and been released within three years. However, now that goal post has been moved quite a bit.

But you shouldn't be thinking about work right now; it was your day off, after all. You were back home (after managing to haggle your way into them letting you leave the palace) and that’s all that matters right now.

I should get some radishes and chicken for soup tonight. You thought as you walked down the street of the makeshift market. You hoped that your father had been eating well. He was never all that good at feeding himself. If he was starving for a few days, the old lady from the Verdigris House would force something down his throat.

Speaking of the Verdigris House, you should probably head there later. Both to say hello to your ‘big sisters,’ but also so you could take a bath there. They’d likely want some medicine, too, now that you thought about it. The last time you delivered medicine there was the day you got kidnapped.

Heh. Even on my day off I’m running errands.

With your little morning shopping excursion done, you stuffed the ingredients into the basket you carried on your back and started heading to that familiar little shack you affectionately called home. Dad should be in the fields tending to the plants right now. Honestly, he was getting too old for that trek, especially with his busted knee, but you couldn’t deny that he loved that little garden he’s cultivated over the years. Not like you were any different when it comes to your passion for medicinal herbs. As your master, he taught you everything you know about medicine; what herbs work in which situations, what to use and what to avoid, how to make medicine, what plants, mushrooms and animals were poisonous and which weren’t, etc. He was a very learned man, having studied both eastern and western medicine. With a few more years of teaching, you might be as good as him, or you hoped so, at least.

Finally you reached the calm little neighbourhood you grew up in. It was on the very outskirts of the city, not even protected by the tall stone brick walls. Looking at the small sizes of the houses, barely larger than your average shack, told people that this was where the poor lived. It wasn’t much, but it was home. Truth be told, your father was an excellent medical expert, even having worked in the palace before from what you’ve heard, but for all his skill and knowledge, he had terrible luck, which is why he ended up living here instead of somewhere more fitting for his stature.

But when you got to your little childhood home, you were met with a worrying sight. A woman you didn’t recognise, worry and uncertainty written on her face, knocking on the front door of your home. That’s strange, did she need medicine? You didn’t recognise her servant uniform, but she seemed to be from one of the inns in the area.

You called out, catching her attention immediately. “Are you looking for the apothecary? He’s currently out, but I can leave him a message.”

“Please help, it’s a medical emergency! Someone’s been poisoned!”

Your face immediately turned serious as you dropped your belongings before running inside the shack to retrieve an emergency med kit. “Lead me to them.”

--

People had gathered around the doorway of the inn, clearly all in a panic, but not sure on what to do.

“I brought the apothecary. Please step out of the way.” The two of you moved past the seemingly small army of staff and patrons.

What you saw seemed to match what the woman had told you before. A man lying on the bed, restless, breathing erratically, hands clenching at the fabric of his clothes right over his heart. Immediately you entered your ‘work mode,’ practically diving next to the man. First, a physical check up.

You pried open the man’s eyes, looking into them; you checked his pulse and stuck a finger into his mouth. Judging from the spittle running down his chin and trace amounts of sick on the bed sheets and his blue scarf, it’s safe to say that he had vomited. Still, you pressed down on his solar plexus to induce more of it. It would help expel whatever caused this reaction, but it would also dehydrate him. There was a hrrk, and spit came pouring out of his mouth, which you wiped away with the bedsheets you had gripped.

Suddenly, a new man with brown hair and eyes came running through the door with what seemed to be a waterskin in his hands.

He was just about to offer the water to the man you were tending to, but you shouted at him: “Don’t let him drink that! Charcoal- we need charcoal!” The startled man dropped the item onto the floor, but recovered just as quickly, running off once again to retrieve the required item.

You repeated this process several times on the victim; making him vomit, wiping the bile away ad nauseum until nothing but stomach acid came out. The man was able to breathe much easier now, no longer hyperventilating. Thankfully, at your request, the charcoal had arrived just in time, which you quickly ground up with your mortar and pestle.

“This’ll be rough on his throat, but it’ll flush the toxins out of his body.” You spoke as you poured the fine powder into his mouth. Some of the men, who you assumed to be the patient’s associates, had gathered around the two of you, clearly worried.

“Wa… Water. Please…” Those were the first words you heard him speak, weak, but nonetheless a sign that he was recovering.

“Not yet. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to endure this a little bit longer.”

Though unhappy, he accepted and resigned himself to his scratchy and dry throat for the time being. Finally you were able to remove yourself from the bedside, letting the other men move the patient while the inn’s servant ladies removed the soiled linens.

First damn thing in the morning and I already have to deal with an emergency. I only just got back. You grumbled in your mind as you looked at your filthy hand. Ugh. I really need a bath. You sighed both from relief and exhaustion.

“You doin’ okay, Captain?” One of the taller men with brown hair asked while holding him up so he could stand.

The patient - now identified as ‘Captain’ - took a breath. “Much better.” He then turned his attention towards you. “Thank you. I was certain that I was a goner.”

“I am simply doing my job. There is no need to thank me.” Utilising some water in a pitcher that one of the servants offered, you wiped your hands with a damp cloth.

You then took out a wooden slip, wrote just a couple characters on it and handed it over to the servant woman who you first encountered. “Deliver this to doctor Luomen and bring him here. He should be by the south wall.”

With that, the servant gave you and everyone else in the room a small bow before leaving.

The man with a blue hat turned his attention to the patient, who had once again been laid down onto the cleaned up bed. “Now I know that stuff took you out; you didn’t even try to flirt with your “guardian angel”.”

“So that’s your impression of me?” The sarcasm in his voice was evident. “Glad to know that it took me almost kicking the bucket to change your opinion.”

--

Within about half an hour, the servant had returned, your father in tow. It took longer than you had hoped, but given your father’s age and condition, it wasn’t all that surprising.

He took a good look at the patient and asked some questions.

“I suppose you did an adequate job here.” He gave you his trademark gentle smile after he was done with his examination.

“‘Adequate’?” You ask, annoyed.

A man who you assumed to be the owner of the inn came into the room. “Thank you, doctor Luomen. You are the best medical expert one could ask for.”

“Don’t thank me. My daughter did all the hard work.”

“Tell me, how much do we owe you? Name your price.”

“There’s really no need-”

You nudge your father’s side with your elbow. “Can you pay rent this month?”

“Ah… Well, in that case, I’ll take the usual fee.”

This was one of his habits; undercharging for his work, or even failing to charge at all, much to your distress. You understood the desire not to take money from people who were already struggling to get by, but this was not the case.

A tall blond man in heavy armour came up to you, holding out a small-ish sack. “Please, allow us to reimburse you as well. We owe you a lot.” Seeing no reason not to, you accepted the item.

With that, your father and the inn’s owner head into another room to discuss payment, leaving you to gather up your tools.

From the corner of your eyes, you noticed a few of the men fidgeting nervously or giving each other glances. They obviously wanted to say something. You didn’t know why they were hesitating. Sure, you might have sharp, mean-looking eyes and you didn’t smile all the time, but there’s no reason for these numerous grown men to act like this around you.

“Can I help you?” You broke the ice. No point in delaying this.

The one who you assumed to be the leader cleared his throat. “Actually, we’d like you to answer some questions we have. We’re travellers from afar, you see, and we don’t know much about this place or nation.”

They came all this way here and they don’t know the first thing about where they are? “You’re in the country of Li, specifically in the capital city of both the nation and the Central Province. I’m not going to judge how you choose to spend your time, but if you wanted to go sightseeing, I wouldn’t exactly recommend coming to the pleasure district first.” You raised an eyebrow. Just who were these people?

You saw that a few of the mens’ faces had turned bright red when they realised where they were. “Ha! Told you that this is where we ended up.”

“Are you implying that you frequent these kinds of places, Captain?” It sure seemed like these two had a penchant for arguing. Even during the time while you were waiting for your father to arrive, you noticed that they kept butting heads.

“Enough, you two.” The oldest shot them a quick glare. “Either way, it’s good we left Wind with Four back at the city outskirts. Both because of the inappropriate nature of this place- no offence…”

You shrugged. “None taken.”

“... But so that they wouldn’t have to see you get in trouble like this.”

“You are the apothecary here, right? If so, then you should be familiar with people who have gotten injuries.” You nodded. “Have you heard anything about encounters with any strong monsters, particularly those with black blood?”

Alright, now you were really confused. Monsters? Black blood? Was this some kind of way of informing you of a new disease spreading among the troops of enemy nations? But if so, why not tell this to an army physician instead of a random apothecary?

“Can’t say that I have.” You spoke up after having given it some thought. “Though I have to admit that I have been working in the inner court for the past few months, so I’m not caught up on the goings on outside the palace walls. But if you are telling the truth, I’m certain I would have heard rumours.” Thinking back, Xiaolan - a girl you had grown a friendship with when you were a simple servant at the palace - sure loved her gossip, and if there was one thing she loved more, it was sharing that gossip with you over tasty snacks and food.

“Thank you anyways.”

While this conversation didn’t seem like it yielded much, it did get your gears turning. It was time to do some espionage- or rather, some investigating. Something you’ve gotten pretty good at lately, if you said so yourself.

“Please wait here while I get you some medicine.” With a quick bow you left the room. In truth you had already prepared the medicine while waiting for your father to arrive, but this was still a convenient excuse.

As quietly as you could you hid yourself behind the sliding door and pressed your ear against it. Sure enough, once the men in the room believed you to be gone, they started talking. Words like “monsters,” “eras,” “shadow” and others got thrown around as if it was common knowledge, yet it only served to confuse - and intrigue - you further. One thing was certain; these were not your regular, run-of-the-mill travellers.

Your earlier talk also gave you an opportunity to scrutinise their appearances. Given their unfamiliar clothes and armour, plus features like light coloured hair and eyes, and their utter lack of knowledge of where they even were, you assumed them to be from a distant land, the west, most likely. But that was before you noticed one curious detail that they all shared; pointed ears.

This one thing had you calling things into question. Sure, the world was a large place, but in all your years of studying medicine and the human body, you’ve never heard of any group of peoples with such a distinctive feature.

But now came the question of what to do. What were you going to do about this suspicious group? Should you report them in case they were here to cause trouble? To be honest, you didn’t want to get involved. No point in sticking your neck out for these strangers and possibly risk getting accused of treason. You’ve done your job, you healed them, and you’re about to give them their medicine and leave. There’s no need to let them occupy your mind anymore. You’d steer clear of them from now on. Yeah, that sounded good.

Finally, you pretended to have returned from your ‘excursion’ and knocked on the door. Given the sudden silence from the room, it was safe to assure that whatever they were talking about was not for others to hear.

Walking up to the Captain still in bed, you handed over a small paper bag. “Please take this for the next few days. It’ll ease your stomach and help with getting rid of any lingering toxins. I would recommend drinking it as tea.”

The one who you had identified as ‘Legend’ from when you were listening in groaned. “Ugh. This whole thing’s been a wash. You guys ready to head back to camp?”

A unanimous ‘yes’ was heard.

--

Ironically enough, you could not get those men out of your head. Was your intuition trying to tell you that there was something wrong with them? Or were you simply curious? They were certainly the most interesting people you’ve met in some time.

They had already left the inn and you had headed in a different direction. You did finally manage to get that warm bath you were looking forward to. And getting to speak to your ‘big sisters’ at the Verdigris House was nice. But still your mind was occupied with something else. Damn it, this was supposed to be your day off, but you haven’t been able to relax completely!

You kicked a small rock in front of you in frustration. Hopefully having dinner with your dad would help alleviate your problem.

Suddenly you felt an all too familiar feeling of being pulled backwards.

Well, this wouldn’t be your first kidnapping.

--

And Wars will have to suffer through that dry, ashy throat for the remainder of this fic- lol jk.

A.N Fun fact: did you know that other than Twilight (who has lived among humans for a long time), technically, Legend is the one who has interacted with humans the most? The people of Koholint Island had short, round ears, as did the people of Holodrum (Oracle of Seasons), Labrynna (Oracle of Ages) and Hytopia (Tri Force Heroes).

[athina-blaine]

kb/ms is truly transcendental yaoi, spectacular, amazing, 10/10, no notes ... from the perspective of a mithrun enjoyer

as a kabru enjoyer, however...

I'll start off by saying that of course Kabru doesn't want or need a romantic relationship to be fulfilled, especially not with a white man, none of them do, it's all non-canon, Dungeon Meshi isn't about romance or shipping, yes yes yes, but none of us are here for that right now!! We're here to fruitlessly argue why my blorbos kissing makes more sense than your blorbos kissing!! You know it, I know it, none of us are free of cringe!! Clown on clown violence!!

That being said ... 🤡

I just don't see what Kabru gets out of kb/ms. With Mithrun, it makes sense; Kabru has a huge impact on him and ultimately helps him reaffirm his will to live. That's very exquisite drama and excellent character writing. But with Kabru, I just don't feel that Mithrun's character interacts with his personal flaws and would instigate his growth anywhere close to the same degree. I have to imagine most fics involving them focus more on Mithrun's baggage and how Kabru helps him heal from that ... because that's mostly all that happens between them in the main story, lol!

And like, that makes sense, because ultimately chapters 61-62 aren't about Kabru and Mithrun; they're about Kabru working through his conflicted feelings in helping Laios conquer the dungeon. I think it's ironic seeing people complain about kb/ms having Kabru be Mithrun's accessory when, if anything, Mithrun's main narrative purpose, outside of illustrating the danger of the Winged Lion, is to serve as Kabru's obstacle. I'd even argue Mithrun represents Kabru's personal bad ending; Mithrun wants him to kill Laios and surrender the dungeon to the canaries, preventing the short-lived races from ever understanding how dungeons function and returning to the status quo that had gotten Utaya destroyed. It's only when Laios practically forces Kabru, straight up puts his thumbs to the screws, to work past his reticence and be emotionally vulnerable that Kabru finally puts himself on the right path to achieve his goals (it's, uh, still a bit of a bumpy ride, but they get there in the end, lol!). If he'd been this way with Laios from the beginning, he might have understood Laios' intentions from the start and saved himself a lot of pain, but it's only because of Laios' influence that Kabru is able to grow as a character and get his happy ending.

(And even if one were a Mithrun enjoyer, ultimately the main source of Mithrun's life affirmation comes from the canaries. In that final scene, Kabru gets the ball rolling because he's outside of the canary hierarchy, but the scene ends with Mithrun being embraced by the canaries and as far as I'm aware the two don't interact with or reference each other post canon at all. Hell, it's Senshi who really drives the point home. Not that it matters when we're all wearing shipping goggles here, but it felt remiss not to mention it.)

At most, I can see how taking care of Mithrun would force Kabru to reexamine how poorly he takes care of his own body and that could make for some good drama. But even then, that change is ultimately instigated by Laios' influence on him, an extension of how Kabru wants to understand how Laios can see the value in monsters in an attempt to better understand his own trauma. If a person were to get into Dungeon Meshi specifically for Kabru and wanted to ship him with someone in a way that's most interesting for him, I'd be hard-pressed to argue there's a better choice than Laios (although who'd be cringe enough to do something like that haha right guys ... [sweating])

(Side note, though, I really don't vibe with the argument that kb/ms "reduces Kabru to a caretaker role" and that's why it's bad. There's plenty of instances where Kabru shoulders his friends' burdens (helps Kuro learn common tongue, listens to Daya's fiance about his relationship troubles, etc) and, more importantly, is seemingly happy to do so. I think Kabru genuinely enjoys looking after his friends and in the story seems to find plenty of personal satisfaction getting Mithrun to eat. I understand it has the potential to be more troubling considering Kabru is a brown man and Mithrun is a white man, but idk, it just feels on the same level as people trying to discount labru by saying Laios wouldn't take enough of an interest in people to want to start a romantic relationship, when his whole thing is that he does want to connect with people and just feels like he can't. It's not a bone I feel like picking, haha)

I honesty don't mind characters being "mischaracterized" in fandom or fic even to a large degree, I know it bugs a lot of people but I respect that ultimately fandom is little more than picking up the vague outline of a doll and playing with it and mashing their faces together. Besides, if I'm really worked up about it I can just write a fic and set the record straight myself, haha. This post is merely inspired by the supremely annoying subsection of twitter that acts like labru is the ship where it's just two dudes sitting in a room together. I'm just saying, Kabru ends the series whispering into the ear of another man as his day job and it's not Mithrun lmao

[velvet-vox]

The russian worker drones family; murder drone's greatest small scale tragedy.

As long as I can recall there has never been in my mind a story quite as painful and heartbreaking and yet quite as engaging as the tragedy of Doll, Yeva, and her husband, who's lack of a clear name doesn't detract from the impact of this story or the death of the other two.

The last time such an emotional impact was left in my brain was with Noximilliem Coxen the Watchmaker from Wakfu, who I will assuredly make a comparison post with Doll, as they both hit extremely similar themes and ideas while still having such different execution and story beats that it almost makes you question why would you even compare them in the first place.

Tragedy is deceptively hard to write right and make meaningful, as just crippling your characters won't do, because at that point it just becomes drama porn and as boring as a low effort pre-schoolers program. Seemingly unfeasible in a show such as Murder Drones; an horror/comedy/romance where an abused child repaired and made friends with a robot only for said robot to cause the destruction of her planet and... something else.

Buckle up cause these robots emotions might not even be considered real inside the fictional setting but our pain allows what would otherwise be a pretty standard horror scenario to transcend into the bane of my existence as we take a look at the small, inconsequential tale of the russian worker drones family.

Yeva

Starting off with Yeva as the oldest member of our family in terms of chronological relevance, we get our first peek into the way this story plays out due to Yeva being seemingly mute by choice or programming, which retroactively sets up the storytelling method used; Yeva doesn't speak a single word in this scene or the one that precedes it, but we still get a clear rendition of her character by her standoffish behaviour juxtaposed with her caring and nurturing nature, it's debatable whether or not her and Nori are sisters, but you wouldn't be blamed for thinking that judging by the way Yeva tends to Nori after the banishment of the solver, being chained up and experimented upon didn't stop her from staying positive in the midst of adversity and could theoretically be the reason why she was the only correctly patched drone in the facility.

During the V attack she sacrificed her own life in order to protect Doll. An act that, in the long run, ended up being whortless, but that cemented Yeva has an unyielding positive influence in a world stormed by negativity and death.

The father

We know jack s##t about this man but that won't stop us from analysing him. The most interesting things about him are his relationship with Yeva and the fact that the picture of V seen in episode 2 was made by him. He's, admittedly, a white canvas for head cannons, but thematically he keeps a recurring motif that this post will touch upon in his final entry:

Doll

And now, for the crown jewel of this family. The protagonist's dark reflection. Not many people can claim to have been messed up as hard as Doll was. Sure, death is still death, but with it comes a certain sense of finality and rest. Instead, by contrast Doll's death is so brutal and devastating because although it's something that she has been calling upon herself since she started to consume other drones for her goals, it's just so heartbreaking because she managed to achieve absolutely nothing despite being one step forward everyone else in the story; she never got better, never reademned herself, made their parents sacrifice worthless, died almost entirely off camera completely alone and scared, and as her last compensation act she managed to give Uzi a barely useful warning before having her probably still alive consciousness eaten by an eldritch atrocity. At the end of the day, she was deemed worthless by the main antagonist and quickly brushed aside.

And we go back to a certain reoccurring theme regarding this family: Yeva never speaks. Her husband is never given a name. Doll is literally a toy name. Their story plays out in the shadow of the main plot. Every single aspect regarding them paints their existence as worthless and inconsequential (classic eldritch horror), yet are given enough spotlight to leave an impact on us, to have their presence felt, and to give us the impression that, despite their bad luck, if they only took certain decisions in certain key moments, maybe they would have survived and received a much better ending than the one they got.

Want more?

[bro-atz]

Helloooooooo!!! I LOVEDD your principa piece with Yunho! I was wondering if you would maybe be able to do a fic with San or Yunho where the mc is plus-sized? Thank youuu❤️❤️🥵

let's get physical, physical

in which: all you wanted to do was focus on strength training, but two of the gym regulars decided to add some cardio into your life

pair: san/chubby!afab!reader, yunho/chubby!afab!reader

word count: 7k

content: gym sex (oh my), flirting, san as a pervert, bedroom sex, (potential) sauna sex, completely consensual!

author's note: omg i'm glad you loved principia hehe tysm! on a very different note, how DARE YOU MAKE ME CHOOSE BETWEEN THE TWO! IT'S NOT FAIR!!! you left me no choice but to write for both of them, so you better like this or else (ง'̀-'́)ง jk but seriously i do hope you like this

tag list: @k-hotchoisan apply for the permanent taglist here!

You joined a gym— GYMZ (the name was so peculiar that you wanted to check it out). You joined the gym not because someone told you to but because you just wanted to see how much you could lift. All over your social media, you constantly get videos of women lifting and training, and you joined the gym because you wanted to know how much you could lift.

It turns out that you could lift a lot. On bench press, it was 160. Dumbbells: 70. Squat and deadlift were both 270, and shoulder press was 110. You amazed so many people at the gym, which was funny to you because all of those weights didn’t seem so bad.

And so, you committed to GYMZ. The people at the front desk were always really pleasant and nice— usually, it was either Jongho or Yeosang at the front— and there were so many amenities. So many. They had a swimming pool, tennis court, fitness classes, a spa and sauna, and many more. GYMZ was a bit pricey, but it was worth it.

So, you continued going to the gym. You wanted to be able to lift more and more just for the fun of it. Little did you know that you had attracted the attention of a couple regulars at the gym.

choi san

You didn’t know this when you first joined GYMZ, but one of the regulars— Choi San— was a bit of a pervert. He was notorious for hitting on every single person that grabbed his attention at the gym.

You grabbed his attention when you were just there for a tour of the facilities. Yeosang was showing you around the weights room. San had just finished his reps on the bench press and sat up for a minute to rest before doing another several reps when he saw you. Well, he saw you from behind at first, and he was mainly looking at your ass. He was practically frothing at the mouth as he watched you walk around, your ass jiggling (you found a pair of those leggings that went viral on social media that hugged your curves just right and you wore them for the first time that day). As you and Yeosang walked around, San followed you from a distance where he could see you, but you couldn’t see him spying on you.

When you turned around, San actually drooled. Those leggings were doing you justice, as was the sports bra you found to keep the ladies from flying everywhere— you know, one of your main concerns while doing any sort of work. It took everything in San to not pounce on you that very first day.

“Psst, Yeo.” Right after Yeosang showed you out and went back to his chair behind the front desk, San slinked over and tried to get the man’s attention. “Hey. Hey, Yeo.”

“What, San?” Yeosang, who couldn’t ignore the irritating boy anymore, glared at San.

“What’s her name?”

“Who?”

“You know, the sexy thing that you just showed around,” San said to Yeosang while licking his lower lip.

“Put your tongue back where it came from you perverted monkey,” Yeosang warned. “Why do you need to know her name, anyway?”

“Just tell me!”

“Y/N, her name is Y/N.”

“Y/N… Yeo, dude, you gotta get her to sign up.”

“I mean, that’s the goal because we want more members… But if you want her to join to fulfill your perverted fantasies, then you can get the fuck out.”

San kept his mouth shut for half a second before whispering, “Okay, but, like, can you imagine how nice it would be to just stick your face in between her breasts—”

“Choi San, get the fuck away from me you fucking pervert!” Yeosang screeched and nearly flung a stapler at San.

After that day, San forgot about your existence— well, he remembered you and your ass for sure, but he didn’t think he would ever get to see you at the gym again. So, when he saw you at the gym a couple days later, he was overjoyed. He wanted to immediately waltz up to you and ask you if you wanted someone to spot you while you bench pressed, but Yeosang got there before he could, and he glared at the man to drive him away.

You, meanwhile, were confused as to why Yeosang suddenly got distracted while explaining how to safely lift. “What’s going on?” you asked him.

“Oh, nothing. Just shooing away a monkey.”

“A monkey…?”

“Yes, a monkey.”

“…Okay then.”

San desperately tried to talk to you that day, but you were completely out of reach since Yeosang was guarding you like a goddamn Doberman. He did manage, however, to get you to notice him while he was doing chin ups— and that was the first time you saw San.

Despite how unbelievably perverted and horny the guy was, he was still a sight for sore eyes. The way his muscles would flex as he moved up and down, and the intense focused look on his face was enough to make anyone swoon. Then, when he got down and wiped the sparking sweat off his forehead with a towel, your entire body tingled. That man was fine.

“Hey, uh,” Yeosang snapped you out of your trance. “I wouldn’t go for him if I were you…”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“You’re staring at San, right?”

“Who?”

“That guy,” Yeosang pointed to the man you were staring at. “His name is San.”

“I mean, I wasn’t really staring…” you mumbled. “I just happened to watch him do chin ups.”

“Well, regardless. Don’t go for him even if he comes onto you. He’s a full-blown pervert.”

That warning was enough for you to keep away from him.

A couple weeks later, you had adjusted your schedule so that you were going to the gym every other day. San kept track of your schedule, and he noted when you would come into GYMZ and when you would leave and what you would do while you were there. He observed everything you did so that he could use it to his advantage.

San decided to make his move around your 1-month anniversary at GYMZ, and he made his move right when you were going to do squats. Usually, Yeosang was your spotter, but that was the one day he was sick, and Jongho was busy talking to one of the instructors at the gym— Yunho, was it?— so it was the perfect opportunity for San to interact with you.

“Hey,” San waved and approached you.

“Oh, hi,” your heart fluttered upon seeing the beautiful man.

“Do you need someone to spot you?”

“No, it’s okay,” you declined, suddenly remembering Yeosang’s warning.

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want you to get hurt,” San said, his voice lowering, his body nearing yours as he stood right next to you.

Next thing you knew, San was behind you. He tried his best to keep a respectful distance from you while spotting you, but your ass was so thick that it was impossible for him to do so. When Yeosang spotted you, he always faced you and spotted you, so having San stand behind you was definitely something else. At least he kept his attention on making sure you wouldn’t collapse under the weights.

After your reps, San asked you, “Do you want to add another ten and do another set?”

“Sure!”

During that second set, you looked across in the mirror and saw that San was focused on spotting you, and the look on his face almost made your arms turn to jelly. He was so fucking hot when he was focused, and you desperately wanted to see that face right in front of you and you desperately wanted to kiss that face all over.

You couldn’t focus after that. The only thoughts revolving in your brain were all about San and how San would be with you in different intimate situations. Maybe San’s pervertedness was contagious…

“I think I’m done for the day! Bye!” you told him after setting the weights back.

Before he could respond, you scurried off to the locker room and did your best to calm yourself down; and you did a good job in doing that (okay, you pleasured yourself in the bathroom, but whatever works, right?), only for all of that effort to have been in vain when you walked out of the locker room and saw San walking out of the men’s locker room.

“Oh, wow, you left so fast I thought you were gone already,” he chuckled.

“Ah, um, I…” you had no idea how to respond.

“The name’s San, by the way.”

San held out his hand for you to shake.

“Y/N.”

You shook his hand, and you were immediately surprised. For someone who did a lot of weights and exercised frequently, he had soft hands. You did, too, but you didn’t think someone like San would pay attention to the health of his skin. Not only were his hands soft, but his face was incredibly smooth and clear, which kind of made you jealous.

“Soft…” you whispered without realizing you said that out loud.

“Thanks,” San said with a smile.

Your face got hot— you could not believe you said that out loud, and you could not believe that he heard you. You took your hand back and cleared your throat before saying, “It was nice to meet you. I’ll see you around!”

San, however, did not want the interaction to stop there. For weeks, he had been so pent up just staring at you and wanting to do unspeakable things to you that he could no longer wait. He grabbed your arm and pulled you towards him.

“Let’s get to know each other!” he said cheerily.

He dragged you to his car and drove the two of you to a nearby coffee shop. You were so dazed until he set a cup of coffee in front of you. He sat across from you and smiled, his eyes turning into crescents.

“How are you liking GYMZ so far?” he asked you.

“It’s nice… Fun…”

“Have you tried any of the classes yet?”

“No, I’m only really interested in weight training.”

“Ah, no wonder I see you in the weights room all the time.”

You felt your face flush. San, still noting every single one of your actions and reactions, pushed further.

“You’re crazy strong, you know that? I mean, squatting 300—”

“Wait, I thought it was only 280,” you interrupted.

“No, I added 30 more pounds. I’m surprised you didn’t notice.”

Your jaw dropped. “I— How did— Woah…”

“You’re so impressive, Y/N. Your strength, body, looks,” San, resting his elbows on the table, laced his fingers together and leaned towards you, his eyes narrowing slightly. “You’re so fucking sexy, Y/N.”

Your entire body got hotter and you were rendered mute. How could he just look you in the eye like that and say something so intense?

“You know what I really want?” San asked.

“What is that…?”

“I want to see exactly how sexy you are underneath those workout clothes. Won’t you show me, please?”

With that silver tongue of his, San brought you back to his place. When you got into his car after leaving the coffee shop, he kissed you so intensely that you felt like you were going to pass out, and on the drive to his place, his hand firmly cupped the inside of your thigh and kept rubbing his hand up and down, turning you on to the max with his caress. Then, on your way inside his place, he was kissing you intensely once again, and you had to clutch his shoulders to keep yourself from melting in his embrace.

Upon entering his room, he took your sports bra and leggings off with such ease— normally, you struggled to get the ladies out of your bra, so it slightly annoyed you how easily this man was able to do it— before pinning you down on his bed. In between his tongue filled kisses, he managed to take his own clothes off. When he breathlessly ended the kiss, he hovered above you, giving you the most glorious view of his chiseled body and thick penis. Meanwhile, you were already completely disheveled under him, which just made him all the more horny.

“Oh, shit, Y/N… I don’t think I can wait,” San said before quickly slipping your panties off.

San rolled a condom on his cock quickly— when did he have the time to grab a condom?— and thrust harshly into your sopping wet cunt. You let out a faint cry when you felt his waist slam into you, and San groaned loudly when he felt the tip of his penis hit your cervix.

“Fuck…” San hissed as he slowly withdrew his dick. “I knew you were going to be tight but I didn’t think it would feel this good… I nearly came.”

You thought San just rushing into you was going to be painful, but waiting for him to move faster was so much worse. You wanted him to just fuck you senseless, but he was taking his sweet fucking time. You grabbed at his wrists and whined, “I need you to fuck me faster.”

“You gotta wait, babygirl,” San moved his hand so that he was caressing your waist, his fingers pressing into your love handles. “It’s not fair to you if I cum so fast.”

San calling you babygirl sent your mind spiraling. Still holding onto your waist, San hovered above you and kissed your neck, leaving light marks along your neck and chest. He left you with a new kiss with every thrust, and the stimulation was driving you crazy. You completely lost it when he began to knead and massage your breast, and then the cherry on top was when he twisted your nipple, which he did while his lips were still connected to yours.

You couldn’t even warn him. You moaned in his mouth as you felt your cunt tremble and convulse. Leaning back, San smiled and said, “See, now can I can fuck you senseless.”

Hands pressed on the either side of you on the mattress, San’s hips bucked sharply, his hips slamming hard into yours. You were still recovering from the high of your orgasm, so you felt the pleasure just shoot through the roof as the sound of the wet squelches of his cock moving in and out of you quickly and of his waist slapping against yours filled the room.

Your arms wrapped around his (surprisingly tiny) waist, and your nails dug into you skin as you suppressed your urge to cum so quickly. Blinking several times to refocus your blurry eyes, you looked up to see the same look of concentration San wore on his face when he was spotting you. Seeing his jaw tense, eyes sharp, and with the new addition of him biting his lower lip— he didn’t do that when he was spotting you earlier— you clenched.

“Oh fuck!” San groaned aloud, his dick trembling.

San’s thrusts slowed down as his cum filled the condom, and it was only after he had finished cumming did he pull out. You, meanwhile, had another orgasm the second your pussy tightened up. You laid on his bed, exhausted, as San removed the condom and threw it away. You thought was going to give you a break, but he seemed like he wanted you to go for one more set. From the corner of your eye, you watched as he rolled a fresh condom onto his still erect, large, throbbing penis, his fingers holding the base.

“Y/N, don’t forget to stretch out after you exercise,” San said with a smirk. “Let’s stretch out your hips, shall we?”

Effortlessly, San spun you around so that you were on your hands and knees the second he knelt on the bed. He let out a low whistle as he ran his hand from your calf to your thigh to your ass. You turned your head back to catch a glimpse of the hungry glint in San’s eye, only to immediately look forward again the second you felt his fingertips press hard into your ass cheek.

“Mmm, yes. This is what I wanted to see,” San hummed as he held onto both of your ass cheeks. “Fuck, your pussy is dripping, babygirl… Let me clean you up.”

Spreading your ass cheeks wide, San brought his lips to your cunt, but rather than eat you out, he blew cold air into you, making your ass and thighs tremble.

“Oh my God, San!” you cried as he continued to tease you, his fingers tracing along your folds.

You heard him let out a low chuckle as he sensed your frustration grow. San, finally allowing himself to begin pleasuring you, began by licking your pussy from your clit to the end of your cunt. You felt his nose press lightly into you while his tongue flicked and played around with your clit, your entire lower body trembling at the sensation. You felt an orgasm starting to near when he pulled away. Before you could complain, he licked his fingers and rubbed your pussy up and down before shoving two of his fingers into you.

His fingers, moving in and out of you, grazed your G-spot several times, your orgasm overtaking you and making you squirt all over him (and you really couldn’t believe the technique of the man for him to be able to do that to you so easily when you yourself struggled with it).

“Fuck! Oh, oh wow,” you cried out as your ecstasy faded into reality. “Oh my… Fuck.”

“We still have more stretching to do, Y/N,” San, who had sat up, leaned over you and brought his lips to your ear. “You don’t want to be sore, do you?”

“I have a feeling I’m going to be more sore after this stretch of yours,” you responded airily.

“You might be right…” San acknowledged as he rubbed the tip of his cock against your folds. “Oh well.”

With that, San’s penis shot straight through you, and you went from your hands to your elbows in no time. You cried out moans and profanities as San ruthlessly hit it from behind. For him, the sight of seeing your ass jiggle every time his pelvis slammed into you was everything. But, he couldn’t keep up that intensity for so long if he wanted to last; so, he’s thrusts lightened up a bit, but when he smacked your ass and moved you towards him instead of him to you, your entire body tingled with excitement. Your cries were pretty much only moans at that point, and you had to bite your lower lip to keep from yelping whenever he slapped your ass.

As San continued to fuck you in doggy position, he placed his hand on your lower back to guide you while his other hand clutched your ass (of course). When his fingers grazed upwards along your spine, you arched your back, earning a hiss of delight from the man. He held onto your hips as he began to speed up. His fingers squeezed your waist and hips the closer he got to cumming as if he was holding on to you to keep his sanity.

And with a loud groan, San came harder than he did the first time. Fucking you from behind did a number on him, honestly. San pulled out and got up to throw up the second filled condom. Panting hard, the two of you collapsed on his bed. San’s arm immediately wrapped around you, his hand resting on— you guessed it— your ass. He kissed you lightly and smiled softly, which was nice, but it made you wonder about the duality of this man.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to fuck you,” he said quietly.

“Oh, I know. I was warned about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was told not to interact with you because you’re perverted.”

San’s eyes flew wide open as he asked with shock, “Wha— Who told you that?!”

“Yeosang.”

“Goddammit Yeosang…” San cursed the man under his breath.

You had to bite back a laugh as you told him, “But, to be honest, you’re not as perverted as I thought.”

“What did you think?”

“That you would peep into the locker rooms to look at someone’s naked body or steal their clothes and get off on them.”

“Okay, see!” San cheered up. “I’m not a pervert—”

“But you do stare at me a lot. You know, you’re not as subtle as you think you are.”

“Fine, I’m a little bit of a pervert, then. But, how can I not stare when the view is so sexy?”

With a laugh, you pushed him away lightly and said, “Shut the fuck up, pervert.”

“Make me.”

Challenge accepted. You cupped his face and kissed him with such vigor that San moaned into your mouth that time. His tongue toyed around with yours as it dove into your mouth, and after seconds of waltzing around, you leaned away from each other with a light pant and sigh. San had no words. You successfully shut him up… For about five seconds.

“Can I…” he started.

“Can you what?”

“…Can I stick my face in your breasts? Please?”

“You’re really not helping defunct the pervert rumors with that request,” you pointed out to him.

“I don’t care. I’ll be a pervert because your breasts are worth it.”

Without waiting for a response, San really did shove his face in between your breasts, his exhale tickling your bare skin. He hummed lightly and happily before he brought the hand that was on your ass to your breast. He at first caressed it gently, then he began to knead it with his strong grip. The lightest moan slipped out of your mouth the more he massaged, and your hips started shifting slightly— you were getting turned on all over again.

Then, when he began to suck on your nipple, you lost all self control. You whimpered as your hips began to rub against his slowly stiffening penis.

“San,” you said with a sultry whisper. “I want you in me. Right now.”

“Are you sure? Do you really want this pervert’s cock inside you?” San asked cheekily.

“Yes, San. I do. Just fuck me with that fat cock of yours before I lose my mind.”

San held the back of your head and brought you in for another hungry kiss, his pelvis rubbing up against you.

“Alright, anything for you, babygirl.”

jeong yunho

Yunho had seen you around. You came into the gym at the same time every other day, and when his class was done, he would see you walk right past and head towards the sauna with determined resolve. He would always watch you walk briskly with a light smile on his face, and he would always wonder when you were going to take his class so he could see that smile closer to him.

You never had a reason to interact with Yunho because he was one of the sculpt class teachers, and you only ever spent time in two places: the weights room, and the sauna. And, no matter how hard Yeosang and Jongho tried to convince you to take one of the sculpt classes, you could not be bothered. You were only at GYMZ for the weights.

One day, however, Yunho stopped you. It seemed like he was trying to recruit you for the sculpt classes. He was, but it wasn’t because Jongho or Yeosang put him up to it, but because he wanted some excuse to see you as often as he possibly could— well, you and your mouthwatering curves in those TikTok leggings of yours.

“Hey, you’re Y/N, right?” he asked you as he held his hand out to get you to stop walking.

“Uh… Yeah?”

He leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest, accentuating his chest muscles. He tilted his head to the side as he asked with a laugh, “What, are you unsure of your own name?”

“I mean, that is my name, but I meant more like what do you want?”

“Well, I noticed that you haven’t signed up for any classes, so I wanted to know if you—”

“Pass,” you immediately interrupted. “I’m only really interested in lifting, and sculpt is definitely not lifting. Thank you, but no thank you.”

You left Yunho with that and made a beeline for the sauna. Yunho watched you disappear with an amused smile on his face, his heart beating the tiniest bit faster. Fuck, he wanted you more now.

And so, Yunho put in more of an effort to see you. If you weren’t going to come to him, then he could go to you, after all. He found himself in the weights room more frequently at that point, but he would never be able to get the timing right because you would always finish your workout when his class ended. One day, though, you came to GYMZ later than you usually did.

Yunho was busy talking to Jongho about the different class packages and whatever else Yunho could think about to bother Jongho about without the man completely tearing him to shreds for wasting his time. Yet, when he saw you enter the gym, he got distracted, so Jongho lectured him anyway.

“Dude, don’t bother me if you’re just going to space out mid-conversation. I have a lot of work to finish,” Jongho said with a huff as he sat at the desk.

“Sorry! Sorry, I just got distracted. Anyway, all of the classes are full? There’s seriously not enough space for one more person?”

“What can I say, Yunho? You’re a popular one.”

Yunho carried on the conversation with Jongho, who was so busy typing at his desk that he didn’t realize Yunho was staring at you. You were doing a couple reps at the leg press. Yunho could see your body from the side, and he watched as your thighs got thicker and your ass got rounder as you brought your knees to your chest. Every rep you did, Yunho just got more and more turned on. He loved the way your belly and ass would become all round and smooth whenever you brought your knees to your chest. It was only when you finished your sets and stretch out your legs and back did Yunho finally look away from you.

“Hey, Jongho?”

“What is it, now?” Jongho replied to the taller man with an exasperating groan.

“I’m not feeling too good,” Yunho lied. “Can you cancel my classes for the rest of the day?”

“You look fine to me,” Jongho eyed the man as he looked him up and down.

Yunho let out the weakest fake cough. Jongho rolled his eyes as he said, “Fine. Knowing you, you’ll be annoying until I say yes. Go home.”

“Okay, bye!”

Yunho quickly shuffled away from an even more agitated Jongho and towards you. You just finished stretching and were about to head out of the weights room and to the sauna when he approached you.

“Hi again,” he greeted with a smile.

“Hello…”

“You heading towards the sauna?”

You eyed him suspiciously. How did he know that you were going there?

“Whenever you leave the weights room, you walk by my room and towards the sauna,” Yunho read your thoughts and answered. “It looked like you were done with the weights for the day, so that’s why I asked.”

You furrowed your eyebrows as you looked at the man— he looked almost like a puppy, standing before you and waiting, an imaginary tail wagging frantically behind him.

“Yeah, I’m done for the day… Heading towards the sauna now…”

“Cool! Can I walk with you?”

Yunho was not going to take no for an answer. You reluctantly nodded and started your trek towards the sauna. As the two of you walked side by side, you kept glancing at him. At first it was because you were worried he was going to try and make you join his sculpt class (and if it was, then you were going to shove him and run away), but then it was to look at him. Yunho was a fine man– tall, muscular, and attractive as fuck. You actually debated joining his sculpt class just so you could gaze as his beauty, but no. You weren’t going to join a sculpt class for that reason.

“Why do you always go to the sauna after you lift?”

“To relax my muscles. Heat is good for alleviating muscle strain.”

“I know that, but why do you always go? You never skip it anytime you’re here.”

“How do you know that?”

“I told you before, you walk past the room on your way to the sauna. I notice things, Y/N.”

The thought of Yunho watching you and noticing the little things made you body flush with heat, a light blush raising to your cheeks as you walked alongside him, embarrassed.

When the two of you arrived at the sauna, you turned to leave, only for Yunho to grab your arm.

“I wanna join you, if you don’t mind,” he stated.

“Uh… Sure?”

You disappeared into the women’s locker room and changed into a towel. The sauna at GYMZ was gender neutral, and in order to use it, you had to be wearing a towel. You had never actually sat in the sauna with anyone before— because of the time of day you chose, you didn’t have to worry about sharing it.

You entered the sauna first and sat down on the bench in the spot that you usually sat. Moments later, Yunho entered the sauna with a white towel wrapped around his waist. You couldn’t tell if it was because of Yunho’s build or what, but the towel seemed really small on him. Luckily, it was able to cover his waist and a good section of his thighs, you noticed as he sat down.

After a moment or two of sitting in silence, Yunho leaned into you, his knee pressing against yours. His voice was sensually low as he said, “I want you to join my class just so that I have a reason to see you more often.”

His knee rubbed against yours slightly more, and you looked at his thigh to see that there was something throbbing beneath the towel. Your voice was barely above a whisper as you brought your eyes up to his, “You want to see me more often, you say?”

“That’s right.”

“We can still make that happen without me joining the class.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Well, we can meet in the sauna like this…”

“Uh huh.”

Yunho got closer to you, his shoulder pressing against yours.

“Or after the gym closes for the day…”

“Yeah?” He reached for your chin and brought his lips dangerously close to yours while continuing, “Where would we meet if the gym is closed?”

“My place… Or yours…”

“And what would we do there?”

You kept glancing at Yunho’s pink lips, your breathing hitching as you controlled your urge to just pounce on him. “Something…” you breathed out. “Physical.”

His lips pressed against yours softly— it was more like a peck than anything.

“Like that?”

“Yes, but more…”

He kissed you twice, his lips getting more intimate with yours.

“That?”

“More.”

He finally delivered. His kisses got way more passionate, his tongue immediately searching for yours. You gripped the bench the second you felt his hand gripping your breast over the towel. He continued to massage your breast and kiss you, both actions becoming more intense by the second.

You were extremely light-headed when Yunho released your lips, the two of you breathing deeply. You licked your lower lip and bit it after whispering, “Wow…”

The look on your face made it impossible for Yunho to suppress his now extremely hard cock. He stood up and held your hand.

“Come with me. I think we can get a little more physical than that, don’t you agree?”

Yunho, being one of the trainers at GYMZ, took you to the trainers’ private locker room. He locked the door behind him, sat you down on the bench in the room, and disappeared, only to emerge seconds later with a water bottle in his hands. He opened it and handed it to you. The water really saved you because making out in the sauna was honestly a horrible idea. You let out a little exhale after drinking a good amount of water, and before you could take another sip, Yunho took the bottle from you. You watched as he sipped but didn’t swallow. Instead, he grabbed your face with his free hand and kissed you.

The water from his mouth went into yours, the sensation of the cool water and his hot tongue sending shivers down your spine. You swallowed the water and continued to desperately kiss Yunho as if he was made of water.

Your hand tugged at his towel, freeing his very large and erect cock. You continued to make out with him as your hand gently began to stroke from the bottom up. Yunho shivered when you ran your nails lightly around the tip of his penis, prompting him to lean away.

“Wait, let me go grab some condoms.

Some? Some? Yunho stood up and helped you to your feet before running off somewhere. When he came back, he pinned you against the lockers, his arm resting above your head. He opened one of the small lockers at the top and threw in a couple condoms, one remaining in his hands.

“Doll, why are you still wearing the towel? We need to get you out of that immediately.”

You had tucked one end of the towel into your cleavage. Yunho’s finger slipped into your cleavage and tugged the towel ever so slightly so, the tucked corner no longer tucked. Your towel fell to the ground. Yunho’s finger continued going down your cleavage, down your stomach until your belly button before his fingers tiptoed around your waist. He ran his fingers along your love handle, past the small of your back, and to the other side of your body. His hand held onto your waist and tugged at you lightly, willing you to turn around for him.

“Mmm, I love the way your back arches,” Yunho whispered as he tore open the condom packet, his other hand gliding down your back.

His hand resting on your back, Yunho rolled the condom onto his cock and began to rub it along your ass crack. You lowered your body and pressed further into the lockers.

“Yes, doll, just like that,” you heard him mumble. “You’re so wet already… Should I hurry, then?”

You nodded eagerly. His held his dick and pushed it into your pussy. Despite how wet you were, Yunho still had to move slowly because you seriously were not ready for his size. You cried out in painful pleasure as you felt his girth stretch you out. You were already panting by the time Yunho’s cock was fully inside you.

“You took me so well, Y/N,” Yunho whispered as he left several kisses on the back of your neck. “Your tight cunt is squeezing my cock just right…”

His waist, already pressed against yours, pushed further, pressing you further against the lockers. You felt your nipples rub along the louvers of the locker, making you tremble all over, and the feeling only intensified as Yunho began actually moving.

At first, Yunho intended to take his time and move slowly, but seeing the way your ass and thighs jiggle when his hips made contact, he couldn’t take it anymore. He moved quickly, and the tip of his dick hit your cervix with every thrust.

“F-fuck! I’m cumming!” you cried.

Yunho pressed his waist into yours completely, his dick filling you up. He didn’t want you to squirt just yet. Your thighs shook as your vaginal fluid built up within you, and it was only when Yunho pulled out entirely did you squirt. You let out a loud, pleasureful moan as your ass and thighs trembled, your arms barely keeping you in place against the lockers.

“Oh my fucking God, that was so fucking hot,” Yunho said as he sharply inhaled.

You were still recovering from the euphoria of your orgasm as Yunho turned you around, pressing your back against the locker once again. He lifted your leg up and had a firm grasp under your thigh before shoving himself back into you. The locker doors rattled as Yunho fucked you hard and fast, grunts leaving his mouth with every thrust.

“Yunho! It feels so good!” you cried, your head tilting upwards to look at his face.

Yunho’s face flinched as he gazed at your face— your tongue was sticking out of your mouth slightly as you panted, your eyes were half-lidded and a little blurry, and there was a light blush running across your cheeks and nose. That face of yours was enough to make him cum. Yunho bent his head down and kissed— more like ravaged— you, his waist slamming into yours one final time as he came hard. You felt his cock tremble and sperm pool up into the condom. His lips only released yours after he pulled out completely.

“That face of yours, doll… Damn, if looks could kill,” Yunho said with a light chuckle.

As he walked away, you did your best to gain strength in your limbs. You picked up the water bottle from earlier and drank some water while walking around the locker room and towards the dressing room. There were mirrors all around and space on the countertops for duffel bags and what not. You stood before one of the mirrors and observed your face and neck, your fingers brushing along the long gone hickeys San left on your neck the week prior.

“What, are you upset that I didn’t leave any marks?”

You watched Yunho through the mirror as he approached you. He trapped you by holding onto the vanity table. He nuzzled his nose against your shoulder before trailing his tongue from your shoulder up your neck.

“I can leave marks if you would like me to,” he whispered into your ear.

Yunho nibbled lightly on your neck, making you moan softly. His hands traced your curves and rested on your hips as his bites turned into hickeys.

“I want you to fuck me again, Yunho,” you whined softly.

“Your wish is my command, doll.”

Yunho was already prepared— he had a fresh condom on. He bent you over on the wood of the table and wasted no time shoving his cock into you. You let out a loud moan when you felt him hit your cervix again.

“Don’t cum yet, Y/N. Wait for me,” Yunho said with a grunt.

“I— I can’t! Feels too fucking good!”

Yunho let out a light laugh with your response. Despite you saying that, you still did your best to hold your orgasm. Luckily, you didn’t have to wait long— Yunho held your hair and pulled your head back slightly so that you could get a clear view of him fucking you from behind (and so that he could also see your face), and seeing the tears well up in your eyes as you struggled to contain your orgasm did it for him. He bit his lower lip and groaned loudly as he came inside, your orgasm following shortly thereafter.

You remained standing there with your upper body resting on the countertop as Yunho pulled out and walked to the other side of the dressing room to clean himself up.

“Don’t you dare join my class, Y/N,” he said.

“You’re changing your mind all of a sudden? Why?” You asked with a laugh— you were glad he wasn’t going to push his propaganda on you anymore.

Yunho turned around and looked you dead in the eye as he said seriously, “I won’t be able to hold myself back if you were in my class.”

Your face got hot immediately. You looked away abruptly to avoid eye contact, so you didn’t see that Yunho had walked back over to you. He hugged you from behind, his arms wrapping around your waist and chest.

“Okay, so the next time…” Yunho drawled out. “Your place or mine?”

 “So you’re seriously only going to stick to weights?” Yeosang asked as he spotted you one day.

It’d been a week since you fucked Yunho and two since you fooled around with San, and after both experiences, you considered adding a little aerobic exercise to your workouts. Key word: considered.

“For now. We’ll see what happens.”

You finished your set and dropped the barbell to the ground. Yeosang put the weights away as you walked over to your where your water bottle and phone sat. While you drank your water, you checked your phone to see that one of the two gym boys you had sex with texted you.

“Wanna get some cardio in? ;)”

[voltronisanobsession]

Hi!! I have some Dad!Miguel content for you >:)

We all know that Miguel is a very busy man, and I don’t think that would change if he had a kid. So what about teen!reader who got bit by a spider and became spider woman? Reader is recruited to the society without Miguel knowing who we are under the mask. BUT PLOT TWIST!!! We get hurt in a fight and our mask is ruined so he finds out just as we’re passing out from injuries :(((

Happy ending? (Or not, your choice >:) )

Miguel finding out His Kid is a Spider Person

I just wanna let you know I was listening to what was I made for while writing this JUST TO GET THAT EXTRA ANGST

This one is really long so I hope you don’t mind😜‼️

HAHAHA I LIKE YOUR THINKING

Like I can imagine Miguel having a kid who has seen EVERYTHING he went through

The loss of his youngest daughter, him spiraling down from grief, knowing their father willingly left for a while just to be able to be with their younger sister in another dimension

Like that shit took a lot from you, making teen!reader feel… unwanted by the end of it all

Imagine this scenario with me

Reader ALREADY knows what’s happening in the other dimension, worried out of their mind, wondering if their dad will make it out alive

Hurt that he just up and left them. You’re sitting in silence when a portal opens, Miguel walking through it, along with other spiders, some limping, others being carried out

As relieving as it is to see your dad ok, you can’t help but feel disappointed, angry,betrayed in a way when you look at him

None of you guys talk about what happened which causes a rift in your relationship

And now that he’s suffered the consequences of a collapsed universe, we all know Miguel is digging himself in more work in the Spider society

He’s still bitter and angry, mostly at himself, and now his main goal is to protect all universes from any anomalies

But that comes at a price of neglecting you, his only child

You continue your life, Miguel rarely coming home most days. You cook for yourself, clean around the house by yourself, taking care of yourself

On a rare day you decide to visit the spider society, you notice a weird flickering coming from an alley way (so original I know)

Unknowingly, you venture through it, only to find the thing causing all the glitching was a small spider. Finding a small container thrown to the side, you try to capture the anomaly, but the spider had incredible speed, running up your arm and under your shirt

You start panicking when you feel it bite you, immediately swatting it away from your neck

After that, the rest is basically history. You’re too afraid to tell ANYONE what happened, especially Miguel. You know how he is, what he thinks of anomalies.

So you go through these changes in quiet. By yourself, again. You learn how to use your new abilities and start making yourself known in your city

While Miguel is busy with the society, you busy yourself as the up and coming spider hero

Of course Miguel catches wind of this, obviously confused on the new spider person lurking in his dimension

With a new mask covering your face, your able to convince (clumsily may I add) your father that you managed to get thrown into this world after a portal opened

This man literally tries sending you back to ‘your real world’ but Jess tells him it’s better to have you in the team

So your spider journey begins! You get your own watch, become friends with the other spiders, hell you even start growing closer to Miguel, your father, but you never, ever take off your mask

The spider mask gives you a new identity, a new confidence that helps build up your relationship with Miguel

You both go on missions together, the older man kinda taking you under his wing

You guys work well together when capturing anomalies

You’re able to joke around him more often, him scoffing at the dumb ones while you laugh

Over time, he grows to enjoy your presence. He becomes kinda protective of you, constantly telling you to be careful when out on missions

He feels a sense of familiarity when around you, though he can never place his finger on why

He just knows you remind him of someone, your laughter so familiar yet not at the same time

You cherish every moment you have with Miguel, whether it’s sitting in silence while he files some paperwork or dragging him to the cafeteria to eat something

And at the end of the day, you wave goodbye to your friends and pretend to go through a portal, only to swing away from the society back to your home in Nueva York

I feel like teen!reader would be a little bitter over their growing relationship with their dad under a different alias

Why couldn’t you have a normal family relationship with him? Did he prefer your spider version over the real you? It’s still you under the mask but would he be the same if he knew? How would he even react if he ever found out it was you under the mask the entire time?

You only start truly panicking when you get seriously injured during a particularly hard mission

Cut deep on your side and mask ripping, you collapse in pain as Miguel runs to you

Your heaving as short and shaky breaths escape your mouth

Miguel tries picking you up only for you to cry out from the movement

Everything crumbles around you as your dad tries to remove your ruined mask to let you breathe more easily

You stop him from pulling up your mask with a shaky hand, fear laced in your voice

He would look down in worry, you seemed more scared of him seeing your face than of the wound gushing with blood

“Please. Don’t.”

“You need air. I promise I won’t let anyone see your face.”

You breathing quickens as he takes off the mask, your eyes closed in shame, tears falling down like a waterfall

You blearily blink your eyes to look at him, his shocked face the last thing you see before passing out, whether from the pain or from the intense emotions you felt is anyone’s guess

I think after taking you back to headquarters, Miguel would be super conflicted on how to approach the situation

In fact, he’s at a loss for words on what to do

He hadn’t seen you in a long time, but now knowing you were right in front of him the entire time

He would feel ashamed. How could he not know it was you the entire time? Did he even know his own child at this point? What kind of father was he?

When you wake up, there is only two ways this can go

A LOT of talking gonna happen. Maybe even some yelling from both parties

It might end in tears and regret, or it might end in tears and anger

Miguel doesn’t know how to talk to you anymore, and you don’t know to express yourself without bursting into tears

I’ll leave the rest into interpretation for you guys, it really depends on who starts the conversation

It’s either Miguel’s regret or your anger

[cerise-on-top]

Playing Stardew Valley

One of my favorite games of all time. More headcanons, this time on what it's like to play SDV with the majority of the main cast. I think these can be read as platonic or romantic too. The only real mention of a romantic relationship is in Gaz' section, but even then it's just a "if you're in this scenario then that happens". SFW and gender neutral, obviously. The characters are the ones I usually write about, so no Makarov, for example.

Price: To no one’s surprise he’s not actually much of a gamer, at all. If the choice was up to him then the two of you would likely be spending your days somewhere outside. However, it’s not too hard to convince him to play with you on stormy days. The game is relaxing, it’s nice, he won’t have to worry about gunshots for once. Despite maybe having heard of it before and nothing else, he’d come to like it after some time. Most of his time is spent on the farm and in town, it takes him some time to find the mines. Loves getting to pat the animals, watering the crops and making the farm look nice. He makes sure that everything is going well so you can go hunt monsters in the mines or mine ore there. He doesn’t go overboard with the money either, so as long as you don’t constantly buy expensive things you’ll always have a good chunk of money.

Gaz: His name is Kyle, it’s in his blood to be a gamer. But Stardew Valley isn’t what he usually goes for in his spare time. However, as long as you’re playing it together you can be sure he’s gonna say yes. Despite being pretty good with money normally, he loses count of how much he has in game and sometimes wants to buy things he can’t afford anymore. But he always promises you that you’re gonna get it back. Gaz is also the kind to bring you all sorts of gifts, regardless of whether you asked him to or not. If you’re dating he’ll call it him “trying to gain relationship points”. His end goal is to marry you, in that case. Despite being resourceful he sometimes forgets to water your crops and pat the animals when he’s in a hurry with a quest. If you don’t take care of it, then you can be sure your crops will wither from time to time. Doesn’t mean for that to happen and will buy new seeds. It’s a vicious cycle. 

Ghost: Rolls his eyes and asks you why when you bring up the idea of playing with him. He’s got better things to do, actually, but he can be convinced to play if you annoy him enough. Afterwards he’ll come to enjoy the game, it is a great source of escapism, after all. Unlike Gaz, he will never forget about your crops or your animals and will always take care of them. Even money-wise it will be you who spends most of it. His favorite activity would be foraging. He knows quite a bit about survival and, if you ask him about it, he’s more than happy to divulge some information and give you some tips if it ever came down to it. Every time he sees your character running up to him with some gift he’ll roll his eyes, but appreciate it nevertheless. It wasn’t often that he got presents when he was younger, so now as an adult he’s quite happy, even if it’s just within a silly game.

Soap: Will probably laugh a little when you bring up the game, but is willing to play it with you. It’s not the most exciting game to play to him, but he gets to chat with you over something easy to digest that doesn’t require him to make a million decisions per minute. However, please let him name the animals, he loves doing so. Yes, they will end up with silly names, but he just tries to get you to laugh. Soap does get attached to them, though. Loves being in the mines and slaying the monsters there, he gets to feel powerful as he cuts through slime and mine some ore. Every once in a while he’ll fall unconscious, though, because he forgets about the stamina bar. During those few seconds of loading screens he loves to annoy you. Or when he’s already in bed for once and waiting for you to do the same. Poking you, throwing popcorn at you or something else, he can be a nincompoop in the most loving way possible.

Alejandro: Because he has such a high rank, there’s a chance you won’t get to see him that often. And during those few and short times you do get to see each other? He’s more than happy to indulge you in anything you like. You wanna play a funny farming sim? Of course you can! He loves it because of the setting. A pretty rounded guy, he does just about anything, except maybe fishing. He’s not a big fan of that minigame at all. Everything else is fair game. Once you have the kitchen unlocked he’s more than happy to make you a home-cooked meal every morning so you won’t run out of stamina on your adventures. The game makes him very happy, so much even that he’ll make the suggestion you play together eventually. It’s his mission to pet the animals every day. Please let him discover giant crops, he’ll love it and try to get as many as possible. Gets very into the game and its domesticity, but he’ll leave the decoration of the farm and the house to you.

Rodolfo: He’s a bit skeptical at first since he isn’t much of a gamer and the game sounds somewhat boring to him. The first few days actually are to him, but once he’s gotten the hang of it, he loves the game. Every day, he hopes you’ll ask him to play it with you. Heck, if he has the time, chances are he’ll invite Alejandro to play it with you two as well. Another all-rounder, he does everything he is asked to do, except he loves the fishing minigame. He’s also insanely good at it, the legendary fish got nothing on him. While he does simply follow you around for the most part, especially if you’re in the mines together, he has a good time doing so. Plenty of gifts from either of you for the other, you try to make sure the other feels appreciated. For the most part, he forgets that you can eat to replenish your stamina and will sometimes complain about it running out so quickly, until he discovers he can simply lie down in bed. His favorite activity is fishing with you while you’re talking about anything and everything. Loves playing into the night with you if neither of you have anywhere to be.

Valeria: Scoffs at you when you bring it up. However, once you’ve bought her the game she’ll at the very least give it a try. It’s surprisingly nice to her. Valeria can be a bit competitive, however, so don’t be surprised if she mentions how much money you suddenly have. On those few days she actually has some downtime for once, she’s willing to play it with you. Be warned, though: She has looked up guides on how to be successful in the game and make lots and lots of money. She may be a businesswoman, but she does try to purchase all the upgrades she can for you. Yes, she calls you out on using a lot of money, yes, she’ll also wring out every piece of gold she can find to get you that lovely little couch you want. Go ahead and make her some food every once in a while. It may just be a game, but she’ll remember that gesture. Do that regularly enough and she’ll just take you out to eat at a fancy restaurant, with her paying, of course. If she finds out about giant crops on her own without guides, she’ll simply stare at the cauliflower for a good two minutes before laughing a bit. For some reason, she finds it funny.

Graves: Has heard about the game, refuses to play it because he deems it childish and boring. Tries to dislike it and complain about it while playing with you, but once he sees how much you enjoy it and how much heart and soul has actually been poured into it, he’ll seem neutral, but likes it in secrecy. Like Valeria, he tries to make as much money as possible to show off how competent and good he is at the farming game. While he tries his best to get as much iridium ore as possible, the thought of cleaning up his farm doesn’t cross his mind even once. The animals get to roam freely, the crops will usually be fine, though. He loves having lots of silos, coops and barns because it seems home-y to him. He’s from the south, he grew up with animals and thus loves them, which is why he also enjoys having as many cows as possible. The fact that they look cute is just an added bonus. While playing, his cocky demeanor disappears a bit and he becomes more smiley as well. Point it out to him and he’ll outright deny it. He likes the game, but he’d rather be put in the electric chair than say that out loud.

Alex: The game seems fine to him, a lovely little break from having to worry about getting shot at any moment. He’s more than happy to play it with you and needs no convincing whatsoever, you just need to tell him what the game is about. He immediately falls in love with it and the very first thing he does is try to get a chicken coop. He saw them and knew he needed ten. The joy he felt when he found out he could name his chicken things like “Sweetie” or “Honey” was something else. He gets creative with those cute names too, especially if you like them as well. He’s a bit lost on what to do at first since he usually carries out orders others give him, but if you tell him to explore the map he’ll report back on his finds with excitement. He’s also fairly keen on befriending the townsfolk and tells you about all the events. Another thing he’s rather attentive to is the soundtrack. Once he’s heard the fall themes he’ll listen to the OST when doing the dishes or cleaning. Unlike Graves, Alex will outright tell you how happy he is that he gets to play the game with you. He loves it and he’s glad he gets to spend this time with you, doing simple farming chores.

Farah: For the sake of this we’ll pretend she’ll actually have the time to play the game with you every once in a while. It’s calming, it’s distracting, it’s escapism in its purest form. Farah needs fairly little convincing to play the game, especially if you bought it for her. It’s worth a try in her eyes, if she doesn’t enjoy it she can just tell you. It’s a bit weird to her at first, she’s so used to there being death and destruction all around her pretty much all the time, she’s just waiting for something to happen. But when you assure her that the worst thing in the game is the dragon enemy, she relaxes. Even while playing she tries to be efficient. Someone needs to tend to the crops, the animals and the townsfolk while the other goes foraging, fighting monsters and mining. I think she would enjoy the forest farm the most. Urzikstan doesn’t have the most flora, so it’s a nice change of scenery for her. The more she plays, the more she relaxes, but she does give you orders from time to time. As mentioned before, she likes spending time with the townsfolk and helping them out when they need it. The community center is finished within the first year as quickly as possible and the following cutscene warms her heart. Needless to say, she likes the game and likes playing it with you.

Laswell: Some convincing is needed in her case, but once you tell her about how it’s your favorite game, regardless of whether it’s true or not, she’ll cave in. While she has heard about the game every once in a while, she didn’t think she’d ever play it. Despite knowing nothing about it other than its premise, she’s actually pretty good at it from the get go. She always keeps an eye on her stamina, she always takes some food with her, and she gains money fairly quickly as well. Other than that she’s also fairly lucky, finding diamonds and prismatic shards comparatively easily. Despite getting the hang of the game quickly, she cannot do the fishing minigame to save her life and will openly complain about it. While you’re working on the community center she’ll leave all the fishing up to you. But other than that she loves the soundtrack as well. She won’t listen to it outside of the game, but if she ever hears any of the songs she’s immediately reminded of your small gaming sessions together and smiles. Laswell also found the giant Junimo plushie in the bushes on accident in spring of her first year without consulting any guide and to this day you don’t know how.

Nikolai: He knows about the game, plenty of people he knows play it, but it was never something he was interested in. Then you came and asked him to play it with you, and who was he to deny you such an innocent request? He may not be a gamer, but he’s confident enough in his abilities to suggest you two choose the monster farm. A lot of his time is spent slaying enough monsters to get all the rewards, that’s his goal. While he doesn’t do a lot of farming, he barely even buys any seeds unless he has to or you ask him to, he’s always somewhere on the map, exploring and foraging. His pockets are usually filled to the brim with stones, ores, gems and monster loot. His favorite challenge is getting to floor 100 in the Skull Cavern. He knows about the staircases, but he doesn’t use more than 10 of them. He can be a show off, he wants you to know that, despite not being the youngest anymore, he’s still very capable. Your animals bear Russian names. No Cyrillic used, just the way the words are spelt in Latin letters. If you don’t know any Russian, then he won’t tell you what the names mean. If you do know Russian then you’ll find that the chicken is simply named “chicken”.

[the-smut-analyst]

Making Characters That Make Sense

Walk-through character template & "how to" guide for writing complex, original protagonists.

If you google "character templates for writing", you'll get a lot of very basic examples that read like a grocery list: eye colour, hair colour, skin colour, positive traits, negative traits, etc.

And sure, filling out this kind of template isn't completely useless - but it's also not particularly useful, either. Choosing whether your protagonist has blue eyes or green eyes isn't going to determine whether readers connect with them or not.

Instead, I prefer to use the below template:

There's some fairly left-of-centre categories here, so in this blog post I'll be creating a character from scratch to demonstrate what each section means and how to use the template effectively.

Primary Goal & Raison D'Être

Fantasy Romance is having a bit of a tournament-to-the-death moment right now, with Hunger Games-inspired stories like Fourth Wing, Throne of Glass, The Savior's Champion, and The Serpent and the Wings of Night in high demand - so that's what we're going to work with in today's blog post.

The story premise and primary goal of the protagonist are almost always interconnected. In this case, the story premise is a tournament to the death - and the character's main goal is to win that tournament, obviously.

But where there's room for some originality is in the raison d'être. This loosely translates to "reason for being" or "purpose". It's the why of it.

For example: what motivated this character to risk their life by entering such a tournament in the first place?

It is sometimes helpful to look at similar stories when thinking about this category. Not so you can copy their protagonist's motivations - but so you can do something different.

The whole selfless-self-sacrifice thing, for example - that's done. At least in relation to this particular sub-genre. We can do better for our hypothetical Maera Mystfang character.

Actually, let's really turn the trope on its head and make her raison d'être incredibly self-centred.

Already, this is character is shaping up to be something a little bit different within the niche of tournaments to the death. Which goes to show how putting a little bit of thought can go a long way, even with something as simple as identifying your character's initial purpose.

Primary Obstacle

Every protagonist needs a goal - and every goal needs an obstacle. This is what gives the story some tension and keeps readers turning the page.

An obvious choice of obstacle for this hypothetical character, since we're dealing with a fantasy romance, would be that Maera starts to develop feelings for one of her fellow competitors.

This concept has definitely been done, but that's okay. Not every section of this list has to break the mould. Tropes exist for a reason and it is totally okay to lean into them sometimes.

However, just for funsies, I'm going to try and put a slightly different spin on this one too.

Instead of the obvious "I love one of the people I'm meant to kill", let's make Maera's (previously dormant) conscience be the problem. Her reasons for entering the tournament may have been self-motivated, but as she gets to know her fellow competitors - admires some of them, even - she starts to second guess those reasons.

Core Traits

A lot of character templates will divide personality traits into positives and negatives - but I don't think this is particularly helpful. It is far too one dimensional - not to mention unrealistic. The key components of someone's personality aren't usually so black and white.

In fact, most core traits are both good and bad at the same time - it just depends on the context.

Instead of being wholly positive or negative, try to think of three core character traits that can serve as two sides of the same coin, with both positive and negative implications to each.

For Maera, I've given her these core traits:

Self-reliant;

Rebellious; and

Good-humoured.

Her self-reliance means that she is incredibly capable - but it's also the cause of her selfishness. She's always had to look after herself, so she expects others to do the same.

Her rebellious attitude means she isn't willing to accept the status quo. But at times she is also a rebel without a cause, causing trouble just for the fun of it.

Her good sense of humour means she is fun to be around, but she also tends to not take things as seriously as she should.

Thinking of core traits in this multi-faceted way not only adds realistic complexity, but it also sets you up well for showcasing character development and growth throughout the story.

Fatal Flaw & Character Arc / Growth

You've probably read negative reviews that throw around terms like "Mary Sue" or "Gary Stu". People tend to be over-zealous with these terms, especially for Mary Sue, but the gist of it is that the character in question is "too perfect".

They're the chosen one, they're good at everything, all the boys like them, etc.

Some characters can get away with this just fine. Look at Aragorn. He's the ultimate Gary Stu but I still swoon every time he opens those damn doors. You know the scene I'm talking about.

Ooft.

But for the most part, you want to incorporate a fatal flaw into your protagonists - because this is what gives them room to grow.

And, no. "I was born to be King but I don't wanna" does not count as a fatal flaw.

Instead, think bigger. Think worse. Think about where your character starts versus where you want them to end up. Think about how you want the events of the narrative to change their world view - or even their initial goal.

For Maera, her fatal flaw is pretty obvious, given her initial motivations for entering the tournament. Similarly, her growth/arc is linked to her primary obstacle, which is developing a conscious.

Her journey throughout this hypothetical story might be learning to appreciate how her past shaped her, while also acknowledging that there are things she can do to ensure others don't have to go through what she did. By being shown acts of kindness, she learns to appreciate their value.

First Impression

Now that we've covered all the "big picture" stuff, let's get into some of the smaller details that give your character some texture.

The first impression category is a hypothetical exercise where you image how your character might appear to a room full of strangers. In dual, multi, or omniscient POVs, you might even get the opportunity to include this impression somewhere in the story.

But even for first-person narratives, it is still worth thinking about, because it will help to inform how other characters interact and respond to your protagonist (at least at first).

For Maera, I've written this first impression as: a fun person to have a few drinks with - so long as you keep a close eye on your wallet.

From this description, we can guess that Maera probably likes to have a good time, but also comes across as untrustworthy. Whether that impression is deserved or not is up to you, as the author, to decide.

There's also a lot of deeper directions you can take this first impression category, too. Like if most people react to Maera this way, but one particular character doesn't, then your readers are going to sit up and pay extra attention during that interaction. Especially when that person reacting atypically is the future love interest.

Spirit Animal

Ah, this one is a fun one!

I always encourage my authors to assign a "spirit animal" to their characters - especially when they're doing multi-POV.

There are two main reasons for this:

It will allow you to assign some very distinct adjectives and verbs with that particular character; and

It is an opportunity to flesh out some additional character traits beyond the core traits.

For Maera, I've chosen "spider" because she is solitary by nature, opportunistic, and patient.

But, more than that, I also like the idea of Maera being the kind of person who knows how to watch and wait. While her first impression might be "here for the good times", her joking façade is actually a mask she wears while carefully observing others.

For example:

Her words were laced with venom. She crawled her way across the rooftop. At some point, weaving lies had become more of a past time that a necessity. Her thoughts were a tangled mess. She didn't bother to conceal her predatory gaze. Inch by cautious inch, she crept forward. Her sanity was already hanging by a thread. If there was one thing she knew how to do, it was spin a good story - truth be damned.

I've never outright compared Maera to a spider in these examples, nor have I made it blatantly obvious that that's what I'm doing. But by peppering these kinds or words throughout the story, I'll be able to subtly create a very distinct kind of impression for her character.

For comparison's sake, let's assign "cat" to the love interest. Examples of possible words to consider in this instance might be:

He clawed his way through the bushes. "What are you doing?" he hissed. The comment had some bite to it, that was for sure. He slunk away into the darkness. His still, unwavering focus was unnerving. He prowled towards her. In a few quick, agile steps, he'd made it across the parapet. He yawned and stretched out beside her.

Of course, not every single word you use in association with a character needs to be related to their spirit animal. But keeping a certain type of animal in mind - and finding opportunities to throw in some subtle messaging through language choice - can be beneficial on so many levels.

It helps to distinguish your characters from one another through the kind of language you use to describe them - but it's also just really, really fun way to add some bonus texture to your characters. Giving your readers some little easter eggs like this is never a bad thing.

Love Language

If you're unfamiliar with the concept of the five basic love languages, then here's a quick visual overview:

Love languages aren't a consideration that's specific to romance. They're important for friendships and familial relationships too.

Because thinking about what your protagonist values most in love is going to tell you a lot about who they are. Especially when you take the question deeper and think about why this is something they value.

For Maera, I've chosen "Acts of Service" because this ties in quite well to her character arc.

In terms of Maera's why, I could easily go with "because this was how she was shown love as a child" - and this is a good enough option most of the time. However, since her love language is very much tied into growing out of her fatal flaw, then I actually want to do the opposite.

Maera winds up valuing acts of service because this is something she craved - and wasn't given - as a child. She had to do things the hard way instead. Hence why she ends up appreciating the kindness of others so much. Such generosity is new to her - and precious.

Conflict Response

This is potentially one of the most overlooked character components. Conflict and tension is central to story telling, yet there is so little attention given to creating authentic, original responses to conflict.

The way I see it, there are three main considerations in regards to conflict response:

How your character reacts in the moment;

The unhealthy methods they use to deal with the aftermath; and

The healthy methods they use (or discover) to self-sooth.

When faced with conflict, Maera's immediate reaction is to antagonise. She doesn't like to back down and enjoys creating trouble.

However, in the aftermath, the conflict affects her more than she lets on. She stews on it - and her solution to that is to get drunk until she can forget about it completely.

But even though she sometimes forgets it, Maera has a more healthy coping mechanism at her disposal. When she is surrounded by nature - in the forest, by the sea, whatever - it calms her.

In addition to identifying your protagonist's various responses to conflict, it is also helpful to think about why. Again, this is a great opportunity to insert something unique into their character backstory.

With Maera, for example, let's think about why she finds nature so soothing. Perhaps, amidst a very bleak childhood, one of her fondest memories is of picking grapes in a vineyard.

Perhaps the elderly woman who owned the vineyard was very rude and abrupt - but also quite kind to Maera in her own way. Maybe she would sometimes stitch up Maera's clothes or feed Maera a hearty, meaty dinner - even though she didn't have to.

If you're struggling to think of a real, tangible, unique memory such as this - then it's always helpful to go back to the old classic of write what you know. Think of a real life moment or memory - something that's stuck with you, no matter how simple - then adapt it to your character.

To create this vineyard example, I simply drew on my experience of picking strawberries with my Nonna after school.

Mentor / Idol

I could write an entire thesis on mentors. Or, more specifically, the "death of the mentor" trope - both in its literal and metaphorical interpretations.

But, for the sake of brevity, let's save that sh*t for another time and focus on what's important for a basic (yet complex) character template. And that is:

The Formative Mentor (past); and

Transformative Mentor (present).

The formative mentor (or idol) is someone who influenced your character prior to the events of the novel. Sometimes they're a character the reader will meet, or other times, they're long gone before the novel even begins.

The transformative mentor is a much looser term. It doesn't necessarily have to be a traditional mentor character, but rather it is a character who heavily influences or changes your protagonist throughout the events of the novel.

For Maera, I want her earliest idol to be a random female sell-sword who she crossed paths with. Prior to meeting this sell-sword, Maera was living without hope for a future, surviving on scraps and petty crime.

But after seeing an independent and moderately wealthy sell-sword in her local tavern, Maera got a glimpse into the kind of life that might be possible if she learned to fight. With the right kind of skills, she might be able to earn some decent money for a change - and travel the world.

This is an example of how "mentors" don't always have to be a wise wizard who oversees your protagonist's training and education. Young minds are impressionable - and even distant figures can have a lasting impact.

Just look at all the women who cite Legally Blonde as the reason why they were drawn to law. Elle Woods wasn't even real - but for plenty of young girls, she made an impact.

Similarly, your protagonist's "present" mentor or idol doesn't necessarily have to be a wise wizard either. It can simply be someone who motivates them to change their world view or strive to be better.

In romance, it is more than acceptable to have the present mentor coincide with the love interest - especially in standalone enemies-to-lovers. I know this seems counter-intuitive, since the word "mentor" implies a power imbalance, but it makes more sense if you readjust your definition of mentor to be "inspires change".

However, for Maera, I kind of like the idea of pairing her up with a love interest who shares some of her flaws. I vibe with the idea of making him a bit self-interested too, although for different reasons.

So in her example, I've listed the present mentor as a selfless secondary character. The way I would envision this going is Maera and the love interest team up early on - but somewhere along the way a secondary character saves them both. They're both heavily influenced by this character before this character sacrifices themselves. The aftermath of this incident rattles both Maera and her love interest, and serves as the spark for growth.

I hope you found this template - and very long explanation - useful!

[bubblinelovechild]

The RWBY fandoms treatment of Adam makes me very uncomfortable

This is very long sorry I was rambling <3

There’s something really odd about the dedication RWBY fans have to hating Adam. So much so that they’ll admit the writing of the WF is racist but refuse to admit that Adam a member of the white fang also suffered from that racist writing.

There’s this weird dedication to pretending there are no problems with the choices made around Adams character and vilifying literally everyone who tries to talk about it, for the sake of continuing to blindly hate him. The fandom seems to struggle with understanding that the show is fictional and everything that happens in it is a direct choice of its writers. Y’all talk about Adam like he is a real person who has personally offended you irl. Just a huge lack of media literacy tbh.

A white man wrote a civil rights group, that he admittedly based off the black panthers, as the generic bad guys of his shitty anime knockoff and made a central theme of the show the idea that fighting against your oppression violently makes you just as bad if not worse than your oppressors. Then he mad the leader of that group a generic abusive meanie bad guy. Who essentially is what white supremacists think civil rights activist are all the way down to being the fictional equivalent of a black supremacist.

When there was backlash to this he made a knockoff Malcom X and then killed her in her only scene and made a character whose ideology is basically sit down and lick the feet of your oppressors and had the audacity to say he was based off of MLK. How the fuck do you base a character off of somebody without doing basic research on them because contrary to what people seem to believe MLK was not a doormat and this is a conversation for a different day but I’m sick and tired of his memory being weaponised against black people.

What’s worse is that Adam is the only character portrayed as actually doing something to fight racism. Ghira’s faction is only ever seen fighting against other groups. I don’t know if y’all know this but that’s not how the civil rights movement worked. Most of the leaders didn’t agree on methods but they coexisted because the main goal was the liberation of black people and they knew they had to coexist. MLK did not go around calling the cops on revolutionaries he disagreed with.

The problems with Adam and the WF are not separate and cannot be. Most of what’s wrong with the Faunus plot line is the way the show handles Adam. The choices made with his writing cannot be separated from those they made with the WF overall. Adams choice to kill his attackers to keep himself and other Faunus safe, from people literally trying to kill them, is treated the way it is because of the stance they took with WFs writing. When Adam kills a human supremacist trying to kill Ghira you’re supposed to see it as an extreme and the beginning of his turn to evil. Adam isn’t a real person every descisiom he makes is informed by the white writers of the show. Why would the bias they displayed writing the WF not apply to him?

Some of you have been abused and relate to Blake in that sense, a lot of you seem to be projecting your abusers onto Adam. I’m sorry you went through that but you are not excused from buying into racist rhetoric. It’s incredibly uncomfortable as a black person to watch people talk about how “healing” it was for them to watch a civil rights leader admittedly inspired by black people slapped around and killed by two white women. It is anger inducing to watch fans celebrate “queer representation” dancing on the corpse of a monumental disrespect to black people and our history.

RWBY doesn’t even handle abuse well tbh and most of the queer rep is not that great, there are many shows that do it so much better, there is actually no excuse for hanging on to the black people are bad for fighting against racism show.

[normspellsman]

what sports i think the metkayina trio + spider would play modern au headcanons!

second part to what sports i think the sully children play!

slowly but surely trying to get thru this writer block & hiatus 🤞🏽

ao’nung

swimming and/or water polo

— he probably just naturally has a build built for water sports so he excels in it & is super cocky about it too (#blessedgenes)

— was defeated not given the choice on which sport he’d play when he was younger. both of his parents probably did either sport so they’d want him to also do it as well. or they at least wanted him to do one

— i don’t see him being the team captain but he’d def be co-captain or an alternate. he loves the sport don’t get him wrong but not to the extent where he’d be team captain. he already has enough pressure to perform well & doesn’t need that kind of title placed on him

— def see him being a butterflyer or a backstroker. like he much rather do those strokes in a swim meet than the other two

— is 100% the type of kid to have “eat my bubbles!” sharpied onto his arm or lower back during meets. probably begged his mom to write it on there too 😭

— also has to have the order of his races written on his arm so he doesn’t forget the order & where he’s supposed to go

— sees no point in wearing a swim cap

— always challenged himself by trying to score a point higher from his last game in water polo or get a better time in whatever stroke for swimming. he’d make sure to ask his parents to like reward him or something so he’d have the drive to do it. but even then, he’s still able to do it without the prize

— wears sandals everywhere. period. no arguments.a

— has such a bad swim trunk tan line. he really tries to get it even in the summer or during swimming season by wearing speedos lol

tsireya

volleyball (indoor, sand, + grass)

— girl is graceful asf on the court

— position would probably be setter or outside i feel like. she might not have the height for it but def has the hops. like a secret weapon of sorts. you’d never expect it

— is 100% the team captain

— she is so supportive of her team & always makes sure that one of her teammates is not stuck in their head or blaming themselves for a bad play

— i can see her number either being 1 or some random ass number, like 49 or 27

— always has the best hair-dos on the court. she seriously goes all out

— def the designated braider of the team so she has to make sure her girls are looking fresh asf on the court too 🫶🏼

— very humble about her accomplishments & wins. she very much believes that an individual does not win a game, a team does so all of that congratulations should be projected to the team rather than on an individual level

— probably has this pregame ritual where she gets there super early to get used to the size of the gym/court. peppers by herself & gets into the zone 100%

— does volleyball literally all year around. so she’ll do school & club for indoor, sand in the summer, & grass for fun. it’s her whole life tbh

— ronal is 100% the team mom. no questions asked

swimming

— i can also see her doing swim, but like only for a club during the summer when she doesn’t have anything for volleyball

— her & ao’nung are the best sibling duo in this sport 100%. they’re always paired up for a medley relays

— she likes free style more than the other strokes so that’s her main event during meets usually

— isn’t as passionate about it as her parents or brother. would much rather do & play volleyball than swim

— is also the kid to have “eat my bubbles!” written somewhere on there body lol

rotxo

soccer

— i can def see him playing soccer & being like a striker or a forward

— is def the one that annoys the coach to no end & ends up causing the team to run laps bc of it. sometimes it’s totally not intentional. it just happens lol

— team clown 100%

— he doesn’t really score a lot of goals but he does assist his teammates in their scoring. has the most assists on his team (idk if that’s a thing in soccer)

— has the most weirdest celebrations ever whenever he does manage to score

— been playing since he could walk fr

— jersey number is probably something like 14 or a random even number. bro likes even numbers for some reason

— is a really versatile player & if need be, can play goalie or be a defender if a player is out sick or injured

— def plays for his school & local town club

baseball

— can def see rotxo playing this as well

— most definitely a catcher (idk why but i just see it)

— probably only got into it to work on his soccer skills somehow or to work on his eye & hand coordination since he’s quite good with his feet & eyes

— only plays for his school since soccer usually takes up most of his free time

— lowkey has a wicked curveball

— he likes the catcher uniform bc it looks like he’s an autobot from transformers lol

— surprisingly somehow became captain & doesn’t know what to do with that title most times

— really good at determining calls for the pitcher & suggesting what they should throw next

spider

hockey

— no one would expect someone like spider to play this sport so everyone’s shocked when he says what sport he plays

— probably a defenseman & has the most penalties on his team lol

— ^ will literally fight everyone on the ice if need be. he plays dirty & truly doesn’t give a single fuck

— not a team captain but probably one of the alternatives. he’s more on the silent side regarding his “captaincy” but has the ability to talk his teammates up when they aren’t playing very well. bro has a way with words fr

— a lot of people think he’s a playboy hockey player but that’s FAR from the truth. he barely has enough confidence to talk to a girl on & off the ice. poor boy just shuts down

— since he’s like 6’0+, his build is really intimidating & he uses it to his advantage. def slams others into the boards as hard as he can when they’re down however many points. like, just imagine a 6’0+ dude like spider skating down the ice at literal lightning speed to slam you into the boards. i’d be shitting my pants fr

— started playing at the age of like 4 or 5 probably

— he loves skating so much that he goes to the rink or puts on rollerblades & just skates around to calm down or let out some steam. it’s really his outlet

— his number is most definitely 69 or 96. some funny shit like that

— will also defend his teammates with his life on the ice if someone were to fuck with them. that’s his family. he’d do anything for them

— ^ especially their goalie. bro is only gentle with their goalie & if anyone fucks with them, you best expect his gloves to be thrown & knuckles bloody from how hard he punched. ride or die fr

— nicknames probably consist of spider (obvi), kilometer (for miles lol), socks (for socorro), ironfist (for how much he gets into fights), & oreo/orro (for socorro)

— has the talent & ability to potentially go to college for hockey. he puts so much time & effort into his skills & the sport & it def shows through how he plays