#it's my natural cycle of simp | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dootznbootz · 3 months

Note

Which Greek mythology character would you like to see talked about more?

OHoho. you all already know this.

It's Penelope.

And I am being so fucking serious about it. I'm also sleepy and angry and mother nature is stabbing my gut so I'm putting a lot of my emotions into this ask.

BUT her fangirling, angry, bitchy rant of mine, I will save for the end. (and I'll explain it more down there) Not gonna lie, I will probably be mean. Don't take it too personally. (Some folks I know genuinely love her and have stuff for her. Y'all are fine :D )

I have many other characters I wish would be seen more, but hers rant is ooooh. it's been boiling angrily for a long time and this is the perfect ask to let loose.

Take note: This is more about characters who I feel are either underrated and/or not really given love. It's a whole other can of worms about characters who ARE given a lot of attention but are either fandomized to the point of being unrecognizable or people just...really see them wrong.

Ariadne:

A young princess who helped out Theseus to end the cycle of violence against the youth of Athens. Despite the fact that she was going against her family by helping Theseus she did. When he left her, for whatever reason, she was rescued by Dionysus. In which these two have a loving and healthy marriage. There is so much potential here and it makes me sad that she gets butchered and/or just ignored.

Danae:

She was locked up by her father because of a prophecy that happened anyway. She is now pregnant with Zeus' child. She is then locked into a chest in which she is sent floating in the sea. She washes up on Seriphos. Her son is sent on an impossible quest in order to keep her from a forced marriage. Her story is inspiring and ugh sdkf j badass mama! ;~;

Telemachus:

Got that right here :)

Sthenelus:

Fucking love this lil hotheaded cheerleader man. Go boy, go! He got yeeted by Athena from the chariot. Diomedes and him tell each other that they love each other. Tells off Agamemnon for mocking Diomedes' and his dad. He was a child soldier alongside Diomedes. I love this weird lil guy.

Hephaestus:

It makes me sad how people only see him as the "cuck" of Aphrodite and Ares. (no hate to them. do not hate either of them) He's badass in his own right! He does that bigass fire in the Iliad! And one of my favorite scenes in that epic, is him welcoming Thetis! I think he's neat :D

Hebe:

Ganymede isn't the only cupbearer on Olympus you know.

Menelaus:

I love me a goofy wifeman...But if that's all you see him as, I'm sad. What about the sealy man? (aka him wrestling a god for a while and making him tell him answers) The exiled prince? The younger brother? The angry charioteer who yelled at Antilochus? The man who interfered with his brother's letter to his wife to warn to not bring their daughter? Being the sweet uncle figure for Telemachus? (he and Penelope get a lot of the same treatment in a way. with the whole "just the spouse" ;~; )

Psyche:

I think she's pretty popular, but shout out to her anyway :D Because I love her story a lot.

And last but absolutely not least,

Penelope

Heads up once more, but I'm going to be so fucking mean right now. I'm very tired and runnin on 4 hours of sleep and my tummy hurts. This is all over the place and I'm sad.

I think some of you treat the fact that Odysseus is (rightfully) obsessed with her and adores her as if that's HER personality trait... as while it's adorable to see him simping over her as he does, she's not just there for him (and me) to simp for. In the same vein, I think some of y'all only see her for her love of Odysseus and nothing more. Some folks don't see her as anything more than what she is for Odysseus.

AS IF HER HUSBAND ISN'T JUST AS INTERTWINED WITH HER AS SHE IS WITH HIM!

And yet, there is so much stuff with him about the other people in his life. The other Achaeans, Polites and Eurylochus, Athena, etc. You know Penelope has people in her life other than her husband and her son, right?

Even stuff that's just her, it's usually her weaving the shroud...That still ties back to Odysseus. If you wanna have her weave, maybe have her weave something happily. Maybe her chatting with Anticlea or Athena while she does! Or Helen! or her sister!

There's the saying of "the characters respect women but the author does not" and I'm noticing that a LOT in this fandom. I don't think it's intentional, but it's very telling with what people prioritize in their creations how they feel. (and no, I'm not talking about Homer. He wrote incredible women.)

I'm not saying you're not allowed to have favorites. But even if Odysseus IS your favorite, if you have Penelope so one note or with such weak characterization while having so much for Odysseus, FOR THE MEN WHO HE IS NEAR... It's just really telling.

I've even seen some shit with "Well, there's not much to do with her." as if y'all don't make OCs with less. I've seen people give Astyanax, an AU baby, more characterization than her. (Have him alive in your AUs but if you give him more character than Peenlope, I am side-eying you so hard.)

It genuinely pisses me off how overlooked she is. I hate how her tags are basically empty (honestly? I might start tagging my silliness for her correctly because it has so lil.)

Hey, why do followers of the other tags show up but not for #penelope of ithaca? It's clearly because she has SO many followers/fans that she broke tumblr! Especially with the fact that you can scroll all the way to the bottom pretty quickly! /sarcasm

(btw, before you say something, I know there's no consistent tag for Penelope. I follow many of them. #penelope odyssey is kind of the best bet I believe. #penelope of sparta is mostly about that new show that's coming out and hyping about it. still not about HER. #penelope mostly has some bridgerton character. so yeah. Not much on tumblr)

(shoutout to the artists who got their art on front of the tag! That's exciting! I'm being a mean bitch right now but that's fun and exciting!)

I hate how people see her as so one-note. I hate how she's often just "Odysseus' wife". MOST CONTENT OF HER IS HIM SIMPING OVER HER. (that's something I'm guilty of too! I plan to fix that soon. I have so many wips and so lil time and too high of personal standards because since she has so little content of her, I WILL make it good. I'll TRY to make it good.)

EVEN HEADCANONS! SO MUCH OF FANDOM STILL ONLY HAS HEADCANONS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ODYSSEUS OR TELEMACHUS. GIVE ME SOMETHING ABOUT HER CHILDHOOD. GIVE ME LIL QUIRKS SHE HAS. What does she struggle with? What's her favorite color? Does she like dancing? ANYTHING.

Feelings about how fandom sees her are also summed up by this and this.

...Do you see my problem? Just one of my problems?

So many people genuinely read the Odyssey and just see her as the "crying wife". People diminish her character and her intelligence all the fucking time. You wanna know something I've noticed? PEOPLE ONLY TALK ABOUT HER INTELLIGENCE WHEN ODYSSEUS IS THERE. Like with how she tricks him and how she tricks the suitors. Nobody talks about the moment when Athena appears as her sister in her dream and she is immediately like "hey, if you're some god, is my husband still alive?" she clocks her as Athena RIGHT AWAY.

People constantly forget her violent thoughts against the suitors! Or when she sasses Telemachus and Euryclea. When she scolds and threatens the maids. (she's not always nice y'all!) Do you really think Odysseus would be obsessed with someone who isn't on his level?

We all know that he loves her. BUT WHY?! "Because she's smart like him." Yeah, we know. WHAT ELSE?

They are Likeminded! Thinking and acting alike! You know how fun that is?!

Homer, you absolute mad lad genius. You made her a mystery to the narrator, Odysseus, and for some reason, people see that as her just being a straight up mystery. You wrote her so wonderfully and so complex with how she is so sneaky in her own way that people are literally tricked by her as readers as well!

Or sadly, more likely, people fucking blackout when she's in the scene and there's no Odysseus. 🙄

Look, even if you have Penelope be the "braincell" who keeps her husband in line, MAKE SURE SHE'S NOT ACTING LIKE ODYSSEUS' FUCKING MOM. They're both grown ass adults for fuck's sake!

Also...please...PLEASE have her be more than a prop for the men around her. I've read some things that could literally have her be replaced by Euryclea, as Penelope is sometimes just used as a sounding board.

I'll be even more bitchier. Even in the OT3 she's commonly in. It wasn't a NOTP until I noticed most creations of that ship was just "Odysseus and this person for 6000+ words... Oh, and Penelope making an appearance in the footnotes." If it's an OT3, they all love each other right? Where's the PenDio fics/art, cowards?

I have a weird theory about how people treat her that way. (other than fandom prioritizing men)

So there's "girlbossing" and "uwu sad victim" that fandom can never seem to leave. I think People do this with Helen and Clytemnestra and that's why THEY are "blorbo-able". (not saying they shouldn't be but they definitely get more love than Penelope)

Helen, despite not always being a victim in her story, has been through so much. Kidnapped and some people blame her for it (irl and some people in canon do blame the war on her). Very easy to cling to. I cling to her too! (she's on the "UwU always victim. tragic blorbo" end)

Clytemnestra, is a victim in the sense that she's a grieving and angry mother and wife. And so she killed Agamemnon. Her violence and anger is seen as "girlboss" despite all the horrible stuff she also did to her children. (she's more on the "girlboss" end)

Penelope, is not a victim to the same degree as Helen nor does she murder anyone (how could she? it was 108 people against her and the Odyssey shows that the suitors' parents were enraged. Even Odysseus was skeptical he could beat them.)

She's not on either end of the "scales" for people to find her "blorbo-able". She doesn't murder her husband or the suitors by herself or is a victim to them in the same way Helen is.

And that's just for people who know her husband didn't cheat. I think with people who think Odysseus did cheat, they hate her because "she let it slide". That she's "weakwilled" for knowing her husband went through literal hell and wanting him to be happy and safe.

Idk, It's a little lonely being one of the few "Penelope crazy" blogs.

I sometimes wonder if people kind of come to my blog in a "Hey, can you love her for me? Can you think about her for us?" as I have seen very little on her childhood for example. It's STILL mostly in relation to others.

It's not even the "sharing ideas" that bugs me. it's the feeling of people not wanting to come up with headcanons/ideas for her OUTSIDE of canon.

"She was in Helen's shadow." Okay, well, how did she feel about it? What did she do about it? Did she hide away? Did she internalize that? Did she find that freeing? To not be the center of attention?

Stuff like that. Dive DEEPER. PLEASE

It makes me happy that people love my Penelope as I love her too, clearly. But I really fucking hope you love the CANON Penelope too. If you think I made Penelope "better" or anything like that, then leave. She's already fantastic on her own.

I want to talk about her more. I want her to be seen more.

#lol so pathetic that I'm all weepy about this right now. fucking hormones and cramps and bullshit #I'm allowed a few mean sad rants right?#I'll probably regret this later. as I know I'm swatting a hornet's nest #this is like. a fandom in general rant. like people do this to other female characters too #I almost want the Penelope part to be it's own post? because I think it's important. at least to possibly make people just...SEE her.#i dont know #penelope of ithaca #Mad rambles #shot by odysseus #my headcanons #ask #anon #penelope #Water Wife #<-I love my Water Wife but I sometimes regret it. As I think some people actually think it's the only way she can be interesting.#when she's interesting without it. at least y'all SHOULD be thinking of her like that.#penelope of sparta #Mad rants #essay #odyssey

30 notes · View notes

genericpuff · 1 year

Text

anyone else here a ganondorf simp?

because if you weren't before, you are now

welcome to the club my friend

sorry i don't make the rules, it's just a natural part of the zelda fan life cycle

#so hyped to finally see ganondorf again #tale of two rulers turned me into a ganondorf simp like 5 years ago and i haven't looked back since #i'm gonna cry he's so magnificent #i welcome the return of the king with open arms #tears of the kingdom #legend of zelda

151 notes · View notes

avatar-saiki · 1 year

Text

Do Demons Have Allergies?

Mammon/reader, ~500 words

Summary: Was simping for Mammon with my bestie and how he could sneeze and I’d still swoon and it inspired this little fic 💛

Experiencing the changes in season in the Devildom had made you realize just how much you'd taken for granted in the human realm. Demons still referred to a concept of day and night, but it was more an "active" and "resting" period that happened to coincide with a similar cycle you'd experienced at home. They'd seemed to even borrow the terms "day" and "night" to refer to these cycles in much the same way, even if it was always "night".

Even the wilds, both creatures and fauna, found some sort of rhythm, some sort of pattern that your human eyes and body couldn't naturally detect. It was one of your first favorite things to learn about when studying Devildom science, its inner ecosystems blending with mana in a way you never could've imagined. It was just one of the many things you'd come to love about a realm you'd only heard of through the murmurings and whispers of myth and legend.

Just with some unseen day and night, they also had changes in the season ungoverned by a sun or rotation, instead influenced by the fluctuations in mana expressed from the ground. Demons were unable to store excess energy within their body, and anything that couldn't be burned through their spells or functions was returned to their environment, feeding the fauna that fed the creatures who roamed free.

It was all so fascinating, an entire world evolved from demons who siphoned energy from others, only to have their energy taken to feed their home.

And even more fascinating?

"Achoo!"

You chuckled under your breath, carefully placing a vase filled with freshly bloomed flowers on your nightstand. Spring had seemingly sprung, the forest and gardens all abloom with so many flowers, some of which could be beneficial to you, and many that were not.

And some that were...

"Ah-Ahchoo! Fuck!"

You laughed again, enjoying their soft subtle fragrance.

"Hey, human are you- achoo dammit I- achoo! Fuck- achoo- Me - achoo - AGH!"

"I'm in here, Mammon!" you called.

Your first demon walked into your room, the tip of his nose red and runny, eyes a little puffy. "Ugh, you brought more of 'em inside?" he pouted with a sniff, "Why?"

"Well, they're pretty don't you think?"

"Pretty a- ah-" He held up one finger and closed his eyes, about to sneeze again.

You waited, but nothing happened. "Mammon, are you-"

"Awf-choo!" he sneezed again. "Dammit!"

You giggled and stood up, "Aw, are you allergic? I didn't know demons could have allergies."

"I ain't allergic it's just the smell that makes me-- makes me ah- ah-" He screwed up his face, trying to hold it back.

You sighed and picked up the vase, "Okay, okay I'll go put them back outside."

"Thank- chu! Fuck me!"

"Maybe later," you teased, making his face turn an extra shade of red as you passed him into the hall. It was such a shame, their fragrance really was so sweet. Maybe just one more little sniff... Or maybe that was a bit too much. The pollen made your nose tingle and you reached up to cup your hand over your mouth, letting out one small little sneeze.

"What?! That's it?!"

You laughed and winked at him. "Hey, what can I say? I sneeze cuter than you."

#obey me mammon #obeymemammon #obey me shall we date #obeymeshallwedate #reader insert #gender neutral reader #fanfic

32 notes · View notes

readinthedarkpod · 1 year

Text

We’ve given you wholesome simps. We’ve even given you sad, wet, and pathetic boys. Now, we offer something else. A new poor little meow meow to add to your collection. But wait, there’s more! We also discuss books we’d kill to read again for the first time, romcoms, a bad attempt at Work of Fart (a MbMbAM original) and book trope smash-or-pass.

Books Discussed: Prince of the Sorrows by Kellen Graves The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Books We'd Sell Our Soul to ReRead for the First Time: If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins The Wicked King by Holly Black The Captive Prince series by C.S. Pacat The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

Books Mentioned: ACOTAR by Sarah J Maas A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco Radiance by Grace Draven Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer

Join our book club, WORNPAGELIBRARY!

#prince of the sorrows #the ex talk #kellen graves #book podcast #book club podcast #podcast #Spotify

7 notes · View notes

newwwwusername · 11 months

Note

Ahhhh! I’m here now! For the actual fic request!!!

spoiler alert!!! It’s THUNDER ANGST!

basically if you know anything about me is that I am the number one simp for any Thunder angst fic.

It’s gonna be a Toradeen fic! So that should fall into your rules!

So basically what I was thinking, was Clawdeen and Toralei are paired together to do some project. And so they’re working on it in the library or something late at night. They’re not enemies anymore. But friends also feels like a wrong term. More like acquaintances with extreme chemistry lol.

but then, of course. A FREAK THUNDERSTORM happens!

Toralei is of course scared. But she at first tries to hide it. But that quickly fails drastically since she’s way to scared of it to hide her reactions. And now (I’m low key having my own fic be some kind of unspoken base for this? It’s nothing big I’m just saying there was a storm while Tor was being brutally tortured). Like Toralei already had a bad phobia of storm. But since the stabbing it’s like so much worse and she gets these panic attacks and fears the witches are gonna get her again.

Clawdeen is very alarmed cause she doesn’t really know what to do. But now there is a shaking ball of fur hiding underneath the table and the little whimpers she’s emitting absolutely break her heart. So she forces past her awkwardness and ducks down with her. And idk. She helps/comforts her through the panic attack then storm? Some fluff at the end. Toralei probably needs close contact after the panic attack to get through the storm (cause during the panic attack any touch scares the shit out of her) but after when it’s just the storm fear she craves hugs and comfort desperately

idk!!! You do what you want with that! That’s just me rantinb about thunder angst. But I’m excited to see what you do! And any updates on it would be greatly appreciated but I also totally get if you don’t! Take your time!!! I’m very excited!

Please do not repost on other platforms. This will be posted on AO3 and TTBC under the same username.

Toralei didn't like thunderstorms. No, she hated thunderstorms.

She understood they were just a natural part of the weather cycle and typically not dangerous so long as you didn't go outside in steel armor, but they'd always freaked her out ever since she was a little kid.

This fear became especially bad after she'd been tortured by witches. By complete coincidence, there'd been a storm going on when she was attacked, permanently forming a link in her mind between the memory of her attack and thunderstorms.

She was already a bit irritated because she'd been paired up with Clawdeen Wolf, of all people, for a class assignment. Sure, the two weren't enemies anymore, but friends also felt like one hell of a stretch.

Still, she endured. She supposed there were definitely worse people to get paired with, at least in terms of productivity. Clawdeen, as it turned out, was actually pretty knowledgeable on the subject they were working on, which she hadn't been expecting from a half-monster who'd been solely raised by a human almost her whole life.

It all went to shit, though, when a sudden clap of thunder radiated in from outside, shaking the whole library with the aftershocks. Her whole body immediately went rigid and Clawdeen shot her a concerned look.

This was bad. This was really bad. Not only was there apparently a thunderstorm now (which had not been on the forecast that morning when she checked), but she also couldn't let Clawdeen Wolf know that she had a fear of thunderstorms.

"Just startled me" she said dismissively, trying to force the shake out of her hands and voice. Clawdeen gave her a small, sympathetic smile that made her want to crawl into a hole and die.

It wasn't long before another clap of thunder came along and shook her to her very core. She was unable to suppress the flinch or the terrified whimper, and her breathing was picking up at an alarming rate, as was the pitter-patter of her heart.

"Toralei, it's okay if you're freaked o-"

"I am not freaked out!" Toralei objected maybe a bit too passionately. Her whole body was trembling at this point and she was completely hopeless to stop it. The cat was out of the bag, so to speak. Clawdeen knew she was freaking out. Great.

"Tor-" Clawdeen was cut off by another clap of thunder, which caused the werecat to squeal in fear and leap under the study table.

Clawdeen just sat there for a moment, unsure of what to do. While she wasn't rivals with Toralei anymore, the two were hardly friends, and she'd also never seen the girl freaked out like this before. She wasn't sure how exactly to approach the situation and she felt stuck.

Her unsure daze was quickly broken by the panicked whimpers coming from under the table. Personal comfort be damned, she had to at least try.

She cautiously got out of her seat and kneeled down to look under the table. Toralei was curled in a ball, her terrified eyes poking out from behind her knees and darting around frantically, as though the world was closing in on her.

Clawdeen had only experienced a panic attack once in her life, and it was when she'd first shifted into her human form. She tried to remember what Frankie had done to calm her down. Talking her down and... Some sort of bubbly water...

She didn't have bubbly water, but she did have her voice.

"Hey, Toralei" she said in a soft voice. Toralei's eyes continued to dart about but landed solidly on her a few times. As good a start as any, Clawdeen thought. She reached out her hand but the werecat flinched away, so she quickly retracted it. "No touch. Got it"

"They're coming" Toralei began to mutter repeatedly. Clawdeen frowned. She looked around but no one else seemed to be near their corner of the library.

"Who's coming?"

"The witches" Toralei said. "They're coming to take me back. That's why there's a thunderstorm" she explained. The rational part of her brain knew that didn't really make any sense, but that part of her brain was a shrimp in comparison to the vast majority, which was currently panicking. "There was a thunderstorm last time, so-"

"Toralei, I promise you, no witches are trying to get in here right now" Clawdeen said. "Even if they were, I'm not letting you get kidnapped, okay? You're safe here"

It took a few minutes, but Toralei's panic attack began to let up and she silently moved herself closer to Clawdeen. The immediate trauma response may have finished its course, but she still decidedly hated thunderstorms.

Clawdeen allowed the sudden switch in behavior and didn't comment on Toralei's sudden clinginess, instead just wrapping her arms around the clearly afraid girl, occasionally muttering basic reassurances whenever another clap of thunder came down, causing the werecat's trembling to worsen.

When the storm eventually decided to go away and bother someone else, Toralei came to her senses and realized how close in proximity she'd gotten to the other girl.

She quickly pulled out of the hug and got out from under the table, brushing herself off and blushing furiously- Whether it was embarrassment or realization that she didn't completely hate that closeness was beyond her.

"So..." Clawdeen started awkwardly, also getting out from under the table. "You wanna finish working on the project, or-"

"Yes"

"Okay"

They would end up getting an A+ on that assignment, something which Toralei found inexplicably fascinating, and, when possible, the pair always tried to work together in that class from that point forward.

#fanfiction #fanfic #monster high #monster high live action #monster high g3 #clawdeen x toralei #toralei x clawdeen #toralei stripe #clawdeen wolf #astraphobia #hurt/comfort

4 notes · View notes

spikyshores · 2 years

Text

ok, so this is my art blog, and several people followed me after i posted a few madness combat jokes, and i feel bad right now because madness was my special interest for like a year and a half and i feel like i very suddenly just stopped being able to get happiness out of it a few days ago. tl;dr my special interest is likely dying or at least i can't tolerate the feeling of obligation to draw it and i feel guilty for attracting people to this blog expecting that only for me to likely abruptly stop posting about it, so if anyone wants to unfollow over that i understand and won't be offended. sorry. also sorry to everyone who followed me from the start and has to deal with me making tons of fanart for stuff you don't care about whenever i get a new interest. i know it's not actually a big deal but it simply feels that way because i am autistic. thanks.

like i realized i was putting all this energy into caring and basically pathetically simping and getting emotional about missing the premier and then my body just rejected it. i was like why am i suffering so much, why am i doing this? and some part of me i guess got disgusted with myself and decided to just run away. obviously it's actually my mind that rejected it but i'm using the "body" language because that's the way it felt, like just an overwhelming reaction. and i'm actually pretty upset about it because i was pretty deeply emotionally attached and still am and yet my body is rejecting it because i used everything it had to give me up and/or feel trapped or something. really hard to explain. it's also about my feelings of throwing my life away not making good enough original art and not respecting myself enough as an artist to seek out original self expression etc.

i think maybe what happened overall was i committed myself to this one interest for a long time because i was attached and really didn't want to let go even though i should've let go before and then my brain suddenly forced me to stop and also i'm still attached and there's a chance i'll get re-interested but then this will just happen again and it will be a cycle of pain which coincides with the previously-unrelated-but-now-related mood swings i've been having for the past few months. another thing was that i worked hard to reclaim it as an interest over the course of this year because someone kind of involved it in abusing me (that wasn't the main factor, it just became involved because it was my special interest during the relationship and then was used to hurt me at one point) and i had to retrain myself to not associate it with that and this made me more attached as well.

i still haven't watched the live action trailer yet because i like felt pressure to be emotional about it and i'm like not up to making myself get emotional and/or failing to get emotional when i should. like i was excited about it and now it's been out for days and i haven't even watched it because it will hurt. i hope i get truly re-interested in a while, years or something, and then get to watch it and really enjoy it, but i'm scared that, since this happened, i will never be able to enjoy it again??

i hate that the nature of my brain is to love things really hard and then inevitably get tired of them and all that emotion is like... like it was never there and was always meaningless and just a dopamine factory. i know it wasn't meaningless but like i feel committed to things as if they were people and eventually i start to go crazy from feeling trapped due to doing this to myself but it's like i'm incapable of just having a bunch of casual interests and instead one has to become my whole personality for an extended time. god if you're out there i would recommend nerfing autism/ocd combo. awesome to be a person who by nature wants to do the same thing forever but also is extremely sensitive to feelings of being trapped and also can't stand the uncertainty of knowing if losing something will be permanent 😎 <- imagine that is the carter amelia davis version of that emoji

but yeah i really love madness but i like can't keep performing interest anymore or i will go insane. i need the amount of interest that exists naturally to be my only reason for caring and to feel safe with the possibility of that amount dwindling to nothing.

#like i'm not really sure what's going on because i still really like madness and my moods are so fleeting this could all be reversed in #like 2 days #but i feel like maybe i would like to enjoy it in private because the abstract feeling of people watching and expecting things of me is #like drilling a hole in my brain #and i know i don't owe anyone anything and people don't necessarily actually expect anything of me but the feeling is still there #sorry for talking for SO FUCKING LONG btw #no obligation to read it though #don't know if i want to post much art at all either for a while because the feeling of being watched and scrutinized damages my #original art process too #just hate performing in front of the world suddenly

2 notes · View notes

rev-feaw · 1 year

Text

Vtubers and Their Unique Cycle of Derivative Works (the Mediaception)

an example of vtuber derivative work by.. me! HAHA

It's early 2020. The COVID was starting to emerge in Wuhan. I watched all of them from my flat screens, treated them just like an unknown being from another dimension that'd never break the 4th wall...

They broke it, the 4th wall.

As the virus was getting stronger, another being also started gaining success by diffusing two different worlds and dimensions, a unique phenomenon derived from stars-crossed destiny of the rise of digital life, pandemic, and weeb invasion: The Great Wave of Vtubers.

Vtubers was already gaining their recognition long before the pandemic. But it's not mainstream, they're like, only reachable when you've reached certain high stage on weeb level. I won't explain the history of vtubers here (just watch them on YouTube), I only want to highlight something interesting about their nature: the high dependency of community and derivative works.

Please note for this particular topic I'll only talk about corpo Vtubers (Hololive, Nijisanji, etc) with mostly HoloPro because that's where my rabbit hole is. Streamers that have L2D doesn't count here as they generally have different culture.

Now let's start! First, here's a clip that piqued my interest in this topic:

youtube

It's a very obscure clip, and from Holostars at that, but the topic is very intriguing! I don't understand how this ended up on my recommendations but I'm glad it did, because I've been thinking about this ever since I know vtuber for the first time.

Secondly, here's a quote from Amelia Watson of Hololive EN, another line that gave me the "buzz" in my head.

(Source)

I'll start from her statement. People often said that Amelia Watson is a genius, and I never really look into it until I read her interview. Vtuber is a gray area between a fantastical character and a real person, such a simple yet defining line.

So in this statement, we have two subjects that define vtuber as one: a fantastical character and a real person. These are important because to me, the combination of both is what makes them dependent on their community. A vtuber can have the freedom of setting up their character like an anime protagonist with real-time interaction ability as they're real humans. In short, they're roleplaying, like a puppeteer, with the similar exposure of fictional characters you usually would simp on.

Then, where are the derivative works coming in? This is tied strongly to how vtubers are very dependent to their community. I’ll attach another video and give arguments about this topic based on that.

youtube

The video above was a pretty good intro about vtubers for normies, however it also seems like made by someone who doesn’t watch vtubers especially the first half (I mean come on, Hololive Gen0 =/= first gen!). The second half though, their view was interesting.

They presented a term known in pro-wrestling: “keyfabe”, a fake act to connect wrestler and viewer. They also compared that nature in vtuber community, and said something along “it’s more acceptable because they’re already fictional character and people just willing to accept all fakeness”.

I’d argue on that, maybe to some people including the video maker they feel that way. But to me and maybe some other, it’s an act, not “fake”, they’re not using their real self anyway. And connection between vtuber and viewer is more complex than “just” wrestler’s keyfabe and this is where the derivative works coming in.

To me, derivative works in vtuber community is a form of communication between vtuber and viewer, that can give similar and more impact than things like pro-wrestler’s keyfabe.

1. Vtubers and the hierarchy of media (as a subject or object)

This is how usually a media is consumed:Ok so I went for a mile and trying to deduct on how media works in vtuber community:

And this is where a vtuber character stands in that diagram if we only count their usual gaming/reaction streams:

Basically, a media born from a media, but with different kind of main subject. Well, actually the “vtuber” can fit in any part of the first main media cycle, like making the derivative works or doing reactions from the community but mostly their role is the user/player of the first main media.

Vtuber is an interesting “creature”, because they’re both the user (subject) and producer (object) of a media. I mean if you’re playing a game then you’re the game user, and the game is main media. If you’re making fanfic of your favorite character then that character is the main media and you’re making the derivative works. A vtuber has the ability to BOTH play games as user while their viewers can make fanfic out of them.

“But that’s just how every streamers are!!”

Yes but no, because a vtuber is a people-made character since the start. In corp like Hololive and Nijisanji, they’re already given form, name and lore. It’s up to them how to play that up. And one more specific thing: it’s anime. They’re born from anime culture which has it’s own characteristics. For easier imagery, imagine anime characters taken out from their story and became a streamer. Yes, that’s what’s vtubers are generally.

2. How does a vtuber survive?

I’ll summarize what Astel talked about in this section.

Generally, in that video there are three topics. First, about the vtuber as a person and character. Second, vtuber as a consumable. Third, vtubers as treasure trove.

a. Vtuber as a person and character

Vtubers in companies generally are variety streamers. They are watched by many people NOT because of what they play but because of who they are. Choosing games to play in their case is the same with building their personality, because in this media, games are the most effective way to introduce their self and personality to public.

Astel said there are two types of vtubers. First, the ‘NPC’ character. He said to treat this kind of vtuber as a fantasy being, a fictional character in which case the person behind it had to be less human and stay true in their given lore more. One of popular example about this trope is Hyakumantenbara Salome from Nijisanji. She managed to keep up her “Ojou-sama” image at front for almost every time.

Hyakumantenbara Salome, a sudden hit ever since her debut

Second, the ‘streamer’ kind. Astel said he belonged here with his long streams, thus more ‘humanity’ feelings attached. He said it’s a challenge to keep viewers and add new viewers. Doing Youtube shorts can make better exposures, but they don’t help much in general stream views. So what vtubers need to have is lasting impressions, something unique only to them.

b. Vtubers are consumables

Vtubers, unlike TV shows, can’t just be watched and done. Since they’re practically ‘born’ with lore but no plot, they have to create the plot themselves via their streams. However, they are still strongly attached to their lore especially regarding character design/model and such.

Astel gave an example about Aruran, a fellow Holostars Vtuber. Recently he had done a massive change on his model, from dandy ojiisan to a young man. It tied to his own “multiverse” lore, but some outsiders who didn’t very aware about his lore questioning that decision and some even gave him mean messages. That happened because the lack of “plot”, Astel assumed (well I’m the one who gave the term “plot” here though). The plot that made outsiders understand the lore.

The redesign of Arurandeisu (old left, new right) that sparked controversies

Then, what’s this “plot” he’s talking about? It’s the very derivative works we discussed earlier. The device that can be a good indicator of a vtuber’s success and how much of interaction they have with fans, also the main differentiating point between a vtuber and common streamers. Vtuber as in a corpo or vtubers with similar nature I mean, not a simply streamer with L2D.

Thus why Astel said “vtubers are consumables”, because the fans, especially creators, are “supposed” or “encouraged” to interpret their personalities and interactions with collab mates, resulting a brand new work. Shipping (u know, like, you think this character and that character looks cute together) also falls in this category, because Astel keeps saying “Derivative works are important, especially the ones with implied relationships.” (I think he wants to be shipped LOL).

One of popular example is Nijisanji’s ChroNoiR, consisted of their popular talents: Kuzuha and Kanae. The fan (derivative) works usually convey their bittersweet relationship between long-lived vampire and short-lived human, which was... pretty hard to be actually found on streams? Thanks to that interpretations, the fandom grew bigger and the vtubers gained more attention.

ChroNoiR tag on Pixiv. artwork

c. Vtubers as Treasure Trove

At last, Astel said vtubers are treasure trove. The vtubers work to provide "materials" for the fans, to imagine and to expand their work into more diverse works, to make better impression to even new viewers.

Since I watched a lot of Hololive and Holostars, which are basically “idols”, I can see that they adapted the usual real-life “idol persona” applied in idol/entertainment industry, where a person basically create a mask to show to public. This mask was even more apparent in virtual world, especially in Cover Corp (Hololive & Holostars company), where that person never even show their own face. This very mask is what they want their fans/viewers to interpret and exploit in some way, the treasure trove, the lore. The did gimmicks based on their “masks”, and provide a platform to let fans/viewers show their interpretations. The platform is usually on Twitter and using hastags.

Vtubers community generally encourage derivative works

3. The impact of derivative works

Derivative works are very impactful in vtubers community. Because as I’ve stated earlier, they’re living off of existing media to show their personality. Fanworks (I’ll refer derivative works as this from now) also existing media, if the vtuber still want to stream after a certain fanwork published.

Why I’m emphasizing this very much? Because look at these fanworks we got today:

A very popular derivative work, Holocure, that made its way to the vtubers' streams

Another very successful Hololive fangame that showed up on many streams: Idol Showdown

Yep! The “fanworks” is the “main media” now. Maybe if we take the earlier diagram it’ll look like this:

Notice the newest line on the bottom. They’re no longer just retweeting it like how they do to most fanworks, but able to stream it! Streaming is the main “job” of those vtubers, of course to see yourself interpreted then be able to treat it as equal with your usual media hits different.

This is the “mediaception” I’m talking about in the title. A media that only able to born thanks to derivative works, works of interpretations, of giving plot to existing characters that can be easily be the “main” media. Unlike when you made fanworks of anime, movies, etc which have little chance to affect the main media, unless if you do Fate series because everything is canon.

Those games born because of vtubers’ reactions when they play games and collabs. Then they reacted to their interpreted reactions. Such mediaception.

Of course, it had to start somewhere. As we saw in Ollie’s tweet earlier, “fanworks” that affect “main media” were already there, when the vtuber said they’ll use fanart as thumbnail/schedule picture. Something like this:

Anya Melfissa’s schedule

And stuff like these:

Kobo's reacting to her fandom's various derivative works on her anniversary

We can see the relationship between the Vtubers and fanworks there, but not very interactive, although very entertaining. IMO, those media are still count as fanworks/derivative and I think they’ll never be able to be the main media, because of vtuber’s nature itself. That’s not a bad thing, it just, I think the fangames like HoloCure and Idol Showdown are the last stage of derivative works, because they’re no longer derivative only, they’re really the media that’s played by the vtubers!! Maybe we can explain this like:

Those different kinds of fanworks also usually complete each other, like clips for the animation’s voice over, or text/fanfic as the base for fan art. And at last, in a game a lot of fanworks’ types are covered.

4. Keep it DERIVATIVE

Another section to emphasize why “fanwork” is very important.

You’re on big company, can create your own game if you want to, but why still dependent on fans??

That’s because there are some major differences between FAN works and OFFICIAL works. Well, these are just my own thoughts, so:

You have to pay to create official works

Official works can be altered as much as the company/vtuber pleased

Fanworks are usually made with purely interpretations. If a fanwork became big, maybe that’s how the vtuber actually is. So, the vtuber themselves are able to identify their shown personality better.

“Testing the water”, but for fans. The vtubers are usually able to commission the fanwork’s creator afterwards

Fanworks is there to show love, which is very obvious

Fancreators feel appreciated of their work and strive to make more

Fanworks can imply some relationships (at some length), when officially can’t since it's prone for riot

Lastly, the most important part: fanwork doesn’t have to follow the company’s rules. I’ll explain about this below.

The last part, fanworks are usually works to make fans enjoy. Vtubing can be a difficult thing to handle, as we can see how often graduations (retirements) and stuff happened. If the person behind the avatar did some messed up things, they even can be discharged forever and thus their name will be treated as non-exist by the company.

One of the most apparent case here is an item in HoloCure game that referenced a terminated vtuber: Uruha Rushia. She was terminated from Hololive forever because she broke the NDA some time ago. Her channel and contents and her character are all gone. However, her fans are still there, and they’re pleased to see Rushia is still living as a reference in HoloCure. Well, losing an oshi, especially vtuber is a hard thing, because the persona is gone forever. Here’s a good video about it:

youtube

And here’s the cutting board that took her as reference:

Cutting board, visualized from a certain running gag of Uruha Rushia, who’s already considered never exist in the company. This kind of thing wouldn’t be allowed if HoloCure was an official game. (x)

TL;DR: so fanworks can keep the memory of graduated vtubers alive. They maybe left the mask forever, and the company won’t involve themselves with them anymore, but the lingering memento is still there. This is very unique to vtuber culture, due how they blur the line between “anime” and a person. Maybe similar with when your favorite character is dead, but I think this is more painful and bittersweet.

5. The lighter the light, the darker the shadows

An anime character that can interact with you in real-time? No way! That sounds too good to be true... wait, it's true?? I can talk to my waifu/husbando for real now??

Welcome to the vtuber's worst nightmare: parasocial relationship. Since they're anime that can actually interact with people, while in the previous segment this acted as an advantage, this method also has its flaws... and one of the most popular case is parasocial relationships. I won't say much about this, just watch this video:

youtube

Yea I watched Nousagi’s videos A LOT lol

Then what’s the correlation with fanworks?

I think fanworks contributed something here. It depends on the community though, but maybe fanworks spice up some stuff. I created a comparison between an anime character and a vtuber here:

I think fanworks help to fill things in red box, because I guess if a vtuber given clear plot they’ll become more like a fictional character, as I said before in the beginning: they're roleplaying, like a puppeteer, with the similar exposure of fictional characters you usually would simp on. And when they became more like a NPC, like what Astel said in section 2, people maybe forgot that they’re human too, thus the parasocial happened worse because viewers treat human as the same with fictional character. Well, this is just my speculations. Maybe things are actually different.

So, I think that’s why sometimes vtubers and companies also regulate fanworks including shipping.

6. Conclusion

Derivative works are like symbiotic mutualism between vtubers and their creator fans. Personally I like this kind of interaction, and it’s so fresh. Here’s some pros and cons based on my opinion:

Pros:

Everything I wrote until point 4

Cons:

Can be a trigger for point 5

Very platform dependent. What will we do when twitter completely collapsed?! And don’t let me start with socmeds’ chaotic algorithms.

Sometimes can be demanding for the fans. Need a good understanding for each parties for proportional attention for fanworks and the creators.

In the end, I think this is one of top defining feature of vtuber culture. It helps blurring the line between fictional character and a person. Vtubing is a hard thing to keep it together. You need artist, modeler, hi-spec PC, money to buy games & the permissions, viewers, interactive community, sponsors, and so many more.

Personally I respect the ones who run vtubers company and still get it together, because on how complicated and how it looks “trivial” to many people. I wish a good luck for all vtubers talent out there that deserve it and thanks for reading.

My oshi?

I mostly follow HololiveID, but individually my favorite ones are: Ina and Kobo! Ina was my gateway to today’s vtuber (if we don’t count Kizuna AI), because her papa is a FGO illustrator LOL

7. Personal recommendations

If you’re curious about vtuber cultures and the fan, since it emerged from Japan I think read/watch some stuff about Japanese idols can help to understand more. Personally I understand it from Oshi no Ko (manga) and freaking FGO idol event 😂. There are a lot of media about Korean idols too, I found plenty of them in Webtoons.

Sorry for bad grammar and if there are misinformation. Once again...... thanks!

#damn did i just wrote a writing about vtuber until 00.33?!#is there anyone who read this HAHA #analysis - sort of probably #vtuber #hololive #nijisanji

0 notes

mint-yooxgi · 9 months

Text

Fight or Flight - Yandere!Redcap!Mingi X Tall!Chubby!Reader

Fae!AU & Yandere!AU - Part of the CoDN Thrill of the Hunt Collab

Genre: Fantasy, Mature, Horror, Angst, Fluff, Smut

Pairing: Mingi X Reader

Words: 7,327

Rating: Mature - 18+ MDNI

Warnings: Please read the warnings carefully, as this is a very heavy story dealing with many dark topics. This is also all of the warnings for this fic as it is one long one shot that I had to split into multiple parts, and I'm too tired right now to individually categorize all of these warnings to their respective parts. 8 ft tall Mingi. Slow burn. Violence: depiction of a massacre, a deer being slaughtered, as well as physical, verbal, sexual, and emotional, both alluded to and not. Blood and gore. Abuse: physical, emotional, verbal, and sexual, both alluded to and implied. Assault: physical, and sexual, both alluded to, implied, and attempted. OC has a really rough past, really this isn't for the faint of heart. Whipping, both alluded to, and done. Mentions of branding. Heavy themes of possession and ownership. Deception. Arson. Really, there's a lot of dark subject matter. Mingi falls hard and fast, thus, he simps a lot for the OC, but it's not a story written by me if Mingi doesn't simp for the OC. The reader is mentioned to be both tall and chubby, but it is not mentioned often, so it shouldn't disrupt the flow of the story when ready if you are not tall and/or chubby. I think that's everything, but if I missed something, please let me know! Smut: Biting/marking, outdoor sex, fingering (fem. rec), oral (fem. rec), hand job (male rec), come eating, overstimulation, Mingi has a dig bick, sex in a spring, really, it's very soft in comparison to the subject matter. This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

P.S. If there are any spelling or grammatical errors, please ignore them. I did my best through many rounds of editing, but some are liable to still slip through.

A/n: I am SO sorry this took me LITERALLY forever to complete. I meant to have this out so much earlier, and actually posted on time, but it turned out much, much longer than I ever anticipated it being. I'm really proud of how this story turned out, and I didn't want to split it into multiple parts because I felt it would take away from the story as a whole. I'm super excited for you all to read this one, as I had a tremendous amount of fun writing it, and I really hope you all love Mingi's and OC's journey as much as I do. Huge shoutout and thanks to @anyamaris and @kwanisms for listening to me ramble and rave about this story both before and during the writing process, and for always encouraging me while writing! Also, huge thank you to @sanjoongie for being so patient and understanding with me as I write this all out in full. I hope you all enjoy! As always feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy!~

Summary: Out of one horrible situation and into another, the cycle of abuse never stops. You've lived with monsters your whole life. So, what's one more?

P.P.S. Please don't let this flop guys. If you enjoyed it, please reblog!!!

Mini Masterlist

An annoyed sigh leaves his lips at the incessant chatter he hears around him. Low whispers rise in volume until the dull buzz of voices consumes him, interrupting his post meal relaxation. Irritation mars his features, his brow tugging downwards as he pulls the broken sliver of bone he had been using to pick at his teeth with out of his mouth.

“What is with your incessant whining?”

All Mingi had wanted to do was relax after dinner. In peace, within the confines of his makeshift encampment at the heart of his battalion, but it seems there’s been a commotion at the far edge.

“Humans, General.” One of his underlings, a vice-captain under his command, Darius, hisses. “They say they want to make a deal.”

Mingi scoffs, rolling his eyes, “Not too bright, are they?”

“When have humans ever been known to be smart?” Darius snickers.

Mingi heaves a long sigh, standing to his feet. “Given the length of this interaction, I can’t trust any of you to be competent enough to end this quickly.”

“They’re persistent, General.” He replies, flinching back as Mingi turns his sharp-eyed gaze to him.

“You let them think their words had any merit of importance to us.” The redcap general snaps. “No wonder they’re being so uncooperative.”

Striding through the encampment, the whispers finally come to a halt. A dead silence surrounds his soldiers as Mingi strolls through their ranks, eyes zeroing in on the small gathering of frail humans. Darius rushes along behind the proud general, whom stands a good eight feet tall. The tallest amongst his redcap companions.

A red sash is tied around Mingi’s bicep, alerting all to his rank within the gathered redcaps. There is a clear air of respect the others hold for him as he walks passed, holding his head high, no falter in his steps. Some even go so far as to look upon him in awe while others incline their head out of respect.

Reaching the edges of his encampment, Mingi scowls. “What’s the big idea here?”

“Ah, General!” Lias turns to him, a malicious grin tugging at the younger captain’s lips. “These humans insist on making a trade with us.”

“How did they even find us in the first place?” Mingi darts his gaze over to the three standing before him, just over the threshold of their protection line.

A woman seems to be holding another in her arms. The one with her head down doesn’t say much, but the one holding her trembles as she meets Mingi’s gaze. The male, slightly taller than the woman being held, stands a little straighter.

“We know mushroom rings will bring us where we want to be, or rather, to whom.” He replies, almost defiantly. “You just so happened to be the closest in the area.”

“Why are you wasting our time?” Mingi growls, teeth bared over much too sharp fangs.

“Please,” the woman holding the other in her arms seems desperate as she attempts to take a step forward.

That’s when he notices: the tall women is unconscious, being held up by the other. He quirks a brow, unaware a frail human such as the small one could ever be so strong.

“We just want to make a deal.” The man states, rather firmly.

Mingi’s gaze darts between the two humans.

“They want us to take their daughter for them.” Lias snorts, Darius laughing along with him. “As if we would care for such a useless mortal.”

“We know a little about your kind.” The woman continues. “Please, we know she’ll be better off here. We don’t want anything in return, just her safety.”

“She can earn her place.” The male adds. “She can look after herself, just please, take her with you.”

“We’re not about to gain something you don’t want.” Mingi retorts harshly, crossing his arms over his chest. “She has no use to us.”

“That’s not it at all.” The male is quick to shake his head, attempting to take a step towards the gathered redcaps only to be greeted by snarls and snapping fangs. He freezes. “Please-“

“We don’t need one of your kind slowing us down.” Mingi states, narrowing his eyes at the way the unconscious woman sways slightly. Honestly, he’s surprised this woman hasn’t fallen over yet, or caused the other holding her up to collapse under her seemingly dead weight.

“She won’t slow you down!” The woman is quick to protest.

“Watch your tongue, mortal.” Darius snaps. “This is no ordinary general you’re speaking to.”

The woman bows her head, cowering back and holding the other tighter to her chest. Though, due to the height difference, it looks quite awkward. A fact only echoed by the snickers Mingi can hear echo out behind him.

“Oh, come on,” Lias tilts his head slightly, a mischievous gleam in his gaze. “This could be fun. We could always use another pack mule.”

Some more snickers are heard from around the area, along with the snapping of jaws in agreement. The harsh clicking of fangs only rises in sound, and Mingi can smell the spikes of fear from the two conscious humans. A taste he absolutely revels in.

“The human would be safe with us from whatever outside forces you’re referring to.” Lias continues, his lips stretching widely over all too sharp teeth.

Mingi spares a glance around at his men, noting their sudden change in attitude. The eager gleams he sees throughout the crowd have him heaving a sigh.

“Very well,” he turns, beginning to walk away from this whole matter. He’ll let his men have their fun, and with any luck, the human will be dead come morning. “She’s your responsibility, though. If she survives.”

A cheer rises up through the surrounding redcaps as the tall women gets torn from the other’s arms and dragged across the protection barrier. Mingi thinks nothing of the way a faint smell of blood rises on the air, knowing his men are probably already having their fun after bringing the human properly into their realm. The other two have already been sent back, their memories altered forever. If they even remember having a daughter at all would be a miracle.

Entering his own private tent, Mingi settles into his favourite chair. Kicking his feet up onto a little stump, he leans back, relaxing into the evening chill that begins to settle over the land. They’ve still got a long ways to go to return to their keep, the scouting mission having taken a lot out of them. The rogue redcaps they had been hunting have all been dealt with. Traitors, every last one of them. The fight they had put up was gruesome, but as always, Mingi and his men came out on top.

Despite it all, some of his men still have energy to burn as he hears the familiar hooting and hollering of his subordinates last long into the night.

***

The next day, Mingi wakes to the encampment practically all cleaned up. Some of his men are finishing last minute preparations for travel, their bags packed and stored for easier maneuvering. All that’s left is to secure his own lodgings for the next leg of their journey.

“The human finally woke up.” Darius informs Mingi as he steps to the head of the line.

“She’s not dead?” Mingi quirks a brow, barely bothering to scan the gathered ranks to see if he can spot the women he saw last night.

“We figured we could use her for some entertainment-“ at Mingi’s sharp glare, Darius stops himself. “She’s surprisingly stronger than she looks. We’ve loaded her with a few packs and told her to carry them for us, or else she won’t like the outcome.” The vice-captain shrugs. “She complied.”

Mingi hums to himself, turning towards the direction they’ll be setting off in in a few minutes. He finds it odd for a human to be so complacent. All of the stories he’s heard contradict such simplistic actions. He was expecting screaming, and an attempt to run the first moment she regained consciousness.

Even more shocking is the fact that you’re still alive.

“Don’t let it go on too long,” Mingi shoots him a look out of the corner of his eyes. “Have your fun, but make sure she doesn’t slow me down.”

“Of course, General.” Darius nods, saluting him before running off to finish some last minute things.

Quietly, Mingi observes his battalion. He can see Lias barking orders at some subordinates to finish packing the rest of the camp quickly. Others appear to be scrambling about, and true to Darius’ word, Mingi spots that same tall woman from last night standing off to the side.

There’s nothing special about you. At least, from what Mingi can tell. You stand upright, spine straight with three packs carried on your figure. Their bulk simply adds to your own, nearly drowning you in their sheer size. Your face looks worn, and tired, but you move around where they instruct you to without complaint.

Mingi just hopes you can keep up with them.

A few minutes later, the redcaps are on the move. Multiple shoot you looks of disgust as they run passed, growling lowly in your direction. Some even go to far as to purposely run into you, spitting on you as they knock you over in your attempts to keep pace with the company.

It isn’t more than an hour into the morning when you start to fall behind.

Mingi heaves out a sigh, smelling the faintest bit of blood again in the air. A scent not uncommon in a group of redcaps, given their premise. Though, what truly annoys him is the subtle limp you attempt to hide as he marches over to you at the very rear of his guard.

Again, his men part for him silently. The simple power he exudes enough to silence even the rowdiest of the bunch.

“Are you that incompetent that you do not know how to walk properly, mortal?” He sneers, irritation clear on his features.

“I can walk just fine.” You reply bluntly.

“Then, keep up.” He snaps, turning so as not to waste another word on you for the moment.

With Mingi’s back to you, he fails to notice the harsh glare you send his way, but his subordinates do.

A harsh slap rings out through the forest, a dull thud heard soon after.

“You dare look upon our general with such vile contempt in your eyes?” Lias’ voice booms out through the surrounding redcaps, catching Mingi’s attention.

He freezes, turning to spare a glance over his shoulder.

There you rest, face down on the ground as you attempt to push yourself up. Your clothes are even more disheveled than before, dirt smearing your cheek. Yet, that harsh look still rests upon your face, even as the smell of blood becomes more prominent in the air.

“I didn’t ask for this.” You keep your voice low, but still clear enough for everyone around you to hear.

“Well, get used to it, Sweetheart,” Lias hisses, tugging you harshly back to your feet by the back of your neck. “You’re no better than a pet, now.”

You say nothing, instead opting to purse your lips. Your eyes narrow as you watch Lias retreat from you, hands fisted around the straps of the packs you carry as your whole body seems to tremble.

If Mingi didn’t know any better, he’d say you’re angry.

No… not angry. Disappointed.

Turning back to face front, Mingi decides to ignore you for the rest of the day. You’re not his responsibility, and how his subordinates treat you is truly none of his concern. Really, if it were up to him, he would have sent those two other humans bargaining for you to join them here in the fae realm packing. Perhaps he should have made an example of you all when he had the chance. Only, now, he’s stuck with you, and he’ll have to learn to deal with it, for the sake of his men. It’s not like you’re the only human he’s ever dealt with before.

Luckily, for the rest of the day, travel does not get halted again. You manage to keep up just fine, only falling behind once more near sunset. Mingi had wanted to travel for longer this day, covering more distance and hearing no complaints from neither you nor his men.

The faster they get home, the swifter he can deal with the mess that is you.

Mingi wants nothing to do with you. All you are to him is a pathetic little human. So frail, he could break you with the flick of his wrist. His eyes narrow on your figure as he sees you collapse against the side of a tree, none of his underlings sparing you any supplies as they set up for the night.

No food is offered to you, but you manage to scrounge some water. Your throat burns, and your feet ache as if they’re ready to fall off at a moment’s notice. The stitch in your side is finally calming down, and you’re just grateful none of these fae have ordered you to help them set up camp for the night. No, they stated they didn’t want you touching anything, or doing something wrong, and for once, you’re thanking your lucky stars for such a harsh verdict.

Lightly, you rub at your leg, right where you know that fresh wound still resides. It’s not a deep cut, but twisting wrong, or moving around too much aggravates the scar. Not to mention your limp which has returned even worse than before, due to the speed at which you’re expected to move.

Despite it all, you don’t say anything. No, you learned the hard way what talking back meant. Though, that might just be your one salvation through this all. Perhaps tomorrow you’ll see how far you can push these redcaps, and discover if their nature really lives up to their legacy.

For now, you settle deeper against that tree. It’s late, and you are exhausted. Sleep is one of the best things for you now, especially since there’s no way you can return to the life you previously once had. Thinking back on it now, you don’t know if you’d ever want to.

Not that you really ever had a choice.

The next morning brings another early start, you being commanded to carry even more than yesterday on your back. The only saving grace is that it seems the speed at which the band you’re travelling with has lessoned, but that doesn’t stop your whole body from aching.

Two more days pass like this, insults thrown at you by the surrounding redcaps, only for them to take out their amusement on you by either scratching you by ‘accident’, spitting on you, or pushing you to the ground. You manage to get some food, but it’s both rotten and vile. You’re honestly surprised your body hasn’t given up on you, yet.

You start to complain, but to your relief, or rather, disappointment, no one bothers to take your whining seriously. That, or they’re quick to shut you up, but not in the way you so desperately hope.

It’s around midday when you feel yourself lose your footing. The sun is shining brightly in the sky above your head, a few clouds drifting lazily by as you tumble harshly to the ground. The worst part is, you end up landing badly on your injured side. Unluckily for you, both that scar and your bad ankle are on your right leg which just so happens to land awkwardly on top of the root you tripped over.

You attempt to keep them at bay, but the sudden sharp pain you feel shoot up your leg sends tears to your eyes. You can practically feel your cut tear itself anew, a dampness seeping into the material of your tattered pants. Your breathing is heavy, and you can hardly force yourself back onto your hands, your entire body groaning in protest. Every ache pulses through you with each heartbeat, and in the back of your mind, you wonder if this is truly the end.

“What’s the hold up this time?” You hear a stern voice huff out above your head.

Mustering enough energy, you tilt your head upwards at the approaching figure. There’s a brief moment where the sun blinds you, filtering through the branches in such a way that burns your vision with a bright light until a shadow looms over you. Blinking reveals the redcap’s general standing before you, a look of pure ire marring his features as he glares down at you.

“Get up.” He growls, not even bothering to nudge you with his foot. You’re too far beneath him to bother.

A sad attempt is made by you once more before you’re collapsing on top of your weakened arms.

“I. Can’t.” You manage to get out through gritted teeth, squeezing your eyes shut through the pain.

Mingi snorts. “Pathetic.”

With a roll of his eyes, he storms away from you, barking out orders to set up the encampment. From what you can hear, he plans to move out during the night.

They need to stop to eat, anyways.

Insults are hurled your way by various underlings, some even going so far as to step on you as they walk passed. It’s as if you are worth no more than the dirt beneath their feet as you continue to lay there, weak and injured, just waiting and begging for death to finally claim you.

“You’ve really been a thorn in the general’s side ever since you joined us.” A voice to your left catches your attention.

“I didn’t ask to become a slave.” You retort is half grumbled into the earth, brow furrowing as you glare in the voice’s direction.

A chuckle is heard from above you. “Last I checked, you weren’t actually bound to this group.”

Out of the corner of your vision, you see a male, or rather, what appears to be a male, crouch beside you. He appears a bit shorter than his companions, perhaps even an inch or two shorter than you, and that’s saying something.

“My name’s Windfel,” he says lightly. “I’ve never met a human before. What’s your name?”

“Don’t worry about it,” you huff, finally managing to push yourself upwards and shrug those packs off of your back.

A hiss escapes you as you accidentally apply to much pressure to your right side, hand grasping over where that reopened cut resides. The dull throbbing you can feel, mixed in with the sight of days old blood and dirt only has you wincing. The wound is more than likely infected, and probably has been for the past few days. Only, you don’t have anything to treat it with, and it’s not like you can go around asking for help.

“Oh, you’re more clever than we give you credit for.” He grins. “You must know that telling a fae your true name means they have complete power over you.”

“You’re the ones who assumed me incompetent in the first place.” Your retort is low, and almost immediately, you flinch, as if bracing yourself for an impact of some sorts.

Again, he only chuckles. “That we did.”

“Is there something you want, Windfel?” The question is a bit harsh, despite you avoiding his gaze.

“Not in particular at the moment,” he hums. “I’m simply satisfying a mere curiosity. I’ve read a lot about you humans, thanks to the experiments in the Latha Court.”

“You experiment on humans?” Your eyes widen, a surge of panic washing through you.

“Yes.” He replies, somewhat cheerfully with a nod of his head. “We learn a lot about your kind that way.”

“You’re despicable.” A shudder caresses your spine.

“So I’ve been told.” He grins. “I am a redcap, you know.”

Out of the corner of your eyes, you notice him tip a flat cap stained dark red in your direction.

“I’m aware.” Your answer is blunt as you attempt to stand to your feet. You don’t get very far, for you immediately fall back onto your ass as your arms give out beneath you.

A small ‘oof’ escapes you as you land on your right side, eyes squeezing shut as more tears spring up from beneath where you’ve always tried to hide them.

“You’re not looking so good,” he observes.

“Thanks for noticing.” A low grumble is all he receives in response as you attempt to push yourself upwards once more.

Another chuckle. “I like your sense of humour.”

A side-eyed look is sent his way curtesy of you, “If you want to call it that.”

“Come on, I’ll help you.” He goes to lift you to your feet.

Immediately, you cower away from him, a brief panic filling your gaze as you fixate on his hands.

“I have no intentions of harming you right now.” He replies, somewhat calmly.

“Why are you trying to help me?” You eye him cautiously.

He shrugs. “I’m bored.”

As much as you don’t appreciate his answer, you have no better options. Somewhat reluctantly, you allow him to help you to your feet, guiding you to a tent already prepped and ready. He lifts the flap, allowing you to stumble your way inside and sitting in a chair as per his instruction.

The tent is large enough to fit three people comfortable, appearing more spacious on the inside than from the outside. You suppose it has to do with the magic of the fae, considering they’re able to store everything and carry it so efficiently in such packs, no larger than what you’re used to calling knapsacks.

“You know, you really have caused a great deal of annoyance for our general since your arrival.” He says as he grabs a roll of white medical cloth from a little side table.

“I never asked for this.” You mumble, keeping your head down.

“I’m aware you were brought unconscious into our ranks.” Windfel replies. “Is there a reason for that?”

“Not that I’m obliged to tell you.” Your eyes narrow suspiciously, watching every movement he makes closely.

You highly doubt anyone will come to your aid if you decide to scream for help.

“Just making conversation,” he responds, lifting his hands lightly in front of himself in a shrug. “I’m not a healer, so all I’m willing to do is let you wrap that wound. If you’re lucky, you won’t have to dress it when we get back to the keep.”

You purse your lips, eyeing Windfel as he places the roll of cloth beside you. A moment later, and he’s moving around the tent, rummaging through his own pack and pulling out a fresh pair of clothes.

“What, exactly, is this ‘keep’ you all continuously talk about?” You ask, somewhat warily.

He completely ignores your question, tossing the spare clothes at you.

“I don’t use these anymore, and although we typically enjoy the smell of blood, we don’t enjoy when wounds fester.” His nose crinkles along with his words. “There’s a small stream about a quarter of a mile to the northeast. I’ll take you there once you’re ready.”

“You’re being awful nice to me for someone who doesn’t like my kind,” You observe, eyeing him carefully.

“I care about my general, and anything I can do to… lesson his burdens, I will.” Comes Windfel’s simple reply. “When you’re ready, I’ll be outside.”

You watch him step out the opposite flap of the tent he entered, brow furrowing as the material slaps shut. Shouts can be heard outside, along with the hustle and bustle of the rest of the encampment being set up. You bet the rest wouldn’t have even notice you moved from that tree, yet.

Tilting your head downwards, you look at the clothes in your hand, feeling the fabric between your fingers. It’s been far too long since you’ve gotten any type of new clothing. Back in the human realm, the only time you got a new piece of clothing was when- no. You shouldn’t be thinking about that right now.

Swallowing thickly, you look over at that roll of white medical cloth. As much as you don’t trust this redcap, this is the first ounce of kindness you’ve received in quite a long time. There’s a part of you screaming at yourself not to believe it, but there’s another part, a part much more vulnerable that clings onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, things are starting to look up for you.

Your life has never been worth much, but perhaps someone is actually starting to see value in you that has never been there before. Then again, you probably shouldn’t get your hopes up. They’ve fallen too many times for you to count.

Taking a deep breath in, you grab that roll of medical cloth. Carefully, you wrap it in the bundle of clothes from Windfel, and stand back to your feet. Though you wobble slightly, you’re able to steady yourself, and within a minute, you’re exiting through the same flap that redcap did only moments before.

A single nod is all you give him as you stand outside the tent. A single nod of which he returns, motioning for you to follow him deep into the woods.

***

The journey to the stream is slow, taking well over an hour to get there. The distance is much greater than you were expecting, and the path isn’t easy at all. As much as Windfel seems to be ‘helping’ you, he did not once offer you a hand through the rough terrain of the woods through your travels.

“Will there be enough time?” You ask, eyeing the trickling water at the edge of the bank.

“Relax,” Windfel huffs out lightly. “Knowing the general, he’ll probably spend at least another two hours resting. So, as long as you don’t take too long, we’ll be fine.”

You purse your lips in response, but say nothing.

“I have no interest in watching you bathe, either, human.” He says, turning so his back is to you. “So, you needn’t worry about that.”

“I’ve never had much privacy, anyways.” You grumble, but as soon as the words leave your lips, your eyes widen. Terrified, you glance at Windfel’s back.

Choosing to either ignore your statement, or you entirely, he stands there, unmoving, His back is straight as he gazes out into the woods in the direction you both came, paying no mind to even the sound of water trickling behind you.

You turn back around.

Darting your gaze to the stream once more, you notice how clear the water seems to be. The movement against the stones appears languid, a gentle breeze flitting through the trees in the next moment. It’s almost as if the stream is inviting you in, luring you into it’s pristine waters, and the longer you stare at its enchanting depths, the more you long to dip your feet into its calming waters.

“What’s the catch?” You grit your teeth, cursing yourself for being so stupid.

“You humans always think there’s some sort of trick to everything, don’t you?” Windfel chuckles, and suddenly, you feel his hot breath on your neck. You didn’t even hear him move. “I could push you in, if you like, but I don’t think that would bode well for your wound.”

Your spine straightens. “I can get in myself, thank you very much.”

“You are most welcome.” The way you can practically feel him smile against your back has a shiver running down your spine.

A moment later, his presence at your back lessens, and you find yourself able to breathe easier once more. You spare a glance over your shoulder to see him resting in that same spot as before, his back turned as he begins to hum a small tune to himself. Eyeing him cautiously for a few moments, you finally turn back around to face the stream, deciding that he won’t actually do anything to you. Besides, even you are starting to not be able to handle your own stench, and that’s saying something.

Slowly, carefully, you begin stripping yourself of your old clothes. The tattered shirt you wear gets tossed onto the ground beside the new one, your pants following shortly after. You have enough mind to leave your undergarments on, just in case Windfel decides to play a trick of some sort on you, or run away with both sets of clothes. You still need something to wear, and Windfel is still a man.

Men are never good at keeping their promises. You learned that the hard way.

Stepping towards the very edge of the stream, you take your time sitting down. Each movement is stiff, pain shooting through your right side as you finally get a good look at the cut on your upper leg.

The wound festers, dried pus caked on the edge. The cut itself is swollen, days old blood littering the skin around it. From how bad it looks, you’re scared to even touch it, but a creeping thought in the back of your mind keeps you inching towards the water with every passing second.

You’ve had worse.

Carefully, you dip your toes into the crystalline water. It’s a bit cool to the touch, and causes you to jerk back, surprised by its icy feel. Yet, it’s alluring in a way, as if it’s the softest of silk that has ever caressed your skin. A luxury you have never been afforded, and you take the time now to savour it, despite the chill that clings to your feet as you submerge them beneath the gentle flow of the stream.

In no time at all, you feel yourself get used to the water’s icy chill, sinking deeper and deeper until you’re fully sitting on the edge of the river bank. Being mindful of your leg, you angle yourself so you can lean towards the water, cupping your hands together in order to gather the cool liquid in your palms and clean your wound.

The first few handfuls sting, but you grit your teeth and bear it. With each handful of water, more and more of the dirt, grime, and blood is washed away, revealing the cut to have gotten longer over the past few days. All that running around must have strained it, and reopened the wound over and over again, leading to the edges widening, and the cut deepening.

No wonder your whole leg has been aching. You just hope the infection isn’t already in your blood. There’s no telling what may happen to you, then.

“Oh my, that looks bad.”

A voice from above your head startles you, and you nearly go toppling into the stream. Looking up with a hand clutched over your chest, your eyes wide in panic, you see Windfel leaning over you, inspecting your cut.

“A few more days and you would have had to cut it off,” he remarks casually.

You physically feel your heart drop, your eyes briefly shifting to your right ankle. You swallow thickly, a jolt of pain travelling all the way from your foot upwards to your hip as tears unwillingly spring to your eyes. Almost involuntarily, you begin rapidly shaking your head, protests falling from numb lips.

“I’m just shanking ya!” He laughs, boisterously at that. He even goes so far as to pat your shoulder a few times, wiping tears of joy from the corner of his eyes.

“You’re not very funny.” You whisper, expression hard.

Windfel blinks, “Geez, tough crowd.”

You purposely avoid his gaze, looking back out over to the opposite bank of the stream. Your lips are pursed in a thin line as you slowly manage to get your breathing under control. Even you can hear the thunderous pounding of your own heartbeat, so you sure as hell know that Windfel can, too.

“I thought you weren’t going to watch me.” You mutter, slowly turning yourself further into the stream.

“No, I said I had no interest in watching you bathe.” He remarks, matter of factly. “There’s a difference.”

“If you say so,” you mutter, slipping into the water and putting a little bit of distance between you and that redcap. Not that it would really matter, in the long run.

The chill of the water causes your body to stiffen for a moment, only for the entirety of your muscles to immediately relax. The chill morphs into a gentle caress, and as you sink down to allow the water up to your neck, you find yourself letting out a small, blissful sigh through your nose. Involuntarily, your eyes slip shut.

“Feels better, doesn’t it?” Windfel hums.

Your eyes shoot open, turning to look over at the redcap who is back to standing in his original spot, facing away from you.

“I-“ you swallow, keeping your voice low. “I haven’t had a chance to bathe like this in a long time.”

“Yeah,” Windfel snorts. “I could tell.”

He makes a gesture similar to fanning the air in front of himself, and you find yourself rolling your eyes. You even go to far as to splash water in his direction before you can stop yourself.

Even though not a single drop of water touches him, your eyes still go wide. Not a muscle moves as you stare at him, your heartbeat thudding once more in your ears.

“Damn, human, you really are uptight.” Windfel snickers. “As if a little water could hurt me. It’s nice when such creatures are playful. Adorable, even.”

“I don’t think many would agree with you.” You mutter, gently pushing yourself backwards and creating just a tiny bit more distance between yourself and him.

“You’re probably right,” he hums. “Though, we all can agree on liking to be amused.”

“You confuse me.” You state blankly, rubbing at your skin lightly beneath the water and washing away any excess dirt and grime you can see.

“The feeling is very much mutual, human.” He replies. “I bet if you lived on your own as long as I have in the wild, you’d feel the same way.”

“Oh, yeah,” you hum, clearly not convinced as you dunk your head under the water briefly. “I’m sure.”

“Oh, come on! You’re telling me you’ve never lived in the woods before? Never fought for your own survival all by you little lonesome?” Windfel’s voice is slightly mocking, and you know he’s probably only trying to get a rise out of you.

Unfortunately, though, it’s working.

“I think you and I have two very different definitions of survival.” You say, scrubbing a bit harder at your skin.

“Perhaps that is true,” he hums once more, as if considering your words. “But come on, you can’t tell me you’ve never wanted to know what it’s like to live on your own.”

“How do you know if I’ve lived on my own or not?” You retort, eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion.

“I don’t.” Windfel shrugs. “From what those of us who care enough to read about your kind can gather, it’s observed that you usually go out on your own once you reach a certain age.”

“And you’re one of those that have read about my kind?” You quirk a brow.

The longer you spend talking with Windfel, the more you seem to ease into the conversation. Though the water continues to feel nice around you, you also decide that it’s time to remove yourself from the stream so you can quickly dry off and make it back to the others. The last thing you need is for something to happen, or for you to finally face the wrath of a redcap.

At this point, that may just be a blessing.

There’s almost a slight tug at the back of your mind. With each step you take towards the bank and your awaiting clothes, a small voice tells you to stay. The water seems to be caressing your entire body, becoming denser around you with each step. It’s almost as if the stream is trying to hold you down, to force you to not leave its waters. Yet, despite it’s almost enchanted callings, you persist, managing to pull yourself out of the crystalline water and back onto the side of the bank.

The consequences of staying far outweigh the rewards in your mind.

You fail to notice how Windfel’s brow quirks in surprise, but he continues on the conversation as if nothing is wrong.

“I’ve read a few things, yes.” He confirms. “Knowledge is power, or haven’t you heard?”

“Power is power, no matter where in the world.” You grumble, flicking off as much excess water on your body as you can before beginning to wrap your upper thigh with that medical cloth. Once finished, you tie it off quickly, but not tight enough that it will hurt you even more than you already are. A moment later, you stand back to your feet.

“Spoken like a true scholar,” Windfel teases lightly, his back still turned to you.

Slowly, you begin pulling on the clothes he leant you. The pants are a little short around the ankles, but they fit surprisingly well. Considering the size difference between the both of you, you’re surprised the shirt even managed to pull over your head, but it’s loose, and you’re grateful for the soft material that graces your skin.

“Still, you should definitely try living on your own at some point.” He remarks casually. “There’s no feeling quite like freedom.”

Your whole body freezes, gaze slowly trailing over to where Windfel stands, now at the edge of the wood. He seems to be holding a bundle in his hands, and when you look down, you realize that it’s your old, raggedy clothes.

“I wouldn’t know.” You state, rather firmly as your eyes narrow at the redcap across from you.

“Oh, yes, well,” he finally turns back around to face you, a grin tugging at his lips to reveal all too sharp fangs. “About that…”

“If you’re going to kill me, get it over with.”

Your words clearly catch him off guard, for now it’s his turn for his eyes to widen in shock.

“My dear, why would I want to kill you?” He chuckles, shaking his head. “You’ve done nothing but be forced upon us since the start. I may be a monster, but I’m not unreasonable.”

“Like I’ve never heard that one before.” You mutter, rolling your eyes.

Again, your breath hitches as soon as the words leave your lips, and you find yourself flinching backwards away from Windfel instinctually.

He frowns, but doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he says, “I told you. I care about my general and how much your presence burdens him. It’s easier this way if you just disappear.”

Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “You want me to disappear, but not kill me?”

“For the most part.” He blinks, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“How do you expect me to do that?” You frown, doing whatever you can to hide the clear exasperation in your voice.

“Run away.” He states.

“Excuse me?”

“Run away.” He repeats with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “I doubt they’ll even notice you’re gone.”

Now, it’s your turn to blink at him. Once. Twice. Three times in disbelief as you cannot keep your mouth from falling open in shock.

“You’re shitting me.”

“I think the whole point of you bathing was for that to no longer be the case.” He says smartly. “I told you. You’re a burden to our general, and if I can relieve that burden from his shoulders, I’ll do whatever it takes. You’re not currently being hunted, so there’s no reason to kill you right now.”

“And where will I go?” You ask, incredulously. “I have nothing-“

“Find the Latha court, I’m sure those human lovers will take you in.” He cuts you off, a slight twitch to his brow. “Go that way,” he points off to your left with a clawed finger. “There’s a small town. I’m sure someone will give you a hand.”

“Like you did?” You quirk a brow, eyeing Windfel carefully.

“Exactly.” He nods. “Now, you best be on your way, little mortal. My patience is starting to wear thin.”

Though the last part of his words he says in a cheerful voice, the way his eyes gleam in the light of the setting sun unnerves you.

Without waiting for another chance, you take the one presented to you.

“I better not see you around again.” Windfel hums, and you can hear him beginning to trudge in the opposite direction that you are. “You won’t like it if you do.”

A shiver caresses your spine at his words, and you find yourself picking up your pace. Reaching the opposite end of the little clearing where the stream is, you quickly spare a glance over your shoulder. Windfel is nowhere to be seen, and you do not know if it should relieve you, or terrify you. All you do know, is that you have to put as much distance between yourself and that gang of redcaps as you can. To start, you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

The trek into town is a lot easier than you thought it would be. It only takes you about forty minutes to reach the outskirts, and with every step, you seem to gain better footing than before. The ache in your leg is dulling, and your head is the clearest it’s been in weeks. You don’t trip over any roots, or stumble over any rocks, either. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say things are actually starting to look up for you.

That’s when it hits you.

Is this even reality anymore?

Windfel could have cast a glamour over you. You could be under some sort of spell, or undergone some weird magic while bathing in that stream. You have no way of knowing what is true or not, unless you talk to someone. Even then, your chances of them tricking you are high, but it may be the only way to tell what is true or not.

Standing at the edge of the town, you do a quick scan of those you can see. The sun has already set, and the faint glow of lanterns casts a warmth around the surrounding buildings. There seems to be only a few people milling about, and honestly, you shouldn’t really call them people at all. From what you can gather, all these beings appear to faeries. Some have grand wings that sprout from their backs, ranging from feathered to those of the insect variety. Others, you can only discern from their height and pointed ears. The few flashes of razor sharp teeth aren’t that reassuring, either.

The only relief seems to be that all of the inhabitants steer perfectly clear of you. Save for one, who watches you fidget from across the way. His gaze dances with amusement, and you don’t know if that unnerves you more than if he were glaring. Long, dark hair is pulled back in a half-ponytail to showcase his sharp features. He sits on the edge of some steps leading up to what appears to be a shop of some sorts, his elbows resting on his thighs as he leans forward.

The moment he catches you staring, his eyebrows quirk curiously.

Turning away quickly, you curse yourself. You’ve always been used to blending in back home, that you didn’t realize just how much you’d stick out in the Fae realm. Perhaps you really are in over your head, but where else are you supposed to go?

A voice, smooth and deep, coming from behind startles you.

“Are you lost, Little One?”

#thrill of the hunt #cultofdionysusnet #mfu-net #yandere mingi #yandere ateez #mingi scenario #mingi imagine #ateez scenario #ateez imagine #kpop scenario #kpop imagine #yandere kpop #kpop au #fantasy au #chubby reader #tall reader #fae au

283 notes · View notes

just-placebo-estate-things · 1 year

Text

Tag Yourself (Placebo Edition)

Vee:

Pure condensed anxiety

Could kill you but would cry the entire time

Spent his childhood as a bridge troll

Damours:

Said “no” to society

Comes out of the shadows to help you like a mythical guide

Lowkey protective

Caunter:

Pyromaniac

Fidget 100

Crime as a bonding experience

Maynet:

Evil robin hood

“Do Not Perceive Me”

Has mastered the poker face

Ferrieres:

Survives on a steady diet of gossip

Horse Girl™

Collects figurines

Montaigu:

Would sell you to Satan for one corn chip

Sexuality: money

Hates everyone except for like one person

Wissant:

Mom-shaped

Could 360 noscope you no problem

Small body big voice

Tournebut:

Stable interests? I don’t even know her

Gets a crush and immediately regresses to being a flustered schoolgirl

Trying her best

Emory:

GPS implanted directly in brain

Biology nerd

Pigs are good

Margas:

Mad online, mad offline, mad all the time

Oops all repression

Will kill for you without hesitation if he likes you

Fairfax:

Not a fan of nature

Punches extremists

Politely asked the grim reaper to leave him alone and it worked

Montgomery:

God simp

Gullible

Awkward™

Reynauld:

Holy dad

Attempts to be the sensible one

Reliable when not engaging in Rat Behavior

Guyot:

Himbo

Works out to get good at hugging

Doesn’t like fish

Corneilles:

Has just completely given up and is mad about it

Saw god

Brooding as a hobby

Rosebud:

Judging you

Egotism as a coping mechanism

Goes by his nickname only

Gaveston:

Calculated chaos

Supplies the cursed knowledge

Made one (1) mistake years ago and will never forgive himself

Siggy:

Be gay do crimes

Here to make things worse

Dead inside and outside but still kicking somehow

Bertie:

Hopeless romantic

Writing a fix-it fic for life

Probably on an FBI watchlist and not just for her search history

Carnet:

Capitalism

Names everything she comes across

Pestering as a love language

Marches:

Can only express one (1) emotion per lunar cycle

Screwed up so bad that ghosts had to stage an intervention

Reluctant mom friend

Verdun:

Looks like she could kill you and would 100% kill you

Must be the best or she’ll just die

Has a husband but is also married to the grind

Lynom:

In a constant state of “fight me”

Living in denial

Strongk

Dismas:

MVP dad friend

Killed god

Tired but also a chaos enabler

Piquiri:

If looks could kill you’d be dead

Earned 1st place in having trust issues

Bad luck magnet

Corbiere:

Fancy street tricks go brrrrrr

Raccoon energy

Kisses the homies

Venois:

No talk

Hates excessive loud noise

Loves his dog more than he loves most people

Loges:

Is the law

Beware of dog

“I can fix him”

Mauroaurd:

The sane one

Pampers his dog 24/7

Doesn’t like alcohol

Warci:

Does it for the bit

Loves his wife

Is your dad now

Pip:

Personified trauma

Music god

Needs a hug but will also stab you if you get near him

Nesdin:

Catboy

He protecc he attacc

Cannot heely away from the feelies (but he does try)

Marchmain:

Big boy. Buff

The one responsible member in the group project

He forgor :(

Marci:

Riddle Hour Is Every Hour

Everyone’s chill cryptid uncle

Vibing

Merteberge:

Philosophical

Has come to terms with the inevitability of death

Youngest in the group but is somehow the leader

Fontemai:

Did a Leeroy Jenkins once

Physically fought his demons

Funny accent

Noyers:

Grandpa vibes

DIY king

Doesn’t like war

Perci:

Hyper strict

“Get off my lawn!!!”

Job is life

Bosanquet:

Stays up all night reading

Mommy issues

Smarter than you

Montfort:

Is brother

Edgy loner

Art as a coping mechanism

Fribois:

TIME FOR TEA TIME FOR TEA

Token extravert

Cottagecore gay

Lucy:

Gifted kid syndrome

Will kill you if you don’t vaccinate

Necrophilia pog

Malv:

Group baby

Just wants to be taken seriously

Keeps having to watch everyone she loves die

Lilie:

Old(?)

Likes being carried around

Who is she

Bele:

Monsterhecker

Only in charge because she’s the oldest

Had a rebellious phase (and may still be having it)

Ville:

Religion bad

Sweet and shy but will start swinging without hesitation

Listens when you vent

Pasquier:

Will feed all you heckers

Beautiful cinnamon roll to good for this world, too pure

Immediately knows when things are sus

BONUS:

Cheney:

Fuzzy

Firm believer in the power of friendship

Chivalry died with him

Riebou:

Group brain cell

Gives scoldings (affectionate)

Pigs are bad

Odette:

Got tired of waiting for her husband to return from war

Plant whisperer

Do no harm take no crap

Edith:

Daddy issues extraordinaire

Social skills replaced with street smarts

Learning the hard way that life is so painfully complicated

Thelma:

Whore

Milf

Tells you exactly what she thinks

#heiress post #I aint tagging everyone haahhaha #anyway is this meme dead #if it is idc I've had this sitting in my drafts for a long time #heck I've had this around before this sideblog started

1 note · View note

snippychicke · 2 years

Text

For Sake of a Smile

Ohhhh changing jobs and depression is kicking my ass. Here after two weeks of delays is Chapter thirteen!

Title: For the Sake of a Smile-- Chapter Thirteen

Fandom: Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun!

Summary: Hell on earth was your motto for your job. Granted, you were pretty sure earth really was hell, considering the shit you had seen. And the fact your coworker was a child. Suzuki Iruma, in fact. A kid who’s life was decidedly worse than yours, but smiled despite everything.

And you’d do a lot for his smile. Including summoning a demon and signing your life away.

But as it turns out, hell (The Netherworld, actually) was a lot better than living on earth. Demons were more humane than a lot of humans you knew.

And Iruma’s smile wasn’t the only one that would change your life.

Masterlist | Ao3| mairimashitai! Simps Discord

Kalego arched a brow as Shichiro slumped into the chair in front of his desk, looking rather pitiful. The news had reached him about Shichiro finally having asked you to court - which had been a massive headache considering how unruly his students had been since. He presumed the demon would be elated; not look like one of the many 'subjects' had died or ran away.

"I just… what do you get as a courting offering?" Shichiro asked quietly. "Nothing seems good enough."

"We are talking about the demon who barged in because of one of your picture books, her tone so high it made Cerberion whine?"

Shichiro flushed slightly, sinking even lower and the memory. He had been completely oblivious of Kalego's - and Cerberion's - discomfort, instead enraptured as you praised his work.

"She's going to be happy no matter what," Kalego continued with a sigh. "Don't stress so much, the last thing you need is to trigger an evil cycle."

"True," Shichiro sighed, though his hands continued to be restless in his lap. "But… this should be special, right?"

"What did she give you?"

It had been the gossip of the faculty, discussing that while Shichiro reportedly was the one to ask you to court, you had been the one to give him an offering first. But no one had figured out what the offering had been.

While he would refuse to answer the others, Shichiro would surely tell him if he asked - especially if it was to help decide on his own offering (and not just for curiosity's sake.)

Except Shichiro was silent, looking more like a reluctant student than anything as he avoided Kalego's gaze.

"Seriously?" He swore, arching his brow once more, causing the larger demon to squirm.

What would cause him not to…

Oh.

Kalego felt his own cheeks warm. "I honestly didn't think her to be so… forward."

There was a look of confusion on Shichiro’s face before it turned a deep red as he caught on to Kalego's train of thought.

"No! It's nothing like that! It's just, uh, well…."

Shichiro fumbled with his words, which only confused Kalego more. If it wasn't something more risqué in nature, then why was he being so secretive about it?

"She… gave me something very… valuable, and personable," Shichiro admitted after a moment. "And… also something that might cause others to have… questions about how she acquired them."

That made absolutely no sense to Kalego. The mystery that surrounded you was only growing more perplexing, and it was starting to become irritating.

Especially if you were dragging Shichiro into the mess.

"She is a member of Babyls now," Kalego pointed out coldly. "Bound by the same oath we took. While we all have our personal lives and history, our duty to our students comes first." Balam finally met his gaze, tilting his head slightly. Kalego leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. "I appreciate that she is your intended, Shichiro. And while I trust Lord Sullivan, I do not do so complacently. If whatever she is hiding is a danger to the school, or to its students…"

"Absolutely not," Shichiro answered firmly. "Believe me, Kalego, she is no danger to anyone." He paused, contemplating something before admitting quietly. "If anyone is in danger, it's her."

It didn't lead him closer to any answers, but Kalego relaxed back into his chair. He didn't trust Lord Sullivan blindly, but he would Shichiro.

If he said you weren't a threat, then you weren't.

But if he said you were the one in danger… "She won't lead trouble to Babyls, will she?"

Shichiro shook his head without hesitation. "No. Her secrets aren't mine to tell, Kalego. So please, trust me when I say she is innocent, and won't cause any trouble."

Kalego sighed heavily. "Considering how troublesome her son is - along with how the rest of the Misfits seem to flock to her - I find that hard to believe. But, for your sake, I'll try."

Shichiro relaxed as well, a smile hiding behind his mask. "Thank you, Kalego."

The black-haired demon waved his thanks away, "I still say she'll be delighted with whatever you end up giving as an offering. Though, she is a bit of a bookwyrm. Almost as bad as Furcus, come to think of it..."

---

"...and then Purson started talking, and he didn't quit," Iruma explained in between bites of food. "He went from not saying a word to talking more with one breath than I thought was possible."

You recalled the lavender-haired child that you frequently saw tagging along with the rest of the Misfit class; he was quiet with a usual apathetic expression on his face. Yet every time you went to ask if he was okay, he'd disappear into literal thin air.

"And then it turns out he's the Pixie! You know, the mysterious trumpet player?"

You, Sullivan, and even Opera nodded heads. Everyone at Babyls knew about the trumpet player that announced the end of the school day with their vibrant and usually quick-tempo pieces.

"He has to be part of our musical! Not just because he and Elizabetta need to rank up two ranks, but because he deserves the recognition!" Iruma said firmly, his determined expression ruined by his cheeks puffed with food.

Well, not ruined. Just more adorable than anything else.

"Why don't you focus on eating now, and plan later," You offered while Opera pushed the tray laden full of desserts closer to him. Iruma eagerly accepted the idea and helped himself to some of his favorite pudding.

"What about you?" Sullivan asked, turning towards with too innocent a smile. "Anything interesting happen today?"

You stared at your food acutely aware of everyone's attention now focused on you, full of expectation. You knew that this confrontation was inevitable, but you had yet to figure out how to deal with it. Your instinct was to deny, deny, deny, but… you knew that wouldn't work.

Besides, Shichiro was nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, just thinking about him filled you with a comforting warmth and happiness.

"Um, well," You started before taking a deep breath. "Shichiro and I have… come to an understanding."

Opera perked up, tail and ears betraying their excitement. "Shichiro?"

Oh. Oops.

Before you could react, Sullivan tackled you with a hug as he cried happily. "My baby girl is growing up so fast! Soon, I'll be able to hear the little click-clack of tiny clawed feet running around! And my beloved grandson will be a big brother!"

"Dad!" You protested, feeling yourself turn red at the thought, but also felt your stomach twist. You glanced over to Iruma, worried about his reaction to Sullivan's wild fantasy. After all, he finally had a family he deserved - and you could completely understand if the thought of having to share his family would cause some… issues.

Except the boy was grinning excitedly, obviously not at all bothered by the idea.

Still. "We just started courting! Literally yesterday!" You protested. "It's far too soon to think about… 'bout…" Children. Babies. With Shichiro.

Which meant....

"But, big brother?" Iruma asked, still obviously excited and thankfully derailing those thoughts. It wasn't the time nor the place, really.

"Look, Shichiro and I haven't had any kind of discussion about this and I really think it's too early to start daydreaming about it."

Iruma was persistent however, as he slowly made his way to your side. "But. If you do, eventually, I'll be their big brother?"

You gave him a slight frown. "Well, yeah? Of course."

You soon ended up being tackled by Iruma as well, and squished between him and Sullivan in a hug-pile. You squawked in an undignified manner, and then again when Opera draped themself over your shoulders; a picture in their hand.

It was a photo of a young boy, with white fluffy hair smiling at the camera while holding a small lizard creature towards the photographer. You could barely see long, large, too big for his body chick-feet; which made the picture even more adorable. It took you a moment to realize it was a very young Shichiro, before whatever caused his scar.

A squee escaped your throat despite your best efforts as your maternal instincts reared its head, temporarily overcoming your common sense.

He was so cute!!!

For a brief moment, you could easily see yourself mothering a few mini-Shichiros; those big feet and fluffy hair and that adorable smile, and then Iruma happily helping out and playing with his younger siblings - because he would be an amazing big brother. He'd be so kind and attentive as an older brother, showing interest in whatever they were playing with and carefully teaching them life lessons....

Oh. Devi. They had successfully corrupted you.

---

One moment you were lost in your thoughts as you walked towards Furcus's prep-room that she shared with Dali, arms laden with the books that you had convinced Sullivan--dad-- to find (which he hadn't even hesitated, wrapping you up in a hug as he promised to do his best). The next you were literally swept from your feet and being cradled gently but firmly to a familiar chest, shoulder-length white hair tickling your nose.

"Shichiro!" You laughed as you clutched to him, careless of the books that had been unceremoniously dumped on the ground.

"Good morning," Shichiro mumbled as he buried his face in the crook of your neck.

"Good morning," You agreed, whole body feeling warm and your heart light. This wasn't at all what you had expected, though you wondered why you hadn't considered it. After all - he was already affectionate, but now that you were courting? You could easily get used to this. "How are you this morning?" You asked, raking your fingers through his hair, careless of the looks you were garnering.

"Good, you?"

You were about to say 'better' now that he had literally swept you off your feet - how could you not? But Kalego's heavy sigh interrupted you.

"Really, Shichiro?"

"You're just jealous," You teased, clinging to him as you looked down at the dark-haired professor.

"Disturbed is more-so the correct word," He shot back. "You're both making a scene in front of the students."

There was a rebellious part of you that wanted to make more of a scene, but that would mean removing Shichiro's mask and you weren't sure he would be happy with you doing that in public.

"Oh, right." Shichiro set you down before picking up the books you dropped. "Sorry."

"Don't be," You answered honestly as you accepted the books back. "You just made my day a hundred percent better."

He grinned behind his mask, cheeks a deep pink. "I'll see you at lunch then?"

There was no way you couldn't recall lunch the day before, when neither of you had anything to eat. You unconsciously bit and worried your lip, reliving those wonderful moments.

"I don't want to know," Kalego once more interrupted your daydreams. Your face felt as warm as Shichiro's dark-red cheeks looked, and the relatively-smaller demon tugged at his friend. "Come along Shichiro. I don't trust you two alone at this point."

----

It was no secret that the entirety of Babyls faculty and students knew about you and Shichiro courting by mid-morning. Looks and conspiratorial giggles followed you through the halls, and you found even more students attempting to watch you nonchalantly but failing utterly.

Though after the revelation of Iruma's classmate Purson, you wondered how many more were watching without you noticing.

But really, you couldn't care less at the moment. Your heart as well as your mind was happily drifting on cloud-nine as you went through the day, eagerly awaiting the noon hour.

"Ma'am?"

You looked up to see the half-dozen students that formed the small Library Battler; headed by Furcus and her love of knowledge, they had been a large part of helping organize the library.

Furcus had teased you were also stealing her students affections from her. (Well, you had assumed it was one of her dry teasings.)

Yet today, instead of vibrating from excitement about some new rare book their teacher had shared with them - or fuming with righteous anger of another student disrespecting a text - the six young demons looked unsure; most of them standing behind Mneme, the fifth-year student leader of the batra.

"Who did what?" You asked with a sigh. After all, they would only pull their noses from a book if it was something important.

"We heard you've... accepted Professor Balam's offer to court." Mneme continued, clutching her book tightly. "While we are not skilled fighters like many of our peers, we wish to offer our assistance."

You blinked owlishly at them, sure you misheard or misunderstood. "Assistance...?"

"Professor Balam, while one of the more powerful of demons, and skilled with the knowledge regarding biology of both flora and fauna of the Netherworld," Alim offered as he peeked around Mneme. "He also has... questionable hobbies."

You groaned, "Devi, not that stupid rumor again. Professor Balam does not experiment and torture students. Yes, he can be a bit handsy and enthusiastic at times..." Which weren't exactly negatives in your book by any means.

"We're aware of that, Ma'am," Ji-Su interrupted as you trailed off, your mind trying vainly to clamber back into a daydream of being wrapped up in Schichiro's arms, him mindlessly stroking your hair as you nestled in his lap, safe and happy. "But we mean his other hobbies."

Other...hobbies? "Huh?" You asked, mind turning to try to figure out what they were talking about that would warrant such a sneer in their voice.

"Well, the picture books," Ismene admitted with a whisper. "What kind of self-respecting demon - let alone a professor of Babyls - likes picture books."

"His picture books? Thats what's got you all up in arms?" If you weren't struggling before, you were now. A soft snicker escaped first, before you started laughing whole-heartedly, or maybe it was hysterically. Devi, they had issues because of that?!

"He is a teacher!" Mneme protested. "Ma'am, as powerful and intelligent as he may be, you have to admit its disconcerting."

"I wouldn't say disconcerting. I actually find it quite adorable."

"We are scholars," Wasi spoke. "Such things are beneath us! Professor Balam is one of the leading scholars when it comes to biology."

"And imaginary creatures!" You protested.

"Well, yes, but again thats hardly something a demon with his status should be focusing on! Theories that can never be proven, and books that dumb down knowledge are beneath him! Beneath Babyls!"

Ah. Now you could kinda see where they were coming from. "But, I believe it's a testament to his knowledge of subjects to be able to explain it in such simple terms. If we didn't have picture books, how hard would it be to capture the interest of small children? Also, while imaginary creatures are impossible to prove, I think its a great mental exercise. And plus, have you even seen his drawings? They are so cute!"

The group of young demons looked at each other, doubt and suspicion on their faces. "Perhaps she is just as mentally unstable as the professor after all."

"Hey! There is nothing wrong with enjoying picture books, let alone creating them!" You defended, humor slowly melting away. "There is literally nothing wrong with that! Cute pictures to entertain, funny little stories to help explain the intricacies of complicated subjects in a way others can understand. It's part of the reason that I fell in love with Shichiro! Those books helped Iruma --and myself-- so much on subjects we were struggling with!"

You realized you might have said a little too much in your passionate speech, judging by the looks the Literature Battler - as well as the other students - were giving you. How were you going to salvage this?

"Both me and Iruma... didn't have the greatest resources growing up," You explained awkwardly. "Especially before the Chairdemon found us. So, to be honest, our knowledge of some fundamentals were... spotty at best. Professor Balam's books helped a lot to fill in the gaps, bringing both joy as well as understanding."

Silence still reigned over the library, making your pulse seem even more deafening in your ears.

"Ma'am, did you just say you loved Professor Balam?"

If you weren't embarrassed before, you were now. You crossed your arms, however, and jutted out your chin defiantly. "And, what if I did...?"

"We concede," Mneme spoke, giving a slight nod. "You have always been an unorthodox teacher..."

"I'm a librarian, not a teacher."

"And as the librarian - with a love of knowledge that rivals Professor Furcus - we must admit we obviously have more to learn from you." Mneme answered. "Nor did we mean to insult your beloved."

You opened your mouth a few times to argue - or at least say something - but words escaped you until the bell screamed. "Just, uh, be more willing to think outside the box-- and apologize to Professor Balam, not me!"

The students gave varying noises of agreeing as they left. You wondered if admitting that you loved Shichiro was too soon, but you couldn't deny your feelings. You had been enamored by the giant demon for quite a while, and you had still had difficulty understanding why no one else had taken to him before your arrival to the Netherworld.

------ Thirteen Short----

"Hey Clara, what's it like having younger siblings?"

The green-haired demon blinked at Iruma's question before grinning.

"It's super-duper fun! Granted, when they're itty-bitty they like to cry a lot, but when they get older you get to play all sorts of games with them! And you can teach them all sorts of things! Like when I taught my brothers how to do the Char-Char dance!" She jumped up to show the other two the dance, though it wasn't anything like the choreography that Kerori was trying to teach them. It was wild and chaotic that would only befit a fast-pace tempo.

"What has you wondering about younger siblings, Master Iruma?" Asmodeus asked after politely applauding Valac's dance (though he would refrain from ever calling it that.)

The boy flushed as he scratched his neck. "Just, uh, the conversation the other day at home. I realized that someday, I might become a big brother. I've never had siblings before, and I haven't spent a lot of time around little kids either. So, as exciting as the idea is, I'm kinda nervous about it."

"Oh! Iruma-kins can come over to my house!" Clara eagerly offered. "You know my baby sibs! You can have plenty of practice there!"

"I-I have younger cousins that live with me," Asmodeus quickly interjected. "They would be great practice as well! Not that you would need much, Master Iruma! You've already proven that you'll be great with younger demons."

Iruma turned red as he fidgeted in his seat. "Do you think so?"

"Absolutely!" Both demons exclaimed at the same time.

"No matter what, any demon that has you for an older brother will be highly honored," Asmodeus continued.

"Yeah! And they'll also have me and Az-Az!" Clara clapped. "And we can be their big sister and brother too!"

The thought made Iruma relax into a grin. He wouldn't have to figure out what it meant to be a big brother by himself; he'd have his friends by his side. He'd have you too. After all - before you adopted him, he had seen you as a big sister. Along with Grandpa, Opera, and everyone else really. Both Sabnock and Kerori had younger siblings, while Jazz and Lied had older siblings. Surely - between them - he'd figure out how to be a good brother.

#welcome to demon school iruma kun #balam/reader #balam shichiro #mairimashita! iruma kun #kalego naberious

48 notes · View notes

musclesandhammering · 3 years

Text

Every Single Issue I Have With S*lki (It’s Not Just The Selfcest)

Here goes. I threatened to post this a few days ago and never did, but I just saw a s*lki stan Twitter account claim that Loki caring about Sylvie more than the whole multiverse was a Good And Romantic thing and it pushed me over the fucking edge, so now you all have to read this. I’ve divided it into categories cause there’s just THAT much.

OOC Bullshit

• First and foremost, no amount of mental gymnastics you do will ever make me believe that this specific Loki- the one that just invaded New York, that just came off a year of Thanos Torture, that just got done being influenced by the sceptre, that was literally in the middle of a crisis already, and then on top of that went through all the trauma of Ep 1- would even be worried about a romantic relationship. That would be the furthest thing from his mind. Go back and watch how he acted in Avengers- you think that guy would abandon his previous mission to become a snivelling simp for a girl he’d just met 3 days prior? Yeah, there’s no universe in which that makes sense.

• “It’s very in character for Loki to fall in love with himself lololol-“ NO, it’s literally not. Out of all the characters in the mcu, I don’t think I can think of anyone that genuinely hates themselves more than Loki. He even referred to all his other male variants as “monsters” and said meeting them was “a nightmare” in this series. He’s got so much self-loathing, plus the fact that he genuinely thinks himself to be an evil backstabbing scourge- so there’s no evidence at all suggesting that he would ever develop a fondness for, or even be inclined to trust, another version of himself, after only knowing them for 3 days.

• Building on that, the whole concept of Loki falling in love with a version of himself just feeds into the annoying ass misconception that he’s a narcissist. No matter which way you stack it, he’s not. If you’re referring to NPD, he doesn’t fit the criteria, and if you’re saying “narcissist” just as a slang term meaning “selfish and arrogant”, that still doesn’t accurately describe him. But when creators like Waldron and Herron do things like having him fall in love with himself, it makes it so much easier for casual viewers to think that he is.

Shitty LGBT Rep

• It’s kinda sus that Loki’s are allegedly genderfluid and yet the only female-presenting variant we see (and apparently the only female-presenting variant there is, cause the male Loki’s all seemed unfamiliar with the concept) is treated as some kind of mind-bogglingly special paradox. Also very sus that, out of all the Loki variants, the one our Loki falls in love with just so happens to be the only female one. What a coincidence.

• The fact that the creators of the show went around bragging about Loki’s bisexuality and Marvel purposefully (lbr) allowed stories about Loki possibly having a male love interest to circulate, specifically enticing queer viewers to watch the show (you know, the definition of queerbaiting), and then instead of having a male love interest (Loki was the first queer main character, so it was the perfect opportunity) they gave us *gestures to this dumpster fire* this… it’s just a middle finger to LGBT fans. The fact that they would rather have this relationship with all its myriad of problems than have a gay relationship is just……. Very telling.

• While him being with a woman obviously doesn’t refute his bisexuality, the fact that they showed/talked about him being interested in 3 different women (flight attendant, Sylvie, Sif) and never even hinted at him being attracted to a man, definitely makes it seem like they were trying to cover up his bisexuality to smooth things over with the more homophobic viewers. You know? It’s like “I know you’re pissed that we sorta confirmed Loki as bi, so we promise we’ll never mention it again! Or even hint at it! As a matter of fact, we’ll give him lots of female lovies and make him seem as straight as possible! That’ll take your mind off of that horrible crumb of queer rep, right? Please please please keep giving us your money!!!”

• Aside from all the other issues, at its core, the biggest reason why I think I’m so irritated with s*lki is that it took one of the most interesting, complex, and diverse characters in cinema atm and squished him into a tired ass unnecessary heteronormative subplot…. Like literally every. single. other. protagonist. ever. Loki is such a unique character, and it’s so so so incredibly disappointing that they stuck him into that same boring cookie cutter romance that happens to every other character in every other movie I’ve ever seen. It’s a disservice, and it’s honestly just not compelling or entertaining at all.

Thematic Issues Galore

• His arc didn’t need a romance. With anyone. It was unnecessary and it didn’t make sense plot-wise. In fact, one of the reasons he was my fav prior to this was because he was the only big-name mcu character whose story wasn’t muddied-up by a romance that didn’t need to be there. So much for that.

• He wasn’t emotionally ready for a romantic relationship with anyone. Hell, just a genuine friendship would’ve been pushing it for him at this point. He was in such a bad state that any relationship he got into would’ve been toxic and unhealthy for both him and the other person, and it doesn’t make sense why the writers would want to put him in one when there were so many cons and essentially no pros (other than “Uwu aren’t they cute together”).

• Sylvie’s character in general was unnecessary and Loki’s character was robbed just by her being there. The whole show became about her post-Ep 2. They spent most of the time giving her backstory, building her up, telling us how awesome she is, trying to convince us to like her, etc when what they really needed to be doing was building Loki up- cause I gotta say, if I had to describe TVA!Loki in a few words, they would be Flat, Boring, and Weak.

• The romance overtakes the plot. They spend time portraying their supposed connection that could’ve been spent adding depth and complexity to literally any of the characters. They make the big Nexus Event them giving each other googly eyes on Lamentis when it could’ve been so many other way more profound things that speak to the fundamental nature of Loki’s. They have the climax of the finale be “oh no she betrayed him to kill He Who Remains” when it could’ve been something way more compelling (Loki having a moral crisis over whether or not to kill HWR, Loki contemplating the state of the multiverse and weighing the pros and cons of freedom vs order, Loki looking into some What If situations and getting emotional about what could’ve been regarding his family, Loki realising the gravity of HWR’s offer and finally coming to terms with how important he is to the universal cycle, etc etc). The entire plot suffered in favour of a romance that half of us didn’t even want.

• It essentially reduced all of Loki’s potential character growth down to “He did it for his crush.” He seemed to at least have some motivations of his own in Ep 1-2 (feeble as they were) but after Sylvie showed up in Ep 3, literally every action he took was just him being a simp for her. Why did he lie in the interrogation? To try to protect Sylvie. Why did he fight the minutemen and Timekeepers? To survive kinda, but mostly cause it was important to Sylvie. Why did he get pruned? Cause he got distracted trying to confess his crush to Sylvie. Why did he try to get out of The Void? Cause he thought Sylvie needed him. Why did he stay in The Void? Cause Sylvie was staying. Why did he try to enchant Alioth? Cause Sylvie told him to. Why did the multiverse get cracked open, leading to an infinite number of Kangs waging war on all of existence? Cause Loki didn’t wanna hurt Sylvie in their fight at the Citadel and then get distracted by her kissing him. It’s uninteresting and honestly pretty embarrassing.

• Throughout their “relationship arc” the writers do their absolute damndest to convince us that we should like Sylvie more than Loki. And you know what? It’s the most hypocritical shit I’ve ever seen. They preach and preach about how Sylvie’s life has been so difficult/we should feel bad for her/she had it so bad/poor poor sylvie/she had it SO much worse than pampered prince Loki…. But then they never even touch on any of Loki’s trauma of hardships (the ones that have been ignored for literally 3 movies now). They frame Sylvie as a good person and a Freedom Fighter after she spent literal decades/centuries mass-murdering brainwashed TVA agents and showing exactly zero remorse for it….. but then they make it their mission to constantly remind us that Loki is a terrible person and constantly put him in situations where he’s forced to acknowledge his wrongdoings/show remorse/admit to how “evil” he is for being a mass murderer for like 2 years. They show him on-screen having a wider range of powers than her, and perpetuate his whole shtick of being a “master manipulator” or whatever….. But then they make Sylvie “the brawn” more competent, intelligent, and physically capable than him. Tell me how it’s a good thing for a ship to be so narratively biased toward one character.

Missed Opportunities

• If they absolutely had to have a romance subplot, then they could’ve paired Loki with one of the characters that have already been established OR one of the characters that were a big part of the whole TVA storyline anyway. It would’ve been so interesting if they’d revealed that Loki had a history with some of the players from previous films (Sif and Fandral both come to mind). It also would’ve been really interesting if they’d given Loki a love interest that actually had some allegiance to the TVA as a whole (Mobius maybe, but not necessarily. It also could’ve been Renslayer or B-15). Hell, imo it would’ve been cool if they’d followed through with that “See you again someday” line that he said to the flight attendant in Ep 1. ALL of these characters have way more chemistry with him than Sylvie, and they were also already relevant to the plot without wasting half the show to give background info on them.

• If they absolutely had to have a hetero-presenting love story involving an enchantress-type figure, then there’s a whole Enchantress (Amora) that was actually Loki’s love interest in the comics. Plus, fans have been screaming for Amora to appear in the mcu for years. Plus, Tom literally pitched an Amora/Loki storyline way back in 2012-13. Also, Lorelei (another enchantress) is also one of Loki’s love interests in the comics, and she already exists in the mcu (she was on Agents of SHIELD). There were several different established characters for them to choose from. Creating a whole knew amalgamation of a character and going with the “she’s a Loki variant” storyline was just completely unnecessary and made no sense.

• They completely robbed us of a Chaos Twins dynamic. Had they handled Sylvie better and not forced her and Loki to smooch, the two of them could’ve had a really really complex and interesting sibling relationship. Loki could’ve stepped into Thor’s shoes and sort of used that new role to gain some self importance, and Sylvie could’ve finally had somebody to look out for her/teach her magic/be there for her. It would’ve been very aesthetically pleasing, the vibes would’ve been out of this world, it would’ve been way more profound than this bs, and frankly it would’ve been much more entertaining to watch.

• Loki’s relationship (read: obsession) with Sylvie completely overshadows all Loki’s other relationships in the show. Loki and Mobius were literally the focal point of the series in Ep 1-2, but after Sylvie showed up in Ep 3, they barely had any interactions with each other, and Mobius pretty much faded to the background entirely. Loki had the beginnings of a pretty interesting antagonistic relationship with Renslayer (with her wanting him pruned, then arguing with Mobius that he couldn’t be trusted), but after Sylvie showed up the dynamic shifted to focus on the history between her and Ravonna. Loki and B-15 started off very badly and openly disliked each other throughout Ep 1-2, and then in the end of Ep 2, Loki showed a little bit of concern for her when she was possessed, hinting that they might be inching toward a reconciliation- especially considering how obvious it was that Loki was gonna uncover the TVA’s sins eventually. There was so much potential for him to be the one to give her her memories back and convince her to change sides, but no, of course that honor went to Sylvie. In fact, after Sylvie showed up, Loki and B-15 never even spoke to each other again.

Various S*lki Fails

• If they were trying to convince us that this affection was mutual, they completely failed. There’s nothing I’ve seen that even hints at Sylvie feeling the same way about Loki that he does about her. At most, I’d say she has a slight endearment to him. She finds him likeable and she’s grudgingly fond of him, but she definitely isn’t in love with the guy. Maybe she thinks he’s cute and hopes that he gets out of this mess alright, but her mission obviously comes before him- whereas, it’s been confirmed multiple times that Loki cares about her above anything else. She doesn’t trust him, she looks at him like he’s an incompetent fool half the time, she shows little to no reaction during most of his confession moments, and she kissed him as a means to distract him so that she could get him out of her way. Look, all I’m saying is, when you get into a relationship where one of you is way more invested than the other, it never ends well.

• This goes without saying for a lot of us, but the selfcest is just straight up odd and cringey. If you’re cool with that sort of thing, fine! People can ship what they want! But don’t pretend it’s not at least a little bit uncomfortable. Yes, I know they’re not technically siblings so it’s not technically incest, and they’re also not technically the exact same person, but they’re similar enough that it makes things weird. And yes I know selfcest can’t happen in real life, so there’s no way to judge it morally, but neither can most of the other stuff that happens in these shows/movies (the Snap, Loki destroying jotunheim, superhero with powers being held accountable, mind control) and yet we still find ways to judge their morality, because they all mirror real-world events. (The snap= genocide; Loki destroying Jotunheim= bombing other countries; superhero accountability= weapons accountability; mind control= grooming and coercion). And lbr the closest real-world mirror to two versions of the same person (who may or may not share DNA, family, backgrounds, physical and emotion characteristics) being romantically involved with one another is incest. And you can be ok with that if you want- that’s your prerogative- but don’t get pissy just cause a lot of us are squicked out by it.

• The whole mirror metaphor (learning self love via each other) thing just fell completely flat. First of all, having Loki learn to love himself by looking at someone who mirrors him did not, in any way shape or form, require them to be romantically involved. But they were. Of course. Secondly, the creators have contradicted themselves so many times on whether Loki and Sylvie are the same or not, that it doesn’t even really register to the viewer that the mirroring thing was what they were going for. Finally, Loki and Sylvie are shown to have so little in common- and to have only the most bare minimum of similarities personality-wise- that it doesn’t even make sense that Loki would “learn to love himself through loving her”. Like? They’re nothing alike. So how would he make the connection that he himself is actually pretty cool, based on her alone? There’s virtually nothing in her that reflects him.

• I know the objective of the entire show was to convince us of how awesome and unique Sylvie is, but honestly her relationship with Loki just did the opposite. A hallmark of a Mary Sue is having her constantly upstage the male lead, and then having him instantly fall madly in love with her anyway. And that’s.. exactly what happened here. Everything they’re doing to try to force her character to be more stan-able is really just forcing her to look more like their self-insert OC. Which is exactly what she is. It would’ve been so much more satisfying if she didn’t have to try so hard to look cool, if they didn’t have to try so hard to make her backstory tear-inducing, if they didn’t have to turn our protagonist into a snivelling simp just to prove how incredible she supposedly is. Very much #GirlBoss energy and we all know how performative and cheap that is.

• The entire thing was too rushed, there was too little build-up, and it was nowhere near believable. As stated above, it’s ridiculously unlikely that Loki would canonically even be interested in Sylvie, and this show did nothing to explain why he was. He just suddenly was. There was nothing they showed us as viewers that would justify a guy as closed-off and preoccupied as Loki falling head-over-heels for a girl he just met. Their was no explanation, no big revelation, no reasoning, it just… kinda happened. And I’m also severely skeptical of any love story that has the characters go in this deep after only 3 45-minute episodes of exposition.

I’m sure there’s other stuff, so if anyone thinks of anything, let me know and I’ll be more than happy to add it. Tagging @janetsnakehole02 @raifenlf @natures-marvel and @brightredsunset800 for expressing interest. This is all your faults.

#antisylki #loki meta #kinda #loki series critical #loki series negativity #anti loki x sylvie #anti loki series #anti sylvie #frosty bby #loki deserved better #I don’t even like TVA!Loki tho so I guess it doesn’t matter with him lmao #tva loki #loki laufeyson

926 notes · View notes

avellanas-nutty-empire · 2 years

Text

In an attempt to attract more kalego simps to the m!lk simps discord server, here is a little thing I managed to write from my kalego x oc fic that im calling All Cacti Bloom Flowers. This peice originally came about in congregation with @snippychicke in this post (snippy wrote their own lil oneshot in there too i reccomend checking it out) thru our reblogs. But here it is again, bc I'm currently the only kalego simp in the server

What started out as occasional bafflement at your actions, swiftly yet slowly grew into agitation at the extent of which you make him feel these.... soft feelings. As the guard dog of babalis, a member of the Naberious clan, and an esteemed teacher, he has little to no experience with such things. he didn't know what to do about it all, and lately the effect you have on him has become far too meddlesome. Thats when he decided to confront Balam with this situation.

In addition to holding an interest in the school system at babalis, you had also grown fairly close with Balam - often times meeting up with him to talk about imaginary creatures, evolution, and other shared interests. Thats why Kalego thought he would be the best demon to talk to about this - that and Balam being the least likely to further irritate him with his reaction to the situation at hand like Opera or the other babalis staff would.

Balam let him vent about how troublesome your effect is, how its been affecting his train of thoughts often and frustrates him beyond end. Surely your behaviour was unusual enough to warrant some level of suspicion, and surely Kalego was not the only one being affected by you - if not to the same extent. But while your behaviour is quite unique and has had certain affects on other people, the reality was not as Kalego hoped.

“It appears to me this whole thing is starting to affect your evil cycle,” Balam started once Kalego had finished with the brunt of it.

“Indeed. That’s why I’ve come to you looking for an answer on what to do about it.” He responds, still a bit riled up from talking about it all.

“Well, I think the better question is, outside of the obvious stuff like affecting your evil cycle and train of thoughts, why do these feelings upset you so much?”

This statement Balam had presented Kalego with caught him off guard. The frustration had in fact, functioned as a wall that stopped him from addressing the core of the issue; which was the fact that you made him feel soft - a feeling that immediately triggers a warning light in his strict guard dog brain. The realization left him clutching at his head and finally taking a seat since coming in.

“…having a more soft-natured relationship with someone doesn’t necessarily make a demon weaker. In fact, it could even make one stronger.” Balam said after a while, allowing his friend to process what was currently running thru his brain. “All cacti bloom flowers.”

~~~

Kalego left that night with more thoughts than he bargained for - tho not before running into you. with a stack of papers and books in your arms, you swung around the corner and swiftly stopped yourself just before bumping into Kalego himself, who noticed the way in which you brought yourself to such a quick stop by going up on the balls of your feet and leaning backwards with the grace of a dancer.

“Oh, sorry Kalego. How is your class doing with their new workload so far?” You said, aiming for a conversation revolving around one of your interests (education). But Kalego, having just finished that conversation with Balam, was not ready for an interaction with you.

“Not right now.” He grumbled out, brushing past you.

“oh…sorry” You responded in a soft tone, anxiety starting to form. Kalego is just about always as prickly as a cactus, but your intuition was saying that this was something else; anxiety telling you that you did something wrong. Regardless, you had to give Balam the stack in your hands and thus tried to push it back as you walked into his prep room.

“Hey Balam, Profe Dali asked me to give this stuff to you.” You said, placing it down on the table. As the demon thanked you and began sifting thru the pile, you sat down as the anxiety started flow again.

“…Is something up with Kalego?” You hesitantly asked, fidgeting with the hem of your clothes. Balam looked up from the stack at you questioningly. “I just ran into him on the way here, and my intuition is telling me somethings up is all. I know that, some of the teachers have chosen to avoid telling Robin about the whole Familiar thing, but…. you’d tell me if i did something, right?”

“Well… there are somethings I don’t have the place to tell you about, but I believe that everything will turn out alright, he might just need some time first. try not to worry too much.” Balam says, ruffling your hair with a pat.

~~~

The following Monday school was cut short for a special event. The Three Greats organized a Ball every 5 or so years for the teachers and staff of their respective schools; along with anyone else who had a strong interest in working in the field of education and a recommendation to the field by someone already inside of it. The instructors of Babalis were already dedicated enough to work on improving the school for their students outside of work days, sometimes even late at night, but this Ball was a chance for the 3 different schools to commune amongst each other to discuss, learn, and develop new and different ways to improve their respective schools. Bragging and competitions breaking out was not uncommon due to the nature of demons, but the one thing they could all agree on was their duty to protect and take care of the students as they developed.

It just so happened that this year, you were in attendance as Sullivan has recommended you to the field. Your strong interest in joining the same field of work as him did not surprise Kalego, rather your attendance was a bit startling - alto he should have suspected you might show up, what with the Principals wishy-washy attitude. Your appearance tho, thoroughly surprised him. You were wearing a lilac coloured one shoulder dress, with ruffles and a hair style that made you look like a flower. You looked as soft as a petal. The soft feelings swiftly bubbled up again inside of him as he watched you walk around with Sullivan and Opera - but instead of blocking them off with frustration, this time he allowed himself to feel light and fluffy at your appearance. It felt…. nice, calming. Like pruning one of his cacti.

Since his discussion with Balam, Kalego has decided that you were worth getting closer too. Approaching you with Opera and Sullivan next to you though, was not going to happen; Kalego had other people to converse with anyways, so he could wait.

You spent a lot of time at first sticking close to the two demons who had accompanied you, both out of shyness and feeling insecure about your right to be at such an event even with Sullivan’s recommendation into the field. There was also the issue of someone finding out that you are a human, but your dress covered up enough of where a demons wing roots are located and you had spent a lot of time learning about the netherworld and demon ways; Opera and Sullivan even helped teach you how to formally dance just in case. Eventually you got confident enough to wander past your escorts, talking deeply amongst the demons - and once you had found yourself alone searching for Opera and Sullivan to join back up with them, Kalego approached you. The time was now, and he was ready.

Because while most cacti need specific requirements met, all cacti bloom flowers.

#avellanahablando #kalego #naberius kalego #kalego naberious #kalego naberius x reader #kalego naberius #naberius kalego x reader #naberios kalego

64 notes · View notes

levisblackbabe · 3 years

Text

Headcanons of Aot boys with a black gf

Characters: Eren Jeager , Armin Arlert, Levi Ackerman, Connie Springer and Jean Kirstein x fem black reader (separate)

Genre: Mostly fluff, slight angst, deffo crack, (everyone is +18)

Warnings: Language, a bit toxic, slightly suggestive

Wc: 1500+ (Each character is about 300-400 words)

Eren Jeager (The lowkey Toxic one)

· Lowkey scared of y/n because she reminds him of Levi when she is angry, and he knows she will beat his ass if necessary

· Started out as friends but he has always liked y/n

· He initially asked you out as a dare and you only found out after 6 weeks where you broke up 😐

· This legit started the cycle of breaking and getting back together (he never cheated though just a lil bit toxic)

· He is very possessive and controlling which also lead to your break ups

· Even though you have your ups and down he is mostly a good boyfriend

· He plays basketball so every time he is practising on his own, he asks you to be there for rebounds (in reality he just wants you near him baso 24/7)

· Loves your smell so he steals those items might be your lotion, hair products or perfume

· Loves your natural hair and just touches it without permission after a couple times you just gave up telling him off

· He was confused on why you changed your hair so often

· When you guys first started dating you came with box braids rather then your usual bun and he deadass thought you were somebody else 💀he was so confused on why this stranger was touching him up (this mf loyal cuz he was ready to punch you)

· He was soooo scared of meeting your parents (had to call Armin to ask for advice)

· Your family at first didn’t like him cuz of the constant breaking up but they grew to tolerate him (however your older brother doesn’t)

· Loves taking pictures of you during facetime, golden hour or whenever and saves them in a folder (simp)

· Loves your cooking soo much that he goes collect tubber ware of food worth a week and stocks up his fridge

· He loves when you speak to him in another language so he pisses you off so you can cuss him out in your native tongue

· He barely calls your name its either babe or some cringey name like bubbs or something (however if you hear your full name leave his month rip)

Armin Artlet (The simp)

· SHY BAE that’s it

· He was your English tutor and has always had a crush on you

· He wanted to ask you out on a date, but he shy and thought you won’t like white boys

· You asked him instead cuz you fell for his ocean blue eyes (I mean who wouldn’t)

· In the beginning you had to take the initiative a lot cuz he wanted to respect your boundaries but after a while he grew comfortable and took the lead

· He LOVES your natural hair and knows your wash day schedule, so he always offers to help anyway possible

· He was absolutely scared of meeting your family cuz once again he white 😐 however everyone loved him

· He most definitely invited to the family reunion

· Your aunts adore him and they always talking about you as a baby to him

· He always doing late night ft calls with you, and he WON’T hang up cuz he wants to see your face when you wake up

· Armin is a giver, so he always offers to buy thigs for your and just buy gifts at least once a week

· He also loves cooking for and with you (once you had a cooking competition and technically, he is a better cook, but he let you win)

· He likes sending random pictures of things you like and remind him of you

· He happily takes pictures of you (photographer Armin)

· You guys have a pet turtle called Mickey 🐢

· His nicknames for you are beautiful, pretty and stuff like that

· Just overall fluff

Levi Ackerman (the co-worker)

· You guys have been co-workers for 2 years actually

· You thought he hated you but in reality, he does he just acts stingy towards cuz he is Levi 😐 (some serious enemies to lovers vibe)

· He didn’t confess and never would have but due to a drunken Hange letting it slip during a hang out with your co-workers you found out

· He deadass ignored you for a week like if he saw you, he would turn into Houdini and disappear

· However, you once caught him distracted and forced him to talk to you

· Reluctantly so he spoke the truth and asked you out (thought he seemed angry about it)

· Now you guys have happily been dating

· Everyone in your office finds you lucky cuz Levi is the finest man in the office heck the world (if he was real, I would leave my bf 😭)

· He actually has a 5-year-old daughter (DILF! Levi) and told you why he never said anything about his feeling was because you know single dad and shiz

· After 6 weeks you met his babygirl and she is the cutest she loves you considering she never had much of a mother figure in her life

· His daughter is mixed so he knows how to deal with natural hair thanks to YouTube, so he sometimes helps with yours (such a good dad)

· But now that you are here you offer to do any protective styles and give him tips

· Levi isn’t very open, but he expresses his love to you with physical touch, acts of service or gifts

· However, he speaks very softly to his daughter he seems different

· Due to his love language being touch he loves petting your hair (only when you have protective styles) and putting his head on it ( he is tall in my head okay)

· He loves having you in close proximity to you and just somehow touching you

· Him and your dad really hit it off because they both have daughters

· Your aunts are lowkey infatuated with him

· Loves making breakfast for you but due to your busy schedule he just buys your coffee in the morning

· He will never tell you, but he has trouble falling asleep but when you sleepover he actually has a full nights rest (he has silk sheets just for you)

· He might seem closed off, but you know he loves you due to the little things

Connie Springer (the bestfriend)

a/n I just want to say Connie will be of Hispanic heritage for the sake of this headcanon also because all the fanfics I read about him he is portrayed as Hispanic I just write him like this however this isn’t to offend anyone or play onto stereotypes.

· You guys have been besties since freshman year high school

· You hooked up freshman year of college and been dating ever since

· Nothing really changed in your dynamic other than the fact yall kiss and do the deed

· Like you legit call each other insults though Connie likes calling slime and bubbs

· You jokingly calling each other baby mama and baby daddy (manifesting kids but whatever)

· Speaking of kids, you have plushies that you call kids and rotate them around (they are from your arcade date)

· Loves being on call with you when he is playing because it helps calm him down and not break his tv (anger issues much)

· HYPEMAN if you are looking fine asf he will hype you up so much and offer to take pictures for the gram

· You have a joint TikTok account where you reaching 10k and just do dumb couple stuff its cringey but cute (Same goes for your joint spam account where you guys just do silly things together)

· He always asks to do your hair which you repetitively deny keeping in mind last time you let him he nearly ripped off half your scalp

· Late nights drives happen a lot so you can vent and have a heart to heart under the stars, you guys also just vibe to the music and might spend hours in silence looking at the city lights and dancing

· If you fall asleep on him or in the drive back he becomes really cute and soft and just says you are beautiful and that he loves you in Spanish (ugh my heart)

· He only speaks Spanish when he wants to be cute and knows you won’t understand

· Your family have always liked him so when you guys started dating everyone was like ‘FINALLY’ (same with his family)

· Some type of kid’s movie marathon once a month cuz being a child is great

· Its just overall jokes

Jean Kirstein (Mr Doesn’t Give Up)

· Kept asking you out for a year until you gave in, he was so excited he kissed you straightaway

· He was so nervous in your first date, but he was a gentleman opening doors etc (whoever said chivalry was dead 🤨)

· Nearly said I love you on the first date considering he has liked you for a year, but he held it in

· However, he did get a kiss goodnight on the cheek (he was grinning like a fool)

· Loves the fact that you change your hair so much and so often that he happily gives recommendations and offers to help you out

· He is the overprotective type of boyfriend so he was reluctant on you meeting his friends especially Eren, but you reassured him that you wouldn’t be swayed (still icky about you hanging with Eren though)

· He adores playing pc games with you and you have a little family in Sims4 which is cute

· He now has a skincare routine because you introduced him to it (he said he didn’t need one cuz he has a ‘handsome face’ but he secretly started one lol

· He also steals your body lotion and legit smells like you (smh)

· His wrist always has a silk crunchie in case you need it, and, in his car, he has a bag with essentials for you such as pads, edge control, etc

· He calls you cute pet names but also the occasional insults as a joke

· He is lowkey rich, so he happily spoils you to fancy dinners and more

· He also likes going back to the basics so picnic dates in the spring and summer are common he says he cooks them but in reality, it’s his mum

· Your mum absolutely adores him cuz he is a ‘charmer’

· He likes facetiming you when he is working out so he can show up, but you just ignore him and continue doing what you are doing

· Like Eren he has a folder filled of mugs of you

Back to Navigation

#eren yeager x black reader #jean x black!reader #eren yaeger x reader #armin x black reader #connie x black reader #levi x black reader #aot fanfiction #aot headcanons #aot imagines #eren jaeger #levi ackerman #angst prompts🥀#fluff prompts 🍄#levisbae 💅🏽

779 notes · View notes