#its a big post if you read this entire thing (why would you) i'll be impressed

[promenadewithme]

Glorious

a/n: I'm so sad that I accidentally lost the request for this! Long story short, I posted the unfinished story instead of saving it to my drafts, so I deleted it. It's been too long since I last posted and I promise I'll try to do so more often!! Also, this is my first time writing smut, so sorry if it's terrible!

Request: Cedric smut after quidditch practice

Pairing: Cedric Diggory x Female! Reader

Warnings: smut (obviously), switch! Cedric (mostly sub), switch! Reader (mostly dom), unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it, people!!), edging, orgasm denial, friends cockblocking ced (poor baby), dirty talk, slight breeding kink, praise and degradation.

Word count: I have no idea, but A LOT. More than I expected, to be honest. I want to say 4k of smut? (Don't come at me, I'm horny)

If you like this, reblog or (if you can and want to) buy me a coffee!

Glorious.

That was the word that came to mind as the one and only Cedric Diggory flew after the snitch. Autumn had just begun but summer has left its heat. And that left Cedric shirtless during training.

He was far away from where you sat, but his lean muscles glowed under the sun, leaving goosebumps on your skin despite the heatwave.

With or without a shirt, seeing your boyfriend train was a huge turn-on. His brows furrowed in concentration, his muscles straining to stay balanced on the broom, his agility and keen eye, the competitiveness of it all.

Of course, in the end, it was just a bunch if people playing with balls of all shapes and sizes. You were particularly a big fan of fondling in the bedroom, so why not cheer your boyfriend on while he did the same?

'Ok, maybe not the same. But we can't all be athletic.' You thought, just as Cedric laid eyes on the snitch.

"Come on, Ced!" You cheered, jumping up and down in the stands along with some of the other player's significant others and Hufflepuff supporters.

He flew quicker by the second, reaching out into the clouds. The golden ball was fast, but Cedric was faster. Soon enough, he caught the snitch and both teams went wild for their seeker.

Even though it was just a practice game, you cheered and jumped. Cedric caught your eyes from the other side of the field and flew toward you.

Every game he did the same thing, it became your tradition. The moment he caught the snitch, he flew your way for a celebratory kiss before touching the ground to cheer with his teammates.

"Hello, darling" he said with a huge grin before connecting his lips with yours.

Cedric deepened the kiss, urging you to part your lips with a brush of his tongue. You felt the saltiness as you swiped your own against his lips, but you didn't mind.

His warm tongue connected with yours a second later, causing a tingling sensation between your legs.

Cedric pulled away entirely too quickly, leaving you closed-eyed and chasing his lips. With a cocky grin and a wink, he flew down to where his team had already started removing their gear.

He would definitely pay for his teasing later. For now, you hiked your skirt a bit higher and went to meet him beside the locker rooms.

The two of you locked eyes and you made sure to sway your hips a bit more. His gaze scanned your body hungrily.

Due to the warm weather, you had removed your socks and tie, as well as opened your shirt. It hadn't been on purpose, but you were glad you did. If looks could kill, you'd be splayed and torn apart on Cedric's dick. Your thighs squeezed together in anticipation.

"(y/n)! Wait!" Exclaimed Luna, trotting down the bleachers.

You cursed under your breath and Cedric laughed before going into the changing rooms.

You loved Luna, she was one of your closest friends, but reading the room was definitely not one of her strong suits.

"Hi" she sighed, going in for a tight hug.

"Hey, Luna" you hugged her back just as tightly.

"Would you like to study potions later? I could use your help"

"Sure." You answered, starting down the stairs again, Luna trailing beside you "Lake or library?"

"Oh, library. The lake has too many distractions, I have to stay focused this time."

"Alright, after Snape’s class?"

"Yes, that will work perfectly." She nodded, wrote it down on her hand and turned to leave before glancing back with a smirk "have a nice time with Cedric, but do try not to get caught."

You stood there gobsmacked.

Purposely cockblocked by Luna Lovegood.

You laughed before heading towards the locker room.

Two players headed out, waving your way, as you leaned against the wall opposite of where Cedric was.

Fifteen more minutes went by and three players had left. You crossed your arms and sighed.

'What in Merlin's name is taking so long?' You asked yourself, patience growing thinner by the minute.

When your watch marked twenty-five minutes since the players went in, the 6th player left and Cedric was still nowhere to be found.

You decided to wait five more minutes.

'You're just being impatient. Calm the hell down, (y/n)' you told yourself, taking a deep breath.

But 30 minutes was too much. Not for you, but for Cedric. He bathes like there's a ticking time bomb in the showers.

'Is he hurt?' The thought crossed your mind and your feet lead you inside.

The air was humid and hot around you.

"Cedric?" You whisper-yelled "I swear to Merlin, if you're dead in here, I'll kill you."

A groan made you stop in your tracks.

"Cedric?" You called out, moving towards the deep breathing.

Rounding the corner, you found a sight picked straight out of your dirtiest maladaptive daydreams.

Your boyfriend was naked and wet. Cedric's left hand tried to grip the wall, beads of water trailing down his tense biceps and lower. It flowed down his torso and lower even, to where his right hand held a tight grip around his cock, pumping up and down in a slow and sensual pace.

"Took you long enough" he said, a smirk on his face.

Striding towards him, you smirked right back. Removing your uniform and shoes, then, ever so slowly, your underwear. A groaning Cedric quickened his pace at the sight of you.

You entered the shower, closing the water, as Cedric released his dick and grabbed your waist, pulling you into him.

He went straight for your lips, just as slow and sensual as his former pace.

Your hands went separate ways. One towards his hair, that pulled the short strands back to break the kiss. The other wrapped around his arousal, stroking till the tip.

The mixture of both sensations had Cedric moaning your name fervently.

"Who said you could start without me?" You whispered in his ear.

"Didn't mean to, didn't think you'd take this long to come find me" he replied, kissing your neck right where he knew your knees would go weak.

"You'll still have to pay for your hastiness."

"You know I love your punishments, darling" he grins and catches your lips in a passionate kiss. Tongues circling, teeth clashing and bodies drawing impossibly closer.

Your hand started stroking his swollen flesh again, drawling low and soft moans from his lips.

"I know, love." You soothed, but your hand only moved faster, your grip tighter.

A string of curses escaped his lips.

"(y/n)" he whimpered.

"You're so close, aren't you?" You cooed.

"So close, so close" he answered frantically.

"Not quite yet, I can't let you off the hook that easily." You said, halting your movements.

He let out a dissapointed groan.

"Don't be ungrateful, darling." You teased, "You'll come soon enough"

A bead of pre-cum leaked from his tip. You gathered it in your thumb and brought it to your lips, sucking the saltiness seductively.

Cedric's pupils were blown wide and an almost primal look took over his features.

You grabbed his neck and kissed him with everything you had, doing all the things you knew would drive him wild, then pulled away. He was left closed eyed, chasing your lips.

But you hadn't had all your fun yet. With a grin on your face, you turned around and headed towards your clothes.

"Darling?" he asked.

You ignored him, putting on your shirt and probably missing a few buttons in the process. You saw Cedric grab his towel, a confused look on his face. You put on your skirt and threw your lace underwear his way. He grabbed them with slightly wide eyes.

"I'd get ready quickly if I were you. If I wait too long for you, I might start by myself." with a wink, you left a bungling Cedric hurriedly drying himself.

You let out a low giggle while strutting out the locker rooms. You were leaving the field when Cedric caught up with you, shirt half open, your lace panties between his teeth, and still buttoning up his pants.

You stifled a giggle at the sight and walked faster. He tripped, but managed to catch himself.

Before long, he was fully dressed and walking fast beside you, glancing your way every few seconds with a giddy smile on his face.

That is, until Harry Potter started calling after him.

His eyes widened slightly, he grabbed your arm and said "Don't you dare stop walking"

With a playful smile on your face, you released your arm from his grip and turned towards the griffindor.

"Hello, Harry!" You smiled widely, mosty because of the impatient look on Cedric's face.

"Hey, (y/n)," he turned towards your boyfriend "Cedric, can I talk to you for a second?" the boy looked at you for a split second before returning his gaze to Cedric "Alone."

"Actually, we-"

"Of course! Take your time, Harry!" You answered, overly amiable.

As you started walking away, Cedric grabbed your arm again.

"(y/n)'s not feeling very well, I have to take care of her. Can we do this another time?"

"Oh, nonsense! You know I can take care of myself." You said, untangling yourself from him, "Besides, I feel much better now. I might even -"

Your words were cut off as Cedric pulled you against his chest.

"I'm sure (y/n) won't tell a soul, there's nothing you can say to me that you can't say to her."

Harry reluctantly started saying something about some girl. Maybe Cho? Ginny? You had no idea. You were too busy feeling Cedric's hard cock against your backside, his hands pressing at your stomach to hold you as close as possible.

You looked up at him and he had a smug look on his face. He knew what he was doing.

His lips were moving, but all you could thing about was his dick inside you, pounding over and over again until your whole body shook.

"What do you think, (y/n)?"

Your name pulls you back from your lustful state and you realise the words came from Harry. He looked doubtful and insecure. You understood him, you'd been in a similar situation after all. Who never has? Pining after someone and not knowing if they'll ever want you back? Too shy and insecure to do anything about it? It was a universal experience.

"I think that I never would have told Cedric about my feelings if he didn't make the first move. I never would have told him how I felt and we wouldn't be together now." You held Cedric's hands on your stomach and smiled at the memory of him first coming to speak with you.

"I think that you will never know how she feels if you never ask. Life is about taking risks. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but that only means that person wasn't the one for you. You are remarkable, Harry Potter. If anyone does not want you it's their loss, not yours. And if they do want you, they'll be extremely lucky to have you."

The boy was blushing by the end of your speech and Cedric smiled down at you.

"D'you really think so?" he asked, but a smile pulled at his lips.

"I do." you answered sincerely.

"Ok, Potter, cheers mate. We gotta go." Cedric said, taking your hand, not waiting for a reply before jogging through the halls, dragging you along with him.

Your laughter echoed through the halls and your stomach clenched in anticipation. Cedric lead you down the stairs and past the kitchens, his face no longer humorous.

He tapped the rhythm to "Helga Hufflepuff" on the right barrel and immediately pushed through, pulling you along with him. You both made your way to his dorm, thanking Merlin once again that prefects have individual rooms.

The click of the lock closing resonated through the room and the only noise left was your heavy breathing as you gazed as one another.

You made the first move, slowly unbuttoning your shirt and leaving it to fall on the floor. Cedric watched, unmoving, as you unzipped your skirt and let it fall as well.

You leaned against the door and he looked at you with a predatory gaze, but you both knew who was in charge.

"Kneel." you commanded and Cedric immediately obeyed, falling to his knees in front of you, holding the back of your thighs.

"Did I say you could touch me?" you asked, raking your hands through his hair.

He removed his hands from you, but begged "I need you so much, please. Can I make you come?" his pupils were blown wide, his brows furrowed, and his erection pressing against his pants.

"Only because you asked so nicely" you answered sweetly and Cedric sighed, his head falling to your mound.

His hands massaged your buttocks as he gave you kisses so close yet so far to where you needed him most.

"Now," you breathed "you are going to give me head and make me cum. Can you do that, baby?"

"Please," he whimpered, kissing your mound, "wanna taste you so bad, darling."

"Go ahead, Ced."

He immediately complied, hiking your right leg over his shoulder and licking from your entrance to your clit. You gasped, steadying yourself against the wall and he moaned against you.

"Always taste so good, my love."

Cedric licked and sucked like a starved man, tearing moan after moan from you.

"Cedric" you whimpered, gripping his hair to bring him closer or push him away. You didn't even know anymore.

He swirled his tongue around your clit before lowering his mouth to your entrance again and plunging his tongue inside. Your groan was loud enough for anyone in the hufflepuff common room and adjacent to hear as he fucked you slowly with his tongue.

"Just like that, baby."

He complied, keeping the same rhythm. In and out, in and out.

Your walls started clenching and warmth spread across your lower stomach, but it still wasn't enough.

"I need more." you said, looking down at him.

Like a good boy, he started stroking your clit with his thumb and worked his tongue faster.

Like that wasn't enough, he looked up at you and just the sight of him on his knees for you, with disheveled hair, eating you out while his spare hand stroked his cock would have brought on your first orgasm.

Your body shook and your knees gave out, but Cedric still held you and kept using his tongue to help you ride out your high.

When it was too much, you pulled his head away from your core by his hair.

"You were so good, my love." You caressed his face "Until you started touching yourself."

"I wasn't going to make myself come, I swear." He stood up "I just wanted to feel good."

"I'll make you feel good, baby." you dragged your finger and nails down his torso, leaving goosebumps as you told him to lie down on the bed.

"Finish taking your clothes off," you said, looking around "I want you naked when I get on that bed."

Finding what you were looking for, you crawled over your boyfriend's body and sat down on top of his erection. The direct contact with your heat made him swear.

You put his arms above his head and bound his wrists to the headboard with your house's tie.

"Please, I swear I won't touch myself." he pulled at the tie "I just wanna touch you, darling."

"Oh, I can't let you do that." you propped your hands on his chest and started a tortuously slow drag of your hips up and down his length, "You've been misbehaving a lot this afternoon. You only get to touch me when you've been a good boy."

"I'll be a good boy, I promise." he whimpered.

"We'll see about that." you answered, grinding a bit faster against him.

His hands were white from pulling at the tie, his breathing laboured and his hips shaking with restraint.

You leaned forward, your breasts falling to his face, "Suck on them."

He leaned towards them and captured your left nipple with his mouth. His nibbling and sucking tore moans from you and made you fasten your pace on his cock.

"Gonna come soon." he managed before turning his attention to your right nipple.

You took his jaw in your hand and kissed him passionately before resting your forehead against his.

His cock started twitching beneath you and Merlin if it didn't bring you an instant from your second orgasm, but you pulled away all at once.

Tears threatened to spill from his eyes and his dick kept spasming, his hips bulking.

Cedric whimpered.

"I know, I know." you cooed "You're doing so good, but I'm not done punishing you just yet."

You connected your lips one last time before making your way to the foot of the bed, caressing his leg as you walked. The growing wetness and incessant pulse between your thighs made you clench them.

"You did so good at training today, Ced." you praised him, "And you looked so handsome, too."

You got on the bed once more, between his legs this time, and he looked down at you.

"Wanted your pretty cock in my mouth the whole time."

He moaned as you started stroking his length, a bead of pre-cum falling onto your hand.

"Please, I want to be inside you." he begged, thrusting into your hand.

"Soon enough, my love." you answered kissing his tip, earning you a hiss "Have patience."

Your mouth watered as you looked at his engorged member, hard against his abs. All flustered cheeks, glistening skin, and shallow breaths, Cedric awaited your next move.

"Glorious." You breathed to yourself, but the seeker flushed even more from the praise.

Your eyes went back to his cock and the vein on the underside was your first target. You heard his moan as you licked him from base to tip, then took him inside your mouth all at once.

His hips bulked and his head hit the back of your throat, making you gag. Your pulse quickened everywhere.

Bobbing your head up and down, sucking harder at the head, you pushed Cedric closer to the edge.

He moaned your name like a prayer, over and over, and you kept up your pace even as tears fell from your eyes and drool spread down your chin.

"Touch my balls." He gasped and you complied, smiling around him.

You cupped and massaged his scrotum, already heavy with cum and you imagined all that inside of you. Moaning at the thought, you gave Cedric one last suck before getting up on your knees to untie him.

His hands flew to your hips and his lips to yours.

"You had your fun, darling, now it's my turn." he said, voice deep and eyes dark. His pupils were so dilated you could barely see the usual grey.

Holding your body to his, he flipped the both of you and looked down at you with one arm holding his weight beside your body, the other hand softly grazing your body.

"Hello, gorgeous." he smiled, diving to kiss you.

You kissed him back, tongues caressing each other and hands roaming.

Two fingers slid from your entrance to your clit and you shuddered.

"So wet for me, aren't you?" he took his digits to his lips and sucked them clean, you bit your bottom lip to contain a moan.

The sight alone could have made you cum.

"I need you to use your words, darling. I'm going to fuck you into the mattress right now, alright?" he said, caressing your face.

The contrast between his words and his tenderness had you squirming "Please." was all you could manage.

Taking his swollen cock, he teased you, dragging the head up and down your slit then circling your clit.

"Hurry!" you whined and he immediately obliged, completely sheathing his cock in your entrance.

Both gasping, your walls clenched around him and Cedric steadied himself against the bed.

Your mingling breaths evened out a bit before Cedric slowly pulled out until the tip and rutted back in again.

One of your hands shot up to hold his biceps while the other splayed against his back.

His length hit deep, hard and slow, making you dizzy.

He moaned your name in your ear, hair brushing the side of your face. Your legs made their way around his waist, letting him hit even deeper and you clenched harder around him.

"Fuck, darling." he groaned, quickening his pace "Need you to come for me, can you do that?"

His every thrust lead you to your second orgasm. How deep he hit, the moans and grunts he let out, how every plunge of his hips rubbed against you clit, the look he had in his eyes.

Every one of your muscles clenched and shook, Cedric moaned, and you let out a cry as blinding pleasure exploded through your body.

Even as you came down from your high, the thrusts didn't stop. If anything, they were harder and faster.

Cedric pulled out and turned you over, bringing your ass towards him. He plunged himself in again and continued his thrusts just as deep and fast as before.

You bit the pillow as he gave your ass a smack, but he still heard your low groan.

"You like that, don't you?" he spanked you again, a bit harder this time, and you cried out "My pretty little cock slut."

You moaned incoherently as he hit just the right spot over and over.

"Gonna come inside you, darling." he grunted.

Grabbing one of his hands placed on your hips, you looked back at him and, as always, the sight was glorious.

Cedric could have been sculpted by the gods themselves, with a layer of sweat that made his skin glow, veins and lean muscles bulging, and sexual prowess you were sure no human should have been made to have.

Interlacing your fingers, he looked into your eyes then shot his head up and his thrusts became sloppier. His dick started swelling inside you and you moaned. He was close and so were you.

"Fill me up, Ced. Wanna be so full of you." was the last thing you managed to say before your walls clenched tightly around him and you let out a silent scream.

Cedric poured out a string of curses and gave one final deep thrust before you felt his release coat your walls. Breathing laboured and bodies exhausted, he fell to his side and brought your body with him.

"You did so good, baby." he praised, kissing your hair, then asked sweetly "Do you need anything? Water, a bath?"

You turned around and curled into him "Just you."

He smiled and kissed your forehead "You'll always have me."

"I love you." you murmured into his chest.

Cedric's heart swelled in his chest and he said "I love you." but you were already asleep.

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[babacontainsmultitudes]

🤔 Admittedly I was a little disappointed by the reveal (but certainly not surprised the foreshadowing was heavy in this episode lol), but not actually against how Beth (and Will) seem to be playing with it thus far- which is to say that I do think it has a lot of potential, and I suspect there's more to what we're seeing).

;) Big ol' ramble below

Mostly the theory has turned me off until now (at least insofar as I've witnessed it transpire in the fandom at large) because it struck me as so painfully ironic to see Trudy, a 1950s housewife, struggle to exist under the system that she's in, fail to fit the mold assigned to her, and be denied her personhood very literally for it (this being ironic insofar as how it mimics how she would have been treated back then). This and because frankly I just think she's a lot less interesting if she's fully a robot LOL, but I'll hopefully get to that in a bit.

Not that the hints at her mechanical nature and the relevance of Tucker's background were lost on me; I can appreciate why those would contribute to a plausible, fun and I think still mostly harmless theory (now fact). However, minus one or two specific posts I've seen on the matter (namely a recent one suggesting that if Trudy is a robot Beth is probably taking inspiration from The Stepford Wives, :( sorry person who made that post I couldn't find it I wanted to credit yoouuu), I've seen the theory just about exclusively presented in a manner that, rather than explore the metaphorical and political significance of Trudy being partially or fully mechanical, at best disregards the parts of her narrative that are at their core about sexism (among other related things), and at worst negates them entirely (i.e. Trudy only thinking and acting how she does because she's a robot malfunctioning and not because the world itself is causing harm and she rightfully wants something more than the role she was forced into, Trudy not even having any real thoughts and feelings of her own, etc.). I just think it kind of sucks to shove all those important things about her aside and say "actually, there's no person suffering here, she's just a robot" and perhaps worse yet to imply that she does have thoughts and feelings but because they result in Weird™ behavior it must be a problem with her code and not at all relate to what women were subjugated to during this point in American history.

CONVERSELY I don't think Trudy being a robot (or at least partially one) at least from what Beth and Will have presented us thus far, inherently suffers from any of these issues? First and foremost because Trudy definitely appears to possess sentience, thoughts, and emotions of her own, matters which immediately complicate her degree of personhood and don't inherently box her behavior in as a bug in her programming rather than an issue with the world she's been put in, quite the opposite in fact! I think they have a very solid groundwork laid out here to make a strong statement with Trudy's narrative (and perhaps ask the question of what is really malfunctioning here), all the more so since [I pull out a Rebecca Swallows-style conspiracy board] I don't think she's entirely robotic in nature? Actually you should just read Mack's tags in this post cause he has great thoughts on the matter (of which those are just some of them), but if I can direct your attention to one thing in particular, it would be Beth's fact (I *believe* from episode 2) about Trudy never graduating high school because of her essay where she suggested that "perhaps women could one day domesticate themselves", a statement that could of course be interpreted a number of ways but ultimately threatened the patriarchal status quo enough (in suggesting women's independence) to cost Trudy her diploma. Taken on its own this fact appears to contradict the theory that Trudy has always been robotic in nature, because it doesn't really make sense that Trudy would have been set up to go through high school (or school at all really) when Tucker's intention was/is for her to be the perfect housewife. You may then suggest that Trudy's memories of this are fabricated and not actually her lived experiences, in which case firstly perhaps you should reread my earlier point on the robot theory being used to actively negate and otherwise disregard the portions of Trudy's narrative that pertain to sexism and feminism, and secondly it really doesn't make any sense to me that Tucker would implant those kind of memories into Trudy's brain? To be completely honest if she's been a robot from the very beginning (rather than someone who became a cyborg, which is what I'm trying to suggest here), then I don't see why Tucker would program her with actual sentience in the first place (suspending my disbelief here with regards to the possibility of programming sentience to begin with). It seems much more likely to me then that Trudy was not always a robot, and instead altered by Tucker to force her into a role of subordination and remedy her """imperfections""". This option is significantly more interesting to me one, because it implies that Trudy has actually lived a life up until the present, full of its own complexities and strife (and dreams, and real actual memories worth exploring, etc.), and hence is not by any means "just a robot", and second because it amplifies the hypothetical statement being made on the lives of the real living women of the era and how they were treated and seen as being "in need of fixing" for not conforming to gender roles or otherwise acting "out of line" with what was expected of them.

OKAY THIS GOT OUT OF HAND SO I'M CUTTING MYSELF OFF HERE but I wanted to my share my current thoughts what with this ending and where I'm at so hopefully that was at least interesting to whoever has chosen to read through this one okay thank you byyyyyyyyye~

[leafy-m]

Because I'm autistic and because I love Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen, I page-by-page compared the recent Kodansha USA English release of volume 1 to its Japanese and fan-translated counterparts.

If you've read the official English translation, you may have noticed that some of the big Orufrey moments are.... a bit underwhelming, word-wise. You may have even noticed that the word "wine" is suspiciously missing from the final chapter's WillowGrape Wine recipe, in which wine is kind of an important and obvious factor in it! And you would be correct!

While most of this manga volume is pretty accurate to the original text, there is absolutely a concentrated effort to tone down the more tender Orufrey moments, as well as minimize the alcoholic nature of the final chapter's recipe and related contraptions.

And that's frustrating!

The entire draw of this manga spin-off is seeing these gay witch dads take care of each other and their four daughters in an idyllic countryside setting while also making yummy food that you the reader can try make too. Why is Kodansha USA trying to no-homo these gays?? (Is this a reflection of how bad things are in the USA now?) And while you might say, "But Jade! Qifrey and Olruggio are not actually dating in canon!" — and I would agree with you! But there is nothing straight about these mens' behavior in this comic, and if Qifrey is going to look in Olruggio's direction while tenderly saying his name in Nearly Every Chapter, I expect to read that in English, dammit!

So I'm activating my autism trap card and presenting ya'll with a thorough comparison of every mistranslated and omitted Orufrey or wine moment, complete with discussion and screenshots from the Japanese, fan-translated, and USA English versions. This post is ridiculously long and maxed Tumblr's 30-image limit so chapter 10's discussion is actually in a reblog (sob sob), so I'm putting it all under a cut (you're welcome), and you can be sure that I'll be doing this again if need be for the translated volumes releasing next year.

For now? Let's go.

CHAPTER 1: pg 10

Japanese: フフ...

Fan translated: Heh heh

English version: Ahh...

This is a small moment, but it's important because it's foreshadowing. Qifrey is "airing out" the kitchen, but what he's really doing is sending those delicious smells into Olruggio's room. He's trying to lure him into the kitchen! And that little フフ/heh heh panel is evidence that he's up to something. If you've noticed in the main series, whenever Qifrey is doing something shady or it has a double-meaning, the 'camera angle' focuses on this side of his face with the dark lens.

But the English version obfuscates this by changing フフ to "Ahh..." like, 'isn't that better,' even though it keeps the ellipsis thought bubble indicating that something is up. Why the mixed messaging?

CHAPTER 1: pg 13

Japanese: オルーギオ!

Fan translated: Orugio!

English version: Excellent!

This is the first of many moments where Qifrey will directly say Olruggio's name, and yet the English version will translate it to something else, or drop it entirely. And no, "there wasn't enough room" is not a valid excuse for most of these. Especially when Olruggio's name can (and often is) shortened to Olly.

Look at Olruggio's little smirk at making Qifrey beam happily like that. My God. Kodansha USA/translator Stephen Kohler, why would you take this from us.

CHAPTER 1: pg 14

Japanese: 二人共 今日も一日　お疲れ様でした!

Fan translated: These two people are together tonight. Another day's work well done, you two!

English version: Here's to another long day... ...and a well-earned break!

The omnipresent narrator from the beginning of the chapter is back, and clearly highlighting that 'these two people' are together tonight. And yet the English version removes all that. It may be redundant since we can see they're together in the illustration, but the whole page has that type of text redundancy, like focusing on 'eating that first bite,' or how 'a laugh bubbles up' with Qifrey. And combined with all of the other later omissions, this becomes an obvious trend of targeting these specific types of moments.

Update: Thanks to Farlynthordens for additional insight on this Japanese phrase!:

二人共: (the) two of you [the "tomo" implies the narrator is talking "to" them rather than "about" them] futari-tomo means in a literal sense "(you) two people who are together", but in terms of actual usage/definition it's just identifying a specific pair of people who the speaker is talking to.

今日も一日お疲れ様でした: the rest of this can't really be separated. this whole phrase is meant to be like "good work for all the things you did over the course of this whole day". the fan translation seems to have not understood that the two text blocks were meant to be all one sentence. so if you put this all together, it's like "Good work for everything today, guys!"

Knowing this, I'll still keep it as part of the list because it does omit addressing the two of them in the English version, which follows that trend of minimizing these moments between them. But thank you for the clarity! 💕

CHAPTER 2: pg 28

Japanese:　料理も魔法器も相手のことを一番に考えるのは　君の美德だね　半分ずつだ オルーギオ

Fan translated: Whether you're cooking or performing magic, you always think of others before yourself. It just goes to show your good character. We'll share it, Olruggio.

English version: I've always admired that about you. Whether in your work of in the kitchen... ...You always think of others' needs before your own. All right. Let's split it, then.

The English version has two mistranslations here. I'll start at the top. In it, Qifrey is observing how Olruggio puts others first, and then compliments how it shows his good character. The 'good character' bit is changed to "I've always admired that about you," which at first I thought was sweet! Points for Kohler. But now that I really look at it, there is still some shady translating happening here.

In writing and communicating, what is said last has the most importance. This is how people "bury the lede," by hiding important information in the early part of a speech or amid other sentences, and then distracting them with other stuff.

In that English version top panel, even though Qifrey is complimenting Olruggio, by having it be said first it makes the second speech bubble (and therefore Olruggio's flustered response) be about Qifrey remarking on Olruggio's own behavior, rather than Qifrey's nice compliment about his character. Which changes the meaning of what's going on here. Olly is not flustering because he puts others first, he's flustering because Qifrey is saying something really nice about him, right to his face!

And then of course, in the bottom panel, Qifrey saying Olruggio's name is once again removed.

And I have to say, this bothers me not just because of autistic AcCUraCY! needs, but because he is very specifically saying his name. They are the only people in the room, it's very clear who Qifrey is addressing, and yet here he is once again, putting that man's name in his mouth.

It is intentional.

It is heartfelt.

STOP REMOVING IT!

CHAPTER 3: pg 36 and 37

Japanese: (Olruggio): キーフリー それいらないならこっちに..してくれ (Qifrey): オルーギオ　ひとつおねがい!

Fan translated: (Olruggio): Qifrey, if you won't be needing those, send them my way. (Qifrey): One pot please, Olruggio!

English version: (Olruggio): Mind if I grab those breadcrumbs from ya? I'm gonna use 'em as a binder for the patties. (Qifrey): Could you bring that pot over here for me?

This is a sweet segment because it shows how well Qifrey and Olruggio work in tandem in the kitchen. As someone who has repeatedly failed at working harmonically with others while making food, them being in sync in the kitchen is more fantastical than the actual magic.

And once again, Olruggio and Qifrey saying each other's names are removed. The Olruggio panel translation is also a bit misleading because (as you can see in the larger fan-translated photo), it's Qifrey who is controlling that wind spell! Olruggio is not "grabbing" the breadcrumbs from him, it's Qifrey who is sending them to him. It also lends to the back-and-forth of these moments because as soon as Olly's done with that pot, he gives it to Qifrey to use.

CHAPTER 3: pg 41

Japanese: ありがとうオルーギオ　行ってきます

Fan translated: Thank you, Olruggio. We'll see you later.

English version: Thank you, my friend. We'll be on our way now.

We're now at the part of the manga where Qifrey saying Olruggio's name is changed to "my friend" in the English version. Which is a phrase I'll admit I have some Daevabad baggage with, so idk, is this some platonic ray-beaming or is it code for tender feelings for that person you like but aren't ready to date yet because of trauma and societal complications? Is Stephen Kohler a Daevabad fan? So many unknowns. Still counting it as a wrong though.

CHAPTER 4: pg 56

Japanese: (Olruggio): ま... 眩しくて眠れやしない (Qifrey): がんばれ! オルーギオ

Fan translated: (Olruggio): Really... I can't sleep with all this shimmering... (Qifrey): Do your best! Olruggio.

English version: (Olruggio): Hmph. How's a man supposed to get some sleep with this thing sparklin' away over here? (Qifrey): Keep at it... ...my friend.

Qifrey literally made a bouquet of rose-shaped tarts for Olruggio to cheer up his room, so of course the English translation needs to tamp down that gayness by unnecessarily bringing up Olruggio's manhood when he complains about not being able to sleep from the tarts' sparkling. Even though this chapter's cover image is of Olruggio sitting in a field of flowers, pondering quietly as he holds one in his hand. Maybe later chapters will have Olruggio edited so he's sitting 5 feet away from Qifrey.

And again, Qifrey saying Olruggio's name in the bottom panel is changed to "my friend" in the English version.

CHAPTER 6: pg 95

Japanese: いい出来だろ? 家事の分担が大変だなんて思ってたら こんなものは作れねえぜ

Fan translated: Turned out pretty good, right? If I really thought sharing the housework was a pain, then I couldn't make something like this.

English version: Whaddya think? Not bad, huh? Sorry for leavin' you stuck with all the chores these last few days. I figure this is the least I can do.

Of all the mistranslations, this one bothers me the most. Olruggio is a wonderful malewife! He is constantly trying to help Qifrey out with the Atelier chores, in Kitchen and the main series. And yet the English translation changes the entire context of what these panels are saying.

The right panel is Olruggio proud of how good the soup tastes (it's even in a fancy bread bowl!), and yet the English translation downplays it by saying, 'Not bad, huh?'

Then the left panel, with it's sparkly background and close-up on Olly's face, goes further into how if he thought helping out with the housework was a pain, he wouldn't be capable of making stuff like this. Which is an understated way of saying that Qifrey can rely on him for things like this. (and he says it more outright in other chapters/the main series) But instead the English version is treating this soup like it's an apology for not helping out more. It's also really stupid because Olruggio was not making the soup as 'the least he could do' for Qifrey — he made it because he was hungry and wanted to eat it now! He literally admits this a few pages back!

Olruggio is not someone trying to do the bare minimum, he's someone trying to tell his control-freak of a friend that he wants to share in helping out. And the English version disappointingly misrepresents that here.

CHAPTER 10! Has several issues both Orufrey and wine related, and has several comparison segments. But because I maxed out Tumblr's 30-image limit, I can't include it here and so have to post it in a reblog. UGH. 😔

(Here is the link to the Chapter 10 comparison/discussion!)

In the meantime, image credits! The Japanese scans are from Comic-Days.com, the fan scanlations are thanks to Don't Quit Your Day Job, Robot Garden Scans, Brimhats/Nyaruhodou, and Kirbypoyopoyo, and the English version photos are from my own copy. And thank you AskeFinns for help with reading Chapter 2's kanji 💖

If chapters weren't mentioned, it's because I didn't notice anything significant enough to comment on. But if you know of something I missed, do let me know! And thanks for reading this far!

[penguwastaken]

"DR3 makes the Remnants of Despair blameless"

This is a statement I've heard many times before, and I think it's one that's both technically correct and also technically incorrect.

But overall, I think this is a statement that kind of ignores the nuance of what the "brainwashing" actually did or even the themes of the series. Because of that, I decided to make this post to clear up some confusion about this subject and explain my thoughts on it.

What the "brainwashing" actually is

For starters, no, brainwashing in Danganronpa does not turn them into mindless zombies and get rid of their "free will." I wrote an entire post about brainwashing on its own and the many misconceptions abut it. While there are some things I'd change or update now, I think overall it's pretty solid. The main reason I'm making this post though is to fill in a piece that I should have filled in then. But if you understandably don't want to read that massive post right now, I'll go over it again here.

The way the Despair video works in both Danganronpa Zero and Danganronpa 3 is that it uses subliminal messaging to strengthen the emotions that you are already feeling by watching the video. It does not "create despair," it amplifies it.

"'She just wanted to stir up the pent-up emotions of the Reserve Course. She got the Ultimate Hope involved in the whole thing for that sole reason, and then incited them all… No, it wasn't something simple like incitement… it was brainwashing.' 'Brainwashing…' Pain, along with violent itching, brought up that scene in my mind. The monitor's visuals I had seen beyond the Monokuma Heads in the underground facility. Crushing heads, cut-up faces, agonizing screams, the Mutual Killing's red lumps of flesh." -Referring to the despair video Ryoko watched in Danganronpa Zero

Notice how the phrases "incited" and "pent-up emotions" are used. Once again, this is because the subliminal messaging doesn't make you feel things, it amplifies what the video itself makes you feel.

This doesn't contradict Ryota's description of brainwashing, note how he describes it as "influencing" the viewer's brain, not controlling it.

This is also why I put brainwashing in quotes earlier, because Ryota says it's not just brainwashing, brainwashing techniques are just a part of it.

This is the whole reason why Junko needed to kill Chiaki in the first place, she needed a video that would make them emotional enough for brainwashing to have an actual substantial effect. If she just used the student council killing video, there's a chance they'd be able to resist it like Chisa or Ryoko did.

All the despair video did was overload them with feelings of despair, causing them to crave it as a way of coping with the despair that was just unleashed onto them.

The despair video did not:

Turn them into mindless zombies

Make them love or worship Junko

Remove their free will or ability to make decisions

All the video did was make them crave despair, how they went about it was entirely up to them. Like Nagito, for example, he gave into the despair by hating Junko, but he was never a mindless zombie.

In fact, I think even being able to resist the videos effects at all kind of implies that the video isn't forcing you to give into temptation. It gives you urges, but that's all. The Ultimate Despairs chose to give into their urges of despair. They also chose the methods of which they went about bringing despair. The video wasn't mind control, it doesn't have the technology to turn you into a mindless servant. In that sense, the despair video did not remove their autonomy and they still chose their actions.

Big fat massive however...

While it is true that their ability to choose what to do remained, the fact is that they only made the decisions they made and got their despair urges in the first place was because they were brainwashed. So it is also true that the person at fault isn't them, it's Junko and her video.

And that's the point, it isn't their fault that they made those choices. Some may say this is because Kodaka wanted to make them more redeemable, but I just completely disagree because it was always like this.

Makoto refers to them as victims at multiple points in Danganronpa 2, even saying that they were brainwashed and have the ability to go back to normal. Danganronpa 3 didn't make them more "blameless," it emphasized a theme and point that was there since the start.

Dialing it back

Themes of guilt and blame are things that have always existed in Danganronpa. I already mentioned how Danganronpa 2 refers to the Ultimate Despairs as victims, but there's plenty more examples of this.

Such as Ryota in Danganronpa 3. Ryota is threatened with his classmates' lives and is forced to develop the despair video for Junko. Would you say Ryota's at fault?

Of course not, and I doubt the anime wants you to believe that way either. But that doesn't stop Ryota from feeling this way. He's a victim, just like everyone else. A victim who was forced to make a choice that he now regrets.

Alternatively, we can look at Juzo as well. He was blackmailed with his biggest insecurity used against him, completely unaware of the despair that would soon follow. While you could argue he's more to blame than the others, the point is just like them, he was forced into a situation where he couldn't choose. He wasn't responsible for Junko's actions, but he still feels as if he was. He's a victim too. A victim who was also forced to make a choice that he now regrets.

This isn't a theme exclusive to Danganronpa 3. I already mentioned how it applies to Danganronpa 2, but it's been there since the first game.

When Chihiro feels at fault for judging Leon, Makoto tells them that it isn't their fault. Nor was it Sayaka's or Leon's. Even though they chose to kill, it was only because of the situation. It was the mastermind's fault, not theirs.

The big point

The big point throughout the series is that the many actions we see throughout the series are done so due to the situation these characters are forced in. From the very start, it's been established that the blame should go towards Junko, not her victims.

Guilt is a running theme in Danganronpa, even more so in Danganronpa 3. That's why the anime emphasizes it, showing us Junko's victims and how they were effected but also making it clear that even though they made the wrong choices, they only did so because of Junko.

Danganronpa 3 didn't make Class 77 "blameless." Saying so implies that the series wanted you to blame them in the first place.

What Danganronpa 3 did was emphasize the point and theme the series had been setting up for a long time. This is a story where Junko is the bad guy and these are her victims. This is how it is in the last entry, this is how it's been since the first game.

So yes, Class 77 chose to to give into their despair obsessed urges. Ryota chose to help make Junko's video. Juzo chose to lie about Junko. Chihiro chose to judge their classmates. Sayaka and Leon chose to attack. But they only made these choices because they were put into unavoidable situations by Junko.

It's not about who here is more guilty than the other, the fact is they're all victims of Junko at the end of the day. They were never supposed to be blamed, implying that Danganronpa 3 makes them blameless misses the point entirely.

You can say whatever you want about whether or not brainwashing is more or less interesting than the idea of Junko somehow manipulating 15 individual students that she doesn't care about in less than a year to turn them into despair super terrorists willing to hack off body parts and kill their own family, but at the end of the day I think saying that the brainwashing ruins the themes of Danganronpa 2 is just kind of incorrect.

Those are my two cents anyways.

[factual-fantasy]

Bonjour Factual! Hope your day- whatever time it is when you're reading this- is going well so far! I Really liked the new art of the gang during the warmer times of year- like others have said, the smile you gave Grimace, while funny and cute, also perfectly portrays just how happy he is to feel included and helpful!

And speaking of Grimace, I agree with your thoughts from my last ask ( thanks for answering as always, by the way ). Although it would be awesome for him to mega evolve, Gigantamax, or dinamax- story wise I can't really think of a way for all the necessary pieces to fall together, unless you do an ark where Grimace is tragically captured by a human for a time, and exposed to the necessary conditions to change unwillingly- perhaps as an experiment of sort? Though you are correct that he would have to be descended from certain Gengar populations to even have the genes- though perhaps that's the reason he's sought out to begin with? Just an idea.

As for my main ask today- I actually have one pertaining to your Mario AU, if you don't mind! Just out of curiosity, have you ever considered giving the giant eel-like Mawrays a place in your world?

They've been popping up a lot lately in Mario media- and I was wondering what you thought of the frightening creatures? And if they appeared in your AU, would they be an entire species of deep sea dwelling terrors? Or a single, legendary sea monster, like the one seen in the movie? And if they are present, have the bros ever had a harrowing encounter with one? What would they do to survive!?

Oh, and on the topic of giant sea monsters- I do have a secondary, unrelated question- what are your thoughts on the Godzilla franchise? I've been getting back into it lately and was wondering if you've ever found any interest in it? Do you have any favorite movies or monsters from the series? Or is it not a series that interests you? Just wondering!

(and I'll admit, I've found that binging Godzilla movies is always fun when I'm feeling down! Hope you're feeling okay today!)

(Grimace in warmer times post)

Hello!! :DD My day is going a bit rocky, but its still a lot better than I was expecting it'd go. So that's nice! <XDD And thank you! I'm glad you liked that drawing!! :)))

As for your last ask, I've done a lot of thinking since then. :0 And while dynamaxing and/or gigantimaxing still seems a little far fetched for my team.. thanks to this asker, I found the key to making him mega evolve! Enchantment seeds! :DD In one of the mystery dungeon games, if a Pokémon used an Enchantment seed they'd mega evolve for a short time! No need for trainers, key stones or Gengarite! :DD

I have a HUGE comic in mind about how Grimace finds the Enchantment seed, why he eats it, and how it effects him afterwards leading up to his mega evolution. The only problem is that this comic is ENORMOUS. So I'm kiiind'a on the fence about making it.. <XD..

Now! As for your Mario question. First of all that thing is terrifying- so I think it'd fit right into my Mario universe! <XDD Its easy to imagine that giant eel being a species as opposed to just one. Although one eel could have found a goldmine of super food and slowly grew to be giant. Yoshi style XDD I think that would all fit pretty well! I cant imagine Mario or Luigi would encounter the big one though. I picture it living wayyy out in the depths of the sea. They might hear haunting stories about it consuming passing ships though.. 👀

Now the Godzilla franchise.. if I'm being honest, I don't actually know much about it <:0 I know of Godzilla, King Kong(??) a huge moth, Mothra was it? A uhh... gold..? 3 headed dragon..? And I could have sworn there was a second Godzilla but bigger and all black in there somewhere-

My general opinion is that I liked the first...? Movie when it was just Godzilla. This huge hulking creature that emerged from the ocean. No one knows what it wants, what it is, or how to defeat it. Humans vs Godzilla. That type of movie was/is the most entertaining to me <XDD

[troius]

I just want to say a few things before you get to the end. First up, it's been a pleasure to read your thoughts on the series; like any fan, you have your own unique interpretations and it's always good to read how fans see certain scenes. It's also been fantastic to see fellow fans respond to your posts adding on to what you've written, again bringing your thoughts out more and generating discussion.

Also, seeing your thoughts has made me appreciate scenes and characters I never thought I would -- Yamamoto for instance, who would've thought?! They've also reminded me of why I fell in love with the series as much as I did, from the artwork to the themes to the incredible bonds between the characters. You've reminded me that BLEACH has it's flaws that can sometimes take you out of the story, but when it hits, it 100% HITS! It's a manga that's about the bonds we form, how they can help us overcome challenges and be a source of light in our lives. It's about the ways we overcome grief and the fear of death, whether it's literally fighting your way through it or slowly coming to a state of acceptance as time goes on. It's about the 'hearts' of people, about what they look like and how they're shared between those you choose. I could go on and on, but then this would become an essay and we'd be here all day.

All of this is to say, thank you for choosing to create a Tumblr account and deciding to read the series and give your thoughts along the way. I can't believe you've finally reached the end, it almost feels like I'm saying goodbye to the manga again!! I don't think I'm the only one here who sees you as a big and valued part of the community on here, so I hope you'll be sticking around! :)

Thank you so much Rays! Response under the cut because it went long.

This won't surprise you, but I too have grown in my appreciation for the series over the course of the uh three years that I've run this blog. Bleach has character concepts I've never seen elsewhere. It has moments of storytelling brilliance. It has truly, phenomenally astonishing art.

But more than anything else, I, like you, am impressed by the heart. For a story that's largely about the afterlife, Bleach is shockingly humanistic, locating virtue not in any system of belief, in any group or faction in the various conflicts that provide the setting for the manga, but in people. All people, whether they're our extremely relatable teenage protagonist and his friends, the occasionally sketchy adults in his life, or the various adversaries ranging from evil monsters to supernatural samurai to a regular-ass gang to a foreign apocalypse cult. Bleach never, not once, lets the viewer fall into the comfortable childish space of believing that there's good people and bad people in the world.

There's just people. Sometimes these people want to do bad things, like execute their sisters, or kidnap your girlfriend, or isolate you from your family, or destroy the entire world. Bleach doesn't flinch away from that either. But it (again, very humanistically) locates those bad actions not in the individual human beings, but in our relationships with one another through the systems and structures we've created to organize ourselves.

And yet in the face of the idea that humans do their worst work through other people, that's also where Bleach locates its greatest virtue. Alone, we're nothing. It's the bonds that we have with others that are what make life worth living, that are the source of everything good in this world. And navigating that dynamic, between spiritual bonds and structural shackles...that's really what adult life is all about, isn't it?

Anyhow, my adult life has been greatly enriched by all of you on here. But I'll take the chance to thank you specifically Rays, for being such a source of joy. Your positivity and passion are the sort of thing that makes a humble blogger want to come back for more, and I've deeply enjoyed hearing all of your thoughts, not just on my liveblog, but through your own posts and writing. I'll be sticking around for sure.

[sunnys-aesthetic]

I have had this certain itch to say this. I'm surprised you never got mad or despised Naff for being more well-known about a dca detective au and people stealing your designs to make fanart for her

I had to think over how to respond to this ask because by all means I didn't want to give a quick answer and dip without leaving things properly, genuinely answered or explained. I'd like to minimize any misinterpretations or misunderstandings :<

I think the best way for me to properly address this is to section it into 2 parts? One part for how I feel about Naff and the second part for how I feel about some of my designs being used without credit! Also sorry for any messy typing as admittedly I'm nervous typing all of this out after so much time has passed and I haven't really thought about this in eons FHSKJDHFSDGJKHJF

Long body of text warning So I'll place down a 'keep reading' down here! v

I want to answer this ask truthfully on my experiences and how I overcame this, what my mindset was then, and what it is now.

So! First part- Naffeclipse! Right off the bat I want to say that, no, I don't hate or despise Naff. Yes, I used to feel hurt by how they used my work, but I don't feel that way anymore. I think you're the first ever person to have asked me anything regarding this in almost two years. If I'm honest, no one online has ever made a comment regarding this so I was a little surprised! I began the DCA Detectives and dubbed it "Sleuth Jesters" in my original post back in mid-June 2022. And from there the concept's popularity kinda exploded.

I'm proud of Naff for the wide range of followers, love and support that they've cultivated using my au, and I don't want to take away from the fact that yes, the story, the world, the character interpretations they created was all their own work! That's something i want to make known first and foremost. That is all 100% their own hard work and skill as a writer. And I never want to take credit for that.

Now, I know this may look really unfair and believe me, within the first few months of Sleuth Jesters taking off from not my own platform but from another persons, I thought it was too. I was possibly going through one of my roughest periods, as all of this was very new for me and I had a lot of IRL personal stuff going on at the time. The main reason I hadn't made any remark or mention aside from one post asking for credit the same day I had talked to Naff about it privately in DMS is because I inadvertently developed imposter syndrome with the whole situation, and I privately decided to not work on that au of my own volition and lack of want to continue it on my own terms!

Why did you have imposter syndrome? Well! Because for me personally it was a feeling of 'hey! I know you racked up tons of followers and created a big platform, and you personally put the work into it, but can I please be credited for your hard work? Because they're my initial idea and designs?' was essentially my mindset for months back then, it was a sticky tricky situation! ^^; and it was not very healthy for me.

However I don't want to dive into too many details on my emotional & mental wellbeing during 2023! I was a new artist, and I was absolutely scared I would be the one who would make or initiate the first large discourse within the DCA community if I spoke up about it, possibly receive unwarranted hate or backlash, and I felt the pressure was really on me to keep the peace because as far as I had known, the DCA community hadn't had any 'big drama' since its making during that time.

But! At the same time all of this was happening I moreso delved into making my oc cloud drop + being with friends and having fun, and I simply personally didn't want to continue the AU anymore. It was not entirely due to Naff's usage but also because I simply just didn't have the time or energy for it! That's all there was to it. I struggled yes, sure! but,

What matters to me is not how or what i think or say, but how I choose to act or deal with situations that can be stressful or uncomfortable in the general sense. and despite any negative feelings I may have had, I think kindness can live a lot longer than any hatred ever could. I don't physically have it in me to hate someone or hold a grudge for too long, even in the heat of the moment, and I hope this mentality can be applied to anyone who reads this as well ^.^ Communication is key to me in any relationship, even if i know you or don't know you! And if you are not willing to make that effort in talking or speaking up it will negatively affect you in the long run. And I made that mistake by waiting for too long! sorry that was cheesy haha but its a personal mindset i live with.

So to answer the first part of the question, yes I used to be upset, but I'm not anymore.

What about the people who used your design(s) to make fanart for her?

wwweell, ill admit this was actually one of the bigger things that hurt me the most at the time, Nowadays I am being more properly credited, even if there's a few people who forget to credit me I wont take it personally. It's a much better improvement compared to when I hadn't spoken at all about it.

It's already gotten to a point where its thousands of people who associate the fanart to their fiction, and even if it wasn't with my permission at the time, it is now! We can't really force or change what happened in the past but at the v least I hope those who will make fanart are a little more aware of who to give their credits to! I still enjoy seeing everyone's art! ^^

tl;dr, i was really sad and hurt by it at the TIME, and yes it messed me up but not once did I despise Naff as person at all. Everything's all good now and I'm doing much better and all I can ask for now is the continued credit for at least my au and my designs ♡

And i very VERY VERY much urge you all TO NOT give any animosity towards naffeclipse as I already know they did not mean any of this in any ill will at all since the beginning, and we both already talked about it mid last year c:>

[alhaithamhabibi]

𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐊𝐀𝐈'𝐃!𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄 𝐀𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐄

ᴍᴇᴇɴᴀ ɴᴏᴛᴇs : didn't expect the nanny!reader to blow up so without further ado, i present you the prequel! idc if lante is ooc in it but it's an alternative timeline and there's always a butterfly effect even if one doesn't want to change a story with their presence. also once again, another long post.

part one is here

❥ honestly, you were nearly done with the novel, with a couple or so pages left. you wanted to reach the ending as soon as possible but perhaps reading the entire novel in one night wasn't a smart idea. and eventually, you just gave into your body's exhaustion and slept.

❥ but when you woke up again, you could hear a woman humming and someone playing with your hair. normally you would wake up and freak out. but the presence was so calming and soothing, you ended up snuggling up to them.

❥ though a scream woke you up completely as you shot up from the bed yet you were held against the woman, clutching you tightly as she whispered words of reassurance. and as you frantically look around, you noticed this wasn't your home and that your body was smaller than it used to be.

❥ clearly, you weren't in your world, and despite your surroundings not showing much, it also showed that. especially with the screams and weapons being used outside the door. not to mention, you're so small. where in the world are you??

❥ so you did as your body naturally reacted to its next scream. hold the woman, assuming she's your mother, tightly and pretend it's a dream. cause it is. right? eventually, you fell back to sleep. but the next time you woke up, you were wrong. ( big surprise )

❥ though you were still confused, you were able to figure out some things quickly enough. the woman that held you was indeed your mother in this world. she's a nanny to one of the many endless children here and your father is probably dead or something. oh well.

❥ as for yourself, you knew you were seven years old and currently a mess on the inside. after that night you won't up into this world, your mother had you stay in your shared room. she would bring meals but it was evident she was scared of what would happen to you if you left.

"mother, i feel rather tired staying here all day. can't i go to work with you?" the question left your lips before you can take it back. you didn't want to seem like a whiny child who only knew how to complain. especially when she overworked herself to provide for both of you.

your mother was too sweet and good for this world so obviously you wanted to protect her. especially in this strange hellish household. but how could you when you don't know the world well enough?

"my little light," your mother brought you closer to her embrace which you eagerly accepted. you looked up at her as she gazed down at you so affectionately and so softly. "just for a few more days. till he leaves alright?"

you didn't know who your mother was referencing but you took it, knowing she would evade the subject. certain subjects seem to be taboo even with the slightest whispers. but you nuzzled into her embrace anyway, "whatever you want, mother, i'll listen to you."

❥ still, it's fine, right? you could try to figure out more about the world you were in despite being unable to leave and find a way out of there. hopefully. wrong once again. because the day your mother deemed it was safe, she took you to her workplace.

❥ well, a room but that counts! only for you to meet certain crimson eyes that belong to a boy who seems to be a few years older than you. and then your mother addressed his full name. lante fucking agriche. why is the female lead's father of the novel you read right in front of you?

❥ is it considered too early to write wills at this age? it is? how unfortunate. new goal! find a way out of this mansion. yet it was thwarted by your mother who told you both that lante's mother chose her to become his nanny at her deathbed and she promised to.

❥ so yeah, the plan isn't it. for now. all you could do is help your mother and make sure that both of you survive. lante can take care of himself, you were sure of it. but the novel never really mentioned lante's backstory since it was more focused on his daughter.

"young master, this is my daughter y/n. she will be joining me to learn as well," your mother dutifully bowed down in respect to the curly-haired boy with scarlet eyes while you just straight up stared at him, dumbfounded.

fuck.

"your daughter doesn't seem to be the bright one, nanny " he coldly remarked as he eyed - no, glared at you. you fumbled a bit before also bowing down to him as your mother gave your age as an excuse.

with a scoff, he only turned back to his book and went back to reading.

"i only wish for you to get along, that's all," your mother attempted to reason with you both. but you were sure that there was nothing that could bond you both together. especially when he was one of the villains in the novel.

"at the very least, both of you stay together so my heart will rest at ease." with just one glance at lante who briefly looked at you before your mother, you both knew it was better to listen to her. maybe you could use him to escape.

❥ but the settings were no different. the black agriche ruled the underworld, his father had many mistresses and wives as he drowned himself in indulgence and treated his kids like crap. even having one of them killed just because they minorly inconvenienced him as you witness. it was utterly horrifying.

❥ and you could see the signs of abuse emerging whenever lante came back from his father's office. the way his half-siblings tried to kill him one way or the other. the lack of health he had just to stay on top. the bruises, cuts, and broken bones that your mother had to attend to, quietly and secretly, into the night.

❥ you felt sorry for him. he was a bastard of a father but no children should ever be placed in this situation. and you could see the small slips of genuine care he held for your mother and occasionally you. well, you weren't exactly affectionate as your mother but you still followed her lead.

❥ lante always did like to show off his intelligence when it came to you and his mother. a brat in some ways, occasionally telling you what he knows. but as much as you hate to admit it, you learned a lot more about the world and the settings from him rather than your own experience.

"such childish handwriting. how will the others ever understand this? a hopeless one, truly," lante criticized as you wrote on the paper the foreign language your small body as acquired.

"perhaps it's because i'm still a child?" you scoffed at him yet you went back to your words and tried to them neatly as possible. don't let him get to you, you reasoned yourself to not strangle him, it's for mother's sanity that i can deal with him.

"and yet when i was your age, my writing brought others down to their knees," he smirked as you glared at him openly now. with your focus on him now, he was able to snatch your papers with one hand and push you at arm's length with the other.

"since you will be a future servant, writing is essential as you become your master's tool. use this," lante muttered as gave the papers back after writing something on it. "the next time i catch you, i expect your writing to be adequate."

you widened your eyes as the writing became easier and you started to understand the words. so carried away, you ended up completing the papers and looked up to see the spot lante took empty. he must have left, you thought as you begin to rush to your mother to show your hard work.

❥ to be honest, you didn't think he held you in high regard as he would for his father and your mother. it was that night you heard a knock in your room and you cautiously opened it, finding lante limping and bleeding. your mother was out, helping the maids with the night shift. so it was just you.

❥ you ushered him quickly into your bed as you clumsily applied the medicine to his wounds. of course, you knew who was the caused of the wounds in which you began to curse out lante's father, absolutely sleep-deprived at this point.

❥ it took lante by surprise but it's not like he disagreed or anything. he just quietly listened to your rambling, not finding you a nuisance for once. after you finished the treatment, you hesitantly offered to escort him back to his room which he haughtily refused.

❥ but you were still stubborn enough to ignore his words and go with him regardless. he called you an idiot but at this point, anyone who didn't listen to him was an idiot and not worth his time to dirty his hands with. it must be your mother's blessing he still let your off the hook.

❥ by the time you got to his room, you entered the room and fixed up his bed for him as he changed in the bathroom. by the time he got out, you were sitting down on the chair beside his bed with a book in your hands.

"you're only twelve, y/n. do you plan on reading me to sleep?" lante grumbled as he tried to get himself comfortable on the bed. the wounds still burn and the crazed eyes of his father haven't left his mind.

"don't be ridiculous," you scoffed as you moved the book from your hands to adjust the blanket as your mother did for you. "i'm reading so it can help me stay up. and so you don't bleed to death if your wounds open up." just as you finished, his hand shot out to catch your small wrist.

"why? why do your curse as my father? why do you act as if you care for me? why bother?" and for a moment, you didn't look lante as the female lead's father but at him as a person. as another kid trying to survive in this cursed household. really...what was the author thinking when creating this sort of setting?

"because," you sighed, "mother cares for you. i see how much you risk for mother and you have my gratitude for that. because if something happens to me or i die, i know mother will be taken care of." it was rather amusing to see that rare shocked expression on his face but you paid no mind to it as you continued, gently prying his hand off your wrist.

"and your father is a bastard who deserves to be stabbed. don't look at me like that, lante, we both know he is one. but it's ridiculous the way he makes the children of the house fight like enemies for his sick pleasure. i never want that on anyone. especially you."

you squeezed his hand softly, yet there was not a smile on your face but a firm look of resolution. it wasn't like your mother's soft look when she gazed at him, he thought, but somehow it still feels like it. like mother, like daughter.

❥ after that, your relationship with him gets better. he's still an insufferable bastard who likes to boast his knowledge and his strength. but if you were curious about something or needed help ( not that you would ever ask ), he'll answer your questions and help you.

❥ in some ways, you were also able to help out lante whether you helps with his wounds or gave a distraction to keep his father's negative attention away from him or provide him information about his other half siblings. and he never said it verbally but you knew he was glad to have someone on his side as well.

❥ it made your mother delightful that the two of you were able to get along despite the occasional bickers. she always told you both you resembled more of actual siblings to which the both of you expressed your disdain for each other much to her amusement.

❥ if anything, it was her who brought you both closer together, and wanted to protect her. simply for lante who never experience familial love, and wanted to monopolize her for himself, and for you who wanted this saintly loving figure to get the hell out of here so she can be happy.

❥ but despite the constant torment and death lingering in the household, you were naive to believe that it wouldn't touch your mother or yourself. until the night your mother's bloody figure was held in your arms the night of your fifteenth birthday.

"mother," you croaked, a lump in your throat preventing you to speak any further. the once lively eyes filled with love and warmth dulled as she struggled to keep living.

you didn't know how it all began as you were quietly celebrating your birthday with your mother and lante. next thing you knew, there were screams about assassins and such. lante went off first, followed by your mother and then you. and all you could see was people running, blood, and dead bodies.

you were separated from your mother in all this chaos only to be reunited with her as lante good you both to stay put in his room as he led them away and fended them off.

and it was a good idea at first only for you to realize the assassins would kill you regardless of status. and you knew it the moment that you saw the assassin head for your way, it was over for you. till your mother stepped in the way and cleanly sliced off his head with a sword she took from the floor.

you marveled at your mother's work but as she staggered forward, you realize only then that she was injured as well. severely. so you could only hold her and uttered the words she wanted to hear the most. all you could do is keep the wound from bleeding. you may have your medical knowledge but you knew there was no way she could live longer with such a deep stab. you were...helpless.

the door slammed open revealing lante, bloody and sweaty, as rushed by your side, to hold your mother's hand. "nanny..." he quietly whispered. it broke your heart, even more, when lante displayed his vulnerability before her. begging her to stay and not leave him alone. you wished you could say the same but your throat remained clogged and the tears you desperately tried to hide ran down your cheeks and onto your mother's.

"lante...y/n...my precious children..." and she breathed one last time with a smile.

❥ the next day, the workers who were still alive took the bodies and had them eaten by the monsters the house had raised. but somehow lante was able to send your mother's body to be cleaned and buried properly with a headstone. and you were beyond grateful for that.

❥ that day, both of you remained passive and stoic under others' watchful eyes only to break down behind closed doors. well, moreso of you than lante. he could only hold you and let his silence comfort you through your trembling body. there was no denying he changed after watching mother pass. but so had you.

❥ no one knew who the enemy was but the duke was evident in not caring whose lives the assassins took other than wanting to teach the assassin caught alive a lesson. and hours later, he was drinking and sleeping with other women again. it was a brutal slap to your face that you had to remember this was the world.

❥ though now you officially served under lante, you were his trusted right hand and confidante despite being a maid. you told him of what you knew from the servants who gossip and in turn, he taught you how to handle business in the household.

❥ the more you learned, the more the ache of wanting to leave the house as years passed by. this placed was filled with memories of both good and bad. and it was painful enough. not only that, lante's change became more evident to that in the novel. he was even more possessive of you but you thought it was because of your mother's death.

❥ eventually, you gained the courage to ask him to resign quietly from the black agriche and live quietly once again. much to your surprise, lante rejected it and left you with that. he kept himself busy with missions and such. but you were still a stubborn one. slowly, you got yourself ready to leave the place. with or without his permission.

❥ the night before your departure, you were violently woken from your bed with screams and wails. blood stained the walls and the floors as servants attempted to run away. with every hallway you turned, you noticed an agriche child on the ground, dead.

❥ you couldn't find lante in his room so you headed to the duke's office instead, not caring if you get killed on the spot. as you opened the door slowly, you held back your screams as you watched lante knock his father down to the ground with a powerful blow.

not trusting your voice, you quietly attempted to leave the room without lante noticing. but it failed as his father groaned in your direction in which lante's head snapped up. he didn't even look bothered at all which shouldn't surprise you. but you were taken aback by that crazy expression on his face.

"it's alright, y/n., come on over," lante extended his hand to you. against the rational side of your mind, you hesitantly walked over to them and took lante's hand. to which he placed the bloodied sword in yours. it was surprisingly heavy and if lante wasn't still holding your hand, you were sure it would be dropped.

"...lante?" you asked, as you turned your head to face him before looking down at the half-unconscious man below you both.

"it was because of him we lost someone we cherished. it was because of this bastard she's not here with us right now. we deserve this. it's only right we take everything away from him and end this. so you and i will do this together."

before you could ask further, lante raised his and your hand that held the sword.

your senses more heightened than ever. the stench of blood and iron clouding this mansion, the rage of the man beneath you for being the main problem for the household, sleepless nights that left you exhausted, the screams that occurred daily as one was dragged to their death, your mother's dead body in your arms, the bloody chaos surrounding this house, the tension between the residents, and realizing this place was no longer home if mother wasn't here.

and you both strike the sword straight into the older man's chest.

it took a while for you to register what you just did and you stepped back from the corpse, only to collapse on your knees. you were gonna get killed for this when the others find out. everything you worked for is gone. and you couldn't...

"y/n," lante kneeled on one knee as he placed bloody hands on either side of your face. there was some sort of maniac glint in his eyes as he proudly smiled at you. it was terrifying. "you can't leave me. not now. not ever. you are to stay by my side."

as you weakly protested, his next words sealed the deal as he held you close. "this is what mother wished for"

[abyssleaves]

Why I'll Be Remaining in the Lurking For Love Community

Ok.

Honestly, I really don't want to make this.

I'm way too old for fandom drama, and I don't need to be making myself a target. My gut is telling me that it's a bad idea to get involved, and I'm inviting trouble for myself by posting this.

But the most recent post against Tom is just ridiculous and I can't not speak my piece.

I'm not linking to it or reblogging it because I don't want to send hate anyone's way, and honestly because I'm going to block them as soon as this is posted. You can read mine and theirs for yourself and decide what you think.

As far as the “anti-Latino” posts that Tom liked, I can't speak to whether they do damage, or what Tom’s views actually are. I am not Latino, and I'm not Tom. It's not my place. But I will say I was aware of those posts long before I saw that “callout” post, and it's because multiple Latino artists I follow liked and retweeted them. At the time, I was given to understand that they were satirizing the fact that both were styles of stereotypes, but one was acceptable while the other was not, despite both being bad. I can't say, based on just those tweets, that I see any anti-Latino sentiment in Tom. I'm willing to admit that my knowledge on that front isn't bomb-proof.

The second point, well... I'm sorry to the friend that feels used. They're entitled to be hurt. And I will readily admit that I'm only able to respond to the info within that post. Maybe there IS more to it.

But I don't think that Tom ceasing contact over the hormones is surprising at all, from a mental health standpoint. Put yourself in his shoes: you're a trans person in US, which is its own struggle, and you've reached your mid/early 20s without being able to attain gender-affirming care. Now someone years younger than you just got the thing you want more than anything else. Sure, you might be happy for them. But that is also going to hurt, horribly. You really have three options:

1) stay friends and smother the bitterness/possible resentment. That will either end up ruining your mental health, or coming out and ruining the friendship anyway.

2) Ask your friend not to tell you/post about their transition. That makes it about you and also ruins something that should make them happy.

3) Distance yourself.

Maybe he should have spoken more directly with you about his feelings, granted. But, Tom has not been shy about the fact that he struggles with his mental health. None of us handle every situation well. As far as his occasional venting, I would think, if you WERE his friend, you might have some compassion, and either cease contact if the friendship is not fulfilling, or accept his sincere, well-written apology (Which are the ONLY words straight from Tom’s mouth on the entire fucking post).

Instead, you got the apology from him, and then shared a bunch of gossip between you and another friend, and outed your interpretations of his vent sessions to the world. That's not exactly classy, posting about how he sought people he felt safe with during a time when a big chunk of the community he built is telling him to do horrible things to himself.

I want to make it clear that I don't agree with all of Tom’s views as expressed on his initial explanation post. Again, many of them are issues that I don't feel are my place to get involved in, and therefore I stayed quiet at the time.

I'm aware that the justified and intense hurt felt by people in those communities can mean that even differing opinions feel like a slap in the face. You have every right to see Tom’s views as hurtful and choose to leave, and/or make a separate community for support. I don't blame people who are in those communities for doing so. This post is aimed at the obsessed minority that won't leave the tag/remaining fans/Tom alone.

All of the above being said, the reaction to Tom’s post is the most “touch grass” thing I have ever seen.

Tom liking one or two comics from a dark-humor comic artist so widespread on the internet that I didn't even know he had an actual page, or anything about him as a person (something Tom also stated) = Tom is a Nazi sympathizer.

Tom saying “I don't care for neopronouns, but I won't attack you for using them and will respect what everyone wants to be called” = Tom is a monstrous bigot.

The racism accusation has me especially 💀. All because he liked a post about help from an unexpected source and that we should be kinder to each other.

How on earth are you going to tell a POC that he doesn't know what racism is because he’s NOT THE RIGHT KIND OF POC? Do you hear yourself?

(FWIW, I also don't agree with kink at pride. Sorry. LGBTQ+ people are not "narsty little freaks"--yeah I SAW that post--they're people. They can be kinky, they can be vanilla, whatever. Kink has nothing to do with your orientation, and therefore it isn't part of Pride. Also, my guys, if you're having public sex/being nude at pride for kink reasons, then you're not part of the healthy kink community: safe, sane, and CONSENSUAL. Nobody around you consented to that. Similarly, while I feel that sex education for minors should be normalized in order to give them better tools to tell when they're being groomed, seeing strangers with no pants on is NOT education, that's involving minors in your fetish. And that's fucking gross. )

The LGBTQ+ community in the US is in a lot of trouble right now, and we have a very bad habit of eating our own. We divide and subdivide and allow ourselves to be carved up by a united conservative front.

We do not allow for differing levels of leftist beliefs, and we constantly accuse each other of being not POC/leftists/queer enough, or being the wrong kind, or using a term for ourselves that some other individuals don't like. A great deal of the bullying leveled against him is justified by others saying that he's choosing to support a party that will turn on him and cause him and others like him harm.

Well, to be honest, the only community I see doing that right now is this one.

The amount of disingenuous “OMG, just FYI everyone to everyone hurt by [situation], I’M not transphobic/a bigot, you're all welcome here 😌” posts from people, who did not read his post, did not link to or quote his post. Disgusting. You know very well that nothing in his explanation or in his actions throughout his time in the community pointed to any abuse ON HIS PART towards trans people, non-binary people, people of the Jewish faith, or POC. You're virtue signaling, you're putting lambs blood above your door to keep the baying mob away.

This is insane. When did differing opinions turn into this? You don't have to agree with Tom’s views on anything. You're welcome to not follow his accounts, not like his art, not buy his game. If you feel that his opinions are too severely different from yours, you should be allowed to leave the fandom without people telling you that you should do bad things to yourself because your opinions don't match theirs (sound familiar?).

But…please. Can we stop with this awful parasocial obsession with his personal page? You can't lie to yourself and call it anything other than literal stalking. It's creepy as hell, and it reflects more on you than on him, in the long run. People might agree with your outrage, but deep down, they're afraid of being the next target, and they stay quiet out of fear that you'll stalk them next and send a mob hurling abuse their way.

To Tom, I'm sorry that this happened to you. You didn't deserve anything even close to this level of vitriol and abuse. You started from scratch and created a character and story that I feel was something truly unique. You reached an incredible number of people's hearts with Lurking for Love and Jacob, and no matter what happens from here with both of them, you deserve to feel proud of that. I hope that you are ok. Being a public figure on the internet doesn't mean you don't have a right to private opinions or even just general privacy.

I'm not tagging any characters in this. I'm only tagging the game because I hope other fans get to see that they're not alone. I don't believe the tags should be polluted this way. If you have to discuss a creator, it should be in his tag and not in a fandom space.

I'm aware that there will be deliberate bad-faith readings of this, or nitpicking of things I didn't cover. Whoever wants to, go ahead and respond, but I've said what I came to say, and I have nothing more to add. My inbox is closed and I love the block button.

[red-riot-unbreakable-heart]

Shoto's First Kiss Timeline? Idk let's plot it out together

Gif Caption: Me and Shoto sitting together on the train, vibing. 💕

Hi All!!

If you're a fan of the Shoto's First Kiss series, Chapter 5 dropped at like 3:30 am EST this morning because I am an absolute HEATHEN and decided to have a late night/early morning editing session for 3 hours before posting. This was fun because I decided to add the whole Lisa Frank phone background scene for kicks and add a little more build up to the smut scene (I love a slowish burn...what can I say!?).

@brie-is-cheesy had some great questions in the comments of Chapter 5, I'm going to post it below and answer the best I can! I don't have a full answer to everything and I'm taking some ✨creative liberties ✨ here and there but lets see if I can clear some things up for my lovely readers!

Hiiiii, totally loved it; I was wondering when this is set? Like the timeline, I just got confused I'll leave the list of confusing things about the timeline,, I wrote about how much I love this in my reblog cuz this is awesome!! -since bnha is set in the mid to late 2100s I was wondering if the older songs they're listening to will include songs that are relatively new for us as of now? -when does this occur? Like you mentioned they're in their first year, and its after they've moved into the dorms but it's nearing the summer of next year, so is it after the war arc, or after the events of bnha entirely? Just wanted to ask! Thank you for the update!!<3 - brie-is-cheesy

Okay these are FAB questions and honestly I can't give you a straight answer to all of them!

Here's the background: So this story started out as a one shot - this past year, Shoto hasn't been one of my main MHA favorites. When I started the Red Riot Unbreakable Heart blog, my goal was to focus on what I've been calling "My Big Three." This includes Kirishima (lol thus my username), Hakws, and Hitoshi Shinsou (I love me an emo man). I was sprinkling in smutty one shots here and there involving other characters (ex. BakuDeku Smut: Hooking Up At A Pro Hero Gala and Beneath the Bookshelves | BakuDeku ). Shoto was one of those random one offs that I was like, huh why not!? But then I published Shoto's First Kiss (Part One) this one shot about Reader x Shoto totally took off in a way I wasn't expecting. Shoto resonates a lot with you all and the more I started writing for him, the more I grew to love him. He's so complex and in need of love and care. He has so much capacity for love!! I wanted to explore that more and figure out how he would act in his first encounters with intimacy and relationships. So I kept posting chapters, and started plotting out this wild story!

Timeline: When I started writing the one shot, I wanted the story to ambiguously take place in the 2nd or 3rd year when the characters were a little older. I was kind of working it in an AU where the war had vaguely happened and was over but everyone is okay and no one was injured/died/had their quirk impacted by AFO. In the context of Shoto's First Kiss chapter one - the war doesn't matter (at least if you re-read it I hope you don't find any plot holes mentioning the war!?). Also I have tried to say "Class A" instead of "Class 1A" because as I wrote more chapters, I still hadn't figured out what year we are in here.

Now that we're world building and have a more fleshed out story, here's what I'm thinking. Bare with me, we are going to need to suspend some disbelief here and I might need to go back and make some tweaks to previous chapters to keep everything in line with this line of thinking. But let's say this:

Timeline: The timeline takes place in the character's 1st year. I just combed through this timeline of MHA that someone put together on Reddit. I'm thinking this likely takes place at the end of Term 1. Final exams are coming up, and the students have heard a little about the training camp. Most of the MHA events so far are probably cannon in my fic universe, unless otherwise mentioned. The great thing for me is - most of MHA is in the context of Izuku's experiences, so there's a lot of wiggle room in the timeline for what could be happening between Shoto x The Reader. I haven't decided if the current chapters take place before or after Shoto/Izuku/Ida's encounter with Stain, because I can see some interesting plot points coming from that. I'll think about it!! This may change, but for purposes of continuity I think this could work as I move forward with my plotting!

Age: All the characters are at least 16. Let's just roll with that and take some creative liberties here. I'm aging everyone up.

The Dorms: In this fic universe, I pictured the students moving into the dorms at the start of the year. Like the dorms are just part of the normal UA experience - for all intents and purposes it's a boarding school.

The Songs: Okay this is a really interesting idea! I am literally just putting in playlists of music I like right now, I didn't think much about modern music flowing into the story. Lol would Honenuki listen to BRAT!? Maybe. I love him and think of him as a sweet chill cinnamon roll of a dude, though. I think he would be scandalized by Guess Featuring Billie Eilish. Or maybe he'd love it. He'd def love Chappell Roan, though. Dude is a sloot for Red Wine Super Nova and I just know it!

The Vibe: @ all of my beloved readers - I realize that this story means a lot to people, and I love that!! Even though we explore complex and serious subject matter at times, this is still a goofy silly story that I write for fun! Please don't hold me to these ideas that I'm throwing out in a semi-public brainstorm. I am but a simple fanfic writer who churns out most of the Shoto pages at midnight after I work two jobs. Shoto's First Kiss is a project that I write purely for fun and to build community with other adult MHA fans. I'm not like going to publish this as a book or put it on Patr*on behind a paywall or something. So let's keep it light! That being said, I love interacting with everyone so if there are fun questions that you think would be interesting for me to answer in this story, let me know! I'm very open to hearing thoughts and considering new ideas here :)

Okay okay SORRY FOR SO MUCH INFO! Thanks again @brie-is-cheesy for being so thoughtful in your reading and for asking these great questions! This is def going to help me guide the next few chapters of the story as I plot things out and as we get a satisfying next chapter in The Party arc. I'm going to post this reply on my Master List so we can all keep track of it and come back to it easily if needed.

As always, thanks for reading!! Sending good vibes to all ☺️

XOXO,

Red Riot Unbreakable Heart ❤️

Shoto's First Kiss Series:

Part 1: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋

Part 2: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 2

Part 3: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 3

Part 4: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 4

Part 5: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 5

My Master List

Red's Recos: If you're looking for more fun smutty stories from my writing desk, I'll share 3 of my all time favorites from my Master List. These are all fairly long and have a lot of sexual tension/build up with some satisfying smut scenes:

How to Suck Your Best Friend’s D*ck 🍆💋

BakuDeku Smut: Hooking Up At A Pro Hero Gala

A Long, *Hard* Night with Eijiro Kirishima

[good-beans]

I saw someone else send in a sad Fuuta mother headcanon so I'll share mine!

Ok so, we know that Fuuta is 20, his mother left the family when he was really young/too young to properly remember her, him and his sister were left in their father's custody

Now the fact Fuuta and his sister were left to their father makes me feel like the mother must've had plans to date and remarry, since while there is a divorce stigma, if a person's young enough and doesn't have kids, its not actually That big a deal (kids are the biggest thing that often gets in the way of remarriage since not a lot of people are fond of the idea of raising children that aren't theirs biologically-)

Anyway, Another thing we know: Fuuta's victim was in middle school, which in Japan is ages 12-14 (probably 13-14 since 13's the minimum age to use twitter)

If we assume his mother left when Fuuta was 5 or younger, that gives his mother over a year to remarry and have a child with someone else (especially if she already had someone in mind when she left Fuuta's dad) And for that child to reach middle school age

Meaning there's a non-zero chance that the middle schooler Fuuta doxxed Could've been his half sister

NOOOO why would you do this to meeeeeee ;___;

That makes a ton of sense, though, that she would leave specifically for another man she had in mind. The thing is it wouldn’t even make a difference to Fuuta’s behavior -- and could actually have made him more motivated to harass her online 😭

Even if he spent his whole life avoiding/shunning his mother as mentioned on the other post, he’d put things together the minute he started looking into Killcheroy’s personal info in order to call her out. She probably did something small and harmful (nothing like the others’ unsanitary or sexual harassment cases), but his emotions flare up. He realizes his mother has started a new family and truly moved on from him. Although the thought is entirely subconscious, he’s incredibly jealous and angry at this girl for taking his mother away. So in his mind, she’s labeled a villain, as bad as all the others.

And he thinks, so what if it’s a little over the top? He has the right to call her out -- he’s her half-brother, after all! (He doesn’t tell anyone though, because that would bring up all the crap about his mother he doesn’t want to face.) He just goes after her and feels securely justified for it. Then, once he sees what happens…

Or, let’s just say he did go all that time without making the familial connection. He calls this random girl out for something small, and is haunted by her death. It makes that interrogation question a hundred times more painful, because the woman he’s looking to for comfort probably hates him for killing her daughter. Even if she didn’t know it was him, she wouldn’t be able to offer any sympathy if he did make it out of Milgram -- she’s grieving and he would realize the whole truth. If he is thrown back into his regular life post-Milgram, would his father want to reach out to the mourning woman? Would Fuuta have to look her in the eye? Would he go to the girl’s funeral?

Hm, and maybe that reveal happened when he was curled up, reading about the girl’s death online. Maybe he saw a picture of his mother on the news, or heard her voice in a clip, and got both nasty surprises at once.

[icedragonlizard]

So, my 4-chapter long "Kirby grants two wishes to Morpho Knight" AU fic has been completed since last week, feel free to give that a read if you'd like! And I said it'd be my last fic for the year of 2023.

Meaning that I'll start on one of these fics in the year of 2024.

I... think I intend to do all of them, but I'm not sure which one I want to do next. Which is why I'm making this poll to see which might spark the most interest for people to look forward to!

These will all be long fics, I feel. They'll each certainly be much more than 4 chapters long.

Allow me to elaborate on the options:

A Tale Of Two Traitors: This will be a story about the friendship of Marx and Magolor. It'll go over the entire timeline of their dynamic: how they first met, how they became friends, how their friendship develops over time, etc. Expect their first-meet event to occur sometime between Milky Way Wishes and RTDL, as the later chapters will then cover after Star Allies and what I feel like is their modern dynamic in the modern day.

I do even have a post that summarizes my dynamic of these two, but voting for this option is a vote for having me write an entire fanfiction out of their dynamic that will cover a lot more details than what this post contains. We may also see several other characters make appearances in this big fanfiction, should I get to it first!

This story will occur in my headcanon universe, as it's not an AU like my "Lost Miracles That Finally Become" fanfiction was.

Dark Stormy Matters: This will take place in an Alternate Universe, similar to my "Lost Miracles That Finally Become" story!

In this story, Kracko undergoes a descent into full-on madness. His extreme disdain for Kirby simply boils over far too much to the point he does something absolutely insane in a desperate attempt to finally get back at the pink puffball that he's been holding a searing grudge against for so long. He willfully becomes an overarching megavillain.

He goes to outer space and makes a wish to a clockwork star to revive Dark Matter. Once Dark Matter revives, Kracko literally lets himself gets possessed by it, and becomes much bigger and stronger. Dark Matter becomes impressed and fond of the hatred that Kracko has inside of him, to the point that he even becomes Dark Matter's new leader! And now, Kracko and Dark Matter have fused together to this story's main antagonist, and as you can imagine, this monster is out to viciously attack Kirby and his friends.

Kracko's hatred is so great that even after fusing with Dark Matter, and due to becoming its new leader, his conscience is still present! His hatred for Kirby becomes even much stronger than it already was, and so he does everything possible to screw over the pink puffball out of spite. He attacks Popstar, he destroys Kirby's house, he attacks numerous other planets, and even personally antagonizes all of Kirby's friends (even ones that live outside of Popstar, such as Ribbon and Susie). He does all these things to try to upset Kirby and to emotionally destroy him by obliterating everything the pink puffball loves. Don't be surprised if this makes Kirby angrier than he's ever been before, especially when he realizes Kracko's motives here.

The Grand Alliance: Like the poll option said, this story will basically be my headcanon adaptation for Star Allies. I've got a bunch of headcanons as to how this plays out! This covers my interpretations of all the dream friends' personalities, and how they all come to join the alliance in stopping the Jambastion cult. Don't be surprised if there's infighting, considering that some dream friends... don't exactly get along very well with one another.

I wouldn't mind spoiling one thing: If you remember Star Allies has a quote for King Dedede saying "I'll be the one to keep the peace!'', he'll be doing that in the story. Dedede and Kirby will be the main ones trying to get all the other dream friends to cooperate, despite whatever beef may be present among them. And so you could imagine many instances of Dedede slamming his hammer onto the ground to enforce peace between two dream friends that don't get along. After all, there is little time for infighting when there's a huge creeping universal threat that everyone needs to take care of first!

----

So, which of these three options interests you the most? Let me know!

[thewertsearch]

Ask Comp 28/6

It's in the recs list! I'm very much looking forward to this one.

I've certainly enjoyed what I've read so far - it's been nice to get back to the story's original protagonists.

The main mood of Act 5.2 is one of anticipation. We've been getting glimpses of the kids' Grand Plan ever since the Act began, and it very much feels like it's all building up to something. If Homestuck sticks the landing, and the Act 5 finale lives up to all this hype, then this might end up my favorite part of the story so far.

Yeah it's a session tag - although a 'reading session' is a little ambiguously defined, especially when I stop posting for a few hours and return later in the day. How long a gap does it need to be before it qualifies as a new reading session?

I've just been tagging every post made in the same day as the same session. It's not a perfect solution, but it'll do.

Wow, it started in 2010? I could conceivably have been reading Paranatural in school - although I'm glad I came to it a little later, so I wasn't constantly waiting for updates.

Big red peepers. I'll admit I didn't really think of this as a reveal, but I suppose it is our first true peek behind Dave's shades.

Based on this, it's it's probably safe to assume that all the kids have eyes matching their text colors. Has Rose been blessed with the legendary mutation, Alexandria's Genesis?

A few people mentioned this Squiddles meme. I like it, it's very Trunk & The Grunks.

I've really gotta catch up on those albums at some point...

I did wonder if Bro's sword shenanigans were something to do with Dave's Quest - like, maybe he was bequeathing his anime sword to his brother, to accomplish some objective. Now that Dave has his own Quest sword, I think that interpretation is less likely.

Symbolically though, I do think it's notable that Bro's sword is intact, and Dave's is broken. It ties into how Dave sees himself as a worse version of Bro, on some level.

As far as Jack is concerned, I doubt the game intends for him to have anything to do with Dave's journey. The whole point is that he's ignoring the game's rules - so if anything, his antics might start to break the Quests.

It sounds like the style was supposed to take readers aback - although I didn't find it particularly jarring myself!

Homestuck's art style is constantly changing, with this, the Earthbound sprites, and Hero Mode, among other things. Honestly, I had just assumed that the comic's art just fluctuated depending on Hussie's mood.

I quite like the HussNasty panels, and I hope Hussie keeps experimenting with the comic's art. It sounds like this is the beginning of a more general trend, so I'm hopeful that it will continue.

Oh, so it just straight up is Excalibur.

New theory about his Quest, then. It's about worthiness, and Dave is being tasked to 'prove himself' as a hero, despite his insecurities. This ties neatly into the next set of asks below:

Anonymous asked: my headcanon (partially supported by the text, as you've seen from rose's conversation with jaspers) is that each quest is designed to help you self-improve, so that you can responsibly preside over an entire universe. whether you agree with the game about the ways you need to improve is another story.

I've speculated that the Quests are teaching the Players how to sculpt their universe. Building on from this idea, then, these asks speculate that Quests are also trying to improve the Players as people, so that the nascent universe will flourish under their care.

It's an interesting idea - although it does beg the question of why Sburb is creating such flawed Players in the first place. If it's looking for self-actualized custodians for its universe, why did it create Players like the trolls, who wanted to rule over their universe like tyrants?

I guess it's possible that a flawed Player who self-improves is actually more resilient than a flawless Player who never needed to change. The former would potentially be more resilient, capable of adapting to the changing circumstances of their universe as it grows and evolves.

I wish! That's more of an aspirational schedule, really. I should probably delink it, if it's causing confusion.

I'm not sure whether this is Karkat's canonical birthday - but if it is, I like the irony inherent in the fact that he's not even a Cancer.

Yes - although I don't blame you for forgetting, since I don't think I've referenced it since the literal first post of the liveblog!

Oh, god, messages from 2024? Is Tumblr using Trollian as a backend?

Bizarre. I assume, then, that the trickster code was cut as well. :(

If we assume that Sburb did evolve, then it makes sense that it works this way. However, if it was created by some intelligent being, then holding the Players hostage like this seems pretty malicious.

I mean, there are ways to ensure participation in the game that don't involve destroying an entire planet. No matter how clear you were about the risks, if you asked the population of Earth for volunteers, you'd be guaranteed millions of responses.

All that said, if Sburb worked this way, we'd have a very different story. I understand why Sburb works the way it does, in the context of Homestuck's themes.

Speaking of Kingdom Hearts, I'd kind of love for Sora to visit a Homestuck world. His Keyblade upgrade could be the Wrinklefucker - and he'd have to unlock Vriska as a summon, right?

Do it. I've been rereading GtN this week, and as far as I'm concerned, Alecto can't come fast enough.

It is she. The million dollar question, of course, is whether Taylor is ultimately more of a constructive or destructive character.

I mean, I have an opinion, but resurrecting The Great Taylor Hebert Debate on this blog would be an exercise in hubris.

@wickedsick asked: The typically accepted name for Girl Egbert is June, after that one time Vriska spelt John with 64 O's and Egbert said they read it as a really long "June". [...]

Oh man, imagine being trolled by Vriska was your trans awakening. How would you ever recover?

Jokes aside, I like June, It's cute. I feel like if John transitioned she'd choose another 4 letter J-name like that, or a name from one of her movies, like Dana or Janine.

Come on - I'd be shocked if Homestuck didn't end with the straight characters getting outnumbered at least twenty-to-one.

Looks fine to me, I think. I assume the website just hiccupped - wouldn't be the first time!

It blows my mind every time I remember that Undertale came out in 2015. The beginning of the Undertale Era feels like it started simultaneously six months ago, and twenty years ago.

You open the TYPHEUS web browser and direct it to what is indisputably the most amazing website ever created.

Au contraire, my friend - Typheus showed up way back in Act 1!

[ I can't send them yet because they'd tell you a lot about the aspects, but someone sent classpect headcanons for discworld characters and they're SO GOOD - C ]

Damn it, I can't wait. Just based on what I've recently learned, I am convinced Rincewind would be the Something of Light.

[coffinsister]

Hi there!

I just wanted to let you know that I'd never heard of Saya no Uta until I saw you talking about it on my dash and I was like hey I'll look into that!! I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and it was definitely an experience. I've only played the route of choosing Saya and choosing to call Ryoko, so I still have to make the other choices to view all of the game's content, but I just wanted to come say thank you for giving me the second controversial piece of media I've been able to consume without my ocd throwing a bitchfit, because the whole story is fascinating from a psychological standpoint and that definitely drew me in.

I just wish the story was a little more 3D, I guess? Like the writing is overly descriptive of things it doesn't need to be descriptive of and underwhelming with the actual voiced dialogue. It's an extremely bizarre contrast. And from what little Japanese I've learn over the years out of SpInterest there are some translation points that aren't entirely accurate.

A big one is the fact that Saya speaks in third person which is a common cutesy mannerism for small children in Japanese media. In fact, she speaks super similarly to Maria Ushiromiya from Umineko ( complete with using 'uu!' for emphasis too ) which caused me to attach quickly to her for it. While it's true that this doesn't translate well into English, it does lose in translation just how young Saya really sounds while speaking. Because in Japanese she's saying things like 'Saya did this for Fuminori because Saya wants to be with Fuminori forever!' and it's getting translated as like 'I did this to make you happy. So you'll stay with me forever, right, Fuminori?' and those are two completely different tones. In fact, it's so overlooked from the English translation that this trope of hers isn't even mentioned on the The Song of Saya tvtropes page and that's wild to me.

Sorry, I didn't meant to turn this into a rant in your inbox asjklhd. Thank you for bringing this intriguing piece of media to my attention. 💖

Hiii, I'm so sorry for taking so long to reply to this ask but it was lovely getting it, so please don't apologize! We love getting long asks, and talking about our interests <3 And I'm really happy me basically screaming into the void about it, got you into it! That's great, that's exactly why I post about the things I like.

This was very interesting to read so thank you for sending it.

Side Thought: TV Troupes actually really really sucks for this kinda thing, it is widely innacurate with big media, and incredibly lacking for small media. So personally, I would not chuck TV Tropes lacking this as much to the (very bad, like super bad) official translation, as much as I would to the site just kinda sucking.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, the website is fun, like any other wiki is, I just have personal beef against it, do not mind me, old man yells at cloud.

The first route I finished was also the one with Ryouko, and tbh, in my opinion that's the best one, but obviously seeing the other endings gives a lot of extra information, and character depth, so I hope you play through them and enjoy them too.

And yeah, I feel you, I wish it was more 3D and that I could have cared more about the characters, the writing definetly feels too much like purple prose, and way too descriptive about meaningless things sometimes, while also compeltley glazing over others.

Also big big same about the translation, I already posted my long rant about it, but it's really such a shame, because Nitro+ is actually so good at conveying character through dialogue, like actually reading some of the VNs in Japanese is a whole new experience on its own

And exactly as you said, it would have been far easier to understand Saya is a literally preubecent child if the translation had shown how childishly she actually speaks, or another big one, we would have gotten to see more of just how badly Fuminori wants to show off in front of Saya and Yoh, if the translation had actually shown him avoiding being fully honest with Saya.

Like there's so so many moments in Japanese of him just going, Well, about that, you know... to Saya when she's asking him about their plans together, and he's very reluctant to ask her for help, even when he really needs it, until she blatantly offers it, and he takes it.

In the Official English version he literally just goes "Well, the thing, Saya is that I failed to kill Koji, any ideas about that?"

So much character missed there, I feel like also missing the honorifics isn't helpful or good, like Yoh calling Oumi, Oumi-chan makes them feel way way closer, than just college friends who hang out between classes. And it gives you a better sense that they care for each other.

My hot take about translations is that they shouldn't just accomodate to what's most familiar to the target audience, in this case USA people, it should just make the media more accesible. It isn't a failure of art if it is a bit of a struggle to engage with it, it's good to make an effort to try to understand foreign art, even when the way the text is presented, isn't super familiar or relatable to you.

This is basically what everybody who isn't from an English speaking country already does lol

[suterbuyout2024]

“#wrote a college entrance essay about this once” re: rpf research excuse me WHAT can you elaborate please 😭 (i say as someone who has also written some unhinged essays)

okay in my defense i didn't actually talk about rpf explicitly, but i did write about how one of the big draws of hockey for me was all the minute details and research rabbitholes you could get absorbed in. it's funny to look back on now because i think my understanding of hockey has come a long way, and also i'm kind of a completely different person than i was, lol. i'll put a few sections under the cut just for fun :3

But in late November of my ---- year, I turned on the television to watch a hockey game. It was the Flames and the Senators -- not exactly a nail-biter. I knew what to expect. I’d been to a college hockey game once at the University of North Dakota, and I’d been casually interested. But I certainly didn’t count on the Ottawa Senators setting the starting point of a great epoch of my life. The thing about hockey is that, leaving aside everything else about the sport -- statistics, personality, fanaticism, gameplay -- hockey is fun to watch. It’s fast-paced but easy to follow. All you have to do is keep track of the puck. Stoppages aren’t too common, but if they do happen, it’s probably because a penalty has been called, or because of a scrum, which both lead to more interesting circumstances. In short, hockey held my interest, and outpaced my notoriously short attention span. At least, that was how it started.

apparently i was rly trying to keep that harvard admissions officer on their toes lmao

Hockey culture is an unmitigated disaster. Awash with misogyny, masculine posturing, glorification of violence, and a thriving disrespect for the civil rights of minorities, it’s easy to brush hockey off as another antiquated hold-out of gladiatorial sports. Fans live and die for the blood of it. It’s especially easy to do so as a queer woman, someone who is definitely unwelcome in central hockey circles. It took me about ten minutes to understand that hockey Twitter, at least, was not worth a second of my time. But I hadn’t gotten as far as making it through an entire Senators game just to give up now. And finding other avenues of building community was easier than I thought. The Internet, it turns out, is shockingly versatile. Just as white male hockey fans all tend to congregate in the loud, wide-open spaces of fandom, the rest of us found areas out of view of the mainstream gaze. Within Tumblr tags, Discord groups, and even fanfiction archive forums, the women, hockey fans of color, and even us queers began to find each other. It was easier, then, to know where to start. In short order, hockey turned from something I watched as stress relief after a long school day to something I knew about. The people I talked to were knowledgeable, and the research I did on my own -- as was my wont -- helped substantiate. First it was about the teams, and then, when I had satisfied my knowledge there, the players. The politics. The rules, the statistics, the prospects. The slow stop-start of change initiatives like the Hockey Diversity Alliance. It turns out that hockey is an unquellable fount of things to learn, and it quickly became a way to collect things to know.

it's interesting to look back and see which things i felt it was important to highlight, especially given all the things that have happened in recent years with hockey culture. also please disregard all the identity flashing, i WAS trying to get into college, after all.

i go on to talk a bit about the demographic layout of the nhl & the draw of european leagues, plus why i started learning russian (to read kirill's insta posts), but that's the rpf-related section. if i were to rewrite this essay today it would be a completely different look at the world of hockey and its current landscape, but i'm giving myself some grace for having committed the crime of being 18 and not very smart.

[howtofightwrite]

My character is a 50 something police officer that suddenly finds herself in a post-apocalyptic world (think similar to Fallout), how would her training help her?

There's a little more complexity here than you might expect. Fallout alternates between three different settings, and I don't mean this in the normal, nerdy, “oh, but Fallout: Tactics, isn't canon, except for the Midwestern Brotherhood...” I mean it rotates across three different post-apocalyptic sub-genres. So, I'll dig those out in a minute.

The biggest thing is probably combat training. Even if they never had a combat specialist role (like a SWAT officer), they would still have undergone training in hand to hand, use of their baton, their sidearm, and a shotgun. They may have also been trained with various types of rifles. While it's not likely to be their most commonly used skill, it does open their options up a lot. It will also help them  avoid some very bad situations. Sometimes, having a combat background is more about knowing when not to walk into someplace.

The second big boon is going to be their medical training. Even if they were just a patrol officer, they would still have undergone first aid and CPR certification on a fairly regular basis. Depending on their experiences, this might also give them a passing understanding of pharmacology (especially if they worked vice or dealt with ODs on a regular basis), and they may even be able to perform some rudimentary field surgery if there's no other option. (Granted, they also have a pretty good chance of killing their patient, but that's still better odds than the certainty of dying without any medical attention.)

The third major skill is their grasp of human nature. This is something that most veteran cops will build up over time, simply as a result of their human interactions. Now, this can result in a very jaundiced view of people, due their experiences, but this will make it harder to pull one over on them. (Now, there is a blind spot here, because your character is now in an unfamiliar world, their baseline is going to be a little bit scrambled. But, in general, they're going to have a significant advantage in reading people's behavior, and intentions.)

Depending on their background, they may have a lot of more specialized skills that could be extremely useful. Someone who worked in SWAT will have an extremely robust combat toolkit to work with, someone with a motor pool background will have an advantage in vehicle repair and maintenance (and while only two Fallout games have featured working cars, they're certainly a part of the setting.) A pilot would know how to operate a chopper (or vertibird.) Specific to Fallout, an officer with a background dealing with maintaining robotics would be able to do that, and might also have some skill with working on power armor. A hostage negotiator would have an almost frightening number of social options. A vice detective would have, likely, have a robust knowledge of pharmacology (as mentioned earlier), both in their symptoms, but also, likely, in their creation, and potential uses. Finally, detectives would still have their investigation skills, which could be very useful in their field. This is the usual, determining what happened at a location, tracking people, and so on.

So, why did I make a point about there being multiple versions of Fallout earlier? Because it affects how useful some of these skills are. Fallout, from its first incarnation, was a pastiche of an entire literary genre, which took heavy inspiration from multiple, not completely compatible, visions of a post-apocalyptic world.

The original game is bleak and subdued. You could almost think of it as a low-fantasy post-nuclear wasteland. Very little of the old world survives into the original game. It's also a world without a lot of the more fanciful elements that have become synonymous with the brand. Deathclaws are a ghost story told to frighten green caravan hands, not a massive apex predator understood to be wandering the wasteland. The super mutants are staying in hiding, while they carefully enact their master's plan. Ghouls are rare enough that most mistakenly describe them as the risen dead.

Within this context, a lot of the survival skills are likely to be the most important. Notably, there are a few cases where towns are run by their police. This is something that a veteran cop might have experience with. If they took on a leadership role, then it's quite possible they have a good background for starting, and protecting, a new settlement. Though, as the first game shows, this is an approach that can backfire horribly.

Fallout 2 and New Vegas represent a different, and more unusual, post-apocalyptic setting. These are worlds where the survivors are so separated from the end of the world that they're effectively building new civilizations. In Fallout 2, this includes a number of new, post-war cities, that have built up in the decades between the games.

These games also reflect an era when a lot of the mysteries of the wasteland have been exposed. Things like the ghouls, super mutants, and deathclaws are all known to exist, and the latter are acknowledged as serious threats.

In situations like this, some of the survival skills are less important, and it's possible your character could actually go back to doing their job, if they're living in one of the larger cities. It may seem a little counterintuitive, but these are settings where, to some extent, life goes on like it did before. With some changes along the way.

Fallout 3, 4, and, 76 all kind of operate as, “immediate aftermath,” scenarios. In spite of the mainline games being set in the back half of the 23rdcentury, their worlds are ones that almost make more sense in first few decades after the nukes struck.

Hell, Nick's personal quest centers around settling a score with someone from before the war, and while there's in-universe justification for how this works, this really is a variant of a renegade cop's revenge story. It's explicitly the kind of story you'd normally set immediately after the apocalypse, before everyone had a chance to die off of old age. Granted, there's some extra existential elements at play, but in the end, this is a story that does suffer from spending 200 years at the back of a freezer.

I hate to say this, because I don't want to tell anyone they should play it, but 76 is worth considering, specifically for The Responders. These were a mix of police, firefighters, and paramedics who set about rebuilding immediately after the war. And, ironically, if Todd Howard's dictatorial fiat hadn't put an end to any living NPCs in Appalachia, along with his driving need to wedge the Brotherhood of Steel into places where it didn't belong, 76's concept of The Responders is a pretty good model for what a character could build.

The Desert Rangers get a few stray references in Fallout and New Vegas, but they're never fleshed out... because they're a reference to the player faction in Wasteland. The actual origin, much like the Brotherhood of Steel, is the pre-war US Military group. The Rangers were original a Nevada National Guard Engineering Battalion, and immediately after the war they commandeered a prison complex, repurposing it as their headquarters.

If you've never looked at Wasteland, the Rangers have (to some extent) a more law enforcement focused approach to their territory. This is complicated by the fact that things are still more than a little messed up. However, it may give you some more thoughts on what you could do with a cop in that environment, or how people would try to rebuild after the end.

It's probably worth remembering that Max Rokatansky (the protagonist of the Mad Max films) is a former cop, and his signature vehicle was a Police Interceptor before the end of the world. In fact, the first film, The Road Warrior(1979), isn't even post-apocalyptic. The events occur as the world is falling apart around them. While this has a lot to do with the budgetary constraints of a film that (literally) paid many of its extras in beer, it is a unique apocalypse as a result.

Ultimately, depending on what their job was as a cop, your character has a lot of potential skill sets, and nearly any of them could be extremely advantageous in a post-apocalyptic environment. It really is a question of what overlaps between who they are and the world they find themselves in.

-Starke

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