#just personalities and basic life stories

[paucubarsisimp]

Hiii Idk if you write for kimi or write smau but I was wondering if you could do a poly fic with Kimi and Eli? Basically were reader is a singer and kimi falls in love with her and tells eli but eli tells him that he also likes her and idk you can come up with the rest

lover

pairing: poly!kimi antonelli x reader x eli babickova

summary: in which kimi and eli fall for a singer

warnings: swearing, use of y/n

a/n: i was going to make this longer but i couldn't add any more photos 😭

fc: gracie abrams + lucia ferrato + other girlies on pinterest!

yourusername posted

yourusername au revoir paris! you were magical 🪩🥂✨

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user1 MOTHER IS MOTHERING

user2 BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFEEEE

sabrinacarpenter luv you 💋

yourusername MWAHHH 💋💋 user3 best duo ever

user4 IM STILL SOBBING

user5 I LOVE YOU Y/NNNN

user6 the way she teared up when we started to cheer her name as she was leaving

user7 she's such a sweetheart

user8 goddess 🤩

f1wags posted

f1wags singer, y/n l/n spotted in the paddock today during the monaco gp!

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user1 omg ahh she likes f1 too??

user2 bfr shes probably one of those celebs that pretends to know about f1 when in reality they don't even know what a throttle is 😂😂 user3 thats not true! she's been watching f1 since she was little user4 plus she has a song in the new f1 movie

user5 she looks stunning

user6 did y'all see that she was hanging out with eli??

user7 yesss!!! they looked like they were having sm fun

user8 QUEEEEN

yourusername posted

yourusername met the prettiest girl today! babickovaeli

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babickovaeli i still can't get over the fact that the y/n l/n talked to me!

yourusername omg you're going to make me blush 🤭 we should meet up again soon :) babickovaeli definitely!! user1 haha eli is so real for that

user2 ahhh they're both so pretttyyyy

user3 omg eli i love your dress!!

kimi.antonelli 💕

user4 where is your hoodie from??

yourusername it's from brandname!!

carmenmundt gorgeous girls <33

yourusername ily carmen <33

kimi.antonelli posted

kimi.antonelli what a night! yourusername, babickovaeli

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yourusername it was so fun meeting you kimi!!

kimi.antonelli you too!!

olliebearman mate you're so lucky

kimi.antonelli i knowww i think me and eli almost passed out when she came on user1 😭😭

babickaovaeli she has the voice of an angel 🥹

yourusername aww ty eli <33

user2 HOW WAS IT KIMI? IM DYING TO GO

kimi.antonelli best night of my life. 10/10. would highly recommend.

user3 awww they're so cuteee

user4 y/n looks so happy!!

yourusername posted

yourusername lunch 🍓🍰🤍 kimi.antonelli, babickovaeli

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user1 is she like crashing their date?? 😭😭

user2 that's so weird

alexandrasaintmleux pretty ❤️

yourusername all youuu 🤭 🤭

kimi.antonelli had loads of fun 😘

user3 dafuq...

babickovaeli love you sm pretty <333

yourusername love you moreee bbyyy <333

user4 so prettyyy

user5 love you y/nnn

kimi.antonelli updated their story

caption look who it is yourusername

third person

y/n had fallen asleep halfway through the movie, curled up on the couch like she always did — blanket halfway on, hair in a loose mess, hand reaching out towards them even in her sleep. kimi had been the first to notice she was out cold. he nudged eli gently, then pointed.

“again,” he whispered, smiling a little.

eli looked over from where she was washing up mugs in the kitchen. “she looks so peaceful,” she whispered back.

kimi wandered over and pulled the blanket up over y/n’s legs, careful not to wake her. he stood there for a second too long, just looking.

eli noticed. she dried her hands slowly, her eyes soft.

“you’re so obvious,” she said gently, teasing without any bite.

kimi’s cheeks flushed, but he didn’t deny it. he just sat down at the kitchen table and said, “you like her too.”

eli blinked, then walked over and sat beside him. her smile tugged a little crooked. “that obvious, huh?”

kimi didn’t look at her — he was still watching y/n, like something about her sleeping face was keeping him grounded.

“i keep trying not to,” he said. “not because i don’t want to. i do. it’s just… i love you. and this thing with us — it’s real. i didn’t want to mess it up.”

eli was quiet for a moment. then she reached across the table, took his hand.

“kimi,” she said. “i love you too. so much. and i love her.” she laughed a little under her breath. “i think i’ve been in love with her longer than i realized.”

kimi’s eyes flicked over to hers, wide and a little hopeful.

“really?”

she nodded. “yeah. she makes me feel like… like the best version of myself. i didn’t know love could feel that easy.”

kimi’s voice softened. “me too. she just… gets us. both of us.”

they sat there for a few moments, holding hands, hearts too full to speak.

“i think she already knows,” eli said eventually, glancing over at y/n again. “we’re not that subtle.”

kimi smiled, eyes still on y/n. “the way i look at her?”

“the way we look at her,” eli corrected, grinning.

then she stood and tiptoed over, kneeling next to the couch. gently, she brushed y/n’s hair back from her face. kimi came over and crouched beside her, the two of them looking at her like she was the softest thing in the whole world.

eli whispered, “we should probably wait until she’s awake to tell her.”

kimi chuckled quietly. “yeah. i want her to actually hear it when i say i’m in love with her.”

“me too.”

they stayed there, side by side, quietly holding onto each other — and holding space for the girl they both loved. not in halves. not in competition. just more.

messages

kimi <3

y/n will you please please come to canada?

eli 💕

pleaseee y/n

you

okay! i have a little break in between my next concert anyway

kimi

GRAZIEEE BELLAA

mercedesamgf1 posted

mercedesamgf1 p1 for george and first podium for kimi!

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georgerusell63 LET'S GO BABYYY

user1 yesss!! kimi!!

yourusername proud of you kimi ❤️

kimi.antonelli grazie principessa user2 erm okay.... user3 wtf kimi you have a gf user4 i mean can you blame him? it's y/n

user5 insane race!!

user6 yess the lando and oscar thing?? user7 my landoscar heart 💔

olliebearman ❤️

user8 BEARNELLI!!!

second person

the rain was steady outside, tapping quietly on the windows like a soft soundtrack just for you. inside, everything felt warm and slow — the candle flickering on the table, the smell of vanilla hanging in the air, and you curled up on the couch with eli’s hoodie slipping off one shoulder.

eli was leaning against you, her fingers playing with the edge of your blanket, and kimi was sitting on the floor nearby, watching the rain but sneaking glances at you both.

there was something in the way they looked at you — softer than usual, like they were holding something back.

eli finally shifted so she could meet your eyes, voice low and a little shy. “hey, y/n?”

you blinked awake and gave a small smile. “yeah?”

kimi scooted closer to the couch, his hand brushing against yours like he was checking if it was okay to hold on. you didn’t move away.

“we’ve been talking,” kimi said, sounding nervous but steady, “about how we feel. about you.”

eli nodded, biting her lip like she was trying not to grin too much. “it’s kind of scary to say, but we both love you.”

your heart did a weird little flip. you weren’t sure if you were more nervous or happy — maybe both.

kimi reached up and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind your ear. “i love you, y/n. it’s been this way for a while now.”

eli squeezed your hand, her eyes bright. “me too. i love you so much.”

warmth spread through you, a quiet kind of happiness that made everything feel easier, lighter.

“you don’t have to say anything right now,” eli said softly, leaning in to kiss your temple, “we just wanted you to know.”

kimi kissed your forehead, slow and sure, like he was promising you something that didn’t need words.

your hands moved on their own, tracing their faces — one on kimi’s cheek, the other on eli’s jaw.

“i love you both,” you said, voice barely above a whisper but steady. “more than i ever thought i could.”

eli smiled, that kind of smile that makes you want to laugh and cry all at once, and kissed your cheek softly.

kimi chuckled, leaning in to press a warm kiss just under your jaw.

you melted into them, your fingers weaving through their hair, your heart so full it felt like it might burst.

they wrapped you up in their arms — a messy, perfect hug — and you felt like you were exactly where you were supposed to be.

outside, the rain kept falling, soft and steady, like the world was quiet and waiting with you.

yourusername posted

yourusername lover girl era 🍓💖

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sabrinacarpenter so happy for you 🫶

yourusername tysm gorgeous ily <33

babickovaeli ❤️❤️

yourusername 🤭🤭

user1 OMG THATS SO KIMI

user2 AND THAT HAS TO BE ELI TOO

user3 AHHH THROUPLE ALERT??

user4 so pretty <3

user5 happy for you <33

user6 NOOOO MOTHER

user7 ONE CHANCE I BEG

y/nupdates posted

y/nupdates y/n spotted with two different people on what looks to be a date! throuple? 👀

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yourusername posted

yourusername i once believed love would be burning red, but it's golden ❤️❤️ kimi.antonelli babickovaeli

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kimi.antonelli ti amo amore mio

yourusername ti amo di più

babickovaeli i love you both ❤️

yourusername i love you more baby ❤️

user1 I KNEW IT HAHAHAH

user2 OMG I WAS RIGHTTT

user3 OMG THEY'RE SO CUTEEE AHHH

user4 kimi's picture 😭

kimi.antonelli posted

kimi.antonelli le mie ragazze babickovaeli yourusername

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yourusername kimiii ❤️❤️ baby i love you so much

kimi.antonelli i love you too mia principessa

babickovaeli ti amo kimi ❤️❤️

kimi.antonelli ti amo di più

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babickovaeli posted

babickovaeli my pretty girl <333

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yourusername i love you so much gorgeous ❤️❤️

babickovaeli i love you more ❤️❤️

kimi.antonelli i love you both ❤️

babickovaeli we love you so much ❤️❤️

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yourusername posted

yourusername lover is out now! <3

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taglist: @barcapix, @universefcb, @joaosnovia, @ilovebarcaaaa, @levidazai, @hollyf1,@mxryxmfooty, @halfwayhearted, @landoslutmeout , @linnygirl09, @spidybaby, @dessashippr, @freyathehuntress lmk if you want to be added!

[beffrmin]

SKZ OT8 Smut Headcannons.

Hey, so I am a new writer.. let's not hate too much? Everything I write is just what I imagine from their personalities.. and how I will get used to writing them, for right now.. so yeah.

For my beginning, first post, or whatever you want to call this.. I want to establish that this is just for fun.. I do not mean harm to any of the idols I write about. This is just from a curious and open mind.

This is set up kind of like one of those "pick your poison," kind of posts, so just go down the list and find your bias if that is all your here for.. if not, then with your interest here as someone looking for stories, this is going to be how their sexual preferences are for these fictions. Before I make a full story, I will upload bits and pieces of small stories to adjust with writing their personalities.

So, without a further a due :

‼️WARNIGS:‼️ This is sexual content and only 18+ should interact with this.‼️MDNI‼️If you are easily disturbed by BDSM and/or anything besides vanilla sex, this content is not for you.‼️

Thank you...

Christopher Chan Bahng. ؛ ଓ

˙ᵕ˙ Basics..

ᝰ.ᐟ "Nah, let's just wrap 'em up." Listen, he has seven grown ass children.. take the damn condom or get no dick.

ᝰ.ᐟ Daddy Dom. It's undeniable at this point. Chan likes being called daddy, he likes taking care of you, after he has wrecked you. He likes being able to discipline you, when you act out.

ᝰ.ᐟ Face-off. This is his favorite position. He likes you in his lap, facing him, while he sat straight up, fucking into you. Yes, usually it would be riding.. but Chan isn't really into that, he wants to control your orgasms and make you cry.

ᝰ.ᐟ Boobs or Ass? Ass.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-ons..

ᝰ.ᐟ Angry Sex. Let's just say, he enjoys this so much, he'll sometimes picks fights with his members, just to come home and fuck all of that anger into the mattress with you.

ᝰ.ᐟ Light Bondage. Bondage gets very iffy with Chan. He doesn't want to hurt you, so his quick fix to it is truly a way you can enjoy it and he doesn't have to worry too much.. he will only tie the wrist and the ankles.

ᝰ.ᐟ Pet names and Praises. Not many things turn Chan on, that are non-sexual.. but when he does something for you and you use just the right pet-name, praising him for it.. he feels the heat picks up and he just wants to fuck you right there..

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-offs..

ᝰ.ᐟ Humiliation. He hates this, not only for you, but for him too. He hates having to humiliate you or your sex life, just to get off. It makes him feel icky and he goes soft. It's intimate and he wants to make you feel that way.

ᝰ.ᐟ Impact Play. If he needs to discipline you, he will in other ways. He doesn't feel right laying a hand on you, even if you consent to it. It's just the type of man he is.

Lee Minho. ؛ ଓ

˙ᵕ˙ Basics..

ᝰ.ᐟ "Fuck the condom, I don't care.." No, because he actually despises condoms.

ᝰ.ᐟ Bratty and, slightly, Sadistic Dom. Minho is a Brat tramer who responds to a Brat, by being bratty. He also can be extremely sadistic. You're bratting him in public? "Don't make me fuck your slutty cunt, right here in front of everybody, baby.."

ᝰ.ᐟ Missionary. This is his favorite position, mostly, because he does have a lot of control in this position. Plus, when he cums inside of you, it feels almost primal to him in that position. The most intimate.

ᝰ.ᐟ Boobs or Ass? Boobs.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-ons..

ᝰ.ᐟ Control. Minho loves watching you crawl and beg for him. He loves to play the games. Anyway he can control you, he will try. Mind games, humiliation, or even dirty talk. He just likes watching you get flushed.

ᝰ.ᐟ Thigh Riding. He will sit there for hours, watching you use his thigh to rut against. He will sit there and rock you back and forth, while he palms at himself and whispers dirty approvals to you.

ᝰ.ᐟ Dumbification. Minho will give the most shit eating grin during sex if he realizes he made you go dumb, which, at that point, leads to his agenda being: make her into a zombie.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-offs..

ᝰ.ᐟ Blood Play. He is a freak, but Minho draws a solid line at the sight of blood. That is just not his cup of tea and he panics the moment he sees it. He wants to be rough with you, not hurt you.

ᝰ.ᐟ Knife Play. Knife Play equals drawing blood, which equals a solid, hard no from Minho.

Seo Changbin. ؛ ଓ

˙ᵕ˙ Basics..

ᝰ.ᐟ "I'll just pull out." There is really no telling with Bin, he might wear one or he might not.

ᝰ.ᐟ Brat Tamer. Changbin loves a challenge. His challenge is often you. Which means, for him to be able to break you into a bed, he has to get you to behave right.. which is mostly physical restraint.

ᝰ.ᐟ Up Against the Wall. Legs wrapped around him, while he thrusts into you, while you against the wall. It's his favorite position, mostly, because it shows you how strong he is.. being able to pick you up and fuck you like that.

ᝰ.ᐟ Boobs or Ass? Both.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-ons..

ᝰ.ᐟ Filming. He loves to film you and the intimate time that goes in between the two of you. He doesn't post it. No, he just saves it for his own later uses, but he loves the films a little more, knowing he had your trust while filming it.

ᝰ.ᐟ Marking. Bin isn't really a jealous person. He knows all to well that you would never cheat on him.. but other men have wandering eyes and he doesn't like that too much. So, hickeys and bite marks. Everywhere. His pants get tighter every time he sees one.

ᝰ.ᐟ Power Play. As much as Bin hates to admit it, he really does have a thing for out-powering you. He likes knowing he could bend you over at any minute to fuck you senseless.. so sometimes you please him with a little free-use here and there.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-offs..

ᝰ.ᐟ Sharing. This is a big no from Changbin. To be honest with you, if you even bring the idea up to him, he might low-key crash the fuck out on you. He isn't too fond of having to share what is his, especially with his dumbass members.

ᝰ.ᐟ Impact Play. Listen.. Bin is strong, he doesn’t want to accidentally hurt you in some shape or form. He would rather just avoid it at all costs. He will physically restrain you all day, but hitting is something he won’t do.

Hwang Hyunjin. ؛ ଓ

˙ᵕ˙ Basics..

ᝰ.ᐟ "If you don't care, I won't use it.." Yeah, Hyunjin is a firm believer that it feels so much better without a condom.

ᝰ.ᐟ Voyeurism Dom. He is the kind of man who wants to watch you touch yourself for hours, torturing you with the fact that he could make you feel so much better than toys and fingers.

ᝰ.ᐟ Cowgirl. This is his favorite position, mostly for the reason he can see all of you. He loves watching you fuck yourself on his cock.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-ons..

ᝰ.ᐟ Threesomes. This is something he suggests.. not to get another girl in for, but to get Felix in for. This man actually loves watching another man take you. It makes him feel even better when he's watching you take him and his best friend at the same time.

ᝰ.ᐟ Oral Fixation. He gives amazing head.. like ungodly, unreal, great head. But he has a fixation with watching you suck him off.. it's like he's more into watching you do it, rather than the actual pleasure that comes from it.

ᝰ.ᐟ Cum Play. He will cum inside you.. fuck it in some.. play it while it is sobbing out of your pussy.. keep fucking it in.. then out of nowhere, rub it onto your tits and lips.. then continue to fuck his cum into you.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-offs..

ᝰ.ᐟ Bondage. Yeah, uhm, he is terrified of hurting you in any way, at all, whatsoever. He said, "I love you, but no. It can cut your circulation and I don't feel comfortable doing that to you." He was at least respectful.

ᝰ.ᐟ Impact Play. Also for the same reasons as bondage. He just doesn't feel comfortable laying a hand on you in a way that could hurt you. It would honestly make him feel like shit.

Han Jisung. ؛ ଓ

˙ᵕ˙ Basics..

ᝰ.ᐟ "Shit.. I forgot the condom again.." He tries to use one, but Jisung gets so pussy-drunk, he just totally blanks putting one on.

ᝰ.ᐟ Pleasure Dom. He wants you shaking. His main focus is you and your pleasure. This can often get mistaken as a service dom, but the difference is a pleasure dom is more pussy-drunk and much more gentle.

ᝰ.ᐟ Face-sitting. He doesn't exactly have a favorite position.. he just wants you to sit on his face. That is the only way he wants you and prefers to have you: humping your clit into his nose, while he tongue devours your core.

ᝰ.ᐟ Boobs or Ass? Pussy.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-ons..

ᝰ.ᐟ Face-fucking. Listen, Jisung isn't rough.. but when you brought up the idea, he was iffy on it. Well, turns out he fucking loves it. He feels bad making you cry and hurting you, but he can't get over how pretty you sound gagging and choking on his cock. He always apologizes right after.

ᝰ.ᐟ Moaning. He goes feral the moment he hears you moan. It like flicks this switch in his head and he starts going deeper.. then deeper.. then next thing you know he is starting to speed up.

ᝰ.ᐟ Marking. His is a bit different from the usual marking kink. Jisung really loves finding scratch marks on him after sex, he later brags about them to Minho.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-offs..

ᝰ.ᐟ Roleplay. Jisung is not the biggest fan of it. Not for the reason he hates it, but he really can't take it seriously enough to stay hard. He would start laughing and try to understand how this was how you wanted to enjoy your night, instead of him giving you a toe curling orgasm.

ᝰ.ᐟ Impact Play. Also, just not the biggest fan of it. He doesn't really like the idea of raising his hands at a woman. The most physical he will get is light tugs to your hair, but hitting is stepping a line for him.

Lee Felix. ؛ ଓ

˙ᵕ˙ Basics..

ᝰ.ᐟ "Com'on, darlin'.. we need to be careful.." The thought of becoming a father scares Felix..

ᝰ.ᐟ Service Dom. His pleasure is completely your pleasure. That is how he gets off to you. He has little things he asks for, but most of the time his focus, is your pleasure.

ᝰ.ᐟ Missionary. This is what feels most natural to him. It's his way of showing you all of his love, plus he loves eye contact.

ᝰ.ᐟ Boobs or Ass? Both.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-ons..

ᝰ.ᐟ Anal. This was a shock to you. When he asked you to roll over, you thought this man was going to be hitting it from the back and all you got was a pop and a cock into the ass. He just has a thing for ruining every hole.

ᝰ.ᐟ Cock-warming. This was something that you two found out accidentally. More like, you found out accidentally, he was just trying to game. Now, every time he games, you have to be there sitting pretty and still for him.

ᝰ.ᐟ Breath Play. He surprised this one on you, but you didn't debunk. It was extremely iffy to be honest. You two looked into it a little better and next thing you know, Felix loved it. He loved the feeling of you panting and trying to catch your breath underneath him.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-offs..

ᝰ.ᐟ Blood Play. Felix just doesn't want to hurt you. This also disqualifies knife play. He does not like the thought of hurting you or making you bleed.

ᝰ.ᐟ Impact Play. Same thing as the blood play. It doesn't sit right with him, raising a hand at a woman for no reason, not even for his own pleasure.

Kim Seungmin. ؛ ଓ

˙ᵕ˙ Basics..

ᝰ.ᐟ "I am not trying to be like Chan." Yeah, don't try to convince him otherwise.

ᝰ.ᐟ Rigger Dom. What can he say? He has a thing for ropes. Most of all, he loves seeing you in ropes. He has every ounce of control when he is on top of you and you're restrained down. That's a type of trust that lights a fire in him.

ᝰ.ᐟ Arched Doggy. Face down, ass up, hands tied behind your back, that's the way he loves to fuck.

ᝰ.ᐟ Boobs or Ass? Boobs.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-ons..

ᝰ.ᐟ Mirror Sex. He made you get a mirror in your bedroom, that way he could watch himself fuck you. Both of you have mirrors in your rooms, facing the bed for this purpose. Seungmin will even go as far as to grab your hair and force your head up to watch.

ᝰ.ᐟ Cum Denial. This is the real Seungmin now.. ties you up, teases you for hours on end, just for his pleasure. He likes seeing you writhe away into the bed, making you cry, as he pulls the vibrator back to deny you again.

ᝰ.ᐟ Dacryphilia. His dick twitches the moment he sees tears during sex. He will do everything to make more of them slip. Seungmin has the firm belief that you look beautiful when you cry.. plus, he has to be doing a good job, if you're crying about it.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-offs..

ᝰ.ᐟ Bodily Fluids or Vile. This means no blood, no piss, no shit. He doesn't do that nasty shit. He would rather have sex with Changbin, before you try to arouse him with your bodily fluids.

ᝰ.ᐟ Feet. This man will not kiss you head to toe. This man will kiss you head to shin, before he starts gagging, because, he is way too close to a foot. He loves you, there is nothing wrong with your feet, he just hates feet.

Yang Jeongin. ؛ ଓ

˙ᵕ˙ Basics..

ᝰ.ᐟ "Okay, baby.. if you insist." Jeongin wanted the condom at first, but it was so easy to talk him out of it.

ᝰ.ᐟ Gentle Dom. He's sweet. Like everything he does is in your mind. Everything he does is out of love for you. That's what makes him so special. Every touch, he appreciates you like some masterpiece.

ᝰ.ᐟ Cunnilingus. Jeongin doesn't have a favorite position. He likes to eat you out. Right between your legs, while you lay back doing whatever you want. Your thighs squish his head, just a bit, every time something feels just a little too good. That is what he wants.

ᝰ.ᐟ Boobs or Ass? Thighs.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-ons..

ᝰ.ᐟ Public Sex. This is the freakiest he has gotten. Every time you guys are out, he wants inside your pants. For some reason, he has the biggest fixation with quickies when the Kids are nearby. He'll hear one of them coming and, "Baby, come sit on my lap.."

ᝰ.ᐟ Praising. He loves praising you. He found out if he praises you at just the right time and with the right words, your walls hug him in ways that make him nearly bust.

ᝰ.ᐟ Breeding. After suggesting no condoms to this boy, he was a bit nervous about it.. then you realized it awoken something in him. That being, he really likes the idea and the risk of filling you, stuffing you, and possibly.. getting you pregnant. It's just a fantasy of his.

˙ᵕ˙ Turn-offs..

ᝰ.ᐟ Pet Play. He isn't kink shaming, he just doesn't get the point in it. He thinks it's something a little strange and it isn't something he really wants to test the waters with.

ᝰ.ᐟ Sharing. Jeongin does not show it, but he is a jealous person. He doesn't like other men looking at you, why would he be okay with them sleeping with you? You are his and his alone. And he's pussy-whipped.

[existence-is-a-pain87]

You guys hear that? It's the sound of my original writing plans flying away because I got an AU idea. Mmmmm I love ADHD.

Oh well, this AU should be pretty cool and I hope you'll like it! This isn't a series I'm gonna be solely focusing on like the Eyes series. If yall wanna see more from this AU sooner rather than later, send in an ask.

To Die is to Live

Yandere!Monster!Forsaken x Reader; Yandere!Monster!Block Tales x Reader

Warnings: Obsession and other general yandere behaviors

Note: This is an AU heavily based on/directly inspired by Homicipher. @allimili 's CRK x Homicipher AU was also an inspiration (your work is so peak btw, never change). It's also gonna get really dark since it's basically a Homicipher AU of Forsaken and Block Tales.

Furthermore, I wanna say that this MC is akin to another alternate version of the Eyes MC. Teehee.

I love experimenting with my writing :D

And don't worry, I'll still fufill requests. I just wanted to write this. Enjoy!

--☆☆☆☆☆--

You didn't know how you got here.

Your memories felt like a jumbled mess, as if your head had been plucked off your body, shaken around like a maraca, and then placed back on your neck with no cares in the world.

Bruises litered your body, and you tasted something metallic in your mouth, as if you had bit your cheek. But you didn't feel any injuries inside your mouth, so you ignored it after spitting out what looked like normal saliva.

You rubbed your eyes, before your vision cleared a bit and you processed... uh.

You could only describe this place as... a mess. Mold stained the walls, cobwebs nestled in each corner, and stains covered the tile floor. This place felt like what you could only describe as a giant indoor mall as you scanned the area, wondering where you were and what was going on.

You searched in your brain, desperate for any hint of knowledge you weild to help you piece together where you were.

Then you recall the rumors online about an alternate world that can trap others within it if they enter a damaged room with no windows when it rains. You never really believed in them despite all the warnings older folk online gave you about them.

But... what if you got there?

You remember someone attacking you and you desperately fighting them off, before stumbling into a random room in the abandoned mall- soon to be torn down- to try to hide after you...

...

...

...

You don't remember what you did to that person. You can guess they beat you pretty badly, though, and you fled to avoid them killing you or worse, judging from all your wounds and how you've never been someone super strong.

You just stand up, looking for any exit and trying to recall all the information you knew about this place.

A lot of people, around your age at least, called the Other World a copy of the Backrooms. But this place, while giant, wasn't infinite. And there had to be a clear way out.

Of course, no one who went in came out according to the stories, but you could always change that.

You opened the only door and peered out, seeing no signs of life as you stared out into what looked like a giant abandoned mall. Like an alternate, larger, and more warped version of what you walked into to get here. But there were other things too, and made this place feel like a giant mashpit of so many different abandoned and damaged places.

You just walked out and wandered around, regretting that all you had on you was a black raincoat and your usual clothes. You didn't even have an umbrella.

You had no weapons in case there was anything dangerous here. And you were injured and had no clue how to fight. If there were any monsters like this was the Backrooms, you're as good as dead.

And being dead doesn't work well with your goal to go home.

Your feet pad across the dusty and dirty ground, and you look around for anything that seems familiar.

Maybe if you found the exit to the mall, that'd be the exit to this world. Maybe then you'd get home.

You weren't sure. You just hoped. And what more could you do?

You looked around as you went, trying to see anything that caught your attention. You noted what looked like green buds with leaves that you occasionally found nestled in an upper corner, but they didn't seem to special so you didn't pay them too much mind.

You did think you saw one close back into a bud when you looked at it, and you swore there was an eye at its center. You just looked away, not wanting to fuck around with the ominous plant things.

Though, after that, you tried to stay out in the open less. Hanging out near the walls and searching more intently for a weapon while hoping nothing showed up to attack you.

Unfortunately, you weren't that lucky.

A thumping sound approaching made you flinch and duck into an abandoned store-like area while peaking out slightly through the window to see whatever is wandering past.

Whatever it was, it looked like a fucked up human. It wore a hardhat that covered the entirely of its upper face, but you saw blood leaking down from the inside of the hat and staining the gray skin on his face. He seemed to be wearing a gray hoodie of sorts, but the blood that stained it made you uncomfortable.

He seemed to be looking around for something (you had no idea if he could see with no visible eyes) and you noted the hammer he held in one of his hands.

You just stayed still, hoping he would leave as you panicked over the fact there were monsters here. You just stayed quiet, not even daring to breathe.

Then his head turned to look over in your direction, then angled to stare directly at you. You didn't move, didn't breathe. Just stared at where his eyes would be while silently praying to whatever god was out there.

Your prayers were ignored.

Immediately, the creature moved, approaching the glass as it stared down at you, before raising its hammer.

You screamed, turned around, and ran through the store, hearing the shattering of glass behind you as you narrowly avoided the shards from hitting you, weaving through bare clothing racks and through aisles as you desperately sped away.

From the thumps you heard, it was following you. You just fled into the backrooms of the store and scurried into a box the moment you got space between you and the monster.

As you hoped your violent shaking wouldn't disturb the box to not give your location away, you felt tears stinging your eyes as you heard the thumps of the monster get closer happened, some unintelligible noises you didn't understand that sounded like it came from between two different beings, before the thumps faded away.

You didn't dare exit the box. Especially when you heard thumps again, these ones sounding different than the original monster's. Then you heard them pause, and the sound of boxes being opened nearby you.

Your breathing hitched as you quickly tried to bury yourself more in the box and hoped the monster would stay away.

Then some thumps got uncomfortably close, and the box you were in opened.

You stared up at this new monster, and screamed again.

--☆☆☆--

Whatever it was, it was definitely not human. Sure, this one had normal skin and was wearing glasses, but from the spider-like mandibles jutting out from the corners of its lips and the pupil-less and iris-less eyes with two smaller eyes above it, you knew this was a monster.

Its hands- with short claws on the end of each finger- rested on the sides of the box, keeping it open, as the monster stared down at you. Its mouth was open very slightly and you could see the fact it seemed to have stubble and was wearing... a burger-like hat. It also seemed to be wearing a blue sweater of sorts.

Then, another pair of near identical arms- separate from the ones holding the box open- reach into the box and pull your panicking and struggling form out. He held you out in front of him and only winced when you punched him in the head. He didn't seem too mad, though.

He just sighed and used his other pair of arms to pin your own to your sides. You squirmed, hoping he wouldn't eat you before,

"hxd xtjh? hxd dwqjavnm?"

You froze at the weird noises that emerged from his mouth, staring at him in confusion.

"...what?"

He stared at you, before speaking again.

"mxwc dwmnabcjwm. hxd bljanm. r fxwc qdac hxd. hxd bjon."

You stared at him blankly, trying to process whatever he was saying.

"hxd dwmnabcjwm vn? wx?"

You just slowly nodded, not understanding a word.

"...r cnjlq." He suddenly said, before using one of his extra limbs to point at himself, "vn." Then he pointed at you, "hxd."

Was he trying to teach you the language? Was he... friendly?

He repeated the words again and gave you an expectant look.

You hesitantly repeated the words, and he nodded and said them with the motions as if he was trying to get it into your head.

...

You decided to call him Mr. Spider, especially considering how his legs were what you could describe as four spider legs.

And god, you were relieved he wasn't eating you. But he wasn't putting you down either.

You hesitate, before motioning him to set you down. He gives you a confused look before... sitting?

You raise an eyebrow and try to pry yourself away, and he seems to finally process you don't want to be held onto and lets you go.

You back away as he stands up, looming over you. God, he's huge.

But as you start to walk away, he follows. His spidery feet tap against the ground as he easily keeps up with you.

You stare at him, face scrunched up in confusion.

"hxdan bljanm. r yaxcnlc. r oxuuxf jwm yaxcnlc." He casually tells you, staying close.

...you aren't fighting the giant spider man unarmed and when he's twice your size. You don't have a deathwish.

Though, Mr. Spider seemed to want to protect you, and you were not going to complain at all about having a giant man spider thing protecting you if anything else here was super dangerous.

...

"hxd" probably meant "you" and "vn" meant either "me" or "I". You weren't sure. All you knew is apparently this world has a whole different language compared to anything you heard.

And how Mr. Spider seemed more than willing to help teach you some of the language when you didn't understand.

You glance up at him, and he looks back at you with lidded eyes. You point at the shattered window, giving him a confused look.

"frwmxf." He notes, squinting a bit, "kaxtnw frwmxf."

...you're guessing "frwmxf" means window. No clue what "kaztnw" means, though.

As you and he went along, you continued pointing at things so he'd state what they are in his language so you'd understand it better.

It honestly was pretty helpful having a surprisingly friendly monster teaching you the language bit by bit. You didn't expect there to be friendly monsters here... at all. But at least there was Mr. Spider.

...

...

...

Loud stomps suddenly echoed through the halls, and you flinch and look around as Mr. Spider's eyes widen. Quickly, he grabs onto you and drags you close to him, and you see...

...

Oh god.

You stare up at whatever just crept out of the darkness. It's huge, looming over Mr. Spider and completely dwarfing you. It's skin was practically a neon red, with giant and demon-like horns sticking out of his forehead. A red hood and cape that matches it's skin color hangs off its body, and it seems to be emitting a glitch or fire effect of sorts, with visible and external ribs and an uncomfortably wide smile.

Black symbols are inscribed on its chest that you can't understand.

It stares directly at you and Mr. Spider, before making an excited noise and darting closer.

You flinch as it crouches down, it's demon-like tail seeming to wag as it speaks. It's black hands press against the walls, similarly-colored claws digging into the concrete, and you realize this thing is very, very powerful.

"mjm! mjm! hxd vjmn oarnwm?" It asks, it's voice loud and echoing, "mxnb oarnwm fjwc cx yujh? r fjwc cx yujh!"

You shake as it leans in close, intently staring at you. Mr. Spider shields you with his arms, before talking back at the new monster so quickly you can't even hear the words said.

A rapid conversation between the two happens, before the monster makes a happy noise and darts off, before making sounds like it's... counting?

Then Mr. Spider suddenly lifts you up and looks around, before placing you up in a gap in the ceiling and motioning you back into the dusty and dark space.

You have no idea what's happening as you creep back, barely able to see what's going on below you as Mr. Spider suddenly runs out of the room.

It's all quiet for a moment, your mind reeling as you try to process what just happened.

Then the red monster bursts back into the room, loudly giggling and toss around and open everything on the floor, as if... searching for something.

...does it think you're playing Hide and Seek with it?

As you see it throw aside a box and rip it open, you realize that if Mr. Spider didn't hide you up here, you'd probably be dead or injured enough you'd wish you were dead.

You shrink back slightly as the monster looks around before running out of the room, giggling.

...it acts a lot like a giant child. Hm...

You'll call it "Red Child".

You hear more sounds, more crashing and thuds, and eventually, you see Red Child excitedly scamper back into the room, and Mr. Spider follows after him, looking a little winded if not... slightly injured.

Red Child resumes searching for you, before Mr. Spider approaches your hiding space and gently pulls you out.

"oxdwm cqnv." He tells Red Child, who immediately perks up and bounds over.

"(You) qrmn fnuu! yujh jpjrw!" He says, trying to grab you. You flinch, and Mr. Spider thankfully pulls you away.

"fjrc. cqnhan fnjt. kn pnwcun. cqnh qdac njbh." Mr. Spider instructs, as Red Child seems disappointed for a moment before nodding and holding you like you were a misbehaving cat.

You sweat slightly as you stare at this giant, demonic monster child, who opens their mouth and shows rows of razor-sharp teeth. "r urtn hxd. (You) oarnwm."

You just frantically nod, not wanting to die.

"mjm! mjm! ljw fn tnny cqnv?" Red Child asks Mr. Spider, shaking you slightly. "cqnh odw! cqnh ldcn! r urtn!"

Mr. Spider just nods. "hnb."

Okay, judging from the nod that is clearly a version of "yes"...

Red Child makes a series of happy noises, shaking you a bit as they excitedly talk. "oarnwm! oarnwm! (You) bcjh qnan! fn yujh!"

...you're so screwed, aren't you?

--☆☆☆--

Being practically carried throughout the Other World by Red Child, who was fucking huge, while Mr. Spider stayed close was a fucking fever dream. And being brought to what you could only describe as someone who took a large closet and set some things up to make what you figured were makeshift beds with other things scattered about.

Being dropped into what was a mess of random clothes, towels, and even some blankets and pillows stunned you too.

Red Child giggles and begins to point around at thing. He starts with where you're sitting, which is the much larger one of the piles of clothes and other things.

"vh knm." Then he points at the smaller pile (which is still pretty big), "mjm knm."

"mjm"... he uses that word to refer to Mr. Spider. You wonder what it means.

Though, "knm" probably means "bed".

Red Child looks around, before his smile twitches, looking like he wants to frown and... can't.

"mjm!" He calls over to Mr. Spider, who looks up from where he was grabbing some things. "oarnwm mxnbw'c qjen (bed)! fn wnnm (bed) oxa oarnwm!"

What does "oarnwm" mean? It clearly refers to you, though. You're so confused.

"fnuu pnc oarnwm (bed). oxxm orabc." Mr. Spider says, picking up what looks like... uh... a bucket?

"dwmnabcxxm!" Red Child chirps out, "(you) cjtn oarnwm?"

"(You) fjwc (me) cjtn oarnwm?"

"(Yes)! cjtn oarnwm! oarnwm ldarxdb! bnn?" Red Child pokes your cheek, accidentally scraping your cheek slightly with his claw. You don't mention it, just staring blankly ahead. Then Red Child leans in close, tilting his head, "(you) fjwc px?"

You nod slightly, hesitant.

"bnn! oarnwm fjxc px!"

Mr. Spider stares at you, his expression calm, before he nods. Then he approaches you and picks you up, and you squirm a bit as you get carried out, Red Child waving at you until you're brought out and set down on the ground.

Are they... trying to keep you as a pet or something? They were talking about a bed for... you?

You glance up at Mr. Spider, who stares down at you before motioning you to follow him. He starts walking, and you stay still until he's a good bit away, and you book it.

So what if he's friendly? If he's trying to keep you as a pet with Red Child, that's a hell no from you.

You speed through the place, hoping your shoes are enough to muffle the sound of you running as you try your best to lose Mr. Spider as you hear him make a sound of confusion and follow after.

And somehow, you manage to do it.

You collapse on the ground, wheezing and shaking as sweat oozes off your brow and tears sting your eyes. But as the thuds fade away, you figure you're safe.

You sit there, processing everything for a long moment before you hear what sounds like digitized laughter.

"Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4!" You look around in a panic, as the voice continues, "U0U. H0DAN VXA3 BL4A3M CQ4W K1AM."

Your eyes then lock with what looks like some kinda fucked up plant nestled in a corner of the wall, this one unfurled with an eye in the center staring right at you as a venus flytrap-like mouth talks.

"H0DA3 BV4UU. C1WH. URCCU3." You think it... snickers? "QXF 4A3 (you) WXC M3JM?"

"...better than you, you bitchless creepy ass plant." You mutter back, grimacing.

"FQ4C?"

"..." You just stand up and back away from the plant.

"(Y0u) BLJANM? P0XM. K3 BLJA3M." The plant tells you, "L4WC FJ1C CX F4CLQ (y0u) MR3. XA L0V3 C0 (me) BX 1 L4W T1UU (you)."

You just flip it off and run for dear life, ignoring the plant's cackles as you go.

Great, sentient plants. What's next? Headless horseman clone?

As you slow down, shaking and wheezing as you cower in an abandoned bathroom, you flinch as you hear a voice. A different and unfamilar voice.

"yvccf."

You look around, and notice something... glowing in the stalls. Something yellow.

You look around frantically and see a crowbar laying on the floor. You immediately grab it, and hold it in front of you with shaking hands as you approach the stall. You shove it open and look around, holding the crowbar above you as you're ready to swing it and...

...

You don't see anything directly in front of you...

"cffb ufne."

You flinch at the voice again and look all around, looking down and seeing the source of the yellow glow. It's a blue jack-o-lantern emitting a yellow glow, with black antlers, that seem to curl into each other like thorn vines, sticking out of it.

Then it talks.

"yvccf."

You scream and drop the crowbar.

--☆☆☆--

Somehow, despite the language barrier, you were convinced to carry around the pumpkin.

You aren't sure how. It's just when you picked up the crowbar and tried to run the pumpkin started talking loudly and quickly until you picked it up and it calmed down.

And now, you're taking it some place as it sort of teaches you the language.

"(Left)." It instructs you, and you go that way, "(forward)."

You now know "left", "right", "forward", "go back", and "no" in this language due to the instructions you kept getting. You just hoped wherever you were going wasn't a death trap.

...at least you still had the crowbar with you.

As you approached a hallway with a blank front door at the end of it, you hesitated as the pumpkin instructed you to go forward.

In the end though, you go forward and open the door with shaky hands, and you hold your breath.

The room you walk into almost bears a resemblance to a living room, with furniture that looked like it used to be display, and a table littered with...

...

Bones. And a headless, giant, robed body sat nearby.

You freeze as the body stands up suddenly, white arms outstretched towards you as you shove the pumpkin into its hands and back up, fumbling with the door in a panic.

"kyreb pfl, bzeu jkirexvi." The pumpkin tells you as it is placed upon the stump of the body's neck. It uses a hand to hold the pumpkin in place as it walks across the room.

A lump on the couch moves, and a large, humanoid shape sits up. Losely draped on its body is a black cloak of sorts, and you see dozens of yellow and white wings sticking out of its body. Its skin is feathery and yellow, and there's messy brown hair on its head.

It turns to look at you, and you don't see its eyes. But it seems to smile as it lets out a laugh-like sound.

"yr! nyf kyzj tlkv jkirexvi?" It says, and it sits up as it seems to stare at you.

You hate how sweaty your palms are as you try to open the door, too scared to turn your back out of fear one of them will attack.

"ufek befn. kyvp yvcg (me)." The pumpkin man says (you're just gonna call him Mr. Pumpkin), and you see him now holding what looks like a needle. "z evvu yvcg kyivruzex evvucv."

"z xfk zk." A new voice says, as another door in this room opens and...

...that monster wearing the hard hat walks in.

It freezes when it notices you, and you two stare with locked eyes (ignoring his lack of eyes) for too long.

You manage to open the door and stumble out.

"nrzk!" The winged one suddenly says, and quickly gets up. Before you know it, you're picked up and carried back into the room by the winged man. "nyp (you) ileezex? pfliv xfeer xvk vrkve flk kyviv."

You quake as the winged man looks at the one in the hard hat, who's helping Mr. Pumpkin stitch the pumpkin on. "nyrk uzu (you) uf kf jtriv kyvd jf sru?"

The one in the hard hat hums, before speaking. "z jrn kyvd svyzeu (window). z kizvu kf xirs kyvd kf drbv jliv kyvp uzuek uzv, jf z sifbv kyv nzeufn. kyvp jtivrdvu reu ire. kyvp jtriv vrjp."

You squirm as you're unceremoniously dumped on the couch, and the winged man (you're calling him Mr. Bird since he looks like a weird bird) looms over you, smiling as it sounds weirdly cheerful. "ufek sv jtrivu, tlkv! ef fev nzcc vrk (you). (You) jrwv."

Tears drip out of your eyes as Mr. Bird pets you on the head. "grk, grk. ef tipzex, (you) jrwv."

Why does this keep happening to you..?

[ahnaiee]

⋆｡°✩ Constellation Discovered ⋆｡°✩

PRETEND BOYFRIEND !

⋆｡°✩ ;; Xavier, Rafayel ⋆｡°✩ ;; You ask them to pretend to be your boyfriend. Just for a day.  ⋆｡°✩;; Part 2: Zayne, Sylus, Caleb here!! ⋆｡°✩ ;; Modern AU! No such thing as evols and such.

XAVIER

It started two days ago. You had chatted Xavier late in the afternoon, while he was doom scrolling on his phone.

two days ago.

you: hey, xav, this is random but you: can i ask for a favor?

Xavier: ? sure. What is it?

you: can you be my boyfriend?

Xavier drops his phone on his face.

you: Pretend!!!  you: Pretend Boyfriend!!

Xavier stares at your next message. okay. Ouch. Just a bit. Getting a message like that, while having a crush on your apartment neighbor, friend, movie night buddy? But he replies.

Xavier: … what do U mean?

you: okay, hold on I’ll explain it on call. 

Present.

An invitation to a wedding to a cousin that you can’t exactly make excuses for since according to them “You missed so many family gatherings” (on purpose), that you haaavve to make up for it by coming to their wedding. 

And you NEEDED a plus one. Code word for boyfriend so they could stop badgering you over your love life.

And so, you asked Xavier, your friend, your apartment neighbor, and also the only person you could think of to ask that as a favor. 

Over facetime, you were basically begging for him to agree, anyways. 

(“PLEASE, Xav. I’ll do anything!! Just pretend to be my boyfriend for a day, just for the wedding, and then we’re good!” He gives you a skeptical look. You smile sheepishly.)

He agreed. Xavier couldn’t help it– not when you threw him the puppy-eyed look. He folded SO quick, so easily. If Jeremiah was here, he would laugh at his face. 

So now, here you are, sitting in his car, dressed up so pretty and so beautiful that when he saw you, Xavier froze on the spot and had to fight back the blush that colored his face. 

“Xav? Hello?” You wave a hand over his face, and he snaps back into reality, turning to you. “Yeah? Sorry, spaced out.” 

You give him a look, but shrug. “Okay… Anyways, I have the venue location.” You show him the address, “Do you know where? I can set up Maps…” 

“Nah, It’s good. I got it.” and he starts the car. If you found him hot at that moment, that is something you will unpack after the wedding. 

The way there is you giving him a rundown of everyone in the family– who to avoid, who to tolerate, and who has your approval of “chill and will call back if ever”. He takes it like a champ, nodding and asking questions and mentally taking notes. 

“And if they ask about us?” He glances at you, and you smile. Xavier wants to kiss you right then and there. He holds back. Pretend boyfriend, he reminds himself.

“Just say we became friends and then boom, romance.” You shrug. “We don’t have to go overboard in the story. We’ve been friends for a while so you can answer whatever other questions they can have. Can you wing it, if ever?” You turn to him and Xavier nods. 

“Yeah. I’ll… I'll try.”

“Okay. I’ll try to not leave you alone. I don’t want you meeting the…” You shudder. “Terror side of the family.”

It was not fine. The moment the reception began, Xavier was bombarded with pushy aunts, curious cousins, and teasing uncles. And you.. Were nowhere to be found. 

Xavier chuckles. “We’ll be fine.”

To be fair, he can see you on the other end of the venue, but you were also surrounded by family (that you like), and Xavier really doesn’t want to disturb that wide smile of yours just to deal with the family you don’t like. So– just to see  you smile, he manages. 

But then he sees someone, a guy,  you haven’t mentioned take his place next to you. He squints, a frown on his lips. Who is that? 

His question is quickly answered by one of the aunts chattering to her husband. “Isn’t that Ryle?” 

“Hm?” The uncle to look over in your direction. Xavier tries to keep his attention to them. “Ah. Yes. The guy who liked [Name] before she moved away?”

“....” Xavier’s frown deepens. 

“Wasn’t he her ex? Why is he here?” Xavier freezes, and he eyes the guy closely, watching his every move from across the room. Ryle is standing too close to you, smiling and laughing along with your group and his jaw tightens.

“Ah, he’s friends with the groom.” The aunt shrugs, and the conversation shifts over to the bride and the groom but Xavier tunes that part out, his eyes zeroing on you. 

You, so pretty in that dress and that guy named Ryle moves closer to you and rests an arm over your shoulder. You make a face, one that tells him of how uncomfortable you are and— 

He doesn’t know how he got to the other side of the room so quickly, but he smiles politely to your cousins who excitedly greet him. You meet his gaze, wide eyed and confused, but you smile and he can feel his chest tighten at your smile. 

“Xavi.” His smile turns genuine, and he can see Ryle (said in disgust) give him a look when he maneuvers you away from him so he can hold you to him. His hand is on his waist and he pulls you to him, and you let him, Ryles arms dropping away from your shoulders in the process. “What brings you here?” 

Xavier smiles, “I missed you.” 

That got a barrage of squeals from your cousins. One comments, “Oh my god, [Name], maybe you’ll be next in the wedding calendar!” and another goes “Awsh, I wish my boyfriend was that sweet.”

You flush at Xaviers words, and at the comments, lightly punching him. “I was gone for ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes too long.” He’s not even pretending at this point, even though you think that he’s a good actor, and you huff out a laugh. You miss the way Xavier gives Ryle a suspicious side eye, pulling you farther from him. 

“[Name]?” Ryle forces out a laugh, eyes flickering from Xavier’s hand on your waist to you.“ Who’s this?”

You smile, polite and strained, and Xavier subtly glares at him. “My boyfriend, Xavier. Xavi, this is Ryle, an old friend.” 

“Ah, ‘s that so? It’s nice to see you, Ryle.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. Ryle gives Xavier a dirty look, and he returns it, proceeding to give you a kiss to your cheek as if to prove his point. 

That does it, and Ryle looks away from you two, quickly excusing himself from the group.

Xavier grins in victory, and glances at you. 

You’re red, eyes wide as you look at him, but you couldn’t break the facade now, could you? So you play it off with a smile and a laugh, opting to instead deal with the squeals of your cousins at his action instead of questioning his actions right then and there. Xavier watches you smile with them, and he internally decides that maybe this pretend boyfriend isn’t it. 

Because he’s too jealous for his own good, you are too pretty for him.

Yeah. Xavier thinks as he stares at you, unaware of the soft look on his face. I don’t think pretending is good for me anymore. 

At that moment, he decides to confess on the way home. 

Pretend boyfriend? Yeah- no. 

He’d much rather be your actual boyfriend. 

RAFAYEL

The moment you asked him in the middle of him working on an art piece, he turned to you and grinned. Wide. 

“You want me to be your boyfriend?”

You roll your eyes. “Pretend. Pretend boyfriend.”

“For how long?”

“A day.” You pause. “Maybe. I don’t know if my parents are going to make me stay longer than I should, so let's say two? Or three.” You turn to Rafayel, eyes pleading. “Raf, please say yes I’m going insane. If I go to that family gathering without a boyfriend again, I’m going to be subjected to 10 aunts, 10 uncles and at least 15 prissy cousins asking me why I’m so single. And I would go home with a stack of cards with their “suggested” boyfriends I can get. Like?? Can they get out of my business?”

That makes him laugh a bit too loud, and he gets a punch to the arm for that. 

“Ow- Ow!! Okay, okay! Yeah sure. I’ll be your pretend boyfriend for how long you need me to.” 

You beam. “Really? Oh my God, thank you SO much, Raf. I promise I’ll make it up to you when this is over.” In your excitement, you pull him in for a tight hug, smile so wide it hurts the muscles in your face. 

You miss the reddening of his ears, and the fond smile that graces his lips.

“Yeah. You better.”

It’s a family gathering, one where you had to give Rafayel of your aunts and uncles, cousins. He made a list. A LIST. You gave him an A+ for effort. There was even a quiz night where you gave questions about them and he answered them. Got them all flawlessly. 

You glare at him and Rafayel just laughs.

Dedicated pretend boyfriend here! The gathering was held at a family member's house, and you told him to dress semi-formal. “They tend to go all out in gatherings like these, so you have to be in semi-formal, or something.”

Rafayel nods, “Alright. What color are you wearing then?”

“Eh?” You blink at him. 

He blinks. “I mean, we can go matching? Won’t that help the act?”

“Oh. Right. Yeah.” You ignore the fluttering in your chest. “Uhmm, just a blue dress, I guess? With a ribbon.”

“Gotcha.” 

You give him a look, “You don’t have something to match that, right? You really don’t have to go through lengths just to match my outfit.”

Rafayel just grins at you, boyish grin, eyes crinkling, and you want to punch yourself in the face for thinking he looked cute. “Nah. I want to match with you.”

Oh fuck all, you want to kiss him.

“I don't want to be here.” You grumble to Rafayel. He’s dressed in a dark blue formal top and white pants, matching your light blue and white dress with a cute white bow pulling your hair up. He chuckles, eyes crinkling at you. “[Name], we haven’t even entered yet.”

You’re kind of regretting asking him to be your pretend boyfriend, because you're pretty sure falling for him in the process was not the plan.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to meet those people! I mean really, Sarah? She’s going to be on my ass for the rest of the night. She hates me for some reason and I lost all the care to even think about why.”

Your pretend boyfriend just laughs, winking at you “Don’t worry, cutie. I’ll do my best to get her off your ass.”

You blush at the nickname but you give him an appreciative smile. “Thanks, Raf.” 

“Babe.”

“What.” You blink. He grins at you, wide and innocent. 

“I’m your boyfriend, right?” He pokes your side. “You’re supposed to call me babe.”

“Right.” You huff. “Okay, babe.” He grins at that, and extends his arm. “Shall we go in?”

You make a face, but nod. “Yeah. Let's go in.”

It’s been okay for the first hour. Introductions were made, and Rafayel was flawless in answering all the questions, you nearly fold and silently wish he really is your boyfriend. The problem arises an hour later, and you were whisked away from Rafayel’s side to talk to your close family. The ones you actually like, and he stays back at the couch, wanting to give you some privacy to catch up with them.

Unfortunately, he senses someone head over to him, and he feels the couch dip. He glances at them to check if the person is here to talk to him and– 

“You must be [Name]’s boyfriend!” Damn. Okay. It's a cousin. Dark hair, high pitched voice, fake smile– ah. Sarah. Rafayel nods, and smiles wide and sweet. “Yep! That’s me.” 

Sarah gives him a rundown gaze, and his smile tightens but he nevertheless appears friendly. She gives him a smirk, tilting her head at him. “Really? What do you see in her?” 

His smile drops and he furrows his brows at her. Irritation and annoyance begins to stir in his chest. “What?”

She continues, tone innocent, but motives certainly obvious. “I mean, like, her? Really? You could do SO much better.” She eyes him, smiling sweetly. “Did she pay you to be here, or what? I wouldn’t put it past her to do that.” 

That does it, and Rafayel’s face hardens.

“How dare you say that about her.” His voice is harsh. “You may be her cousin or whatever, but you do not have the right to say that about my wonderful girlfriend.” His gaze is serious, and it's obvious that he’s ticked. 

Sarah blinks, and nervously chuckles. “Whaat? C’mon I was just stating facts–”

“No. [Name] is a beautiful woman, self-made and confident and I am lucky that she even looked in my direction.” Rafayel doesn’t pause, nor slow down, completely annoyed with the rude insinuations that she made. “She is an amazing woman and an amazing girlfriend. It’s no surprise that you’re jealous of her.”

She gasps, brows furrowing as she tries to retort, but Rafayel continues. “And if you think I’m going to sit here and listen to you rudely insult my girlfriend, then you are very wrong, Karen.” 

Sarah turns red, and she stands up from the couch, furious. “My name is Sarah!” And she turns and stomps away. 

He just watches her with furrowed brows and a frown, before signing back into the couch.

“Wow.”

The shocked tone of your voice makes him jolt up and he turns to see you standing right behind the couch, eyes wide with drinks on both hands. “I’m… wow, Raf. Thats….” 

He covers up the surprise with a grin, “Hey cutie. When’d you get here?” He pats the spot on the couch next to you

“Since Sarah asked if I paid you to be here.” You blink, and take a seat next to him while handing him the drink. 

“Oh yeah. She’s a bitch.”

You laugh. “Yeah. I don’t like her…” You trail off, eyeing Rafayel closely, and he hums, smiling as he tilts his head. 

“What’s wrong, cutie?”

“.. Did you mean that?” You quietly ask, fingers curling on the handle of the cup nervously. “I mean, like, you were very passionate about defending me and…”

“Hey.” Rafayel taps your knee, getting you to lift your gaze. Your breath catches at the serious look in his eyes and he brushes a hand to your cheek. “I was serious. You’re an amazing woman, [Name]. I really was lucky that you even looked in my direction before, hell, you decided to be friends with me.”

You flush, but he continues, “And anyone will be lucky to have you as a girlfriend.” 

A shy smile curls on your lips, and you point out his words, “Look at you? Raf, why would you even think that? I mean, you were a hotshot back in college and…”

His thumb caresses your cheek, and you feel your heartbeat beat a bit faster… then he pulls away and grins at you. You blink, he winks, “I’ll tell you later. We still have an act to play, cutie. Though maybe after we talk later, it won’t be an act, yeah?”

You gape at him, mind racing as you process the meaning of his words, then you flush a bright red. 

Rafayel laughs, you hit his shoulder lightly.

©ahnaiee [do not repost, copy, translate, or modify]

[neodymiumcuilz]

HELP WISSAM AND HER FAMILY FROM GAZA 🍉🍉

Could you imagine living in a situation where death is at every corner, bombs surround you. We live in a world where knowing you will be alive tomorrow is a privilege, and Wissam ( @wesam75 ) does not share that privilege living through the humiliation and degrading conditions of genocide. A genocide the world and media turns a blind eye to.

Wissam has lost everything, her story of pain and loss is devastating and beyond the comprehension of most. Please read her words, see her as a human being, and not a number, not a statistic;

" I am Wissam, married to Ibrahim, he is very sick and I am pregnant. I don't know how to describe to you the feeling of war, pain, suffering and destruction that we live here.

Just imagine that I lost my home and my job and lived through the destruction.We have been at war for a year or more. I live in a small tent in the cold and winter. My daughter needs health care, but I am alone and under these circumstances I cannot give her the most basic rights. We are now in a severe famine and cannot find any kind of food. She needs healthy food, but even that has become difficult to obtain due to exploitation and the lack of the most basic resources. Here in the tent we drowned due to the heavy rains. Surviving death is so difficult that they closed the crossing in front of us and now we cannot travel and we are still here in Gaza, the destruction. "

Imagine the pain of a parent in Gaza, who cannot protect their children from starvation, disease, sickness, injury and the bitter cold. Never complain about your life, because you are living someone else's dream. As I write this, 22% of the goal has been reached, and the last donation was 2 days ago. Donations are stagnant, and need to keep flowing.

They have raised less than €2,000. They have hardly raised enough to buy food in the Gaza Strip. If you could donate even the price of a coffee, or share with someone who has the means to help, you are directly participating in helping a Gazan family stay alive. In this day and age, helping people has never been easier yet people turn a blind eye and are hesitant. Don't be that person, be a light in the darkness for Wissam and her family.

(Scan the QR code to donate, anything helps <3)

tagging for reach:

@xxx-sparkydemon-xxx @a-shade-of-blue @raangmanch @ot3 @tamamita @alluraaaa @theinconvenientlifestyle @sar-soor @rana-temporaria @rana-temporaria @randommmmie @random-autie-fangirl-old @ladycelebrianofimladris @laurellament @magz @magicpandacats @determinate-negation @alientitty @tumbalaria @crows-sorrows @mayoiayasep @estrellasrojas @esperantokomencanto @secretpersonapruneeggs @troythecatfish @ourient @one-time-i-dreamt @fictionkinfessions @fifthnormani @postanagramgenerator @twosandwich @summerslushies @turquoisewavesstitch @paranormal-librarian @pangur-and-grim @nectarinegirl @bookskittychad @omegaversereloaded @maester-cressen @maryajunkova @wormthe @wayneradiotv @leovaldeeeznuts @lmaonade @purpleweredragon @bahrmp3 @greek-freak101 @extremelycursedimages @sharingresourcesforpalestine @kiirodor

[lordascapelion]

When I was little I wondered about how people should only act for the benefit of others. So then the person you’re helping then just puts all their effort into helping someone else. So on and so forth until the entire world is just a weird concern loop. Honestly I think it was a pretty poignant observation for young me to have. In the present day I call it the “Altruism Mill”- basically a moral ant mill, lol.

It’s better for people to primarily care about their own needs and desires first and then see what they can do to assist others (the Airplane Emergency Mask principle, you might call it.)

Honestly, I’m of the opinion that morality works better if you see it as a dynamic story rather than a static list of principles you try to check off your list. People will come into your life that you can help, and it should be your general goal to help those people as they come. There is a place for charity and indirect helping, but I don’t think it’s as meaningful as helping the people within arm’s reach.

[beaviu]

wrong table, right person .𖥔 ݁ ˖𓂃.☘︎ ݁˖ — sjy

⋆˚꩜｡ 003 :: mr basic

ʚଓ m.list — prev — next

synopsis . ❀ ݁ ˖ yn finally agrees to a blind date to finally shut her bffs up about her tragic dating life. Dressed to impress but armed with zero expectations, she arrives at a café, scans the room, and sits across from a guy who checks every box: handsome yet cute, and surprisingly sarcastic in a way that keeps her on her toes. Only one problem: he’s not her date. Jake, a schools heartthrob laying low not to be caught by his fan girls, is just trying to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee when a stranger slides into the seat across from him and starts talking like they know each other. Intrigued — and a little bored — he plays along. What starts as a mistaken identity turns into a full-blown accidental date. And when yn finally realizes her mixup… she walks away mortified. But Jake? He can’t stop thinking about her. Now he’s determined to find her again — without revealing who he really is. As fate (or nosy mutual friends) brings them back together, their story becomes anything but accidental. Because sometimes, love finds you at the wrong table — at exactly the right time.

As yn stepped into the café, the rich scent of freshly brewed coffee enveloped her, immediately grounding her in the cozy atmosphere. Her eyes scanned the room until she saw a guy who could potentially be her future boyfriend, sitting down alone cap on and head down on his phone

Approaching the table, she noticed the empty seat across from him.

“Hey, Intak, right?” she asked with a shy smile.

Jake looked up from his phone, his cap blocking his view and the top half of his face “i think you—“ but before he could finish, the barista’s voice cut in, calling out his order number.

“Oh, you already ordered?” yn said, a little flustered. “Was I that late? I'm so sorry.”

Jake stood up, waving off her apology. “No, it’s fine. I’ll just grab it real quick.”

As he walked toward the pickup counter, he couldn’t help but glance back at the girl now settling into the seat across from where he'd been. Something about her—maybe the way she looked around with quiet curiosity or the slight smile still on her lips—made him suddenly okay with this unexpected meetup.

Walking back with his drink in hand, Jake spots yn sitting at the table, eyes glued to her phone, fingers flying across the screen.

“Hey,” he says, raising an eyebrow as he sits down, “everything alright?”

yn glances up, her expression shifting quickly into a sheepish smile. “Yeah, sorry—my friends are being annoying as usual”

Jake chuckles, lifting his cup. “i understand that”

yn nods silently then asks “what’d you order?”

“oh an iced americano”

She raises an eyebrow, teasing. “Wow. Basic.”

jake gasps, clutching his chest theatrically. “Basic?! Excuse you, this is the superior drink. Sophisticated. Timeless.”

yn laughs, shaking her head. “Okay, Mr. Basic, whatever you say.”

Jake grins, watching her for a moment before saying, more softly, “You know… you have a really pretty smile.”

Her laughter slowly fades as her cheeks flush with color, and she opens her mouth to reply, but nothing comes out. “I—” Jake quickly leans back, eyes wide. “Shit, sorry. That was too sudden, wasn’t it?”

“No!” she blurts, voice higher than intended. “I mean—no, it’s fine. Just… unexpected.”

There’s a beat of silence, but it’s not awkward—just warm. Comfortable.

He takes a sip of his drink, eyes still on her and breaks the silence. “So... you gonna tell me your not-so-basic order, or is it a top-secret recipe?”

“I don’t know…do you really deserve to know?” yn teases, her eyes glinting mischievously.

Jake raises an eyebrow, shaking his head in mock disappointment. “Wow, fine,” he sighs dramatically.

yn chuckles, then stands up. “Let me order it first, and then I’ll show you a visual representation,” she says, flashing him a smile before heading over to the counter.

The café’s quieter now, so she waits for a few minutes, picks up her order, and walks back to Jake. “Sorry for keeping you waiting,” she says, an exaggerated pout on her face. Then, with a proud grin, she holds up her matcha latte like she’s unveiling a trophy. “But look at my glorious baby!”

Jake eyes the drink, nodding appreciatively. “I’ll admit, it does look pretty good.”

yn laughs, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she offers him a sip. “Wanna try it? I promise you, it’s the drink of champions.”

Jake grins, shaking his head. “Nah, it’s fine. My iced Americano is superior.”

yn gasps, putting a hand to her chest in mock outrage. “No way! My drink outshines yours in every way!”

Jake rolls his eyes with a playful grin, then decides to switch things up. “Alright, random question. What’s your favorite color?”

yn chuckles, clearly amused. “Navy blue, I guess?”

Jake raises an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth twitching in a teasing smile. “Hmm, navy blue. Interesting... You’re a uni student, right?”

yns expression shifts, slightly suspicious. “Yeah, I am. Why? You’re not gonna sell my info on the dark web, are you? I’m starting to get worried now.”

“oh cmon i would never do that to you” jake says batting his eyes playfully. yn rolls her eyes playfully “please you just met me”

After about 20 minutes of easy conversation, filled with lighthearted jokes and shared interests, yns phone suddenly starts buzzing incessantly. Jake glances at it, eyebrows raised, and chuckles. "I think you might want to check that? Seems like it’s blowing up."

YN lets out a sigh, a bit embarrassed, and smiles sheepishly. "I’m so sorry, I have no idea why they’re all blowing up my phone. One second let me hop into the ladies room!" she rushes to the bathroom and opens her phone to see a spam of messages from the gc all spamming her name.

`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ `✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃

⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆ authors note — hehehhehe nd the plot thickens! sorry for the shitty writing I’m still kinda rusty it’s been awhile 💔

⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆ taglist — @astrobebba @rikchic @zoe1love @t1iqaa @enhanoa @yuyita-rosier @smolderingoasislegion @synamon @blvengene @urfavmelaninatedgeminii @cupidmiyu @naevisringring @swiftcityy @luhvletters @sumzysworld @w3willris3 @skepvids @enhastolemyheart @kimuranirisi @rairaiblog @teenagecheesecakereview @kuroosluthoe @firstclassjaylee

[callingofstars]

for anybody who is a bit lost with the new myriad celestia trailer i gotchu !!

(elaborations below the cut)

in a recent special program the developers said they would be touching on aeon and faction lore more heavily in the main story, and this is what we’re seeing now!

this war of aeons hasn’t just been foretold by one prophecy - since the beginning of the universe, there have been divine forces in preparation for some large-scale calamity that mortals can’t seem to understand yet.

followers of the preservation, namely, try to prepare for this without even knowing what’s going to happen. some pathstriders worship the calamity itself, waiting for all life to end with anticipation. i’m not sure if this event specifically is what they’re talking about here, but it could be.

I WOULD RECOMMEND TURNING ON SUBTITLES BECAUSE OF THIS. absolutely insane lore drop on hoyo’s part, for a couple reasons: the event of the Erudtion’s fall is going to create a chain reaction all throughout the cosmos.

the trailer has also hinted on how Nous falls, mentioning their “end of yearning.” for those unaware, there are three ways an aeon can be killed: in a war between larger aeons, if they stop believing in the path they represent, and a secret third way we are unaware of.

this likely means Nous loses faith or is assimilated into a different path. which in turn is going to mess up some other paths and factions, namely the Masked Fools.

“the fools flounder in tears after the wise have been burned” - this implies the path of Elation is going to suffer after Erudition’s fall, since their abilities are quite literally designed to break logical thinking. the mentions of tears and mourning makes me think that the Mourning Actors are going to play a part in this.

(context: Mourning Actors, though they follow Elation, act as complete opposites to the Fools and remain constantly solemn to act against Aha’s path of laughter)

Jingliu wants to take advantage of this war between aeons to kill even more aeons. the abundance and the hunt have been at war on the Luofu forever, and she implies that the Xianzhou Alliance has the ability to KILL AN AEON. if either Lan or Yaoshi fell, their endless battles would cease and only one would reign over the planet.

do i think this is the “secret third way”? not particularly. but it is extremely interesting for another reason.

ARE WE SEEING THIS????? THE XIANZHOU LUOFU HAS NANOOK’S BLOOD. this is important because, in legend, the aeon of destruction’s golden blood is extremely powerful, and if someone were to drink it, they would undergo some sort of “transformation”.

we don’t know what this means exactly, because as far as my knowledge is concerned nobody has done it. i have a speculation that the trailblazer is very connected to this, but am not sure how yet.

silly mention to the imaginary tree lore :3

also is this implying the fact that some factions believe paths and the imaginary are bad? are people trying to destroy it????? because if so that would be a disaster i think

ALSO THIS. THIS IS EXTREMELY INTERESTING. they’re referring to Phainon, surely, but Amphoreus is the “end of time”? i had always thought of it being a looped memory of the past, but what if it’s the future?

this has ties to other aeons, namely the finality, who exists at the end of time and whispers prophecies of the end to everyone else. basically every divine force agrees that there is a calamity that will kill every god, and it lives at the end of time.

what if this prophecy isn’t referring to an event, but a person who embodies calamity? if the end of time isn’t anything to do with the silver rail or even the universe, but it’s a place where time has no end? LIKE AMPHOREUS?

i’m just thinking. the Erudition seems closest to where Phainon is undergoing his trial right. if Lygus really was an emanator of erudition (might’ve missed a page there but that’s what i gathered). if the “end” has something to do with Phainon.

and we’re gonna have to clean up the cosmos after all of this goes down. sigh

ANYWAYS I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉

[lynnsenpai]

Big Life and Comics Update

Hey, remember that time last April when I finished Chapter 6 of MIS, and I was all like, "I'll be back to posting in May." And then it's the end of June now and I've been mostly quiet the whole time. Heck, I meant to make new character profiles for Esther, Seir, and Marchosias during this break and none of that happened either.

The super short version is that at the time the last chapter ended, depression and burnout hit me hard. On a personal level, our apartment was (and still is) in disarray after our landlord had to come in and do a ton of work on our bathroom only to have to stop partway (for honestly legit reasons). This is an ongoing thing, and due to the current heatwave, he probably won't be back to finish until next week, leaving the busted up look of everything to continue to be a source of stress. All the while, I'm worried about my elderly mother who has dementia, and my elderly father who's been having cardiac concerns. And none of this to even speak of the stress cause by the horrifying goings on in my country.

It was making me feel helplessly, perpetually tired.

I'm not going to claim everything is all better now. But I have been taking it slow for the better part of two months while I dealt with life for a bit. I was able to take a fair bit of time for me to rest and zone out as needed, and I finally took a long needed visit home to see my family. So I'm not all better, but I am… better. And I couldn't ask for more right now.

During the last few months, though, what I didn't do a lot of was draw. I contributed to a handful of collabs where I didn't want to let my friends down, and I managed some new rat doodles here and there. But I only have the cover and two pages for the next chapter and basically nothing else ready to go (although the script is done for the next two full chapters). Again, I needed that time, so ultimately, it was for the best. But this does put things in an awkward position right now, because I can't exactly say "stay tuned for new pages next week!" because I'm simply not ready, and that's just a recipe for rebooting the burnout I literally just got over.

My original plan was to finish chapters 7 and 8 to reach what I felt was a good "season finale-like" stopping point, and then take an extended break to shift focus entirely towards the final Rain book until I get it done. I also thought Chapters 7 and 8 would probably be done by now, or maybe next month the latest. I didn't anticipate the two breaks I would need in the middle of Chapter 6 or the extended one I've been taking now. So I'm thinking I want to pivot to a new approach.

My new plan is to expedite the latter. I want to prioritize focus on the last book, to give it a hint of a chance of actually finally coming out this year (it's the 15th anniversary of Rain this November, so I'd really really love to see it release this year).

I sincerely apologize for those of you chomping at the bit for more MIS. But I promise, it will return. And once I complete my previous story once and for all - for real this time - then I can go all in, with MIS finally allowed to have my full attention without an air of guilt hovering over me that I still need to do something else, and overwhelming all the time.

It may be a longer than usual wait, but I think it'll be especially worth it in the long run. The final Rain book will be better for it, and MIS will be better for it.

Here's a little visual of my girls taking turns, so they can both come back all the stronger. ^_^

Sorry again for the extended break, but thank you so much for all your love, support, and patience while I work through everything. I love you all. Please stay safe, stay happy, and stay healthy.

Until next time! 💜

[thissying]

Jimmy Broadbent in the Road to Succes Podcast, about Franz Hermann and Max in other categories

"There's very little people that can say that they have raced Max so much and got to see the inner workings of his personality as clearly as you. In a sim, which we all know means the world to him, as well as actually on track. You were on track with Franz Hermann at the Nürburgring! What was that whole experience like? Did you know before that happened?"

"Sat on the track at the same time is certainly correct but that's about it. We had an idea he was gonna be there. I had sort of a friend of a friend say to me: watch out for a Franz Hermann on this day. And I saw it… I saw a picture of the car there, the Verstappen.com Ferrari with Franz Hermann and a Dutch flag and I thought to myself: for fuck's sake, it's definitely gonna be him. And obviously it turns out his was him. And again, for Max, this is where I feel a bit sorry for the guy because he wanted to just turn up and go do some laps at the Ring in a GT3 car. And he did that. And for us as creators, this is the part about YouTube I hate but you kind of have to do it because that's the game, then I'd be like: now I have a short of him overtaking me whilst I was like 'bedding in my drive shaft, driving around at like 50% pace he overtook me, oh my god Max overtook me on YouTube.' And then my whole video is like: 'Max turned up to the Nürburgring' and stuff like that. And you have to do that. And it's kind of sad. Because the guy just wanted to be left alone, I think. And then as news started to break that he was there, more and more people started flocking down to the garage, it gets harder to move around the paddock. And I remember seeing… because one of our cameramen went down to get a shot of him basically, and seeing him just trying to get from his van, which is basically from this end of this van to the paddock or to the garage, not very far at all. He was getting mobbed. TV guys, everything. He just wanted to do some laps."

[…]

"I'm really looking forward - and I really hope this happens - that he'll just find what he wants in F1, leave and then just go and get to live his life. Because… I'm on no place to comment on what his upbringing was like. I don't know. You only hear stories about what it was like. But what is painfully obvious: all he's ever known is that sort of racing: karting into Formula into Formula 1, that's it, on these circuits and nowhere else. And I'm a massive racing fan. I wouldn't say F1 is my favourite racing, you know, I love endurance racing, I love the circuits, I love the prototypes, I love rallying, stuff like that. And I think he's kind of the same. Again, I don't know him personally."

[about the popularity of different racing categories] "Do you think it's coming for those other series? And do you think Max is actually potentially a part, if he does leave and goes to them, of making that a thing?"

"Yeah, I mean, wherever Max goes there'll be media. I mean, there have been some teams at the Ring saying they don't want Max to go there because it'll make everything a lot harder: the competition will go up which means that the top classes will be top heavy which means the bottom classes, which is the accessible part, will be sort of pushed out, etc. etc. That's the sort of pessimistic thinking there."

[nostalgebraist]

When you finish writing a big story and you became very close the characters, was there a time after where you were like "i kind of want to revisit these characters again, but i should probably just let the story be, they deserve to rest" Im not talking about wanting to write a sequel, is more about still coming up with fun ideas for them, maybe a little scene or something, but choosing not to do anything with it because it'd feel disrespectful to the ending you gave them?

This doesn't happen to me, no.

The reason is that, once I finish the story, my sense of "being close to the characters" suddenly vanishes. And, although there are rare moments where it (briefly) returns, it mostly stays gone.

I can't remember if I've ever talked about this in detail before, but – when I'm in the process of writing a story, especially near the end, the characters feel "real" to me in a very strong and kind of uncanny way.

I don't actually believe that they exist as independent entities from me (much less sentient ones), but it does almost feel like that's true, when I'm in the thick of the writing process.

I have no trouble intellectually distinguishing fiction from reality, even in the state I'm describing. But my emotional and intuitive relationship with my characters, when I'm in that state, is pretty similar to the one I have with real people I know in real life. And there are a bunch of... uh, mental phenomena?... associated with this that I'm slightly afraid to describe because I worry they'll sound like hallucinations or delusions if I don't add a lot of caveats.

For example, when I'm alone in a room writing (especially if I'm writing in the middle of the night), I sometimes feel like it's not just me in the room, that the character I'm writing about is "there with me," in much the same way I'd be aware of someone real person's presence if I knew they were in the room but didn't happen to be looking in their direction. Or: sometimes I feel like the characters' voices are "flowing through me," that I'm merely taking dictation from them – and will sometimes even think to myself: "man, I'm so grateful that the character is helping me write this part, because if I tried to do it all by myself there's no way I would get it right." And it takes a moment before I realize, wait, no, I am writing it by myself – at least in a literal and physical sense.

Basically if you read this post, and then sort of read between the lines of it under the assumption that I'm downplaying how weird the experience actually is because I'm worried an accurate account would make me sound kind of unhinged... then you will have roughly the right impression of what the writing experience is like for me.

Whatever is going on here, it feels like it's probably on some kind of spectrum that also contains stuff like tulpas, multiple systems, and maybe also the way that children can sometimes get really deeply wrapped up in their imaginary play. I don't know how common this stuff is among writers (maybe it is common but rarely talked about?). It's not something I've experienced anywhere else in life; I don't experience it with other people's fictional characters or stories, or with fantasies I have that aren't associated with a work in progress, and I don't remember ever experiencing it before I started writing fiction as an adult.

Anyway, as I said at the top, the moment I finish writing a story, this phenomenon simply turns off, suddenly and completely. The transition is very noticeable when it happens, and makes me feel something akin to grief or loneliness over the brief span between the moment it starts and the moment it is fully completed – like I've just lost a bunch of close friends at once.

With Almost Nowhere, I remember a very specific feeling – on the evening of the day when I finished writing – that the characters were "departing 'into' the finished book," reverting to a lesser existence as "mere words" rather than "real people," as though they had been plastic toys animated by Terra Ignota's Bridger, and were now turning back into toys again. It made me sad, for a little while, but once they'd fully "lost their reality" I no longer cared, because it was that same sense of reality that made me care, and now it was gone.

So, to finish answering your question: I don't feel an urge to return to my old characters, because it feels intuitively obvious that doing this is impossible. That anything else I wrote about them would be inauthentic, somehow, in a way that the original work wasn't. They were "there," before, but they're "gone," now. This difference is very stark, and very hard to ignore.

(As I noted above, they do sometimes "come back" to me – very rarely, and very briefly, but that is enough for a proof of concept. Perhaps, if I were to try, I could find some way to "bring them back" for longer intervals. But I doubt I will ever try that. I feel a bit afraid of the concept for several reasons – for one thing, the "inauthenticity" I just mentioned squicks me out and I'd prefer not to come too close to it, and I also have a baseline wariness of doing stuff that seems too much like messing around with my own mental health. There's also a "catch-22" involved here, where I don't feel motivated about the characters the way I used to, and that means I'm not even motivated to do things that would generate that motivation. The "target" of the effort won't appeal strongly to me until I've already gone to the trouble of obtaining it, which means the effort doesn't feel justified in the first place.)

[drowninginredink]

(╹ -╹)? so what would your suggestions for writing an aplatonic character be?

Hmm... Okay well, maybe this is a bad point to start off on, because it involves me making an assumption about whoever is reading this, but I'm going to start with it anyway because it's what I thought about first. I figure that if you're asking this question, there's a pretty high chance you're some flavor of aspec. I think alloplatonic aces and/or aros are the ones most likely to want to give other aspecs representation. And if that is the case and you are somewhere on the a-spectrum, the biggest thing I can say is that if you ask me, all aspec experiences are the same. Like yes, the way society treats romance, sex, friendship, family, etc are all different and so being aro, ace, apl, afam, etc are all different, but so many of the basic experiences repeat.

You hear a lot of aces and aros talk about how they either picked someone at random to say was their crush as a kid, or they just picked the person who seemed nicest. They weren't aware that other people didn't choose one by some method, they had actual feelings for them they couldn't control. Similarly, when I ended up in different classes and a different lunch than all my friends in school and quickly discovered that if I didn't want to have lunch alone, I needed to make new friends, what did I do? I found a person who had a lot in common with me (at the time, being very good at school and coming from a conservative Christian background) and went "yeah, I should probably try and be her friend." There was absolutely no emotional desire—it was just logic.

And a lot of this applies to all queer identities, honestly. How many stories do we hear about someone coming out as bi, and their mom says "oh, I just thought everyone was interested in girls and boys?" We all just assume that our experiences are normal. So just as a trans person might have assumed that everyone feel disconnected from their bodies or an aromantic might assume that crushes are exaggerated to create drama in media, an aplatonic might assume that everyone only really cares about their friends when they're there and doesn't miss them when they're gone. They probably aren't going to understand why some people are so reluctant to try new things if they don't know anyone there, because to them, whether they're surrounded by strangers or friends doesn't make much difference. Etc.

So that's one thing I'll say. You can very much take your own experience of what queerness is like and map it onto the norms about friendship.

I think one thing that is important to mention is that if we are comparing to other aspec experiences, you'll see a lot of narratives, both in fiction and real life, where aro and ace characters have never been in those kinds of relationships because they never wanted them. That's almost impossible to have as an aplatonic. Even if you were the kid who was ostracized for one reason or another, there's always that one exception. People will try to adopt people who have no friends. People will declare themselves your friend even if you just see them as "that person I carpool with to rehearsal and talk to sometimes." It is almost never socially acceptable to say "no, actually I don't want to be friends." If you're a child, you'll often get punished for it; if you're an adult, you usually have to nod along to whatever they say and pretend to care and hope that eventually they notice that you'd prefer to be left alone. Obviously aplatonics with friends and who like having friends exist (hell, I'm one) but even those who don't tend to have someone just because it is extremely hard to be completely left alone if you participate in anything at all. And even if we might not consider the people we do hobbies with or talk to sometimes friends, that doesn't always go both ways.

And of course, you do need some kind of support network in the world. If you're alloromantic, aplatonic, and monogamous, you might want your partner to be the person who meets all of your needs and is everything for you... but that might not be practical. They might not like that. And if you're not in that kind of relationship, you may end up having friends for utility. It's easier to find a sexual partner if you can go along with also being their friend. Again, you might want someone to talk to about a hobby or shared interest, and in order to get that, you also have to perform the role of friendship.

The whole idea of friendship needing to have a purpose or reason or place is a big thing to me. Like, as a kid, I didn't make any friends in my dance classes for years, and I didn't care because in my eyes, I wasn't there for socialization, I was there because I liked to dance. So who cares? But meanwhile, at lunch in school? Friends have a purpose at lunch. You need a place to sit, and you need something to entertain you while you eat. So finding people to be with at lunch is important. Recess is the same way. At work? I have absolutely no interest in being friends with my coworkers. I'm at work to do work. Even if I have downtime, I still generally want to spend it on some other kind of "work" like writing. If I want to friend, that's a separate activity. I friend in my free time.

So to me, being aplatonic means I think about people's specific roles in my life and what they fill, instead of just the vague idea of friendship and that I like having people around. One friend is useful as a writing partner who I do writing sprints with. Another is nice because they're in a different time zone, so they're often awake and around during the part of work where I get bored and all my friends are asleep. Another has known me through all my mental health struggles and is generally a great listener, so they're useful to talk to about that stuff because they already have all the necessary context and immediately understand things. And yeah, as I mentioned before, another is just a really good lay, but we aren't going to only screw for twelve hours straight, so friendship does happen in the breaks in between.

And a final note — being aplatonic means I really don't mind leaving people behind. If someone moves away? I enjoyed them while it lasted, but I'm not going to be super inclined to keep things going. There are plenty of other fish in the sea. A play I'm in ends, so I won't be seeing that group of people every day anymore? Even though I really enjoyed working with them, I'm not going to mind or miss them especially. If someone actively ends a friendship with me? Well that's different. That's a form of rejection, and could be the result of me hurting them in some way or an argument that went badly. All of that is going to sting, if nothing else, because it's a form of failure. I did something wrong. But if circumstances change or we just grow apart? I'm not going to mind.

I've said this before, but that's the aplatonic story I'd really like to see. So many stories are about people who go on some big quest or adventure, and in the process it ends up creating these strong unbreakable bonds between them. They're closer than brothers now. They will never be separated again. You can see that everywhere from Lord of the Rings to Shrek and Donkey. I want to see the story where the group gets along well and they accomplish everything they set out to do, but at the end they all go their separate ways again. There aren't any hard feelings. If they run into each other again in their travels, they'll greet each other happily. They wouldn't mind working together again. But they aren't trying to stay together or stay in touch, either. It happened, and now it's over, and they're more than happy to move on.

... Shit that was long. Well I hope it was helpful!

[madam-whim]

So I want to get my little Solstice rant out there...

So, the season of the worm cult is finally here, and with it our beloved bread boy. But at what cost… Suffice it to say I’m still pretty much heartbroken about what happened, even though I’m so happy about all these beloved characters coming back. But that doesn’t mean I’m 100% satisfied with how the story went.

The story, at its core, is good -  but the ending isn’t great

I want to preface this by saying that I think the zone was great overall, though some of that certainly comes down to personal preference as I really enjoy Sanguine content, and the main story was, for the most part, really good as well! Not good enough to give Summerset or Elsweyr a run for their money, but definitely good enough that I got insanely emotional over it (holy shit the music during Gabby’s farewell… I cried), something I genuinely missed these last few years.

I am also still not over that one conversation with Gabrielle, where she admitted to being in love with Darien.

That said, I think whatever was up with the Gift of Death was handled just a tiny bit poorly, and so was Darien’s writing. (I’ll talk about that later, but want to preface it by saying I absolutely don’t blame the writers for this one!) The last quest had its great (if terribly sad) moments, but also just a few weaknesses that I hope might be cleared up in part 2.

This is gonna be a long one, so I’m gonna put it under a cut.

What the hell is Darien and why isn’t it talked about anymore: The Summerset Memory Gap

Anyone remember that bit of dialogue in Summerset? The one where we could approach Darien and basically go “You’re not really a Breton, are you?”, and he’d say he didn’t really know himself? We know that man has barely any memory of his early life, and while we know he has a “father”, this might all simply be due to altered memories. Other people have discussed this in far greater detail, but basically there are a few things that Darien could be, and my list is by no means complete: - Someone who used to be a normal Breton, and is now something a bit different, changed by Meridia

- A vessel holding some of Meridia’s power, who acts as her champion when she wishes to get involved

- A Demiprince of Meridia

Personally, I think it’s between option 1 and 2, but my point in all of this is that Darien was never, to my understanding, really dead. We know from his one letter found in Orsinium that after Coldharbour, he retained his consciousness at least, and after Summerset we assumed that he was, well, gone, but again, not dead, just dormant until Meridia needed him again. 

And I would assume the Vestige would have told Gabrielle this, and yet she believed him to be really dead and decided that therefore, she could bring him back with the Gift of Death.

So why does Gabrielle get that idea when she should know Darien is not really dead? And why did it work? 

Was it 

a) a really lucky coincidence, with the Gift being a tainted Light of Meridia and using it for its assumed purpose purifying it, but the Coloured Rooms already changing its functionality so that Gabrielle could actually “summon” Darien?

Or was it

b)  that its use within Meridia’s realm purified it, as Darien said, but it was only returned to its original state? Which would then mean that this caught Meridia’s attention and she sent Darien, because the artifact likely wouldn’t have worked that way anymore.

It’s a bit confusing, and I kinda like to know which option it is, because I want to know if if was Gabrielle or Meridia who really did the thing. I’ll take it though, even though I feel like it’s a flaw in the story’s logic. But I’m really not too happy with Gabrielle really thinking of Darien as dead instead of trapped somewhere else.

Omitting previously established lore

And that, specifically,  leaves me with some questions. What on earth happened to the hints that we were fed during Darien’s seven year MIA phase? There’s just the general Meridia negativity that was all over Southern Elsweyr and Greymoor (remember Southern Elsweyr daily quest man, who repeatedly informed us she was not good and liked stealing people). 

And then there were also really solid clues that there was something up with Meridia, namely one quest, also in Southern Elsweyr, where it was explicitly stated that she’s in need of a new, more loyal champion, as well as the Kilkreath quest in Greymoor, where Meridia did fuck all to stop literal undead from overrunning her followers, leading me to believe something was preventing her from intervening. Even if she didn’t care about her followers, undead in her temple are canonically something she hates and wants OUT.

There was also the fact that Gabrielle quite literally told us she joined the Antiquarian Circle for Darien-related reasons. Girl was researching how to break into the Coloured Rooms. Mind you, this was also after Summerset, so we can assume that even with the Golden Knight Vanishing Act 2, she didn’t believe he was dead at that point. Again, the Vestige would have told her.

So why does she suddenly act like she believes just that in Solstice? Where did all the rest of the lore go?

The only thing I can come up with is that all of it was discarded to make the whole thing more palatable/easier to get into for new and returning players who haven’t been frantically checking every DLC for even vaguely Meridia-themed scraps and who the writers either can’t or won’t expect to catch up on several years of clue hunting. 

The Season of the Worm Cult was marketed as a continuation of the base game story, so everyone was aware of that. But new players and those returning after a long time might not know about Summerset, and really, that was seven years ago. Many folks who were around for Summerset aren’t playing anymore. I imagine the quest was written with a target audience in mind that doesn’t recall events from every chapter that ever happened.

Now why does the writing feel a little flat in some places?

There were a few little things bothering me as I was making my way through the MQ. I think the biggest thing that concerned me at the end was how flat everything felt after Gabrielle’s death. Mostly Darien’s reactions to it, especially with how Gabrielle spoke of him before. He references her, honors her sacrifice of course, but he just seems to take it all in stride. I know that this is partly just due to how he is – ever-cheerful, optimistic guy who pushes forward because there’s no other way – but I would have liked to see some genuine grief from him instead of a bread joke someone snuck into his dialogue. (Yeah, I smiled. But still.) Especially after everyone was safely out of the Coloured Rooms and there was no more need to run off and face the Wormies.

I also think the entire MQ very… impersonal at times? In some places it feels like the Vestige and everyone around them suffer from memory loss specifically affecting their personal relationships, unless you make it a point to go through specific dialogue options. I know that, again, this is likely so that any new player can jump right in and not constantly wonder “Why does this NPC talk to me as if we’re old friends?”, but that’s canonically what they are! Especially Covenant Vestiges! They have been close with most of the characters involved in Solstice for - depending on how you interpret the timeline - years! In my case, I go with ‘one chapter per year’ so my girl’s known them for 10 years. These people are more important to her than anything else and I would have very much appreciated to be able to lean into that a bit more.

And, like, I get it! We’re coming off a series of one or two year standalone stories that you could jump into without any previous knowledge. Blackwood, High Isle, Necrom and Gold Road as well as any additional DLC during those years required absolutely no knowledge of previous stories or returning characters. (I’m counting Blackwood since having played Orsinium was in no way relevant to what was going on there, aside from having met Eveli before, whereas in the Markarth DLC, for example, it would have been a good idea going in with knowledge of Rivenspire.) So yeah, going back to referencing older content more might be an adjustment, but it would be so much better for the depth of the story!  

Is it rushed?

In my opinion, the ending is. I would have wished for Gabrielle’s death to have a bigger impact especially on Darien (who also might just love her) and Skordo (who’s been her friend for years). I would have liked an option for the Vestige to address the topic with them, because the Vestige is also among her closest friends. I suppose I was just a bit bothered by how quickly the quest was concluded. I know that it’s intended to be just “the middle of things” and there’s gonna be a whole bunch of Stirk Fellowship folks arriving at any moment, but to me it seemed like at least some of the people already there should have been… in shock? Grieving? At the end. As it is, Azah’s grief over Merric’s death in the prologue was given more room than what surely the characters would have felt about Gabby dying, and that doesn’t sit right with me.

My advice: Make a choice who you’re writing these quests for!

In all honesty? In my experience there are only two types of people playing this game. Those who actively go questing, listen to all the dialogue and know what happens in the story, and those who rush through for skill points and achievements. If anything, there is a very small “middle group” who has a vague idea of what’s going on but doesn’t particularly care.

So, dear writers, just write for the group that actually loves your work. For the small but dedicated fanbase that’s been (in this case) turning over every pebble in search of Darien hints for the last seven years. For the people who can handle more than the most straightforward, simplified storylines. That means you don’t have to go “Previously on ESO…” as if we can only play one quest per week (one little summary at the start of the second half of an arc is okay and much appreciated). Instead, you could give the characters more depth and feelings, and you could bring in references to long-ago DLC and simply assume that the person who actually reads through all the quests/listens to the dialogue will remember and know what it’s about. I promise. It would improve the quality of the quests so much and be a huge step in returning them to the insane level they were on in the base game and certain older chapters and DLC.

Yes, I know the writers will never read this. I am a small blog with no reach. I also know it’s just a dream of mine and they probably have been told to make the quests easily accessible for people who have no idea about previous stories. But I still wanted to get it out there.

Still, and I need this to be understood, I LIKED this questline. I have been waiting for it for seven years and I’m so glad to have it.

That being said, I see three ways this could end…

Now, as for my predictions regarding how the whole thing will turn out: Mannimarco and Vanus both have to come out of this alive (or close enough to it anyhow), if not, practically ancient TES lore will be contradicted. But what of our beloved friends?

We finally get a happy ending (not bloody likely)

There is a chance, however small, that we somehow get to save Gabrielle and keep Darien, this time around. Knowing Darien and his role in previous arcs, it’s not likely, but a woman can hope, right? It would be a nice ending to the whole Worm Cult mess, with the Daggerfall gang all back together, without any dead or missing friends this time. In all honesty though, one of the reasons I think this won’t be the case is that Gabrielle being in love with Darien and him having some feelings for her at least is now canon. That paired with the fact that so many people ship Darien with their Vestiges, and the writers maybe not wanting to take Darien away from player characters, makes the whole thing a tiny bit complicated, doesn’t it? I suppose we’ll see if we get flirty dialogue options for him like we did for Raz. (I sure hope not...)

We lose them both and the Vestige goes bonkers

There’s also the distinct possibility that we’re gonna get hit with a worst case scenario: Gabrielle stays dead and Darien, once again, sacrifices himself and the cycle starts again. Now, if this happens, I genuinely doubt we’re ever going to see Darien again after that – we’re not going to get him back another time, or it would begin to feel less impactful. That said, my Vestige at the very least would absolutely lose it if this happened. That woman has been held together by a support system of one Orc warrior, one Breton mage and a gaggle of vampires for the last few years. If she loses even one more of them, her sanity might just walk off the nearest cliff. I can’t be the only one with this problem.

The Switch Back

And then there’s the third option, in which Darien and Gabrielle switch back – he sacrifices himself, maybe even permanently this time, to bring her back. I don’t want to think about this one too much. Mostly because Darien/Gabrielle is my OTP.

This is it for now – big rambling post of the year concluded. What do you all think? I would love to yap about your thoughts with you!

[bitchfitch]

I'm asking bc right now , in my quest to remain a kind person who has never seriously injured someone, I am spending a Lot of time working on my fic. and have had an upload every other dayish for this last little bit bc I'm excited about the story. But my worry is it's irritating and it'd be better to go for a more paced out approach and just. have chapters sit done for a bit before they get posted.

[sadmountaingoat]

So in regards to the samurai and the western as genres and trappings there's a lot of rich interplay there.

So the narrative of pulp storytelling evoked in cloudward ho is very remoniscent of late 19th century genre fiction, specifically evoking the works of H.G. Wells (whose The Time Machine was foundational for the aesthetics of Steampunk), Jules Verne (ditto), Arthur Conan Doyle (Zood is very similar to Journey to the Centre of the Earth) and their contemporaries. This opens up to the wider genre of steampunk and its trappings. Simultaneous to that, in America, a dominant form of genre writing was the Western.

Western Dime Novels and travelling shows codified the trappings of the genre. The lone hero. Gunslinger. A bloody avenger cleansing a small town. The weight of legend sits on these heroic characters not dissimilar to an Arthurian Knight. You go to see a Wild Bill Hickok show because of the name. Calamity Jane is there too. Their skill with their weapon and their nature as itinerent travelling warrior class are reinforced in the telling of their stories. At the heart of the American Western, also, sits the idea of a culture clash. These are often fundamentally colonialist narratives, the gunslinger fights the native american who stands in as a threat to "civilisation." Often the western, in the early dime novels is a racist genre.

Similarly in the late 19th century Japan is going through immense societal changes. The Samurai is made a thing of the past by sweeping reform under the Meiji government. The samurai becomes a historical image of a heroic figure. Often the most famous are individually named. Miyamoto Musashi, Sasaki Kojiro, Ito Ittosai, so on. The ronin was not originally popular, remember, a landless samurai was originally seen as dishounourable but over time naratives grew about names, wandering members of an itinerant warrior class, their skill with their weapon, so on.

The two genre of storytelling went along, very popular in their own countries, until Akira Kurosawa made Yojimbo. A story about a lone samurai coming to town and killing the mob. To hear the encyclopedia britannica tell it he was inspired by Dashiel Hammet's Blood Harvest, Hammet himself inspired by the western tradition. Sergio Leone boldfacedly ripped it off to make Fistfull of Dollars. Both are fucking great movies big recommend. At this point the two genres collide in a feedback loop. They're so similar that it becomes very easy for some of the biggest movies of each genre to just rip each other off. Seven Samurai becomes the Magnificent Seven for example.

This is a super light quick breakdown I do apologise.

But basically, when it comes to Daisuke, Zack is doing a really interesting things merging these two worlds that reflected each other so well specifically since the period that steampunk is evoking and harkening back to. Both the samurai and the cowboy use their killing tool as their martial art, it is their power and their social standing, and contributes to their name, their "face", the respect they get from society.

Zack casually mentioning he killed a famous pirate was brilliant for this reason. All other characters are defined by the Zephyr, all of them spent their formative years there, except Pappy. Pappy was sixty when he sailed with them, he's lived a life. Like the samurai and the gunfighter he is laden with history. He wanders the desert proctetcing his love's family, he has lived in the wild with coyotes, he can kill a man like lightning, basically he would fit in any Eastwood movie. Any John Wayne movie. Any Leone movie. Which makes Daisuke being japanese such an interesting subversion.

Toshiro Mifune and Charles Bronson met in Red Sun in a great example of the two genres colliding in the 80s. Often the interplay is shown as a "we're not so different from each other" journey. The similarities between the two cultures far stronger than any differences, and Daisuke in a way can match that.

But personally, I think an even stronger subversion is making no comment on it at all. Daisuke as a character is a warrior. His race is irrelevant in the setting. What truly matters is that he is an interesting character, rich with history, charm, comedy, and threat. Zack is playing him masterfully and i'm so excited to see where he goes. As a cowboy he's honestly fucking peak old gunslinger. Similar to eastwood in Unforgiven, you just get the sense that were he twenty years younger he'd be the most dangerous man in any room.

Fucking love cloud ho

I apologize if these rambles didn't come together at all at the end here, i didn't spend too much time on them, but I love the historical mirroring of samurai and cowboy and maybe we'll get some cool things down the line in regards to that

someone w more knowledge of the genres than me would examine daisuke bucklesby as a study in the western genre and why it’s so interesting that he’s a japanese cowboy and not a samurai considering their intertwining histories. one could even look at van as an extension of that w the pirate genre. but not me i don’t have that expertise

[daffsforstag]

ok I'm gonna come out and say it. As a real life person with depression, C-PTSD and a couple other things people still aren't getting it with Bucky.

Bucky has depression. I've been saying this since Civil War because the symptoms are obvious. Everyone now being like "why is he sad in Thunderbolts he should be happy with Sam...."

Its because of HE HAS DEPRESSION. People with depression have highs and lows, good days and bad days. The end of TFatWS was a high. I am certain of this, because the way that show wants to pretend his mental health issues just magically disappeared is nonsense. Depression and PTSD don't work that way. Trauma doesn't work that way which Sebastian Stan actually said. Like I know Sam means well, but what he told Bucky about dealing with his mental health himself , making amends, "doing the work" himself and basically leaving him to approach that old man without support was *not* helpful for a person with depression and negative self-image issues that involves.

Bucky has a tonne of unrecognized and untreated depression and he went into a downward spiral between TFatWS and Thunderbolts.

Thank you for sharing this! I struggle a lot with depression but I’ve never thought about his story like this, those highs and lows can be really debilitating. It makes a lot of sense for Bucky. I think this is a really smart take, and it makes me appreciate Thunderbolts a bit more now thank you.