#nice is just the default state of being

[rose022]

really any mention,, i’m rlly sensitive to that stuff (still recovering 😔) just tagging it with like “tw body dysmorphia” or something would be all i need,,,, thank you for being nice,,

alright!! and you dont need to thank me for being nice?? what??

[neverendingford]

.

[purple-1995]

Imagine that boyfriend that is always the hornier one in the relationship. Imagine him not being able to roleplay. It's simply impossible for him to stay in character when you put on a sexy costume and starts acting slutty 😳 His brain just stops working and all he wants to do is fuck you 😋 He can't remember any of the things he should say, do or not do 🥴 Why can't he touch you now? He wants to kiss you so bad 🥺 What do you mean "a servant can't touch his queen"? What if he begs for it nicely? 😇🙏🏻 No? 😢 But he will make you feel so good... your majesty! 🛐 He always tries his best, but in the end, his horny little brain just shuts down and he goes back to his default state, needy for you 🥵

Horny!Boyfriend

[spoopdeedoop]

hi i have some disorganized thoughts/hcs abt the found family human doctor au

(one of the thoughts being i should really give it a better name. another being YES this is only the nuwho doctors atm bc that's the only series i've watched so far apologies. if i ever get around to watching classic who i will add them trust)

BEHOLD my random, not at all in-depth headcanons

nine is the only one with a car out of all of them. they all keep bugging him to drive/pick them up from places -- he has mixed feelings about being the assigned taxi driver

both twelve and eleven are teachers -- college professor and preschool teacher respectively. twelve's students love them because he will say the most stupid, hilarious shit with a straight face without even knowing and eleven's students love him because he is the only teacher at the school that will dance with them during musical chairs (he doesn't even play the game. he just dances)

i want to make one of them an actual doctor but i don't think any of them could handle it unfortunately

they all share an an apartment flat on the same level -- nine, twelve and fifteen live in one room, ten, eleven and thirteen live in the one across from them. of course there are other people in the building too but they're all used to the strange loud hyperactivity of that particular flat. i think i'm using the right terminology here. yall know what im talking about

(i'm so tempted to make some companions be their neighbors)

nine and ten are the most insomniac of all of them, so they're used to bumping each other in the dead of night on their way to raid each other's respective fridges or something. very rarely thirteen will join them and they're like "WELL FANCY SEEING YOU HERE"

twelve does sleep, but like. he's nocturnal

eleven and ten hate each other in a sibling kind of way (see: day of the doctor). they are constantly sending each other death threats or tripping each other over. everyone is sick of it

sometimes when they're out shopping you'll hear ten yell "GET OUT OF THE FROZEN FOOD YOU NUMPTY WE ARE NOT BUYING FISH FINGERS" over the aisles and you'll hear eleven whine "WHY DO YOU HATE ME SO MUCH" back

(if you're lucky you'll be able to catch fifteen mumble "why did we put them in the same apartment. are we asking for an eviction notice")

eventually eleven will pick a random stray cat off the side of the road, take her home, and name her bowtie, which is a stupid name, so everyone just defaults to calling her kitty

kitty's favourite person is twelve, to eleven's absolute despair

(my original idea for this was to initially have ten hate the idea of living with a cat, since he's stated full on in the show that he doesn't like cats, but apparently there is some very obscure doctor who comic run in which he falls into a depressive spiral and adopts a cat whom he names rose-the-cat, so he might actually like cats idk?)

anyway ten hates her until he doesn't lmao. he vents to her when there's no one else home and she will Stare at him back and it is a very nice friendship

kitty and nine watch shitty romcom together

they have a joint groupchat together -- half of it is just thirteen and fifteen assigning everyone outfits they find on pinterest and the other half is eleven asking where everyone went (he keeps getting lost when they go out)

nine doesn't know how to download pictures off the internet and so resorts to manually editing memes together to send to the groupchat and everyone's like "girl that's so much more effort........."

(yes he doesn't know how to press save image to camera roll but he knows how to use a photo editor flawlessly. such is the logic of the idiocy of the doctors)

eleven and thirteen get along very well i think. they're the only two of the group to play video games and so they bond over that. they also have ridiculously similar clothing taste

sometimes they'll succeed in getting fifteen to play pokemon with them and then they'll proceed to not see him until the next day when he comes out of his room and goes "you didn't tell me plusle couldn't evolve i've been levelling it up all fucking night"

friday is assigned movie night (it's always big hero 6)

eleven is the only one to actively seek out physical affection, usually really abruptly like clinging to thirteen's back as she passes him in the hall or bapping ten with the palm of his hand until he sighs and gives him a hug. he does expect a platonic kiss on the forehead from anyone before he goes to bed and will complain if he doesn't get one

anyway thats it i'm sick in the head and really sad. if this keeps up i may be forced to actually write a fic

[nyarlathotep-thecrawlingchaos]

Your resident Crawling Chaos, back with more OPLA headcanons.

Another huge thanks to everyone who's been sharing and liking and following. You're all just amazing. I'm working on getting through these headcanons alongside an ask request, that latter of which I'm almost finished with and may be up tonight.

Without further ado, it's headcanons with everyone's favorite green-haired swordsman, Zoro!

Whoops, wrong gif.

I'm SORRY I COULDN'T RESIST.

I mean it's totally normal to pick at the people you love.

So, headcanons. Like Mihawk and Shanks, ranging from total fluff to spicy, and very much NSFW.

LA!Zoro X Fem!Reader

A— Through —Z(oro)

A — Afterglow (How are they have sex?)

Considering how much effort he exerts training on a daily basis, he's going to fall asleep pretty quickly.

But you're not going anywhere.

Not with his arms curled around you, holding you against his chest.

Even if he's already asleep, his grip is going to tighten around your waist, keeping you close.

He hasn't been close to many people in his life, and he's pretty starved for physical affection, so your warmth is positively addictive to him.

B — Backrubs? (Do they like them? Like giving them?)

Looks at you like you're speaking another language if you offer him one.

"Wha...why?"

But he's not going to turn it down.

And he's never going to turn it down again after the first time.

"O...oh. Oh—that feels—oh shit yeah..."

He thought that "sore" was just the default state of anyone who spent the vast majority of their time physically active.

He'll try to return the favor if you want one. He's a little clumsy about it since it's not exactly something he's used to doing, but his hands always feel nice and he takes instruction well enough.

It's not long before his hands are wandering, though.

Not that you're complaining.

C — Cuddling (Do they enjoy cuddling a lot or only at certain moments?)

Zoro likes having you close, but mostly in private.

He loves to bury his face in the crook of your neck while you comb your fingers through his hair.

Wrap his arm tight around your waist and just breathe you in.

D — Dance (Are they good at it? Do they enjoy it?)

Says he has two left feet, but he's never realy tried.

He'll let you try to teach him, but he's going to complain the whole time.

"Come on, what's the point in this? Can't we just spar instead?"

And probably blush a little about how close you are.

And definitely never admit out loud that he actually enjoys it.

E — Extravagant Gestures (Things they do to make you feel loved)

Zoro is pretty new to this, so you're going to have to bear with him.

He's spent the entirety of his life focused on his career as a swordsman and never taken any time for romance before.

Doesn't really think much about doing anything extravagant.

But he will literally put his life on the life to keep you safe.

Even if he knows you're pretty strong yourself, he goes completely ferral if he sees you've been hurt.

F — Fighting (How do they hand arguments/apologies?)

He has to always get the last word in.

Turns into a bit of an overgrown toddler, honestly. Slamming doors and being in general grumpy about the whole ordeal.

Refusing to talk about the problem for a while, then feeling guilty after the fact.

Approaching you later when no one else is around, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Look, I probably...could have handled that better. Not really used to this, but—y'know. Sorry."

If he sees you've been crying he's instantly gutted.

G — Going Out (What do they do for dates?)

If you have anything specific in mind, you're going to have to do the planning.

It's not that he doesn't enjoy spending time together—he just doesn't really understand what constitutes a "date"

Gets a little awkward about asking.

"Hey, ah—you know, I'll probably get lost if I leave the ship by myself so...wanna go do something?"

H — Heartache (How would they handle it if you broke up with them?)

He's going to do everything in his power to act like he's unaffected.

But everyone notices it.

Snapping and being more short-tempered than usual.

Spending more and more time training and napping.

Deflecting when anyone asks about it.

Unable to get you out of his head and working himself to the point of overexertion just to try to ignore his thoughts.

I — Intimacy (When are they intimate with you? And how often?)

Mostly in private.

Will probably curl his arm around your waist when you stand close.

Straight-up blushes when you kiss him in front of the rest of the crew at first, even on the cheek, but he gets used to it over time and starts returning the gesture.

In private, it's a miracle if he's not holding you.

He absolutely loves it when you lay across his chest with your cheek at his shoulder.

J — Joker (How do they make you laugh)

Not really one for cutting jokes, but his sarcastic one-liners are an art form.

Especially when he gets into an insult-match with Sanji.

Even if you are typically the one who has to break it up before comes to blows.

K — Kissing (How good? How often?)

He honestly loves kissing you, and he's going to take any chance to pull you aside to do so.

He's starved himself of physical affection for the vast majority of his life, so he savors every second of it.

Pulling you against him by your hips and wrapping an arm around your waist.

Or walking you back into the wall and leaning over you with his hand over your head.

Slow, deep kisses when you wake up in his arms are his weakness.

L — Lay down (How do they sleep with you? Are they a cuddler or do they prefer their space?)

He has to have you against him.

Laid across his chest with an arm around your back.

If you wake up before him, you're not going anywhere until he's ready to move.

If you're too busy to nap, he's going to wait until you're not.

Absolutely refuses to lay down without you at any given time.

M — Making babies (Do they want to settle down and have kids?)

Yeah, no.

At least not for a very long time.

His dream of being the world's greatest swordsman takes precedence right now. Having a kid would make that borderline impossible.

N — Nervous? (How confident are they when it comes to romance?)

As confident as Zoro is about everything else, this whole romance thing has him pretty out of his element.

Had a few one night stands and flings during his time pirate hunting, but never anything serious.

He would never admit that he's nervous, but he's more obvious than he thinks.

Trying to act aloof but stumbling over words.

Getting legitimately surprised when you do the simplest little things for him.

O — Oral Fixation (Giving or recieving? And how good are they?)

Your mouth makes him weak.

Shivering when you wrap your hand around his cock and trail your tongue up the length and wrap your lips around the head.

Gripping your hair with both hands, alternating between laying his head back and watching you.

He's pretty sure he'd go crazy if he watched you the entire time, especially with the way you gaze up to meet his eyes.

Holding your head still when it gets too good to hold back and thrusting back to your throat.

"Oh fuck I love it when you gag on it—"

He's definitely returning the favor.

Picking you up and setting you on the nearest surface—a bed, a hammock, a table, anywhere he can tug off your panties and pull your legs over his shoulders.

Slow and sensual, but not teasing—he just loves hearing your little moans and whimpers, feeling your thighs trembling.

Pushing one or two fingers in and out of you so he can feel you tighten up when you come.

P — Pet Peeves (Things they don't like in a partner)

Nagging. You asked him to do something and he's going to do it, don't get pushy about it or it's going to take him even longer.

Lack of communication—he is new to this whole relationship thing, you can't expect him to know everything you want all the time if you don't tell him.

Flirting with Sanji. Just don't. He can and will murder that shitty waiter.

Q — Quiet Time (How much alone time do they need, or do they want to be with you 24/7?)

He's always been a solitary person, and it surprises him juat how much time he wants to spend with you.

Doesn't want you glued to his side or anything, but he'd rather be with you than not be with you.

Especially in a new place. He knows you can handle yourself, but still gets worried something might happen to you and takes it upon himself to act as your personal body guard.

And let's face it, he'd get lost if he went off on his own anyway.

R — Romance (How romantic are they? Do they have to force it or does it come natural?)

For not having much experience, he's honestly incredibly sweet when you're alone together

Playing with your hair.

Foreheads touching just so he can look into your eyes.

Slow, tender kisses and gentle caresses.

"You're way too good for me."

Gets absolutely flustered if anyone walks in, and you giggling about it doesn't help.

S — Spending Money (How much do they like to spend on you?)

To be fair, he doesn't really have much money. None of you do.

But he's pretty insistent on paying for both of you if you go out together, even if that's all he can do right now.

He wants to buy things for you, and if the crew ever strikes it big, he plans on making up for it.

T — Trust (Are they trusting of you? Jealous?)

Zoro has a lot of trust issues in general, but he's pretty trusting of you.

You haven't given him any reason not to trust you.

He still hasn't told you everything about his past, but he's getting around to it.

U — Underwear (What kind do they wear, and what kind do they like on you?)

He's not very particular about his own underwear.

Definitely comfort and maneuverability over looks, but if you have a preference he's fine with it, as long as it's not thongs or something.

Don't even ask, he's not.

But he loves seeing you in a thong. The skimpier the better.

If he can reach under your skirt and feel your bare ass, he's going to be absolutely ferral for you in an instant.

V — Vulnerable (How vulnerable are they with you? Is it easy for them to open up to you?)

He's more vulnerable with you than he is with anyone else.

Still doesn't exactly wear his heart on his sleeve, but he's trying.

Used to handling everything himself so it's a steep learning curve.

Tries to voice things that bother him, even if it comes out a little forced and awkward, but he makes the effort, and you're proud of him for it.

W — Wine and Dine (Do they prefer meals at home or going out with you? Who does more of the cooking?)

A cook Zoro definitely is not.

He'd rather take you out and not have to deal with Sanji, but money is an object.

He loves watching you cook. He might even offer to help, but you probably shouldn't let him.

He could burn a pot of boiling water.

X — X-Rated (How good are they in bed? What do they like?)

Very passionate, and a little playful.

It drives him crazy when you tease him.

Bend over in front of him in a skirt and he's going to be dragging you off somewhere private in seconds.

Pushing you up against a wall and pushing your skirt up your hips.

Kissing you hard enough to bruise and pulling you against him by your ass so you can feel him get hard.

Shivering, kissing and growling against your neck when you rub him through his pants.

"God, you're such a little fucking tease..."

And he absolutely loves it.

Not wasting any time in pulling your shirt and your bra off so he can feel every inch of you.

Teasing your nipples with his thumb while he grips your ass harder to grind against you.

Wrestling out of his shirt when you get on your knees in front of him.

Tangling his hands in his hair and groaning when you wrap your lips around his cock.

Losing control fast and holding your head still to fuck your mouth until you're gagging on him.

Letting you go when you dig your fingers into his hips and pulling you back up by your hair, picking you up by your ass and kissing down the column of his throat while he catches his breath.

Laying you down on the nearest surface and kissing down your body.

Trying to get himself back under control so he doesn't cum within two minutes.

Pulling your skirt down and flinging it away, before giving you a grin and tugging your panties down with his teeth.

Pulling your thighs up over his shoulders and tugging you to him by your hips, immediately pushing two fingers inside you and sucking your clit.

Rolling his tongue in slow, firm circles, keeping his pace steady while you grip at his hair and arch your back and moan.

Giving a little purr/growl when you come, gripping your hips.

Absolutely craving you now, shifting up to lean over you, rubbing your thighs and thrusting into you before your orgasm is even over.

Going hard and heavy right from the first stroke.

Gripping at your thigh and your hair and groaning into your neck while you cling to him.

Reaching between you to rub your clit, bringing you right back to the edge in minutes.

"Come on, baby. Come for me again. Come on my cock."

Watching your eyes roll back and swearing under his breath when he feels your walls tighten around him.

Losing it immediately when you cry out and arch your back under him.

Pulling out and tugging on you by your arm until you lean down and wrap your lips around him again.

Pulling your head forward and groaning, holding you in place by your hair while you suck the cum out of him.

Collapsing into bed with you and pulling you onto his chest, kissing your neck and your forehead, telling you how good you are while you both catch your breath.

Y — Yearning (How long will they pursue the person they're interested in before losing interest?)

Not very long, honestly.

He'll shoot his shot a couple times, but if you're not interested he's not going to press it.

He respects your boundaries completely, and he doesn't abide the whole hard-to-get game.

If you decide you're interested after that, you're going to have to approach him.

Z — Zen (What do they do to wind down and relax? Do they prefer to do it alone or with you?)

As much as he trains, he needs a lot of downtime.

And he definitely wants you there for it.

Holding onto you like you're his teddy bear, having a beer or two with you, nuzzling into your hair.

He never really considered the possibility that he'd be as close to someone as he is to you, and doesn't want to waste any time being away from you.

He's still pretty reclusive, but you're the one exception to that rule.

[chouettecrivaine]

Love's the Only Medicine [Honkai: Star Rail]

Fandom: Honkai: Star Rail

Characters: Dr. Ratio

Notes: SO. First off, those of you waiting on Lyney fic, it is postponed for now because I'm stuck :( but for now I'm working on a Dr. Ratio fic and I'm having a little trouble so these are my headcanons for how a good/healthy relationship with him would actually work because I love to write fluff all the time <3

So, how does one go about romancing the Dr. Veritas Ratio?

∘∙⊱⋅•⋅Have independence. Dr. Ratio is a busy man, and while he'd of course value your relationship (why else would he be in a relationship in the first place?), he wouldn't fare well with someone who is the clingy type. A relationship that would work best for him is one where you share in each other's missions, victories, and defeats as best as you can without melding your lives into one singular identity. With the exception of certain instances where you worked with him prior to the relationship starting/getting serious (though even then, he might drop the idea of separating your work paths a little bit to ensure there is no space for rational, scientific endeavors to be tangled with personal emotions), Dr. Ratio is perfectly content to with a relationship where some aspects of your lives don't always cross. Of course he wants to spend time with you! He just appreciates his own ability to act independently and keep work and personal matters separate. (Plus I feel like he'd find independence kinda attractive anyway :P)

∘∙⊱⋅•⋅Keep him grounded. Dr. Ratio gets lost in his thoughts frequently. He understands that facts and calculations can only go so far in the real world (though they could go MUCH FURTHER in his opinion, hence his cosmic mission to eradicate foolishness) but he loves finding the rational, mathematical answer to things. It'll be up to you to navigate a little bit more expertly on this plane. If he's trying to piece together a solution to a planet's hunger crisis, well, maybe let him sort through his lofty thoughts then. But if he's simply ignoring the world and thinking for the sake of it, you'll be able to get away with poking him out of the stupor and getting him to actually communicate with the world around him.

∘∙⊱⋅•⋅Be the people person, but don't apologize for him. Veritas has a tendency to rub people the wrong way. He's rude, abrasive, and arrogant. When others say such things without realizing you're nearby, you AGREE with them. But these are all things he knows, too. In most cases, how the reception of information makes somebody feel doesn't particularly concern him. But sometimes, especially now that he's actively placing himself in the social situation of being in a relationship, talking with people in a constructive way is necessary. He's fine with defaulting to you in these instances if it makes you feel useful. However, it is simply a matter of leaving a task to the one who knows better. If you start apologizing for his silence or a prior brash attitude, though, then he gets a little prickly. He stands by his behavior! Don't make him out to be someone you should have to apologize for or ashamed of.

∘∙⊱⋅•⋅Have clear communication skills. Listen. Veritas is an eloquent speaker, and he says exactly what he means to. However...good communication is more than just saying words that mean exactly what you want them to. You have to present information in a way that others can receive, and that's where he falls flat. The onus will fall to you to exemplify that sort of skill. Now, you don't have to teach him step-by-step how to talk nicely, but being able to do so yourself and give him a gentle nudge when it really matters will go a long way in ensuring you're talking to each other and not at each other.

∘∙⊱⋅•⋅Argue with him. Like, not actually. Argue with him academically. Veritas has stated that he feels incorrect on a matter if people agree with him. So don't agree with him! Don't spark debate just for the sake of it, but you shouldn't be afraid to voice your opinion when it goes against his. Dissent is the forebear of accuracy, after all. He won't be gentle with his arguments, but he never means to condescending when you're sharing your scholarly ideas. (Plus, this will help you get accustomed to when he is actually trying to argue you in a less casual context)

∘∙⊱⋅•⋅His love language? Quality time. Wanted all across the galaxy to solve this crisis or that, Dr. Ratio is a busy, busy man. So when you come in at the top of his list of priorities, that's how you know he's in deep. If you receive a certain love language particularly well, he can adapt! But his default is both to give and receive quality time. Even just time together that isn't attentive and specifically for each other can mean a lot to him. If you're both busy with work, he can be placated by attending to your duties but staying in the same room as each other. Don't worry about distracting him, either - as of late, he finds himself distracted when you aren't around, and at ease when you are.

∘∙⊱⋅•⋅Have a hunger for knowledge. It can be intimidating to hear him denounce all fools of the universe when he doesn't give many specific answers as to what a fool is. Veritas doesn't care about a lack of knowledge; what he cares about is a lack of awareness and a lack of trying. He'd be a fool himself if he pretended as though everyone had the same access to the same level of education, or that there weren't people who gravitated towards certain skills. After all, he's widely regarded as a genius, but you don't exactly see him releasing academic journals on any musical studies, do you? (Now, could he write one? Probably. But that's not the point.) As tough of a teacher as he is, what he's after is undying tenacity; that you never falter in the face of obstacles, and that you never place your scholarship on a shelf so high it winds up collecting dust, unused. If you don't know something, that's fine - go figure it out! Don't just say 'I don't know' and leave the matter at that. Learning through experience is an incredibly strong way of gathering knowledge. Just...don't expect him to be any nicer about your lack of prior knowledge just because you are close to him or you are trying to remedy that. At the end of the day, you did fall in love with a guy who's just kind of an ass sometimes :/

∘∙⊱⋅•⋅Be honest. This is one that could go for anybody in any relationship, but it is a top priority for Dr. Ratio. He's based his entire life on searching and spreading absolute truth in every corner of the cosmos. Normally, this takes the form of objective, empirically provable fact. But he finds it frustrating if you won't be honest about your feelings or what you want, how is he to know what to do? You'll have him acting like a fool with your refusal to face your own truth! (This is, of course, a roundabout way of saying that he doesn't have it in him to be playing games. Be straightforward with him, please. It'll be much easier for the both of you that way.)

∘∙⊱⋅•⋅Don't be afraid to get a little poetic on him. Veritas is a scientific man. He understands artistic endeavors, of course, but that isn't how his brain is wired. He operates in verifiable conclusions and building hypotheses, not the more abstract patterns of intuition or leading by the heart. He can analyze and understand such things, but if you want him to be able to appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the world, you will probably have to lead by example. You won't change his way of thinking, but maybe if you see a rare bird one day, he'll appreciate the opportunity to see something so rare and beautiful instead of analyzing how far it has deviated from its normal breeding grounds.

∘∙⊱⋅•⋅Flirting is a game, but love isn't. Don't be so dull with him! Dr. Ratio would love an opportunity to subtly ash his wits about yours in a little flirtatious back-and-forth. Both in the early stages and a more established relationship, Dr. Ratio loves a good challenge and could spend all night just trying to out-flirt the other. Regardless of whether or not you're one to get flustered, he loves your reactions anyway. Sheepishness, frustration, no emotion whatsoever - whatever you feel,, he finds how you try to school your expressions into complete apathy amusing. He is hard to fluster himself, but if he continues the same line of teasing in the morning the next day, you can assume he's been thinking about you all night. However! Dr. Ratio often expects people, especially those precious few who he respects, to operate on his level. If he's truly buckling down for the long game, he'll make sure to make his feelings clear. Flirtation is always on the table, but "playing hard to get" or trying to "keep him guessing" as you near a truly established relationship is a turn off. Flirt for fun, not to manipulate his interest in you. Believe him, he would've left by now if he wanted to.

∘∙⊱⋅•⋅Look beyond his scientific approach to matters of the heart. In loving anybody, you'll have to learn how to read between certain lines. Even if you are a pure-blooded emotionally charged person, Veritas can only meet you halfway on the road to compromise. Take the time to study how he speaks and what he means- concise as he is, speaking so straightforwardly all the time often has an opposite affect on his words when he's trying to be romantic. Learn the ways he looks after you and tries to make your life easier without asking; notice how he spends a large portion of his available time with you, even if it means dragging you along to discussing things with people who he feels are completely beneath his IQ; realize that his tone may always be steadfast and dominating, but he never speaks out to shut you down or demean you the way he does to others. If you can translate all the little ways he uses to show you how much he values you, then you may just find yourself in a relationship far more enriching than you'd expect.

[scificrows]

i like to make fun of murderbot for being all "i hate everyone, i don't care about anything or anyone, fuck off" while simultaneously caring very much about the people around it and the situations it finds itself in. i love how it "accidentally" ends up caring quite a lot about the friends it makes along the way. but i think something that i tend to forget is that murderbot actively decides to care - at least at some point in its story.

idk, as a person that struggles with depression, this paragraph from artificial condition really resonates with me. prior to all systems red, murderbot had contracts. it had routine and it had protocols. it knew what it had to do to just get by, how to perform so no one would notice it had disabled its governor module. it was deeply depressed, yes, but it was functioning (for lack of a better word). in artificial condition, murderbot's routine is gone. it cannot go on in that state of numbly going-from-contract-to-contract, putting in as little effort as possible, consuming media to cope. that option is gone because it escaped (and note that escaping the company was not an active choice, it kinda happened to it). murderbot has two options now: it can either gather all its energy; actively do something new and difficult and distressing; change something in its life and try. or it can let the numbness and the emptiness take over and stop trying. if murderbot wants to survive as a rogue secunit, it has to try. no matter how difficult that is. the wording in that paragraph really hits home for me. the way the non-caring sees an opportunity to slip in and to take over. does murderbot even care? does anything really matter? is anything really worth the hassle? wouldn't it be so much easier to just let your mind slip away a little, to go numb, to be passive, to watch media and wait for things to happen to you? wouldn't it be nice to stop thinking and struggling and feeling complicated things? to stop making an effort? you've been dealing with a lot lately and maybe it's time to just shut down. maybe you'll just take a little break. just slip deeper into this chair and start the show. time flies when you're not paying attention. trying is exhausting. who cares if you don't do the things you wanted to do, you were supposed to do. it'll be fine. let's just ignore those things for now. just let the non-caring take over. just stop thinking. you can deal with the aftermath later. just watch your shows. who cares. but murderbot cares. it decides to care. it decides to fight with all it has and i think that is so brave. and i think in the later books caring is less of an active decision for murderbot. once you start caring, it's easier to keep going than to stop; and murderbot, for all its "i'm a grumpy rogue secunit, leave me alone" behavior, knows just how important caring is. so it's not that it doesn't know what's happening; rather, it lets itself care. tl;dr: caring is not the default for murderbot, it's just the more difficult of two options. and it decides not to take the soft option. it decides to struggle. it decides to care. and so it does.

[sergle]

i used to think you were nice lmao

yeah so actually, there's this cool quirky thing I do: when someone is being shitty toward me, or I'm pissed off, or something bad is happening to me, I act mad. then, in my default state when everything is normal and chill, I act neutral/friendly. Then, if something that I like is happening, or someone is being nice to me, I act nice/happy. just figured you could use this guideline, I know it's really hard to follow, but this is just one of my quirks. it's probably a mental illness of some kind

[sepublic]

            Given the underlying theme of “Kids shouldn’t be handling serious conflicts, it should be the adults”, it’s neat that the show manages to accomplish this ideal with Vee in Season 3. Her trauma is respected and Vee isn’t obligated by anyone to go on an adventure to save the day, she helps if she wants to and feels comfortable. Vee has to reassure the others that she’s willing to potentially confront Jacob, and later that night, when Belos attacks? Vee steps in to help, and… is immediately almost killed for it, until Amity saves her. And remains out of the fight until it’s resolved.

         So when it’s time for our heroes to head to the Boiling Isles and stop Belos, Vee decides Nope she’s not cut out for this, she’s no fighter; She wants to skip out, and is allowed to! It isn’t framed as some sort of moral responsibility that Vee is running from, it’s a legitimately dangerous burden involving the man who abused, hunted down, and almost murdered Vee; It’s a lot to ask of anyone, much less a child. Vee says she isn’t ready, and there’s no dilemma, it’s purely viewed as a decision she makes for her own sake, and the story doesn’t bother trying to interrogate her ‘morality’, doesn’t even consider Vee is being ‘selfish’, and of course Camila will encourage and support that!

         Sure, Vee does try to justify how she can still be of use keeping up appearances back home, but the first question is if Vee is comfortable, and then if there’s anything else she can help with. It’s also fulfilling how an adult, Vee’s own mother Camila, is the one to ask her about this, accept her answer, and show love and appreciation to Vee for what she chooses before leaving. Obviously kids are going to be fighting evil because of meta reasons, stories are driven by conflict and the messages they espouse are often an ideal they must struggle towards, but it’s nice to see that for Vee, a side character, she’s managed to win this for herself. After plenty of trauma and the harrowing experiences of Yesterday’s Lie, Vee’s just living her life in S3.

        Vee’s allowed to prioritize her comfort and pursue what she wants, instead of being held up to the ‘greater good’. I think that contributes to TOH’s juxtaposition of self-care being good actually, especially in opposition to the self-punishing Puritan ideology that insists people live in a default, guilty state of sin, and must constantly atone for that by devoting themselves to a higher purpose, often the collective. Philip refers to it as the ‘greater good’, but we also know it by another name, with just one O.

[bamsara]

Oooo, for the dialogue prompts "you should have thought about that before you got into a fight" and "I only wanted to help"

I love your works! Your art looks like itd taste like sour patch kids, v nice!! ^^

Sun (Mostly) Centric | Wordcount: 1,147 | AO3 Version

The world has not yet adjusted to the flood of robots merging with day-to-day society.

At least, not in the form they had taken prior. To say that there was some backlash was undercutting it; using arguments of humanity vs machine to its core, despite the clarity that those walking alongside them weren't just AI made to mimic human traits and personality, but sentient beings that develop their own. There's a difference between a chatbot app and your next-door neighbor who just so happens to be made out of metal.

Still, there is progress as much as there are incidents. A recent ruling states that all robots don't need to look human in order to receive the same amount of respect and rights (which is fantastic for all of Fazbear's line up of robots, considering they were animals in nature and all, in all franchises and pizza plexes across the country) but there were...incidents too, some of them making the news.

So when you're out doing some quick shopping for groceries one day and a stranger with a taut face and a sour attitude starts heckling Sun, and that heckling turns to harassment, and thus turns into him reaching for the back of the animatronic's head and pulling at the vulnerable wires there, you clock him.

Hard, actually. Your knuckles hurt like a bitch, but you don't have time to shake the feeling out from your hand because the guy sends one right back and oh, there you go, tumbling in the isle and knocking baking soda and sugar and other cake ingredients off the shelf as the two of you yell profanities and arguments while Sun has a metaphorical loading symbol over his head while he processes the last five seconds.

Now you're both banned from that store. The other guy is too, thankfully. Still sucks though. You didn't get to check out the ingredients for the cake.

"You're a real mess." Sun scolds you, dipping the rag back into the warm water, and bringing it back up to your face. He dabs at the dried blood under your eye, careful not to rub too harshly so as to not irritate the darkening skin beneath it. "Honestly. That could have gone so much worse-"

"Like pulling wires out of your head?" You interrupt. You're not too keen about the bathroom being turned into a lecture hall, and the lid of the toilet seat being your 'time-out' spot as he tends to you. "Yeah, sure. I'll just let the stranger rip out what is essentially your brain cords out of your flat skull and be fine with it."

Sun shoots you a look. The default smile is strained.

"What?" You hiss in the silent pause, and not because of the sting of your eye. "All I'm saying is that this-" A point to your face, "-is preferable than the other outcome."

"Our wires are welded in with steel, so I highly doubt a human could rip them out without some sort of power tool." Sun tuts. "You remember Parts n Service."

He had a point. The machine in Parts n Service did weld his arm back into place at the time, and all the other repairs since then didn't go without some sort of heat tool to make sure everything was properly molded in place. Still, you frown. "It's still fucked up that he did that, though."

"Language."

"We didn't even get the cake mix." A light dab on the eye, you bite your tongue as Sun clears the last of the dried blood from the area. "Shouldn't have banned us. Now we have to go across town to get groceries."

Sun pulls back the rag, stained pink and light brown with old blood, dropping it in the sink to be washed later. "You should have thought about that before getting into a fight."

"I was only trying to help!" You defend, continuing as Sun pulls out the disinfectant in a rather knowing manner. The cut underneath your eye from the guy's ring was about to sting like hell. "And it's not like I was the one who started it!"

He pours a dab of alcohol onto a cotton ball retrieved from the first aid kit, a small puff of white in between large silocone fingers, it's almost comical how he pinches it into place before crouching back down, the cotton ball hovering over your face. "Hush. This is going to sting."

Your mouth thins at the underlying tone of Moon's voice in his scolding, leaning away from the offending ball. "You're such a hypocrite."

A hand comes underneath your chin to hold you in place, thumb pressed into your jawline. "Stop whining."

"How would you feel, huh?" You wrinkle your nose as the disinfectant ball comes closer. "What would you do if someone attacked me like that?"

The cotton ball presses against the cut and you flinch, hard enough that your shoulders hike up and your neck tenses. It stings like hell, searing for a moment before dulling to an aching throb, a hiss in the back of your dry throat.

The Daycare Attendant's thumb keeps in place for a second, then pulls it away, expression unreadable. "The same thing we did the last time someone tried."

You grit your teeth, pressing your lips into a thin line as the stinging starts to fade.

"Though," He continues, pulling the cotton ball away and tossing it into the trash. "While your help is appreciated, It would be very much appreciated if we were to avoid something like that in the future!" He waves his hands, the bright smile returning, and Sun's fingers go behind your ear, pulling back out a colorful bandage. "I think it goes without saying that it makes me very sad to see you all hurt. Not fun at all!"

You blow hot air out of your nose in a huff as he applies the sticky bandage. "Hypocrite."

"There you are! Right as rain, dandy and peachy." Sun pulls back to observe his handiwork, and there's a slight pause. "Well, not quite. You've still got a bit of a shiner. I don't think I have a medicine for that one."

"It makes me look cool." You jest. "I look badass."

The animatronic sighs, heavy and loaded for a robot with no lungs, though his exasperation is evident in his voicebox. "Pulling my wires, our wires, please, you're constantly on them-" He's mumbling, quickly. Still talking even as he cradles your head gently by your jawline, and presses his faceplate to the skin above the black eye. "Afraid that's all I can give."

You wrinkle your nose, smiling. "I think a cake would be great too."

"Thanks to someone-" He starts, rising from a crouched position and taking your hand to help you stand. "It looks like we'll be ordering one from the bakery instead."

[iwonderwh0]

I don't think androids store memories as videos or that they can even be extracted as ones. Almost, but not exactly.

Firstly, because their memories include other data such as their tactile information, their emotional state, probably 3d markers of their surrounding...a lot of different information. So, their memories are not in a video-format, but some kind of a mix of many things, that may not be as easily separated from each other. I don't think a software necessary to read those types of files are publicly available.

Even if they have some absolute massive storage, filming good-quality videos and storing them is just not an optimal way to use their resources. It's extremely wasteful. I think, instead, their memories consist of snapshots that are taken every once in a while (depending on how much is going on), that consist of compressed version of all their relevant inputs like mentioned above. Like, a snapshot of a LiDAR in a specific moment + heavily compressed photo with additional data about some details that'll later help to upscale it and interpolate from one snapshot into the next one, some audio samples of the voices and transcript of the conversation so that it'd take less storage to save. My main point is, their memories are probably stored in a format that not only doesn't actually contain original video material, but is a product of some extreme compression, and in this case reviewing memories is not like watching HD video footage, but rather an ai restoration of those snapshots. Perhaps it may be eventually converted into some sort of a video readable to human eye, but it would be more of an ai-generated video from specific snapshots with standardised prompts with some parts of the image/audio missing than a perfectly exact video recording.

When Connor extracts video we see that they are a bit glitchy. It may be attributed to some details getting lost during transmission from one android to another, but then we've also got flashbacks with android's own memories, that are just as "glitchy". Which kinda backs up a theory of it being a restoration of some sort of a compressed version rather than original video recording.

Then we've also got that scene where Josh records Markus where it is shown that when he starts to film, his eyes indicate the change that he is not just watching but recording now. Which means that is an option, but not the default. I find it a really nice detail. Like, androids can record videos, but then the people around them can see exactly when they do that, and "be at ease" when they don't. It may be purely a design choice, like that of the loading bar to signalise that something is in progress and not just frozen, or mandatory shutter sound effect on smartphones cameras in Japan.

So, yeah. Androids purpose is to correctly interpret their inputs and store relevant information about it in their long term memory, and not necessarily to record every present moment in a video-archive that will likely never be seen by a human and reviewed as a pure video footage again. If it happened to be needed to be seen — it'll be restored as a "video" file, but this video won't be an actual video recording unless android was specifically set to record mode.

[nekumiho]

persona 3 reload came out yesterday so Naturally i was obligated to finally do a finished piece with my silly velvet room attendants submas au. alt versions, lore info, and misc doodles under the cut o__o (attendant related p5 spoilers mentioned). also sorry for the eyestrain.

protags they attend to are Fellow Twins hilda and hilbert who always just get referred to as 'passenger(s)'. velvet room manifestation is the inside of a subway car, no i havent worked out what that symbolizes to hilda and hilbert, dont worry about it. but i think whether its visibly in motion or not wld depend on the protags' mental state, one side of the windows for hilda and one for hilbert. mostly dark empty with no visual movement outside the windows w/ maybe a flickering station light somewhere or a visibly blocked tunnel for when theyre feeling stuck in life, default would be like a well lit platform outside of the window with faceless shadow people walking around, how crowded it is depends on their progress with social links. high speed through the tunnels with their half of the car rocking violently when there's high stress super dire stuff going on, steady movement when theyre making progress with something, etc etc

their brassards HOPEFULLY translate to 'down' (χάμω) and 'up' (πάνω) in greek??? i wanted smth like caroline and justine's hats but also not The Same and uhhh yknow. persona 3 and greek mythology are pretty :handshake:.

i dont wanna steal margaret's eldest sibling clout so i think physically ingo and emmet would be younger than her but only barely. margaret is literally the only attendant i can see being physically over like 35 and i need sbms to be mid thirties at like the bare minimum. theyre highkey disturbed whenever lavenza willingly splits herself back into caroline and justine. weirded out by the other 'twins' in general bc they're not even Real twins. they gatekeep being twins. if anyone asks "so are you guys also just two halves of one person" it will be the most offensive thing you could ever say to them. elizabeth and emmet bully theodore together. ingo doesnt dislike theodore but just kind of forgets he exists because the twins are always being like "my brother, [name] (pauses and remembers theodore), i mean, ONE of my brothers,"

emmet is very :handshake: with elizabeth while ingo is very :handshake: with margaret. they both have their own fave sisters whoops. (sorry lavenza). in any sort of 'dancing game' scenario theyre both awkward as hell. very theodore core in general with emmet having some of the elizabeth vibes of just 'i am just never going to stop making random jerky body movements' ingo is a BIT more stiff. but like in general i think theo's way of life and elizabeth's aria of the soul have pretty good ingo and emmet vibes respectively. if i ever learn model editing beyond texture replacement its so over for my mmds.

i love igor dearly but i think since there are Two of them they can kinda handle stuff on their own while igor helps with Other persona protags in their respective rooms? emmet says shit like "YEAH FUCK IGOR THIS IS OUR LINE!!!!!!!!!!!!" and ingos like "emmet be nice thats still our boss and the only reason he let us be in charge is because hes busy".

ingo handles all persona fusion stuff and emmet does storage/organization/other misc stuff and gives you p3 elizabeth styled quests. they can both be social linked because i say so. emmet is justice arcana and ingo is judgement. emmets quests are the only way or at least the main way to increase your social link with him and if you dont finish one of his Special Request ones you lose your link with him. one of the special requests is to take him and ingo to see a real subway station 100% because theyve never seen one.

of all the other velvet rooms, they like the p4 one the most because the inside of the limo is the closest to the subway car they're familiar with but i think theyd like the p3 one too for the possible rocking motion of the elevator eternally going up

thats all i can think of right now i THINK thats everything??? so heres an original concept sketch,

and also a funny emmet quest moments doodle

oh yeah emmet really fucking loves jack frost because they have similar vibes. ingo, on the other hand, is a big pyro jack fan.

[hpowellsmith]

Happy birthday, Royal Affairs!

It's been a year since Royal Affairs came out and I've been over the moon about how it's been received. It's meant that I've been able to write full-time, make Honor Bound as rich and detailed at high speed, and do a lot of physical and mental health recovery after various periods of burnout. I'm really grateful for everyone's support, here and elsewhere, and it really makes a huge difference.

I had so much fun returning to the characters after a while away for the epilogue - if you enjoyed the game at release and haven't replayed for the epilogue, I very much recommend giving it a go!

After beta testing, I wrote up a retrospective about what came up and how I organised my work. I thought I'd share it for some insight into my process, for players and authors. Here it is:

In Crème de la Crème I ended up adding large branches to the plot during beta, but I was fortunate not to have to do it this time around. Mostly it was building on what was there or bringing certain things to the forefront, or adding a few different ways of navigating situations.

As feedback came in, I was lucky enough to have so much that it became unwieldy to act on it in one go, so I made a priority list.

Highest priority was game breaking bugs or large continuity problems like Dominique's final game scene switching to Beaumont's.

High priority was smaller continuity bugs like the game confusing who you were romancing or whether you had or hadn't done a particular action earlier.

Medium priority was things like small scene additions or multi romance responses, or tweaking first impressions of characters, and so on.

Low priority was nice-to-haves like allowing a character to be romanced only late on.

Alongside this, I fixed typos and made small adjustments - easy wins that added polished. There were also some major sweeps that I did: a stat test clarity sweep, a stat change sweep, a reduction of tests in casual conversations, and repetitive words or phrases.

Stat test clarity:

I picked 3-4 stat tests at random from each chapter, copied their text into a separate document, and highlighted words that reflected the stats. For example: for Authoritative I had things like "I order them to..." "I tell them what to do", "I stay aloof to maintain my authority..." and so on. I edited testing choices to include these keywords, and also edited the stat guide to include them.

Checking all this had the side effect of helping me spot unnecessary tests or points where the stat being tested just didn't match the situation at hand.

Stat changes:

There are a lot of points where stats can change, and not all of them made sense at the start of beta. I did variations of this sweep several times, including the Action Skills, NPC stats, and adding a lot more chances to boost your Powers of Persuasion. Again doing this check helped me spot unnecessary or unintuitive tests and changes.

Tests in casual conversations:

This was again something that I iterated several times. Some of the commentary about Crème de la Crème said that the stat tests felt punishing or too difficult, and an early playtest from my wife flagged that some of the tests in Royal Affairs felt unfair. Why should a character's relationship reduce when you're trying to be affectionate, if the circumstances aren't in a state where that makes sense?

So I stripped out a lot of this, generally replacing a success/failure with flavour text (such as a Subtle MC perhaps being, well, more subtle about holding hands with someone). In some cases, where a character needs to be drawn out of themselves to talk more emotionally (Beaumont or Hyacinthe, on occasion), or they see the conversation as a contest or challenge in some way (mostly Javi or Trevelyan), I left them in. But I liked that they were a rarity rather than default.

Repetitive words or phrases

As I was writing, sometimes I noticed that I was overusing phrases, so if I got that feeling I would make a note for the sweep. In the end there wasn't as much as that as I thought, but there were a lot of qualifier-type words that reduce the impact of a sentence - "a little" was one, or "really", usually in dialogue - or filler words like "down" in sentences like "you sit down beside them".

I also looked for phrases like "you know" or "you suspect" to spot places where I could express whatever it was that the MC knows more elegantly (this is something a former colleague told me once and I've never forgotten it!)

More involved edits

With some major things that I did change, I'd put them on my to-do list before beta but they were either unwieldy and I wanted to start testing sooner rather than later, or I wanted to check whether other people agreed. It was great to have more opinions and mostly they confirmed what I'd thought. With others, I studied the feedback to gauge whether the effort of making the changes would be worth the payoff. In most cases, I decided to go for it.

In general, this stage involved adding things, including:

more worldbuilding details to give more context to the plot

more teacher interactions throughout; added scenes as well as offhand references to other classes; more about Clemence and Vere and expanded outcomes to their storyline

romanceable characters responding to players romancing other people: in the moment, checking in about where your relationship was at, and a set of final breakup conversations if it was left until the very last minute (this was a very big undertaking and would have been better to do earlier - a lesson I've taken to Honor Bound)

lengthening the main suffrage debate

adding slow-paced romance dynamics for two characters (I was really keen to do this but was disciplined about making it low priority - it was a lovely idea and I knew I'd enjoy doing it, but it was very much a nice-to-have compared to other things. I was delighted to be able to do it!)

more communal scenes with classmates to give more of a sense of living in each other's pockets

adding an option to confide in Asher about a particular plot point and for them to assist with it if wanted (I was so happy about adding this: it's one of my favourite Asher moments, even if few people see it!)

tweaking some of the friendship/romance conversations to add more emotional chat (mostly this applied to Javi and Hyacinthe; there was a bit added to Asher and Dominique at Verdancy)

more pet time

more narrative and conversational responsiveness about whether an imperilled character was romanced

more Javi asexuality chat

more detailed outfit descriptions throughout with more choices about what to wear

generally expanding some scenes to give more breathing room to important moments

In the end I added 45000 words to the game during beta testing, thanks to feedback from editor review, continuity testing, and copyediting. Testing took place during late December 2022 and January 2023, and I massively appreciate everyone who contributed to make this big game as polished as it is!

-

[ipostwhatiwant1202]

His Feelings: Leo Imagine

warnings: none, gender neutral reader. sfw, fluff. turtles are 22-25

Leo always found himself trying to be his best self every day. A perfectionist, if you will. He trains hard, keeps his head level, and thinks way more with his head than his heart. At times it was a curse more than a blessing because he may seem cold. It's not intentional but he has a lot on his plate and on his shoulders.

He tries not to get close to anyone outright for safety reasons. He's skeptical and needs to make sure this person is more of an asset than a liability. He trusts Vern, April, and Casey with his life, which is saying a lot. The police officers at the NYPD? Not so much. Then you showed up.

You were a social worker/officer/CSI that transferred from a different state. You were assigned to accompany the turtles on their missions when they helped out the police. You were still young, in your early 20's, so you had a lot to learn. You knew they could probably teach you a lot so you accepted.

The guys, especially Mikey and Donnie, warmed up to you rather quickly. Raph came around after meeting you a few times but Leo was still somewhat distant. He was friendly with you of course, but he found himself scared of what this meant.

He prided himself on being rational and not allowing his feelings to get the better of him, but you were slowly, and unknowingly, throwing a wrench into that.

Mikey decided after working with you for a month that you absolutely had to join them for dinner one night. You met Splinter, who was glad to meet you finally after hearing so much. You knew you'd have to fully gain his trust but you knew he would become a second father to you eventually.

Leo didn't ignore you but didn't acknowledge you at the same time. Your presence made him uneasy. He felt anxious and on edge everytime he saw you. He was great at hiding it because his father, his brothers, or April and Casey had yet to say anything. It still hurt your feelings though.

As the months turned in to a year, you came by the lair more and more often. Mikey stole you to play video games, Raph liked to talk work stuff and help you with it, and Donnie just liked talking to you while he worked. You were nice company and actually listened to him. Leo, however, still couldn't bring himself to get close to you.

"Have you thought about what I suggested?" Donnie asked you, helping you fix your laptop.

"The training thing?" You asked, shrugging your shoulders. "I don't know, Donnie."

"You're associated with us, which puts you in danger by default." He responded, pushing his glasses up. "We all agree you need to know how to protect yourself."

"Leo wasn't in on that." You told him, crossing your arms. "I don't think he wants me to."

"Don't be ridiculous, of course he does!" Donnie replied, playfully nudging your elbow.

"Leo doesn't like me, Donnie." You pointed out.

Leo could hear your conversation through the wall, unbeknownst to you and Donnie. He did like you, a lot, and that was his problem. April confronted him a few months ago about his withdrawn behavior and then she made him realize what he was feeling. Now everytime you're around, he feels like he has to avoid you more.

It wasn't that he didn't want to get to know you, in fact he knew a lot about you because he was observant. He knew your favorite foods, favorite movies, and he even knew how you took your tea/coffee. He's memorized your little quirks and how you laugh, hell he could even tell it was you by your footsteps.

He couldn't possibly tell you how he felt. He was sure of his feelings but it could never work. He was a turtle, you a human. He couldn't take you on dates or show you off to anyone. He couldn't buy you presents or marry you. If you wanted kids, he couldn't give you that. He couldn't provide for you like a human boyfriend would.

"I think you should talk to him." Donnie told you honestly. "He may be a prude sometimes but he isn't hard to talk to."

Gee thanks Donnie. Leo thought to himself, rolling his eyes.

"I think I will. Thanks, Dee." You told him, patting his arm.

Leo could tell you left the lab and was making your way to his room, so he quickly went back to cleaning his katana. He could smell your perfume/cologne as you came in to his doorway. At this moment, he hated his acute sense of smell.

"Yes?" Leo asked, not looking up from his katana.

"Leo," you started, "can we talk?"

Your voice was so sweet and how you said his name made him all the more queasy.

"What about?" He replied, looking up from his katana.

You were in his doorway, your arms around your stomach. Your cheeks were slightly flushed due to the coolness of the lair. Your body was so small in his eyes and your eyes, your eyes seemed a shade (eye color) brighter than normal. Your hair was slightly touseled and looked so soft.

"Um," you cleared your throat, "I just wanted to ask if I did something wrong?"

You could never do anything wrong.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his forehead crinkling in confusion.

"Well, you just seem to not like me very much and I just want to make sure I didn't offend or upset you." You explained, walking further in to his room.

"Oh." He cleared his throat. "No, no you didn't."

"Then...why do you avoid me...?" You carefully asked.

Leo froze. "I...don't mean to."

"But you do." You replied, your voice growing more confident.

Leo set his katana behind him and stood up. He stood a good foot taller than you. He adored that he was bigger than you and hated it at the same time. He hated it because you two couldn't sneak anywhere and loved it because he could easily shield you from harm.

"Look, Y/N, I can't afford to get close to many people." He said, crossing his arms. "It's dangerous."

"You got close to April and Casey..even Vern." You pointed out.

"That's different."

"How is that different?"

I care for you differently.

Leo didn't know how to respond to you. His body language was suggesting he was guarding himself. You now looked annoyed, almost hurt. You came late in the game no argument there, but that didn't mean you couldn't share a friendship like April's or like Casey's, even Vern's!

"It just is." He mumbled, looking down. He could see the hurt flash on your face, he felt ashamed.

"I have tried so hard to be nice to you and you can't even acknowledge me with a hi." You snapped, shaking your head.

"That's the problem!" He snapped. He couldn't help it.

"My niceness is the problem?" You asked, your eyebrows furrowing. "For God's sake, Leonardo, grow up!"

"That's not what I-" he sighed, running his hand over his face. "-I didn't mean it like that."

You shook your head. "Don't worry cause from this day forward, I won't be nice to you."

You turned on your heel and went to walk out but he grabbed your bicep gently.

"You have the most wonderful laugh." He admitted.

You slowly turned around. "What?"

"Your laugh...it's wonderful." He told you, swallowing thickly. "You have this-this thing you do when you're happy where your nose crinkles up."

"I don't understand." You said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Your niceness is a problem because it's giving me this problem and I can't shake it." Leo said, letting go of your bicep. "It's not that I don't like you, it's actually more than that."

"I'm listening." You said, crossing your arms.

Leo shuffled his feet awkwardly. How did humans do this? Never in his life had he ever had to be so vulnerable and openly admit to something so big, besides the purple ooze incident. He felt cornered, scared even, but not cause you're making him that way...but you are.

"You make me feel so weak but not in a harmful way, more like in my chest. I see you and I falter. I just," he shakes his head, "I can't get over what you've done to me. It's like it gets worse when you're here."

"You...don't like the way I make you feel?" You asked, confusion covering your face. You had an idea of what he was trying to say but you needed to hear exactly what it was. Leo was a man of few words so this word vomit he was giving you came as a huge surprise.

"You make my head spin everytime you laugh. You make my chest get this weird feeling everytime you walk in a room. Then when you're doing your job, it's something I could watch for hours and never get bored." He explained, walking closer to you. "But your smile and your kindness? Those make me so weak in the knees that I feel like I'll crumble."

"Leo..." You whispered, your breath hitching slightly at the closeness.

"I can't give you what you deserve." He mumbled. "You deserve proper dates and proper support and I can't give you that. I avoided you because I hated the fact that I can't have you how you deserve. I can't buy you things or give you children/adopt a child and I can't do spontaneous outings to public places." He shook his head. "You need someone-"

"-How do you know what I need?" You asked, putting your hands on his biceps.

His whole heart skipped a beat.

"Y/N-"

"-Let me finish." You cut him off again, looking up at his icy blue eyes. "I want someone who is kind and smart and selfless. Someone who has a back bone but is able to compromise. Someone who can make me laugh or keep me in check when I'm losing my mind. I want someone who can be my best friend, partner, and lover at the same time. I don't need fancy dates or-or gifts, and I don't need children. Leo," you moved your hands to his, "I need something real and someone who feels like home. I need someone who makes me feel safe and most importantly, loved and wanted."

Leo's much larger hands held yours securely. He knew you were being sincere but he was still scared. What would his father say? His brothers, what would they think? He had a city to protect and a family to watch out for.

"The risks-"

"-I know." You replied. "I can take it."

"Oh just kiss already!" Raph's voice rang through the wall, making you jump. "I'm tryna watch a movie!"

Leo groaned and glared at the wall. You, however, started to laugh.

"Raph!" Leo shouted in annoyance. He looked at you. "I'm sorry, where were we?"

You gave one last chuckle and reached up, cupping his face. "I think doing what Raph wants us to hurry up and do."

Leo only smiled at you before slowly leaning down, connecting his lips with yours. It was soft and a bit awkward due to it being his first ever kiss. He was a quick study and quickly learned the rhythm.

"Finally! Donnie!!! You owe me $20!" Mikey's voice rang from the door way. You jumped.

"Ow!" Leo yelped, holding his lip. "Mikey!"

"Uh oh." Mikey mumbled, running out of the door way.

You were biting back a smile as Leo went to run out after him, but not before giving you one last peck on the lips.

"Excuse me while I go kill him." Leo said, running out and after Mikey.

You shook your head and smiled. You can't take the boy out of the man, no matter how infacuated he is with you.

[madamscream]

Random headcanon time!

Pact marks have a default form they take, unique to the demon the pact is being formed with. Likewise, a human has the same that will appear on the demon when it's all said and done, unique to the individual.

With a bit of concentration and magic, though, one can change the form a mark takes. It's easiest if you can touch it, but a sufficiently powerful demon or sorcerer could do so from a long distance. Most marks typically remain in their default form, and it's typically considered rude to ask for a change in it. Likewise, it's often a very nice thing when an offer or request is made to change the form.

On the other hand, if a pacted pair have a very poor disposition to each other, sometimes they'll change the form of their mark to something unpleasant out of spite and without warning just to be an ass. (Asmodeus' pact mark on Solomon was once changed into a limp dick when they got in a fight. It stayed that way for a while, less because Asmo was still mad and more because the mark was presently on Solomon's ass and Asmo found it pretty funny. Early in Nightbringer, Barbatos' mark on him changed every time they interacted to depictions of Solomon in various states of dismemberment. After the conversation in the garden, he at least let it go back to default, at least.)

The placement of these marks reflects the feelings of the person who's mark you bear. It's significant, and there's some more general meanings to what a certain placement might indicate, but it's unique to the pair and variations from the norm are common, so a lot of time it's treated sort of like humans treat astrology. While neither party can control where a mark appears, it may change as disposition changes between them. Asmodeus in particular is fascinated with the sort of pseudoscience aspect of it and loves to watch MC's marks on them as well as his brothers and loudly predict what the placement might mean.

[salty-an-disco]

Hey bud! If you had to give your favorite voice a favorite movie, what would it be? And would their matching vessel like or dislike it?

I know this wasn’t the assigned task, but I couldn’t resist–

Here’s me headcanoing a fave film for every single voice and their respective princess’ opnion on it–

Hero: Shrek 2. No it is NOT just because of the Holding Out For a Hero scene, tho that is a very nice scene that always makes him start bouncing on his seat the moment it starts playing. It isn’t Default Princess’ favorite (she prefers Shrek 1), but she still appreciates the satire and subversion of common fairy tale tropes and the exploration of Shrek’s character here.

Contrarian: The Emperor’s New Groove. It’s memeable, it’s funny, it has such iconic characters, what else could he ask for? Stranger likes what they saw of it well enough, but they can’t really bring themselves to focus on a movie for the entirety of it. Would rather be doing something that requires them to be proactive.

Cheated: Fight Club. I haven’t watched Fight Club myself, but from what I hear from it, sounds like something Cheated might enjoy. Razor isn’t allowed anywhere near a TV.

Cold: Inside Out. Am I projecting? Yes. Do I care? Absolutely not. She watches Inside Out over and over again, imagining those little emotion guys as some of its friend, and getting a weird tight feeling in its chest when the control panel starts going gray because of Riley’s increasingly depressive state. Spectre likes the movie :)

Paranoid: Paranorman (I didn’t realize how similar those names are, but holy shit that’s funny), she finds Norman’s struggles to fit in and being seen as a ‘weirdo’ relatable and finds the way he’s fascinated with horror weirdly compelling. Both the fact it’s a stop-motion movie, and that it’s ‘children’s horror’ helps Paranoid feel safe watching it, and she doesn’t even jerks her arms once! Nightmare finds the zombies funny and gets… weirdly emotional during reveal at the end.

Hunted: The Lion King. It’s pretty, it’s colorful, the scenery and characters makes it feel at home, and it’s really compelled by the lion hamlet storyline. Beast tries to paw at every animal on screen and starts howling sadly when Mufasa dies.

Opportunist: Says it’s The Devil Wears Prada, but actually, it’s Legally Blond. The musical, specifically. Constantly has ‘Gay or European?’ playing in his head. Witch also loves The Legally Blond musical and is constantly grumpy that it’s also Oppy’s favorite.

Stubborn: Kung Fu Panda. It has FIGHTS, it has a panda struggle to become stronger, it has a compelling emotional core, he loves that shit! Adversary prefers John Wick, personally, but she’s also cheering for that white leopard guy every time he’s on screen (yeah, she knows he’s the villain, so what?).

Broken: Winnie the Pooh. It’s comforting and so nice to watch! It always makes them feel better. Tower doesn’t concern herself with this kind of leisure.

Smitten: The Princess Bride. Do I need to explain this one? Damsel also likes it, though she prefers Enchanted; especially the animated bits, she finds animation much more compelling than live action. :D

Skeptic: Knives Out. The mystery is compelling, the characters are engaging, and the set design! Skeptic could spend hours dissecting every frame of this movie and he did. Prisoner thought the culprit was too easy to figure out.

Extras–

Long Quiet is very fond of the Rio movie, while Shifty really likes Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (she’s also fond of The Lego Movie :))