#scene and too normal for them and the circumstances they're in <3

[maddy-ferguson]

i feel like being a bit of a hypocrite is inherent to choosing a side in a love triangle and i don't mind idc i will always be a hypocrite

[anakirui]

so i had this crazy idea (theory time?)

i'm pretty sure this person is actually just straight up xander. which has various implications that i will elaborate on below the cut

here's why this person could be xander

first off, the bloody fork in the background reminds me of xander's eye wound, which i have provided a photo of here;

the claw marks made to gouge his eye out look like they could be done by a fork, if enough force was used by the assailant. the wound also seems fresh, and xander doesn't remember where it came from.

second off, the fact that the mystery character talks about a person using she/her pronouns attacking them. i believe this person is teruko, based off the fact that they're the only character the mystery character namedrops, especially since teruko uses she/her and this character was very recently attacked (as in, them holding a grudge for their injury would make sense).

these ideas are also supported by this scene, also at the very beginning of the prologue;

xander's wound reopened when teruko bumped into him, showing how recent the injury must be, as well as potentially foreshadowing the fact that she is (most likely) his assailant.

and also, this person has the same convictions that xander shows prior to his death; to end the killing game (and later, to kill teruko).

so... what about the note? who gave xander the note telling him to kill teruko, and if he is the prologue character, why would he even need a note telling him to kill teruko?

as of right now, i believe that xander actually wrote the note. at least, whatever xander from the circumstances of the prologue did. xander, as we know him normally, has the same memory loss as all the other students, so it's possible a note would have to be written for him so that he would remember to carry this out.

i think the answer as to how xander wrote this note for himself at a different time than the present is related to the nature of drdt's killing game; in other words, i don't have any concrete evidence, unless if anyone wants to hear my speculation on how this killing game might work.

however, we must also address the elephant in the room;

this line.

this line suggests that someone else has told xander to kill teruko, which i think is why we've all been focusing on who could've convinced xander to kill her.

the trick to this question is that i don't think that's how it's supposed to be answered; it's unlikely anyone else besides xander could, except for maybe the mastermind (which creates more questions than answers)

after all, xander hasn't known anyone there for more than 3 days, except for david (parasocially), so i sincerely doubt anyone in the killing game cast could convince xander to kill teruko (based off what we know so far).

and contrary to popular opinion, i don't think david wrote the note. in my opinion, this contradicts david's characterization, especially in the recently released ch2 ep12. this whole time, he's been justifying and excusing xander's actions (something he's done since the chapter 1 trial), wholeheartedly believing that xander must have had a "good reason" all because david was a fan of him prior to them meeting. i also think xander's ideals are too strong for him to instantly believe a note that david wrote, and he'd most likely become disillusioned with david and begin to dislike him; most likely believing in the rumors he's heard about him prior as well.

but... if xander himself wrote the note, and if xander knew it had to be himself who wrote it based off whatever information was in the rest of that note; then he'd be compelled to follow through with his own judgment, regardless of his own doubts. this is why when he starts talking to himself after stabbing teruko, he's asking why "you" (himself) asked him to kill teruko. it's self-directed to someone who has to be him but that he can't fully understand because of his lost memories, hence why xander almost seems to separate himself from the situation.

idk how well this will hold up in the future but yeaahhh

[alvivaarts]

How does mer Leon go through labor and delivery?

Oooh! This idea got me thinking of a scene, which got me drawing for four straight days. (The page is divided, but warning for those who aren't a fan of viewing birth, blood, or 'eggs' - clear eggs? I'll get into it. They aren't actually eggs.) Anyway, full image below the break! Let's get into how it works first.

Anatomical charts/explanations and more below the cut!

Anatomically and reproductively, most species of mer fall into the first example- the male can deposit genetic material into the female, the eggs in the female are fertilized, though females have a very long/large clitoral structure that is perfectly positioned to get into the male's 'sheath'. This locks them together fairly well and is the reason that mers tend to produce very quickly and in large numbers (though infant/childhood survival rates are another discussion altogether).

Leon, Ada, and their other pod members fall into another category: Their reproductive anatomy is very unique in that the interlock is very initially hard to get. The female also has a structure that comes out of her sheath very similar to that of a female hyena- there is a hole along the shaft that allows her eggs to be deposited elsewhere. Again, much like seahorses, this species found it more beneficial to have females deposit the eggs into a pseudo-womb in the male, which is either self fertilized by the male, or fertilized by other males. This way, the females can get right back to producing eggs and gathering enough nutrients to feed the young when they're born- which helps, because their infancy survival rate is much lower and their prime living conditions are much more particular. It also works out well, considering the social structure of most mers is already extremely matriarchal- so the eggs would be safer in the parent/guardian that's remaining in the den/home territory area. However, under extreme circumstances, females can and will carry their own eggs. They also vary in that they carry for 3 months longer than other species (ranging from 9-10 months), with fewer pups upon birth, and there's practically no 'egg stage', eggs are broken immediately after birth if it's safe to do so.

Ada and Leon's (and Luis', though none of them knew that at the time) gestated for about 9.5 months. They were hanging out on the beach, though Leon had to stay in the shallows because it was far too much of a hassle for him to move on land. While he had experienced contractions in the months leading up to it, once the actual contractions hit, so did the new stress hormones, which tipped off Ada and Jill. They made their way down to deal with it. It should be noted that, at this time, Luis had been allowed to interact freely with the pod and was recognized as Leon and Ada's mate, however, being human, Jill wasn't thrilled on him being present for the birth or being directly in their den. (Also considering they were still being documented pretty thoroughly and it was pretty much a must for Luis to record what happened, at least for his fellow researchers). Leon had already insisted, however, so he was pretty quick to get geared up and come down. Normally births happen in a den, but the birth actually ended up happening outside the den. Though they did initially get there to hunker down in one of the bottom alcoves, the labor was taking about an hour and a half at that point, and Leon was getting restless. It actually ended up happening just outside their den while Luis kept his distance (for his own safety, considering Jill in particular was getting very territorial).

Of course Ada was present, though he was assisted by Jill (her being their matriarch and his defacto sister) and Sherry (considering she was already courting at the time and would likely have to assist her own mates in the future). Manuela and Ashley were a bit too icked and ended up cheering from the sidelines while their other pod members patrolled to keep any blood-scenting predators away from the area. Thankfully, they're already located in a very safe area, with lots of protection from the neighboring pod, so it went off without a hitch.

That didn't make it any less painful, though, and it's not like mers have access or the tools to use painkillers. The full labor was fairly quick and took about two hours, with a lot of yelling, swearing, wiggling and pushing. Ada helped a bit by pushing with her own hands, though she became pretty occupied as soon as the first pup was born. She was pretty quick to nurse all of them, though three total pups came out. Normally mers will 'wet nurse' for each other, but they weren't able to do it within their own pod, so they had to wait until Ada's cousin from the neighboring pod could come over (considering she'd recently had her own pups).

Lillie was born first, with a half hour gap between Lucia and Amaya... who were pretty obviously also Luis'. Which led to some shit for him on the surface, but hey, new babies!

Sorry for the extremely long post!

[dimonds456-but-only-hlvrai]

Can I just say I love the shipping scene in HLVRAI? Like, I've never been in a fandom where it's been this CHILL before. Each ship has appeal and could actually work (unless you're intentionally being weird about it, but I haven't really encountered those people, this is personal experience here), and it's just so-!

Frenrey is wonderful because they're both silly, if those two met under different circumstances you KNOW they'd be friends, and it can be about forgiveness and healing. I love that.

Freelatta is great because Tommy and Gordon always have each others' backs, and those two will see each other through thick and thin.

Sodashipping is delightful because Darnold and Tommy just click SO WELL, they have a lot of common interests outside of soda, and you guys who give Darnold a dog as well as so correct about that omg.

Darzen is really fun because these two have never once interacted in canon but so easily could have. Like Forzen probably had to go through that area to progress as well, what hijinx would they get into?

I don't see Gordon and Forzen being shipped just the two of them often (shoutout to hlvrv, that was unexpected but really fun), but that's another instance I could also see. They're polycule a lot of the time, which hell yeah.

Tomrey is awesome because of the pre-established friendship between Benrey and Tommy, how even down to the final wire Benrey didn't really want to hurt Tommy. Outside of shipping their relationship is just wonderful.

Darnrey is also fun in that regard. Gamer partners.

Benzon as well. This one really depends on your interpretation of canon but it's always fun when it pops up again. The history between those two has so much potential. I don't personally ship this one but it's always fun to explore.

Another I don't have the name for but Darnold and Gordon. Orang. And just the unconditional support from Darnold- wonderful.

Frenreylatta is just delightful. Like you take all the best parts of frenrey, tomrey, and freelatta and put them in a blender and you get pure wholesomeness. I fucking love this one. Absolute winner. And I also really love how usually depictions of this one don't hide the part parts, either, but it's still a generally more supportive relationship overall. Five stars.

Frenreylattarnold is also just *chef's kiss*. Darnold just brings a vibe to the group they don't otherwise have. It simultaneously makes it more chill and more chaotic.

Again I don't know the name, but add Forzen into the mix and you have a really fun, complex dynamic of people who just love each other. I'm so fucking here for it.

I know I'm missing some but AOUGH

I can't not talk about my favorite ship here, though. Boomer sweep. Boomer wins. Every time boomer pops up on my feed I get so fucking happy. Chaos grandpas who fucking love and support each other SO unconditionally. They work through their trauma together while committing crimes. The stark contrasts between them also aid wonderfully to their dynamic, like how Coomer doesn't like video games while Bubby is a speedrunner. They each have their own lives but they want to spend them together. NO I'M NORMAL DID YOU KNOW THAT I SWEAR I'M NORMAL-

Gubby's a fun one, too, and from my understanding that one's a rarepair. But yeah, putting Bubby's firey personality next to Gman's calm and collected one creates a lot of fun opportunities, and helps explore the differences between Half Life and HLVRAI Gman in more in-depth ways. It's always fun when it pops up again, I love it. (Shoutout to catloki for this one.)

I don't member the ship name but adding Coomer in there is also really fun. Chaos grandpas take over the world together <3

I haven't seen Coomer and Gman being shipped individually before but I could also see that one. Coomer would be able to simultaneously meet Gman where he's at while also encouraging him to step outside his comfort zone, and also probably being a terrible influence on him gGFDHSJAKGF.

All this to say I'm not really a shipper. These guys could be just friends and I'd be okay with that, which I guess lends itself to the RTVS crew and how well they all stepped into character. Everyone just has dynamics with each other, that come out naturally, and makes it easy for us to really see where each relationship could go.

I just fucking love this fandom.

[jadevine]

Horse knowledge, Tom Burke, and Game of Thrones when it was MOSTLY good.

Like many people, I've been devouring gif-sets from Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga with Tom Burke in them.

I am also constantly seeing "Tom Burke as Praetorian Jack" next to "Tom Burke as Athos" from The Three Musketeers, because Tom is also in that series. Such a hilarious contrast, lmao.

I'm betting his cast-mates just had a blast seeing him covered in dirt and gunning a War Rig through the Wasteland.

Apparently in The Three Musketeers, Tom could barely get off his horse, so the cameras had to keep cutting from "Tom is riding a horse" to "Tom is back on the ground! You saw how the other guys got off their horses, right??? That's... that's also how HE did it, yep!" and I have so many questions, lmao.

The Three Musketeers, and Tom Burke's adaptation of the novel called "The Musketeers," is a story set in the 1600s!

A lot of actors take a few weeks of riding lessons so they don't die when they get on a horse, because it's a great skill if you need to audition for a fantasy/period piece. If you end up in a LOT of fantasy/period pieces, you have a high likelihood of being an ACTUAL rider, like Viggo Mortensen.

In The Musketeers, Tom Burke is playing one of the titular musketeers, whose JOB is to ride horses and fight, so I'm guessing he got a BIT more instruction than "how to not die."

Dismounting a horse should NOT be hard, coming from a novice and very short horse rider! Right after your first hour of How To Not Die On A Horse, you switch one leg to the other side and jump off. And... yeah, that's it. That's all I can instruct people about "dismounting a horse" without having an actual horse to demonstrate. Details vary, but the basics are the same!

Normally if someone "can't get off the horse," it's because they're sick/injured or disabled, or because they're a young child who is really tiny and really fragile, so it's safer to get someone else to lift them off.

I hate using this particular scene for "how would people get helped on or off of a horse?" but in Game of Thrones, the short teenage girl is Daenerys (played by Emilia Clarke) and she's just married a huge and muscular warlord named Drogo (played by Jason Momoa).

Context: Daenerys probably knows HOW to ride, but she's currently scared out of her mind. She's having an arranged marriage--she knows nothing about Drogo besides "he's a foreign warlord, and my brother needs his army," she can't even tell her new husband "thank you for this beautiful horse" in his language, and her dress is gauzy and see-through silk that's wayyyyyy too expensive for riding.

At 3:50 minutes, Drogo just picks her up and sticks her on the horse, and that's pretty much how you'd lift someone off a horse if they can't dismount normally.

I'm Filipino and trying to less-fetishize Khal Drogo in this Medieval European Analog story, so going on how Drogo's later shown to be VERY well-spoken in his native language Dothraki, I guess he's thinking "Goddamn, my new wife is tiny. But I already gave her this horse in public--even if she's okay switching it out, everyone ELSE will ask questions if her 'wedding horse' is a foot shorter than it used to be. Is she gonna grow more? Can she mount up without stairs? FUCK THAT, STAIRS ARE FOR PUSSIES. I'M THE STAIRS. YOINK!"

But see, Tom Burke is an adult, there are no extenuating circumstances like "being married to a MASSIVE foreigner that you've met exactly once," and he's SIX FEET TALL! Tom should NOT need Jason Momoa to lift him on or off a horse!

An average horse who's big enough to carry most adults is about 15 hands high, or MY height (5 feet tall). "The Musketeers" show does have the pitfall of having FRENCHMEN in the 1600s riding practically-modern FRIESIAN horses from the Netherlands, probably because Friesians have nice hair, but height-wise, they're not known to be VERY tall.

Here's a shot of Athos/Tom leading his good Dutch boy, Roger!

Tom/Athos is at least a head above Roger! Friesians are thick-boned and often burly for their height, so Tom/Athos still looks just fine in the shots I've seen of him riding in "The Musketeers." And like... he literally looks okay while riding in the screenshots, since he's never clinging on for dear life or looking like he's about to fall off.

If he was just terrible at riding in general, they probably wouldn't have picked him for the show, or if they really liked his chemistry and acting but knew he would die on a horse, they'd get a riding double for him specifically.

How did Tom fuck up "getting off a horse" so badly that everyone went "nope, we're not filming that"??? And did he just never get better at it for TWO WHOLE YEARS, or was he a mysteriously slow learner when it came to exactly one aspect of horse riding???

[sapphire-weapon]

Resident Evil 4 Remake's story is structured like the plot of a romance novel: master post

A few months ago, I wrote up a very quick and dirty outline/explanation of how Resident Evil 4 Remake's story had been restructured from the original game to follow the story beats of a romance novel. At the time, I didn't think it was all that important to explain it super in-depth, but now that more and more people are looking at it, I figured I should probably explain what I mean with each of these beats lmao

1) Call to Adventure / The Meet Cute

All that a meet-cute actually is is the scene in which the characters that the romance is centered around meet for the first time. The intention is to show an initial spark between the characters -- they meet under bizarre/unexpected circumstances and, at some point, both characters become aware of just how significant it is, even if neither says anything about it.

Leon and Ashley's meet-cute starts with her swinging a candelabra at his head and ends with Leon holding her in his arms out in the rain for a period of time that is absolutely too long to be normal for the circumstance. They lock eyes in this moment, and it's meant to be seen as Significant.

2) Refusal of the Call / Rejection of the Relationship

This is the "I'm just imagining things" reaction to the significance of the meet-cute. Both characters treat the spark as though it never happened -- and, usually, it's because there's other external factors influencing their ability or willingness to follow the trail of that spark and see where it goes. Instead of going "Hey, you're cute, can I get your number?" both characters just jump straight to "Well, anyway --" and go back to living their own independent lives apart from each other.

After they both snap out of that weird trance they were in after Leon caught Ashley out the window of the church, he goes right back to treating her like a mission objective, and she just has absolutely no idea what to make of him at all. Ashley spends the next few sections of gameplay in shock and disbelief with lines like "Seriously, this cannot be happening." and "I just wanna go home..." Leon ignores all of her complaints, keeps her moving even when she asks for a break, and doesn't really speak much to her at all other than to bark orders at her.

3) Acceptance of the Quest / Giving the relationship a chance

Something Happens that forces both characters back into each other's lives and/or personal attention, and they both find that they do Like each other, actually -- even if that feeling of "like" isn't anything super significant. It could be something as simple as realizing that they enjoy the other's company and wanting to see/talk to the other more often.

This arguably starts when Leon and Ashley first run into the cabin and Leon puts a comforting hand on her back that he absolutely did did not have to put there -- but it's definitely in full swing after the cabin sequence is over. Personally, I would say that it's the revelation about Ashley having a plaga in her that's the Something that Happens between them. The whole mission starts to become a whole lot more personal, because now it's not just about surviving and escaping -- now it's about making sure that Ashley stays Ashley.

She starts to open up to him more, and he suddenly becomes much warmer towards her, as well. He's quick to reassure her ("I won't let that happen. I promise.") and not only responds to her when she talks, but also begins talking to her unprompted as well.

This is also the first time Leon ever tries hitting on Ashley with the "Seems this isn't your first time running from creeps" line, and it fails spectacularly.

4) Trials and Temptations / Three Dates

This one is probably the one that needed the most explaining LMAO I shouldn't have let this one go. The "three dates" don't have to/usually aren't meant to be actual, literal dates in romance novels. They're just three significant events that happen between the couple that builds and then reinforces their bond. (It also doesn't necessarily have to be three -- some stories only do two, some do five, etc. The point is that Things Are Happening that strengthen the relationship.)

That is why I said that their three "dates" are:

1) Ashley busting the window open after the Mendez boss fight, helping brush the embers off of Leon, and helping to pull him to his feet. This is the first time the two of them actually smile at each other and the first time they start to act as a team.

2) Salazar's introduction ("The girl's just fine. With me."). Leon wants so badly to be that cool guy in an 80s movie who shows up out of nowhere and puts his arm around a beautiful girl and looks at some dickhead harassing her and goes "This guy giving you a hard time, babe?" This is the closest he's ever gotten to and will ever get to being that in his life. He's not cool enough to ever actually be that guy for real.

3) The road to the Water Hall (Leon jumping across the chandeliers + this is the first time the "knight and the princess" allegory is stated) (You could also include the Garrador here, because if you take Ashley down there after the fact, there's special dialogue that happens that's... God, Leon sucks at this whole flirting thing. He just sucks, dude.)

5) Midpoint Crisis / I-need-you-but-can’t-have-you

Everything is going so well... until it isn't anymore. The three dates have given the couple a glimpse of how special and important this relationship could be, which is great -- until it becomes a problem. One of the characters gets freaked out by the intensity of the relationship and pulls back out of fear, because there's something else happening in their life that's bigger than either character and more important to be addressed.

In Leon and Ashley's case, it's Ashley's plaga. Saddler takes control of her briefly and gets a hold of Leon's knife, stabs him, and then threatens to cut her own throat. When his hold over her breaks, she's terrified. She needs Leon now more than ever because of this, but she's more afraid of hurting him than losing herself, so she runs away from him in tears.

6) The Road Back / Pulling Back Together

Basically, the plot forces the couple back together, and -- due to the raw, open vulnerability caused by the Midpoint Crisis -- their bond is stronger than ever. The feelings change from "yeah, I like them" to "I want them." Real intimacy starts to form and build here, because the interest in and attraction to each other is allowed by both characters to be acknowledged. This is usually where the sexual tension starts to really kick into high gear, and the audience is just waiting for that moment when it all breaks open.

This starts with the pep talk that Leon gives Ashley when he finds her again -- which is romantically framed and coded with its imagery and cinematography. It continues through the entire Grand Hall segment, which includes the moment in the game in which Leon is at his boldest in terms of expressing his attraction to her. This is the point in the game in which their relationship is at its most playful. They tease each other and flirt and pass compliments back and forth -- and, for a while, it feels like the two of them are unstoppable and able to take on the world together.

7) The Fall

"The fall" is the shortened version of "The moment they actually fall in love." It's the "oh god, I think I love them" moment. The two characters do not necessarily have to admit to each other that they've experienced "the fall" -- and usually, at least one of them doesn't. But they both experience that moment where it hits them.

We see Ashley "fall" at the start of her gameplay segment, where she takes Leon's earlier words to heart and draws strength from them. ("I won't run. Wait for me, Leon.") He's inspired her to strive to be more than she is, and she embraces the way that he makes her feel, in that moment.

We see Leon "fall" as soon as he catches the key that she tosses down to him. He looks up at her with stars in his eyes and offers to catch her if she jumps down. An interesting detail to note is that this is the first and one of the only times in RE4make that Nick Apostolides reverts to using the tone/voice that he used for Leon in RE2make. It's soft and sweet and gentle as he makes her an offer that has no reason to be made, just for the sake of getting to hold her in his arms again.

And, in order to drive home the point, this all happens during a scene that was framed, shot, and directed to mirror/mimic the balcony scene in Romeo & Juliet.

8) Dark moment / The Break Up

Once again, Something Happens and comes between them -- and this one is way, way worse than the Midpoint Crisis. This isn't "I'm scared to be with you" -- it's "I can't be with you." Hope for the relationship is completely lost, and both characters become overwhelmed in their individual despair.

Verdugo breaks them up physically -- not once, but twice. And that second time involves Leon being forced to watch Ashley endure Salazar's weird "ritual" and be unable to stop it or do anything to help her. He just has to sit with that failure and suffer through it until he's literally thrown away and discarded while Ashley screams his name.

When Leon finally finds Ashley again, we see him confront the one moment in the game when he honestly, truly loses hope. He sits down on the floor at Ashley's bedside, and there's nothing more that he can do than wait for her to wake up. Some part of him has already become convinced that they won't make it out of there alive -- not both of them, at least. Not together. And he's ready to commit suicide as a contingency plan.

9) The Sacrifice

This is the "do or die" moment for the relationship in a romance novel. This is the moment where the decision is made to confront not just the external force keeping them apart, but also the internal flaws that are feeding into that avoidant urge. The couple decides that their desire to be together is stronger and more important than whatever fear or force is holding them back, and though it's terrifying to do it, they stand up for the relationship in the face of opposition.

In RE4make, we see this play out through the sequence in which Leon carries Ashley to Luis's lab and how the two of them, against all physical and mental odds, manage to remove each other's plagas. This is especially emotionally significant for Leon, who says the words out loud: "This time, it has to be different..." He's openly acknowledging that his trauma from Raccoon City is what made him so ready to pull the trigger on himself back in that holding cell. Here, now, he puts his foot down, confronts that trauma, and says "No. I have to beat this."

And he does, even at great physical cost to himself. But the sacrifice was worth it, because it was for her.

10) Declaration

In a very literal sense, it's the declaration of love. It's an outward, spoken confirmation of the bond they share, now that the trial from the Sacrifice has been overcome. Traditionally in romance novels, this happens with the actual words "I love you."

But RE4make isn't a traditional romance novel, and Capcom has an entire fanbase of angry nerds who take fictional relationships too seriously to navigate through. So, instead of an explicit "I love you" what we got instead was an explicit verbal confirmation of their bonded status as a team.

"Hey... We're a team, right?"

"Keep this up? I'll be out of a job."

11) The HEA

"HEA" stands for "Happily ever after."

While I could (and did) say that Leon and Ashley literally ride off into the sunrise together, that does feel disingenuous. Even though it's true and the imagery is there, they don't really have a happily ever after. Not really. This is the only part that's missing from RE4make.

And that's because RE4make isn't just a romance on its own -- it's a fairy tale set inside of a story that's self-aware and knows that fairy tales aren't real. And so both Leon and Ashley wake up from this shared dream of a romance they've been having, as reluctantly as they do, because it's time for them to come back to reality.

Fairy tales aren't real. Romance novels aren't real.

Their feelings are real. But life doesn't work that way. Not for them.

They may not have a happily ever after, but they do have this moment to be together -- and for them, it's enough.

Because it has to be.

[itsjaywalkers]

Ok I’m curious af so rank your jegulus’s from most kinky to least kinky. If you would like to include examples they are more than welcome but not necessary.

Thank you for your time,

Kink Nonnie

THIS ONE IS SOOOO FUN i'm always down to talk about kink especially if it's related to jeggy <333 and since most of my wips haven't been posted yet i don't wanna give too many examples bc . spoilers . but i can share a few things ofc!! here we go <3

boxer au jeggy. god they're always at the top this is starting to get emabrrassing but it's true !! it's my filthiest james without a doubt and reg is also quite the menace in this one. we're talking exhibitionism vouyeurism edging overstimulation dom/sub dynamics spanking slapping etc etc. james gets aggressive and possessive and reg turns into putty in his hands BUT they also switch and reg absolutely fucks the cockiness out of james until he's a crying writhing mess. but yeah they have no shame and they'd try everything under the sun. also if one of my jeggys had a pissing kink, it'd be them 100%

feeling good jeggy. new entrance!! the 2nd place used to belong to oby BUT i've been . outlining a bit more of this fic and had a few realisations. we're talking corruption kink virginity kink spit kink a bit of exhibitionism and possibly some cnc too!! this james may not be as filthy (sexually wise) as boxer au james buuuuuut he's meaner and a shittier person and he's only here to seduce regulus and steal all his money (at first) so he pulls all the stops <3 they're quite wild and this reg begins as my most "innocent" inexperienced one and ends up becoming . well . something else entirely

oby jeggy. my beloveds <3 we already know most of their kinks by heart, and even though all of my james have some level of oral fixation, oby james wins!! he can come just by eating reg out and he's happy whenever he gets him to sit on his face. they almost never do it in a bed like normal people, or even in either of their flats. the riskier the place, the better, and they're gonna end up traumatising someone at this rate. also <3 kings of the daddy kink <3 i think fucked up road trip jeggy have it too, and probably also boxer au jeggy but they're the blueprint!! especially bc it wasn't even planned in the first place

nothing happens jeggy. they used to be a bit lower but i've realised a few things about them too lately.. their dirty talking goes HARD because nh james needs urgent psychological help (reg too tbh) and he gets very cruel and degrading sometimes. they also have a severe breeding kink and . kinda a cheating kink like . it doesn't start that way but at a certain point i think they find it very hot, the fact that the other is always gonna cheat for them!! or at least reg does, bc we all know james takes a while to realise what he's been doing it's actual cheating. there's also a scene in which james forces reg to call his bf at the time while he's fucking him................... Yeah

fucked up road trip fic jeggy. they're quite kinky but since they're in a life or death situation and surrounded by quite a few ppl and getting some time alone is very difficult . they can never get as kinky as they could in different circumstances yk? they do have a daddy kink and there's quite the age gap!! also the fact that james is married and his son is only like . 5 years younger than reg . which is definitely Something . also the desperation whenever they fuck is at a whole other level bc they come close to dying a few times (and they might actually die at the end of the story.......... i'm still debating it tbh). and also they make out/have actual sex in very vulnerable moments or after someone else has been killed or tortured which is lowkey questionable so

making ghosts jeggy. again at the end </3 my poor babies they deserve better.. nah but seriously this place is mostly due to the fact that it’s my softest story and not as explicit or sex heavy as some of my other stories!! this is my most submissive james without a doubt tho and there’s a lot of begging and teasing and trying to keep quiet when they fuck behind closed door bc they keep their relationship secret for . a While . there’s this scene of sirius talking to james through his bedroom door and very confused bc james won’t let him in while reg is sucking james off on the other side.. so yeah very kinky still <3

[valentinedaughtler]

Tainted Opal (Part 4)

Kaz Brekker x fem!reader

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

T/Ws: violence, romantic feelings, blood, mild spice scenes sometimes, fem!reader and she/her pronouns, sexual abuse/trauma (not explicit)

Synopsis: When Pirates attempt to rob the crows, you use your tailor abilities to trick them. You attempt to open up to Kaz.

REQUESTS: OPEN✅

____________________________________________

4 - Tattoos on Her Chest

Kaz's perspective

As I sorted through paperwork, organizing the Crow Club's bills, I heard the clunking of boots. The soles must be rubber if the sound echoed that such a way through the cabin, I concluded. Inej would have come silently, so it must be Y/n. She wasn't known for her stealth. In fact—everywhere she went, sun beams seemed to radiate off of her, it was the only logical reason for why her skin was always so gleaming... and perfect.

The door of my —Y/n's- office swung open with the gleaming sunbeam herself gripping the knob, her knuckles white from the intense hold she had on it. The color had drained from her face, distress took the place of her normally flirty expression. I rose from my desk quickly, I must have looked a bit frazzled, insomnia was beginning to set in.

"What made you burst in? Did Jesper and Wylan light something on fire-?" I asked with an irritated stare. The Crows were too rambunctious in the morning, I thought.

She seemed to be struggling to speak— she actually looked quite nauseous. Y/n only made a few noises that didn't quite string into proper sentences before she finally blurted out a single squeak of a word;

"Pirates," her voice laced with panic. "Their war flag is up. They're going to attempt to pillage us, kill the men, take the women-," I cut off her spiraling rambles with a gruff demand,

"Stop, that's not helpful right now," her frantic yammering was only going to cloud her judgement. I'd never seen her like this before, though I hadn't known her long. She seemed to unravel by the sight of the pirates, but how did she know about their war flags-? I attempted to create a theory from the evidence present, but

Y/n's heavy breathing warped into a small scream.

"Kaz, get Wylan to have explosives ready, the rest of the crew should be hiding on deck, armed," she commanded to me. There was a glint in her eyes, the spark of a leader who was born to bark out orders and demand respect. "You, and the rest of the Crows, under no circumstances,  interject or fire unless I give the signal to do so." She made a quick hand movement to indicate a 'signal' before leaving the office in a hurry. As she left I saw her hands meeting, beginning to work Grisha magic.

After alerting the Crows of the battle about to commence, we slipped into the blind spots of the boat. An upbringing in Ketterdam didn't teach you how to play sports in or write cursive, but it sure as hell taught you to hide, and hide well at that.

I watched Y/n with a keen gaze as she sauntered up the the edge of the deck, locking eyes with a scruffy man on the approaching ship. He seemed to be Captain, based on his gold-plated teeth and pockets stuffed with coins from various regions. The people accompanying him had torn clothes and were decorated with far less jewelry as well.

The captain let out a bellowing laugh as he unsheathed his curved saber. He pointed it at Y/n with a cocky grin before greeting her with a voice that sounded like what eating sandpaper would do to a person.

"Ay, little lady, where be your captain?" His crew drew their swords, looking hungry for a fight.

"You're staring right at her, darling," Y/n replied with a sweet, voice. Like drizzling hot maple syrup onto fresh, thick pancakes. A delicacy for me, but one worth the buck.

The opposing ship became an uproar of laughter, and the captain fell to his knees from cackling excessively. Y/n flashed an expression of disgust, but her demeanor remained poised. I watched closely as she drew a silver pistol from her pants pocket, and with a loud bang, a bullet pierced through the Captian's tricorne hat. Y/n blew the smoke away from the gun barrel and with a flick of her wrist it was back in her pocket. That was one of Jesper's moves. I eyed the sharpshooter himself as he hid behind a few crates on the far right deck. He smiled with pride as he watched Y/n.

The enemy ship went silent, the soft sloshing of the sea was the only audible noise.

"You should treat me with some saints damn respect," Y/n purred as she walked to the very ledge of the deck, leaning against the railing casually. "Do you know who I am?"

The Captain turned red in the face, making him look like a giant tomato. He clenched his sword-less fist, but I saw wary in his eyes. You could tell by the way his eyebrows furrowed for a split second.

"A bitch is what you are!" The gold-toothed man yelled as he pointed his sword at Y/n. She payed his gesture no mind before beginning to unbutton her white, collared shirt. I felt blood rush to my face and heat creeped up on my cheeks.

More of Y/n's  glittering skin was exposed the more buttons she released. I scolded myself for such a foolish observation and gulped. The Captain noticed too, his eyes peering at her chest with a thirst. "You're not a just a bitch, but a whore-... too," his last word seemed to squeak out before his breath hitched. His eyes widened, and he stumbled backwards.

My curiosity peaked as I saw what he was so distressed about. On the lower skin of Y/n's right collarbone, but high on her chest, was a crest; a tattoo. It depicted a tentacled sea monster consuming a cracked human skull. It had no meaning to me, but it seemed to be significant to the horrified Captain.

"How-? You're- shit... I-," the man sputtered to get words out, but no sentences seemed to form. His tied tongue must have been caught in his throat because he began to have a coughing fit.

"Yes, yes. Daddy is the head of the Kraken Killers," Y/n said with the scoff of a spoiled girl, "I've heard it all before, seen it all before. You reaction bores me." She whined with crossed arms.

"I'm so sorry-"

"You apology is worthless to me, but if you spot me a few dabloons, maybe Daddy doesn't have to know about the rude names you called his only daughter," she winked and turned around to face us, the crew. Her expression was hard; demanding, she wanted us to stay right where we were.

After a few minutes of panicked treasure-nabbing on the opposing boat, the Captain scurried out from the lower deck with a dark, wooden chest.

"Throw it in our boat, ya' big lug," Y/n ordered with a dismissive wave of her hand, not even bothering to turn back around. As the chest hit the deck with a kachunk, the opposing boat's Grisha members drew enough wind into the sails to make it far away from us, and fast.

Y/n smiled once they were long gone, hunching her shoulders and softening her expression. She sighed with relief.

"Well, wasn't that eventful," her nervous chuckle was as sweet as her voice, but it had a slight grit to it, as if it were granulated sugar, rather than syrup. The other Crows stared in shock as Y/n began sifting through the chest of treasures. She seemed to meld into 'characters' so easily when a situation needed resolving, and she was damn good at it. I ignored my growing admiration as we all walked over to Y/n. She buttoned up her shirt, but not before I noticed that the tattoo on her chest had changed, instead of the Kraken Killers', it was a spindly mouse skeleton draped over a dark flower. I said nothing, but my suspicions rose. Her history with the sea was apparent.

"You used the pistol trick I taught you," Jesper said with a grin. Everyone began to congratulate Y/n on such a performance, and laughter became as infectious as an outbreak of Firepox. Even the Fjerdan Bull-sized man seemed happy. As everyone began claiming treasure, Y/n looked back down at her chest, now covered by clothing.

"My tailoring abilities really came in handy for making that Crest tattoo!" She laughed along with everyone else, but it was the only notable thing anyone said that night. I waited until everyone made their way to begin their daily tasks before approaching Y/n.

I attempted to make the sound of my cane quiet as I snaked my way over to her. She was tying the ropes at the mass to adjust the sails properly.

"You don't have to try to sneak up on everyone, Kaz," a soft chuckle escaped her mouth as she says this, spinning around to face me. "Let's leave the spying for Inej," she winked. Her body lay against the mass, a smirk playing on his lips.

"You know an awful lot about boats and pirate terminology for a tailor who faked a Crest tattoo of a Pirate gang," my gaze was harsh, pouring into her Siren-like eyes. Just looking at her felt like a trap. Her shoulders stiffened and her lower lip quivered. As she was about to speak when I interrupted her, "you're about to lie, just spit out the truth. I already saw your real crest anyway." She cocked an eyebrow, as if saying, prove it. "It's a mouse skeleton and a flower; a black rose."

Her eyes narrowed, pupils covered by thick eyelashes. She huffed.

"You're not gonna trust me until I tell you, are you?" She grumbled, glaring at me.

"If looks would kill, I'd be as well off as the Captain if he didn't surrender," my backhanded compliment seemed to only frustrate her more. "But I'm alive, so starting talking."

As the sunlight caressed her cheek in dapples, she turned away from me, storming down into the cabin. Her clunky boots were even more audible than they were this morning.

"Are you coming? I thought you wanted to hear my whole life story," her voice echoed from the stairs and the tone felt like a smack in the face as I heard it. Nothing I hadn't dealt with before. I walked down the creaky stairs and slipped into the dimly lit office, where little Mrs. Sunshine was scowling at me from the desk's leather seat. "I ran away for a reason,"

_______________

Word Count: 1761

_______________

Thank you for reading, and enjoy future chapters.

-Valentine

[miasmaghoul]

HELLOOOO

okay so

I have an unusual question

I recently discovered my passion for writing, I've been inspired by a friend of mine and a bunch of blogs here on tumblr (including yours <3)

and now I'm trying to write smut for the first time and I feel like... embarrassed about it (?)

sooo, feel free to ignore but I wanted to ask: do you have any smut-writing-tip for rookies like me?

(forgive my poor english, pls)

First off, CONGRATULATIONS ON FINDING A NEW PASSION!!! That's a fantastic feeling. ♡

I know just what you mean about feeling wiggly about writing smut. I don't know a single writer who DIDN'T have this experience when they first wrote filth! There is a shockingly vast distance between having filthy ideas and actually typing them out. I assure you that this is perfectly normal!

Before I give my advice, please let me say that I am in no way a professional writer, so your mileage may vary here. This is what worked for my hypersexual ND brain back when I first started doing this at the tender age of [REDACTED]

My advice is this: start simple. (18+ under the cut)

Don't try to go all in during your first smut adventure - not everything needs to be an intense, intricate bondage scene featuring medieval torture equipment and a mustachioed man called Hamish. Choose something uncomplicated and more natural for your first time out - a max of two people, a simple act (i.e., a handjob) or acts (i.e., making out and mutual masturbation) and an easy to describe setting.

Next, don't worry about making it good in your first draft. Use that time to lay out the scene (x crawls into bed and y joins them, spooning up against their back) and setting up the bare bones of the events (y kisses x's shoulder and neck, reaches between their legs, uses their hand to get x off). Once you've done that, you can start describing things.

It's probably gonna one of two ways - clinical or over the top.

Clinical generally means that you're too literal and precise with your descriptions. For example:

Rain reached down and took Dew's cock in his hand. He stroked it from base to tip, over and over. He sped up once Dew started moaning and felt his own cock hardening as well. He worked Dew's cock until Dew came all over his hand and then grabbed his own cock to do the same.

See? Clinical. It gets the job done in terms of relaying information, but there's no emotion behind the words. No sound, no movement, no life. Things that I, personally, believe a sex scene needs in order to feel believable and real.

The opposite of this is the over the top sex scene. Think of this like watching really bad porn. The kind where people moan like they're about to cum when someone touches their arm, y'know what I mean? Tons of moaning and writhing and too much response to the slightest stimulation. Don't get me wrong, there's certainly a time and place for Dew jizzing himself over Rain licking his neck, but if your whole scene is set up like that it, I personally believe it becomes Too Much.

Ideally, I think, you want to strike a balance between these two things. You want to explain what's happening, but use language and descriptors that are more intimate and sensual. Which brings me to my third point - try to figure out the words and phrasing you're comfortable using before you really get into writing anything. If you don't like the way the words feel, don't use them! That alone can help make things easier to write. (As an example, outside of very specific circumstances, I hate using the word "pussy" and will avoid writing it!)

Perhaps my biggest tip is being very confident in your characters before you make 'em fuck. In my opinion. A bad/boring sex scene is one where the characters feel interchangeable. Think of it like this: a scene with Aether giving Swiss a blowjob should not be able to be read as a scene with Rain giving Dew a blowjob instead. It should feel unique, however you choose to make that happen.

Last bit of advice is probably the most obvious one: practice. Practice practice practice. Something sounds hot in your head? Write that shit down. Stick it in your notes app, even if it's just a few words. Practice by putting little scenes together in your head and then transcribing what's happening in them. Watch something erotic and think about how you would write that scene. Think of it like exposure therapy - the more you create smut, the less ashamed you'll be about it!

I will say it also helps to have a smut writer/enjoyer friend (or friends!) to bounce ideas off of, or to ask for advice. If you're planning to be active in the Ghost fandom, I can tell you that every single writer and artist I've interacted with here has been incredibly kind and welcoming. Don't be afraid to reach out!

This got so long lmao SORRYYYY

[rotisseries]

I HAVENT GOTTEN OAST THE INTRO OF THIS EPISODE BUT TELL ME ABT AKU ATSUSHI COLORS ‼️

ohhh my god ok so in very classic visual symbolism white=good and black=bad right? and atsushi is white and aku is black right? but atsushi's outfit has touches of black, his tie his suspenders his pants, the stripes of his tiger form(and his hair too in the manga. studio bones die challenge) and aku's has touches of white, his hair, the shirt underneath his coat (which btw that white shirt being wrapped underneath his black outer layer of brutal protection goes CRAZYYYYYY btw) and so neither of them is wholly good or bad aku is not entirely bad and atsushi isn't wholly good. it's played for laughs but atsushi was literally gonna rob someone for his own survival at the start. lol. hashtag moral greyness

white/black symbolism ALSOOOO goes crazy BECAUSEEEE it's complementary. very yin and yang of them. in fact there's this cool ass scene near the end of season 3 where there is some INSANE yin and yang symbolism going on. there's also scenes they have together where they have to work together for reasons, usually forced by circumstances, and their color palettes effectively invert, with aku becoming mostly white with touches of black and atsushi becoming mostly black with touches of white (and it looks so slay too) which is kind of symbolic of how they each have a side to themselves that they only let out with each other. you haven't seen a TON of their dynamic yet but they force each other to act in ways they normally wouldn't. atsushi is harsher and meaner to aku than he would ever be to anyone else whereas in contrast aku is forced into some level of goodness. atsushi hates to kill and doesn't want to kill anyone but every fight he has with aku is one where he IS trying to kill him, in contrast there is. well that's a spoiler actually. hurry up and get through s3 it carries sskk on it's back. anyway they each tend to be the other's only exception to their usual morals which is supported by the visual symbolism.

in conclusion. new double black well I think that's not true and I think they're called that so you can look at them and see every way they are not actually chuuya and dazai starting first and foremost with the fact that their color palettes are NOT both black and only black

[doubleddenden]

I've been playing 2 pokemon fan game demos recently

First off, Project Untamed, probably more well known as the Mazah Region fan game being made based on Subjectively's fakemon region project

The demo isn't long and only goes 1 gym deep so far, but this is definitely a fan game to watch out for. The fakemon all have this unique charm but unifying style that make them stand out, and the overall quality is pretty great. It's based on Central America, and overall have a Tradition vs Change motif. My time was fun, however brief it was. Mechanically speaking too, this is one of the few fakemon fan games I've played with an actual speed up button- something I desperately wish normal pokemon games had, and I definitely appreciate it. Artistically speaking the game is gorgeous to look at, and I admire the respect towards the culture and actually allowing it to... well, exist unsullied. A lot of pokemon games have this issue where they put regions in unique locations but skimp on the unique culture of the area in favor of a more generic map- which I would get why in some cases, but not others. Mazah shows it off respectfully, even the first gym being a ghost gym with inspiration from Day of the Dead (also I just want to say how funny and happy I was at the gym theme for that one). The characters are also endearing so far, and the game's humor is also on point, which I always appreciate.

Anyway keep an eye on this game. In a few years every poketuber will be hailing it as the best fan game of whatever year it comes out.

For my next game

I took a dip back into the Spanish side of the fan games to play a demo of Pokémon Armonia, which has a very decent English translation so far. I think 4 gyms are in, and I'm nearing the end of that.

Armonia's region is Safar, which I believe is based on Africa- at least the map sort of looks like the hook of the upper west side. The environments are beautiful and varied, and the art style is really high quality and filled with so much soul in each location and sprite. I find myself studying these Spanish games tbh, because there's always such a unique quality and extra care out into them, and I'm actually taking notes on the sprite style here as well. There's big photos done in pixel art as well that just... well, it looks great, as I've been gushing about for a while.

Remember how I said Spanish fan games have a unique quality to them? How's this for unique: the opening scene has VOICE ACTING. Yes, the world's richest franchise can't even add it to the spearhead of off their commercial operations for the next few years, but a fan game certainly can! I'm not sure if more is planned to be added in the future, but I hope so.

Anyway, that little aside put... well. Aside. I guess. The fakemon are fun and fantastic. I will say that it's rare to find fan games with fakemon in general, and of the 3 I've played from the Spanish side so far, they're still somewhat rare to see here. That's different in Armonia. The dex is still building, but so far, 4 gyms in, and I've seen mostly new designs rather than old- think something like Hoenn if that makes sense. Pretty much every single one has been a hit in some fashion or another and are fun to mess with. The regional variants are fun too, and I especially adore my Safaran Arcanine, which is Ground/Fairy.

I say this too, they do a very interesting take on introducing new evolution methods: in one particular side quest, they pull over and basically demonstrate the circumstances required to evolve a certain regional variant. Honestly, that is super refreshing from a story telling, mechanical, and time saving angle, and is something I really wish official Pokémon games would do instead of us having to wait for a data dump to reveal you have to take your guy to a particular spot under a particular tree at a certain phase of the moon while landing 3 crits in a row and singing The Macarena backwards. Like seriously, an NPC being like "hey, here's a rare candy, why not try evolving X here in this little spot?" Is not only immersive, it just makes more sense! It's simple, but brilliant! Honestly great job to the devs here.

As far as anything else mechanically speaking, the game also features a mobile PC like in Realidea System, and of all things, the selective multi exp share similar to the one from Opalo. I'm gonna guess that feature must be from a special build of Pokémon essentials or something. I really enjoy it and I think more fan games should make use of it.

So far, gyms and exploration are sort of straight shots, but I think that's okay given the story it wants to tell. And let me tell you, the story is looking interesting so far. I can't wait to see where it goes!

I'll probably make a team shot of the Fakémon I've used so far soonish. I'd definitely say check it out if you can- although I gotta say, hunting down the EN translation was ROUGH. It's a good translation, minus dex entries, but it is R O U G H finding it.

Good luck to both the Mazah and Safar teams! I can't wait to explore your fully made regions someday!

[ac-liveblogs]

Tbh I kinda lost interest in MHA when the focus went from the students to the pro heroes which wouldn't have been that bad if the series were longer and we eventually would've went back to them. I loved these kids, I thought they all had so much potential to become powerful heroes or be really successful in a certain niche yet the only characters that matter are Deku, Todoroki and Bakugo and aside from them ,the pro heroes...I know Horikoshi has health issues and he has been writing this manga for years it's just I think if we would've gotten like 3 or 4 arcs centered around the students it would've probably felt better for me personally.

Hmm, I think I'm sort of in the opposite camp. I agree with you that additional arcs developing the students would have benefited the story a lot, but I preferred the series when it switched focus to the pros. That's because the pros were better positioned to provide commentary on the state of BNHA's world, which... even if the manga is about Hero School, if the plot wants to talk about "heroes vs villains" being at least in part a social construct, the pros are going to be more valuable pieces to use than a bunch of completely normal school children.

Which is unfortunate, because you end up with a cast that largely doesn't have anything to say or unique to contribute. Like, you even see that with characters like Bakugou not having much to do outside of his role foiling and growing up with Deku. I like Bakugou, but man. Man.

Todoroki, Aoyama and Iida are the closest to that discussion, but they're disconnected from the problem, are paid off too late to capitalise on and leave the conversation early respectively. Uraraka has her storyline with Toga, which is great and I'm hoping that will pay off in a way that doesn't completely center Deku.

Or, Tokoyami is adjacent to Hawks, but mostly in the capacity of "I care about my mentor, no matter what dubious things he did I believe he is a good person" which is great for Hawks, but that's still about Hawks... because Tokoyami can't be the one doing what Hawks is doing, he can only comment on it...

I think BNHA ran into the problem, really early on, that if your students are first year high school students just starting to learn how to fight or save people, outside of really wild circumstances it's difficult to get them involved in the plot if it's happening outside of school.

It's not impossible obviously (Bakugou could have been asked to go undercover in the League of Villains instead of or alongside Hawks, just off the top of my head) but if Hori really does have health issues that require speeding up this manga I can see why so many corners got cut the way they did (it really would explain a lot). Class 1A kind of just... ended up being baggage. I can see how if Horikoshi had more time to cook, 1A probably would've been set up to take the places of characters like Miruko or Best Jeanist.

Also, and this is unfortunate, Horikoshi did design the vast majority of the class to have a huge spread of powers because he wanted to showcase a variety of different kinds of heroes. It's just that stuff like that really can make you dead weight in a war arc in a combat-oriented manga. Like, what's Koda gonna do. Unfortunately, I think Horikoshi did the best he could with a lot of them during the evacuation scenes with respect to the limitations he put on them, and the fact that Deku, Bakugou and Todoroki are kind of supposed to be monsters.

I think that's probably why he ended up falling back on Mirio, Tamaki and Nejire so heavily later on... who in 1A beyond The Main Guys could possibly plausibly join the Major Fights? It really sucks, but my god it all added up horribly.

I know this isn't really popular anymore, but I actually liked a lot of the filler episodes in Naruto part 1 that featured a random grab bag of Naruto + the other genin in the village. Maybe BNHA's anime would've benefited from some of that lol

[honeyhotteoks]

One more question about claiming! I loved your explanation first of all (thank you for explaining all of these things, it helps me understand the universe better and shows just how much thought you put into it ♡) but either I missed it in the text because my English brain failed me or you didn’t say it but:

Assuming Yunho had claimed her, and considering the claim is kinda viewed as a marriage thing of sorts, does that mean that mc and Yunho would’ve had to be a couple after? Or that they would’ve automatically wanted to be together after? Or would it not have changed anything about their feelings except for being “holy fuck this is bad”?

Also considering you keep “hinting” at the two of them (and Mingi) having feelings for each other: assuming Yunho had claimed her and assuming they all have these feelings for each other, would a claim have amplified them?

I hope this makes sense, it’s 3 am and my brain is fried 💀

oh amazing question too!! click under the cut~

so this one is hard to explain, but i'll do my best! when i mentioned before that claiming in my universe also involves intent, what i mean by that is that the person doing the claiming has to bite with intent to claim. in this scenario, had yunho claimed her, it would have been bad because i don't think reader would have been in the right headspace to claim him back, nor do i think they could have just snapped into being a happy couple. it would have been an accident, but something with lifelong implications. that's why claiming can't be taken lightly, you can't just get rid of it. (though in some omegaverse universes i've seen there are ways to do so, but that's beside the point lol)

it's not like they would have been like "sick we're in love now" it would have been more like a one night stand ending in a pregnancy..... like neither person REALLY wanted this, but in the heat of the moment things were forgotten and emotions were running high..... but now you have to deal with this consequence.

the other thing i think would be helpful to make clear is that the claiming back is really, really important. in a/b/o dynamics, there are a few things that people unfamiliar with the genre might not know. i'm trying to make it clear in the expository parts of my fic, but also trying not to overexplain and make it unfun.... but let me lay those out:

-alphas have something called 'alpha tone' or 'alpha voice'. you'll notice i try to explain their voices getting low, deeper in their chests, etc. when they're trying to calm y/n during her heat. it's a tone of voice that omegas respond to naturally, and while most alphas are just normal people using that tone in the appropriate circumstances, it can be used with bad intentions. i hope i make this clear with writing yungi especially, but they're very careful to not overuse tone with her, and that will come out in later chapters as well.

-omegas can slip into something called 'headspace' or 'subspace' - this is taken from the very real idea of dominant and submissive bdsm practices in which the submissive slips into a floaty / adrenaline high place during a scene; however, in most a/b/o fic i've read and encountered, headspace is not a good place for an omega. it's an ultra submissive space. the thing that puts you there is alpha tone.

in the context of claiming, it's important to note that yunho never slips into tone with her in that scene. he and mingi are extremely aware of how delicate she is during that heat. she's with essentially strangers, and she's slipping in and out of conscious understanding of her surroundings. it's up to them to guide her safely through it, and tone is something to be used carefully in this way.

as far as everyone having feelings for each other? oh absolutely. this fic is a mess of everyone wanting each other. i still think that had he claimed her in THAT scene things would have gone badly, maybe not permanently but like..... you think the angst is bad now? woof. BUT in a future, they're together happily and want to choose each other sense, then yes. everything would be amplified together, and in essence they'd be forming a little pack.

okay hopefully this rambling answer makes sense but ask more questions if you got them! :D

[lizzxrd]

So I came up with this little silly idea at work to briefly distract myself from The Horrors (mental illness)...

and it wasn't supposed to be anything more than that but I just keep rotating it in my mind now..

Like I just keep thinking abt the canon blade eaters and Silva (my oc, who'd probably be a bit of a special case bc he got a full core crystal that was modified to replace his heart)

I think Torna wouldn't rlly have any moral qualms abt letting Mik occasionally munch on some people and they'd probably even let him sap some energy from their core crystal collection so he wouldn't die. Mik probably wouldn't exactly love it but he's like kind of "whatever" about it. He's working towards destroying the world anyway. Doesn't really matter when these people die.

Zeke would probably despise Amalthus for having him turned into a blade eater and he'd probably despise himself for what he has to do to survive to an extent too. He'd still be happy about him and Pandoria being able to continue to live alongside each other but ough the misery. That one scene where Zeke talks to Amalthus in Indol would hit so different too. Him telling Amalthus he thinks those who kill others are weak and then the realization slowly kicking in. He'd probably be awful at coping with it. Zeke is such a silly goose in canon xbc2 so it feels weird imagining him in any even remotely angsty situations but Idk I kinda vibe with this. Also I'm not a huge fan of PanZeke as a ship usually. They just have such oomftacular bestie vibes to me but I think I like it in this context. PanZeke angsty hurt/comfort. Pandoria comforting messed up vampire-ish Zeke, reassuring him he's not an awful person and also being his source of ether. And also she feels kind of guilty because it's a part of her core that turned Zeke into this so he also comforts her, reassuring her it's not her fault at all and he always makes sure to be extra kind to her bc of how much she does for him and how unbelievably much he cares abt her. [Explodes]

Rex would not be affected. He's not really a Blade Eater in the way the others are. Aegis cores are weird and special. And he's technically kind of dead already so even if they weren't he probably would be unaffected. U cannot convince me that Jin's attack somehow left him barely alive. He's basically a walking corpse and only tethered to the world through that part of Pythra's core and the conduit.

Amalthus would have absolutely 0 issues with being a fucked up vampire/cannibal Blade Eater. Both in terms of morals and getting ether and blood/flesh for sustenance. Tbh he'd probably get a kick out of doing fucked up vampire things even. Indol has a massive amount of core crystals he can sap energy from and nobody will truly notice/care if occasionally a few of the refugees go missing. (And even if people care, they wouldn't really be able to do anything about it. Enough people in positions of power in Indol and in Indol's military force have a cult-like devotion to Amalthus and revere him as some kind of deity. Trying to pose a genuine threat to him would be akin to commiting suicide.)

And last but not least I get to be cringe abt my oc. :3 Normal Blade Eater Amalthus and Silva are, like, two awful guys who hate but tolerate each other because of Circumstances. Silva is such a repressed but very desperate loser type of gay guy that he occasionally has Thoughts but he'd rather die a thousand deaths than actually admit anything to Amalthus or even himself; he just represses it further.

In Blade Eater vampirism AU they are awful guys who hate each other who are soo codependent and toxic. Cannibalism as a metaphor for love, enemies AND lovers, they're tearing each other apart (literally), neither of them has a normal understanding and concept of love, etc. Do u understand.. (I am,, so very Normal about them).

Silva's core was specifically modified to function as his heart since his original one was more than just a little faulty. The technology used to achieve this and research regarding it was lost like almost everything about Judicium upon the devastating attacks on Temperantia during the Aegis war. But anyway despite being a very early Blade Eater experiment - from far before Indol started dabbling in making Blade Eaters - he turned out surprisingly well. The physical link between his organic cells and his core are strong and deteriorate at a much slower rate; the only thing that got really messed up by this was his mind. He's still a fucked up vampire like the other Blade Eaters. He just needs to consume ether and blood/flesh far less frequently. He also has some of the regenerative abilities of blades. He's able to recover faster from wounds than non-blades but not quite as fast as blades and he still grows scar tissue on wounds that are severe enough.

Having a singular guy who's a source of both ether and organic material for sustenance and can regenerate is very convenient for Amalthus and far less suspicious that what he was doing before! Especially because Silva cannot exactly do anything about it. He stumbled his way into becoming Amalthus's blade and acting against him would be awfully unwise (AND being an important asset to Amalthus also grants him easy access to ether and blood when he does need it). Also while Silva is stuck in this situation Amalthus does let him get away with a lot more things than he really should (including but not limited to: verbal and physical threats and letting him bite him as well)

:33 giggling, squealing, kicking my feet, etc. They're so bad for each other but they deserve each other so very much. I love thinking abt them. They're my horrid old men babygirls ❤️

[inkbeanjo]

2, 3,4,5,6,7 for Moni and Retro on the character ask please. i love hearing about your characters

houuhghghjK i will do my best to answer retro's half, though i'll open with some behind the scenes that might shed some clarity on neo-a's weird existence in the real world.

Neo Automisia came about after I'd been playing Moni in a shadowrun living community for like 3 years, and after a point where i decided I wanted to break from that system's lore/canon out of desire to write my own shit and also out of disagreement with a lot of SR's writing- irl i've never really grown up in places or had the same friend groups for more than 3 years at a time, and my experience in making friends has been a series of meetings and farewells since I was little.

Ironically enough this's how a lot of my time playing Moni wound up being- games in the living community were sign-ups as opposed to set player groups and set tables you'd normally expect from a tabletop setting- think billboard with job postings kinda vibes, with things happening during/after/between jobs. As such, at least when it comes to fellow runners/key npcs, I'm doing my best to translate friends characters I've not gotten to really play with/hear from in years- or at least haven't had space TO do things with, life happens/things get busy etc etc you get it. Retro is OracleofMaya's wonderful gremlin, and a lot of my ability to write consistent/in-character dialogue for her comes from the fact that we talked/wrote a LOT over the years and i have an active crush on her/like writing stuff with her u///u

Long lead in over here we go:

It really depends on circumstances for the both of them- they're incredibly awkward and dealing with a lot of baggage individually/mutually, but with the right company they tend to light up. In Moni's case if worst comes to worst, she's anxious enough that even in bad company/bad circumstances she'll still titter out a giggle before realizing this isn't the time nor place.

[DATA EXPUNGED]

From my time playing alongside Retro, it never felt exactly an easy thing to earn her trust; partly due to the fact of her being a technomancer in a world that readily exploits and/or abuses them to the nth degree, and partly due to the fact that a lot of the people she and Moni worked with were either opportunistic or WAY too prone to oversharing critical information. Add [DATA EXPUNGED] to the mix and its really hard to blame her for shutting others down or out but again right company/right circumstances made all the difference in exceptions or changing that.

On Moni's end, her depression and various horribly negative experiences with people she loved or trusted have oriented her, for the most part, not to trust other people- or at least, that's the direction she tries to orient herself toward in some attempt to protect herself, and others from her. That obviously hasn't and doesn't work up to the current point in chapter 3, as Moni is basically an easily excitable puppy in a metahuman's shape.

In Retro's case, extremely- I have zero doubts that had Moni ever not kept self-vigilance up and spilled the beans regarding Retro being a technomancer, Retro WOULD have made good on that promise to fry her brain.

Distrust is fluid for Moni/liable to shift and change with circumstances and her mood- in this case I'm going to opt to make a slight shift and say that, with specific and wrong buttons pushed, it is very, very, very easy to earn a lethal grudge from Moni as opposed to solely distrust.

Both Moni and Retro are not only Nightrunning criminals for hire, but also staunch Anarchists living in the hellscape that is late stage capitalism and continued global warming/corporations having just about zero regulatory oversight or consequence placed on them. Laws on paper are not synonymous with justice or systemic equity, and both growing up in the fringes of the Seattle metroplex 100% plays into how they see the reality of how those laws actually play out in favor of the rich, powerful, and influential.

In the time I played with Oracle, Retro's nostalgia often times followed similar patterns to Moni if that tracks; both of them are rooted through warped sentimentalities and fractured memories for pasts they either can't fully remember, or remember in better contexts and through rose-tinted glasses than honestly- at least for a time. I don't wanna spoil too much in this regard, nor for the more positive ways they hold nostalgia for genuinely nice times/moments, so that's all I'm gonna say.

For Moni: 22. Jealousy is weird for Moni, because it's only really ever happened when Retro had started seeing/dating(?) a magical psychologist character of mine who has a hate boner against moni and vice versa. Moni herself is polyam, pan, and for the most part easygoing when it comes to interpersonal relationships; she doesn't really have explicit desire for material stuff barring cybernetics to cram into her meat suit, or good food tucked in the pockets and hole-in-the-wall joints of wherever she's living. Even in the case of the aforementioned psychologist, the jealousy stemmed more out of her overt fear of a mage who could root through, tweak, or otherwise puppet your brain like a marionette. 23. Envy is also weird- as mentioned the material things she does want are things she has zero problem waiting or saving for, and when it comes to relationships/the relationships of her partners and metamours she's open/patient. But a core piece of Moni I'm in the process of explicitly laying out/continuing to lay out is her absolute impulsiveness- the things that she DOES envy are immaterial and more abstract, in ways that to most would just sound like complete nonissues. It's something yet to be brought up, but Moni genuinely envies her peers and coworkers who have or are working toward a definite retirement plan, or have the intention TO retire because they have something in mind. For Moni at this point, she did not for one second in her career think about what retiring might look like or that she could/should- it was utterly foreign to be asked "what're you going to do after you're done running?", and to look inward only to find an answer along the lines of "what?". She envies people that have desires beyond what's immediately in front of them- not because they have it better, but because for all of her attempts to she can't figure out what she wants- no matter how hard she tries there's something missing that, to her at least, makes her feel like she was never supposed to be metahuman. This's one example but you get the gist, it's wanting to feel like you know where you're going and where you want to go/otherwise self actualize and feeling like you're drowning.

[watchmenanon]

This was a small part of your last answer to the Anon ask, but I agree completely with you that there's nothing really cute about throwing a traumatized girl who lived her life in a lab into the arms of the first normal boy she meets. I think that if the audience was meant to root for Mleven, the Duffers went about it in completely the wrong way.

There was no build up. They met, and Mike kissed her at the end of the first season. They spent most of season two apart, but then kissed at the end of it. Seasons 3 and 4 were just them lying, fighting, and having never ending relationship problems.

Had the Duffers wanted us to root for them, they should have:

Had Mike hug El instead of kiss her at the end of season 1. That way, the audience would know a relationship might happen, and there would be a tension there. Instead of being able to automatically assume "Yep, they're going to be together now," there would be a "Hmm, let's see where this goes."

They should have allowed El to discover who she is, and given her the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Max and all of the boys. They would've included some cute scenes of Mike and El (maybe some flirting, a handhold, hug, etc.) but nothing outright. This would have kept the audience invested in their friendship, and kept people interested to see if they were going to get together or not.

Then, they should've finally gotten together either at the end of season 4 or during season 5. It was all done too quickly. There was so little build up, and no opportunity to doubt for even one second whether they would "get together." Frankly, if it was meant to be a likable ship, it was written in a very boring and lazy way.

Hi Anon!!!💚

You're absolutely right about what you're saying and I completely agree with you. It would've been a more understandable ship for people to root for if they were written like that.

Personally, I wouldn't have liked mlvn in these circumstances either and that's because Mike is still the first normal boy that she has ever met and the first one who showed her kindness.

I don't know if you're a familiar with the "Nice Guy Syndrome", but I have the opinion that a mlvn slow burn would've contributed to perpetuate it.

The Audiences (and even the characters) would've expected mlvn to get together because El owes him that for everything he has done for her, there would be a sense of entitlement for her to reciprocate his feelings and they wouldn't have stopped talking about "Mike being stuck in the friendzone".

I'll leave you with a couple of articles that explains my feelings about this topic.

Thank you so much for the ask!!! Have a great day!!!!💙💛