#stayed for the actual lore and storyline

[ridox]

Questions about Xavier & Theories Following Chapter 8 —

I need anyone’s input/theory/thoughts regarding this matter because I haven’t gone through much of Xavier’s Secret Times and Tender Moments yet, and I’ve only unlocked 3/9 of Shooting Stars

Discussion under the cut for potential spoilers

Anyway, I just finished going through Chapter 8 of the Main Story and based from this conversation with Jeremiah. Does this mean Xavier has direct/or indirect influence over what happened to Josephine and Caleb on Chapter 4?

I’m assuming the Nonintervention Principle is for the Lightseekers who venture through space, calling for them to basically NOT ALTER anything in the timeline they’re hopping onto as a preventative measure to creating a butterfly effect (?)

I remember some people saying that Xavier caused the explosion but now that I think about it I don’t think he inherently has anything to do with it. Rather, I think his presence, Jeremiah’s, alongside all the other backtrackers or whatever you call them, is what caused Josephine and Caleb’s death (?)

I have to gather my thoughts for a more concrete theory about this but in essence, the fact that some of the residents of Philos never returned to their own home and their correct timeline… caused a major butterfly effect that essentially kickstarted the catastrophic events that’s happening in MC’s life as of the moment

I feel like Xavier knew what was going to happen to MC’s grandmother and PERHAPS he even knows if Caleb really died or not but he’s bound by this rule to not intervene and to just let it pan out the way it’s supposed to be

Which kinda creates a loophole because his existence itself in this timeline is what caused it to happen in the first place (?) if that specific theory is right

ANYWAY MOVING ON TO MY ACTUAL QUESTIONS —

I remember reading a theory or perhaps an actual explanation that - in an attempt to try and save Queen MC - Xavier created a Möbius Strip that essentially catapults him back in time creating this unending loophole in the Philos timeline

MY QUESTION IS… IS THERE A POSSIBILITY THAT THE MÖBIUS STRIP IN QUESTION IS WHAT RESULTED IN THE DEEPSPACE TUNNEL? OR THE DEEPSPACE TUNNEL ITSELF IS THE MÖBIUS STRIP?

I haven’t done enough research to support this theory because it’s 12 AM and I just finished the chapter and want to document these thoughts but I’m theorizing that Xavier’s effort to save his MC in his own timeline resulted in a time rift in the form of the Deepspace Tunnel.

The same tunnel that was the main reason why MC’s heart got implanted with the Aether Core in the first place. What if the Wanderers that ravaged Linkon City those many years ago were actually Philos citizens (backtrackers, lightseekers) that died during the creation of the tunnel and emerged on the other side as just that… Wanderers?

What if the Wanderer that stabbed current MC through the heart is an alternate timeline/Philos timeline MC who recognized herself and essentially transplanted her heart to hers?

LIKE MY MIND IS GOING MILES AN HOUR THINKING ABOUT THIS BUT I KNOW EVERYTHING’S MESSY AND UNORGANIZED SO LIKE MAYBE I’LL WRITE THIS UP MORE IN THE FUTURE WITH SUPPORTING FACTS AND STUFF

But yeah! To summarize it all —

- Xavier and the rest of the backtrackers/lightseekers in Linkon City are Space and Time anomalies

- Their existence in itself is wrong and is what resulted in the catastrophic event many years ago

- Possibly the Wanderer that pierced current MC’s heart is her from a Philos timeline

- Also Xavier may have been indirectly involve to the death of MC’s grandmother and Caleb

- BUT ALSO I think Xavier knows whether Caleb is truly dead or alive

- Bonus: I feel like Caleb found out that an alternate timeline exists and he had to fake his own death for the sake of MC’s safety

- Just by the end of Chapter 8, everyone was talking about the recent discovery of Philos and imo I feel like this happened prior to Caleb coming home in the first place

- I feel like since Ever pretty much runs everything in Linkon, they tried to sway Caleb into turning MC in for the sake of “research” or something after they found out she’s probably the only living person who fused well with an Aether Core

ANYWAY SORRY FOR THE RAMBLE I WOULD LIKE TO HERE ANYBODY’S THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS PLS I’M SO NECK DEEP INSIDE L&DS LORE

[exoscreamsoda]

i know next season is supposed to be lestat focused (and im currently having a breakdown imagining him as a rockstar) but i would give ANYTHING to see a glimpse of how louis and armand were living in the current age before they invited their couple therapist. theres no way they figured out how to use the internet to its full potential. did rashid come over one day to set up their wifi and then ended up their little henchman. are their man snacks found on craigslist or something. armand said he didnt want daniel there so i can only imagine louis was annoying him 24/7 while he was trying to read on his kindle in peace 💀 the way louis is so adamant about getting this book made makes me think he was watching tv and one of those reality shows that covers old musicians came on and he saw lestat and started tweaking because no way did he think about old man dan's book out of no where

[chiscaralight]

cw: nsfw sukuna x fem!gamer!reader. i hc that sukuna would like prsk and dti lmfao. overstimulation. choso and gojo ver linked at the bottom!

college athlete!sukuna who spots for for the first time on the field. you’re sitting in the bleachers, alone like a loser. most people tend to come with their friends to watch them play, but even in the sweltering sun, you’re still what, playing a game on your phone? he scoffs under his breath and turns his head back to his teammates, locking in for the rest of the friendly match.

college athlete!sukuna who starts to see you everywhere, nose deep in your phone, laptop, switch, whatever it is. it pisses him off for some reason and he can’t pay attention to the group of girls trying to get his attention. what is so important about those damn games?

college athlete!sukuna who slides into the seat next to you a couple of weeks later. you don’t say anything, eyes focused down on your device while the light from your screen reflects off your thin-framed glasses. he clears his throat, but no answer from you. his brows furrow.

college athlete!sukuna who finally gets your attention once you clear the level.

“what the hell are you always playing?”

the question alone has stars sparkling in your eyes as you explain the well thought out lore of your current favorite game franchise. he rolls his eyes at first at your enthusiasm, but he ends up actually getting quite invested in the storyline.

college athlete!sukuna who lets you download games on his phone, only agreeing to play them if you teach him. it leads to a couple of days where the two of you just sit together, his thick fingers trying to maneuver the small device that infuriates him so much it makes you laugh. there’s a solution you have for that, so you tell him to come over later in the evening.

college athlete!sukuna who’s not that outdated, he has a ps5 himself. he plays a sports game with his friends once in a while, but it’s not something he’d say he does often. so he’s a little unsure when you slide the controller into his hand and nudge him to play for a bit while you go change.

college athlete!sukuna who can’t focus on the game, he’s practically undressing you with his eyes. you’re wearing such thin clothing, a slightly loose tank top, and some much too short shorts. unlike him, you’re much too concentrated on the game, missing the way he licks his lips at the sight of your thighs.

college athlete!sukuna who places the controller down practically 4 minutes after you join, claiming he has something else he wants to play.

college athlete!sukuna who ends up with his hand down your underwear, toying with your clit. he makes sure to drag his fingers up and down your slit extra slow so you can focus on your game. but you’re shifting around quite a bit, mouth ajar and eyes struggling to stay open when he slides one in. you're clenching around him a couple of times, before finally letting out a shaky moan.

college athlete!sukuna who’s managed to drag you away from your game with his tongue, fail screen displayed on the tv while his head is deep between your legs, holding your thighs apart while he eats you out. those talented fingers of yours are scratching at his scalp and tugging on his hair, pulling him closer as you start to hump his face.

college athlete!sukuna who’s a little more surprised when you ride him with such ease, your pace fast and steady while he grips the fat of your ass. his eyes are moving between your face and tits that are bouncing oh-so-well, and he just can’t help but fuck up into you, matching the rhythm you’ve set.

college athlete!sukuna who smirks at you across from the class when he sees you the next day. you’re not playing anything this time, eyes surveying the students in the lecture hall until they find his. even with your shirt covering you up so well, he knows just where all the hickeys and bite marks he left are placed, giving you a wink when he sees your smile grow.

college athlete!sukuna who comes over more often, only agreeing to actually play if his cock is sheathed in that ‘gamer pussy’ of yours. and he’ll lean you back, making sure your legs are resting on his arms while his controller is under you. you whine, telling him this isn’t a good position to play, but he retorts by telling you it’s a good position to fuck. your silence is enough for him to fling the controller away and drill into you full nelson just like he wanted to.

college athlete!sukunawho won’t tell you that he does play those games on his phone when the two of you are apart. he’s taken a special liking to one:

Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!

what? he’s an athlete. it’s brain-stimulating and it’ll help him keep up his rhythm in the field!

speaking of stimulation, college athlete!sukuna just loves to overstimulate you. he takes pride in the fact that he's one of the only things that can draw you away from an intense match, and he'll make sure you as many times as he sees fit.

college athlete!sukuna who will hand you the disc version of a game you’ve been waiting for for months but couldn’t camp out to get, claiming it wasn’t a big deal. it was actually, he stood in line for almost 8 hours and missed a class, but the way your smaller body was brimming with excitement was enough to put it behind him

college athlete!sukuna who won’t refuse your lips wrapped around his cock as a form of thanks, heavy hand pushing you further down his thick cock while your tongue struggles to move around. such a nasty thing you are, but he’s cumming in your mouth all the same when you moan around his cock.

college athlete!sukuna who suggests that you play roblox tonight while he watches. you agree, knowing it’s just a ploy for him to tell you that you're bad at outfit picking and pick up his controller (yes his, he has a designated controller now) to show you how to get first place in Dress to Impress. and he won. such a clean victory deserves a reward, right? so you’ll have to sit on his face, but not now. he’s about to start another round.

college athlete!sukuna who’s face is blank while he watches you sleep. your shirt is ridden up and your controller is barely hanging from your limp fingers. he’ll turn the console off before scooping you into his arms and depositing you in bed. he’s about to shut the door and go home, but your whiny voice calls out to him to stay.

college athlete!sukuna who bites at your shoulder softly to wake you up. he has an early practice today that he has to leave for but he wants to see you there later on. and no devices, he wants you watching him the whole time.

choso ver here!

gojo ver here!

geto ver!

another sukuna linked to this one here!

[hxlxnaaa]

𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐥 ─ ⊹ ⊱ ☆ ⊰ ⊹ ─ 𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞

★ 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: a workaholic marine biologist discovers a new species that was only believed to exist within stories. while heavily focused on her new groundbreaking research, she tries to figure out her feelings for her shiny new toy.

★ 𝐜𝐰/𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: first-person pov, merman rafayel, a bit of angst towards the end but nothing too crazy

★ 𝐰𝐜: 3.7k

★ 𝐚/𝐧: as a former marine bio major, i got to nerd out ab fish and raf (yay!!), set in main storyline era, but reader is obviously a biologist and not a hunter (raf is also not the sea god in this). tried to stick to lemurian lore, but kinda threw my own stuff in too. sorry if the ending seems a bit rushed, i lowkey tapped out, but overall i'm pretty proud of this!!

It was moments like these that made me love what I do.

I was in the pool room of the facility, a dome with towering window walls, and a large circular pool in the middle that connected to the sea outside. It was mainly used by me, and I was fortunate enough to be the only one with access, as I was the only field expert in the facility. I worked hands-on with marine life, collecting samples that I would send to the lab upstairs.

In the early mornings like these, I could finally just take a breath before starting my day and watch the sunrise all around me. Watch the way it would slowly illuminate the room, reflecting off the water that rippled with the morning wind. I could feel the weight lift off my shoulders because sunny, clear mornings like this made the stress of work worthwhile.

Not that I’d rather be anywhere else.

I checked the pool, seeing what creature may have found its way in. To my dismay, it was just another handful of mackerel that had probably gotten lost from its school. That’s all it’s been lately, a few strays from the euphotic zone. The bottom of the pool was an open hatch leveled with the sea, since the lowest level of the facility sat directly in the water. When motion was detected, the floor of the pool would close off, trapping whatever got caught inside. If I were lucky, maybe it would be a cute sea turtle or a shark, but those days were rare.

Disgruntled, I opened the hatch that had closed, setting the mackerel free. Inwardly I prepared for another boring afternoon, praying for another field work day when I could actually go out to sea.

-

Coming back from grabbing coffee from the breakroom and a few more test tubes from the lab upstairs, I made my way back to the pool room. From inside, I heard a loud groaning.

“OWWWW.”

Frantically I key carded my way into the room, the doors sliding open to reveal a strange man in the pool.

I stood frozen in place, not sure what free diver could have possibly found his way in, and… Why was he shirtless?

“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me?” The man glared.

I learned from years of working in the sea to stay calm and assert dominance, so striding forward with as much grace as I could muster-

My jaw dropped.

The man had odd markings painted on his skin and face, in intricate beautiful designs. He was clad in golden jewelry, draped with a chiffon sash. Despite being fresh out of the water, his dusty purple hair was nearly dry, and I was sure he was the most beautiful man I had ever seen. There was something otherworldly about him, not like anyone I had seen before.

That was when I noticed the tail.

It was amazing, and I screeched with joy. The iridescent blue scales matched the ones on his cheeks and neck, and it had to be as long as I was tall.

The man leaned against the bars on the pool, narrowing his eyes at me. “Your stupid machine hurt me.”

I stared at him laughing with excitement, “What are you?”

“Did you hear me? I said I was hurt.”

My eyes traveled over him, he didn’t appear to be hurt or even in much pain. He held out his hand, adorned with gold bangles and painted nails, “It pinched my finger.”

I shook my head, “Sorry, sometimes it malfunctions. It’s supposed to have a safety mechanism so fish can’t get caught in the doors.”

“Yes, well, you need to fix it.”

Whatever this man was, he had an attitude problem.

“I’m going back to my first question,” I circled the pool like a predator with its prey. The man-fish thing followed me with his eyes, and I stopped back in front of him. “What the hell are you?”

He rolled his eyes, “I think that’s quite obvious. I know humans aren’t that stupid.”

Stunned, I continued to stare at him. Of course I knew what a mermaid was, everyone always told stories of the ancient Lemurians, but that’s all it was. A story.

Yet, here in front of me, was a man with a fish tail.

Excitement continued to bubble up inside me and I started clapping my hands with glee, “Oh my gosh this is perfect. You’re perfect.”

He raised an eyebrow at me, “If I’m so perfect can we get rid of these prison walls? What are these even for anyways-” As he started to rattle on the bars.

“They’re so the fish can’t beach themselves when I’m not here,” Opening the gate so I could sink down to his level, I took off my shoes so I could sit on the ledge. Grabbing his face in my hands, I turned it side to side, observing closely the glitter of his scales underneath my fingers, “Your skin is so cold, yet you have hair…But you have scales… Are you a mammal, or…”

He smirked at me, taking my grabby hands away from his skin, “Y’know you could at least take me out to dinner first.”

I frowned, bothered with the interruption of my observations. Standing back up, I moved away to start grabbing collection and testing kits, “Can you hop up where I was please? Or will you need assistance? I have a sling-”

“I can do it.”

Watching as he pulled himself up and out of the water, biceps flexing as he lifted himself, I wondered how a fish could possibly get that ripped.

I sat down beside him, “You have no obvious gills…”

The man scoffed, and I put on my stethoscope. I placed it over where, if he had them, his lungs would be.

“Deep breath in,” Watching as he took an inhale through his nose, and listened as his lungs took in a breath of air.

“Lungs.” Confirming my thoughts.

Placing the drum over his heart, I realized his heartbeat was racing.

“I don’t understand-” He started, before I placed my finger over his lips.

“Shush, no talking.”

We sat there like that for a minute, before I pulled away, “120/60, is your heart rate usually that fast?”

Glaring at me, he crossed his arms, “No, I just don’t usually have random girls assaulting me.”

As I pulled out different test tubes, I rambled out questions to him that were mostly just thoughts in my head.

“Where did you come from? How do you speak English? Where do you live?”

“First of all,” He shunned away at the sight of a needle, “my name is Rafayel. Since you haven’t even bothered to ask.”

“Secondly, I came from the sea, duh. Didn’t even mean to get caught in this stupid thing…” The man winced as I pricked his finger, and I laughed, “Well you sure are compliant for being ‘assaulted’ by a stranger.”

“I have no choice! You have all these weapons for poking and prodding! Anyways, I speak every language, it comes from being Lemurian-”

I stopped, “You’re Lemurian?”

He rolled his eyes, “I thought the tail would’ve given that away.”

Silently I continued to work, thinking less about the fact that a real Lemurian was in front of me, and more about how this would affect the studies of the sea and marine life as a whole. More than 80% of the sea is unexplored, and the idea of Lemuria being part of it opens up a whole new doorway to the future of research. Not only that, but the fact that Rafayel was relatively eager to comply.

He watched me with his galaxy colored eyes, that seemed almost as wide with wonder as mine were. We seemed fascinated with each other, and maybe that’s why he was so calm about all of this. It’s not every day you’d let a stranger go full blown crazy scientist on you.

“Am I going to learn anything about you?” His question startled me, and it hadn’t even crossed my mind he knew nothing about me. My only focus had been on discovering who and what this creature was.

“Oh, I’m sorry, that’s my bad.” I introduced myself, and told him about my work as a marine biologist. He let me gripe about the lack of interesting catches in the pool as of late, and how my passion lies with whales.

“I don’t get to go out into the field often,” I explained, “but when I do it’s always the best. Being able to dive, and being out at sea for a few weeks studying the bigger or deeper animals we can’t get in the pool.”

“What about when you’re here?” Rafayel looked around the room as if it was an interesting enough place to work. To him, this probably seemed more fun than exploring the place he’s lived his whole life.

I sighed, “I’m never not here; but I mean, it’s fine I guess, it’s just you can only collect so many samples of the same few creatures before you get bored.” Smiling at him, I ran my fingers through his hair…

“That’s why you, my dear, are my new muse.”

-

To my surprise, Rafayel came back after that. I half expected him to just disappear, deeming me crazy and warning his fellow Lemurians about ‘that one weird marine biologist’. I’d kiss goodbye the breakthrough of research he could’ve given me, and go back to slaving over the same boring fish every day.

The next morning, he was in the pool bright and early, his head sitting in his crossed arms on the ledge.

He smiled when he saw me waltz in, “You’re here early.”

“I always am,” I shrugged, “do Leumrians not sleep?”

“Sometimes.”

We quickly slipped into a routine. He’d show up in the early mornings, and stay with me until I went home that night. Even if I ran out of samples to collect, waiting for lab results, he’d perch himself up on the ledge with me and watch me read old textbooks about old Lemurian history, or anatomy books about different kinds of marine mammals.

Rafayel would snatch the Lemurian books out of my hands, “You know, I can tell you everything you need to know.”

“Yes, well, you’re an unreliable narrator.” I’d grab the book back.

Though he had a tendency to exaggerate, I really did enjoy all the stories he would tell me; his tail in my lap as I’d compare it to previous studies I had done on scales, he’d go on about Lemurian people, boasting about the beauty of the city and explaining their culture. I’d sit and nod, humming responses as I carefully analyzed him.

I believed Rafayel kept coming back because he simply loved being doted over. Some part of him got off on the attention, seeing the way my face would light up when I put pieces of the puzzle together, grabbing his face in my hands with excitement.

“Raf this is amazing news!” I’d laugh, squeezing his face with one hand, shaking lab results in the air with another.

“I don’t know what you’re on about…” He’d say through smushed cheeks, but his eyes would twinkle and defy his feigned annoyance.

Sometimes, if I ran out of things to do, he’d use his ‘magical Lemurian powers’ (his words, not mine) to lure in some different creatures, giving me extra stuff to send to the lab upstairs. One day I had been giving a bit too much attention to a stingray he had summoned, and Rafayel started sighing from the other side of the pool.

“What's wrong now?” I asked, not even looking up at him, focusing my attention on extracting the stringer from the stingray's tail.

He sighed loudly again.

This time, my eyes met his, and he flopped down onto his back, pouting dramatically. Once I had gathered everything I needed, and set the poor creature free, I walked over to where Rafayel was still laying on his back, displeased.

He looked up at me through his eyelashes, and quickly turned his head to the side, “If I’m your muse then why are you giving so much attention to these random fish!”

Crouching down by his head, I poked his cheek, “You’re the one who summons them for me.”

“Well if this is the case, then I’m not gonna help anymore!” Sticking out his lower lip, Rafayel side-eyed me.

“I’m ever so sorry for doing my job, I shall never give another fish attention again besides you.”

He smirked, satisfied with my response.

Rafayel was always like this, oddly infatuated with me and jealous. He seemed pleased I didn’t have much of a social life outside of work, as my only focus was him. Often, he had a habit of prying into my thoughts, asking a million questions about myself. Some were simple, like where I went to school and what kind of music I enjoyed. Others were questions I never even thought about.

“How do you see your future?”

I snapped my head up from my book to look at him, “I’m sorry?”

He stared right into my eyes, almost as if he was trying to read my mind, “What do you see yourself doing in the future?”

“I don’t know, working probably.” I tried to shrug off the question.

“Do you ever want a family?”

“I don’t think I’d have time.”

“Well, you seem to have plenty of time for me.”

-

After that, I noticed a lot more how his eyes would follow me. How he’d rest his hand on my waist as I’d bandage him up from blood collection. The prolonged eye contact, the longing smiles, how his cheeks and ears would turn pink when I’d call him my muse.

To quote Rafayel simply, “Humans aren’t that stupid.”

I knew. I mean, I’m a scientist, I had a fair amount of common sense. Even though I spent most of my time with fish doesn’t mean I don’t know when a man likes me.

It’s not like I wasn’t attracted to him either, it would be impossible not to be. Rafayel is beautiful, just like the world that surrounds him; he’s the sea, the absolute personification of my first love. He’s spunky and brave, sassy yet kind, and despite my immediate joy about him regarding the future of marine research, it’s gone so far beyond that. My care for him has ascended past study and data, into a place I was scared to approach.

What was I supposed to do? Keep him in my bathtub for the rest of my life? A swimming pool in my backyard? This was work, this was business, this is the future; nothing is going to get in the way of that. Not my stupid feelings, nor his.

In the evening, before I was getting ready to go home, I was taking one final look at Rafayels scales on his face and neck.

“They’re so beautiful…” I muttered under my breath, inches away from his face. His scales were what fascinated me the most, despite it being the least interesting fact I had discovered about this humanoid. Somehow, a mammal having scales like this was utterly enchanting. Tracing the way they were engraved into his skin, he opened one of his eyes to look at me.

“Do you want one?” Rafayel asked.

“I wouldn’t want just one, I’d need enough to make a necklace.” Softly smiling, I playfully picked at one of them.

“Have I told you the Lemurian tradition of giving up one of our scales?”

“Mm, briefly…”

He tilted his head forward, as if he were telling me top secret information, “When we give one of our scales to someone, it bonds us for life. An eternal love that traverses through anything, whole universes.” Both eyes open now, the look in them told me I already had been given thousands of his scales.

I pushed his head back with one of my fingers, “You’re already bonded to me for life, at least until I can figure you out.”

Rafayel leaned towards me again, and I grabbed his face,

“Hold still.”

He frowned.

-

“Rafayel~” Walking into the pool room I sang out to him like usual, only to find the pool empty.

After nearly a year of seeing him every single day, for the first time, he was nowhere to be seen.

My heart sank, was it because I had rejected him?

I sat by the pool, filled with mackerel, and just waited…

And waited…

And waited…

I watched the sun begin to set through the large windows, covering the room in an orange glow. Rafayel always had a habit of complaining about the way the sun would shine in his eyes, but would quickly quiet down as he saw me stare out at the sea longingly; there was so much love in his eyes I thought it might suffocate him if he didn’t let it out.

I guess he finally had enough.

Tears threatened to pour as the sky turned dark, the room only lit up with the light of the moon.

Frustrated, I cursed him under my breath. How dare he ruin this for me? How could he let his own feelings get in the way of the bright future I had made for marine research? I wanted to hit him upside the head for giving me all of this information and data, just to up and leave, leaving my study on a cliffhanger.

How could he leave me?

The next day, for the first time in years, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to get out of bed. Let alone go to work. I hated him for making me feel this way, for breaking down my walls so much that I was ready to give up the only thing I had going for me.

I went anyway.

Walking up to the doors of the pool room, I thought about just turning around and going home. I was going to waste my time with a school of fish that I had already collected hundreds of samples from, when I could just go back to my bed and rot, grieving the future of science and my broken heart.

Just as I was about to turn on my heel and leave, I heard soft singing from inside, a voice I recognized easily.

Practically breaking the doors open, I ran inside.

Sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, reading a textbook as if nothing was wrong, was the man I wanted to strangle with my bare hands.

He looked up at me, frowning, “You’re late.”

Once the adrenaline of seeing him wore off, I noticed where he was.

Outside of the pool, in a chair, with no help, with…

“Legs!” I screeched, exasperated.

“Yeah, okay, good to see you too I guess.” Rafayel scoffed, going back to the book. This time it was my turn to snatch it out of his hands.

“Rafayel, this changes everything! All of my studies!” I put my face in my hands, shaking my head.

“That's what you have to say about this? I don’t show up to try and play hard to get, and this is what I get?” He glared at me, “You didn’t even miss me!”

“Why didn’t you tell me you could grow legs!”

“I was trying to humor you!”

I threw my hands up in desperation, pacing back and forth. Rafayel started mumbling something in a language I didn’t understand, clearly mad.

“Is that all I am to you?” He spit out at me, like his words were acid, “Some science experiment?” I shot my head in his direction, narrowing my eyes, “You know as well as I do that’s not the case.”

“If that's not the case, then why are you doing this to me? Acting like you care and there’s something here, then putting your walls back up. Am I just being manipulated for your work?” Rafayel stood up, peering down at me, “Just some testing animal that you keep here in your tank?”

“Raf…No…Of course not.” I promised, seeing the look of hurt in his eyes made my heart squeeze in guilt. Tracing the painted marking on his cheek, I noticed the scales on his face and neck were nowhere to be seen.

His demeanor quickly switched at my touch, grabbing my hands in desperation, pulling them to his chest and clutching my fingers over his heart.

“I don’t care.” Rafayel stated.

“What?”

“I don’t care what you do. You can have me for life; study me, use me, publish me for the world to see, I don’t care. I just want you in return.”

He fell to his knees, holding his hands tightly on my waist. Looking up at me with a pleading look in his eyes, Rafayel started muttering what I could only make out to be a Lumerian prayer I had read in one of the textbooks, “Please.” He cried.

“Rafayel, just stand up.”

“Please.” He repeated.

I stared down at him, “Raf-”

“Please, no, just say you want me. Say you’ll have me. Open this door, I know you’re scared, but I’ll figure it out.”

“Rafayel.”

“Put your trust in me. I’ll give you all my scales, my blood, my life, please, be mine, I’m already yours; be mine.”

I fell to my knees with him, smashing my lips onto his. Tangling my hand in his hair, the other clutching onto his sash, I felt like I was trying to kiss the life out of him. I wanted to merge my soul with his, I wanted to be a part of him, climb into his skin, breathe his air into my lungs. He tasted like the salt of the sea, his lips warm compared to the cold of his skin.

My walls crumbled, and with his hands on my skin, I realized nothing mattered more than him. No more research, no more work, just him.

I loved him so much, I could cry.

‘How do you see your future?’ He had asked so long ago.

With you, Rafayel.

Just you.

[baeshijima]

u know what would be a cool genshin fic idea? isekai/transmigrated reader, but instead of appearing within the general timeline, you come into the genshin world 500 years prior to the start of the storyline in khaenri'ah.

honestly it could be either a little before the cataclysm, giving enough time to delve into some relationship building + explore some world building with characters like dainsleif, traveller's sibling (which would probably be lumine bc i actually do like her as abyss sibling & aether as traveller), and npcs like halfdan (still crying over him to this day ;w;) and possibly the khaenri'ahn royal guards (assuming you either join them or have a good enough relationship with them), OR it could be you appear during the crisis, completely and utterly lost as to why you were brought amidst the chaos and bloodshed as you watch everything you barely knew about this nation crumble before your very eyes.

either route will still result in reader's existential crises and constant "why am i here? just to suffer?" monologues because really, who would be fine after going through that after coming from /our/ world? and not to mention you've had to endure the next 500 years wandering with no real set path because you don't know this world— this era of teyvat or of genshin. you're merely stuck, unable to die, and forced to live a life of uncertainty with no clear direction for you to go to.

despite it all, you've at least been able to see dain during this course. while your meetings pass far too quickly for your lonesome, and his solemn demeanour is something you're yet to be accustomed to after having been with him before the fall of khaenri'ah (assuming it's the route where you appear before the cataclysm), you're glad to see a familiar face every now and then. after the messy departure with the lumine who left for the abyss order, you've come to appreciate his quiet presence more and more each time.

and then you decide it might be time to settle. you soon realise it's difficult to do so when your lifespan has become far more than that of a human's — of a mortal's — and so you find yourself becoming used to staying in one place for a few years before setting off for the next. rinse and repeat. over and over. it's come to a point where you've witnessed the nations undergo various changes each time you visit. you know change is inevitable, and yet your heart stings each time you witness it; a testament to how the world is ever-changing, yet you're stuck in place as a bystander.

one thing you're grateful for, however, are the bonds you've established amid your back-and-forth over the centuries. from archons like zhongli and venti to long-life beings such as neuvillette and the adepti to regular mortals who have showed you kindness as if one of their own... you've grown to cherish those memories, often reminiscing them when the nights get too long and surroundings too quiet. it was difficult at first, and still is, but you've become used to the inevitable change and the passing of those you once knew.

and after 500 years, you find yourself face-to-face with one you haven't seen since before you appeared in this world; the protagonist of this world, and the one you eventually join in hopes of finally finding a means to an end, aether.

little side notes/extras:

from /our/ world, you would probably know the storyline from up to around current (5.0) or maybe a little after the fontaine aq conclusion. it gives a lot to work with, but you definitely won't remember a lot of the lore after so long other than some main events, especially since most of your knowledge is pretty irrelevant for the next 500 years,,,

i think it would be cool if you had an inteyvat on your person as a little homage of khaenri'ah, which may or may not invoke some opinions from certain characters (*cough* aether immediately being reminded of lumine and having an existential crisis *cough*)

post-cataclysm you would go through a, uhm, long phase of helplessness, wondering why you were even brought to this world so far back if you couldn't even make any contributions. it does eventually morph into a resolution to do what you can to help those you come across if it's within your capabilities, but the nightmares and helplessness come back every now and then as a reminder for what you can't do :D yippee :D

honestly i'm on the fence whether you would have a vision or some other type of abilities (think on the similar lines of aether/lumine's and dain's), but i think having some type of purification mechanic would be a must in your arsenal !! would definitely lead to some moments between you and characters like dain or zhongli who suffer from the erosion as you give them a slight reprieve from what rages within and corrodes them

a little self indulgent, but i'd like to think your first /proper/ meeting with zhongli happens during a lantern rite festival, wherein you're admiring the lanterns in the sky after making a wish of your own and he comes up from behind with "they're beautiful, wouldn't you say so?" and !!

also as for love interests, as much as i would love for human/mortal characters, a part of me feels like this story would be better suited for the immortal/long-life characters as love interests?? idk i feel like considering that 500 years is, well, a long time, the bonds you would have with them compared to characters like, say, alhaitham or diluc would be way too different ?? though i would definitely still add them as love interest bc i am a sucker for so many of the human characters ;w; it would also add to the angst and hurt/comfort ahahha...

anyway thank you for reading this massive brain dump of a fic bc i absolutely would put this as a long term project, and if u made it this far then i would like to say that dain solos—

[amazingdeadfish]

Blue and Violet

So this is a continuation of this and this.

I had this whole idea planned out where Wukong's visit to that... LBD throne room thing would become relevant and actually cement a firm place into LMK lore (Season 2, Episode: Minor Scale). I touched on it in Visionary (the LBD prequel I wrote), but I still wanted it to have a more current relevance to the BAV storyline.

Hence, this whole plot.

In search of a way to learn what kind of seal LBD exactly put on Lán to control their powers, Sun Wukong gets involved. There's, probably a whole convoluted build up for what happened, but it probably involved the entire city being submerged in a snowstorm and MK and his friends finding out why and how it happened.

Regardless, its Wukong, Macaque, and Lán on a trip to a bone demon's temple. What could go wrong?

They make it out alive and find what they are looking for though. Not without a bit of a self doubt moment with Lán.

That painting Wukong broke is absolutely obliterated and gone. Which is a shame because I do think Lán would have dragged that painting back home with them and built a shrine with it.

Lady Bone Demon never told Lán about this place. She didn't tell them much at all. Lán doesn't actually know her that well. There's a fine line between wanting to respect the wishes of the dead, and wanting to consume the very last bits of them and the traces they left behind.

So of course Lán ends up staying, and the three of them end up finding what they need.

The most important take away from all of this is that there's an entire archive filled to the brim with LBD's writings. History she left behind. Words that have not seen the light of day for centuries.

So slowly, by slowly, Lán chips away at it. Reading everything.

There will be a time where there's only one scroll left to read.

But hey that's for the next time I decide to come back to this storyline lmao (ahaha).

ALSO- For those who have made it this far, here is a sick Lán I forgot to post a while back. Meant to follow up the previous installment of... whatever this is.

[ivysangel]

…vampire!jason thoughts… you must provide them im desperate…. -🐞

(ik you probably expected #real smut, honestly i did too but this ended up turning into a whole bunch of lore/headcanons/whatever tf. i'm so sorry bae cw: talks of consuming blood)

you ask, you shall receive. i've been thinking about jason and dick as vampires in relation to each other, so this'll be a post about both of them just for the sake of comparisons. also, in my mind, this au takes place during the 19th century because i've conflated vampirism with the victorian era, and it's also no capes in regards to vigilantism bc vampires do love a good cape.

in this victorian era, vampire au dick would be either a nobleman or straight up royalty. he's got status, money, and a pretty face, and he uses them all to his advantage when it comes to feeding. you know in the originals or itwtv when they host an event that's actually a cover for them finding their next meal? yeah, he does that. he flirts with all of the ladies, plays into his charms, and sweeps women off their feet. and at the end of the night (sometimes even mid-ball), he coaxes them upstairs and ravishes them, sometimes in more ways than one.

i think for dick feeding is something he can have fun with, knowing that he holds such a high ranking in society that when bodies of people he's been seen with show up around town, people turn a blind eye. and even when someone does try to investigate, the wayne family checking account talks enough to shut down anything beyond a questioning.

in many pieces of media surrounding vampires, there are people who know about vampires and choose to feed them their blood. there's a bunch of lore that explores the idea that a vampire bite is almost orgasmic and kind of addictive, which is why some people are more than willing to put themselves in harm's way by either being employed by vampires or by straight up just throwing themselves into a vampires line of sight with open wounds.

with that being said, i think dick grayson likes the chase. i think that even if his father (bruce, who is also a vampire in this au because vampire families are just superior) has people on his payroll to provide blood for them, he's going to go out on his own to flirt a bit, get laid, and then have his fill.

which brings me to my next point; while feeding, like sex, is an intimate act, it's far from necessary for dick to need an emotional connection with a person he feeds off of or even a physical one. sex and feeding are related but not totally synonymous, and if he needs to just feed or just get his rocks off, he can. is it preferred? maybe not. i believe he does like the mess that comes with doing both at the same time.

ok so for jason, ugh so obsessed with him as a vampire because i think it's so in line with his canon story. in a lot of vampire lore, to become a vampire, you have to consume the blood of a vampire and either die or be on the brink of death, which is just so. it's so jason dying and being revived by the lazarus pit coded. and even the way he inevitable that he will spill blood post-revival in both this vampire au and his canon storyline…it's almost prophetic.

anyway, jason's approach to vampirism is quite different. i think he struggles with it no matter how long he's been one. he can't fully grasp that he's immortal; he looks in the mirror and sees that he hasn't aged a day and he feels sick. being a vampire for him feels like a curse and he only continues living because he's scared to die (again).

he doesn't stay anywhere too long, typically hopping from town to town in the middle of the night when less people are around. he believes himself to be out of place amongst normal people and he's paranoid that people can smell the iron on his breath when he talks to them so he makes it a point to have minimal interaction with people.

it's crippling, he drives himself mad with the solitude, but i feel like another reason why he continues to stay alive is to spite his creator, whoever that may be. he's most definitely got an agenda, in true jason fashion. i just don't know what it is yet.

he feeds only when he needs to but tries not to let the hunger get too intense because i do feel like when he loses control, he's the stefan salvitore type. a ripper. but he's pretty good about it and is almost polite when he's feeding? like he finds a victim and says i'm sorry before just absolutely tearing into their jugular.

i just really think he grapples with his own mortality, or lack thereof, and how it exists at the expense of others. so he is genuinely ashamed of who he is and what he's become. so, while blood drinking is something he needs to survive, it holds a lot of weight for him, which is why i think drinking blood and sex are pretty equal for him when it comes to intimacy level.

that brings me to my MAIN point (which isn't really a main point because it's being reduced to a small paragraph at the end of this post), all of that was background for this, eek. the act of drinking blood during sex is so. big. for him, it's eye-opening, life-changing. the amount of trust required on both ends for this to happen…at that point, it's basically end game for you two. and it's so funny because that's just a normal tuesday for dick.

anyway, i do have more thoughts and more lore, but this got really long, so i'll cut it off here

[perkeleen-lavellan]

I feel like with any sincere discussion of Veilguard we should start off by establishing that there are multiple forms of 'fun' as it were, to be had from video games. The main purpose of a video game is, after all, to be fun. To entertain us.

So. With Veilguard I feel the problem is this; Veilguard succeeds at being fun. It succeeds at the kind of actionable fun. Veilguard is fun to actively play for most people. The combat is fun, the level design is fun, the main storyline is fun whenever we get to it. Veilguard offers fun that is quick and instant. I think it was no small feat that BioWare has finally managed to design levels and combat for a Dragon Age game that feels complete. Although I will go to my grave defending the tactical combat of DAO, it is a different more gripping kind of fun that Veilguard's mobility and systems can offer.

But there is another form a fun. The kind of fun you might be more used to associating with a good book. The fun of a story you can't wait to see the end of. The fun of fantasy world building, of seeing the marvel that is an author, or a collection of authors, who know what their vision is, and who are subtle enough to communicate that vision through fiction. The joy of seeing the result of experts building their craft. Environmental clues, implications in dialogue, tone in atmosohere. Seeing a good story unfold is fun, and with video games, which are an interactive audio visual medium how much moreso?

A book is just words, a show on tv is always linear and restricted to what the camera shows us. A video game has a whole three dimensional world that you can move inside of, witnessing the story and world building both passively and actively. A video game has dialogue and characters, who can both drive and narrate the plot for you. A video game can put you inside the world the story is happening in and immerse you in it.

And I feel that Veilguard fails to take advantage of the full breadth of the vast collection of storytelling tools a video game has. The fact that the companion quests and companion writing seems to have been left incomplete, pieces wilting on the cutting room floor when the companions are meant to be the emotional core of this story? The fact that all the factions are presented as unambiguous good guys which leaves them with no depth, their stories woefully superficial and unwilling to engage in any deeper ideas? The fact that vast amounts of world building and lore have been essentially discarded? That is all severely unfun.

So I think it's fair to say that Veilguard is fun and disappointing and not fun. The fun that I had while playing this game was always followed by a collection of things that were not fun. And the most annoying part is the parts about Veilguard which are fun are the parts that are fleeting. That I can find combat in a video game entertaining, extremely entertaining sometimes, is nothing when compared to the staying power of a gripping story with not just good set up and pay-off, but also an immaculate structure supporting that all the way throug.

When I am 80 years old I will not remember fondly the fact that Veilguard was the first Dragon Age game to finally have an actual dodge mechanic. There are always going to be games with fun combat mechanics, Veilguard isn't special for that. But I will remember Solas turning into a dragon sized wolf in a desperate bid to fight a dragon ten times his size, to help the hero he became a villain to. I will remember what it felt like to have a protagonist start off by treating Solas with suspicion, knowing there was no reason to trust Solas but choosing to give Solas a chance to prove himself trustworthy anyway, and Solas breaking that trust. And I'll remember what it felt like to have that protagonist then face Solas again, and make a choice to either be kind or to be just like Solas.

You will sometimes see gamers who say they don't really care about the writing in their games that much, but then their favourite games are things like The Witcher 3, God of War, The Last of Us. The reason they say that is because the writing is so integrally a part of the gameplay experience they don't even realise how much work it's doing. Fun gameplay doesn't matter if there is no reason to continue it.

Do you know what I remember about Dragon Age Veilguard? I remember dreading opening the game and seeing the list of companion quests in my journal that I had no interest in doing, because I had already realised how nothing a lot of them were. And I'm not talking about the gameplay of those quests, I think we've established I enjoyed smacking the bad guys and moving through the levels quite a bit. Oh no. I'm not even talking about the dialogue, not really. It was the stakes. Why were these characters doing these things, and why should I care? There was so little emotional conflict in those early to mid game companion quests.

Do you know how plot structure works when you really boil it down? Conflict is set up -> tension rises -> conflict comes to a head -> tension releases. This is why you need conflict and this is why you need characters to have flaws that they will not self psychoanalyze to a resolution within the first 5 minutes of the story. The realisation of those flaws is the plot! The character overcoming those flaws is the plot. You can't have a story without plot! What are we doing here????

That's how those quests felt. They felt like all the actually meaningful things the writers of these sub-plots had to say got crammed into their final quests. With a couple exceptions. And that's why doing most of the companion quests felt like a chore.

So, anyway, in summary. Remember that a video game contains within itself multiple forms of fun. As many forms of fun as there are ways of interacting with a game.

[questionablecuttlefish]

Ezreal's kinda great actually.

Ez is a champ I used to love to hate, but he grew on me because once you get past his arrogant showboating e-boy wannabe shonen protagonist energy (and boy is it a lot) the fact that his entire ... the above thing is a masquerade for a lonely young man who blames himself for being abandoned by his parents is....wow ouch.

His backstory…oof, give that boy a hug. IDC what Christian Linke says, he would be fine in an Arcane-like show if you leaned into his bravado being a mask for loss.

I know we all rag on his crush on Lux, it's basically a running joke at this point but it's also an interesting bit of characterization…like the rest of his cocky adventurer persona it's completely superficial, he doesn't know anything about her except that she's blonde and pretty, and she doesn't know who he is.

And ofc they can't really work as a romance because Lux has SO MUCH GOING ON that has nothing to do with Ezreal, and her story is firmly grounded in Demacia, her family, and the plight of the Demacian mages, while Ezreal's story is all about his globetrotting adventures, his tomb raiding, his search for his parents.

If he stays with her, his story ends, if she goes with him, her story ends. They could in theory be a cute Disney protagonist romance, but the incompatibility of their storylines and the way Riot has spent probably over a decade now playing his feelings for laughs as a cringe, nigh-stalkery crush and her complete disinterest doesn't bode well for any kind of actual relationship coming of it.

It's not an evilbadtoxic ship by any means, it's just, imo, a bit of a nothingburger without enough actual connection or chemistry to make it worth sacrificing both characters for 'the ship'.

So the crush is funny (and Jarro Lightfeather is hysterical) but a critical part of an Ezreal character arc would be getting over it and moving on, imo. You don't give a guy a shallow stalker crush and then reward him with 'getting the girl' and call it character development, it's only character development if he doesn't.

Ez is at his most interesting when you can see the glimmers of him getting over himself and being the genuine hero he could be. (turning back to help Kai'Sa in Warriors is a good example).

I could really, really enjoy an Ezreal show where he ends up in a fun little D&D party with Kai'Sa and Taliyah running around Shurima exploring ancient ruins and battling Void horrors. I would LIVE for the comedic value of Ezreal being the most annoying showboaty jackass he possibly could be ("Ha ha! It's ALL skill") trying to impress the intimidatingly baddass Kai'Sa, whilst she's just so deadpan Raised By Wolves socially awkward killing-machine-trying-to-reconnect-to-humanity that she just takes him completely in stride.

Ez getting increasingly ridiculous in his antics and just completely failing to either impress OR annoy Kai'Sa would be just comedy gold, imo. Alternatively, getting back into the 'canon bi route' and my Ezko agenda, he he, Ezreal and Ekko actually make a really interesting pairing in the main timeline because

They've got a LITTLE bit of that oil-and-water energy with Ezreal being a Piltie, but he's an adventurous, inquisitive Piltie who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, so Ekko would appreciate that even as he was giving the guy MASSIVE sideeye for all the cultural theft.

Ezreal would annoy the shit out of Ekko, since he's such a damn poser and Ekko is such a genuine, grounded guy.

They're both very, very intelligent, though, and they're both big fat nerds. Ekko is much more on the genius tinkerer and inventor science nerd end and Ezreal much more on the lore, culture, history nerd end, but they are both big nerds.

I think Ezreal would be just in awe of Ekko from the moment they met. 'This guy is so f'cking COOL how do i get him to think I'm COOL' and then drive Ekko up the wall overcompensating trying to get his attention/approval but coming off as being hypercompetitive and showboaty.

But if Ekko (especially League Ekko, whose parents are such a big part of his story) gets a whiff of Ezreal's past and his parents, he's going to start seeing through Ez's masquerade very quick, and if there's one thing Ekko is, it's a compassionate person, a carer, who just wants to help.

The boys could bond over shared adventurers plumbing the depths of Zaun for some secret mystery hidden in the ruins of Oshra Va'Zaun that could potentially be a threat to Zaun or the Firelights, and that Ezreal has an archaeologist's interest in.

You get all the back-and-forth dynamic, conflict, bickering, and slow burn affection that make Ezko a fantastic ship.

I might just write this.

[simpy-simpers]

Too small on a stage not meant for them.

Day 5!!! Prompt - Five

Technically there's six but the twins count for Golden... so 5 animatronics?

Not my best vision for a piece and definitely not my best execution, but I'm a week behind (oops! Life hits hard what can I say)

Not my best work but we continue!! Maybe I'll redraw it someday, wasn't feeling too hot with the background and didn't really enjoy drawing the characters too much, but it was decent overall haha.

Gahhh lore lore lore below, lots of text you may not want to read

(Maybe not so) Miniature lore time!

TW!!! Mentions of CHILD DEATH.

So I changed things around a bit to see what I like. Andrew IS in this AU (a character from the stitchwraith(did I spell that right?) which clued us into how Golden Freddy functions) and he's the twin brother of Cassidy. He takes the form of the vengeful spirit while Cassidy will resemble more of Charlie's role (sorta forgiving, protector, but not giver of life, that stays with the puppet.) Andrew and Cassidy were killed within moments of each other, still deciding how (debating on going with the springlock theory or not).

Anyway, Gabriel takes the spot as the oldest of the group, around 14. Jeremy is 8, Fritz 7, and Susie 5. Andrew and Cassidy hang around 12-ish.

A lot of their story is driven by Andrew, Cassidy, and Gabriel. (Bear trio yay!) They try to make plans, finding ways to free themselves, and 'get to heaven', but nothing truly works. They try killing night guards to see if their murderer is one, but they can't tell who it is (due to the spring bonnie suit), and all it results in is a bunch of children with blood on their hands. The youngest 3 truly don't understand. All they do is follow the orders from the "big kids". Blah blah blah story details, there's a lot of dialogue of them just talking. I mean, it's all they can do. Sometimes Gabriel will figure out one of the TVs and manage to turn on cartoons for them to watch, and they've even managed hide and seek a couple times.

blah blah blah more more more

Anyway they find CC's soul in the Fredbear plush. Don't know if I brought something like this up before, because I may have accidentally lied, but this was a detail I put in. CC actually dies during the bite of 83' with the plushy in his arms, and paired with the agony infused into it during FNAF 4, he latches onto it instead of onto Fredbear. Add in his reality altering abilities (as proved by the survival logbook text being altered and blah blah blah, watch God Victim theory, it has some points I use here). As I said, they find the plush with CC's soul. (His name is Eli in this universe, named after Elizabeth because he was born post Elizabeth's death. Times are changed around a LOT) They talk to CC, he's sobbing like 24/7, somehow they come to the conclusion about the happiest day thing, and they send Cassidy in (she wanted to) somehow??? Anyway that's how fnaf world ends up happening. Whole storyline everything blah blah blah, achieves happiest day (different than in the canon game but yk).

Once they learn happiest day they manage to use it(?) on everyone, not exactly the most peak storytelling, I know, but I'm working around it. I still need to actually read the stitchwraith (can't spell wahhh)

And they find heaven.

Most of them.

Andrew stays. He wants revenge. He needs someone to suffer for their actions. And Cassidy can't leave until he does. "Once we find him." He says, "Once he's suffered."

He didn't truly know how long that would take.

blah blah blah blah blah. omg ucn. Yeah that's Andrew. He finds a way to separate himself and Cassidy.

He's alone. "Not held back anymore."

UCN goes on woop woop.

uhmmmmmm

ikr peak storytelling.

then??? idk?? I'll make choices when they make more sense. A little tired lmbo. I'll start catching up this time I promiseeeeeeee. Gonna do smaller pieces to stop eating up time. This piece was SUCH a time eater!!! Should not have taken that long but I've been working on it for like 3 days (70% of that time was just me on my phone but we do not talk about that)

Anyway, sleep well, take my subpar effort, and have a good night! Stay simpin yall

[mochatsin]

MC as a Dating Sim Character Part 2

An AU in which the seven brothers knew you as a dating sim character from a game they love to play so much. Though the game glitched and was shortly deleted after. The demons end up finding out that their beloved character is actually alive… or came to life?

Thank you for all the love you guys gave to the first part of the Reverse!MC AU.

The seven would sit you down and ask you questions, ones specifically catered to you to check if you were the same character they played. It ranged from your basic interests to something that were more personal. To them, they’re just lore that they got by playing through the game. But to you, those were some deep secrets that you never tell anyone unless they were your closest friends. 

It felt weird to sit in a room with several strangers that seemed to know everything about you. It was like you were bare to the world and to everyone, unaware that you were a video game character. In your perspective, those storylines and game events are memories, things that actually happened to you. Now you’re surrounded with demons that assume they know you.

Satan is the first to notice how uncomfortable you look when Levi tries to prove that he knows your lore, reciting it all perfectly and you’re confused on how they knew this personal information. The fourth born is the one that tries to stop his brothers from saying more than they need to, and a few got the hint to keep shut. There’s some things that should come from your mouth, not theirs. 

This is what the demon’s gathered. As far as you know, everything you’ve experienced was real. You don’t know about the game they say you came from, but you know the other roster of datable characters as if they were also real people to you. Some of them were your friends, and it’s beginning to dawn onto them that you’re more than just some character now. You’re your own person with more complex feelings than codes can ever give. No more scripted lines that make your responses predictable. 

The royals say that you should stay over in the House of Lamentation for a while and when you asked what room you’ll be staying in, the brothers started talking all at once on why you should pick their room. 

If you want to admire a collection of model cars and luxury brands, ‘The Great Mammon’ is willing to let you bunk with him but it’s not because he wants you to stay or anything. Levi has a lot of games and shows you both can enjoy (because your character profile already stated what you’ll like) but his bathtub may not give enough comfort as a bed would.

Asmo offers his gigantic bathroom and promises you can sleep with the finest silk linen sheets with some calm inducing aromatherapies. Satan is cursing under his breath when he recalls how his new books took up more bedspace, his pigsty of a room can hardly offer you anything but clutter.

The twins are happy to let you stay with them, Beel would promise you some of the best midnight snacks and Belphie is willing to let you borrow his cow pillow to make sure you sleep well. Lucifer had to intervene with the brothers, shutting down their offers (even when he himself has so much to give) and states that you will be occupying the guest room for the time being. At least it gives you the much needed privacy.

While you try to adjust to your life here in Devildom, Lucifer makes the arrangements for you to stay at the House of Lamentation. It’s best to focus first on getting yourself comfortable in this new world before everyone sorts things out with how you got here. To players, your file was corrupted and glitched in the game. To you, your vision went blurry and you passed out before waking up in Devildom shortly after. 

You still have the same personality that you had as your old game model, so the brothers have a vague idea of how to approach you. Though they needed to constantly remind themselves that you’re not just some character anymore. Before you could even visit their rooms, they cleaned up their ‘mess’ which meant hiding all the merch products and photos of you. Now that you’re real, it’s quite embarrassing and awkward if you found this. Levi had the hardest time hiding an entire shelf of merch. 

The demons, especially those who were so invested in your lore, made sure not to romanticize or make light of your stories. Regardless of how your background was well-written for character development, it was still very much real to you. Levi needed to personally note to himself to be more sensitive about it when he heard you talk about your backstory. It’s different when it’s coming from a game and when it’s coming from you. 

All those voice recordings they have saved needed to be archived or put somewhere more private. Mammon accidentally had it played while you were around and he ran away so fast before you could even react to your own voice. There was a reminder from Lucifer at the end of the day in their group chat to be more mindful about any saved ringtones or voice packs. It’s best to replace them for now. They don’t need it as much anymore now that they can just talk to you, it was much better than any recording.

If you ever said any catchphrase or lines that you normally say in the game, they always get caught off guard and turn to you immediately. At some point, Satan managed to complete your sentence when you spoke the first line and he tried to play it cool but you can see how flustered he was behind the book he was hiding from. It just so happens that he memorized some of your home screen lines and blurted it out. 

Asmo helps you get some better clothes, there’s no way he could just let you wear the same thing everyday or any sort of hand-me-downs. He brings you around Majolish and several shops until you find what sort of outfits would suit you. Watching you come out in different outfits, showing him some of the clothes you both picked out makes Asmo so giddy inside. Maybe one day he can try to get one of your old in-game outfits sewn or something inspired by it, he has the money and talent to make you shine.

Since you came from a game, you belong to neither realms and it was better you stayed in Devildom surrounded by people willing to take care of you and know about your situation. You’re now the new transfer student now in RAD with one of the seven always tailing you behind your back. It’s perfect timing because Diavolo was planning an exchange program and you’re just the last student they needed!

The only problem was that since the game you came from was quite a big hit before, it’s undeniable when some of the students or other demons seem to recognize you. You looked like that beloved character that suddenly went missing, you even sound like it too. This sort of unwanted attention can be uncomfortable when they get too close to your liking.

Beel is always the one looking after you if any demon tries something funny, making sure they all back away from you. There was one point that a demon kept insisting you were that game character and poked your face, resulting in Beel almost hurling them to a wall. 

Belphie is always dozing off next to you in classes, but his murderous glances are always enough to make the rumors quiet down during your first few days. You think that most of the time he’s just sleeping, but others swear that they can feel his piercing gaze hiding behind those bangs. 

The seven are all fascinated by you now that you’re here. Those days were spent where they were wondering what happened to you in the game, now they knew why. For some unknown reason, you just came to life. Their own favorite character is now living with them but they knew seeing you in that light could be harmful. They needed to remember you’re not just some character anymore. You’re you now.

[starsreminisce]

I will preface this by saying I still do not give two shits whose book is next. But if we are looking at the plot threads that need to be addressed, I still believe Elucien's book is next, based on four key points.

The Trove is the bridge between ACOTAR and CC. In fact, we learned more about the Mask than we did about Truth-Teller.

Nesta and Elain still have not made up since their argument about finding the Trove.

There is nothing Elain could gain from Gwyn and Azriel getting together that she would not have already learned from her sisters' mating bonds, especially when she already has a mating bond of her own. If anything, the climax of ACOSF would have proven to Elain that ignoring the bond, for whatever reason, would not change the fact that she is mated to Lucien.

The final chapters of ACOSF already foreshadow what is next, with HOFAS reinforcing it. ACOSF ends with Cassian circling back to his observations about Beron's treatment of Eris and how it extended to Lucien. Nesta, in turn, places the rose marker from the HoW on their father's headstone in a flower field as she looks up to her mate. Then in HOFAS, Rhys and Nesta are shown to be disconnected about who actually owns the Trove, while Elain and Lucien remain notably absent.

The whole debate about who is suffering more, who is more or less developed, or who needs to do xyz is irrelevant when that is the entire purpose of the book itself. If we follow ToG's structure, Elide was introduced in HoF, played a major role in Manon's storyline, and then got a POV in EoS. Similarly, Yrene was introduced in AB before getting a POV in ToD. Both Elide and Yrene were not at their "lowest point" when they got their POV, but both were at a point where they needed to do something more to break their current status quo.

Elain and Lucien being absent from Bryce's arrival actually suggests an EoS/ToD setup, just like how Chaol was absent while Aelin and Dorian were gathering allies, only for him and Yrene to be the one to uncover the Valg's connection to their world.

Does CC/HOFAS set up the next ACOTAR book? Yes. In CC, we learned the Daglan and Asteri were the same beings and that their tools and influence still linger in Prythian. ACOSF also tells us, through Cassian, that a rejected mating bond is still felt even after death, only for HOFAS to reinforce just how deeply it affects the mates left behind.

I say all of this to explain why I believe Elucien's book is next. This is based on my reading of canon and how SJM structures her stories across her series. That does not mean I am diminishing Gwyn or Azriel's storylines or development.

But it is jarring that both Gwyn and Elain were healing from their own traumatic event, yet Gwyn was able to achieve her goal of stepping out of the library and becoming stronger in honor of her sister, while Elain was not only told to stay home but actively surveilled to ensure she did.

It is also telling that twice now, Azriel has fundamentally misunderstood the mating bond, first when he claimed Lucien was undeserving of his mate and second when he learned mates exist in Bryce's world and the possibility that his mate could be in another world entirely.

If we boil SJM's series down to just her mating bond lore, just like how everyone in TOG ended up cosmically paired, Azriel stands to gain a lot from witnessing through Lucien that a mate can be someone you have only just met and through Elain that accepting the bond is simply a matter of timing.

Meanwhile, what else can Elain do when the IC still did not even bother to bring her in to meet Bryce, just as they left her out of the discussion about finding the things left behind by Bryce's overlords?

That is where SJM always starts her stories.

The next book is going to bridge ACOTAR to CC, and it makes more sense to tell it through the POV of a couple who was not a part of it, especially when she can tease it to get people to buy the previous series. Not to mention, she has already established a vague connection by having Helion, Lucien's father, react to the mask and having Nesta feel vindicated in her decision to not let Elain near it.

[sloasis]

for eddie to be moving in and bucks stuff is already out yet buck has no place, he has to be living somewhere, which gives them the chance to go with now buck is couch crashing at eddies as madney has the new baby and henren family unless they are going to randomly have him stay w ravi like they did w albert. s8 feels like the entire season could have been half of one and there should have been alot of room to play w but nothing happened. espc w the finale comparing it to s3 you get a major accident and still have time to wrap up storylines for 10 min and have a 5 min montage of a party and for then pregnancy and almost parallel to maddie going to have the baby. staying hopeful for s9 and the chance of having buck and eddie actually say what they mean for once and all the universe screams and joy

Yeah honestly the odds of Buck staying with Ravi / having scenes with him talking about helping with finding a new place are really high . Like that landlord one off line of lore was super random and would tie in really well into this arc but . If they absolutely forgot they wrote that in then also wouldn't be surprised . Anyways .. I have a feeling that roommate buddie is also a possibility like YES Buck somehow already moved all his shit out but Eddie also said he wasn't just gonna kick him out like that .. and knowing how insane LA and general housing is nowadays . The likely hood of him REALISTICALLY finding a brand new place within a few months is kind of really slim . Without help of Ravi and connections and all that . Also Buck canonically has a bad credit score now ..... ( Plus . Still asking the question about where the hell Athena is gonna live ? ) The montage at the end of s8 was definitely super rushed like , comparing it to every other finale before season 6 . It was a big accident , they worked it and saved everyone within at least 30 minutes . That's still a good 18 ish minutes to wrap everything up and conclude everyone's arcs nicely and be ready to send them off to the next season . But this finale was literally 45 minutes of the disaster and a 5 minute montage where it was also dragged out to make Athena seem like she was rushing to the hospital For Bobby lol . I do also have hopes that season 9 can fix all of the mistakes they made in s8 and really revisit what they were gonna do with buddie . The potential is there to piece it all back together and really make history with the canonization of their relationship !

[artisticprocrastionator]

Banished Knight in my INSECT AU!

Time for some massive lore! He’s gotten a whole new look and storyline! For this, he’ll go by Hunter or Banished Knight (BK). Why Hunter? I think it suits him.

Soooo what is Banished knight based off of?

Hunter is based off of the Bunny Harvestman. I literally had no idea what they were until I came across a photo of them. Some may find them creepy, but I think they are soo cool looking and it’s crazy smt like that exists! Here’s a few photos:

I did my best to make Hunter’s design replicate it but the side view his hat/helmet kinda makes it look like a dog instead of a bunny (but honestly, the harvestman itself looks like a dog-). However, I have another doodle that kinda captures it better:

Sooo what’s his backstory???

Hunter was an elite knight for one of the Arachnid Clans (atm I’m calling it the Burrow Clan but STC) within the terrain of Chapter 3 (Which takes place near the cemetery/Telemon’s Manor). He was a harvestman that collected the souls all throughout Robloxia of those who have passed or will soon past. Some of these clans, like Burrow Clan, worked under Telemon and helped souls give a second chance in life. However, he was banished for being too “merciful” for one soul that caused havoc and harm for his clan and the souls that resided in Telemon’s manor. This was also added to the fact that Hunter had a habit of being too merciful to other souls that was “going against the rules”.

He was banished to the snowy region to died before he meets Butterfly King and Kitchen Wizard (Will probably get a name for AU) and joins Butterfly King’s Kaleidoscope as the only spider member. Hunter would also be Butterfly’s King second in command.

In the REFORMATION SAGA, Butterfly King has disappeared, leaving a tyrant ruler in Blackrock to suppress the Kaleidoscope. Hunter would step up to the plate to rule over the Kaleidoscope (with Kitchen Wizard being his second in command) becoming the first arachnid to rule over reign of butterflies. He would remained the King until Butterfly King would be found and reclaim his throne respectfully.

_____

Extra notes about him:

Hunter was born without arachnid legs protruding from his back but instead had a mutation where he had extra arms instead. He does have a a pair of palps (two small appendages near the spiders head) and fangs. This does limit his abilities of any arachnid abilities he could have had, however, this is made up for his remarkable combat experience and skills which gave him his knight position.

Hunter’s Clan (ATM called Burrow Clan but STC) main color is yellow which he keeps in his design to show his origins, status, and species. However, after he joined the Kaleidoscope Clan, Hunter starts to implement blue elements into his design showing his loyalty to Butterfly King’s Clan while also still showing respect for the Burrow Clan despite them exiling him.

He is shown with two sets of arms but he actually has three! He just hides the last pair because he rarely uses them (his first two pair of arms get the job done for him) unless he is required in a situation to use all three sets of arms.

Hunter’s love language is acts of services. He constantly does favors for Kitchen Wizard and Butterfly King to show his appreciation. In the beginning, Hunter believed he must do these favors to stay within the Kaleidoscope but learns that is false and learns to build mutual and strong bonds with Butterfly King and Kitchen Wizard.

In order to collect souls across the land (for those clans that work under Telemon), these Arachnid Clans would have an object that allows that teleportation. This is issued and monitored by Telemon. Hunter’s clan have a small bunny pendent for that ability (as well show status), however, Hunter was stripped of his pendent for his exile. The pendent also represent respect within the clan and those who are stripped of their pendent are considered The Forgotten and not respected.

Hunter has an ability to make himself as small as someone’s hand. This is true for the Bunny Harvestman itself as they are only the size of your thumb.

________

Notes about Burrow Clan/Arachnid Clans

Not all clans are subservient to Telemon. Most clans choose to be independent from Telemon’s influence, but some clans just prefer to work beside Telemon due to the benefit of working for him.

Not all arachnids live in near Telemon’s Manor. There are other clans that are located elsewhere it’s just that most of arachnids can be found in the region of Telemon’s manor. This is again because of other non arachnids clans pushing these arachnid clans out. Even now, there is still conflict between clans such as the Burrow and Poisonfang Clans.

Due to the nature of the terrain there, most Clans living in region are very sensitive to light and are nocturnal species (mostly, unless they have to adapt).

The Burrow Clan is made up, as you guess, Bunny harvestmans. They got their clan name due to the “Bunny” in their name which are commonly associated with them burrowing burrows to hide their food from people or even themselves from harm.

Note: irl, Bunny Harvestman do not make burrows, this is just a cool concept to tie their name together.

Anyways, they use to live in the Rainforests of Turitopulis before they were casted out by various clans, such as the Poisonfang tribe, and forced to migrate west near Telemon’s manor. There, Telemon saw the violence inflicted on them and offer assistance to any clan that reached for him. The Burrow Clan was one of those clans and became soul collectors/reapers for Telemon.

Fun fact: Bunny Harvestman do live in the Amazon Rainforest.

NOT OFFICIAL CONCEPT but just kinda an idea of how it’s set up. There are 3 main ranks within the Burrow Clan each with different shades.

Commons - you’re regular members part of that Clan. Are the working class.

Knights - Protectors (specifically the commons)

Elite Knights (Grouped with Knights) - Protectors (of everyone below them plus Supreme Elites) and Harvestors (depending on role).

Supreme Elites - Rule the entire Clan. Jurisdiction is decided by the Elites. There are officially 5 Supreme Elites in the Clan. Supreme positions are only given to Elite Knights.

You can tell a harvestman from another from their shade color, clothing as well pattern on their helmet. The darker the shade, the farther rank they are. The brighter the color is, the more higher rank they are. The Supreme Elites are an exceptions since they are dressed in black to establish authority.

______

And that’s it! This one was a loooong one. I appreciate you reading through this! Next, I should have Butterfly King and Kitchen Wizard’s lore finish pretty soon so stay tuned for that!

[danykindaforgotaboutdre]

"The way the class conflict ended was realistic! It wasn't all going to get fixed overnight"

I mean, sure, but that wasn't really my issue. The class conflict just sort of disappeared until they remembered to tack something with Sevika on at the end. It was why removing Mel from the political side of things was such a mistake, I would have preferred her going to Zaun, in hopes that her mother would hold back on attacking them to keep her safe, but also for the purpose of removing her blinders and finding ways to help support the people and mend some of the damage caused by the council (this could have put her at odds with Jayce as well, at least temporarily, they never did anything with him deciding to supply the team with weapons in spite of Mel vowing to prevent that). Even her staying in Piltover or at the very least doing something more with the political aspects of the Black Rose lore would have been preferable to them yeeting her out of the story to get psycologically tortured and then come back as Sailor Moon. And I enjoyed Ekko's everything very much but he and The Firelights still should have been more present for this dimension of the plot, Jayce and Heimerdinger should have been as well. If that trio (and Mel) would have gotten taken out of the main story for one episode instead of multiple ones, more could have been done with their actual storylines in the primary world. Sevika joining the council was neat but where the hell did it come from? Even a scene of Mel offering her and Ekko the seat, Ekko declining (but taking on an administrative role of his own in Zaun), and Sevika accepting, and fleshing out their reasons through dialogue, would have been something. Also, Jayce and Viktor didn't need to sacrifice themselves to sacrifice Hextech, they both should have stayed alive for the chance to do some good to make up for the harm they caused, maybe on opposite sides but still maintaining their respect for each other. I haven't thought as much about how I would have changed Vi, Caitlyn and Jinx's stories but I definitely wasn't satisfied with them.

Oh well.

[loquaciousquark]

Hello! Not a question just wanted to drop in and say I loved watching your playthrough of Veilguard. I’ve been a long time lurker reading and enjoying practically every fic of yours so it was really fun to hear your process of developing Kata’s personality and motivations.

Most days I’d have it on while I was at work but I finished it on Friday so now I don’t know what I’m gonna do to make the workday go faster haha. Anyway just wanted to say thank you for sharing it! The DA fandom can be cranky to say the least so seeing you genuinely enjoy the game was like a breath of fresh air (not to mention a lot of your reactions to characters and lore drops were very similar to mine)!

Hope you’re having a lovely weekend!

Ahh, I'm so glad! I had a blast with this game, start to finish, & I'm very close to starting a fresh Nightmare runthrough which I do intend to stream. I have such a better idea of who Kata is now, and I want to take her through the game again and get her narrative really right, especially as regards the timing & story structure. Plus, I want to figure out exactly where the Lucanis romance beats fall for her; I don't think that kiss at the end is their actual first kiss, but I don't know where it actually is!

Plus, I found that combat honestly so fun, and I want to enjoy the early levels again where it's no powers, all skill. I want to feel rewarded for my perfect parry timing & my headshots!! I want to go back to the fundamentals!!

Yeah, I've heard the game had its controversy, but I've done what I can to stay away from that, ahaha. I went into this game prepared to be pleased and with very low expectations, and keeping the mindset of "this game development was restarted twice & it's a miracle it exists at all" helped a lot. It also helped that my immediate circle of DA fans (who played well before I did) really loved the game as well, which I'm sure colored my opinion.

Plus, I think my total detachment from Veilguard's development period honestly was a huge boon. Because Inquisition didn't land for me the first time I played it, I didn't touch that sandbox at all! I didn't spend ten years thinking about Veilguard's possible storylines or Solas's outcomes or writing speculative meta about the Veil; I stayed firmly in my very Kirkwallian DA2 playground & was happy there. I think I wrote Solas's name in fic literally once. If I'd been invested at all in his story back then, if I'd had a decade to think about what I wanted from VG and for Solas and my Lavellan, I think I would have gotten super invested in certain ideas and concepts and possibilities and been inevitably disappointed.

(This segues into a half-thought I've been tossing around—I was quite shocked when a friend told me some people were sad there wasn't an option to side with Solas & complete the ritual, which had literally never once occurred to me as a desirable thing in all my DAI/VG playtime. I wonder if that's because I spent so many millions of words & thousands of hours in DA2's very Veiled-Off universe; to destroy or remake that world would feel like its own death to me, and a death of the future I wanted for Hawke & Fenris. Maybe that's why I felt so strongly against it the whole time. Food for thought!)

Anyway, not having an Inquisitor I loved until about five months ago I think really benefited my experience, as did not having to wait before playing the game. I'd never read a Solavellan fic in my life! I'd never had one iota of investment in his outcome! I'd spent ten years watching tragic fanart float over my dash and sadly shaking my head at those woeful Solas girlies! While the reversal of my own investment was an absolute slap in the face, it did mean I was able to go into VG with the emptiest head & the lowest romance expectations, which meant I was super easy to please from the start, hahahah.

It also helped that the stuff VG got right for me was way more important than the stuff I didn't like as much. The Solas material, Rook, the combat system, the Inquisitor they built, the companions, the back third of the Lucanis romance—those were great. I loved those. I left those events with a huge smile on my face. Those things were infinitely more important to me than the stuff I struggled with (some vocabulary/world tonal mismatches, the middle third of the Lucanis romance, some storylines/quest beats I thought were pretty heavyhanded). It's not a perfect game in any sense, but it did so many things I loved that to dwell on the misses doesn't seem productive.

I mean, I have a million words of DA2 on AO3. I lived in that world for like fourteen years, and boy does that world have holes. Plot, mechanics, combat, characters, even the non-brown-ness of the graphics—it was a complete break from so many of the Origins systems. I remember the huge outcry when that game was released. I remember seeing posts of people shredding their DA2 discs and burning the case inserts. I remember people absolutely railing against Anders' characterization and getting in huge arguments on the kink meme about the Arishok & Elthina & Isabela's pants. There've always been huge jumps in world implementation from game to game, and with the super long dev time, I figured VG would be the same. I guess I just tried to keep that in mind as I moved forward.

(I think it also helps that while I loved my Inquisitor and grew very fond of Solas over my replay, I still don't think DAI is a very good game. I do not like the map design, the combat system, or some choices they made with some of the companions; I think the inventory & UI systems are criminally clumsy. Those are really important aspects of modern gaming to me [I was much more tolerant the first time I played DA2, sue me], and for VG to polish those so well significantly improved my enjoyment of actually playing the thing.)

(Another side thought: I do wonder how some of VG would have been received had it released eight years ago instead of right before the election last year. The world was different then, and I wonder if some material would have seemed less graceless at that time, and if some voices would have been less virulent.)

Anyway, this reply has completely gotten away from me; if nothing else, thanks for giving me a place to finally get down some of these thoughts! Like I said, I'm really eager to get back into the game & Kata's story, & I'll post here when those streams start. Thank you so much! <3 <3