#the worldbuilding has me by the throat

[scattered-winter]

the cruelest thing voltron ever did (outside of well. the 8 seasons of bullshit) is have theeee coolest soundtrack with theeeeee shittiest show its like they KNEW the way to draw me in is through the music

[weebsinstash]

Do you ever wonder how complicated or nuanced it might be setting personal boundaries with a poly yandere Asmodeus and Fizz. Like do you ever workshop Lust Ring worldbuilding culture and realize "oh wait shit wouldn't it paradoxically be really easy AND ALSO borderline impossible to be open with and enforce your personal boundaries in a place perpetually encouraging the most openly brazen of carnal displays"?

Like. Obviously I like one of them more than the other but silly little guys are growing on me and, just. Imagine being a Sinner and being down in the Lust Ring and realizing they have a completely different culture around just, showing your body and being open with yourself and your desires and, you're suddenly not sure what things are sexual harassment or considered their normal culture and you're not sure what you're even allowed to verbally express discomfort against because. Is it actually something normal and YOU'RE being weird and mean to THEM? Or, are you unintentionally letting people do REALLY creepy things to you?

You move out of Pride and your new coworkers in Ozzie's building are constantly eating dick and pussy shaped foods? Your coworker is throating a dick shaped ice pop at their desk? Your coworkers are varying levels of half naked? That's not perverted, it's normal and healthy and they're confident in their healthy sexuality :) oh, but you think that's weird? You don't want to look directly at someone's tits when they ask your opinion on their new nipple piercings? Aw, aren't you cute, being too shy to be open with yourself! maybe we all need to show you a few things to welcome you to Lust--

Like, I know Ozzie is dead set on consent but I often brainstorm different variations of those opinions or otherwise in a yandere setting. Ozzie is accepting and open and body positive! Therefore he might be completely in the nude while he sits in a recliner and you're asked to bring him something and he ISN'T EMBARRASSED AT ALL. Aw, he doesn't care if you see his dick, he's not ashamed of his body :) and you don't want to tell him to cover up because he's so nice to you, right? Like..... the perfect fucking gentleman BESIDES these um. Conflicting opinions on modesty and boundaries. Like genuinely he is such a good man fr i want him biblicly 😩❤️

These two out here with their fucking "what are you talking about, this blatantly sexual thing we're doing isn't sexual at all, you're being weird and seeing things thst aren't there and also dont kinkshame us wow thats rude?" bullshit. Oh so you got too drunk at an office party so they made sure you got home safely so no one took advantage of you? Yeah that's cool! Or it would be if they didn't take you to THEIR home though! Oh, it was weird for you to wake up literally sandwiched between them in a pair of pajamas meaning they undressed you? Yeah? Well you had to get your sleep and there's only one bed and they wont make you sleep on the couch and Ozzie's chest is nice and broad and warm and Fizz can rest his face on your tummy and-- why are you scowling and looking grossed out, they were just making sure you were warm and cozy, but if that made you uncomfortable, they're sorry you felt that way from them just trying to so something nice for you--

I recognize it's canonically antithetical to his actual beliefs but yandere Ozzie who is like "oh you're not comfortable sharing details about your sexuality or your body or your sex life with me? I mean. Oh gee it would be like so awkward if we were having drinks as friends and I charismatically loosened your lips over time by repeatedly pressing the issues until you give in! It's not a real 'no' if it eventually becomes a 'yes' right?"

Fizz is like. A fucking jester. He's a clown. He's THE silly little guy. So you almost regard him as this nonsexual cartoonish entity until he occasionally has shit slip out of his mouth that reminds you No Honey That's A Grown Ass Man, he's saying shit like "oh wow seeing that crop over there reminded me of the other week where Ozzie and I were doing horseplay and you should've SEEN when I took one to that huge butt of his, he was SCREAMING into the bridle gag and-"

I FEEL LIKE YOU'D CATCH THEM LIKE, ULTRA WEAPONIZING T H E I R RULES. Yeah, consent is important! That's why you're not allowed to flirt with that dilfy incubus, because, what is that in your hand? Gasp, is that a single shot? You've been drinking therefore you can't consent and you're being CARRIED away if that gets you to stop talking to this guy

Like imagine you're this shy bullied little thing and Admodeus is treating you like this precious egg that he can't wait to hatch and then it's like, you're dressing up sexy and coming on to someone ELSE talking about how you wanna suck THEIR dick and suddenly he's all "uh um uh hm you know what?you're moving too fast, people are gonna take advantage of you, you're not ready, let me take you home--"

"BLOWJ0BS FOR ME BUT NOT FOR THEE" for reeeeeeeal!!!!! You're sitting in like, the living room, basically forced to be celibate (unless ya bone them) and in the next room over IN THE ONLY BEDROOM you're hearing like *spanking* *bicycle horn* *that one oh yeah sound effect* *shaking tin sfx* *water splashing* *rubber ducky squeaky noise* *slide whistle* *whoopie cushion* and then the both of them limp out of there visibly disheveled and asking if you want to order a pizza because WOW THEY'RE JUST WAY TOO HUNGRY TO COOK DINNER TONIGHT FOR SOME REASON--

[iliketangerines]

OP HEAR ME OUT:

A oneshot/scenario/headcanon with any MK1 boy of your choice (I would personally love it if you did Shang Tsung and General Shao)...with a giant fem or GN reader. Like think of 6ft 4in and higher compared to their tiny BF! Think of that meme of the small male rabbit loving his giant rabbit girlfriend.

Please and thank you! I love your writing😘👌🏻!

my giant lover

a/n: don't mind me throwing in a bit of my own worldbuilding rq

pairing: general shao x gn!reader

warnings: none :)

Shao was a large man, well over 7 feet, an anomaly within those of draconic lineage

typically, men of draconic descent are much smaller, shorter, leaner compared to him

he had been offered the privilege of having his height due to his genes through his father and through working as protege and then general for Empress Sindel

Raiden watches Shao in the corner, unable to keep his eyes off the intimidating man who glowers and glares throughout the entire banquet

it makes the champion nervous that Shao could possibly snap his spine if he wanted to with little effort, and he is reminded of that superhero comic that Kung Lao once showed him

Raiden tries to focus on his food, picking at it with his chopsticks, as Liu Kang lightly converses with the others and Kung Lao asks for more food from Kenshi

he hears something stomp through the hallways, and Raiden tenses up, hand raised as electricity jolts between his fingertips as he watches a hulking figure appear in the doorway

you’re easily the tallest person that Raiden had ever met, broad back, straight back, glowering eyes

you have a large set of horns on your head, curving to the side and up, and you stride through the room with an air of confidence

you walk with a purpose, as though hunting for someone, and Raiden sweats in his uniform as he tracks your figure

the other Earthrealm champions have fallen silent as they all watch you walk through the room, snarl on your face and pupils slitted as you stalk through the room

only Liu Kang seems unbothered, sipping on his tea as he continues to talk with the others, and Raiden feels a shiver go down his spine when you pass by him

you could easily snap him in half, break every bone in his body with no trouble, and Raiden gets an eyeful of your sharpened claws and your scaled body

but suddenly, Raiden sees in the corner of the room General Shao stand up, chair screeching against the stone floor

for a second, you stare at the general, growl in your throat and eyes narrowed as you stare at the general, and Raiden thinks a fight might break out

but then General Shao, softens, his eyes almost warming, and you stride on over the general with that low rumble in your throat

you bring your foreheads together, holding onto the small of his waist and also completely engulfing General Shao with your large form

you’re so much…bigger than him, much stronger-looking and intimidating than the general somehow

General Shao gestures you to sit next to Reiko so that the warrior sits between you two, ears flicking as he listens to you laugh and tell him your tales of the day

he listens enraptured, eyes never once breaking from yours unless it’s to grab more food from the center of the table to give to you

even Reiko looks enraptured by you, leaning in and nodding, and you smile and pat his head, in an almost parental fashion

General Shao has his fingers intertwined with yours on the table, leaning in toward you as if you’re a god amongst mortals, and smoke bellows from your nose as you let out a belly laugh

it’s a scene of complete domesticity and none of the others at the banquet seem to care or notice as they continue on with their conversations

Raiden glances at Liu Kang, who does nothing, and then at the other champions, who look dumbfounded at the situation

none of them knew that the angry General Shao could soften for someone, but it turns out that you’re the one who could placate the scowling general

[nexility-sims]

𝐍𝐎. 𝟑   ❛ 𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 ❜   |   NAKAWE, 2023

❧  𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲  /  𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠  /  𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬  /  𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭.

   ❛  Karolina Teague was hardly famous. Her name carried a certain heft among culture critics whose heyday had passed, but she liked the anonymity that came with being washed up. All of her favorite people were has-beens, after all, and she wasn’t ashamed to spend her time reminiscing about days past with them or anyone else who would listen. Today, she welcomed a whole crew of listeners into her Nakawe home—a film crew to be exact, led by a director-producer duo who had known her name well before a previous interviewee mentioned it to them. She wouldn’t be the star of their documentary, but they believed from its inception that the story wouldn’t be complete without her thoughts.

❧ honestly very proud of the scrapbooking !!!! this is basically just shameless exposition, but i am convinced i picked a creative vehicle for it :^) i watched that 90s docuseries on hulu a year ago and this specific story post was born fjdhjf anyway, canonically, no one would be writing or printing in script like that but i am simply NOT that committed to my worldbuilding sdkjfsf consider this whole thing an english language reimagining (^:

𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 & 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭 ↓

Karolina took them on a tour of her colorful seaside house, one concluding in a room already set up for their perusal. It was the archive, she explained. This was what they came for; her recollections were valuable, but she had so much more than her own memories. Photographs waited on the tables, and an old television screen teased some scene from exclusive VHS tapes. Karolina plopped down onto a sofa and gestured widely, saying, “Have a look. I’m ready when you are.” 

The director, a woman named Ildaria, picked up a photograph. 

“Can you tell us about her?” 

Karolina beckoned for the photo, and Ildaria walked over to hand it to her. For a moment, she peered at it, keeping everyone in suspense. Finally, she replied, “Sure. What’s she going to do, sue me?”

“Maybe,” a cameraman elsewhere in the room snorted.

“I’ll take the risk,” Karolina laughed. “Look, I don’t know Princess Leonor, but I met her plenty of times. She was at The Den at least half the nights in 1991, for sure. Probably into 1992, but I didn’t really keep track of her comings and goings. Definitely not after 1993.”

The producer, Eilo, held up another photograph. “What’s the story here?” he asked.

Karolina reached for it. Unlike the other photo, this one was a proper candid. There were several people in the frame, but Leonor was at the center, kneeling by a table with her hand draped across Renzo’s thigh as he held her head in his palm and said something beyond the capture of still photography.

“It wasn’t anything formal,” Karolina explained. “Renzo didn’t date anyone in those days, and I don’t think she did either. They liked each other. It was mutual fascination with zero understanding, is how I saw it. They hung out—liked each other’s company. Hot and fast, burned out quick, that’s what it looked like.” She shrugged. “That was Renzo.” 

“And Leonor?” Ildaria asked, having sat down nearby. 

“Like I said,” Karolina began. She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “I didn't know her. Seemed like a cool girl. I’m older, mind you. I think she wanted to get a little wild and try new things—this is off the record—and The Den was for her what it was for everyone. You could kick your shoes off. Scream along to your buddy’s new song, have a movie star tell you his woes while he pours your drink, get high in the dressing room and probably be fine—” 

“Did she do that?” Ildaria’s eyes were wide.

Karolina cleared her throat. “No, of course not. Not everyone did! Enough, sure. We all know the quote-unquote horror stories.”

The crew listened, rapt, having stopped flipping through albums and poking around the bookcases, eager to hear something explosive. They had set out to make a documentary about a particular time and place. The Den at the turn of the century was their subject. That glorious decade solidified its place in celebrity culture, to say nothing of its place in music history. The princess was just a footnote in that story. Nonetheless, it was a tantalizing footnote. Most people below a certain age were shocked to hear that she hadn’t been a humorless, buttoned-up bureaucrat her entire life. The idea that someone whose day job involved keeping the country afloat may have once been young and reckless intrigued. That she was adjacent to the salacious stories of sex, drugs, and rock and roll they knew better nearly crossed the line into unbelievable. Yet, people in Uspana also knew their royals had been wrapped up in the glamor of celebrity for decades. Even now, they continued to rub elbows with rock stars, including the one elder princess who was herself a music star. 

“She’s a different person now, clearly,” Karolina continued. She spoke tentatively still but nonetheless addressed what everyone wanted to know. “But, for a time, she was at The Den with everyone else, drinking too much and carrying around a pharmacy in whatever cute purse you had that night. You may remember there was a big Reyes death around then. It’s like—when my mother died in 2009, I lost my shit, too.” 

Karolina shrugged again. “She was having fun. I was doing worse, alright, so I only feel judgmental about it insofar as she’d probably be embarrassed if you asked her about any of it today. Royals are supposed to do their sniffing in private, right, not in a bathroom Renzo forgot to hire someone to clean. She was snobby, but my sense was that she liked pretending she wasn’t—roleplay, you know, transgressing or whatever.” 

Someone coughed. The rifling through materials resumed. Ildaria and Eilo shared a look. 

“You haven’t talked to her since ‘92?” Ildaria asked. Eilo, meanwhile, had pulled out his cell phone and was typing with fast fingers. 

Karolina shook her head. “So, she knew I’d asked Renzo to let me collect photos and bring along my Zenith. I got a weird email in 2000 inquiring about them from someone who worked for her.” She grinned, then added as an aside, “Only one recording, by the way. The Den had a strict no video policy.”

“We’d like to see them sometime,” Ildaria responded. 

Karolina nodded, then shook her head and clarified, “Which—my tapes or the email?” 

Eilo answered without looking up, “Both.”

He finished what he was doing after a moment of quiet, then held his phone up for Ildaria and Karolina to see. “Seems like she’s still in touch with people,” he said.

They leaned forward to view the screen while he swiped at it, then Karolina laughed.  “Okay, maybe she just didn’t like me!”  

While they watched, Eilo moved through a hastily thrown together slideshow of the princess with various people Karolina knew well. Some looked like event photos. Others were captured with long lenses—paparazzi shots that made money but didn’t always generate enough interest if the other person was a comparative nobody. Not everyone had evolved in the last thirty years. Plenty of people who visited the bar during the decade of Renzo’s ownership continued to have flourishing careers. They were, at the time, young and beautiful and painfully unprepared for the lifetime of celebrity ahead of them. That’s what they brought to this place more than anything: their pain, which, being creative types, they eagerly spun into something beautiful and private. 

That’s what The Den gave them. These impossibly talented, dedicated stars created fleeting things for each other and no one else. Bands and dance troupes formed. An endless stream of songs and poetry and performance art kept the bar’s little stage occupied nightly for years. Offstage, people with no reason to meet in the real world bonded in this space of both contrived and undeniable intimacy. For some, the reprieve helped them endure the difficulty of becoming that invariably attended a rise in fame. It was detrimental to others. These were the ones who didn’t evolve—people who gave up their relevance to live forever in this meaningless, generative privacy or people who couldn’t make the choice and lost everything in the process. 

Karolina hadn’t evolved, but she hadn’t died or wanted to die either. From her perspective, what people like the princess and even Renzo himself had done wasn’t evolution. It was more like a revelation. People don’t change, she would tell Eilo and Ildaria later, over dinner, when the conversation had moved far away from the royal footnote. She believed people just uncover deeper truths about themselves, knowingly or unknowingly, and those became harder to conceal once they were exposed.

Have you felt that way before? she asked them. Exposed, like when you break your leg so hard the bone snaps right through your skin? They had. The conversation detoured to childhood misadventures, but Karolina had a point to make. She pulled them back. Some people get comfortable with that feeling and learn how to live in it. Other people, you know, they deny and lie and call it growth. That’s my opinion. I’ve seen it—artists are the worst for it, I swear. Artists who don’t want to be artists anymore? Worse than that. 

Can I say you sound bitter? Ildaria laughed. 

Now, Karolina threw her hands up. She exclaimed, joyful, That’s my truth, baby! I took too many bites of the world, and I’ve been disgusted by it ever since. Some people come out of their mamas malcontent.

Later that night, Eilo was exhausted, but Ildaria’s hand hovered over the light switch with uncertainty. She heaved a big, put-upon sigh, then asked, “Is it bad that I want to give Mencia Cipac a call?”

“Give her a call?” Eilo snorted. “Sure, Mencia Cipac, whose number you totally have, definitely won’t ignore your calls because she, for sure, knows who you are and has endless free time to spare.” He sat up straighter, then added, “No more overloading on projects. You promised. Besides, you don’t wanna poke that bear.”

“Not a bear,” Ildaria retorted. “A jaguar. Roar!”

TRANSCRIPT:

KAROLINA | Have a look. I'm ready when you are.

RENZO (O.S.) | Get that thing out of here, Karolina!

ILDARIA | Can you tell us about her?

KAROLINA | Sure. What's she going to do, sue me? CAMERAMAN | Maybe.

KAROLINA | I'll take the risk.

KAROLINA | Look, I don’t know Princess Leonor, but I met her plenty of times. She was at The Den at least half the nights in 1991, for sure. Probably into 1992, but I didn’t really keep track of her comings and goings. Definitely not after 1993

EILO | What's the story here?

KAROLINA | It wasn't anything formal.

KAROLINA | Renzo didn’t date anyone in those days, and I don’t think she did either. They liked each other. It was mutual fascination with zero understanding, is how I saw it. They hung out—liked each other’s company. Hot and fast, burned out quick, that’s what it looked like. That was Renzo.

ILDARIA | And Leonor?

KAROLINA | Like I said, I didn't know her. Seemed like a cool girl. I’m older, mind you. I think she wanted to get a little wild and try new things—this is off the record—and The Den was for her what it was for everyone. You could kick your shoes off. Scream along to your buddy’s new song, have a movie star tell you his woes while he pours your drink, get high in the dressing room and probably be fine—

ILDARIA | Did she do that?

KAROLINA | No, of course not. Not everyone did! Enough, sure. We all know the quote-unquote horror stories.

KAROLINA | She's a different person now, clearly. But, for a time, she was at The Den with everyone else, drinking too much and carrying around a pharmacy in whatever cute purse you had that night. You may remember there was a big Reyes death around then. It’s like—when my mother died in 2009, I lost my shit, too.

KAROLINA | She was having fun. I was doing worse, alright, so I only feel judgmental about it insofar as she’d probably be embarrassed if you asked her about any of it today. Royals are supposed to do their sniffing in private, right, not in a bathroom Renzo forgot to hire someone to clean. She was always a snob, but I my sense was that she liked pretending she wasn’t—roleplay, you know, transgressing or whatever.

ILDARIA | You haven't talked to her since '92?

KAROLINA | So, she knew I’d asked Renzo to let me collect photos and bring along my Zenith. I got a weird email in 2000 inquiring about them from someone who worked for her. Only one recording, by the way. The Den had a strict no video policy.

ILDARIA | We'd like to see them sometime.

KAROLINA | Which—my tapes or the email?

EILO | Both.

EILO | Seems like she's still in touch with people. KAROLINA | Okay, maybe she just didn’t like me!

ILDARIA | Is it bad that I want to give Mencia Cipac a call?

EILO | Give her a call?

EILO | Sure, Mencia Cipac, whose number you totally have, definitely won’t ignore your calls because she, for sure, knows who you are and has endless free time to spare.

EILO | No more overloading on projects. You promised. Besides, you don’t wanna poke that bear.

ILDARIA | Not a bear. A jaguar. Roar!

[actual-changeling]

i'm mentally playing around with the good omens worldbuilding and i can't stop thinking about them not being able to heal their own corporations/bodies.

they're not entirely human, their occult/ethereal essence shapes and changes it, so what if when it does get injured they can't miracle it away or fix it? like the paintball stain on aziraphale's coat just that he isn't trying to get crowley to do it for him, crowley has to do it for him because he can't.

we see aziraphale heal anathema's broken arm after she hit the bentley the car accident, and i imagine it would be a little like that.

aziraphale breaks his wrist in some stupid way, like falling from a ladder while putting books away or stumbling, the kinda thing that has him trying to deal with it alone out of embarrassment. however, they have plans the day after, and crowley comes by with a bottle of wine and immediately notices something is off (hard not to with the way he is pressing his arm against his chest).

cue to crowley sitting him down on the couch in the backroom, and they're very, very close together. aziraphale is having trouble holding still because crowley is kneeling in front of him, no glasses, all open care and concern, and it's killing him.

"angel, if you don't-" "i told you, my dear, it's fine."

the look he gives him in response is entirely unimpressed, and he gently pokes his wrist and says nothing when aziraphale flinches in pain.

"right, fine, it's broken, just fix it. please."

every single time aziraphale says 'please' it's a silver bullet to his heart, eating away at him from the inside out; he would have done it no matter what, yet he can't tear his gaze away from the plea in his eyes. a soft blush spreads across his face, and it's too close to a confession for comfort, so crowley finally blinks and focuses on the fracture in his bones.

fixing it is simple, one cleanly aimed thought and a careful caress of his palm less than an inch above the skin, and the bones knit themselves back together without complaint. when the pain bleeds away, the tension in aziraphale's shoulders does, too.

"thank you."

"don't," he answers, more reflex than real bite, and they realise at the same time that with the miracle done, they're holding hands now. crowley savours the few seconds it takes aziraphale to pull away as if he's been burned, face turning away, and he expected it, he really did, but it still stings. he gets up and resists the urge to put his sunglasses back on, locating the bottle of wine he had abandoned rather quickly.

"right then, do you want to-"

"stay."

neither of them needs to breathe, and yet the air in the room stills in trembling expectation, confused.

"i- i meant- let me get the glasses."

crowley does not move (or breathe. or blink. or think), simply watches as aziraphale hurries away, tasting the disappointment bitter and familiar on his tongue but swallowing it before it can spill. expectations are never a good idea, causing pain neither of them can miracle away, and the undying optimism living in his chest is a curse aziraphale's blessings are powerless against.

he turns, ready to sink into his usual spot and drink the uninvited thoughts away, when a tentative touch makes him freeze once more. aziraphale's fingers are curled around his, their hands pressed together with enough plausible deniability to allow the squeeze he gives him to linger.

they're standing in the middle of the bookshop, holding hands, and crowley tastes the unspoken gratitude in the air between them, stronger than the sour heartbreak could ever be.

it rips a whispered angel out of his throat, more exhale than word, and maybe if one of them was a little bit more courageous, if the world was a little bit less dangerous for the two of them, aziraphale would have leaned over and left a kiss on his cheek before hurrying away.

maybe crowley would have pressed his fingertips to the lingering mark and blushed the same shade of rosé the bottle he had brought carried.

maybe the rest of the evening would have felt... different, saturated with all the confessions they cannot make, not yet.

maybe the next time aziraphale needed crowley for a healing miracle, the thank you was accepted without comment.

maybe if you believe in it enough, in one universe or another it did happen like that.

perhaps even in this one.

[daniigh0ul]

tag yourself i'm the unphased trio in the background

prev || next context + transcript under the cut. big shout outs to @madebycoffee for the poses <3

some contextual worldbuilding: werewolf pups are werewolves who have not shifted yet and do not have control of their abilities. while the abilities are innate for diego because he inherited them, it's still something that has to be honed in on. the werewolves he meets have the advantage of 1) embracing their werewolf nature, and 2) being in a pack so they have each other as mentors to learn from and refine these skills. even more context, rough housing is really common in packs. but still, lou bullying diego would be equal to a lab fighting a yorkie lol.

transcript:

LOU: In wolf mode, I can bench at least 350 lbs. Diego walking toward the abandoned steel factory. Lou stops talking to sniff the air. LOU: Who the fuck are you? Get lost. DIEGO: Just passing through, man. LOU: Get lost, runt. DIEGO: It's a free country. Just let me g— Rory exits the werewolf tunnels to her usual haunt, the abandoned steel factory. She sees her pack lounging around and a newcomer. She smells the anger before she hears it in Lou's voice. LOU: I can smell the fear on you, pupsqueak. Bet you haven't even shifted yet. DIEGO: Get out of my face, you freak. LOU: What are you gonna do about it? DIEGO: Fuck y— Rory sees Lou punch the kid and runs. RORY: Ah, damnit. RORY: HEY. LOU. STOP THAT RIGHT NOW. Lou is distracted by Rory's commanding voice. Diego takes the opportunity to roll them over. Diego cannot process any thought. Blood. Flesh. Rip. Tear. Throat. He is snarling. No part of him wants to stop. Lou's laugh cuts through him. Diego snaps back to his senses. Both look up at the commanding presence before them. RORY: Care to explain? DIEGO: He attacked me for no reason. LOU: He has a punchable face and I'm not sorry. RORY: Lou, you're too old to be fighting pups. LOU: Aw. It was just a bit of fun. Wasn't it, pupsqueak? DIEGO: What did you call me? Diego is still too close to the brink and he goes to fight Lou. Lou holds him back with his hand with little effort. LOU: Runt of the litter can't even get a punch in. RORY: Listen, chucklefucks. Stop that. Lou, go for a run. Kid, we should talk.

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

Language Barrier (Yandere male x reader) p8

tw: violence, blood, afab reader, infantilization , short chapter

Minors and ageless blogs you will be blocked

hi<3 thansk for readeing, i appreciate the reblogs n comments n messages very cool and very motivation

i do have a set plotline timeline vfor this, just a little iffy on how it ends,

pls dont critizwe 2 harsh on my worldbuilding i tired my best ok </3

as allways, no proofreading <3

Happy New years !!

part 1, part 7, Part 9

masterlist

"He said it's to make sure you're always in his line of sight." Said the translator.

Now you know why 2718 always carries you on his front, never giving you a piggy back ride even though it's much easier.

You looked up to the sun. It's in the middle of the sky. You swear that the entire ordeal has taken up more than a day.

The translator is lugging her own backpack, you assumed she bought it sometime before the three of you arrived home. You asked her if she's okay.

"Yeah. Nothing I can't handle. Are you?" She asked, adjusting the heavy straps on her shoulders.

You asked, how many hours are there in a day? A day in this planet, you mean.

"They considered 30 hours a 'day'. But actually, it takes approximately five thousand and nine hundred hours for this planet to complete a whole rotation- in other words, around two hundred 'accepted days' in a 'real day'. You get me?"

What.

That doesn't explain the first five days you spent here, the sun seem to set and rise at regular intervals!

"Sunlight hours here are fucked up. You just got lucky. During your three-day coma, I even saw the sun flicker. Sometimes, the sun would just disappear for a few 'days' and come back, at full brightness for a week straight."

You asked her why that happened, the translator trailed behind 2718. You rested your chin on his shoulder.

"You can rent the sun. Literally. Farmers would pay for more sunlight, nocturnal inhabitants would turn it off, corrupt business owners would manipulate it to get a higher profit, spoiled rich kids would mess around with everyone's day for fun, Oligarchs get to have longer ass-kissing dinners, normal citizens would pool money to maintain the regularity... if you have the resources, you get to play god for a while."

You asked how was that possible.

"They claimed it's controlled by magic. But I think that's bull, they must have some massive, planetary-scaled machine that made this possible- The ball of fire up there must be an artificial sun. My reality is no stranger to artificial celestial bodies, we even make our own stars too. But we use science, not some childish, made up idea." She grumbled.

Who are "they"?

"The guy your friend offed for shoving glass in your throat."

The reminder of the disgraced citizen made your blood run cold.

"Listen, he's going to be fine. In fact, you probably did him a favor."

Exasperated, you asked how was that a favor.

2718, sensing your distress, whipped around and pointed his dagger at the translator. Thinking that she was either insulting you or scaring you.

She raised her hands up and backed away, reasoning with him.

You pressed your hand against his face, gently pushing him to the direction you want him to go. He begrudgingly back turned around, letting you face the translator again. His hold on you became firmer, though.

"Trust me, I know he went out... with a bang. But he's going to be just fine."

You don't think that he is going to be 'just fine' and you can't believe that she is this apathetic. However, you decided to drop the topic for now.

"I didn't get all my knowledge of this place from that one guy, though. Most of it came from my associates living here."

You asked why she didn't contact them for help.

"I'm trying to. But it's tough when I can't go 'online' through myself. I need an external vessel, like a computer- or a smartphone, perhaps."

You asked why she didn't use the coins to buy a cheap burner phone or it's equivalent, assuming they exist.

"I'm 'offline', off grid, even. I effectively lost all my contacts... maybe even a whole chunk of my memory- I don't know, I won't know until I reconnect myself to the galactic internet again. I wouldn't know who's ID to call anyways. Might as well use it to buy stuff necessary for me to live another day."

You went onto ask what the name of this planet is and how many planets are there in this solar system.

"In English? I'm sure you can guess."

You really can't. The properties of this planet sounds... familiar. But yet, so foreign.

"I'll give you another hint. This planet spins backwards. Well, used to."

Huh?

"We're in Venus. Venus with major tweaks done to it."

Venus!? Your jaw went slack, this piece of information blew your mind. You can't believe you're in Venus! Absolute insanity, is the translator sure that this isn't actually Earth? But in an alternate universe?

"Yeah. Earth is used as a landfill now. It's still populated though. Mainly by kind volunteers and the... less-than-fortunates. It's a big mess, mind you. We aren't using tiny terms like 'international' anymore. It's Interplanetary and beyond. So the social systems and all that junk are way more complex."

You asked, what IS this solar system?! The past? The future? The present?

"It's convict central, baby!" She sarcastically waved her hands in glee. "It's prison. But worse." She deadpanned. "Because everyone is free. The strongest gets to call shots around here."

"But if you're talking about the solar system before it became a dumping ground for thugs, it's just some poor, alternate timeline where Earth is a budding Type 1 civilization. They stood no chance against Type fives."

You asked what civilization is... 'Convict Central' under.

"Type two, on their way to becoming a type three. Again, the people here claim to 'generate' their own energy through magic. Take their precious Dyson Spheres away and let's see if their whimsical magical hero powers can feed trillions every day."

You quietly noted her disdain on the matter and said nothing about it.

You went onto ask her about clocks, watches or any tool that tells the time. It seems to be nonexistent here.

She snorted.

You asked her what was so funny.

"Let's see, you're considered partially deaf, partially blind, partially mute.... and temporally disabled. I'm glad your friend got you first before anyone else."

Temporally disabled? You asked her to clarify.

"I have a chronometer installed in me, and that's understandable because I'm part metal. Your friend, has one too. But he evolved to have it, and it's damn accurate too. Down to the nanosecond."

She wiped the sweat off her forehead. It made you realize that you're not sweating, because it's comfortably cool. 2718 must be cooling you down.

"The inconsistent sunlight, the gravity, the atmosphere, the stress and generally everything else got my chronometer a little fucked up. As for your friend? You can drop him at the edge of Andromeda and he will calibrate himself immediately. He will know what time it is-- hell, it's damn impressive to even perceive time at that point!"

You brought your hands to your head, upset that you didn't get a chance to experience a world never seen before. And you never will, you're just not evolved enough to grasp it.

"Hmm. Okay makes sense... That makes sense." She mumbled to herself, scratching her chin.

You asked her what made sense.

"He could easily bring you home in a blink, if he had a glass teleporter with him. But seeing that you're still a... primate, he knows that it might screw something up in you."

That explains why you vomited after appearing at the market.

"Yep. That sounds like spatial-temporal sickness alright. Keep that up and it might cause a brain hemorrhage."

Your eyes widened in horror. Absolutely terrifying news, you're grateful that the only side effect was devastating nausea.

You shuddered, creeped out by so many things. That made 2718 stop in his tracks again, glaring at the translator from the corner of his eyes.

The translator defended herself with a whine, swearing that she didn't do anything to you.

You were curious as to why 2718 set you down.

"He's taking a water break." Explained the translator. She took out her own water bottle from her bag.

Your companion softly nudged your arm with the waterskin. You twisted your head and picked it off his hand. He patted your head.

You looked into the distance. It's still a long way to go, you huffed. You felt very demotivated, you really don't want to sit through this entire journey.

Maybe 2718 felt your demoralization too, or the translator told him in a frequency that you cannot hear, but he cupped your cheeks and stared into your eyes.

He gently squished your cheeks, forcing you to pucker a bit, before letting go. The man then pressed a loving kiss onto your forehead. You closed your eyes when he affectionately nuzzled his nose against yours.

"He's said that it's going to be okay. You're doing well and he loves you." Your eyes shifted to the woman.

This translation cause 2718 to growl at the translator for ruining the moment. He shielded you in his arms as he barked insults at her. She argued back, this time annoyance was apparent in her tone and face.

You asked if 2718 actually understands you.

"Not really. But I bet anyone would look at that-" She pointed at his house in the distance. It looked like an ant from here. "-And go 'aaaugghhh... still a long way to go...' I know, I do. He's trying to cheer you up, that's all. You had a sad face on anyways."

You leaned into 2718, tiredly resting against him as he drank some from the waterskin. You don't know why you're so exhausted. It's not like you did most of the walking.

"You have been awake for 35 hours, of course you're going to feel like shit. You're accustomed to 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Today someone rented out the sun and left it on longer than I liked. You better thank them, though. Dealing with creatures of the night is no easy feat."

You groan, has it really been that long? You told her to ask him; how long did it take for him to recover from his injuries earlier.

2718 uttered something to her.

"He said six hours, 27 minutes, 13.0348... Okay, I'll just round it off to the nearest second. 6 hours, 27 minutes and 13 seconds. The fight with the insect took thirteen minutes- around thirteen minutes, he's giving me a twelve digit number and I'm not saying all that."

Assuming the three of you spent half an hour at the lighthouse, that means... the journey from the house to the translator's base took around 28 hours and 20 minutes. You're way behind your sleep schedule, you're going to get eyebags!

But, how does she know that you're awake for 35 hours?

"Your friend told me. Oh yeah, he actually told me to tell you this earlier, so you would... you know, be comfortable sleeping. In his arms. Sorry. I forgot. And I'd be lonely without you talking to me, so..."

You guess you can see why he doesn't trust her to translate his words. You also wonder what else is she omitting from you for her own benefit. You would have forced yourself to stay awake anyways for her sake, she didn't need to lie or 'forget'.

You're giving her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the language is just too complex to catch everything in one breath. Nevertheless, it does disturb you that the translator could easily manipulate the situation to her favor if she wanted to- by giving false translations.

2718 probably won't buy into her tricks as much. But you know you would, because she's the only one you could understand. And you have no choice but to rely on her.

It made you question if the words she said that made him hostile were congruent to what she tells you.

All these thinking are giving you a headache. You don't want to talk to her for now.

You told her that you're going to sleep for the next... however many hours it takes to walk back. She's disappointed, but she understands.

2718 lifted you up by the arms and lets you sag onto his shoulder. His cold hands, spreading harmless frost all over the fabric of your clothes. Chilling you under the scorching sun.

You let your eyelids droop, slowly giving into the sweet embrace of sleep-

"What the fuck happened here?" You lifted your head at her remark.

This earned a yell from 2718, not at you, at the translator. He must be angry at her for waking you up.

You're more concerned about the matter that made her say that. So you rubbed your eyes before looking around.

Oh. After realizing that you're still on... Venus, and not in some sort of blood-painted, tropophobia-inducing hellscape, you relaxed. Actually, it was extremely bizarre to think about it. Venus, a planet known for it's inhabitable conditions, and you're in it? Alive? And not burnt to bits?

You explained that the epic battle between your companion and the insect took place here. He bled out profusely from his leg and eyes.

You lolled back onto him, adjusting your hat so that the sun doesn't touch your eyes.

You heard the translator grumbled something under her breath. 2718 didn't respond, at least not in a way you can perceive.

His rhythmic trudging lulled you deeper and deeper into slumber.

[penny-anna]

His first thought, on laying eyes on his new assistant, was God, but he’s young. He quickly revised his judgement; after all, people could and did look younger than their years. But still. In his line of work, it was rare to encounter someone quite so – fresh-faced. “Marty, this is Doctor B,” said Strickland, motioning at him. “He’s the head of your department. Doctor, this is your new assistant, Marty M.” They were standing in the hallway outside Manufacturing and Development. It was a little after ten thirty in the morning. Marty M was flanked by Strickland on one side and a security guard on the other; he had on a wide-eyed, dumbstruck look that Emmett recognised vaguely from his previous, rare encounters with new hires. Clearing his throat, he stepped forward and offered up a friendly handshake. “Good morning,” he said. “I’m Doctor B. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The kid – it was difficult not to think of him as a kid – had his arms folded across his chest. He made no move to return the handshake. He looked at Emmett’s outstretched hand. His eyes went to his face; they tracked, slowly, up and down his body, taking all of him in. Then he turned and bolted like a frightened animal. “Oh, my,” said Emmett, as he vanished around the corner with a squeak of shoes on hard floor. The security guard was laughing. “Mr Murphy!” barked Strickland. “On it,” said the security guard. “I’ll get him – don’t worry.” He jogged away in pursuit. For a long and uncomfortable moment Emmett stood in the doorway of M&D, trying not to meet Mr Strickland’s unfalteringly stern gaze. “Uh,” he said, looking somewhere in the direction of his left ear. “How’s the orientation going?” “He’s been trying to give us the slip all morning,” said Strickland. “Ah,” said Emmett. “I’ve had worse,” Strickland added. He did not elaborate. There was a yell, nearby; and the security guard rounded the corner, half-carrying, half-dragging Marty M, arms firmly around his waist. “Let me go!” the kid was yelling. “Let go – let go of me –” His feet fully left the ground, kicking out at the air, his hands grasping at nothing, and at the look on his face Emmett’s guts twisted. “Feistiest new hire we’ve had in a while, huh?” said the security guard.

hey guys!! big news!! after stalling at like 99% completion for many weeks, i finished this monster of a Back to the Future/Severance AU tonight!! i have titled it 'Welcome to the Panopticon'.

When will it be published?

as soon as i finish editing chapter 1

What if I like Back to the Future but haven't seen Severance?

i would recommend you watch Severance bcos it does slap, however, the majority of the relevant worldbuilding is recapped in the fic so u should be fine

What if I like Severance but haven't seen Back to the Future?

you will have 0 problems with this fic as it has fuck all to do with Back to the Future

What if I haven't seen either?

you can do whatever you want

Why would you combine those 2 things?

listen sometimes you're hyperfixated on a thing and then you watch a really good TV show and you are compelled to plug tab A into slot B even if it makes no sense. idk something something time travel?? alternate selves? idk Severance is just a really fun way to explore character dynamics

How long is it?

it will be my longest published fanfic to date at seven chapters & just shy of 90,000 words!!

Jesus fuck

yeah I know :( read my fic anyway it took me 8 months to write and im very proud

[genericpuff]

what other webtoons would u recc? any lo fanfics u love?

Right now a lot of the stuff I'm reading are actually outside of Webtoons. I've been stepping away from the platform quite a bit over the last little while just because of how drained it's made me, both because of LO (even when I did try to stop reading it the app would shove so many ads down my throat, ugh) and just because of how the platform is designed in general, it feels very soul-sucking. I've been looking to get back to independent platforms, where it all started :' )

Some of the stuff I keep up to date on:

AwkwardZombie, a gag comic that's been around for like 15 years, I stg it's like the Simpsons of the webcomic world, it'll never die LMAO A lot of them are only as funny as your own knowledge of them (they're gaming comics after all) but the ones that do make me laugh usually manage to make me piss myself and that's pretty impressive for a comic that's been updating every week since 2006.

Alfie (18+, not for minors!), it's truly the gold standard of "porn with plot" and has some of my favorite original worldbuilding out there) It's drawn beautifully, has some great ships, and it tackles the whole mother-daughter-relationship-strained-by-ingrained-purity-culture subject WAY better than LO ever has.

A Tale of Two Rulers, a Zelda x Ganondorf comic that only updates maybe once a month but is WAY more gorgeous than it has any business being, fr this comic is beautiful It's got Zelda and Ganondorf getting married to solve their political differences and then slowly but surely falling in love with each other (while dealing with the massive differences that often come between them). Again, the art is gorgeous, and it's got one of my favorite versions of Zelda out there.

Tamberlane, an anthro comic where a klutzy bat finds a young girl stranded in the woods and opts to adopt her. Great art and great worldbuilding in this one, think of Tamberlane like Boo from Monsters Inc haha

Tales from Alderwood, a fantasy comic centered around a budding wizard and her owl familiar. It feels like reading a D&D adventure, lots of hijinks and hilarious dialogue.

As for Greek myth/LO adjacent stuff, check out Punderworld on Webtoons, which is just about to make its big return from a long hiatus!

Theia Mania (18+) is one of my personal favorites, the art is very unique and you can tell the creator has a lot of passion and knowledge on Greek Myth. Exactly the comic you wanna read if you want some justice for Demeter, she's the best in this lol and a small mention, I find the comic is very body and sex positive, it's not afraid to depict women with body hair or chubby men, which I can always appreciate <3 <3

And then there's Talisman, which isn't a comic, but a fanfiction over on Ao3. It's a LONG read, I still haven't caught up with it myself, but it's a pretty interesting re-write of LO!

Hope you enjoy some of these! <3

[thiriumhound]

Of course I'll remind you, I'll do it right now in this ask, so you could share your favourite whump fics when you feel like doing it. And for now let this ask just hang in there

context

ok ok ok ok ok ok ok SSO. *heavy breathing*

have you ever looked at dbh and gone, "man, i really wish the androids were treated like the living autonomous machines they are instead of human expys"? have you ever looked at dbh and gone, "man, i sure wish cyberlife had any development literally at all- kamski probably had absolutely nothing to do with connor's development, so why is he considered connor's 'maker'?" have you ever looked at dbh and gone, "man, i wonder if there's anything more to amanda, and i wonder if chloe being the first android to pass the turing test means anything? surely there's something there"? have you ever looked at dbh and gone, "man, it sure is ridiculous how despite being conscious ais with full internet access, none of them really do anything with it"? have you ever thought "man it would be cool if androids weren't constrained to stupid human physical and mental standards for the sake of easy writing"? have you ever looked at dbh and thought, "man, there are so few characters that are more than one-note cutouts, it's no wonder people made gavin reed into a whole different character because there was no one else available to use to make certain dynamics happen"? have you ever looked at dbh and thought, "man, it's just so bare-bones, with so many plotholes and unexplored things, i wish the worldbuilding had an ounce of thought and logic behind it!"?

WELL LOOK NO FUCKING MORE. SEARCH NO FUCKING MORE. LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THIS FUCKING FIC IT HAS ME BY THE THROAT.

it's got fucking EVERYTHING. wanna know what it was like to be the first ever fully conscious ai, a whole new kind of living being? BOOM, THIS FIC'S GOT YOU COVERED. ever wondered about the development behind them, cyberlife as a company and the people in it? FUCK YES LOOK RIGHT HERE. ever wanted to see connor in ways you've never seen him before, to the point where i actually can't construct this sentence meaningfully because there's just so fucking much??? PLEASE READ THIS FIC OH MY GOD. ever wanted to know WHAT THE FUCK RA9 IS????? YOU WANNA KNOW ABOUT FUCKING RA9??????????????

this fic is called "Connor". it is about connor. the whole thing is mostly pov connor, and it's about connor, iterations ZERO TO SIXTY. NOT JUST STARTING AT 51, OH NO, WE GET IT ALL. why is his iteration number so high at the start of the game? WELL YOU BETTER BE EXCITED TO FIND OUT.

DO YOU WANT ANGST? WHUMP? LOVE? TRIUMPH? RAGE? DESPAIR? ARROGANCE? A SHITLOAD OF DEATH? CONNOR DYING 50000000 TIMES???? THE MILITARY? GLOBAL CRISIS? HAVING THE WORLD ON YOUR SHOULDERS WITH NO CHOICE BUT TO DO YOUR BEST?????????????? GREY MORALITY???????? UNABASHED COMPLEXITY????? THE BEST FUCKING ANTAGONIST EVER IN THE HISTORY OF EVER????????????????????????????????

i haven't even read this fic recently it's been like weeks. a month? more? and i'm still internally screaming. i feel like i'm missing some of the main draws and i can't even describe a lot of it because i would DIE if i spoiled this masterpiece. this fic made me actually want to make myself learn to draw people so i can draw nothing but fanart for this fucking fic.

the characters, the pacing, the fucking lore, it's all immaculate. seriously. it feels like it's what dbh SHOULD'VE been. the writing style is utterly enrapturing. when i read it for the first time, i legitimately could not get myself to turn away from it for anything except tasks absolutely required on me. every single character feels like a PERSON. connor's complexity is fucking insane. he's lovable, he's terrifying, he's caring, he's callous. he is NOT static, at all. connor in chapter x is a completely different beast from chapter y. there is so much trauma and catastrophe, but PERFECTLY balanced with the humor. it's fucking perfect

let me supply some nice quotes to hook you. i can barely put any because spoilers and length but enjoy mostly funnies but also some of the angst

•"I do stuff without thinking sometimes." "Clearly," I say. "No intelligent being would jump out of a moving vehicle for no reason." "I have a reason," he says. "I promised I wasn't gonna leave you ever again and I meant it." "Hey, are they filming a scene?" I hear a human whisper.

•"Mrs Vondracek, this is Gennadiy Petrov," he says. "Who?" "Elijah's friend from work. You remember?" "Elijah doesn't have any friends."

•There is only a 6% chance that Carridan will say anything. He knows what I'm capable of. He knows what will happen to those that stand in the way of my mission.

•"You do not waltz into some girl's house, kidnap her and frame yourself for murder. Do you understand?"

•I transmit my payment details. CyberLife have an expense account set up in case I need to purchase items relevant to my mission objective. Sergeant Matthews is relevant to my mission objective. And he wants Oreos.

•I scan and analyse the quadruped with short brown fur, brown eyes. Loud noises emanate from what I suspect is its mouth. "Dog," I identify, unsure of the significance.

•He squeezes my shoulders. "It's alright, buddy," he says. "Just breathe." "I don't breathe." "Okay. What do you usually do when you're having a meltdown?" "I experience critical system failure." "Ummm. Okay... don't do that."

•I cannot decipher his handwriting. Neither can the software on the tablet. It saves the note as an image. I download it to study but my advanced analysis systems can't crack it. This is worse than a captcha code.

•I hear the shrieking of steel as the disc begins to rotate. No... Please... Where is Sergeant Matthews? Where is the CPD? The FBI? CyberLife? Why am I alone? Why am I always alone?

•I watch him die. As so many others have died. Their blood on my hands.

•"You're a bad person," he says, clutching at the BN250's uniform. "I'm not a person," I say. "Neither are you."

god i wish i could put more but spoilers- anyway this is just some of the stuff i screenshotted to my phone. not even close to all the good stuff just please read the fic im begging u it'll be worth it you'll never be able to look at canon as complete again

read. now

[moondal514]

Small Renison fic rec list cuz it’s pride month and I love lesbians

(Also pushing my Allison pov fic rec list which has lots of Renison fic)

vengeance and death by cthulu_sun

legend says you have wax-dipped wings and golden fingernails and knives made of the blood you have spilled. legend says you are not merciful.

-

in which renee is a tired guardian angel, finds the foxes, and falls in love.

Absolutely criminally underrated Renison fic that I will rec to the sun

in this world, there's no such thing as soulmates by kwritten

for the prompt: what disasters we live

Stunning Renison drabble that draws some genius parallels between the girls

The Gracekeepers by wishbonetea/ @wishbonetea

The sea has flooded the earth. Allison lives on a circus boat, floating between the scattered islands that remain and trading dazzling and death-defying feats for food from the islanders. Renee lives alone in a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean, with only the birds and fish for company. As penance for her past, she works as a gracekeeper, tending the graves of those who die at sea. A storm brings them together, but under clear skies they must part. When one of the Foxes goes missing, Renee joins to help. It’s meant to be a temporary escape, but Allison might be a reason to stay.

What is probably the longest Renison fic in the fandom, a really cool universe with some amazing worldbuilding

a hundred jewels on throats by ghvsts

"have you seen the goddess from the seafoam," they whisper, "she is more beautiful than anything."

(in which seth is ares, renee is persephone, and allison has had enough)

Me being a slut for a greek mythology au? more likely than you think

[kyochanbridge]

Megamind vs The Doom Syndicate Review

Oh god. It's peak guys. It's so peak.

Where do I start? Uhh, probably the movie's visuals. This movie is gorgeous. Characters are animated in really fluid ways, environments are really well-designed, and there's a ton of neat background details. They likely gave the animators a lot of time and freedom with this one.

Even outside of the exciting action scenes, the movie really satisfying. Megamind is a great MC whose character is developed in a really unique way. Minion/Chum's role is a really clear allegory for the current usage of AI in our society. Roxanne also plays a massive part in the main plotline, but I won't say too much as to not spoil it. The characters' arcs all interact with each other in a very interesting way, so all of the character development feels earned.

The story is also really really great. Megamind has to pretend to be a bad guy so there's a few brilliant Among Us type scenes (Among Us is a masterpiece so anything taking inspiration from it is really nice to see). He then has to stop the doom syndicate from launching the city into space. The stakes are massive, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't on the edge of my seat the entire time.

The worldbuilding is also wonderful. In the first movie, Megamind gets bored after he takes over the city is because he has no real motivation as a villain other than beating Metro Man. This is because he was grumpy and raised by prison inmates or whatever. I'm really glad the sequel kind of did away with all that boring nonsense and actually made him the awesome brain guy he was meant to be.

The movie's just amazing overall. The Among Us scenes were really funny (again, the ideal fiction should strive to be as good as Among Us), the INSANE twist where the electric character is defeated by being electrocuted was really freaking cool (or it would have been if it wasn't rudely spoiled to me), I want to think of a third thing but there's just so much about this movie that's perfect that it would be wrong to put any one part above the others. Can you believe there's a post credits scene?? I can't believe they're going to make a whole series based on this!

If I had to make one minor criticism of the film, it would be the scene with the prominently-placed transgender-colored donuts. I hate when the industry tries to shove wokeness down our throats.

[msmargaretmurry]

vampire leon and vampire hunter matthew oh i would do ANYTHING to read it!! the TENSION the ATTRACTION it would SERVE!!!

hello thank you for your enthusiasm about vampire leon and his vampire hunter boyfriend!! i spent much of the weekend pondering but i'm bad at being online and being social at the same time so now i am catching up on my asks, thank you for your patience as well.

i'm not a super traditional vampire girlie but i do enjoy the occasional vampirey media and i love creative vampire/mythical creature worldbuilding so a lot of the fun in this concept for me is just figuring out the worldbuilding. many years later i still think regularly about this michael dal colle/leon draisaitl vampire fic, even though i have not had a single other thought or feeling about michael dal colle otherwise in my entire life (leon is not the vampire in it, alas, but the baby leon characterization is lovely). because the worldbuilding, especially the background vampire politics and the logistics of vampires integrating into "normal" society/playing in the nhl are so fun and interesting. i also think about like, true blood, which i have only seen bits and pieces of, but the whole humanizing/integrating vampires of it all, and of course buffy (beloved) and more traditional vampire/monster-hunting type stories.

i think someone could write a really fun full-on vampire/vampire hunter au, but because of who i am as a person i want a fic where they have this vampire stuff going on and still have to deal with their hockey careers, lol. my basic idea is something like (subject to change as i continue to ponder): a couple of generations there was some sort of accords/treaty reached between vampires and vampire hunters, because of the way the world was changing, it being much more difficult to hide, and also some sort of development that made it easy for vampires to feed without killing humans and kind of... put a damper on their vampire-ness, made it easier for them to blend in if they chose to, and the vampire powers that be decided that they should all do that, for safety. obviously there are still rogue vampires out there and still hunters who try to hunt down and kill even the ones minding their own business but for the most part at this point everyone minds their own business unless something particularly bad happens.

so matthew's grandparents were the last tkachuks to actually hunt vampires. keith was trained, did a little hunting in his youth as the kinks and wrinkles of the new order got ironed out, but was able to go on and have his hockey career instead of dedicating his life to hunting. then matthew, brady, and taryn come along, and they're kind of trained, just in case, and taught how to recognize vampires, taught how to protect themselves, taught all the ways vampires are still not human and not to be trusted and highly dangerous, but they're still able to go on and live normal lives.

until matthew starts playing against leon draisaitl. and he's spotted vampires out in the world before, but never in hockey — they tend to keep low profiles, and even at the lower-levels, team sports are not low-profile, and also matthew has just never imagined vampires caring about sports at all, although maybe that's a stereotype, but whatever — anyway. it takes him a few games to figure out what's up with draisaitl, and even when he starts suspecting, he's not sure, but then one battle of alberta matthew gets in a fight and ends up with a bloody face, and as he's ushered past draisaitl on the way to the box, he sees the way draisaitl is staring, the way his pupils are dialated, the way his throat moves when he swallows, the way his tongue darts out and matthew swears, he swears he sees a hint of fangs even though he knows those only come out when a vampire is feeding or in a bloodlust. and maybe he's just dizzy from getting punched but for a second when their eyes meet he is sure he feels that thing his dad and granddad warned him about, the way that if a vampire looks you in the eye he can hypnotize you. or read your mind. maybe both. the lore is kind of fuzzy. but obviously matthew is going to have to find him after the game. to find out what the fuck draisaitl is doing here, and figure out if he's going to have to put any of that training he never thought he'd need to use. because it feels dangerous, having a vampire in the league. it feels way too close for comfort.

[checkoutmybookshelf]

You Tag Me Before I Tag You, and You're In. No Questions Asked.

Before we get into Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex, we need to take a small detour into one of the few Fowl Short stories. Before we continue to Artemis's saga, we need to spend a little time with the Root brothers. The Artemis Fowl Files is technically two short stories and a bunch of miscellaneous worldbuilding and activites--it's a kids book, you guys--but we're going to just focus on one of the stories. Let's talk "LEPrecon."

As always, SPOILERS ABOUND below the break, so if you're not caught up on the whole Artemis Fowl series and the short stories, catch up first, then read this.

Content Warning: Arachnaphobes might want to skip this post and this book, because there are scary AF spiders, and I will be talking about them.

We're all very familiar with--and love despite his grumplestiltskin nature and low-key sexism--LEP Commander Julius Root. We're also very familiar with Captain Holly Short, first female elf to make the Reconaissance Squad, or LEPrecon. What we are less familiar with are a) How Holly got herself on recon, and b) Commander Root's dickhead older brother. This short work gives us the story of Holly's recon initiation and introduces us to criminal mastermind wanna-be Captain Turnball Root.

Y'all know that I love Opal Koboi. Well, Turnball makes me sad. Not because he's not a good villain--he is--but because his entire cat-and-mouse game with Julius is sad and it gives Julius the big sad. The TLDR on Turnball is that he was using his position as an LEP Captain to run a smuggling ring and Julius caught him with his finger on the button of a massive explosion that would have wiped out half of Haven. Julius couldn't shoot his own brother, so Turnball escaped and the two have been cat-and-mousing for 500 years.

So when Turnball shows up on the Tern Islands to fuck up Holly's initiation and strip Julius of his magic--and thereby his life, because the LEP does not employ magic-less fairies--the heartbreaking thing is not so much Turnball himself as Turnball's effect of Julius. Julius goes from the most possibly exhausted "not this shit again" to "god I wish I could just hug it out with my brother and make everything ok" to "you threatened my officers, look in my eyes and tell me I won't pull this trigger." And yet, none of that prevents Julius from instantly going for the coffee grounds when his big brother swallows a tunnel blue spider.

SIDEBAR: Holy shit Colfer, did you HAVE to stick a carnivorous spider with claws sharp enough to cut air that is small enough to TIP DOWN SOMEONE'S THROAT in the path of an utter psychopath like Turnball goddamn Root??? I was not ike...thrilled with spiders before I read this short story, and the fact that tunnel blue spiders are Turnball's favorite way of torturing and murdering other elves was NOT COMFORTING.

So yeah, Julius didn't hesitate to use the coffee grounds to stop the tunnel blue spider's heart and save his brother's life. This relationship is hard for both brothers, and the tragic thing is that not only do they both know its hard but they also can't seem to break the pattern.

Now, what does this have to do with Holly? Well, it's her initiation into recon that Turnball completely fucks up to get to Julius. The rules for the initiation are that the rookie and a senior officer (Holly and Julius, respectively, in this case) go hunting for each other. The rookie has zero resources and the senior officer has a full arsenal. Typically, these initiations are recorded and reviewed, and candidates may or may not be promoted to recon based on the review. There is, however, a loophole: If the rookie tags (with a paintball gun) the senior officer before getting tagged themself, then they skip the review process and are in, no questions asked.

Despite fully managing to pull both Julius Root's and Trouble Kelp's bacon out of the fire and successfully facilitating the arrest of Turnball and his two accomplices, Holly is basically told that she isn't trustworthy enough to be in recon. She did have to disobey a set of direct orders and demonlish a human house to rescue her people, but JULIUS, COME ON. And yet, we know that Holly is a member of recon. So what gives?

In the ballsy-est move I think I have ever seen, when she is asked if there is anything she can do to prove that she's trustworthy, she shoots Julius in the chest with her painball gun three times.

*stands up. Applauds.*

Hell yes, Holly.

So overall, I'm not generally a big short story girl; I tend to prefer longofrm storytelling, or at least a novella. That said, I thoroughly did love this short story. I thought it was a nice addition to Holly and Root's relationship, and I think it does a wonderful job of setting up Turnball for his role in The Atlantis Complex.

[the-ellia-west]

Stereotypical Fantasy Test

I've actually started writing scenes even though I haven't even started on the worldbuilding

This is a TEST of my writing style in how dark this is gonna get. I started light.

(This is unedited, and, a test)

(Also a test of Alkain's accent, because I'm giving him one, I think I might have overdone it a little...)

Cw: Very Aggressive Language, insults, in a way, mentions to sexual things

Alkain glanced around the building, growling in displeasure as he realized Karuk wasn't there. The Elf spun to leave, "Well, well, well, if it isn't the Queen's little plaything!" A Mocking voice stopped him in his tracks. Alkain flinched as eyes all over the tavern turned to him. His shoulders slumped and he shrank back. "You're pathetic. Can't even look a man in the eye!"

The former soldier turned back halfway, his eyes landing on a familiar figure leaning against one of the posts. "Hey! So the scoundrel's finally lowered himself to our level!" Levin clapped sarcastically. "Off your high horse for once?" Laughter echoed around the room.

Alkain didn't respond, knowing that if he did, Levin would only use his words against him. He started to leave. "Wow! Not a single word? You look depressed, hair all up in your face like that. Did the tailor lovergirl you hanging onto kick you out yet? What a little bitch."

Alkain froze at the mention of Euania and whirled toward the other, lunging for him. Levin jumped and yelped in surprise as Alkain grabbed him by the neck and collar. "Oi, Shut it. I didn't come here ta have some whore insult my family." Alkain used his third good hand to push his hair back, staring Levin down with the hollow bloody socket of his missing eye as his tail coiled up around the man's throat and he slammed him into the bar. "I didn't come here ta kill anyone either, but that can change at any moment."

"Xhaya! Holy shit! I'm sorry! What can I do to apologize?" Levin coughed, scrambling to get free as Alkain tightened his grip with a soft crunch.

The tavern patrons all stared in stunned silence at his outburst. Alkain released Levin. "Tell me where'ta find a good tailor."

"Up the road you sick freak. You'll know it when you see it." Levin brushed off his arms and grabbed something from beside him as Alkain turned toward the door, hushed voices hissing into his ears.

"The Queen's plaything sure has quite the temper, doesn't he?"

"Thinks he's so much better than us."

"Just because the Queen likes him doesn't mean he gets to treat us like dirt."

The elf ignored all of the comments as he reached the door. But just as he stepped over the threshold, one voice shouted over all the others. "Good fucking riddance! Go run along back to the castle whore-bug!"

"Well no one would touch your fuckin' wastebasket of a self with a ten foot pole, so why don'cha go fuck yourself!" Alkain shot a glare back into the tavern, more hurt than he cared to admit by that comment before he slammed the door shut behind him and stalked off down the road.

[kazraza]

Omg I‘m so excited for you new fic, you can‘t even imagine <3 I love, love, love your writing and the universe you build so much and I can‘t wait to meet Link and Zelda again in this third installment :‘) Can you tell us a tiny bit about it? Does it take place during or after totk? Is it canon divergent? I‘m just happy, please don‘t take this as me pressuring you or anything, take as long as you need.

omg thank you so much!!! that means so much to me!!

YES i would love to talk about my fic lmaooo. it takes place during totk with some flashbacks to pre-totk/post-resonance. part one is going to follow zelda's journey in ancient hyrule and part 2 will be centered on link and the sages.

it is canon compliant--but i'm gonna be adding SO MUCH of my own flavor and worldbuilding to it. ngl i kinda went crazy with the lore 😂 might have to cut some of it on the second draft we'll see..... also i realize probably no one wants a blow-by-blow of the events that happen when you just play the game so i'm gonna try my hardest to make it something different and special!

anyway ty for the ask!! if you are still interested in reading more please accept a humble wip from ch 3..... under the cut hehe....

-------

Dusk has fallen by the time they reach Woodland Stable, blanketing the trees in dim blue light. Link helps her from her mount, his hands lingering at her waist as he steadies her, then leads their horses to the stables. Zelda tucks her long hair behind her ear and looks around. A deck overlooks a large pond, and across the still water she sees the bright blue glow of a shrine. 

Link returns to her side, following her gaze. “Want to go check it out?” he asks.

“Sure,” she says, even though she really has no interest in the shrine.

But as it turns out, neither does Link. 

He presses her against the composite metal wall, the grooved designs digging into her back. Link’s mouth is hot against her neck, and the trees muffle most of the sounds of her gasps, and the evening wildlife swallows the rest. 

Two long weeks, and she’s forgotten what it’s like to have Link’s hands on her. 

She threads her fingers through his hair, undoing his ponytail. The light from the shrine floods his features, reflecting in his eyes when he fixes her with a gaze that arrests her where she stands. 

“I missed you,” Link breathes, touching his forehead against hers. 

“We’ve been by each other’s sides this whole time,” she says, giggling. 

“I missed this.”

Zelda grins. “Me too.” 

He grabs her by her thighs and lifts her up, holding her against the shrine, and she wraps her legs around him. His lips are on hers and he tastes the way a stormcloud feels, like something dangerous, something wild. 

“Zelda,” he says, a whisper against her throat, and she responds with his name, again and again, her fingers twisting in his hair, nails raking across the nape of his beautiful neck. “Zelda,” he says again, and it’s more insistent this time, a word that demands attention, and he isn’t kissing her anymore.

“Yes?” she says, breathless, distracted. 

His eyes are dark and glassy, but they’re not looking at her. She can barely see his features in the dimness, but he seems to be looking behind her.

Hold on, that’s not right. She could clearly see his face just a moment ago, lit by the shrine’s blue glow.

He realizes what it is, what’s different and what’s wrong, at the same time she does. She unwinds her legs from around his waist and he lowers her gently to the ground. It’s dark, completely dark.

The shrine is no longer lit.