#there’s a ton of new lore that’s not like classic AUs

[hj-skb]

Hello i’m posting on this site again maybe

(and also cohost, the cool 4th website)

[nonuggetshere]

Okay Spooky, PLEASE tell us about the Broken Shell AU lore (when you have the time of course). We've been seeing little bits of it for so long!

OHH, BROKEN SHELL AU MY BELOVED OLDIE

It must be I think the first or second AU I ever made for this game some years ago. It's the classic post-embrace the void ending AU.

Hornet, although reluctant and wary at first, helps The Hollow Knight and nurses them back to health in a little make-shift but in the Greenbath area, close to the Forgotten Crossroads for easy access to the hot springs which they used to heal. Why there? Idk, I think I just liked the greenery.

THK passes out for a good few days while Hornet takes care of them and when they finally wake up, despite being in an extreme amount of pain, unable to see and afraid, they still insisted on acting hollow. Slowly though, they recover, at least physically, and all the while she's taking care of them Hornet's also running all around the kingdom looking for Ghost and taking care of other things now that people are recovering and the dreamers are awake.

Once they've recovered just a little more though, something starts pulling on THK to go deeper into the kingdom, and when they can move finally they decide to follow that calling. Hornet of course tries to drag them back, but they're surprisingly strong even when injured and eventually, they end up at the junk pit. It starts with a little skirmish as both THK and Ghost are startled before they calm the hell down and realise who the other is. Hornet steps in, happy to see Ghost again even though they appear to be a shade now, and attempts to break the awkwardness by introducing them to THK - only for Ghost to float over and hug them, much to THK's surprise too as they had expected it to hate them or at the very least be angry.

So, long story short, the three siblings end up living together, eventually Ghost gets their shell fixed up by the mask maker, and they choose a name for The Hollow Knight - which was Shelly (because at this point I felt too mean calling them Hollow, so Shelly it is). They also bullshit about THK dying because Shelly does NOT want to deal with the emotional turmoil of meeting the Dreamers or Ogrim or literally anybody they know, at least while they're still recovering.

Eventually, though, they learn the truth, and much to Shelly's surprise and relief aren't angry with them.

Much later on, the question of who the next monarch should be arises and they eventually end up with Shelly being the only legitimate candidate (Hornet couldn't be thanks to some political mess between Deeonest and Hallownest, and Ghost would rather go through the Path of Pain 1000 times over than be a ruler of anything). At first, Shelly is terrified about the prospect and refuses, but after getting a ton of reassurance and with the promise of getting help from the Dreamers, they agree.

They couldn't bring the palace back from the dream realm so they just built a new one, a much smaller one in the City of Tears.

But it's mostly a classic healing arc AU for the three siblings tbh, mostly THK.

Also, it's worth noting that Shelly is disabled. They're completely blind in their right eye and can see some blurred shapes and light in the left one, which is the result of living with the fuckin sun in their head for god knows how long. They also suffer from chronic pain and back problems, and at their worst, they cannot take care of themself or even get up from their bed without assistance. They obviously don't have an arm either but eventually get a prosthetic one made for them. They still can hold up on their own in a fight - they're a god, after all - and even learned to fight by relying on their hearing rather than sight, but they're still not as strong or agile as they once were.

The bow covering their eye was from Hornet. When they were recovering she tied their bandages into a bow to cheer them up and they liked it so much they decided to do that with silk after their shell/eye healed. They also have a good relationship with the dreamers and even develop a fatherly relationship with Lurien, because they deserve a good father figure god damn it.

Oh, Ghost also eventually becomes Shelly's knight when they grow up. Hornet obviously takes over as the queen of Deepnest eventually and ever since then Hallownest's and Deeonest's relationship couldn't have been better, considering their rulers are siblings and get along swimmingly.

[hopalongfairywren]

Sam Bucket Lore liveblogging

FUCK WE'RE LIVE

lore is starting in nine minutes ok. I can wait.

quackity inspires him omg. cc!Quackity really did raise the dsmp to new levels. It was already great but he made it fucking cinematic

tina shoutout! Everyone say thank you to cc!tina she is the reason

Sam bucket. I will never get tired of cc!sam saying saaam buuucket

wait its not over till its over... Huh. Damnit their goes my friday night

c!george cameo? They really are shoehorning in every lore deficient person into these finales huh.

creepy music ooh. I love the music its not spooky month yet but i feel like the music makes it come early.

jumpscares? Fuck. The things I do for minecraft lore

Bad, minecraft is fucking terrifying

Oh thank god the timeline is saved

STARTING

oh god it has a "disturbing content warning" and its crackling like a found footage thingy. Well dsmp fandom if I don't see a shit ton of halloween/horror projects after this imma be mad

recap! with creepy music!

god damn it im already on edge

c!sam thank you for having more reason than the average horror protagonist

YESS. WAIT KNIGHTS OF HOPE? WILL THEY JOIN? AU MATERIAL?

talk to foolish? At the same time as perhaps... the knights of hope... so interconecting lore and plotlines that compliment each other?

No one would come. Nobody trusts c!sam or c!bad because of their actions. Jesus christ. That's my angsty interpretation but it's probably everyone just going; "Well ghosts are real, you can revive the dead, their was a parasitic red egg that tried to kill us, but that..? That's ridiculous lol. Go take your meds."

c!sam is fucking terrified and trying to reassure himself that maybe this isn't real. I wouldn't exactly call it gaslighting (can we not water down the term gaslighting is actively malicious-)

Oh. He brought up being stuck in the egg. Get him c!Sam.

Past lorestream being mentioned in canon? consistency for lore/characters/timeline? Can this stream kiss me pls?

FUUUCK

why does the music sound like fnaf phone ringing stuff

aaand they split up. theyre totally dead

sam bucket

ok but imagine from an in universe perspective how terrifying this is. I'll make a detailed post later

fuck the worst thing is when its to dark you can't see the threat

is he gonna do the horror classic of sneaking into the monster?

YEP

EGG AINT GONE YET EGG MAINS STAY WINNING

jesus christ they took notes from classic horror movies didn't they

Oh god the og eggpire. This makes the current eggpire's actions even more horrifying. They knew they were wrong. they did it anyways.

And yet more proof that the dsmp has been inhabited long before c!dream and will be long after!

Sam bucket

Francis? FRAN?

Callahan? Dream? Slime? Who knows who started this take ur pick!

Oh god I was right. The eggpire people would have had a few momments of lucidity. Scp Slowburn sloth nightmarefuel shit right their

Oh he wanted his dog. Oh. :(

SAM BUCKET WAS WARNING THEM? OH? OH? (pls tell me this is the truth no sudden attack no jumpscare let sam bucket be good)

ok now i feel bad for what im gonna do with sam bucket in pitdd :(

Wait is this a trick? Oh fuck. FUCK.

Is he sacrificing himself or Bad?

Oh HIMSELF?

Now I REALLY feel bad for what I'm gonna do with sam bucket lore in pitdd. Ah well I wrote it back when sam bucket was new and its important

HE PULLED A SKEPPY REFRENCE WTF

OK that ending. I DID NOT SUSPECT THAT ENDING

So many questions. Is Sam bucket good? did he trick c!bad? Did he somehow escape after destroying the egg? did he kill c!bad after this or get him posessed? This doesn't end until cc!sam gets raided so I guess we have to find out....

Oh god back to the scary part no more whismical music

THE EGG IS FROM THE FUCKING NETHER?

Ok this left more questions then answers why did sam bucket show up outside after he blocked himself off. The implication of the Egg being from the nether. If this is the end I'll be confused.

oh wow this is late i forgot to publish it woops

[legacy-by-darkryuu]

Remaster: Step Toward the Future, Chapter 1

Summary: Set in BTN/MFOMT/DS: Jill ("Claire") is struggling to find a goal in life after high school. After her parents boot her off to her late grandfather's farm, everything around her is never quite the same as she struggles to find herself and her future. Remastered from original 2004 release. Jill/Cliff, minor Jill/Kai, minor Jill/Gray, minor Jill/Doctor. OC/Popuri, OC/Elli.

Also available on Archive of Our Own

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Blanket Disclaimer: I don’t own Story of Seasons, Harvest Moon, or Rune Factory.

Rating: M/Adult

Author’s Note:

2023 Notes: It is DONE. It only took four years because of flipping adulthood. I can’t say it was fruitless. Along with the full rewrite of Step Toward the Future, I completed the prequel stories! Originally, when I was gung-ho writing this in the 00s-10s, I skipped around and did not actually write how some of the characters got here. Especially the kids, my God. They just popped up in Yuki, the Sophomore fanfic following Step Toward the Future. And there’s mentions of the characters but like you never meet them. It’s been weird as hell but I fixed it! All characters are now accounted for.

I will be posting for a while, there is a TON of content. I do not believe I can get into Fanfiction.net for some reason, or at least it’s not loading for me (I promise you, it could have fully closed and I’d have missed it) so it will be on Archive of Our Own and on Tumblr…once I pretty up the site. My motivation for anything lately is crap. But it’ll be on legacy-by-darkryuu at some point. I will host the ‘Classic’ version there unless otherwise specified.

It stays true to form…to a point, then, if somehow you’ve read it between 2004-2016, it goes the FF7 route and goes complete revamp. Still chaotic, still pretty nonsense but I seriously cannot reformulate this whole series by rectifying that, lol.

It’s a trifle darker than the original? Just a wee bit. And while real world chronologically, this is the first story I wrote, in the series, Nomad falls before this and may be a good read for some elements but not required. But that’s all I’ve got. Happy reading.

2019 Rewrite Notes: So, I finally decided to stop being lazy since I am working on the original six’s stories (mostly Shin’s right now) and just edit this bad boy to fit where we are now. I have like 90 different versions sitting in this folder but we’ll call this the “Forever Edit” until I edit something else into the storyline.

It’s only necessary for some unsavory things that were ‘normal’ when I was fourteen. It did kind of strike me as funny that Cliff’s ‘gentlemanliness’ is a little gross to me now. It just didn’t come off naturally. Also, while Jill was a loner and aloof in the original version, while she’s not super friendly ‘everyone is my friend!’, I don’t get the idea she’d purposefully be that way so that’s gonna be played down. Also, since Koji’s our quintessential dark child, she may still dress darkly and have a few of the original stylings but that’s gonna be rolled back a little too. And just some general cohesiveness corrections. ADDITIONALLY, I hope I can truncate this disaster to make it a more reasonable amount of chapters.

I’m going to remove the classic version from FF.Net again but you can still access it on Archive of Our Own. I know a lot of my old time readers are nostalgic and the version over there was how it was ORIGINALLY uploaded.

New time readers, welcome to the series. It’s cray. I have literally been writing this thing for fifteen years. I have slowed down due to being a full-time employed millennial so I get in where I fit in now. This story is set in 2004. It’s an AU take on the game. There will be lore and Easter eggs toward the series but overall, just take the characters and throw them into a real setting. Be forewarned, some of your favorite characters may be portrayed as unsavory but this changes (now). I hope you enjoy! Happy reading~

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Jill was lost in her own world amidst the heavy metal and moshing as she walked through the concert of one of the local bands, shoving past the riled up fans, cursing them silently under her breath. Like clockwork, again, she wasn’t in a good mood. The screaming rhythm that she had come to love wasn’t numbing her dismay at all.

She’d been tasked to take care of her great-grandfather’s farm and she was leaving tomorrow morning.

It wasn’t like her but she whined for nearly three weeks. It wasn’t what she WANTED to do…but, her parents demanded to know her alternatives. She…had none. They assured that this was something for her to do in the meantime then. She had five other brothers, but she was chosen out of all of them. Most likely because, out of all of them, she was the only one not attending college aside from the oldest who already had a career.

Mumbling lightly, she started for the exit, seeing as the concert wasn’t providing her any joy and tomorrow was going to be a long day.

And the sooner she figured out what step she had going toward her future, the sooner she got to leave.

She heard the alarm beeping, but she didn’t want to wake up. She didn’t want to go. Why was she being forced to do this? What did she, someone who’d only known the city for eighteen years, know about farming?

She picked up her alarm clock and threw it across the room, burying her face into her pillow. Whose test was this exactly? “Well, good morning, Sunshine” said a sarcastic voice. She looked to the door of her large room to see her older brother, Yagami Koji, standing there, wearing dark colored jeans and a black button up shirt, an ever loving child of darkness with dark hair and dark eyes to match. Jill sat up and grumbled, “Shut up and kill me.” He smiled gently and came further in to sit on her bed, “Princess, you know I’d go for you if mom and dad weren’t so invested in seeing you do something.” “Can’t I take time to figure that out? I just don’t know! I’m not like you or Shin, I don’t know what I want to do!” she protested, referring to their oldest brother who had a full blown career now. “And you can do that while you’re managing the farm” he said warmly, “Hell, maybe you’ll have an epiphany in like the first year then one of us will come and run it the rest of the way until it’s sold. You have to admit, Jilly, you’ve been sitting around for not days or weeks or even months, but close to a full year, doing absolutely nothing. We have super lenient parents but they do not care for idleness. You already got to see they didn’t let it fly with your twin.” Yea, she guessed she was the spoiled one now, she did think she’d get a pass. She sat up and hugged his waist, whining, “Big brother…” He stroked her long blond hair and rested his chin on top of her head, “Mmm, tell you what: how about I come and help on my next break. Sound okay?” She sighed. “I guess...”

"Psh, you guess? Can you imagine Koji actually farming?” said a snickering voice. They both looked up and Koji glared back at him. “I’d do better farming than you can, punkass.” The other oldest, Yagami Nerimaru, known amongst their family as ‘Nelly’, gave Koji a large grin and placed his left hand on his hip. He shook a spatula at them. “The nerve. And after I got up all early and crap to fix breakfast. I’m hurt.” Koji stood and rolled his eyes at Nelly, his younger less gloomy twin “How sweet of you. Did you hit your head or something?” “Bah. I can’t do anything out of the kindness of my heart?” Koji raised an eyebrow, blinking innocently “Kindness? Is there any?” Koji laughed and ran down the hallway as Nelly threw the spatula at him. He glared in the direction Koji fled, most likely having missed as Koji was master at dodging. Jill groaned. Her brothers…her stomach flopped and she winced, biting her lip as nervousness suddenly overtook her.

“What if no one there likes me?” she whispered.

“What are you talking about? Does it even matter?” Nelly questioned.

“Yea, if I have to stay there for three or more years until we sell it or someone takes it over, it kind of does” she huffed. Nelly suddenly leered, looking back down the hallway, “Oi, Koji!” Somehow, she knew what direction this was going already when Koji reappeared. Nelly glowered, “She’s gonna be in ol’ country town without our supervision and probably meeting all sorts of shmucks.” “It crossed my mind” Koji assured. Jill groaned, burying her face in her hands. Here we go. She had maybe two boyfriends in her life because these two and, to a smaller degree, her other three brothers terrified anything identifying as male away from her. Hell, they might take this from her with that option looming overhead.

“But I’m leaning that Jill’s city sensibilities aren’t gonna be swayed by some country dude” Koji added. What now? Jill gave him a look as Nelly looked dubious. “I dunno, dude, country girls are hot, why are the dudes gonna be any different?” Koji mused over this and she groaned again, “Okay, while you two decide if you’re sending bodyguards with me, leave so I can take a shower.” She went into the large bathroom in her almost suite-like room and turned on the radio to Yellowcard, an American band. Undressing and climbing into her shower, she started to wash her hair and wonder...

Did they have showers? Oh God, she was going to die.

She wandered out after several minutes and pulled on her black shirt and a pair of red pants. Heading downstairs in the Yagami mansion to the kitchen, she found some of her brothers swinging pots and pans at each other, Koji and Nelly milling in the corner, probably still discussing her supervision while all that nonsense went on around them. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head. Well, one pro: She was leaving some of this insanity behind.

XXX

Shin, her oldest brother, glanced at her as she gulped heavily. He was driving her to the ferry station on Hondo, the main island where she’d lived her whole life, to spirit her to this farming island. Her father, Yagami Yamada, a big-time surgeon, was supposed to but got called in to treat a patient.

Her mother also was called to surgery. Fashion surgery, that is. Apparently, there were two models on opposite spectrums in a show, one gaining weight to wear an outfit and another losing too much. Her mother, the great Yagami Dana, went to fix it so neither of them lost the opportunity.

Nelly and Koji only came to the mansion this morning to see her off from there, they had to get back to college. Somehow, she was glad as Shin was always generally the absolute calmest of all of them. She needed that right now…

Shin smiled. “You okay, sweetie?”

“Of course not” she grumbled.

He gave her a warmer smile, “You’ll be fine, imoto.”

“Yahhh, if you don’t scare the living crap out of your neighbors first” said a drowsy voice.

She glared at her own male twin, Tony. Shin cut his eyes in the rearview mirror at him. “You’re not helping, Tony.”

Tony smiled, “She knows I’m kidding. But seriously, remember, these people probably don’t even know what a CD is so you might not want to be blasting your EMO or any version of alt-rock immediately.”

She gasped at this revelation then sobbed into his shoulder. “I’m gonna die!”

Tony patted her head, “You’ll be fine, Jilly. I’m not a huge fan of this idea either but, y’know, it’s something to do while you figure shit out.”

“And who knows? Maybe you’ll find a boyfriend too” said the final, and youngest, brother in the group, Shaun.

She leered behind her, “Well, if you and Tony weren’t so busy waging war, you’d know that Koji and Nelly expressly forbid it.”

“Yeah, you better not without any of us there. Men are shit” grumbled Tony.

She glowered at him, “Even if I was capable of getting a guy to talk to me, given not one of you loons has ever allowed me to truly get the experience, I wouldn’t want some back-country hick.”

Shaun laughed, “You definitely won’t get a boyfriend with that attitude!”

“She won’t get one at all!” snapped Tony.

Shin scolded them both to silence before he smiled again, “Just try to enjoy yourself, Jill. I…also am not a great fan of you pursuing anyone at this junction but, whatever happens will happen.”

“...If you say so, Shin.”

She didn’t know. Maybe this would be the worst experience of her life.

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It…was beyond rustic. It was…almost like she time traveled. Jill wandered slowly into…a square? The streets were cobblestones. There was no pavement. There were shops, sure, but…

She was alone. All alone. She’d had five brothers and two parents her whole life, the very idea of ‘alone’ was traumatizing. But she wasn’t exactly ‘alone’. She was amongst absolute strangers. Their electric eyes gave her suspicious looks as she slowly wandered through town, down cobblestone streets, to find a grocery store. She just needed food. Everyone needed to eat, right?

She had no idea where anything was. Jill watched them whisper and raise eyebrows at her. Chills ran up and down her spine and her stomach was twirling. So this was it, huh? Going from her comfortable cozy circumstances to Judgmental Town 101? It was…it was stupid high school again and she literally just graduated. She didn’t even feel okay asking these people where the damn grocery store was.

Her lips began to twitch and before she knew it, she had stopped to sit on a bench to cry. Everyone on the street looked positively startled and started to quickly walk away from her, disturbed. Why? Did she look that scary? She cried into her hands, wishing her brothers were there to help. How could she survive when everybody judged her before they even got to know her?

She choked on sobs, rubbing her eyes. What was wrong with her? She was having a nervous breakdown for what reason? This was not the Yagami way. They just struggled and fought until things leveled out. She was not going to be the one Yagami breaking down because she couldn’t get groceries, especially given her brothers survived pretty much actual Hell.

Suddenly, a shadow came over her before someone sat down next to her. She sniveled, very startled, and looked to her side, about to glare and question what they were doing? Everyone was ignoring her or hadn’t they noticed?

But her eyes widened and she had to keep her mouth from falling open. A guy was beside her, a concerned look on his face. But that wasn’t what got her…

She didn’t think hot guys would even be here.

He had golden dirty brown hair that reached a little bit down his back, past his shoulders, pulled back in a ponytail. His eyes were bright blue and full of something warm and captivating...and he had on a black shirt and ripped jeans...

One thing was for sure: this was not the average town person she’d passed.

He tilted his head slightly to the side and finally asked, his voice soft and gentle, “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Now could she really say to this rather extremely handsome young gentleman her reason for crying like a complete idiot in the middle of town? No, she couldn’t.

Then again. “I...I can’t find the grocery store” she sobbed.

He gave her a breathtaking smile and chuckled, “That all? It’s all right. This town isn’t set up very conveniently.”

“It’s just no one would help me...” she blubbered, instantly feeling silly.

He frowned, “You’re new here, right? No one offered to show you around?”

She shook her head. Even the mayor hadn’t asked if she wanted a tour. He just ran away as soon as he showed her to the farm. The guy continued to frown for a moment then gave her another bright smile.

“Well then, allow me the honor. I am Izumi Cliff” he introduced himself, standing and putting his hand out to help her up.

Izumi…? She reached slowly toward his outstretched hand and took it. So warm. “H-hi, Izumi-san. I’m Yagami Jill. I’m going to be running the Obinata Farm. Um, sorry for the random...breakdown. It’s probably not the best way to meet someone. Rather awkward, I’d say.”

He smiled pleasantly, “Why? I have them everyday. This town is about as fun as getting a root canal.”

”Eek” she winced.

“Indeed...” he smirked, watching some snooty woman go by.

“So...you’re going to show me the grocery store?” she asked hopefully.

“I’ll do more than that! I’ll show you where the few things that exist are in this town” he said in an almost haughty manner.

She smiled shyly, “I’m honored.”

“Believe me, the honor’s all mine” he replied, bowing.

He led her back to…“Oki doki, square one.”

She didn’t feel annoyed, in fact, she fought off giggling, “Um...my farm? I kind of got down where this is.”

“Well, I’d hope you’d know your way here, I guess” he grinned.

He led her upwards and stopped in front of an old looking building with smoke looming from it. “This is the blacksmith.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Blacksmith? For what? It’s the 21st century.”

“Here, it’s like the 19th century. Four channels of television and they’re still using books. I mean, who actually reads anymore? We have the internet and fanfiction for that” he mused.

She laughed despite herself, “I mean, I do still read books but what’s the use of the blacksmith then?”

“I think he makes tools and stuff. I think. I dunno, I don’t talk to these people very often. All I know is his grandson is like, quiet Satan.”

“What?”

“Well, maybe not Satan, but quiet Lucifer” he ‘corrected’.

She laughed, surprised at herself, but very amused, “Those are like the same thing!”

“Okay, okay, he’s kind of a nice guy once you get to know him but he’s tsundere to a tee. Don’t be too off put if he says something terrible but doesn’t mean it” Cliff snickered.

She chuckled and nodded. He led her forward a bit to another house.

“This is the house of Duke and Manna. They’re like, upper class to the max but they sell wine and grape juice” he said before breaking off, musing.

“Hmm?” she questioned, sensing he had more to say.

“Well, I suggest avoiding Duke. He doesn’t like youth.”

She smirked at that, “Sounds kind of…old.”

“Yea, he’s kind of weird.” Cliff led her forward to another house. “This is Anna and Basil’s house. They’re the local botanists. They also have a daughter named Mary. She’s smart and ‘I know so much more than you, loser’ and she works in the library. Not that I really go there.”

She groaned, “I probably won’t either. I have to learn to farm. I guess I’ll be reading ‘fanfictions’ if I do have free time.”

He waved his hand, “Damn straight! And that said place is right there. The library…also known as the Legion of Doom.”

She chuckled again and he led her around the bend. “This is the mayor’s house right here...he lives with this photographer named Kano. Kano came from the mainland too. I think he said he’s from Wasaba or something.”

“Oh my God, really?” Her dad came up there, maybe he knew him.

“Yep! The mayor lets him stay here for now until I guess he finds a Ms. Mayor. I mean, the guy needs someone to keep him warm at night. He’s not exactly a looker.”

She giggled as the mayor’s appearance popped into her head. “Yea, I have never met anyone wearing a top hat not as a costume before. I thought those went out of style.”

Cliff laughed, “Yeah, I was pretty blown away when I came here too.”

So, he wasn’t from around here either and Izumi…it could be a coincidence. What made him settle in these parts? Walking up a bit to the next house, Cliff smiled. “Well, this lady is pretty nice. Her name’s Ellen and she has a granddaughter named Elli and her grandson, Stu. She makes a nice apple pie for everyone during the holidays.”

Jill smiled softly, more at the look on his face rather than what he was saying, “At least someone pleasant exists, huh?”

“Oh, they are few and in between.”

The place next door happened to be… “Here it is, as promised: The grocery store.”

She groaned and blushed, “I feel so stupid...”

“Don’t, really. This place looks like all the rest of the houses.”

She smiled at his comfort and then noticed a random girl glaring at them from the benches nearby. She was wearing a white tube top, a pair of jean hot pants and a purple vest. Her hair was blond in the front and brown in the back and she had piercing green eyes.

“Why are you hanging out in front of our store? Get lost, losers!” she snapped.

“And that would be the store owner’s lovely daughter, Karen. Don’t worry. I find her mother Sasha to be rather kind. Wonder what happened with her daughter...” Cliff remarked.

Karen glared furiously at him and he grabbed Jill’s hand, quickly dashing by. She blushed at the little contact, her heart fluttering. He released it once they were a nice distance away from the angry Karen.

“Best not taunt that one” he grinned, shaking his head, “I mean, like Grey, she’s nice, just tends to get a little irritable about her circumstances from time to time.”

Circumstances? He looked around and then pointed at a white building.

“That is the doctor’s office. Note that everyone calls him ‘The Doctor’ but his name is Dr. Ishikawa though. Really nice guy, one of my closest buddies here.”

Jill frowned, that name ringing a bell too. Dr. Ishikawa…

They rounded another corner and he pointed up a walkway. “That’s the church. They have confession and services. Y’know, stuff like that.”

She nodded and they walked up the path a little more. He frowned and blinked a little. “This is the inn slash restaurant where I stay. Here is where Doug and Ann live.”

He looked upwards for a moment, as if thinking, then laughed, “Never mind. Let us continue!”

She stared at him as he passed her then continued to follow. He showed her everywhere that day and she felt so grateful to him. They went back to the store where they got a lot of dirty looks from fellow shoppers. Great. But Cliff smiled as if he didn’t notice them.

And she did the same. She wasn’t alone right now.  

They walked back to her house and she smiled at him, “Thanks so much. I’m glad I found someone in town that’s nice.”

He smiled sheepishly, “You bet. And no need to thank me. It was my pleasure.”

He then grinned, “Well, I’ll leave you to unpack and stuff. Hope to see more of you.”

She nodded and watched him walk off. Huh.

She was actually starting to look forward to this a bit more. Maybe…this was a step forward.

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End Notes: Yellowcard?! Who the hell is that?! This takes place in 2004, bruh! This was some nostalgic research here. And I am 200% going to the When We Were Young 2023 music festival! Koji, Nelly, Tony, and Shaun are the farmer from Back to Nature/More Friends of Mineral Town/DS. Just…not really. When we were kids, I played as Koji, my cousin sort of played as Nelly, my younger cousin played as Tony, and, just to be inclusive, we had one other cousin play in spirit as Shaun. Shin is the farmer from Save the Homeland/Hero of Leaf Valley. Jill is the blonde protagonist from Back to Nature: For Girls and DS Cute. I can find no real remaining evidence but, prior to “Jill”, the brunette AnWL character, ‘Claire’ was Jill. Thus, why I named her such…I don’t remember when or why the shift came. Just remember, this was written sort of before Another Wonderful Life came out (Crazy, right?). Mineral Town is way bigger in scope than it is in the game. It’ll be developed over the stories.

[adrianicsea]

What’s your favorite chainshipping fics?

great question!! before i start listing stuff off i wanna preface that i have been in this fandom for like 2 months tops, so i haven't had a ton of time to investigate and dig around yet!! THAT SAID, here's some stuff i've really enjoyed thus far:

at the bottom of everything-- adam lives au where he and lawrence struggle to move on after the events of the first movie. it's 2 chapters and unfinished so far but i LOVEEEE the dynamic between adam and lawrence in it and eagerly await the day it's finished. it's also got trans man adam which i am a sucker for every single time!

hacksaw-- adam lives/apprentice adam au, by @dannyvhs. this is easily the longest chainshipping fic i've encountered thus far, and it rewrites the events of the entire series from saw 1 to spiral-- i think right now the story is running concurrent to jigsaw, but i haven't seen any of the movies past saw 2 yet so i'm not sure LOL. it oscillates between plot-heavy events and slower, more domestic scenes of adam and lawrence's relationship developing, and since it covers the entire series you get to see the characters grow and change a lot! (a now-teenaged diana makes an appearance in some of the later chapters, and i really enjoyed what the author did with her character.) this is also another trans man adam classic

watch me-- au where jigsaw doesn't exist, and adam initially comes into contact with lawrence when alison hires adam to see if lawrence is cheating on her. i read the first chapter or two of this when it was first uploaded-- it's up to 6 chapters and getting pretty regular updates now, but i haven't had the time to catch up with it just yet! the concept is super fun though, and i'm excited to get caught up with it and see where it goes.

literally anything that ao3 user allegedly_writing puts out is a certified banger. his ongoing series "all the little pieces that make up a life" follows adam and lawrence's shared recovery/relationship post-bathroom, and it focuses more on the emotional & traumatic aftermath than the horror elements-- i've only had the time to read the first couple chapters of it so far, but it's SOOO good! and he's got plenty of other oneshots that slap as well. he writes t4t chainshipping, and the way he portrays both adam and lawrence in that regard is REALLY good, unique, and well-grounded!

finally, this one isn't chainshipping, but i also wanna shout out @horrorhardcore's fic learning to appreciate life! it's a post-bathroom adam lives au, but it focuses much more intently on adam's trauma/recovery process. lawrence IS still present in the story, though, and i honestly enjoy seeing the relationship/tension between him and adam in a platonic sense as much as i love seeing it romantically. there's some really nice adam lore/backstory in this one-- he has a sister and a potential boyfriend so far, both of whom fit perfectly into the setting.

i think that's about it-- like i said, i haven't had much time or opportunity yet to really dig into what all's out there, which is why this list is skewed so heavily towards new/current work. thank you for asking! it was fun to dig through my bookmarks/history and share these :)

[genshin-djinn]

Genshin Impact Chapter 1 Act 3: A Reaction.

Chapter 1 Act 3 is what took my experience with this game from “good game” to “masterpiece”.

THIS POST CONTAINS MANY, MANY SPOILERS FOR GENSHIN IMPACT CHAPTER 1: ACT 3

Genshin Impact has some problems— actually, it has a shit ton of problems. But during the fight against hordes of Fatui, with the Adepti channeling their abilities through my gang, flying through them as Oz, decimating them with Diluc— I just thought, this is the best time I’ve had in a mobile game in my life.

This game might not be perfect now— it’s only a quarter of the way done if we’re counting Karenri’ah. But it will be a fucking masterpiece once it’s all out. If this is the level of quality we’re getting for our archon quests, this game is going to be an amazing time on story alone.

KEQING

I love Keqing with all my heart. If she were alive today she would be a socialist here to topple the ruling 1%. When ningguang asked Aether who they trusted more, her or Keqing, I hit the Keqing button as fast as possible.

I think one of my favorite things about Keqing is that she’s so completely honest, which is unusual for a Liyue politician. If she doesn’t like something, she’ll speak out against it. If she thinks something else should be happening, she’ll make it happen. She can probably be deceitful at times, but in general she’s straightforwards in that she wants a government for the people and by the people.

I can’t wait for her story quest!

NINGGUANG

pretty.... voice pretty....

Ningguang is cool. Her JP voice is very pretty, like she could do ASMR videos online or smth. One thing I decidedly did not like about Ningguang is how her personality just ???? flips? In the middle of the quest, for no reason other than “because plot”.

It’s established that Ningguang cares about two things more than anything— the Jade palace and Mora. Why, then, would she destroy the Jade palace for the sake of Liyue? I get that she’s a good person at heart at all, but I want to see more of her indecision, her brain saying “mora” and her heart saying “Liyue”. The way she just flips on a dime isn’t really strange but it does contradict with her preexisting characterization.

Childe’s Boss Fight!

The section of this quest from Childe’s fight to the Adepti + Qixing battle is just nonstop adrenaline.

Childe is IMO a lot more fun than Dvalin (sorry Dvalin). I’m at WL5 and have a tendency to play fast and loose with important mechanics like.... dodging, for example.... and Childe’s Mask Electro form ended up destroying my team. I killed him with Guoba because everyone else besides Xiangling was dead. I

Another thing I really enjoy about Childe’s boss fight is that in the irrationalities of Childe as a character, it actually makes sense. Genshin is decent at making weekly bosses logical excursions— Andrius wants you to get stronger, Dvalin’s weekly fight is ~~all a dream~~; but tbh sometimes the weekly bosses don’t make sense. Andrius wants to train us, not murder us! How does dvalin, a dream slash memory that doesn’t exist, manage to knock someone out?

Childe as a weekly boss actually makes perfect sense. He’s an adrenaline junkie addicted to the thrill of fighting people— to put this in modern AU terms, he’s the guy who’s first in line to ride the rollercoaster that failed all of its health and safety checks. Childe wants to befriend the Traveler entirely because they’re stronger than him, so that he can fight them over and over again until he’s the strongest. Of course, this will never happen, because the Traveler is the MC and therefore is stronger than all others. However, in this way Childe being a repeatable boss makes 100% perfect sense— he actually wants to fight the Traveler again and again and again.

The one question I have about Childe is how in the living feck are the Fatui letting him join the Traveler and fight for them *against the Fatui*??? I think this might be touched on in Childe’s Story quest, which I’ll do in a bit, but like????? They let him keep his delusion and just walk over to Aether like “aight fam I’m on your team now”? How?

Jade Chamber/ Guizhong Ballista vs Sea Monster Fight!!

Basically, all my charged adrenaline from nearly dying to Childe just came to a head in this one huge fantastic fight.

And Xiao :)

I absolutely loved seeing the Adepti and the Qixing work together. This fight was probably my favorite fight in the whole game— the music was amazing (soundtrack where), the graphics were so nice, the adepti were so feckin cool, using everyone’s abilities was n I ce. My adrenaline was reaching its highest point at this fight and it was just perfect. It was just so fecking fun after days of WL5 pain, having to pop like five ultimates to kill one hillichurl, to be able to just demolish swathes of enemies with Fischl and Diluc, run around like a madman thanks to Xiao, have infinite health idr who did that for me but bless them, just absolutely destroy.

Ever since I hit WL5 I haven’t been able to really just go insane during a fight and stop caring about HP/ when to use skills/ dodging and this have me that opportunity.

Zhongli’s Deal

*punches Zhongli across the room with the power of being the player character* I love this man so much.

Zhongli Zhongli Zhongli Zhongli Zhongli. I AM VERY ANGRY AT HOW THE PLOT RESOLVED HIS STORYLINE. But it also makes a lot of sense. And I think, for once, Zhongli should be allowed to be selfish.

Because choosing to leave Liyue was a bit selfish. He’s leaving the country that adores him, loves him, gives him shit for free; to its own devices and then to a completely unknown fate once the new Geo Archon becomes god and takes over. But he made a frankly fantastic plan and can now leave the country, for now, in peace.

I was absolutely delighted to see Zhongli in Morax form. Making deals with La Signora, being a complete and utter puppet master who set this entire situation up and played Childe like a kazoo; but just like his dear friend Venti, I think Zhongli is happier when he’s just Zhongli, the eccentric mortal. He seems so much happier and so much more relaxed when he’s forgetting about mora and eating dinner with Aether and Paimon. Rex Lapis might have just put Liyue through the wringer, but he can now put down his 3000- year long reign and just be the happy, eccentric Zhongli.

Zhongli’s little bit of insecurity over being a “bourgeois parasite” makes perfect sense now— he doesn’t want to be seen as Morax, a superfluous god who’s using his name to get whatever he wants from the humans he watches over.

But also the part of my brain that feeds off lore nEEDS to KNOW what Zhongli got from Tsaritsa. What could be worth a gnosis? His own happiness isn’t enough— Tsaritsa is likely going to use his gnosis to try and destroy Liyue. What could be worth that?

My main thought would be either “someone’s protection” or “another gnosis”, but I don’t think the latter is possible. The former could be possible but doesn’t really make sense either— a) whose protection is worth putting an entire country, much less the world, in danger and b) the Fatui are out to kill everyone who isn’t Fatui, so they won’t agree to spare a major player in the war to come like that. Brain go brrr.

I’m very hyped for Zhongli’s story quest, which I think is coming with his banner on Dec 1, when Childe’s banner ends. I really hope that Zhongli visits Mondstadt and chills with Venti for a while, but anything with this guy would be fine lol.

LORE

We got a lot of lore this update and I am delighted by it.

Firstly, we get a tiny hint of how Visions are bestowed— “if a person shows true strength of will at a desperate and fateful moment in their life, the gods will look upon them with favor.” Vague but more than we had before.

Next we got some neat lore about Inazuma— firstly, that it’s led by a god named Baal and secondly that it steals everyone’s visions. I’m very hyped to visit because guess what fam aether doesn’t have a vision.

Final Thoughts

In case you can’t tell from my insane ramblings, I loved Chapter 1 Act 3 and I absolutely cannot wait to play through Childe’s story quest and Chapter 2 and beyond.

The Prologue in Mondstadt set the stage for Genshin. We started out in a fantasy environment with a fantasy tale of an immortal bard and a dragon. Mondstadt was an excellent introduction to the world of Genshin.

And now? We’re starting to build on that. Chapter 1 brings us another story of another god and their relationship with the country they watch over. Liyue is much less of a traditional fantasy setting and takes the darkness we saw in Mondstadt— a friendship ruined by manipulation and suffering— and build on it. Now we don’t just see the Fatui more often but we also see more of the Treasure Hoarders and the way both groups kidnap and experiment on humans.

Mond started to introduce us to the Fatui, but Liyue is where they really start bringing continuous plot relevance. Inversely, we saw much more of the Abyss Order in Mondstadt than we did in Liyue. I’m extremely disappointed we didn’t see any more of the Princess this chapter, but it makes sense given that Chapter 1 was really more about the Fatui than the Abyss Order.

All I’m trying to say is the Liyue arc was an excellent continuation to the stage Mondstadt’s arc set. Now, we’re on to the world of the Eternal Shogun, Baal! I’m really excited to meet new characters and experience new stories of Inazuma, but I hope we’ll continue to see Mondstadt and Liyue in the future. Mondstadt is likely going to be the most “boring” of the countries we experience, cuz it’s just so classically fantasy- themed, but it will always be the first country we explored in this world.

After Inazuma (if I had to take a shot in the dark, inazuma’s arc will take from December 23 to maybe March or April) we’ll go to Sumeru, which I am really extremely hyped for because it sounds extremely different from Mond and Liyue and we’ll meet Cyno and possibly even Collei! (just me extrapolating lol). I can’t wait to see where Genshin Impact goes story- wise, because its first major update has brought so much to the table.

.

[ravencyclebigbang]

Raven Cycle Big Bang 2020 Masterlist

The 2020 Raven Cycle/Call Down The Hawk Big Bang has come to a close! 

Twenty-six teams (and some…) created a ton of great fanfic and fanart over the course of the event. When we started this event we couldn’t have known what 2020 would end up being, so our appreciation goes to all participants for being so resilient and marvellous and sticking with us until the very end.

A Big Bang is traditionally a fandom event that produces 10k+ words fan fictions and associated art, all fully complete. That’s all the reading and looking your art might desire!!!

Please make sure to show your love to all creators by commenting, kudosing and sending loving pigeons!  And stay tuned, because we might have a little Post-Bang Giveaway ready for you…

We have an Ao3 collection in case you want to filter by tags and ratings and the like. Below the cut is a full master list of the various contributions to the TRC Big Bang, so they can be browsed with ease.

Team #1: that perilous stuff (which weighs upon the heart)

Fanfic: AO3 Art: Tumblr

Writer: @saywhatjessie (tumblr)/JessJesstheBest (AO3)

Artist: @pygmypouter (tumblr)

Beta: @rroguess (tumblr)

Synopsis: “Uh, Mr. Parrish? You’d like to read for Lady Macbeth?” Adam felt his eye twitch, even while he nodded. It was true that even at an all boy’s school where boys would have had to read the female parts, Adam probably wouldn’t have normally volunteered to read Lady Macbeth. But Ronan had called him a nerd. So he was prepared to be the biggest nerd Ronan had seen. “I know what I’m about, ma’am.” Or Ronan and Adam volunteer to read for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in class. Shenanigans ensue.

Team #2: Uncanny Omens

Fanfic: AO3 | gthechangeling Art: Tumblr | drawfulneutral Art: Tumblr

Writer: @yesterdarling (tumblr)/YesterDarling (AO3)

Artist: @gthechangeling (tumblr)

Artist: @drawfulneutral (tumblr)

Beta: ghostangel (AO3)

Synopsis: The Forces of Heaven and Hell have always assumed that the world would end. More specifically, they always assumed the world would precisely end on a Saturday evening, just a few days after the Antichrist’s birthday. The Armies are forming, the Four Horsemen have been drawn out, and the Antichrist is coming into his full power. Yet not everyone longs for Armageddon. Adam and Ronan - an Angel and Demon living in rural Virginia - most certainly don’t want it to; not when Earth has so many libations that they’ve come to enjoy. Besides, Armageddon without humans having a say in the matter wouldn’t be fair, would it? With their livelihoods and the lives of Mankind on the line, they plot to throw a wrench in the Divine Plan. It’d go far easier if anyone knew where the Antichrist was, though.

Team #3: We seek someone to sew sutures in the places where we’re torn

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @blueseyforthesoul (tumblr)/kirani (AO3)

Artist: @thecorvidrotation (tumblr)

Synopsis: Gansey isn’t the half of his soulmate pair with a name, and Blue hasn’t said anything so he doesn’t think she has his name either. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a huge crush on the cute bassist of his roommate’s band. Shenanigans ensue.

Team #4: You Better Shape Up

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: stop_whining (AO3)

Artist: @attentionhoard (tumblr)

Synopsis: A Pynch fic inspired by the classic 1978 movie/musical Grease for TRC Big Bang 2020.

Team #6: Pranks and Pups!

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Instagram

Writer: @comfy-spot (tumblr)/RandyKorn (AO3)

Artist: manao.ri (instagram)

Synopsis: The end of winter break rolls around, and Ronan finds himself stuck in a depressive episode despite the miracle of having his friends all together once again. Blue and Henry bully him into a Platonic Date Night Extraordinaire (which isn’t so platonic on Henry’s part). There’s gelato, misdemeanors, dog piles, a duck, dance parties, and even a car chase - everything necessary to force one Ronan Lynch into admitting that he’s just as deserving of love and care as the rest of them.

Team #7: In gardens all wet with rain

Fanfic: AO3 | forestgeitart Art: Tumblr | purrsnicket Art: Tumblr

Writer: @magicienetreveur (tumblr)/hollyanneg (AO3)

Artist: @forestgeitart (tumblr)

Artist: @purrsnicket (tumblr)

Beta: @semicolonsandsimiles (tumblr)

Synopsis: In a land where magic is real, Ronan spends most of his time hiding from it in the palace gardens, where he’d once met a boy who could tell the future. There’s love letters, a masquerade ball, and an evil plot to be foiled.

Team #8: The Waiting Game

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @inoctavo (tumblr)/inoctavo (AO3)

Artist: @lenaisanerd (tumblr)

Beta: @emjenenla (tumblr)

Synopsis: When all they can do is wait, Declan’s mind catastrophizes… then tries to plan for them. It’s a good recipe to make more problems when everyone’s gone around the emotional ringer. Featuring existential crises, denial, tough decisions, Declan meeting Opal for the first time, and Jordan painting Declan like one of her French girls.

Team #9: if love is just a game (then how come it’s no fun)

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @toast-the-unknowing (tumblr)/shinealightonme (AO3)

Artist: @rroguess (tumblr)

Synopsis: Ronan probably shouldn’t have sworn at the stranger he runs into leaving Gansey’s favorite hipster coffee shop. Blue probably shouldn’t have tracked down Adam’s soulmate without his permission. But they did, and now all four of their lives are tangled up together, whether they like it or not.

Team #10: Strange as Angels

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @skyermirth (tumblr)/skyermirth (AO3)

Artist: @squash1-squash2 (tumblr)

Beta: @galwaygremlin (tumblr)

Synopsis: Adam takes a job for the summer as Caretaker of the Barns, which local legend says is haunted. Adam soon finds out this is true when he meets the resident “ghost,” who isn’t very scary with his mohawk and grouchy demeanor but romantic heart. Falling in love with a ghost was not what Adam had planned for his summer. (Loosely based on the 1947 movie “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir”.)

Team #11: Dream Killer

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @attentionhoard (tumblr)/mvsic_bxxks_stvdy (AO3)

Artist: @sinplaytheartist (tumblr)

Synopsis: Ronan Lynch is a man with extraordinary talents. If he can bring a living, breathing bird from a dream, what’s stopping him from bringing his best friend back from the grave? But some challenges are too great for one dreamer alone.

Team #12: Bread & Circuses

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Instagram

Writer: @galwaygremlin (tumblr)/okay_pretender (AO3)

Artist: crystaline_art (instagram)

Beta: @inoctavo (tumblr)

Team #14: Ag iarraidh forais i bhfodhomhain

Fanfic: AO3 | forestgeit Art: Tumblr | homunculiii Art: Tumblr

Writer: @semicolonsandsimiles (tumblr)/semicolonsandsimiles (AO3)

Artist: @forestgeitart (tumblr)

Artist: @homunculiii (tumblr)

Beta: @g-reywaren (tumblr)/applepi314 (AO3)

Synopsis: Adam is more surprised that he came to Ireland at all than he is to find a doorway to the Otherworld. When Persephone gives you cryptic predictions about your future, you’re almost certainly about to stumble into some magic. And for all his exterior bluster, Ronan seems almost relieved to have someone to visit Tír na nÓg with. But things turn complicated quickly when, during what was supposed to be a quick trip through the doorway, they encounter Ronan’s little brother - who is definitely human and definitely in New York. When Adam ends up back in Ireland long term, he finds himself increasingly entangled in the magic of the Lynch bookshop, the Lynch family lore, and one Lynch in particular.

Team #15: See You Later Alligator

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Instagram

Writer: @crostiina (tumblr)/crostiina (AO3)

Artist: fricklefracklefloof (instagram)

Beta: @creativefiend19 (tumblr)

Synopsis: “Adam.” he read out loud, because he didn’t know what else to do, because he was bad at conversation yet he definitely felt the need to say something.

He thought Adam was going to be even more annoyed and tell him off for being there and close and talking to him. He didn’t know why he did, maybe it was just that night messing with him, maybe it was just him never feeling right anywhere he went. Adam just shrugged.

“Told you I wasn’t Janine.”

Graduation year, Ronan Lynch is wasting his time with horrible friends and too many vices. Things change when he meets Adam Parrish, local (apparently) sane person and ambitious soul working the graveyard shift at a gas station’s market as he waits for acceptance letters to come. Somehow, they both happen to become the best part of the other person’s day.

Team #17: weekends are for the dogs

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @royai (tumblr)/rizahawkaye (AO3)

Artist: @cheeriosnuggles (tumblr)

Synopsis: Ronan Lynch - fresh off the loss of his father, the truth of his Dreams - has so much to learn about himself, about Dreamers, about Niall, and about the black-coated wolf that tears its way through Henrietta.

Team #18: primavera

Fanfic: AO3 | Tumblr: Art

Writer: @manonblaccbeak (tumblr)/Imnotweirdjustwriting (AO3)

Artist: @gthechangeling (tumblr)

Beta: @pnrrish (tumblr)

Synopsis: the rebirth of Adam through art

OR: a renaissance AU featuring the gangsey

Team #19: trouble is (i don’t wanna let go)

Fanfic: AO3 | gouachemole Art: Tumblr | ladvy Art: Tumblr

Writer: @adverbialstarlight (tumblr)/adverbialstarlight (AO3)

Artist: @gouachemole (tumblr)

Artist: @ladvy (tumblr)

Beta: @violettfemme (tumblr)

Synopsis: It’s been two years since Henrietta’s infamous supervillain, Apothecary, disappeared from the streets and left the beloved hero Greywaren alone without his nemesis – and former secret lover. But now he’s back and determined, this time to team up and save the city from an even larger threat.

aka a pynch superhero au

Team #21: Love in the Time of Socialism

Fanfic: AO3 | Art 1: Tumblr | Art 2: Tumblr

Writer: @oldkingyounggod (tumblr)/aurumdalseni (AO3)

Artist: @effwit (tumblr)

Beta: @crostiina (tumblr)

Synopsis: This is a story about a magician with a terrible history. The death of Adam Parrish’s father after he leaves for college means a chance at closure with that part of his life, but he’s not on the journey alone. At his side is a king, whose loyalty never faltered, no matter how much the world threw at them, or how many times they couldn’t agree on how to live their lives. This is also the story of a dreamer, who loved his best friends so much that he didn’t dare risk losing them by asking for something they couldn’t give. So kisses that could have been became kisses that never were, and Ronan Lynch tells himself he’ll make his home a place they can return to. They’ll all come together again for Adam, even fierce little Blue Sargent, so he doesn’t have to face his past alone. And while he works at closing those doors, he’ll make his way into places where all the love Adam, Ronan and Gansey have built up over the years will finally have the space to bloom.

Team #22: we will raze this earth together

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @teddylupin (tumblr)/perfect-porcelain (AO3)

Artist: @kojotei (tumblr)

Synopsis: Ronan is the heir to the Cabeswater throne, a mythical place that was thought to be lost to time. He is the only one of the late King Niall’s son to inherit the royal ability to shift into a dragon. He doesn’t want the throne. In his attempt to escape, he is captured and brought to the kingdom of Henrietta where the court magician, Adam is tasked with attempting to communicate with him, only Adam doesn’t know he has a human form. All Adam sees is the beautiful monstrosity that is Ronan.

Team #24: Heavy lies the head

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @tinyarmedtrex (tumblr)/tinyarmedtrex (AO3)

Artist: @non-platonic-murphamy (tumblr)

Beta: @waywardsoul-s (tumblr)

Synopsis: Adam can’t stand the court magician, Ronan, but when his King sends the two of them on a quest Adam has no choice but to learn to work with the other man.

Team #25: A voice inside me sang your name

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @maskingfragility (tumblr)/Fata_Morgana (AO3)

Artist: @pank0 (tumblr)

Beta: @campbraceyourself (tumblr)

Synopsis: Adam Parrish has recently gotten engaged, he works for a prestigious law firm in DC and he is about to be made partner. His life is millions miles away from the trailer park in Henrietta, he has accomplished all he has ever wanted, so when the call of an ancient, magical forest starts resonating inside him he is faced not just with his past, but with the possibility that his present is not what he really wants.

Team #27: Life is a Fucking Nightmare

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @sterlynwrites (tumblr)/sterlynsilverrose (AO3)

Artist: @sinplaytheartist (tumblr)

Synopsis: We’ve All Read “Dream Thieves” at this point.

All the reader sees is the end of the nightmare of Joseph Kavinsky. But, what we don’t really see is exactly what leads up to that. This is an unapologetic look at Joseph Kavinsky and his daily life. It gives weight to the words:

“Life is a fucking nightmare.”

Team #31: The Creation of Adam

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @pynches (tumblr)/clawsnbeak (AO3)

Artist: @purrsnicket (tumblr)

Beta: glam_reaper2 (AO3)

Synopsis: When Ronan Lynch enrolled in art school just to mess with his brother, he never thought he would actually be good at it. Now, with only a few months left before he is supposed to graduate, he has to turn in one of the biggest art pieces yet. Enter Adam Parrish, a poor student who wouldn’t say no to some extra money. When he saw an advertisement on Craigslist looking for a model to help with an art project, he didn’t hesitate to react. Working together seemed easy enough but there might be more between them than they bargained for.

Team #34: The Royal Treatment

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @oldguybones (tumblr/Oldguybones (AO3)

Artist: @the-ronan-cycle (tumblr)

Synopsis: When Adam Parrish turned eighteen, he became the rightful heir to rule his home country of Henrietta. For years, he looked forward to taking over the nightmarish reign of his father and make the changes he wanted to see. But there was a huge problem. To officially hold the title, he first must wed and his foul mouthed, farm hand boyfriend, Ronan Lynch, knew nothing about royalty. Adam knew though, that there was no one better to rule by his side. So he must teach Ronan how to behave in the face of royalty without changing what he loved so dearly about him.

With time running out, will he be able to do that in time to gain the current King’s approval?

Team #38: and could you carry me through no man’s land

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @mletart (tumblr)/mletart (AO3)

Artist: @wy-mackk (tumblr)

Beta: @stadamparrish (tumblr)

Synopsis: For The Raven Cycle 2020 Big Bang

In which Ronan Lynch gets himself into trouble with the High Council and Adam Parrish ends up taking Ronan on as his familiar. Adam learns the secrets of the Lynch family, and they both learn about magic and about each other. It goes a lot better than either of them would have expected at the start.

Team #39: Weirdos’ Voices

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr

Writer: @flyde (tumblr)/parttimehuman (AO3)

Artist: @shamanda-lie (tumblr)

Synopsis: Without ever having seen the guy, Ronan is crushing hard on one of the construction workers renovating his building. Sitting against the door to his apartment, listening to the beautiful voice and oddly entertaining ramblings of a certain Ganseyboy, Ronan wonders what it would be like if they ever met. It happens when he least expects it…

Team #40: the first problem was putting us in charge of a kingdom

Fanfic: AO3 | Art: Tumblr 

Writer: @bipolarronanlynchevangelist (tumblr)/elliptical (AO3)

Artist: @turqidoodles (tumblr)/Turq_I (AO3)

Synopsis: Ronan Lynch loses control of his magic, which is the catalyst for a lot of shit, because he’s the first proven user of chaos magic in… basically ever. Gansey’s trying to be a good king despite his fears that there may be no such thing. Adam Parrish works beside him, earning his terrifying reputation through psychic study and occasional gray morality. Blue Sargent can’t leave her home or she’ll sicken and die, and her wanderlust is driving her to seek less-than-sensible solutions. Noah Czerny knows a lot about healing, but he’s not omnipotent, and he’s a little tired of being asked to clean up everyone else’s messes. Declan Lynch doesn’t trust the crown. He especially doesn’t trust the crown with his little brother. Mysteriously, all of this leads to rather a lot of conflict.

[swampgallows]

In your opinion, what race(s) do you think have the least interesting lore behind them? Or resonate with you the least

 imma be 100% honest that i dont know a ton of alliance lore. i think the underdogs in having kickass lore are actually the dwarves and gnomes; people think mechagnomes were just a temporary tie-in for bfa but they were actually alluded to all the way back in wrath of the lich king (in borean tundra... gee how do i know that haha) and make their grand debut in Ulduar with mimiron (though some are in borean and storm peaks quests). in comparison i think the lightforged draenei were kinda one-note to make argus relevant, though i think we’ll be seeing more lightbound stuff in shadowlands or the predictive ‘void lords xpac’. lightbound undead were also mentioned in the Before the Storm novel, so they may be setting a precedent.

and it sucks that magni and brann are obnoxious as fuck (or at least we’re sick to death of them) because brann’s motives are genuinely quite interesting. it also adds a unique dimension to the trope that dwarves are miners or dig just because theyre innately attuned to the earth by literally being of the earth, a race called ‘earthen’ that was, like gnomes, given the curse of flesh. that, and they dig in hopes of unearthing (literally) more about their pasts and their connection to the titans. that’s why magni turned to diamond, why brann is always showing up at titan constructs, and so on. 

tauren are a given for least interesting lore because they have none. blizz keeps piling on AU tauren to avoid addressing the elephant (minotaur?) in the room (maze???) which is that tauren are racist as fuck. taunka were a start, being closer to bison and having culture shaped by their environment, but theyre about as developed as their fellow anthropomorphic animal natives the tuskarr. yaungol branched out a little more, having scant mongolian influence and actually some impact on pandaria. the highmountain tauren were approached with specific tribal concepts in mind (if not at least a specific area, like the pacific northwest) and seem the closest to being a fantasy spin on real life culture. but the kalimdor tauren themselves, having both tipis and totem poles, are a botched racist mess. 

i really thought that during the crossroads cinematic when baine was warned that sylvanas would “come for thunder bluff” that it would be blizz’s quiet excuse to 1. level the playing field figuratively by trading teldrassil for thunder bluff and 2. level the playing field literally by scrapping all of the racist tauren shit and rebuilding it from the ground up, making executive decisions about which first nations people they want to draw inspiration from or respectfully represent. out of all the tauren tribes we used to hear about in classic barrens and mulgore, sadly i think the one with the most development is the fucking grimtotem, and how evil and shitty they are (but you still get magatha as a follower in the shaman class hall. cool)

and while i dont think poorly of the lore, i’ve gotta say that the majority of elf races resonate with me the least. ive said before about how all the elements are there for me to like blood elves, but they just don’t click for me. between the kind of characters belves were slated to be pre-BC and how they developed afterward, they really fell into the trappings of being The Pretty Horde Race and have been typecast since. blood elves were originally expected to be as ruthless as the undead, using their cunning and abuse of magic to gain power by any means possible. silvermoon originally struck me as being like the Vegas strip, that kind of gaudy veneer of over-the-top opulence to conceal its seedy or even criminal inner workings. shit like walking through the sparkling royal blue sheer curtains through a hookah den and down a marbled staircase into the basement where a bunch of warlocks are sapping the shit out of a naaru. THOSE are blood elves to me, but that’s not how people play them, and post-kael’thas that’s no longer where their lore is. after BC everything of the blood elves was founded on Lament of the Highborne and ex-jock Lor’themar stepping up to lead When No One Else Would and Liadrin begging the light to pwease forgive them. 

blood elf roleplay is its own animal entirely, and someday i might write an entire sociological dissertation on how blood elves IC and OOC are utterly symbiotic. ultimately though i think blood elves became the noble posh high elves/bourgeoisie orange county country club white people that everybody wants to pretend to be when playing them (and the very small percentage that wants to be Wood Elf Ranger), but it’s at the cost of what originally gave them their trademark Tragic Backstory. a bulk of that innate darkness, melancholy, and deceit has been expunged from their storyline.

now, blood elves are powerful without subjugation, luxurious and wealthy without avarice, slender and beautiful without vanity, intelligent without elitism, clever without cunning, and garner pity from their tragic pasts without being victims. they have become watered down and toothless, and this new diluted template was cloned, dyed purple, and stamped directly onto nightborne. the only further insult is that the nightborne, having deposed elisande and avoiding kaldorei on principle, are now mostly spending their time in the Horde living out the Born Sexy Yesterday trope. 

tl;dr elves are too pretty for me to relate to, and tauren are racist. please check out dwarves and gnomes instead if you want cool original warcraft lore.

[supposed2bfunny]

Hey ive been gone for a while and i was wondering if you could reccomend gorillaz blogs to folloe most of the ones i used to follow are either deactived or inactive and i want to get back in the fandom a bit

Hey, sure! I’m going to list most of the blogs that I frequent; I understand you probably do follow some of them already, but this might be handy for others who are looking for more friends to follow! (Also, take with a grain of salt that I’m super shy and this list is pretty limited: I encourage others to add any other active blogs they rec since I don’t follow a ton)

Also I’m tagging everyone so you can access their blogs easily; NO ONE FEEL OBLIGATED TO RESPOND TO THIS LOL I might have a panic attack after I hit ‘post.’

@tw0d3ntz has lots of CUTE art and fun content!

@2dorkandmrpickles is just a really kind person, has written some great 2doc content, and often reblogs content I haven’t seen in months (seriously: how do you find some of those oldie but goodies??)

@alexapplesauce278 UNDERRATED ADORABLE 2DOC ARTIST! FOLLOW!

@magic-vinny Lots of quality memes and generally cute Noodle and band content, also super active.

@stupitstupot Really talented artist with cool AU concepts! (Also, super trans positive content which is really vital in this fandom!!) Super prolific, so lots of great new content every day.

@bimurdoc I check Leo’s blog like, daily for unique Gorillaz fan art that I haven’t seen anywhere else!

@boattohades if you’re not following Sari, you’re not an actual Gorillaz fan, sorry. Please go support this talented artist!

@samserve Quality Gorillaz content, hot takes, and memes. Another blog I stalk almost daily UwU

@babymurdoc is my son and you should support him. A blog that simultaneously wants the best for Murdoc, but will roast him for being the disgusting snot goblin that he is. King.

@psykoredhead16 Is an artist, writer, and AU-crafter. Is not suuuper active on Tumblr, but they update their blog pretty regularly and you can also find them on Discord if you’re on that!

@ultra-art-blog holy shit one of my favorite artists full-stop. Pure content of the band just being a family...lots of Ace content...good stuff!

@tothedarkdarkseas THE blog for good Stu character discussion. Also great 2doc content that doesn't sugarcoat their complicated relationship.

@paleimitatorz You probably already follow Caramel but it’s worth double-checking since she’s the first blog I think of when you ask for active Gorillaz blogs. Is doing God’s work, by which I mean she’s doing Jamie Hewlett’s job for him.

@dreaming-powder another of my favorite Gorillaz artists...2doc art, but also lots of content for the individual band members.

@g-2doc 2doc and Gorillaz memes!! This blog also just became more active again recently! 

@thecardsyouredelta We’ve gone back and forth a few times exchanging head canons--if you want to talk Gorillaz, she is a delight to interact with, so I would check her blog out!

@murdocgetrekt the creator of the 2doc Pact!AU which is kind of blowing up here on Tumblr these days. Great art and writing and lore to peruse!

@gorillaz-girl posts tons of GIFS and classic band content if you have a hankering for the band’s classic aesthetic.

@greywindys Another 2doc-centric blog with incredible meta, lots of GIFs and excellent analysis!

@dased-n-confuzed Eva’s blog is another one I go to all the time, especially when new official content drops. Amazing meta, amazing person!

@pattypettyblue Another very underrated artist! Light 2doc and lots of stunning individual band art!

@5tylo Elle’s blog just makes me laugh. Another Murdoc fan who is unapologetic about dragging his disgusting ass. And 2D’s.

@stupotato if you ever just want to look at stunning pictures of 2D, you can scroll through this baby for 2Ds in every color and outfit imaginable. Plus some light 2doc!

OKAY! This is not a comprehensive list: it’s just me listing the blogs I actively visit almost-daily when I want to make sure I’m up-to-date on Gorillaz content, memes, and the like. These blogs are also pretty low-drama. I hope this helps, and welcome back to the fandom! :D

[spadedraws]

What are your other aus?

Oh I have TONS, of ideas, but currently the ones I am working on, are as follows:

Steven HUEniverse - A classic “what if Yellow Diamond was in Pink’s place”. There are a few drawings on my blog that incorporate some of the designs, but most of those designs have been HEAVILY revised since I posted them. There are also some story revisions too to make it more interesting.

Crystal Swap AU - This AU takes the characters we know and love, and switches around their personalities! Every character in the show gets swapped around, the most notable ones being Garnet Amethyst and Pearl. Pearl takes Garnet’s personality, Garnet takes Amethyst’s, and Amethyst takes Pearl’s. Most of the swaps work in that fashion being “rotated” between three or more characters. Ofcourse not all are rotated in exactly the same way. There is art on my blog but again, huge revisions since then.

Corundum and Co. - This follows my main OCs, Corunum, Topaz, and Pearl, as they search for acceptance in themselves. It’s more of a SU inspired story than an actual AU, but it technically still qualifies as later in the story the characters meet up with the main cast for some hijinks.

Steven’s Universe - A sort of SU rewrite. I basically take the Steven Universe story and rewrite the plot in a way that reimagines it in the way I would have written it. It comes with character redesigns, and entirely new lore to make up for some of the lack of story we got in the actual show. In a way, it’s basically my love letter to the show’s entire concept, and rectifies some of CN’s meddling within the pacing and story of SU.

And I have a final Secret story that i’ve been working on for awhile that I dont want to share TOO much of because i have not seen the idea done by ANY other creator and im super proud of the concept.

But yea! Like I said, Im constantly thinking of stories and AU ideas but these are the main ones I think about art wise.

[thewatchau]

The Costageal Plains

Most of the lore in the upcoming series will be edited compilations of dozens of posts from the last two years. While there are some minor new details sprinkled throughout, I’ve attempted to post significant new information in a “Watch AU Fun Fact” post so you don’t have to read all of these HUGE posts to find them.

Other Posts in this Series:

Geographic Regions of Duilintinn: The Feadhainn Valley • The Northern Mountains • The Southern Mountains (and Foothills) • The Western Forest •  The Draoidh Valley • The Monaidh Plains • The Beinnfaire Ridge • The Cuartalan Wetlands • The Costageal Plains • The Domhainn Peninsula • The Iolla Cliffs

Other Related Series: Major Bodies of Water in Duilintinn

In This Post

Summary

Name Origin

Geography

Climate

Ecology

Settlements

Trivia

Summary

The Costageal Plains (also commonly referred to as simply Duilintinn’s Coastal Plains) is the region of Duilintinn located west of the Eastern Sea, east of the Beinnfaire Ridge, south of the Guardian River, and north of the Airceann River, including the subregion of the Domhainn Peninsula. Together, the Costageal Plains and Iolla Cliffs make up the entirety of House Schneeplestein.

Name Origin

The Costageal Plains is one of the few place names in Duilintinn that is referred to with its common tongue name as much, if not more often, than its name in the Feadhainn Language. Moreover, unlike the Guardian River, which is a direct translation from its original name of Gléidhidh, the Costageal translates to “white coast,” not just coastal. The name is most likely a reference to the white limestone and chalk that defines most of the stone, cliffs, and rare beaches of the coastline. 

Geography

The Costageal Plains is a lowland coastal plain that largely consists of sparse, flat grasslands and small, open chalk hills, known as “downlands” in geographic terms. Closer to the ocean, exposed pale limestone and chalk formations break up the thin grassy landscape with spots of pale white and grey. 

During the Feadhainn Era, much of the region was significantly forested thanks to a layer of fertile loam over the limestone below the surface. However, the Waldren Occupation caused significant deforestation and topsoil erosion as the trees were cut down and limestone exposed for the sake of Waldren’s building projects in the eastern half of the Feadhainn Valley. The true effects of this deforestation were not evident until after Waldren’s power in Tirónar began to wane in the early 1300s, which may have contributed to Waldren’s decision to leave the Feadhainn Valley to its own devices in the 1330s. To this day, only stubby grasses and herbs are able to thrive in the chalky clay soil that remains, discouraging most attempts at cultivating the land for agriculture. 

As Waldren discovered, the chalky clay soil of this region is fantastic for brickmaking. White bricks made from the chalky clay soil of the plains were a popular and affordable substitute for the cut limestone used in classical Waldren Occupation architecture, used both by the original Waldren colonizers and by modern architects to this day.  

Climate

Along the coast (eastern House Brody and most of House Schneeplestein) the climate is mild in the winter and hot in the summer. House Schneeplestein gets little precipitation during the summer and very harsh coastal winds and storms that stir up without warning during the winter, coating the region in layers of ice or snow.  This period of harsh weather usually starts around late November and lasts until early March. 

Ecology

There's not a ton of agriculture in the region except for local gardens; the cities and suburbs of House Schneeplestein have been trading for food grown in House Brody since long before they were called that. However, some wild flora and fauna (especially magical ones, which are better adapted to the region overall) have adapted to the deforestation and have taken advantage of the open sky, allowing a lot of the same herbs that are domesticated in House Brody to grow in wild patches beyond the borders of the crowded towns. At times, it's more convenient to go hunting for herbs here instead of waiting for official harvested batches to come in from the north, especially if you're already en route to fionport for other errands.

Wild animals are still common despite the urbanization of the region. There’s still enough countryside between towns and cities for animals to thrive in their usual way. In addition, some animals have adapted to the high urbanization levels by trying to take advantage of the unique sort of food opportunities that come from a place where lots of people are.

Settlements

The Costageal Plains are by far the most urbanized part of Duilintinn, especially on the roads leading to or from Cordoire and the port city of Fionport. As a result, the roads are well maintained, with lots of bustling towns along the road and/or within the range of a short detour.

Trivia

The South Downs of the United Kingdom are one of the most significant real-world geographical references for the natural landmarks of eastern Duilintinn, from the Beinnfaire Ridge, to the Coastal Plains, to the Iolla Cliffs. In this case, the escarpment from the inland towards the coast looks very similar to the Beinnfaire ridge west of the Costageal Plains, while the white cliffs of rising out over the coast, complete with a lighthouse and sea inlets, is exactly how I imagine the Iolla Cliffs and Duilintinn’s eastern coast. 

The look of the grassy, deforested flatland areas of central and eastern Duilintinn are largely inspired by the landscapes in the video game Shadow of the Colossus, which released in 2005 for the PS2 and is one of the all-time favorite games played by the AU’s inspiration and source material, Sean McLoughlin. The images below accurately portray how the sheer cliffs and rocky coast of Duilintinn would shift into the grassy inland plains, with what few scattered trees remain or have returned to the plains after the region’s deforestation. It’s a great example of how the exposed white stone that defines Duilintinn’s coast would still feature throughout the Costageal Plains and what the region would look like when viewed atop the Beinnfaire Ridge.

[catsitta]

Your writing, especially in BotU, is just amazing! It's so poetic and flows so well! Do you have any tips for learning to write fiction? Also I've noticed in your fae focused and underworld fiction you mention so much in regards to legends and myths that reflect real ones, what kind of research do you do for this or do you already know of this/made it up?

You’re making me blush. Heh. 

Alright, this going to be a long one, I got wordy.

My writing style mostly reflects how I learned to self-edit, since most of my fics are unbeta’ed. How do I do my own editing? If I find a tricky passage, I will write it how it would be spoken. While not ‘proper’ in many ways, a language when spoken aloud can tell you whether or not a phrase will sound right to the mind’s internal ear. In fact, my main advice for anyone writing anything, essay to novel, is to read it out loud whenever possible. (It also helps find and reduce typos, but if you’re a speed reader like me, you may still skip over stuff because your brain is sometimes super helpful (not) and fixes/fills in words!) Doing this will also force you look at your writing and realize that, even if it is grammatically correct, sometimes phrases will sound/look off and need to be redone.

Another tip that works for me (and is one I learned while writing essays in highschool and really embraced in my college writing courses), is to put words to a page, perfect them later. Your best solution to finishing a fic is to literally write it, then go back later and revise. That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be structure. If you like knowing what will happen in every chapter before you start and write purposefully, that is great! But I would never get anything done if I made sure it was perfect while writing it or constantly backtracked to fix stuff before a chapter is done.

I will use my drabble fic, Handle with Care, as an example. I have 100 words dedicated to a chapter. A chapter should always inform the reader, bring up a question, answer a question or otherwise move the story and its characters forward, whether you are writing 100 words or 10,000.

.

[CHAPTER ONE:

“I, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE EDGE, DEMAND TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE!”

Red rolled his eyelights as he dropped the last of the moving boxes onto the living room floor. Even trashed from the move in, this place looked better than the last. The walls had paint on them and the carpet was from this decade. Best go see what poor sap his little bro was yapping at before they got kicked out. Moving into the hallway outside the apartment, he spotted Edge and his victim. Red swallowed. It was a skeleton monster. Who looked up and winked at Red.]

(HwC had a basic framework written. As in, major keystones/plot points that needed reaching/bridging between.)

My process:

Q: What happened/needs to happen?

A: Red has just moved into a new apartment with his little brother, and while he is moving in, he meets his romantic interest for the fic. This romantic interest is his neighbor.

Q: Is the plot forwarded?

A: Yes. 

Q: Is new information introduced? Is it important? 

A: Red is moving in. Sans is his neighbor. Edge and Red are brothers and didn’t come from the best neighborhood previously. Edge is very outspoken. 

Q: Are there questions a reader may have? Or questions being answered?

A: Why/how did Red move? Why is his little brother living with him? Who is the neighbor? What is the neighbor’s purpose relating to the MC? How old is Edge? How old is Red?

Q: Does it make the Reader think or feel? What do I want my Reader to feel?

A: While not a very emotion impacting chapter in itself, it is supposed to be a cute bit of family fluff that hints at both a future romance as well as possible conflict arising from the reasons why Red and Edge moved.

.

I highly encourage people to try writing a 100 word drabble fic. Whether you are an experienced writer that writes long, detailed chapters on the regular, or someone who is just starting out and is finding it hard to find the time to commit to a long fic. 100 words is challenging in that you have to use every word effectively, but I’ve personally found it relaxing and even beneficial to me as a writer. After all, if I am having a bad day and nothing is going write and words don’t make sense? Well, I only need to write 100 and then try again tomorrow. It’s good for breaking an obsessive, perfectionistic cycle where you may be impeeding your own progress by simply never finishing. 

My last tip is to simply read.

Read anything and everything. You like romance and want to write romance? Read a bunch of it. Professional novels, fanfiction, poems, otome games, comics, manga...All of it. But also don’t be afraid to branch out. Every genera has different strengths. I LOVE fantasy. Traditional high fantasy with dragons and elves and knights and mages and great, cliche plots about good toppling the forces of evil. LOVE IT. And what is fantasy’s strength? World building. What is romance’s? Relationships and dialogue. The more you read, the more you subconciously pick up on diction and the tropes/feel of a genera. The most common comment I have recieved while pursuing a degree, was that I write like I read a lot. That I like to read. And it really stuck with me. Because it is rather true. You can usually tell the difference in the writing of someone who only reads because they must (or only the classics you are assigned in classes) and someone who reads for the love of reading. So be someone who writes like they love to read. Like they love language. 

.

Now that I have rambled!

To answer your second question, my more myth based fics are always a hybrid of real mythology and stuff I’ve made up that is more cohesive with the world I’m writing about. If I am writing Undertale fanfiction, I want it to feel like Undertale fanfiction. I want to maintain certain themes and ideas, even if they don’t align with mythology. 

Greek Mythology is also a lot more fixed in places than faerie lore, and thus it needs more research to stay true. While in turn, you can be wildly inventive with faerie lore. Thus with my fae fics, I draw from a wide variety of sources, mostly from memory, be it from books I have read, games I have played, or stories I have been told. (It is often easier to ‘write what you know’ after all. If you read Norse Mythology for fun, then writing a fic retelling a norse myth may be more fun for you as a writer than writing a scifi drama you have to pour tons of hours of research into.)

As a quick example:

Bride of the Underworld’s basic premise is the Abduction of Persephone myth. It is very popular in media and it has endless interpretations. Turning the Underground into the Underworld was a natural step. But I never feel the need to 100% follow the mythology to the tee. This is an Undertale fanfiction after all! So, the math lays out like this. If Frisk is Persephone and Persephone’s mother is Demeter, then Frisk’s mother should be Toriel. Toriel’s husband is Asgore, the King of Monsters, who would be a natural choice for King of Gods, and is thus, a placeholder for Zeus. But Demeter isn’t married to Zeus, one could say. No, but he is married to Hera and Toriel can also fill that roll. In the game, they are estranged, which works perfectly, in that Toriel could have/raise Frisk in private, and become the sheltered maiden that Persephone/Kore was in mythos. (Now play apples-to-apples with a wonderful AU co-creator for 50k+ words and you have a fic.)

[ikiruwill]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE ;   mun & muse - meme .

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

my muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless 

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO.

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Are they underrated?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO.

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

how strictly do you follow canon? 　i try to follow canon as much as possible for shinji in nge. for rebuild, mostly, only bc nge is my main version of shinji. it’s been a while since i read the manga, and there’s definitely stuff to like about it, but imo sadamoto’s writing there isn’t as good as anno’s is in nge ( and rebuild... to an extent ), so i’d probably end up changing some details for manga!shinji with whatever headcanons if i wrote him more often / went into depth about things? but it’s still interesting to see how different shinji and kaworu ( + other characters ) are in the manga, and new dynamics can be fun!!

SELL YOUR MUSE! aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.    lemme try and sell you nge first unless you’ve already sold your soul to it LOL join me.... tldr it’s a classic anime and still relevant today despite it being like 24 years old ( with tons of merch now most i would shamelessly buy ). there’s so many characters that feel real and human in nge. hideaki anno poured too much of his heart and soul into it, the reflections of himself and his personal feelings feel very raw. i could also try to sell you like every nge character bc they’re all so well written but mha;lskdjf on to the last point. being the main character for eva, shinji is iconic too... he’s among the best leads i’ve seen in anime. most critics will agree and have agreed with this for decades ( if you only ask me, he’s number one for everything bc i’m biased af ❤ ). i talk too much about how he’s bby / cute and does his best, but probably not enough about how flawed he is as a person too, his deeper wants and needs, and when those things go horribly wrong. the duality is really what makes shinji complex and human. also bonus points!! he’s frequently scored at the top for fav anime characters in japan since ‘95 in newtype and stuff n_n

now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting ( even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think? ).    next to louder and more colourful characters like asuka, for example, shinji can come off as quiet and boring ( especially compared to traditional hot blooded mecha protagonists in general ). shinji isn’t a genius or leader. he’s super passive, introverted, shy, and bad at fun conversations. he saves the world and tries to do the right thing, so by definition, he’s a hero--- but he’s also just a boy who’s gone through a lot. he has a lot of depth and hidden anger / feelings in general, but it would take a lot for him ( i.e. pressure, circumstances ) to express that outwardly--- daily shinji isn’t really like that. fandom wise, i think shinji recently came in 4th in the NHK eva popularity contest, so that’s pretty good, people do like him there. kawoshin is also as popular as ever ( and i’ve also seen more shinji fans in the western side too ). meanwhile old nge fandom be like ‘shinji u loser get in the fucking robot!!!111 ur surrounded by hot chicks every single day and still cry wow’ but that’s more like an ironic meme nowadays LOL

what inspired you to rp your muse?    i finally watched eva properly like two years ago?? ( too late 4 kawoshin 2015 fandom q-q ) it was good so i sold my soul to it and shinji mhasdflkj

what keeps your inspiration going?    eva being my fav anime and shinji my fav character, seeing fanworks of eva, and ofc everyone who interacts with me here on my blog q-q bless u and thank u

some more personal questions for the mun .

give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO.

do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO ( sometimes )

do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO.

do you think a lot about your muse during the day?  YES / NO.

are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO.

are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO ( sort of?? )

are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO.

do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?    yes to respectful and constructive criticism!! but i’m still pretty circumstantial about it for my comfort ( just to avoid random ppl being rude etc ), so i think i’d prefer to reblog a meme for that and / or ask for opinions and tips from my mutuals!

do you like questions, which help you explore your character?    yesss, i think most of us would love that n_n both unprompted and reblogged memes work for me

if someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?    i’m a private blog, so if it’s more of a plot based headcanon that a mutual wanted to discuss for fun and in a friendly way, then ok! i think there’d be room for constructive discussion there ( ah yes eva and its 24 years of pepe silvia meme.png complex lore discussion still going strong ) 

if someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it? 　similar to the above and the constructive criticism thing, i’ll only care / be open to discussing that kinda stuff if we’re mutuals and if you’ve seen eva, etc. 

if someone really hates your character, how do you take it?    as seriously as a funny meme when it comes to randos LOL buuuut long answer too: i’ve also seen passionately mean spirited, usually terrible and equally as unironic takes about shinji on the internet bc that’s the internet sometimes rip. this version of hate is more annoying and can suck just to look at, especially if it gets lots of attention in the form of agreement ( it usually makes me think, did we even watch the same show ). but also arguing endlessly with whoever wrote it / believes it would suck even more ( being a waste of time for one ). i guess that’s one reason why i care more about the personal safe space i’m trying to create on my dashboard etc. and people have very different opinions about anything in general. but basically, in general, this: if someone hates x or y fictional character with such a burning passion, and they won’t be satisfied unless they try to convince others to hate them too, or say that fans of x or y character are bad people irl and belittle said fans for it on their own time ( or openly harass those fans ), and if they’re crusading this idea, constantly?? block, blacklist, report for harassment if noted, filter it out--- it’s definitely better to stay away from that kind of negativity ( also bc it’s absurd and necessary ). i question anyone who finds joy / importance in trying to police the content and comfort of others, but i also know that they wouldn’t have fun hanging out with me LOL kaworu vc surround yourself with people who love shinji ikari 

are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?    sure, once in a while is fine, especially if i made a typo or something that makes the context or anything confusing / unclear!

do you think you are easy going as a mun?    i try to be!! despite that longer rant just now mhas;ldkfj thanks for reading this far if you still are LOL 

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

tagged by: @skyvar​ aka the creator n_n thank you omg?? this was awesome!! tagging: if you wanna!

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Explanation of design approach and some personality info under the cut.

Essentially, the way I’ve been approaching this I wanted to make each world feel like a self-contained and cohesive team. Nivienne is actually from Lamia and so isn’t designed to mesh with the others, but I use her a lot and have a design strategy for her so she’s included. For team Famfrit as a whole, I wanted to make sure that each personality and design would feel distinct and that the main color for each character would stand out. Most are also pretty obvious lol--black mage is black, red made is red, white mage is white. Areas I went different are gold dragoon (or aurum dragoon if we’re being fancy), purple scholar, green bard, orange ninja, blue warrior.

CENRIC ASHER

My main and a hyur midlander black mage. With him I wanted to push against the concept that hyurs are inherently vanilla or “boring”. Imo there is nothing wrong with designs that look like they could occur in nature, but with him I wanted to do an edgy personal spin in the classic Final Fantasy black mage look where the character is a dark silhouette with glowing eyes, a high collar, and a broad hat. Sometimes he wears other things too but the overall concept ties to that particular look. In personality Cenric is a pretty angsty guy due to having been a con artist who got a lot of people killed with medical fraud. He lies a lot out of fear of the reaction he’d get if his background was known. Possibly a little nuts, thinks he is the son of Nald’Thal and bound to spread death and destruction wherever he goes--striking enemies and allies alike, regardless of his own wishes. Probably actually just has Duskwight heritage. Has pretty hardcore imposter syndrome about being Warrior of Light, but in partial response to having been destitute and outcast for a long time he tries to play into the persona of a powerful, luxurious, mysterious black mage brimming with forbidden knowledge. In reality he is intimidated by most children, can’t whistle, and is a bit of a smartass when he’s not panicking his way through conversations.

J’MOR TIA

My red mage alt, I wanted to do a few experiments with him! One was that Red Mages usually read very sophisticated and swashbuckle-y to me, and I wanted to play more into the rapier as an almost roguish weapon. Very physical. He’s somebody who you initially would not assume is a magic user but who is just as versed and capable on that front as the ivory tower casters haha. I also wanted to make him a combination of ethnically black (contrasting Cenric who is ethnically Arab but weird) and a male miqo’te because I have never seen that combination before. I wanted him to feel very charming and like he has kind of rugged good looks. Just a bit too scruffy for pretty boy. Personality he is probably the most shonen hero of my alts lol. He has stuff he struggles with (he and his sister both wanted to be adventurers but she opted out after taking things way too far in a fight and getting scared of her own power) but doesn’t get stuck in his head nearly as much as some other characters do.

CESAIRE DELAROUX

I futzed with this guy for a while—main inspiration comes from a particular kind of horse called the Akhal-teke.

Also because I have seen some really cool and pretty elezen that specifically worked to play up gold as a color scheme, and in this case I wanted to evoke a kind of warm, soft golden light. Originally I was going to make him a contrast to Cenric and make him much paler, but I wound up going that route more with Asklona instead with drawing loose inspiration from certain forms of albinism. I went more gold to make sure Cesaire would stand out visually from Asklona. Another reason for this route is because I want to make a character who looks very light and pure, but in practice has hardcore bloodlust. XD Wanted one case for playing into that possible WoL element haha. I also thought it might be neat to make a character who could serve as a kind of foil to Zenos in many ways and might credibly say yes when invited to be besties. Cesaire is still a mostly heroic guy but I figure he’s a bit like Dexter if that makes sense.

KIYO SHIROGANE

An auri white mage from Hingashi! To me it felt a little odd that the Ruby Princess of Sui-no-Sato has more of a magenta color scheme than red. I wanted to tie Kiyo to Kugane specifically in part because I think the parallels between geomancy and white magic (land, sea, sky) are super cool imo, there are a fair number or Raen au ra in Kugane with less lore exploration, and I wanted to make a character whose past trailed behind her in a clear and interesting way while she travels. So for Kiyo I kind of took inspiration from the idea of a red pearl (pearls often being white as per the horns and scales but then she has vivid red hair) and from the idea of blood tied to injury and medicine. Plus ya know, white magic. I also took light inspiration from candles conceptually. I totally forgot that Shirogane is the housing district also lol so now she has backstory lore that her family had been heavily involved in establishing the area. Kiyo comes from a large and noble family with a ton of political and economic influence, being herself somewhat sheltered and naïve. She is very sincere, playful, outgoing, and does her best to be kind. Very animated!

OSK YASKARET

For Osk, I was essentially going (ʘ_ʘ;;) because I knew that I hadn’t used ANY brown hair so far and it was making so uncomfortable lol. So I thought about what combination would be appropriate, distinct, and striking enough to fit within the cast while also being distinct. Gray and brown feel like chinchilla colors to me and I think are nice in a way that wouldn’t be out of place with rabbits/viera. I wanted dark eyes since again, I hadn’t yet for this group... so dark purple wound up being her main color. Since I was going scholar, I also wanted to keep the sense of intellect and feeling like a healer without being mistakable for astrologian or white mage. I still want to build into her look, but another aspect I wanted to incorporate--saw a lot of people arguing about the inherent sensuality of Viera, so I figured for her I wanted to make her look elegant and sophisticated but more conservative in glamours. I didn’t want her to instantly read like she hopped out of the woods either. Figure she’d have had time to adapt since.

I’m still very much debating backstory and personality or her but am leaning toward her being the offspring of a viera who left the woods while pregnant. I like the idea of Osk wanting to connect with her heritage but feeling somewhat adrift. I also want to incorporate Nym lore because omg I want more Nym in-general. Personality I do think Osk is probably a little bit of a smug bunny but things remain super tenuous.

ASKLONA WANNEYNWYN

Asklona I literally wanted to make a super soft feeling, hyper feminine lady roegadyn because most interpretations I’ve seen have been either harder feminine or tomboyish. Still fun imo, but given the grief some fans heap on femroes I really wanted to show that this kind of look is doable. I usually try to incorporate the black noses on Hellsguard designs (tiger roooooes) while with Seawolves I tend to push either fully into something natural or fully into something unnatural. So ex. the most desaturated option or else just run with blues and greens. Asklona is specifically a bard because it is pretty and fancy imo and I haven’t seen a lot of roegadyn bards in-general. Asklona I mentioned before is modeled off of certain kinds of albinism, but by that I want to make the disclaimer that pink eyes don’t generally occur in people (pale blue or violet is more likely) and that normally there are some eyesight problems that come with the condition as well as ease of getting sunburn. I don’t necessary play into that with Asklona/am going artistic license because I mean final fantasy we can lift swords bigger than we are. I know these things get overlooked a lot though so it seemed worth specifying. My choice to go this route was because I wanted to make myself use more pastels lol and I figured this would be a fun spot to contrast Cenric. I think in backstory Asklona’s father lost his mind to a siren, and Asklona pursuing adventuring as a bard is partly to take revenge and partly in the hopes that she can call her father back with song. Her involvement becomes more complicated over time but I think that’s the general direction. I picked green for her color scheme because it’s a color that feels like it evokes both the woods of Gridania and the sea itself... and because pink is a shade of red and with green being complementary, I figured it would make the pinks stand out a lot. Asklona is tied to Limsa Lominsa and besides looking for outfits that will flatter her body type I am trying to evoke the ocean in her designs. Pirates, sailors, the works. Personality I am still figuring out a bit but I think Asklona is definitely a shameless flirt, can read as insensitive and self-centered at times as she indulges in what makes her happy. She plays herself off as much more shallow than she is and in-general focuses on pursuing pleasure as a way of avoiding heavier issues.

KOKONO KONO

The scrappy daughter of a Doman fox auspice and a Thavnairian lalafell, Kokono saw her mother waste away with homesickness after fleeing the Garlean occupation. She has two brothers, one who returned to Doma while the other remains in Thavnair witht her father. Kokono hates the idea of loving a place so much you would die over it and decided to travel Hydaelyn, causing mischief while indulging a deep-rooted curiosity and love for discovering new places. Has severe commitment issues. Can be prone to swearing and being insensitive because the shocked reactions amuse her a lot, but her heart is ultimately in the right place. I designed her literally to make a lalafell fox because with the dark nose option + werewolf ears it is SO EASY to make tiny canines and I don’t understand why more people don’t do this. Like I could make an elegant white fox lalafell or a yorkshire terrier lalafell or any number of things. We can have itty bitty dogs! And like Kiyo I wanted some background to be evident in her clothes too. I designed her before I picked her backstory and mainly went for rule-of-cute/what would most evoke the red coat of a fox.

SVATOMIR AZORYA

Last of team Famfrit, he’s a Warrior Hrothgar. Very conceptually rough, I’m interested in playing him much more reserved and traditionally masculine in a lot of ways. I think a character in that vein will help balance out against the other Warriors of Light I made for that world. Design goal here was to make him look as wolf-like as possible haha. I think we have plenty of cat people already with Miqo’te.

NIVIENNE LECLAIR

From Lamia, I’ve talked a bit about her before so copypasting that in.

Basically, when I decided to try doing the whole WoL/Emet-Selch fic writing misadventure it was just a personal challenge for funsies. I’d seen other people do some really interesting and impressive stuff using unnamed lady WoLs. Hadn’t really tried something like that myself so I decided to go full improv with it.

Except my instincts tend toward specificity lol, so I scattered details according to what would make for fun scenarios or cute details. I wanted the lady to be a certain level of tall so I went with elezen. I needed to describe a readily portable weapon that would mesh with that sweet, sweet Amaurotine lore, so I made her a summoner. So on and so forth. Very seat-of-the-pants.

Particularly since the fic I have coming up is gonna be bigger, I’m thinking name is okay now lol.

Cenric as my black mage main is a dark, broody guy who doesn’t quite realize he’s nicer and sillier that he gives himself credit. So I decided Nivienne should be much more socially adept (read: not a lameass poser), very mischievous, confident… but lowkey has some heavy shit going on. Girl can be ruthlessly manipulative. Other WoLs of mine have different personalities.

As I was going through fic stuff, I decided I wanted to visually tie to and contrast with Emet-Selch since shipping. He’s got gold eyes and accents on his regalia? She’ll go silver, but her skin will have a more golden tone. He’s got dark hair with a white streak? She’ll have light gray hair, tie into the ruff of his coat. So on and so forth.

Name-wise, I actually fucked up initially by going too on-the-nose. Nivienne is another (more elezen-French) name for Nimue. Given how that story goes I figured it would be fitting here.

As a couple of other notes--color scheme being gray was experimenting to try for a different-but-distinct summoner aesthetic. I wanted to play up horns/third eye concepts (not strictly in the Garlean sense) and create a vibe that wouldn’t feel like white mage, or red mage, or black mage, etc. I also saw people arguing that female casters all end up looking like magical girls, so I wanted to really make sure that she had a different look from that while still being very feminine.

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the mun’s interpretation | @magixmade

♚ Do you agree with the fandom interpretation of your character?

So here’s the deal: the fandom is tiny. Practically non-existent, except for some people who spontaneously remember the show exists after finding it on Netflix and are eager to relive their childhood. Which there’s definitely nothing wrong with that !  But that just means that there isn’t a ton of interpretation and more just general commentary ? 

Anyway, here’s what I gather from the fandom: Rikki is one of the most popular characters, along with Cleo. So most people have pretty positive views of Rikki, often remarking on how mcfreakin savage she was (and she so was). A lot of people also love Rikki and Zane’s relationship and HATE when it was destroyed in season 3. And there is also a considerable amount of people who regard Rikki as a lesbian in love with Emma.

So I kinda do agree with a lot of these things. Rikki is hilarious. I do think Rikki and Zane are a great couple and their breakup was upsetting. And I also think that Rikki and Emma would make a great couple.

But I don’t write Rikki off as a lesbian. She’s bi. And I interpret Rikki using humor as a defense mechanism to bury her feelings. What people don’t talk about (and maybe not even notice) is that Rikki is angry. She has A LOT of anger. She has a lot of emotions that she just doesn’t want to deal with. And she has a lot of power, but unfortunately, the show’s writing undermines that.

The fandom accepts Rikki and all the characters at face value. I mean, yeah, it’s a kid’s show, but still. There’s MORE to Rikki than humor. And it goes for all the characters. Cleo’s kindness is not naiveté. Bella is not just some boy-crazy teenage girl. And there’s more to Emma than just shipping her with Rikki. More often than not, I find myself disagreeing with the fandom’s opinions on the other characters, not so much with Rikki. 

♧ Any part of their canon portrayal you dislike?

Hmmm…it’s hard to say. Kinda like what I was saying before, I find myself more upset with how other characters are portrayed than Rikki (like Bella and Will for example).

I wish they expanded more on Rikki’s home life. Like Rikki and Zane’s conversation on the rooftop in season 1 was nothing. It was great for progressing their relationship but I really feel like we don’t LEARN anything until The Wrong Side of the Tracks in season 2 (a classic).

I wish they expanded more on Rikki’s powers too. I feel like there was SO MUCH POTENTIAL there !  There have been numerous instances where Rikki has frightened people, including herself, with her powers and they don’t talk about it !  She’s given fire and electricity powers in the first episode of season 2 and after that it’s like…nonexistent. I get that she doesn’t necessarily need to use those powers but they could’ve explored that more. I really think it undermines her.

Also: this will FOREVER bug me. In season 1, Emma had the strength to smash a metal door to save Zane from drowning, right ? ?   Then the girls could have EASILY smashed the gate off when they were trapped in the moon pool by Dr. Denman. It’s so minor but omg I’m so annoyed by that lmao.

And I have mixed feelings about Rikki’s portrayal in M.ako M.ermaids. There are some parts I like, and some parts I don’t. Like, okay, I don’t like the part where Rikki talks about how she and her friends grew apart. I get that it could happen to anyone, even mermaids, but it just wasn’t…convincing. After EVERYTHING they’ve been through ?  And clearly the writers don’t know what to do with Bella which is frustrating af. And I just didn’t like how Rikki was undermined when Ondina, Mimmi, and Weilan confronted her for the bracelet. That whole scene felt very weak to me.

✍ Has new canon material ever forced you to adjust your headcanons?

A LITTLE, but not really. So I’ve been writing Rikki for a long time, even before she appeared on Ma.ko Mer.maids, so when she appeared on the show, I didn’t really adjust my headcanons. I just made it an au because I was already comfortable with how I was writing her. But as I started watching the spin-off in its entirety, I started developing headcanons to expand on its lore (because it’s a mess).

As I sorta talked about in my previous post, when I first started writing Rikki, I ignored season 3 because I didn’t like it. But then I watched it again, liked it, and incorporated it into my portrayal. And kinda going back to what I was saying before about how there’s more to Rikki than just humor: we see that in season 3. Season 3 helped me explore Rikki’s emotions, especially when she crossed over to “the dark side” for a time and when she and Zane fought.

I don’t know if you’d call season 3 “new canon material” considering it’s been out longer than I’ve been writing Rikki, but I opened up to it more and adjusted my headcanons accordingly.

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modern!au is a CONCEPT. bless y'all. could u do some hcs for modern! roxas, ventus, vanitas, xion, and sora + having a disney marathon w/ their s/o? like what movies they pick, do they sing along, r there snuggles, what snacks are brought, etc. (pls feel free to add any other details u want. i love lil details.) (this might've sent once already, my page refreshed. if so, sorry!) hugs & kisses!

o this is such a wholesome prompt, thanks for sending it !

Sora : 

You’re looking at the Disney King himself. He knows a shit ton of movies and almost every song in existence so you bet your ass he’s gonna sing. And you’ll probably tag along too, his enthusiasm is just so contagious - hell, it doesn’t matter if you don’t know the lyrics, just sing whatever you want to the rhythm of the song with him ! 

He’ll b e g you to watch Big Hero Six and the Lion King movies with him. After that, you can choose anything you want but just p l e a s e let him watch those, they’re his absolute favorites. Also, remember to keep some napkins around cause Sora will cry no matter the movie, the messages just hit d e e p and he’s just a softie. Just snuggle with him for a bit and pat his back while he just stutters about how cool the movies were, he’ll eventually stop with the waterworks. 

You know what ? Sora probably has a lot of Disney merch. If you guys are having a disney marathon, you’re gonna do it properly. He won’t hesitate to prepare his entire house just for this movie night - building a pillow fort in the living room so you two can chill comfortably, hoarding a lot of snacks and like a thousand popcorn bags, wearing his Stitch onesie (and probably lending you his Winnie the Pooh onesie if you’re up for it !) 

Like the whole concept could feel childish, but not to Sora ! He grew up with Disney and he holds those movies very dear to his heart, so he’d be so happy to know that you’re willing to pull an all-nighter with him ! You’re never too old to enjoy these things.

You know Sora would suggest inviting absolutely everyone, but he won’t complain if you wish for a more intimate date. That’s fine with him too ! The two of you would have such a fun time and then pass out in the pillow fort at like 4 am. 

Vanitas : 

You know those people who are like “Pffft, Disney is overrated” ? That’s Vanitas right there. The guy looks like he’s fueled by kicking puppies and being a generally mean jerk - but you know better than that. Vanitas has zero knowledge about Disney cause he was never interested in cartoons as a kid so he simply assumes it’s bad. It’s up to you to show him the real deal.

At first he’d be against the idea of having a marathon. The guy can barely pay attention to class or hold a normal conversation and you want him to just sit there and watch movies ? U n b e l i e v a b l e. Are you singing ? Please stop, no singing allowed in this house, no he doesn't want to be part of your world, plEASE SPARE HIM - Accepts in the end just to avoid doing homework. He’d let you pick whatever movie you want, but if he were to choose, he’d probably go with the Lady and the Tramp, Treasure Planet or any Pirates of the Caribbean movie. 

No one will be able to wipe off that shit eating grin off your face after seeing Vanitas go from constantly talking over the movie, critizicing everything, teasing you for being so childish to just being dead silent, completely absorbed in whatever movie you two decide to watch. Feel free to catch him off guard with a smooch here, he’ll probably have a hard time processing what the fuck you just did cause holy shit did you see Hercules beat Hades' ass?

If you introduce Vanitas to the whole conspiracy theory about all Disney movies being related, you better be ready for 3 hours of him just rambling about the posibilities. Now THAT’s something that interests him. The movies would just be background noise as you two just talk away into the night, probably in the kitchen while preparing some weird food combination cause you two ran out of snacks. 

If you expect Vanitas to admit that he was wrong and that Disney was, in fact, something pretty cool then you better sit down, honey. The closest thing you’ll get is him just stubbornly saying that “he wouldn’t mind spending more time with you, watching movies for kids.” 

Ventus : 

Ventus is a casual fan. The type that just knows the old 2D princess classics because he grew up with them, but just slowly lost track of what the hell Disney was doing. Like he probably didn't even get to see the Princess and the Frog - But's all good cause he's eager to see your favorite Disney movies !

If you make him choose a movie to watch, he'd go with the safe choices. Stuff that he knows like Snow White, the Little Mermaid and Cinderella. I can see him loving Pocahontas, Moana and the Three Musketeers, though.

If you want to pull an all nighter to watch as many classics as you can, he won't stop you and he'll try to stay awake with you (and pass out a little after midnight, lmao) - but he'd insist on taking breaks cause looking at a screen for over 6 hours straight can't be h e a l t h y.

Ventus would gladly cuddle and snuggle with you - and he'd also love to sing along, but the poor dude doesn't really know any of the lyrics. Solution ? Just put on those good subtitles and there you go ! He'd love to sing Aladdin's A Whole New World with you or just any duet. You two would get so into it that your neighbours would propably have to knock on the walls a few times so you'll lower your volume.

If you ever mention your favorite (s) disney character(s), you can totally expect Ventus to show up one day unnanounced with a plushie of them, just for you. Consider this his way of saying thanks ! And also apologize for passing out so early - he'll make up for that inviting you to yet another movie night with him.

Roxas :

Another casual fan, but the complete opposite of Ventus. Roxas never got into 2D Disney as a kid and he's more into the 3D additions like Brave, Coco or Frankenweenie. He's also that type of controversial fan who actually enjoyed the liveaction remakes of the old classics.

But don't get him wrong, he's still a r u t h l e s s critic. Roxas gets bored pretty quickly with movies that have such obvious and bland plots and twists that he can see them coming from a mile away. I see him being more of a Pixar fan, just quoting Shrek in his usual deadpan voice on a daily basis. Roxas' brain in a 1000 heartless fight : "and they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming and they-"

If you want to watch movies with him, prepare to discover Roxas' more sassy side - the guy just can't hold back all these funny remarks and jabs at Disney Fairy Tale Logic™. "Oh good for you Gaston, trying to send your crush's father to a psychiatric ward just so she can pay attention to you is SUCH a powermove. You should've dated Lefou instead -" "Do you think Ariel's daughter was born with a mermaid tail or legs? Imagine the monstrosity -".

In the end you two wouldn't even pay attention to the actual movies, since you'd be too busy mocking and impersonating every character and just rolling on the floor laughing your asses off. Your snapchat and instagram stories would be filled with videos of each other doing dumb stuff, calling out all the tiny mistakes as if you two were CinemaSins.

In the end, this Disney Marathon would just turn into a weekly movie night where you two just watch everything and anything. Sometimes it's fun and goofy, and sometimes you two actually get into the plot and discuss all the h i d d e n lore. Roxas would feel super special to have this little new tradition with you.

Xion :

Xion is the definition of a Disney Princess. She absolutely loves every princess movie and you bet your ass she screamed when all of them appeared in full 3D during Ralph breaks the Internet. Like she's a natural romantic and a dreamer at heart, so all the fairy tales just get to her, always tearing up during the climax of the movies.

Ironically, most of her favorite Disney movies aren't princess related : Aristocats, Peter Pan, Tangled and Brother Bear. Xion is that type of person who just points out all the similarities between her friends and the characters. Like Kenai and Kods's bond remind her of her and Roxas' friendship with Axel, Saix reminds her of Randall from Monsters Inc, Kairi is totally Lilo and Aqua is Nani - You get the idea !

Even if you suggested the idea of a Disney Marathon, Xion would just plan the best course of action and take the lead almost immediately. She's just so excited to be able to spend this night with you that she wants to make the most of it ! Snacks ? Check. Netflix and other sites to see movies ? Check. A shit ton of blankets and hot cocoa ? Check. The perfect partner ? Check.

Xion would do her best to not break out into fullblown singing - mostly out of respect for her roommates and neighbours, but you'll definitely hear her hum along and mutter the lyrics under her breath. And if the song is catchy enough, she'd love to pull you in for a dance !

At the end of the night, you two would be exhausted but content. Probably giving up on seeing all the movies, just listening to a disney playlist on Youtube while you two do stupid and silly Buzzfeed quizzes like "What Disney villain are you based on your aesthetics" and such. Xion has trouble sleeping, so you'll most likely end up falling asleep on her first. She'll stay awake till sunrise, taking a few sneaky selfies with you peacefully sleeping by her side.