#this game is terrible please do not take my posts about it as a recommendation

[dragonagitator]

autotrading in Sea of Douchebags be like

(this is probably the most niche joke I have ever made in my entire life)

[chaconnehoonie]

Obsession-(follow up) L.HS

✶ Heeseung X Fem! Reader

->This is a follow up to the first part, but you may read it alone if you please, reading the first part is just recommended to get the full story.

Synopsis- Your relationship with Heeseung proves that sometimes you’re forced to make commitments and sacrifices for those you love.

WC: 3.4k

Warnings: toxic relationship, cursing, insecurity, derogatory terms, smut, angst

Smut warnings: dub-con(?), oral(m) somnophilia, kissing, unprotected sex, spanking, rough sex, orgasm denial

A/N: I know I posted the first part to this a while ago but I felt so disappointed with it that I wanted to write something to follow up with. I’m also terrible with my writing schedule so hopefully this will get me back in the game, enjoy!

This is fiction and the scenarios are completely fake and from my brain, none of the characters are like this in real life, MDNI!

Heeseung was trying to be a good boyfriend. Sure, there are moments where he frustrates you or makes you question your relationship. But relationships are all about making commitments, right?

You’re committed to Heeseung- of course you’ll do whatever it takes to be with him. You’ll put up with his mood swings or his trust issues, accepting that he may just be a naturally jealous person.

He makes it hard, though, as he’s too jealous sometimes. He always has trouble believing you only have eyes for him, whether it’s when a stranger is checking you out at a party or you’re being too close for his liking with your best friends—who just so happen to be guys.

God, you love your friends, but it’s clear that Heeseung doesn’t. You don’t expect him to, of course, however you expect him to accept your close bonds with all three of them. They were existent in your life before him, after all.

You can’t bring this up around him though, as he gets quiet each time, stuck in his thoughts and fears of you leaving him. Being the understanding girlfriend you are, you decided to show him just how special he is to you.

✶.

Heeseung sits alone on the couch in your living room, mindlessly scrolling through Netflix in search for new movies or series to start. Since the beginning of your relationship, you both decided on having movie nights every Friday; cuddling up on the couch together with a warm blanket and a plethora of snacks.

You haven’t come home yet, sending him a quick message to let him know you’d be stopping by a grocery store for snacks, then you’ll speed home to see him.

He sits there and waits, grabbing a bag of chips to munch on, watches trailers for new horror movies with stupid plots and terrible actors, then waits some more.

What’s taking you so long? It’s not like you would stand him up, it’s not like you can stand him up—he’s in your house, anyways. Maybe the checkout line is taking too long. Maybe you stopped to buy some alcohol too, or what if that’s what you were planning but forgot your ID in the car?

What if he’s actually going the wrong rout and you had gotten into an accident? Or decided you didn’t like him anymore and wanted to sneak off with someone else before seeing him tonight- “Baby?”

Heeseung jumps at the sound of your voice, quickly turning around to see you shutting the front door, hanging your keys and slipping off your shoes. He had been so caught up in his thoughts, he didn’t even hear the front door opening.

Your face holds a concerned look, rounding the couch and placing your bags next to Heeseung before dropping to your knees in front of him. “You okay? What happened?” Your hands gently caressed his knees in hopes to comfort him, knowing he’s a sucker for physical touch.

He only shakes his head and pulls you to sit next to him. “Nothing, pretty. I just really missed you.” His voice sounds unsure, but you decided to accept his answer, knowing he hates being pushed to open up.

“I missed you too, cutie. I actually bought something I want to show you.” You peck his nose and his eyes light up in excitement. “I need to go prepare it in my room, but I’ll be back out before you know it.” You smile at him and he nods quickly. “I have to use the bathroom anyways. Perfect timing, I guess.”

You place a soft kiss on his upper lip before grabbing one of your bags and rushing upstairs while Heeseung makes his way to the bathroom. He takes a long look at himself, analyzing his features and taking note of how much better he’s been looking since he’s gotten with you. He’s taken care of himself more, focusing on eating healthier and getting haircuts more often, as well as doing some skincare and shaving his facial hair.

He really feels better with you, smiling to himself in the mirror when he realizes that he’s truly in love with you. He loves you—and he hopes you feel the same way.

After flushing the toilet and leaving the tap running for a minute, Heeseung makes his way out of the bathroom, pausing when he sees you wrapped up in your blanket, waiting for him on the couch.

Walking up hesitantly, he smiles anxiously at you. “What did you wanna-“ he’s cut off when you throw the blanket off of yourself, sat prettily with the most delicate lingerie adorning your body.

Black lace cups your breasts with thin straps hardly covering your shoulders, matching black lace panties sitting high and tight on your hips as the fat of your hips and butt jut out around the material.

Heeseung stands in front of you stiffly, mouth hung open and eyes locked on your figure. Siting up, you reach a hand towards his face and place it under his chin, gently forcing his jaw shut.

“Do you like it?” Your voice is soft and sultry, provoking him to finally touch you. He strokes your head, feeling your soft hair under his fingertips. He’s so in love with you— just that touch sends blood straight to the weight between his legs and he’s suddenly too weak to stand.

Sitting on the couch, he pulls you onto his lap without breaking eye contact. “I’ll take that as a yes.” You giggle and cup his cheek, pulling him into a kiss that only lasts a second as he’s murmuring against your lips. “Yes- fuck, yes.”

You gasp when he pinches one of your nipples through your thin lacy bra. Pushing his tongue into your mouth, he plays with your own in a mess of drool and moans, all while rocking your hips against his.

He pulls away to moan loudly, resting his head on the back of the couch. “I’m glad you like it.” You kiss his neck, licking his jaw slowly before sucking a mark into his skin.

“The boys helped me pick it out.”

His eyes shoot open at this, quickly sitting up and looking you in the eyes. “The boys?” He furrows his brows, confused, but also hurt. You let the boys-Jake, Jay, and Sunghoon, not only see you in lingerie but pick it out? For your boyfriend to see later on?

“What do you mean they helped you pick it out? Like you went to the store together and let them chose it? They seen you in it?” He sounds like he’s going to cry, voice cracking but there’s also a hint of anger.

You nod, eyes wide and worried. “Well, yes. I asked for their opinions because they’re also guys, you know? I thought that’d be the best way to figure out what you’d like…” you trail off as you take note of the irritation appearing on his face.

He finds no point in complaining, no reason to explain why he’s so hurt. Instead, he pushes you off of his lap rather harshly and you land on the soft cushions with a quiet ‘oof’. Of course he didn’t mean to be so aggressive, but with the way he stomps to the front door and angrily grabs his keys, slamming the door shut as he leaves, you can’t help but tear up at his angry demeanor.

Was he really that upset? Over your friends helping pick out a gift, for him? Sure, maybe you didn’t have to wear the lingerie while showing them but Heeseung should know by now that your relationship with your friends is nothing more than platonic.

Deciding you’re too heart broken after being left so alone and exposed, you head to bed early. Well, not exactly early if 11pm was anything to go by, definitely too late for Heeseung to randomly leave and expect you not to worry, but early enough for you to sleep off the mental pain and end up in a better mood in the morning.

✶.

You wake up as an odd weight hits your cheek, repeatedly tapping on your face as you feel the warmth radiating onto your skin. Your eyes open slowly, blinking a few times to fully wake yourself up.

It’s still dark, but you can make out the silhouette of someone standing uncomfortably close to you. Taking in a sharp breath, you turn to your alarm clock and note that it’s around 2am, quickly reaching to turn on the bedside lamp.

The light flickers on and Heeseung groans, quickly reaching his own hand to switch it back off. While he does that, you notice the way he’s fully clothed, save for his hard-on that’s currently face-to-face with you, peeking out from above his sweatpants.

“What-“ you’re cut off as he places a finger upon your lips, slipping it between them and into your mouth to tug your jaw open. You can’t tell what he’s doing with the lights off, but you don’t wonder for long as you suddenly feel his tip entering your mouth, sliding against your tongue.

You’re stiff, laying there in shock as he uses your mouth for his own pleasure, biting his lip with a groan. Heeseung has grown to be more comfortable around you, no longer trying to impress you in order to get you to like him, yet instead trying to impress you to get you to keep liking him—always outdoing himself to prove he’s worth your love.

However, he’s still shy at times, especially intimate times, so seeing him fully take control of you, take advantage of your sleeping figure, is new to you. It’s kind of arousing, but after what happened earlier you just can’t get yourself to enjoy it.

Especially with the way he grips the back of your head and shoves himself fully into your throat, holding you there until you gag and drool onto the ground. The position is awkward; he’s standing in front of you while you’re laying on your side, head hovering off the bed just enough to miss the sheets as your spit strings onto the wooden floor.

He lets out a deep moan, mumbling to himself about how wet and warm your mouth is, but not directly speaking to you. How could he speak to you after what you pulled earlier? Why would you deserve praise for going out and prancing around like that with your friends, basically slutting yourself out for them?

What you do deserve is the harsh thrusts of his hips as he fucks your mouth, pulling your hair harshly as he keeps your head in place while his cock suffocates you. You try to breathe through your nose, but you only choke and whine around him as tears blur your vision, not like you can see much in the dark, anyways.

He groans louder, thrusts harder, grips harder, all while you lay there and take it. He lets out a particularly loud moan as he pulls your head towards him, shoving your face far enough to touch your nose to his pubic bone, and then he’s cumming down your throat.

His hips are still as he twirls strands of your hair between his fingers, holding you in place as his release fills your mouth.

Finally pulling out, he breathes heavily before stuffing himself back into his sweats. He makes his way to the bathroom, situating himself before coming back to bed and wrapping an arm around you, pulling you close enough to be his little spoon. It confuses you, but you’d rather have this than have him stay angry at you.

“Thank you, pretty.”

✶.

The next day goes by smoothly, Heeseung acts completely normal when he goes to work for a couple hours, then coming home as you prepare lunch.

You’re glad he has work early enough for him to be done by the afternoon, but sometimes you wish he could stay in bed with you just a little longer than leaving at 5am, but at least he gets to come back at 1pm and spend the rest of the day how he pleases. You quickly learn though, that today he decides to use the day as he pleases by pleasing himself.

As you put ramen to boil and chop vegetables, humming a random song to yourself, you hear the front door shut. It doesn’t slam, so you know Heeseung isn’t angry, at least not enough to show it.

He walks up behind you, grabbing onto your waist and you smile, turning around for a kiss. He grips your chin, turning your face back to the counter and speaks lowly in your ear. “Keep chopping.” His voice is stern and you know he’s serious.

You hesitantly pick up the knife again, slowly cutting the vegetables as he pulls down your pants, panties going along with them, leaving you bare and exposed for him. It was only last night he was using you for himself, maybe he’s repaying the favor?

That idea is quickly shut down as you feel his tip prodding at your not very wet entrance, wincing at the stretch of the head doing its best to make its way between your folds. Of course you’ve both have had sex without foreplay before, but that was after a while of kissing and obvious arousal.

This time, he fills you up dry with only his precum coating your walls. You whine at the pain, stepping closer to the counter in an attempt to get away from him, but he only manhandles you back towards him.

Pulling out to the tip, he gives you a second to breathe before he pushes himself all the way back in, continuing with rough thrusts. He lands a loud slap to your ass, leaning forward and biting onto your shoulder. You cry out in pain, trying to take his cock the best you can while he uses you once again.

He’s fucking you, skin to skin, so that must mean he’s not upset anymore. You try to convince yourself as he thrusts harder, hands bruising your waist and hips as his knuckles turn white from holding you so tight.

He’s more vocal this time, moaning into your ear as you bounce between him and the counter top, knife now laying further away from you and vegetables roll off the counter, landing with a hard thud on the floor.

You moan as he picks up the pace almost inhumanly fast, wet sounds showing signs that you’re finally aroused enough, the slide of his cock against your walls is no longer painful.

He pushes your upper half forward more, fully bending you over the counter as he lands a harsh slap against your ass, echoing through the kitchen along with your high pitched moans.

His thighs slap against the back of your own, wet and covered in slick as you can’t hold back the squelching noises your pussy makes while being stuffed full.

“Oh God, Hee…” You whine but he’s tired of hearing you, placing his palm over your mouth to muffle your moans. “I don’t wanna hear it.” This confuses you, mainly because he’s always loved hearing your noises—proof that he’s pleasing you right. But now, he suddenly doesn’t want to hear them? Going as far as covering your mouth to shut you up?

Even with this hurt side of you, the pleasure is undeniable and before you can process it, you’re close to orgasm as Heeseung lands another harsh slap against your ass.

“Hee-baby, I’m gonna cum!” You pant heavily, inhaling a deep breath in preparation for your orgasm, only for it to be taken away from you. “No you’re not.” Heeseung slides his wet cock out of you, instead spreading your ass and pushing himself between your cheeks.

You scoff, now frustrated and in pain, wondering if this is what blue balls must feel like. You try to reach back and slide him back in, but he grips your wrist, pulling both of your arms back so your cheek lands harshly onto the counter top. Wincing, tears start pricking your eyes and you try to squirm away from him.

“Not letting you…d-don’t deserve to cum.” He grits through his teeth, pushing your butt cheeks together tightly as he thrusts, still keeping his fast pace.

Leaning forward, he rests his forehead between your shoulder blades, finally releasing as ropes of cum spurt out of his tip, landing across your back and staining your shirt, some reaching your hair to find in a sticky mess later.

You’re both panting, catching your breaths after whatever kind of rough, angry sex session that was. Still confused, you try to turn around, calling out to your quiet boyfriend. “Heeseung…” your voice is soft and comforting, and as much as he wants to accept it, he just keeps you turned around.

“Just- don’t.” That’s all he says before tucking himself back into his jeans and walking upstairs. The bathroom door shuts, still not slamming, but you can now tell that he is definitely still angry at you.

✶.

“So, what? He’s upset that we helped you and now you guys are having hot steamy hate sex?” Jake laughs to himself, taking a bowl of ramen from Sunghoon. A bowl of ramen you cooked for Heeseung.

You sigh, playing with your own ramen as you push it around the bowl with your chopsticks. “Yeah…I was cooking this when he came home and he just…did that.” You trail off at the end, not wanting to go into detail because no matter how good it felt, you were still hurt.

“Waitwaitwait.” Jay mutters with his mouth full, swallowing harshly before speaking again. “This ramen doesn’t have a special ingredient, right? His cum shot didn’t fly into here and now I’m consuming his babies?”

“Dude! What the fuck is wrong with you!?”

“Come on- I’m trying to eat here!”

“You’re actually disgusting.”

Sunghoon gags as he imagines the scene playing out, downing his glass of water to calm himself. You pat him on the back as he keeps gagging, mainly to piss off Jay who now regrets what he said.

“Okay, Hoon. You can stop now, I get it.” Jay rolls his eyes, picking up his beer bottle and taking a sip while sending glares towards his friend.

Your face drops to your palms, sighing again as you think about these past two days. “He left like an hour before I invited you guys over.” You speak up, eyes teary as you bite your lip. “He didn’t eat…didn’t say goodbye…he just left.” You break down, a sob escaping your lips at the thought of your boyfriend leaving you so alone and embarrassed.

“Do you know what this means?” Sunghoon places a hand on your shoulder, squeezing lightly to ease your tension. You shake your head no, confused as to what he’s implying.

He sighs, looking between Jake and Jay, then back at you. “This means you’re going to have to choose.” Your eyes widen, shaking your head more aggressively now.

“What do you mean choose?” You can’t believe they’d recommend something like this. “You know, choose if you want to stay with him. Let him treat you like that, let him get away with those things.”

He grabs your hand, keeping his eyes locked with yours. “Or you can choose to stay with us. Keep being our friend, let us save you from this disaster.” His words hurt, but you know they must be true. “He just…” you inhale a shaky breath, “He just needs time. We’ll figure something out.”

Yeah, that’ll fix it. You’ll figure out a way to keep Heeseung happy and stay close to your best friends. Hopefully, without cutting any ties or creating an awkward atmosphere. But you’ll do whatever it takes to keep each of your boys happy.

[hannie-dul-set]

— arranged by: member (eldest to youngest) | date (latest to oldest) | type (full-length to drabbles to blurbs) i don’t recommend reading my older works because they’re terrible. still putting them on here for the sake of bookkeeping | last updated: 23.12.18 

BLUE HYDRANGEAS. wherein this time, it’s your breath that gets taken away and not the other way around.

PAIRING. lee taeyong x reader. GENRE. romance, humor, light angst, and of course the overall theme of the event  — dumbassery (this time, by y/n), florist! taeyong, contract killer! reader. WARNINGS. murder, death i mean lol, violence, swearing, mentions of blood, knives, & guns. WORD COUNT. 2.2k.

MISSED TIMINGS. drabble game; “do i look like i’ve moved on?”

PAIRING. lee taeyong x reader. GENRE. post breakup! au, angst. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 887.

CAUGHT RED HANDED. all you wanted to do was take a picture of the handsome law student during your train ride home. you did not expect things to end up like this.

PAIRING. kim doyoung x reader. GENRE. fluff, humor. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 804.

A FOOL’S GAME. were you the fool for being blind to his intentions? or was it he who forgot what his intentions were in the first place?

PAIRING. jung jaehyun x reader. GENRE. royal! au, drama, romance, angst, slight comedy. WARNINGS. swearing, mentions of death. WORD COUNT. 27.4k.

CONTRARIETY & CONFLUENCE. there was not an instance in your life where your judgement was proven to be mistaken— especially with regards to infatuations outside of your own. after an unpredicted introduction with a far too remarkable farm boy, you took it upon yourself to find a suitable match for him, not realizing that perhaps this time; your usual correct judgements might have been incorrect.

PAIRING. jung jaehyun x reader. GENRE. emma! au, matchmaking! au, strangers to lovers! au, slowburn, period romance, humor, one suggestive scene, very very tiny angst. WARNINGS. implied and borderline smut. WORD COUNT. 16.9k.

[doctor! au] [richkid! au] [sugardaddy! au] [bf discourse] [bf discourse]

PUT A FINGER DOWN. wherein mark lee finds you drunk for the first time and promises to himself that he should make sure that you never get wasted ever again.

PAIRING. mark lee x reader. GENRE. college! au, humor, fluff, suggestive, drunken mistakes that would probably make you cry in real life. WARNINGS. swearing, alcohol consumption, mature content (sexual & explicit jokes about fingers and — u get the gist) please read at your own discretion. WORD COUNT. 1.6k.

BIBINGKA. legend says that if you finish all nine night masses of simbang gabi, your wish will be granted. mark only hopes that it’s actually true because that’s his last chance in getting you to notice him (but wait— shouldn’t his wish only come true after the nine days?)

PAIRING. mark lee x reader. GENRE. christmas! au, crush! au, lots of fluff, mark is a piner, mark is also very awkward, some filipino references and customs. WARNINGS. swearing, religious themes. WORD COUNT. 6.9k.

HOW TO GET THE GUY. drabble game; “why haven’t you kissed me yet?”

PAIRING. mark lee x reader. GENRE. college! au, friends to lovers! au, fluff, humor. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 1.2k.

IS IT BECAUSE YOU’RE ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT ME? video call with your best friend, mark lee.

PAIRING. mark lee x reader. GENRE. long distance (not so relationship) relationship, mutual pining, angsty themes. WARNINGS. none. WORD COUNT. 428.

[hotsauce! au] [bf discourse] [bf discourse] [coworkers! au] 

DO YOU WANT ME (DEAD)? murder and making out.

PAIRING. huang renjun x reader. GENRE. high school! au, suggestive. WARNINGS. attempted murder, mentions of blood and self injury, veryy descriptive kissing, mc has a few screws lost, swearing, depictions of unstable behavior. WORD COUNT. 1.8k.

[friends to lovers! au] [skater! au] [skater! au] [tough love! au] [mermaid! au] [tutor! au]

I (HAVE/HAD) A CRUSH ON YOU. running into a past crush at your best friend’s birthday party wouldn’t have been so bad if he wasn’t— well— all that.

PAIRING. lee jeno x reader GENRE. crush! jeno, college! au, rom-com, mildly suggestive moments. WARNINGS. swearing, smoking, mentions of dicks and balls (sorry), an awful amount of men and boys being boys. WORD COUNT. 5.8k

I’LL TAKE YOUR WORD FOR IT AND NO ONE ELSE’S. maybe snooping through your friend’s phone wasn’t that much of a good idea. or maybe it was. either way, you didn’t regret it.

PAIRING. lee jeno x reader. GENRE. friends to something, fluff, lots of bickering. WARNINGS. swearing, invasion of privacy(?) lmao. WORD COUNT. 2.1k.

IT’S FOR YOU. all it took was the heavy rainfall from the sky to clear up your misunderstandings.

PAIRING. lee jeno x reader. GENRE. e2l (sort of), fluff. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 1.5k.

[ceo! au] [spacecore! aesthetic] [hotsauce! au] [bf discourse]

KATHANG ISIP. musings of the mind and heart are always dangerous— it’s easy to get carried away and get lost in your made up scenarios, rose colored wishes, and fleeting daydreams of what you thought would be. that is until reality hits you like the crashing of an ocean’s waves.

PAIRING. lee donghyuck x reader. GENRE. roommates! au, college! au, brief roadtrip! au, angst, fluff, humor. also let’s pretend hyuck cannot drive and that his hometown is elsewhere for the sake of plot, thanks. WARNINGS. swearing, alcohol consumption, one descriptive kissing scene, lots and lots of overthinking. WORD COUNT. 19.8k

DATING 101. drabble game; “you’re not very intimidating”.

PAIRING. lee donghyuck x reader. GENRE. highschool! au, fluff, slight suggestive, slight humore, wannabe badboy! haechan. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 678.

SHAMELESS. drabble game; “did you just— did you just kiss me?” “yeah” “do it again”.

PAIRING. lee donghyuck x reader. GENRE. enemies! au, fluff, humor, co-worker! haechan. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 997.

[grunge! aesthetic] [lipstick! au] [bf discourse]

CAN’T HANDLE THIS. how are you supposed to explain that you and na jaemin started dating just to prove each other wrong and ended up catching feelings.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. strangers to lovers, college! au, matchmaking! au, yet another richkid! au, jaemin is an asshole again, romance, humor. WARNINGS. excessive swearing, a near death experience, drinking and smoking, more than a handful of illegal shit, mentions of vomit, blood, violence, too much sexual tension it’s unhealthy, again jaemin is kind of a dick but he’s an attractive dick, jaemin also likes it when you tell him his personality is trash. WORD COUNT. 16k.

IT TAKES FOUR YEARS TO GROW A PEACH TREE. humans are fickle in nature— it takes a great deal of patience, fortitude, and devotion to have a heart that remains constant. that or having an absolute tolerance for all pain and torment that comes in exchange.

so when you are once again met by the ex-boyfriend that you’ve desperately avoided for four years after tearing up his heart, it becomes a test of how much you can endure, and how much more you’re willing to endure after realizing that you’re still in love with him when his love has already been weathered down.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader GENRE. exes to lovers! au, college! au, romance, angst, fluff, humor, hurt/comfort, SLOW AS FUCK BURN, pining, lots of pushing and pulling, the “its always been you” trope, a modern retelling-ish of jane austen’s persuasion. WARNINGS. swearing, heartbreak, alcohol consumption, parental pressure, stress and anxiety, one scene with a nosebleed, jaemin is kind of a dick in the beginning, mentions of hospitals, one scene with a creep, one makeout scene, ghosting, breakup, a lot of me projecting. WORD COUNT. currently 54k.

ARAW-ARAW. mahiwaga— someone or something that you’ll choose every single day no matter the circumstance. and for you, that was na jaemin. even if time decides to set you apart.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. childhood friends to lovers! au, college! au, romance, slow-ish burn, fluff, humor, tiny angst, biology major jaemin and art major mc HEHE. WARNINGS. excessive swearing, insecurities, some sex jokes LMAO, i project a lot in this i’m sorry JSFJG. WORD COUNT. 14.5k.

US, AGAIN. they say history repeats itself, but you’d like to disagree. you had to disagree. history changes, even if you had to force it. but when all your attempts to twist fate were met by nothing but the flashing recurrences of the past, what were you supposed to do?

or, wherein you try everything in your power to have nothing to do with na jaemin, but na jaemin wants nothing but you.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. college! au, historical! au, soulmate! au, past lives, forbidden love stuff, reincarnation, romance, drama, humor, angst, fluff, looots of flashbacks, this is an entire kdrama, very loosely inspired by the webtoon “see you in my 19th life”. WARNINGS. (updated as the series goes on) character death/s, night terrors, murder, terminal illness, hospital mentions, gun mentions, inaccurate depictions of the joseon era for the sake of plot lmao. WORD COUNT. currently 4.9k.

TOP OF THE WORLD. things had always been the same in the world of na jaemin— him sitting on a throne above everyone else. that was the natural order. but the world as jaemin knew it began to shake after a few fated encounters with someone at the bottom of the food chain.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. private school! au, one sided e2l lmao, a dash of fake dating, romance, heavily suggestive themes, lots and lots of sexual tension and power dynamics. WARNINGS. bullying (lots of it), public humiliation, mildly nsfw, borderline smut, implied smut, swearing, jaemin being a literal asshole. WORD COUNT. 15.6k.

HOSTILITY. making out with the person you hate the most.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. suggestive, stageplay! au. WARNINGS. making out, swearing, reader tells jaem to k himself, reader spits on jaem’s face and he does something…questionable. WORD COUNT. 438.

DO IT AGAIN. maybe you should have paid more attention to your boyfriend. he isn’t always petty, but he has his limits.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. fluff, established relationship! au. WARNINGS. alcohol consumption, kissing. WORD COUNT. 576.

DON’T THINK, JUST DO. an overthinker, a piece of advice, a sudden confession, and a subtle meltdown.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. high school! au, f2l, fluff, humor. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 1.6k.

WHAT BEST FRIENDS DO. drabble game; “i need a hug”.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. high school! au, maybe secret relationship! au, fluff, light humor. WARNINGS. swearing, mentions of food. WORD COUNT. 988.

[secret agents! au] [richkid! au] [boyfriend! au] [neighbor! au] [spiderman! au] [softcore! aesthetic] [racer! au] [vampire! au] [bf discourse] [bf discourse] [best friends to lovers! au] [reincarnation! au]

[johnny royal! au] [yuta punk! aesthetic] [yuta bf discourse] [kun richkid! au] [jungwoo royalcore! aesthetic] [jisung bf discourse]

NCT & WAYV MASTERLIST. © hannie-dul-set.

[galedekarios]

I'm not sure if you've seen this going around, but apparently after the new patch, there are people going super pro Gale and Mystra getting back together and acting like she didn't abuse him??? And the worst part is people claiming the player is just who he settles for because Mystra won't take him back and he'll never love the player as much and. I'm going to have an aneurysm. The way I'm suddenly seeing people blaming GALE and calling MYSTRA a victim. Please keep in mind, he can only go back to Elysium if he is the players avatar. And they're saying this is the best ending for him and he was never abused.

I'm so sorry for this rant but I'm SO aggravated by this and I just know if this was a certain other character then this would get people torn to shreds. I'm tired.

don't worry, anon. you can always vent in my inbox. 🖤

as to your ask:

i did see the new added effects and animations to the ending. the ending for origin gale had existed prior to patch 6 already, but they expanded on it with vfx.

my opinion on this personally is:

overall, this changes nothing for me about how deeply imbalanced and terrible their relationship is, nor does it change what mystra did to him, or how she conducts herself within the context of game canon, the decisions she makes and the things she says.

larian can add as many purple sparkles as they want to it - make them heart-shaped next them, too. it changes nothing.

It doesn’t change the fact that she is a goddess. a goddess who sent her chosen to him at 8 years old and made him her lover at some point in time after that. it doesn't change the fact that she was his teacher first, then his mentor, and then changed that intrinsically already imbalanced relationship (which is not even touching on the divine aspect) into that of lovers. it doesn't change the history she has had with her other chosen and what she did to them.

it's an ending that is viscerally uncomfortable to watch in this context and to me, it’s an abuser regaining power over their victim. a victim who, by the end of the game, still hasn't fully realised what has happened to him. the player can set companion gale on the path to it, and some things he comes to see, but there's a lot of healing still left to do.

i also want to add that what people claim doesn't really matter to me in this context, especially if it's what you outlined. so many reads and takes of gale show a complete lack of reading and listening comprehension and general media literacy. a shiny 'new' cutscene tends to do that, too. it happened before when patch 5 and the epilogue released.

i do feel you on being tired though. they fumbled gale's storyline in act iii and it results in a complete 180 from act i and ii. this only adds to it.

other posts than mine have detailed it far better. i don't have to spoons at the moment to rehash it all, but i would recommend reading @messiahzzz's post on gale and mystra's relationship as well as this one here. i also have a post on mystra, elminster, raphael and gale with info from the epilogue here.

[leidensygdom]

well @voidsteeth has given me the power to ramble a bit more. PLEASE ignore the cat in that picture, for some goddamn reason it's the only way tumblr let me post this goddamn picture. it's a nice kitty, mind you

Up above, some really loose logo/main pic ideas for it! Excuse my terrible handwriting. Let me do it bullet-point format since it helps my adhd pin down stuff

So, it's gonna be a RPG. I wanna figure some fun gimmick and I surprisingly have a bunch of that well fleshed out! (Part of it revolving the elemental system, concerning Flesh/Memory/Mind/Matter/Soul). I'm not a huge fan of the repetitive encounter "smash everything in front of you" format. I'm going to be using RPG Maker MZ. My partner has a lot of experience with that, which should help a lot!

Inspired by a bit of a mix of classic JRPGs and more recent indie RPGs, specially Rpg Maker stuff. I've been raised watching my dad play the old Final Fantasy games (which I love dearly, specially IX, X and VII), but I've ended up loving the more recent indie scene myself (OFF, Oneshot, Undertale/Deltarune, Everhood)

(I'm gonna be playing more RPG Maker games to help with inspiration and knowing how much I can bend the system- Please feel free to recommend me some!)

Set in a sort of high fantasy setting, and it takes a bunch of stuff from the one I run my current DnD campaign in. I think it will feel familiar to DnD/PF players, but I'm going all in with my own worldbuilding! I wanna set myself apart from these.

I want to have a sort of in-game illustrated encyclopedia because I really dig that. I liked the way OFF used images here and there to add to the lore. I just love the idea of being able to collect pages and learn more on the way. I've sketched the ones for the elements already!

Themes will spin around friendship and human connection, eldritch horror flavoured stuff, and some temporal shenanigans too. It will also tackle on the importance of understanding the past- The story will put some focus on how people are too busy pillaging a ruined city to understand what actually destroyed it in the first place. Which, well, it's the kinda thing to have consequences.

I'm planning to work on this on my free time, and once it has a nice shape (and perhaps a playable demo), I may consider having a Kickstarter to complete it. I'm fairly confident I can handle (with enough time) most of the parts of it. I just need to get a bit familiar with pixel art (for the maps). I used to do that ages ago! I'm also familiar enough with programming and have done small web-games in the past.

The one thing I am absolutely not qualified enough for is music. I wanna try honing my skills but- Oh boy. (on that note, if you know of small musicians that are open for commissions, do let me know! Just as a very preliminary view)

also you can bet this is gonna be really LGBTQ+ themed. I wanna also take the chance to maybe sprinkle in some of my heritage's stuff, I've wanted to do that for ages!

I'm of course always open for specific questions about this. I'm really excited to work on it and help my mental health on the way. I'll do my best to share some concept art, mock ups and such as I get it more fleshed out! I have some enemies pinned down and I think people will really enjoy these designs : )

[stellamancer]

niku (for the ask game) i wish you’d write a fic where reader is in grad school with gooj……..maybe a lil academic rivals to lovers….

gRAD SCHOOL WITH GOOJ.... and you can't just say MAYBE A LITTLE academic rivals to lovers to me. i cannot have just a little it MUST BE A BUFFET. 

UH ANYWAY. so actually, as someone who only did their undergrad, i had to ask the grad student i do know about the difference. and they actually ended up feeding me ideas. i can't take credit for their brilliance though.

> if theyre academic rivals to lovers then maybe theyre sharing an elective class that has a group project and theyre in diff groups

and also:

> well my apartment building has laundry in it > but imagine reader hauling their laundry to a laundromat n running into gojo > id shit > gojo sees u hauling ur laundry and follows u inside to bug u abt ur group project (separate groups btw) and he just sits there while u shove everything into the machine hoping he doesnt see ur underwear

i think being in separate groups for a group project would be fun. so uh, full disclosure i think i went kind of off the rails and i DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS ANY MORE. but uh. it got terribly self indulgent is and is just short of 5k which is is insane. so uh. yeah hahahaaHAHAHAHA. <- laughing to hide my tears.

anyway, as for my own idea. so uh, please ignore me for laying down some groundwork HAHAHA. so, reader and gojo ended up attending the same university for undergrad. it's a very prestigious school with a famously low acceptance rate (for reference, gojo was recommended for admittance and took the entrance exam for the funsies).

reader, who was used to being the top student, is somewhat surprised that, upon the results of their first major exam being posted, they are not first but SECOND. briefly, and I do mean briefly, they're kind of like ‘well this is a really prestigious school ofc there would be insanely smart people here that could best me’ but then they find out that the person in the top spot is satoru gojo.

and said gojo is known for being a filthy rich, insufferable slacker and because of that reader has no respect for him and gets MAD. especially since they've also heard the rumor that he's attending school for shits and giggles. so they study extra hard to try and knock him from the top spot only to wind up in second place AGAIN and the cycle continues.

gojo, on the other hand, doesn't really notice reader until a little later. he knows their name (he knows everyone's names) and that they're second place but he doesn't really pay them mind until the professor for their class has a ta conduct a free study period because they have a personal emergency to attend to. gojo gets very excited over this because it's finally his time to really shine as the top student in the class. he expects his classmates to flock to him for help with class material, and while a couple students do ask him for help, those who don't form groups of their own gather around reader. it doesn't bother him at first and he attempts to teach the students who have asked him for help but they don't seem to get it. which frustrates him a little. how can they not understand? Eventually some of them thank him for his attempt but go to ask reader and gojo is a little huffy about it. 

actually he's pretty huffy about it. 

after class, he approaches reader who is a bit 😑😑😑 at him because it's gojo, and he. Well. 

“must have been pretty nice having everyone ask for your help,” gojo remarks, derisive. “even though, i’m top of the class.” you scowl, annoyed. “well, maybe more people would have asked you if you were better at explaining things.” a couple of your classmates had mentioned asking gojo first, but couldn't make heads or tails of what he was saying. when you asked them to explain, you were able to understand, but only because you could reverse engineer his methods.  gojo shrugs, “not my fault they couldn't understand.” your jaw ticks. what is he on? “they asked you to help them, but you couldn't; of course it's your fault.”  “maybe they should have tried harder!” “maybe you should have tried a different teaching method!” you hiss before stomping off. 

and that's honestly the first time anyone has really argued with gojo in…. Well not a while, but the only one who ever challenges him like that is suguru. and he actually approaches suguru about the whole thing later and suguru basically agrees with what reader was saying which, gojo ultimately concedes to. 

so, he, begrudgingly, takes a different approach when the next class study session happens and is met with better results. gojo tries to gloat about it to reader but all he gets is a flat “good for you” and it upsets him because he worked hard, you know, he adjusted for everyone instead of everyone adjusting to him (like he's used to because he's a spoiled brat) and while it felt super good that so many of his classmates actually understood what he was saying this time he wanted reader to acknowledge him the most. 

again, he whines to suguru, who actually finds this all very funny, and suguru gives him a pat on the back too, but at this point gojo has become determined to have reader approve of him. 

which means gojo goes out of his way to interact with reader more but, is met with annoyance or hostility and normal people would just back off but not gojo. like he'll congratulate reader on their high score on the exam and reader will tell him to shove it and initially it kind of makes him mad (especially since reader is very cordial with literally everyone else) but eventually he starts to find it kind of fun to get a rise out of reader the way he does. (I think initially he thought the class was kind of boring but then he gets to look forward to antagonizing reader wtf is his problem). 

he does not get the approval he wants though, so at some point, he decides to double major— with one of his majors being the same as reader’s. this only bothers them more since now they see him MORE and he seems to handle the double major stuff flawlessly. 

anyway, reader doesn't manage to get better grades than gojo in any class by the end of their undergrad and gojo doesn't get the approval from them he craves. 

(I think there's an incident where one of them is accused by a jealous classmate of some form of academic dishonesty and the other defends them but I haven't decided on who. whoever it is though, probably starts to develop Feelings)

graduation comes and reader thinks that they are finally free of gojo, thinking he will go into the work force so he can ultimately take over the family company, bUT HE DOESN'T HE GOES TO GRAD SCHOOL. and reader is just appalled. like what the actual fuck. and so once again they have classes together but the only upside is that it's less often (since me grad school friend said that classes are more infrequent).

I like the separate group project idea so we are going with that. reader is fine with being a separate group from gojo until he’s all smiley at them and is like ‘looks like we’re competing again and reader is just like ‘fuck my stupid baka life.’

actually I feel like I put too much development thought into undergrad oh well. 

so since there is more free time in grad school so I'm thinking reader gets a job. maybe working as wait staff at a restaurant…. a fancy one. and gojo finds out when he goes there for a gojo family business dinner thing. reader has to keep a straight face and ignore gojo’s smarmy expression and how hot he looks in a suit (the suit is fan service for me).

during part of the dinner gojo excuses himself to go to the bathroom and happens to see reader joking around with a coworker. he's never seen reader with that expression before and gets a little annoyed/jealous (the jealousy is also fan service for me). 

gojo brings up reader's job next time they see each other for class saying he didn't know and reader's just like ‘why would I tell you?’ which makes gojo realize despite being academic rivals for years he doesn't actually know much about them. 

I think at some point they have a convo where reader is just like ‘why are you even going to grad school when you don't need to’ and gojo says that he doesn't have a lot of time left to do what he wants before having to fulfill his duties as the gojo family heir and he's the going to grad school because he wants to (keep seeing reader). reader actually feels bad for him when they realize the magnitude of the expectations placed on him and in this convo he mentions that competing with reader in school has made his college life fun. I think at this point gojo realizes he won't get to really see reader after grad school is over and that makes him sad. 

Mmmm. Maybe. They make a bet at this point gojo bets that if reader's group does better than gojo’s on the project he'll grant them any one desire they want and while reader is like ????? at first he explains that because of who he is he can do anything with his money and/or influence but if his group does better then reader has to do anything he wants and they’re like okay yeah sure whatever rich boy.

so reader does their best to encourage their group mates to well on this group project (which i have decided has a presentation at the end of the semester… it is a nice long semester long project). i’d say most of them at know of reader and gojo’s rivalry (or at least about gojo) and they’re pretty amenable to trying to show him up. 

over the semester stuff happens, you know extra relationship building stuff, with gojo constantly asking about the project. he'll occasionally annoy reader at work (and maybe try to shoo away the coworker he thinks is interested in reader), bug them at the library, drag them to dinner after class and. idk. despite gojo becoming less of a rival and more of an annoyance, reader starts to get endeared to him.

just as finals week, when they have to do their presentation, is approaching, reader is at the library and their laptop just. stops working. and they start to freak out because even though a lot of stuff for the project is saved to a cloud storage, they still have some things saved locally. gojo happens in as they're having a meltdown and calms them down and tries to assess what happened to the laptop. and like. 

you feel like you can't breathe. the realization that you've lost hours upon hours of work weighs down on your chest. can you possibly do it all again with what time you have left before the presentation? 

no. 

it's not a question of whether you can or can't: you have to, if not for you, then everyone else in your group. they're depending on you; you can't let them down.

“hey.”

if you call out for your next couple of shifts and pull a couple all nighters, you might be able to redo everything.

“hey.”

it won't be pleasant, but you have to do what you have to do. you don't want everyone to worry, but you should at least let them know what's going on. the thought of messaging the group chat, though, fills you with dread. 

someone flicks your forehead and you let out small cry. “what the hell!”

gojo looks petulant as ever and you remember you have to deal with him too. could this get any worse? his finger presses against your forehead as he asks, “tell me what happened.”

“i told you. it stopped working.”

“be more specific.” 

you groan, “just…. the screen went black and I pressed the power button but it wouldn't turn back on but it sounds like it's on.” 

gojo hums and leans down over the table, pressing his ear to the laptop. he hums again and nods to himself. “i think I know what's going on.” 

“are you the laptop whisperer or something?” you ask flatly. 

“something like that,” he answers nonchalantly, flipping the lid closed and pulling out his phone. he starts typing on it one handed. “but I think most people call it being computer savvy.”

“are you saying you can fix it?”

he shoots you a cocky grin. “who do you think you're talking to?”

you ignore him. “well?”

he huffs. “i can't believe you're doubting me here.”

“gojo…”

“just trust me, everything will be fine!” he says and starts to pack up your laptop. you protest but he doesn't listen. “but we need to have the operation at my place.” 

you scowl. “gojo, i’m not—”

“you don't have to come if you mind leaving your laptop in my care,” he shoots you a saccharine sweet smile and your frown deepens. he knows that you won't just let him take your laptop with him. crafty bastard. 

“ugh, fine,” you relent. 

gojo snickers in satisfaction and starts to call someone as you gather the rest of your things. from what you can hear, it sounds like he's calling his driver. 

ten minutes later, gojo is ushering you into the sleek black car that he gets driven around in. you expect gojo to talk your ear off during the ride to his place, but he's oddly quiet and glued to his phone. you're curious, but you decide it's better to not ask. 

soon enough you're both dropped off at one of the tallest high rise apartments you've seen in your life. gojo casually taps his phone to a panel by the door and walks in with you scampering after.

you want to be surprised when you both ride the elevator to the top floor, but admittedly you're not. of course gojo has a penthouse apartment, why wouldn't he? not only that but it's wildly high tech— you can only imagine how much it must have cost… 

“you hungry?” gojo asks as you both enter his spacious living room area. “i can order something; anything you want— my treat.” 

the offer startles you, but reflexively you shake your head. “no, i’m fine. i—”

“sushi, then,” he decides with a nod. 

“wait, no, i—” you start to protest, but gojo is already fiddling with his phone. “gojo, really, it's fine, i’m not hungry.” 

“oh too late, i already ordered.”

you sigh as he flashes you a conspiratory grin. well, you suppose it wouldn't hurt to have some when it arrives. free dinner, maybe, you guess. “okay so, how do you intend to fix my laptop?” 

gojo tuts at you and wags his finger. “all will be revealed in good time.”

“tell me or i’m leaving,” you hiss, glaring. you don't have the time to humor him if it turns out he's just been fucking around this whole time. 

gojo pouts. “you're no fun.” 

“i can't fuck up this project; not with my group mates depending on me.” 

you don't mention the bet. honestly, at this point you don't care if you lose as long as you can salvage the project enough to make sure your group gets a decent grade. 

he sighs. “I know, I know.” 

“so tell me, what are you going to do.” 

gojo leans against the wall. “just a simple extraction. seems like the motherboard died, but the data on your hard drive should still be intact, so we're just going to extract it.”

“you can do that?”

“wouldn’t suggest it if I couldn't,” he says with a shrug. “just waiting for something i need to do it but it should arrive soon enough.” 

you stare at him, unsure of what to say. it's awfully nice of him to help you. especially when he could have just walked away, left you there with your broken computer and despair, and yet… “thank you gojo, really.”

for once in his life, gojo looks absolutely speechless, widened eyes peering over the top of his sunglasses. you blink. is it just you or do you see the faintest shade of pink dusting over the tips of his ears?

“well, while we wait, why don’t i give you the grand tour?” he asks and his voice is unnaturally loud, moreso than usual. 

“i don’t need a tour.”

“come on,” he insists, moving over toward you and circling around to grab you behind by the shoulders. “it’ll be fun! i never get to show off my place!” 

before you can protest, gojo starts propelling you around his penthouse. his voice is filled with a childlike excitement as he shows you every nook and cranny of the place. it’s sleek, modern, and ridiculously clean, just like how you would expect the home of any rich heir to a corporate conglomerate to look. however, as you move to room to room, you see little peeks of gojo’s personality shining through.

like the display of pictures next to his computer setup (three screens is kind of overkill in your opinion though).

the legitimately impressive sunglasses collection he has in his bedroom (you had always suspected he had something like this). 

the almost terrifying array of candy and sweets he has lining the cabinets of his kitchen. 

while he's rifling through a box of imported american snack cakes to show you, you notice a cup of dry erase markers next to the fridge which has a board affixed to it. the board is devoid of any writing or marks and you can't help but wonder if gojo has ever used it.

he wouldn't mind if you scribbled something on it real quick, would he?

“whatcha doin’?” he asks as you grab a black marker from the cup.

“defacing your personal property.”

“huh?!” he exclaims as you pop off the cap. “hey, wait a sec—”

you do not. before he can try to stop you, you start to doodle a cartoonish rendition of him. large round glasses, a stupid big grin and… well, you try to recreate his hair but it looks more like a soggy sea star with too many arms.

“what the hell is that?” he asks. “is that supposed to be me?”

“obviously.” 

he clicks his tongue. “i'm way more handsome.”

you roll your eyes. “are you?”

gojo hmphs and steps over toward you, grabbing a blue marker from the cup. “of course i am.” 

you roll your eyes as he starts his own drawing next to yours. at first you think he's just going to show you up with a better rendition of himself, but you quickly realize that it's not him he's drawing.

it's you. 

gojo is a much better artist than you are (it probably helps that he's not trying to scribble it really quickly like you are) and his doodle of you looks much better than your drawing of him. 

“so?” he asks when he's done. “what do you think?”

if you're being honest, it's actually really cute. embarrassingly cute. “i… i think you’re just trying to show off.”

“...well, i am quite skilled in more than just academics, you know,” he boasts earning him another eye roll. “it's okay if you don't want to say it looks good, we both know the truth.”

“...shut up.” 

he snickers. “if you're done drawing all over my fridge, then there's one more stop on satoru gojo’s grand house tour!” 

you tilt your head and he motions for you to follow him. he brings you to what you assume must be a big window with the curtain drawn, but with the press of a button the curtains slide back to reveal the balcony. gojo slides the door open and gestures for you to go outside first.

the air outside is a little chilly but it's not too bad. there's some furniture set up for lounging, but otherwise the balcony is rather bare save for…

“it's beautiful…” you murmur as you stare at the view of the tokyo skyline, the lights of the city sparkling brightly against the darkened sky. 

“right?” gojo chuckles and there is something about it that makes you turn back to look at him.

he's staring right at you. 

the soft smile gracing his features makes your mouth feel very, very dry for some reason and despite the fact that you desperately want to look away, you can't bring yourself to. the air between you both is an odd sort of quiet that has you feeling all sorts of nervous and you try to think of something to say to feel that almost awkward void.

luckily for you, the doorbell rings just in time to save you. 

gojo’s head whips around suddenly and you think you see the ghost of a frown before he scampers toward the front door. you trail after, watching as he throws it open to reveal a handsome, but tired looking young man. you recognize him from some of the pictures gojo had by his desk; they must be friends. 

“satoru, isn't there someone who you personally pay to run your errands?” the other guy asks as he enters and you notice he's carrying a bunch of bags. “why ask me?” 

gojo tilts his head innocently. “why not?”

his friend sighs. 

“sooo, did you get it?” gojo asks as his friend hefts the bags onto the counter. 

the other guy looks at gojo like he's an idiot. “of course i did.”

gojo beams widely. “knew i could count on you suguru!”

said suguru rolls his eyes again before turning his attention to you. there's a curious spark in his eyes as he offers you a pleasant smile “i don't believe we’ve met before…”

“i’m gojo’s classmate,” you say before giving him your name. 

“ah yes, satoru speaks of you often,” he remarks. “i'm suguru geto, it's a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“um, same to you, i guess.” you're not quite sure what to do with the information that gojo's been talking about you to other people. you can't imagine he's said anything good.

so after reader and suguru introduce themselves to one another they either have a short convo where suguru roasts gojo (as is his right) or gojo interrupts before he can and they eat the sushi that gojo made suguru pick up (the sushi place is actually a small little shop, not anywhere really fancy, which reader notices immediately— maybe it’s somewhere gojo dragged reader to previously, but he’s a regular so they gave him extras lmao). 

gojo doesn’t actually eat though, because he’s too busy extracting reader’s hard drive from their laptop and when reader mentions he’s not eating, gojo tells reader they can hand feed them. reader refuses. lmaooo. it doesn’t take super long for gojo to complete the surgery and when he’s done he drags reader to his massive computer set up and plugs the hard drive (which has been converted into an external hard drive and it works!! and—

you hold your breath as gojo mouses over to the file folders to open the hard drive. as he does, some measure of relief eases into you as you see the familiar names of your folders and documents. 

but you can't breathe easy just yet. "which one is it?" gojo asks. "this one?" he hovers over a file that has the class name along with the words 'group project.' you nod and he opens it.  ordinarily, you'd be a little defensive about letting gojo see your project, but given the circumstances, you don't think you can afford to be. he scrolls down to the bottom and you can tell that the file isn't exactly up to date. it's missing about a page's worth of information you'd typed up.  but that's probably about fifteen minutes of work at most, much better than what you'd thought you'd lost.  the relief consumes you completely and before you can even really realize what you're doing, you're throwing your arms around gojo's shoulders wrapping him into hug. "oh thank god..." you murmur into the fabric of his shirt.   "...didn't think you thought that highly of me," he murmurs with a chuckle. immediately, you jump back. embarrassed, you clear your throat. "i don't, but you can have a pass this time around." "no, no i think you should keep showering me with praise." you roll your eyes and gojo rises from his chair, stretching. then he turns to you, with a familiar grin that makes your stomach do a flip. you don't think you're going to like what he has to say next. "so, what now?" you blink. oh maybe that wasn't so bad. "your laptop's shot, y'know." right. you grimace. you still have to finish your project. and you need a computer to do that. unfortunately, you don't own a desktop and you don't exactly have the cash to drop on a new laptop. "um, well..." you could use the computers at the school library, but it's way too late to go there now. "if you ask nicely, i'll lend you one of my laptops." "no thanks," you answer automatically. 'one of his laptops?' must be nice being rich. why would he need more than one anyway? "...i can just go to a net cafe." "a net cafe?" gojo exclaims in disbelief. "yeah, they're open all night and if i need to sleep there i can." he grimaces. "no, absolutely not." "it's not your choice," you say flatly. "i mean, wouldn't it be easier... and cheaper to just take one of my laptops?" he's got a point, but. "it's fine, you've helped me enough. i'd feel bad if something happened to one of your laptops." you doubt your luck is that bad. it's not like gojo couldn't replace it in a blink in an eye, but still. "then i can just give it to you, problem solved.' you almost choke. "absolutely not!" 

after some back and forth, gojo (with suguru’s help) convinces reader to not go to the net cafe, but reader refuses to take home one of gojo’s laptops sO THEY END UP sitting at the coffee table in his living room to work on their project. to reader’s surprise, he actually lets them work in peace (instead he annoys suguru). though at some point reader dozes off and when they wake up… they are in gojo’s bed. they freak out but it’s only them in the bed and when they leave the bedroom they find gojo snoring on the couch. Suguru, who also stayed the night, and is awake making coffee tells them that gojo carried to them to the bed and decided to sleep on the couch (suguru also slept on the couch it’s a big couch). he makes some kinda cryptic comment before he leaves and reader is just like ????? but shrugs it off as gojo’s bestie also being a weirdo and they try to thank gojo by making him breakfast but the freak doesn’t actually have anything to make breakfast with it so they just work on their project til he wakes up. 

when he does wake up reader does mention wanting to thank him by making him breakfast and he gets stupid excited and tries to drag reader off to the store to get stuff but reader is in the middle of some project stuff and, without thinking tells him to take an iou. and he gets weirdly serious about it, asking if they’ll really do it later and, reader’s like ‘um yes? why are you getting weird about this?’ and he just gives some non answer and doesn’t say THAT HE WANTS READER TO MAKE HIM BREAKFAST because like atp he is very down bad about reader (he and suguru actually were talking about this when reader was working on the project the night before). 

anyway, project presentation time and reader is a bit nervous and so is the rest of the group, but reader is confident that they will do well. and everyone in the group is like yeah, and then uh, gojo’s group waltzes in, oozing confidence and gojo is fucking dressed to the nines, in a suit and tie and his hair styled and reader’s like ‘fuck he’s hot wait what.’ and he comes over and and in his attempt at a rizzed up moment wishes reader’s group luck. one of the girls in reader’s group makes a super funny comment and reader is like ‘shut up.’

both groups do well and after the presentations are done, gojo drags his group and reader’s group to yakiniku or something that’s on him and everyone goes and. everyone but gojo and reader get drunk and gojo and they talk about the project and they both concede that the other did good and they actually aren’t sure who won. 

turns out they both scored the same lmao. so no one wins. reader takes it as a loss but gojo is pretty pleased and suggests that since it was a tie he’ll do something that reader wants if reader is willing to do something he wants and reader is just like ‘ugh fine whatever.’ so gojo asks what they want first and reader’s just like ‘i don’t really want anything i just wanted to beat you once.’ and gojo’s like ‘oh well… i’ll take an iou on a favor then’ and reader’s like ‘okay fine so what do you want?’

"well," gojo drawls, thoughtfully. "i gave it a lot of thought and at first i was thinking i'd ask for us to call it a truce and just be friends. but that's kinda boring, don't you think?" boring isn't quite how you'd put it.  "so i was thinking that instead, you could go on a date with me instead," he proclaims with a big grin. "that's fair don't you think?"

your eyes nearly pop out of your head. a date? he can't be serious.

"i'd pay for everything still, of course, can't risk the date going badly, you know." you scowl. "are you saying that i'd screw up a date just because i can't afford to go whatever fancy restaurants a rich guy like you is accustomed to?" he shoots you a mischevious grin. "well, no i didn't quite say that... but if you'd like to prove me wrong..." "fine!" you hiss. "i'll show you! it'd be the best date you've ever been on!" his smile eases into something, a little more gentle, a little more fond. "i'd love to see you try." 

(spoiler alert: he didn't want the date to go badly because he wants to actually date you but you'll find that out soon enough lmao).

[fandomxo00]

X-Men: First Class rewrite - Part 2 -Erik Lehnsherr, Magento

PLEASE GO READ MY PINNED POST!

warnings; Violence, erik angsty

word count: 866 words

pairings: Erik x Nadine!OC

You were the daughter of a human and a Quareen creature. There was no love in the relationship and from a young age he left you and your mother alone. Your mother worked very hard and had so much determination to create a good life for you. Your powers came to you when you were nine years old. It was after a gym class where a boy had kicked a ball to the back of your head. It hurt a bit and you went to the nurse's office to get an ice pack. Later that day, your head began to hurt terribly, you were sensitive to sound, light and movement.  Then you started hearing all the voices and you started seeing their nightmares. You would wake up in the middle of night, your dream about your classmate being hunted. 

Then one year you showed your true Quareen form. You remember growing severely embarrassed by a child that you had grown feverish. Then you transformed into fiery dangerous natural figure of a Quareen. Your mother had pulled you from the school and you started going to school at the local church. She had been very strict about hiding your powers and wanting you to act normal. Then one day she had made you angry and you lit the house on fire, killing your mother in the process. 

When you met Erik it was a busy day in the office you worked at. You were a personal assistant always ridiculed and never thanked. ERik had noticed something different about you. You had come into the room, a fresh cup of coffee for your boss, the man had the audacity to spill the drink over your white blouse, embarrassing you. The coffee didn't burn your skin because you ran hot but your bra showed through the material of your shirt. 

Erik had been the one to make the man shut up, you quickly learned that Erik was coming after your boss to kill him. You hadn't stopped him and even showed him your powers. He had a fascination with you, the way you would focus on your victim, their heart beginning to face, sweat beaded on their forehead, their body trembled in fear. Erik had been turned on by your power, your victim fell to their knees, their hand clutching at his chest as his life was taken away from him. 

He had immediately asked you out for a drink where you shared your secrets and revealed your past. In the short time you felt as though you could trust him, and he decided to never take that for granted. 

The two of you were on a mission, you were in a fitting gray dress. Erik had worn a crisp gray suit, purple highlighted in his tie and handkerchief. To combat the cold, you wore a matching purple coat while he opted for a gray Hench coat and hat. Erik was there to present something valuable to the man, he would hopefully want this item and Erik will be able to gain information. He had sat the briefcase on the desk before opening it to reveal blocks of Nazi gold. 

"Possession of that gold is illegal. I should inform the police." The man started, though Erik was hardly phased as he blinked at the man. 

"Let's not play this game." Erik suggested. 

"Where did you get it?" 

"A friend. He recommended your bank most highly." 

"I see. Do you know our terms, sir?" 

"Yes, and you should know mine." Erik smiled at the man before reaching forward to look at the pictures on his desk. He sets them down, his face growing serious. "This is blood money, and you are going to help me find the bastards responsible for this." he paused, staring up at the man, you redirected your eyes to see Erik holding back the man from pressing what you assumed was a panic button. Erik clicked his tongue, shaking his index finger at the man. 

"Now you are going to hit yourself." You spoke in the man's mind as his hand went flying up to hit himself in the face. 

"Don't touch that alarm." Erik warned, as he stood from his chair and rounded the desk. "I want Schmidt. Klaus Schmidt." Erik hit at the man's chest. "Where is he??"

"Our clients don't prove addresses. We're not-." He started before Erik lurched forward. 

"Not that sort of bank, huh?" Erik's hand came up to the man's face, two fingers pinching together as the man began groaning in pain. "Metal fillings, eh?" he mocked, as he continued to pull with his magnetic force. "Not gold. Worried someone might steal them?"

"Argentina! Schimdt is in Argentina!" The man yelled. "Villa Gesel! Please!" Erik pulled harder, one of the metal fillings flinging to his hand. The man's hand came up to grasp his mouth. You moved forward as Erik said, "Thank you."

"I would love to kill you." Erik remarked. "So, mark my words. If you harm anyone, I'm coming...we will find you." He moved away from the man as you stepped closer.

You dipped your chin, connecting into the man's mind, "You will never speak of this, but you will never forget."

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Sorry to give more attention to something that sucks, but I figure I'm not the only one who'd rather know than not know about a comedian I like in a case like this - remember last year, when Richard Ayoade gave that supportive quote on the cover of Graham Linehan's book? And it was disappointing, I figured that even if it's what I assume happens regularly with books like this, where they'll just get whatever famous friends they have to give some positive quote for the cover, even if those friends haven't read the book - even if it was that, that still sucks on Richard Ayoade's part, if he signed off on that for a book like this. But hey, maybe he just doesn't follow the news of which old colleagues of his have lost their minds on social media, maybe he didn't think that much about it, maybe he didn't even know what the book was about, maybe he didn't even write that quote himself. Still sucks, but doesn't necessarily mean all that much.

I fortunately wasn't a sufficiently invested fan of Richard Ayoade to be hugely upset about it. I mean, I wasn't happy. I find him very funny on panel shows and I think Garth Marenghi's Darkplace was a masterpiece. I am, however, sort of pleased that the fact that Richard Ayoade sucks now makes it more acceptable for me to say I've always found The IT Crowd overrated. Also, while he can be very very funny when he's good, his persona does get grating after a while (especially given that... look, if he's going to express support for a man who's so against people changing their outer markers to affect how they're perceived, it's worth noting that it's not his real voice). It annoys me that the running joke on Catsdown is how he's so good at it because he's such a nerd, and they keep doing that joke even though he does badly in all the games. He's not really that smart, he just puts on glasses and a nasal voice and identifies as a nerd. He often doesn't even seem like his heart is really in the persona, I think he just played one nerd in 2006 and then got typecast and stuck doing it forever. Garth Marenghi was still a masterpiece though.

Anyway, I've just been pointed to an episode of Gyles Brandreth's podcast from a few weeks ago, where Richard Ayoade featured as a guest and discussed Linehan. I listened to the relevant passage and can confirm that he did know what he was talking about when he gave that quote for the book, he talks about how Graham Linehan has been doing good work and treated unfairly, and has been accused of transphobia but really it's about women's rights. Thought I'd share that for the information of anyone who likes Richard Ayoade and, like me, would rather know that not know if a comedian we like is saying stuff like that. Sorry again for giving it more attention. I briefly considered posting the clip, but I don't think I need to spread the actual audio around - if you, like me, like to hear things from the actual source rather than relying on out-of-context secondhand accounts, you can hear it yourself on the Ayoade episode of the Rosebud podcast. But I don't really recommend doing that.

I'd love to say I'm not too upset by the Ayoade news because I don't do that kind of parasocial putting celebrities on pedestals, to the point where I'd be upset about them turning out to be bad. But that's not true, there are plenty of comedians to whom I have some scraps of faith in humanity tied, and those rare scraps would disappear if my favourite comedians came out in support of Graham Linehan. Richard Ayoade's just not one of them. It was Matthew Holness who made Garth Marenghi so great anyway. And he did a far better job in one scene than Richard Ayoade did in four seasons, of playing a nerd in an 00s sitcom that was created by a guy who's now an awful transphobe. Even in a niche as small as that, Richard Ayoade doesn't win.

In order to make this post not 100% about terrible people being terrible, I'm going to take this somewhat tenuous excuse to talk about Richard Ayoade's best friend from Cambridge, who is far better than Richard. A couple of years ago, I went to make one of my little Bugle compilations, it got out of hand as I kept adding stuff to it, and I accidentally made a feature film. I entitled it A Groundhog Day of Hatred, as it chronicled the saga of John Oliver vs. Sarah Palin, every time their careers regrettably crossed paths. In September 2023, I updated that film with a few further bits, and released a second edition, which runs at 78 minutes. It's too many minutes.

To accompany the second edition, I thought it would be funny to create a movie poster. I got one quote from the excellent @lastweeksshirttonight, but thought it needed another quote, as all good promotional images are accompanied by quotes of famous people talking up the work. I realized that actually, John Oliver's old friend/Footlights teammate had recently given one of those promotional quotes that, by coincidence, would work just as well to describe my movie as it did to describe the work that that quote was originally used to promote. In fact, it would work even better. Because the story of John Oliver trying to cover Sarah Palin's political career really is the tale of a hero's harrowing journey, unlike Linehan's shit book.

So basically, if you find Richard Ayoade's political views disappointing, you can just look at that quote he gave Graham Linehan's book, and imagine he was instead describing this:

[happypot0001]

Hello everyone!!

So Art Fight has now ended...huh?? Gosh...I've only been posting stuff BECAUSE of Art Fight!! I'm really grateful I was able to find it. I wish that I could do more to support the team that's helping bring together thousands of artists but I can't really so i'm just going to talk about it reeeeallly quick!

To start off...I really wanted to make this post in order to thank the people who took the time and went through the trouble to draw my character!! I would like to thank these three people: @just-a-carrot 🥕, @sailingseals ⛵, and @boxxie-does-art 📦!!! All such amazing people that I find very admirable and take inspiration from almost everything they create!! 🥕 is the creator of a WONDERFUL game called "Our Wonderland"! Not only did they write and code the game...they also drew all the artwork for the game as well!!! And the game was PHENOMENAL!! You probably found this blog only because of the OW stuff...but I still like talking about it anyways!!!

The game includes such interesting and "real" characters that almost everyone could be able to relate to! The game has this special skill to make people so attached to these characters so that when they reach their demise...the players deep connection that resonated with them would quickly shatter. I'll try not to include spoilers in here in case anyone else feels that they want to try out the game as well!!!! (If you haven't played, then I highly recommend it!!!) Not to mention the community!! The people all affiliated with OW are sooooo accepting, never have I once heard a TRULY terrible thing come out of their mouths! I'm glad there's not a HUGE range of people here...it makes it much more easier to connect with other people who enjoy the game much like myself!! That's something that I truly don't regret from OW, all of the people it introduced me to!! Now...speaking of that...allow me to move to the next person...⛵!!!!!

Ohhh wooowww....⛵!!!! Gosh I really love the stuff they do!! They have such funny and creative ideas in their head and it’s very inspiring...especially because they seem close to my age!!! Their artstyle is very cute and pretty, I LOVE looking at anything they create! They don’t use anything fancy but they still have the ability to produce something FLAWLESS in literal minutes!! They’re also just very kind people, we’ve been talking with each other on discord and that’s where I can see how their humor expands to just simply talking with their friends! Whenever I’m around them I feel so open and can so easily talk to them about how I feel! I could never talk to them the ways that I have with my IRL friends! I’m so glad to have someone like that by my side! It’s been amazing having their company! Especially because we also make stories together as well! Oh we’ve made a good few stories together as friends and it’s been an awesome experience! Seeing a master creator with their mind at work! They come up with FANTASTIC ideas that make me sick…in a good way!! Ever since we’ve been friends…I’ve gotten to know a LOT MORE about their stories along with their characters! And HOW THEY HAVE CAPTIVATED ME AND STOLE MY HEART!!! I’m so serious when I say they’re the only things I want to draw now!!! ⛵️ has 5 main characters split into three separate stories…and EACH ONE OF THEM IS SOO CREATIVE AND UNIQUE!!!!! I don’t want to leak any spoilers about their stories, especially because I’m gonna guess they’re planning on posting anyways! IF THEY DO THEN BE PREPARED FOR GREATNESS HAHAH!! At this point it may sound like I’m a person who’s simply just easy to please but REALLY!! I ADORE THESE PEOPLE AND THEIR CHARACTERS SOOO MUCH! ⛵️ is so inspiring and the fact that I can call such an inspiring person that I look up to a companion of mine?? IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY!! I APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE CONVERSATION WE HAVE AND I HOPE THEIR ARE MORE AWAITING IN THE FUTURE!!!! I WISH TO LEARN AND BE AS TALENTED AS YOU ARE SOMEDAY!!!! I CAN ONLY WISH!!!!! YOURE SO AMAZING I LOVE EVERYTHING YOU DO!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! SO SO SO GLAD WE’RE FRIENDS!!!!! Hehehe WOOOOOO now I MUST move on to the next person…📦!!!!

📦!!!! Another friend that I find so inspiring!!! Ooohhh the way the color is one thing that I LOVE about their style!!! I like that they know what colors mix with others to properly get what color they desire…that’s a very important trait in an artist!!!! It’s so unique and it’s something that could never be possible for me in a LIFETIME! Just their style itself!!!! It’s pleasing to the eye but it’s also something that I can find from a mile away!!!! It’s very unique and not very easy to copy!! Also, the amount of effort and determination they put into everything is very inspiring!! Recently, 📦 had asked 🥕 if I was okay for them to make a mod using their characters. They mentioned in that ask that they were working with two friends to make the mod…THATS ME AND ⛵️!!!!! WE’RE THE TWO FRIENDS!!!! (they said “amazing friends” in their ask thank you so much 📦!!!! 🥹🥹) Haha but it was 📦 themselves who proposed the idea!!! At first it would seem like a simple thought, one that would be too complicated to actually produce…but with 📦 presenting ideas to us and really getting us hyped up for the project…it can really make a person compelled to work harder!!!! Also they’re making a whole WEBTOON as well???? That’s a lot of effort and dedication for a person to have!!!! It’s nice seeing a person willing to work hard on these projects!!!! It really gets me to take the project seriously and do more work than I would’ve done if I hadn’t seen the effort that my friends want to put into this project!!!! It’s also just very easy to talk to them as well!!!! The both of my friends! I can say what I’m thinking and they’ll respond with only kindness!!! They will find a way to help me and make me feel better than I had before!!!! I’m so happy that I’m not ridiculed and afraid to share my thoughts to someone!!! It’s so refreshing, so freeing to have someone like that there for you!!! The both of them provide that comfort for me, so I thank that so much for that!!! OH!!! Also!!!! From what I hear…they use their phone to draw???? With everything they create, that is just amazing!!! That is the work of someone with a TALENT!!!! If anyone follows 📦, they had recently posted an animation about them and a tiny Genzou…THAT WAS WITH THE USE OF A PHONE!!!! 📱 THIS THING!!!! A PHONE!!!! Hehe, I may be over-exaggerating it but I just personally think that’s a feat to be known!!!! Anyone can make wonderful art no matter what you have!!!! You just have to have skill really!!!! But that’s what I’m saying haha!!! 📦 you have a talent which I’m sure you’re already aware of but let me mention it once again!!!! IM SO GLAD TO BE FRIENDS WITH YOU AND ⛵️!!! YOU GUYS ARE SOME OF THE NICEST PEOPLE I’VE MET AND I HOPE I CAN LEARN FROM THE BOTH OF YOU AND LEARN TO BE JUST AS TALENTED!!!! I HOPE FOR OUR FRIENDSHIP TO GROW FOR A LONG TIME!!!!!

Alright…this was a rollercoaster of emotions. If it looks like I wrote more for one person than the other…I apologize!!!! Especially for 📦 and ⛵️!!! I appreciate the both of you equally and I’m glad to have met you guys! Everything I’ve said so far about you is nothing less than the truth!! And to 🥕, if they are somehow seeing this, then I simply have to thank you for the amazing game that you have created!!! I will admire you for a very long time!!! You and your game help me in seeing from a whole new perspective!!! Thank you very much!!! Can never say it enough!! I hope that one day I can be as great as the three of you guys!!! Thank you guys for attacking me on Art Fight once again!! And thank you to Art Fight for giving me a chance to send art to these wonderful people!!! Gosh Art Fight was a blast while it lasted!!! I’m excited for next year…hopefully by then I’ll have more characters for people to draw!!! Also hope that I will have improved drawing myself!!! There was some more stuff I wanted to do in Art Fight but I don’t regret anything I DID do!!! I’m very happy with deciding on joining Art Fight!!! I have one more Art Fight attack for ⛵️ that I haven’t posted yet but I’ll be doing that later!!! Until next time!!!

Lots of love to 🥕, ⛵️, 📦, and anyone else who may be reading!! 💕💕💕

[reiflopa]

letting feelings out on art is called “art therapy” and is recommended by therapists as a wonderful, safer coping mechanism! People take back control of their terrible memories and trauma, but the process is messy and can make people uncomfortable, which is why I assume you made this post because you got TrIgGeReD

you should try talking to a therapist one of these days, I’m sure there’s things like online counseling that you can consider looking into, and it’s free!

also, if fiction affects reality in the way you think it does then shouldn’t we ban all media and fiction? FPS games would cause PTSD, GTA would be banned for glorifying violence and Hetalia wouldn’t even be considered a thing since parodying real world countries is a BAD THING!

Do you know why the fandom really fell off though? Because losers like you waste so much time complaining about total strangers that you can block and ignore, rather than engaging with art of people you like, or creating some yourself! That kills creativity after all, why should people make something if it’s not appreciated?

And also: have you touched grass today? It’s wonderful!

ranting and not even showing a DIGITAL profile that NOBODY knows who you are irl is actually fucking insane 😭🙏 don't even touch grass atp go roll around in a field chronically online boss holy shit . also it you ACTUALLY read my post, I said proshipping is not a healthy coping mechanism, it has to affect reality, if you're going through trauma, please go to a therapist, I actually have family issues, displaying characters getting literally abused and disowned by a parent won't help, it'll only make you feel that it's normal, normalizing causing trauma is ACTUALLY SO BAD?? no I wasn't triggered by "creativity" incest isn't creative, even if they aren't related, I'm ranting about how NORMALIZED THIS IS ON TUMBLR?? honestly if you lock the fuck in Hetalia is a COMEDY , with a mature rating and is PROBABLY a joke, like anime twinks as countries in WAR is an obvious fucking joke you probably can't comprehend, seriously, it's like shipping family guy characters but if the ships were problematic ships if your doing this 😭

[chaotic-guinea-pig]

I love your SOT fic! I was wondering if you have any fave style fic recs? 🙏

AWW THANK YOU! <3 I'm glad you're enjoying my fic! And boy, oh boy, do I have some Style fic recs! I'm not sure if you're looking for a specific flavour (i.e. angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, certain AUs etc) so I'll just recommend you something from multiple categories! I'm happy for you or anyone else to send asks for fic recs for specific flavours, though.

These are just some of the fics that came to mind. Someday, I will make a masterlist of my fic recs. I'm also going to assume you heard of the classics like hollycomb etc so most of these are ones I don't see get talked about as much in the fandom (at least to my knowledge - I don't interact with other style shippers that much ;-;)

Starting with ongoing fics to give my fellow WIP authors some love <3

Alter Ego by butterstotchcandy: Ongoing, but a REALLY GOOD TFBW + COLLEGE AU!! The basic premise is that everyone from South Park lost their memories during some mysterious amnesiac epidemic, and it's up to Kyle - who has recovered memories of his superhero identity and powers - to find the rest of the gang and the culprit. Everyone's characterisations are so well done here. It's the perfect mix between fluff and mystery and I'm so hooked and excited to see the plot unfold + Style's relationship grow! There's also bonus Creek here. :)

War Games by CiceroProFacto: Also ongoing, BUT THIS IS DELICIOUS ANGST. It's a modern world and Stick of Truth swap AU where both of the Kyle's have swapped worlds. Stan and Kyle are also bitter ex-best-friends so this is a must read if enjoy reading messy Style where they hate each other. :) I really love how the author characterises both the modern and Stick of Truth versions of our two boys.

Entries from the Past by ViviBaby69420: Ongoing! Wow, this one blew my mind when I came across it?! It's a really cool take on the Stick of Truth AU where King Kyle and Ranger Stan Marshwalker meet in the forest during the war. The worldbuilding is super detailed. Read this if you're more in the mood for a something reminiscent of classical novels. It's also the best execution of first person POV in all my time of reading fanfics (alongside Strider's Edge from Homestuck)

Mood Ring by HedgehogSquadGoals: Ongoing. Honestly, I'm not sure if the author is still in the fandom as the last update was in 2020, BUT STILL, I'm happy to have read this fic anyway, abandoned or not! <3 It's a very sweet and hilarious romcom of Stan being wildly in love with Kyle, who is so terribly oblivious his affections... and everyone else watches on in pain. The banter between everyone is on point and this is one of the few high school Style fics I adore.

Now for some complete ones:

Supportive Parenting by PervertCinnamonRoll: Complete and short fic in which Randy and Sheila try to get their sons together. :) Both of their characterisations are perfect - the most in-character Randy POV I have ever seen.

Sincerely, your super-best-friend Kyle. by cocoacremeandgays (part of a series called 'Three Sides') Oh god... this one, right here. It destroyed me for days. It is the best portrayal of mental health issues and ah, my heart hurts. :( BE VERY CAREFUL THOUGH if you're triggered by heavy topics. **Read ALL the tags and content warnings in full first, please; this one can be distressing.**

Sleeping Lessons by sleep2thefr33zing: One-shot of Stan struggling to sleep after Kyle gets accepted to Harvard! Very sweet and unique. I adore all of this author's works, actually - one of my inspirations from this fandom.

I Thought Soulmates Were Supposed to Be Easy by Anonymous: My favourite take on Style in the soulmates (name on wrist) trope! It shows a more complicated but 100% realistic side of the soulmates trope.

burning apart by clovariia: One-shot of high school Post-Covid timeline - a very sad one-shot of Stan's life during his teenage years, and Style is absolutely bittersweet :(

Connection Lost by VinnieDakota: Another Post-Covid one shot, but this time before the events of the specials! Kyle gets a drunk call from Stan after decades of not speaking to each other and it goes just as well as you would expect. Damn...

Hope this is a good start! Let me know if you would like other recs. :)

[dragonagitator]

"Songs in the Key of ARRR!!!" Part 1

this stupid little mobile wargame has completely poisoned my brain to the point where I'm making up Weird Al Yankovic style songs about it to sing to myself as i play

Sing along to the karaoke track for Tubthumping by Chumbawumba:

We'll be singing, when we're winning, we'll be singing

My ship gets sunk! But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown

My ship gets sunk! But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown

My ship gets sunk! But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown

My ship gets sunk! But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown

Sailing the night away, sailing the night away...

She drinks an Ordinary Whiskey

She drinks an Ordinary Vodka

She drinks a Premium Wine

She drinks a Regular Beverage

She sings the songs that remind her of the trading

She sings the songs that remind her of the raiding!

Oh, Henry Hell, Henry Hell, Henry Hell...

My ship gets sunk! But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown

My ship gets sunk! But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown

My ship gets sunk! But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown

My ship gets sunk! But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown

Sailing the night away, sailing the night away...

She drinks an Ordinary Whiskey

She drinks an Ordinary Vodka

She drinks a Premium Wine

She drinks a Regular Beverage

She sings the songs that remind her of the trading

She sings the songs that remind her of the raiding!

Don't cry for me, my gang members...

My ship gets sunk! But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown

My ship gets sunk! But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown

My ship gets sunk! But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown

My ship gets sunk! But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown

[instrumental interlude]

My ship gets sunk! (We'll be singing) But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown (When we're winning)

My ship gets sunk! (We'll be singing) But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown (ARRR!)

My ship gets sunk! (We'll be singing) But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown (When we're winning)

My ship gets sunk! (We'll be singing) But I will float again

You ain't never gonna watch me drown (ARRR!)

My ship gets sunk! (We'll be singing) But I will float again (Sailing the night away...)

You ain't never gonna watch me drown (When we're winning)

[repeat and fade at end]

[abstract-moth]

Questions come from here

6 - Which character do you relate to the most?

13 - Are there any themes in Nimona that you especially like?

16 - Do you have any headcanons about how Ballister and Ambrosius met?

19 - How much time do you think passed between the cannon scene and the last scene of the movie?

22 - Do you have any headcanons that you'd like to share?

28 - What other media do you recommend for people who enjoyed Nimona?

44 - Is there anything about the movie that you liked better than the comic?

45 - Is there anything about the comic that you liked better than the movie?

51 - What are your favorite Nimona fanfic tropes to read and/or write?

57 - Have you made any fanworks for Nimona (fanfic, fanart, meta analysis, etc.)? Please self-promote and share your work!

Sorry if that's too many! Skip if you need to, and of course you could always answer more too.

Thank you so much for the ask! I love participating in these games so I appreciate all the questions

6 - Which character do you relate to the most?

In theory, it should be Ballister. He's my favorite character and I relate to being betrayed by loved ones. But in actuality, it is absolutely Ambrosius. The model minority and perfectionism themes just hit a bit too close to home.

13 - Are there any themes in Nimona that you especially like?

I really really liked how the movie approached classism and systematic injustice. These are usually very complex topics, so I was genuinely surprised at how well the managed to portray them.

16 - Do you have any headcanons about how Ballister and Ambrosius met?

My headcanon is that they met very boringly when Ballister joined and was introduced to Ambrosius’ class. This originates from a personal hot take where I think fiction (and thus fandom) puts too much weight on first meetings. Sometimes you meet the love of your life on a random Tuesday and you don't even realize it. There are things to cherish in the mundane, and sometimes you can only truly appreciate it years afterwards.

However, I will say that I think they had a slowburn friendship that gradually built over the years. I also see Ambrosius as the first one to develop a crush. He didn't say anything to Ballister tho, instead waiting for him to realize it on his own. This caused years of pining.

19 - How much time do you think passed between the cannon scene and the last scene of the movie?

It’s hard to say. I would guess anywhere between a month and a year. Todd’s broken arm makes it seem to be about a month. However, the finished infrastructure and increased travel makes me say minimum six months. If I were forced to write a post-cannon scene (heh), I would put it at about 3-4 months in. It gives enough time for the kingdom to recover a bit, but still leaves the politics in a bit of a shaky place, allowing for interesting stories. It also a gives a little time to learn about the outside and just starting to interact with the other civilizations out there.

22 - Do you have any headcanons that you'd like to share?

I mentioned a few previously. I will link a few below bc some people added some interesting discussions in the notes.

The Director intended for Ballister to die in the arena

All the knights are terrible detectives

Ambrosius and Ballister's class were little terrors

The Queen had a child and the Director was acting as regent

28 - What other media do you recommend for people who enjoyed Nimona?

oh dear I am very bad at recommending media.

well first of all, read the comic. It is very good and examines the story and themes in a different way.

also check out ND Stevenson’s other works. She-ra is also a favorite of mine

As another post pointed out, the Broken Earth Trilogy hits similar themes of social injustice, being othered by society, and tearing down broken systems. Fair warning tho, it is very much sadder and more violent.

44 - Is there anything about the movie that you liked better than the comic?

I already mentioned the themes of classism and systematic injustice, so I will add that I think Queen Valerin is awesome. Plus, I find it interesting to analyze her. Was she a perfect paragon who was trying to promote change until the system tore her down? What exactly was the nature of her relationship with Ballister? Did she see him as a son or more like a means to an end? Did she ever try to protect him from the media or better integrate him into the knights?

45 - Is there anything about the comic that you liked better than the movie?

I liked the general vibe of mystery and intrigue, especially around the myth of Gloreth. In the comic everything just feels a lot more mythical, which makes the reader more contemplative.

Not necessarily liked better (bc they are functionally two different tellings), but the dynamic between comic Ballister and Ambrosius is definitely more bitter and angsty. It's a nice contrast to the movie.

51 - What are your favorite Nimona fanfic tropes to read and/or write?

I actually have not read or written a lot of fanfic for the fandom. Though I would absolutely love to see Ballister and Queen Valerin’s relationship explored in more detail. There's the inherit tragedy of that story.

I also like seeing interesting takes on Ballister, Ambrosius, and Nimona's dynamic. The fandom is kinda sold on them being a family, but I think they all have a really complicated and chaotic dynamic with each other. So it's nice to see works that explore how weird they are together (but still nonetheless care about one another).

57 - Have you made any fanworks for Nimona (fanfic, fanart, meta analysis, etc.)? Please self-promote and share your work!

So far I only have this one drabble.

I am also working on a longer one shot. Now that finals are over, I am really excited to start working on it again. I am also thinking of writing another one shot that mirror it thematically

That's all I have for now. Thanks again for the ask!

[fountainpenguin]

I came across your story "Flypaper" about the superhero convention (Fun read! Highly recommend!) and I was just wondering if you had any other interaction headcanons that didn't make the final draft?

Oh thank you... and oh, yes. I didn't include him because I knew no one would know who he is, but I love one special, incredibly charming boy... King Off-Putting himself... Bruno :)

He is so very... uncomfortable to be around.

I had one line referencing Bruno and Danny in "Flypaper" but hhh... Dead Boy Duo, my beloved... I want them to be friends so bad, I want them to be sassy partners in the field, I want this with all my soul. They're brothers in spirit... Their moms have the same voice actor... Please, they would be so funny together.

I know there are oodles of fictional spy agencies in media, but I've always been a Bruno the Kid fan at heart. Ever since I first watched Danny Phantom, I've loved the idea of Globe getting in touch with Danny post-"Phantom Planet" and inviting him into the agency... Sometimes Bruno's villains canonically die instead of going to jail and I think Bruno and Danny would be a silly pair. Two "dead" (they got better!) cartoon boys goofing off and takin' names.

Specifically, Chick E. Love would have a flippin' field day burning holes in the Ghost Zone, unleashing wave after wave of ghosts into the world, and I just really want Bruno to do his "If I ever use a spy gadget the way it's intended I will die" schtick while Danny keeps dumping all the Fenton ghost-hunting gear on him...

I want the sassy boys to drive everyone up the wall. Bruno tolerated being bullied for about 5 seconds and then ruined that kid's life slkdjf. Cheerfully told Cy what he wanted to put on his tombstone. He does not mess around. I want Bruno to straight-up kill a man again and Danny to lose his mind.

Bruno is the boy who ran gleefully towards an electric fence with intent to climb it. He literally targeted HIMSELF with a missile in an attempt to win a chess game. I want the crossover joy of Danny throwing himself at everything that might kill Bruno and Bruno just Does Not Sweat It... Stupid.

[More under the cut]

Anyway yeah I have very normal feelings about "Dead Boy Walking" as an episode. Bruno's enemies pinning him down and injecting a terminal disease in his system... Bruno stumbling around until he hallucinates his best friend giving him self-care advice... Bruno quietly sitting down and staring into the void, separating himself from the ongoing conversation, instead of engaging in his usual banter... Boy crosses Australia on borrowed time, his legs give out beneath him at the worst moment, he's still wheezing about how he's going to do everything in his power to save others, just a little kid lying on the cold floor alone while Sydney gloats that he only has minutes left to live... His enemies making out over his unmoving body... I am so normal about this episode.

I just want Bruno and Danny to be friends :) I think they would vibe with each other even though they'd both want to bonk the other on the head. I so very badly want to see the first moment Danny realizes "Oh... Oh, this guy's, like... serious. He will kill people if I take my eyes off him." sldkfj Bruno's so intense and I love him. Danny is so tired and I love him. I want to see the first moment Bruno blearily wakes up to realize Danny just saved him from a ghost's revenge attack in the middle of the night. I love the Dead Boy Duo.

I only threw one line about these two hanging out in "Flypaper," but in my heart they spent the whole convention together because they're co-workers... they are buddies, your honor.

I do not think WordGirl would like Bruno at all because he comes off as a smarmy, know-it-all creep to those who aren't familiar with his sense of humor... Kid Math should not be left alone with him because he's very impressionable and Bruno is a terrible influence slkjdf.

Here's a little deleted scene I had:

I also had a loose draft for a scene of WordGirl and Super Why getting milkshakes with some other hero friends when Kid Math finds them again. WordGirl greets him like "Oh, how's your day going?" and Kid Math is just... very overwhelmed from his experience of interacting with two fast-paced sassy kids while he's still struggling to grasp the concept of superhero banter. Like. Bruno and Danny would destroy him. Blow his mind. There's no coming back from that.

So yeah, Bruno was definitely at the convention... I just didn't show him apart from that one-liner about him hanging out with Danny. "Flypaper" was really fun to write. I don't plan to do a crossover like this again any time soon, but the convention was a cool setting to explore and I'm glad you enjoyed! <3

One of my favorite stupid jokes in "Flypaper" is that Romeo was being a troublemaker in the daytime and WordGirl asked if he was "even allowed to do that" since he's supposed to be a "nighttime villain" in the PJ Masks lore... But tbh I watched a lot of Romeo clip compilations before this story and ?? apparently it's just a thing that Romeo regularly commits crime during the day and the PJ Masks literally hang back and wait until nightfall before they fight him?? That's SO funny to me.

(I also don't understand when the PJ Masks sleep and if anyone has the answer, please drop it in my inbox because I'd love to know but I also don't want to binge the series over this, ha ha)

I also wanted to make a joke about Alphapig being 5 years younger than the rest of the Super Readers because the amount I lost my mind when I saw that on the [unsourced] Super Why wiki was indescribable. POV: One of your friends is a princess, at least one is in college, and you're starting high school.

(I'm dying at the idea of three 10-year-olds running around Storybrook Village and there's a 5-year-old tagging along with them. The mental image of 7-year-old Whyatt taking a 3 or 4-year-old pig under his wing as his new friend... Such a good boy.)

After Tobey launched Romeo off his robot, I had WordGirl catch him, but I'd originally hoped to have Kick Buttowski catch him because I thought writing cool skateboard rescue mission would be fun. It seemed like it would just be shoving in an extra character who didn't need to be there, though, and it risked dragging down the scene with introductions and descriptions, but in my heart, Kick was at the convention too. Extreme.

I think another of my fave dumb jokes was just... WordGirl approaching the superhero panel she's supposed to speak on, she looks out into the crowd, but then she's like "Oh no the entire Paw Patrol are watching me, this is so much pressure."

Nothing to see here, just Baby Dog Squad taking notes... I still think about that randomly throughout the day and giggle. I love this 'fic.

[dazzlerazz]

Engage: A First Playthrough Review

I responded to an ask with a review about halfway through the game, I decided I might write up a review after my first complete playthrough!

Please note that this is just a review after ONE playthrough; if you read an earlier post of mine about the unique experience of replaying a game (here for those who haven’t or are curious), I plan to at least write another review after a second playthrough My opinions are subject to change, and don’t take this as the one single depiction of what Engage is, c’mon don’t put that responsibility on me bro I’m just a guy on the internet

No then, onto the review! Long post incoming!

CONTAINS SPOILERS (and typos *cries in dyslexic*)

--------

Pre Order

I pre orded the game with dlc, which was 90 usd right off the bat. This hung over my head for all of my first playthrough, probably soured it actually. It was technically a late christmas present from my parents, since they get me a video game every holiday, but 90 bucks just for this? I didn’t like the game at first, I thought I had wasted my parents’ money for a game I probably wasn’t going to get much enjoyment out of, that made me feel guilty

Early Game

Early game, I was quite bored. There was very little to do, not a lot of things to do other than continue with the story. While the story was interesting, I like to take breaks to let the information soak in at times, maybe a preference of mine. The game in its story was fast paced, but everything else was EXTREMELY slow. The grinding, oh GOD the grinding.

The gameplay was tedious at best, monotonous at worst, mutuals or others who have been following my blog for at least a week know I’ve said this a few other times, because it’s exactly the right word I’d use for it. Boring, repetitive, especially with skirmishes

As I climbed through the chapters I had mixed feelings. “Is this all this game is?” “This isn’t worth what was spent on it” “It gets better, maybe. *gets worse*”

Battle

The battle was the worst of it. Over and OVER and OVER and OVER. Walking around the battlefield was fun at first, but it became hard for me specifically because characters don’t speak. It’s probably a me thing, but information sticks with me more if I can hear someone say it, a lot of the post-battle dialogue was lost on me unless I took a screenshot of what my favorite character at the time said

That aside, battle itself wasn’t that bad. It was fun, to an extent.

The trailers mentioned that they recommended using all your units, instead of just deploying your favorites. This was extremely easy early game because all the units were relatively the same level, but things get harder as you go. Some units fall behind, they get replaced by new characters. I quickly replaced Louis with Diamant because Diamant was better leveled than Louis was, and eventually Diamant was replaced with other characters as I went

If you keep a unit out of battle for long enough, they’ll ask you to take them back into battle with 10 bond fragments. But this is extremely difficult late game, characters from Firene you haven’t dragged through everything are severely underleveled. That spot on the map could be used for one of your higher level units. Even if you’re TRYING to get them up the levels by weakening enemies and then letting your low level unit attack them, your higher level units have a strong chance of just defeating the enemy in one or two strikes anyway

It’s EXTREMELY easy to get used to deploying the same team of characters over and over. It takes time to go and redeploy different characters when you could just cut that out entirely by just keeping the same ones. Admittedly maybe this is my fault for not funneling or grinding for them hard enough, but I id tr

Supports and Bonds

Supports weren’t terrible, but they weren’t bad. Could be better, sure, but they do the job. I found them extremely hard to get tho unless you’re handing out gifts like hot cakes, I only have FOUR A supports by the time I finished my first playthrough, a few B’s, a lot of C’s, and then for a lot of the early game characters I didn’t have enough support points to start their chain

You can also gain supports through meals, but I was resistant to really ordering meals early game myself because I didn’t want to waste the leftovers given to me. As I got to the later chapters I got over it for the most part, we’ll see how I do in a second playthrough

Supports were very short, shorter than I expected them to be. Maybe this is a series staple, I myself have only ever played Three Houses & Three Hopes, so this is a spot where I don’t have much knowledge in. I wish they lasted longer, so characters can have deeper conversations, but it’s better than no supports at all

Bonds? I don’t really have much to say here. Short, sweet, to the point! Two dialogue boxes for C + B bonds and 4 for A rank bonds, neat!

I do have one criticism when it comes to bonds/supports:

I do wish the game told you that you had unwatched support/bond conversations, made it more obvious.

I thought supports were just multi-chapter grinding sessions until I realized I had unwatched supports BY ACCIDENT while flipping through menus looking for a specific tutorial for something I needed. It made me very very upset that they just sat there while I was blasting through a few chapters. Luckily I caught it relatively early so they weren’t roadblocked for too long, but after that I’d obsessively check the supports & bonds menus for unwatched conversations, which kind of sucked and was tedious at best

Mechanics and Tutorials

It was hard getting the hang of all the mechanics at first. Some tutorials would show up automatically, others wouldn’t. Early game, I was overwhelmed by the amount of tutorial pop-ups I had to read and everything I had to memorize. I specifically have a hard time with remembering things, especially if they aren’t being spoken, it was a real struggle for me. I mentioned this in one of my earliest posts bout the game, actually. I hope nobody else struggled with this as much as I did

Story

A lot of what I’ve said so far has been nothing but criticisms, it may seem I’m painting the game in a bad light, but when I tell you the story makes up for it, I do mean it

A lot of the story in the first half of the game is quite boring. To be expected, so to say, exactly what the trailers showed it to be. It had its moments, but after chapter 20 was where it REALLY gets good. It flipped my expectations of this game on their head with every single chapter

Do you remember that nightmare we saw early in the game? I was waiting for a majority of the first half of the game for that to come back, to become something we’d see every so often. Another nightmare here, a snippet of a memory there. I was really angry when it didn’t come back but knew there would be some kind of payoff by the end of the game. Minor criticism

For chapters 20+, it was a whirlwind. Beautiful, amazing even. I’d be lying if I said these chapters hadn’t moved me to tears not once, but multiple times

Griss was so much fun! One of the best characters I’d argue. I liked Griss specifically because his ambitions weren’t tainted by something that seemed right, like a doing a wrong thing for the right reason story, Griss just wanted to belong. His trauma wasn’t connected to his love for pain and punishment, something that I really appreciated. His want for a family and somewhere to belong and his love for pain go hand in hand but are not directly caused by one another, I really liked it. Story-wise it was definitely better that he died by Zephia’s side, but somewhere deep inside me I kind of wish he was a recruitable character just so I could get to know him more

Zephia? I liked her design, her role in the story, I liked everything she did till the end. Zephia’s main motivation for being evil was... wanting a child. I wasn’t sure I was a fan of this, why couldn’t she just be evil just for the sake of being evil? She sort of had this motivation, before she and Sombron had that conversation about children during the sequence of the game that takes place in the past. I personally would have chosen a different motivation other than Mama Syndrome for this important a villain, but the story and the dialogue was written well subjectively, even if I don’t like it all that much. It was good to know she realized she did have a family at the very end, a wholesome ending for her

Marni was a good villain, and an even greater ally. Even if she never officially joined the team as far as the game back end is concerned, it would have been nice to have her. At the very end, she realized her wrongs, and she fought for what she thought was right. Without Marni, Veyle probably would have taken a while longer to break free maybe, but there’s also a case to say that Marni’s one action sent the entire last few chapters of the game in motion. Dying to stab, however? Just a stab? Maybe I would have had that stab tainted with a fast-acting poison where there was no cure, have Zephia mentioned it. We as players beat her up constantly, it feels cheap that she went down because o a single STAB

Mauvier? I can appreciate his religious clashes with the rest of the group after being recruited. As far as I know right now - I wasn’t able to get to know him too well because he was a late game recruit - he continues to worship Sombron and is only in the Divine Dragon’s army because of Veylve. It reminds me of that one post that goes “yeah the bad guy still sucks but he’s on our side now”. That of course doesn’t do Mauvier justice however; his supports, his conversations, and his ending illustrates that he WANTS to atone for everything he’s done, he WANTS to make things right. He’s not inherently evil, wasn’t even to begin with, never was and never would have been

Lumera? Chefs kiss. Mwah. Her use late game, it was beautiful, amazing, one of my absolute favorite parts of the game. Alear having to face down even their own mother to save the world, even through the tears they persisted. Someone so close to our protagonist, used against them. She was actually a fun boss fight. I may or may not have cried while she was dissolving too. The use of a pinky promise to show how close they were, mentioned only a few times, intentional but not beaten over our heads. It broke my little heart, I can’t want to watch it all over again and shed more tears for them

Ending

I enjoyed the ending, it unironically made me cry. The last few chapters of the game brought me so much joy and the ending was extremely satisfying. When the emblems started to disappear, I could not hold back my tears. I wasn’t sobbing, but I definitely wasn’t NOT crying, ya know?

I definitely enjoyed Sombron as a villain. Of course that doesn’t mean I justify or condone all he did; I appreciate the role he played in the story. Doing whatever he could to find Zero Emblem again, even if just for a moment he could see them again. Ripping into other worlds to find them, and eventually being able to summon them at the very end. Wanting someone he spent so much time with, to see how far he’s come? I like his story

Emblems?

Not much I really say here about the emblems, seeing as I only played Three Houses and Three Hopes. The only emblems from that time are Byleth, base game ring, and the Houses bracelet from dlc which isn’t directly canon as far as I know. But what I can say about Byleth is that he was done right. With the beautiful emblem paralogues, it makes me want to get into the older games. Thinking about long-time fans seeing their favorite characters come back and seeing all these references to older games and/or their choices in those games, it must be amazing for them

I for one have gotten really attached to Lyn and Celica, I intend to do some more research into their appearances in their original games

Final Thoughts

Engage really made me want to love everything that came before, especially since I’m a newer fan compared to other parts of the fandom. I think that was Engage’s intention, to appeal both to new players and old fans alike. It definitely did that, 100 percent

In the last chapter, Sombron mentioned that other worlds had other emblems, and his Zero Emblem was from his home world. I’m curious what these other Emblems are, what these other worlds are, a whole universe outside of the world of Elyos. I play a lot of dnd and open-world games with lots of lore, I’m really interested in the world building

Overall

Engage was a story that far surpassed my expectations, it was a joy to play. All my negative thoughts about the story itself were blasted after the end, my thoughts were shaky at first but I actually love this game. I know the second playthrough is going to be a trillion times more fun

However there’s no ng+, which is understandable considering ng+ wasn’t a thing for the older games, but I myself was kinda hoping to blast through the early game with ng+ because I struggled with it so hard. But now being better at the mechanics, I am eager to see what a second playthrough has in store for me

Thanks for the read!

I know it was a very long post lol

Mostly I hope a friend of mine reads this, he’s been on this ride with my insane ramblings. Maybe this will put it all into perspective for him in a calmer manner lmao (he didn’t buy the game and has no intentions to)

[pepperf]

For the fic asks: 1, 4 for your Community/Stargate crossover and/or your t100/Stargate crossover, 5 for your Lila/Rincón fic, and (even though I think I know the answer to this one) 28 in honor of your awesome post about beta readers. 😁

1: What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

Oh god…well, okay: for Stargate, I would say the original storage closet fic, Out Go The Lights, in which I managed some Sam/Jack angst, a lot of romance, some bickering with Daniel for good measure. And the sequel, Actions Speak Louder, because that's Jack POV and he was always my favourite to write, and I still think it's hilarious.

For Community, I might send people to When A Resistible Force Meets A Movable Object, which is a) one of my favourite fic titles that I've come up with (at least partly bc it's all my own work and NOT a song lyric for once), and b) a pretty good summation of what I wrote for Community, namely lots and lots of scenes of Jeff and Annie kissing and being neurotic, along with some messing with the order so it's not a linear story, because Community was great for doing some more out-there stuff.

And for Umbrella Academy, I'd say the Walmart Batman series (Wicked Games / My Girl Is A Heartbreak / Aren't We A Pair?). Because that's like, your basic AU, right? Canon divergence, Diego and Lila bouncing around Dallas in 1963, being knockoff Batman and Catwoman and enjoying their exciting little rivalry…and then I did some sexy whump of Diego, and some hurt/comfort, some more mild relationship turmoil and budget superheroing, and then, as has become fairly typical of my writing of these two, vaguely kinky sexytimes. All that, and a cuddly toy. XD

4: What detail in Tentacle Creatures From Another Dimension are you really proud of?

I picked the Community/Stargate crossover, because I love that one! I was particularly please with the order that they start seeing the alien bugs – Pierce from the day before, he's just seeing bugs and has come to school anyhow because he doesn't give a flying fuck; then Britta, because she's a flake and has canonically turned up to college high on peyote at least once, so no one believes her; then Jeff, who categorically refuses to admit that he's seeing anything until he absolutely has to; then Abed, at which point it becomes a credible threat bc he's the most factual; then Shirley and Annie bc Abed decided to use them as his test subjects, without their knowledge; and lastly Troy bc he didn't want to miss out!

5: What do you wish someone would ask you about Shelter from the Storm? Answer it now!

Oh crivens…okay, I'd love to talk more about some of the details of Rincón's background, because I did SO MUCH research, you guyz. So like – that was the name they gave him in the movie, and generally it's a surname rather than a first name, so I went with that idea – and the gang he's in (the real-life Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13) is Salvadoran, so I decided his family were from there. And I read up about the history of the gang, and how it actually evolved in LA in the 80s (stellar work, Regan), initially to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs before becoming a more regular criminal enterprise. Then in the 90s, when gang members were being deported to El Salvador, they took the opportunity given by the country's shaky state (just coming to the end of a 12-year civil war) to infiltrate and establish themselves.

And I thought how easy it must have been—between government death squads taking out guerrillas and anyone suspected of supporting them, and then the gangs moving in and starting up industrial-strength criminal activity—for ordinary families to just fall between the wheels of one or the other. And just…the fucking tragedy of it, and the inescapability, when it's your home—how many people must have been affected so terribly in one way or another, not because they've chosen it but simply because the fight is happening all around them. And this is how you end up with young people joining gangs, because these situations offer them no good choices, and at least that's the one with familiar faces, right?

I also found a sweet little town, in the back end of beyond, and had a virtual walk through the streets thanks to Google Earth, and came across a little gallery called El Rincón del Arte (The Art Corner), and thought, you know, if my family name was Rincón, I might use that as a pun if I was setting up a business. :)

28: Does anyone read your fics before you post them? If so, who?

XD Well if you don't know this, I don't know who would! Yes, for the last, oh gosh…since whenever you started beta-reading my Community fic, which was pretty early on? I've almost always had someone read them first – you for the Community and Stargate fics, and then Lochrann as well, for the Umbrella Academy ones. And it is the BEST. Not just for the feedback and corrections – which are always appreciated, of course! – but because it's so great to have those detailed conversations about a story, I love the collaborative feel of it, it gives so much more depth to a story when it's not just coming from me, but from someone else feeding ideas into it, or pushing me to think more about some aspect or other, or just being as enthusiastic as I am about a ship, and helping me to keep that energy going to get it done. It's no coincidence that my most productive fandoms (Stargate, Community, Umbrella Academy) are all once where I've had the joy of doing that.

Thank you!!!

questions here