#if only there wasnt the end of the world and i could have explored that more grrrrr

[pontsalin]

PLEASE TALK ABOUT YOUR MAGIC HCS FOR EMPIRES I AM LOOKING AT YOU WITH BIG OLD EYES RN I GOTTA KNOW THE LORE 👀👀👀

Buckle up! All start with the difference between a wizard and a witch from season 1.

Wizards:

To become a wizard, one must study rigorously for many years in a school. The rules are numerous and strict. There are many types of magic that are forbidden on the behalf of the wizard council, but to be a wizard is to be respected by many.

The wand is given once a wizard is deemed good enough to own one, and the pointy hat is given at a certain level of study.

They study magic and science not to understand the world better, but to harvest it more efficiently.

This tenacity is what led the newly founded empire of the Grimland to turn down magic and focus on technology to harvest nature (following the headcanon that fWhip was raised to be a wizard as well, failed the exams, and went to the Grimlands, quickly climbing the ranks to become the Count)

Witches:

Witches need no school; Magic and rituals are taught by families and elders and stay secretive from other empires.

Anyone could be a witch, just knowing basic spell or sigil making, and you could call yourself a witch. They follow the order of the moon and tides, making rituals and spells according to nature. What they take from nature, they must give back.

They’re very family based, and rituals are often do in groups, if not involving the whole village. The only rule is to not use magic to cause harm.

Witches are usually more about protection spells, wards and talismans, but the few witches that used their power for evil has stained their reputation to be all wicked.

After the incident of the cods and salmons, witches of the swamp took the blame for the mass destruction that led to their near extinction.

Fear grew, and the few witches remaining decided to create a council and an academy, making rules to avoid making the same mistakes again. Over the years, the number of magic users has decreased, and fear of magic has risen. Witches are still blamed and feared after all these years, and any witches breaking the now strict rules will be banished.

#in short: the end of the world is blamed on witches and thats why they have now academies <3 #im making the wizards a bit more... capitalistic #lets say that #i had this whole discussion between gem and jimmy in my head at one point #they both have very different views of magic and its usage #gem is very wary of witches as she was taught they were bad #if only there wasnt the end of the world and i could have explored that more grrrrr #but yeah! i managed to tie up my hcs for s1 to s2 #it should still work with shubble's lore #really hope i can do a few comics of s1 jimmy in s2.. #answered #anon #sol mumbles #sol thinks #empires smp #solart

[yoonzinuhh]

whatever you want— mingyu

𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 : reader x mingyu

𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲 : smut. fluff. comfort.

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 : SMUT. MINORS DNI !! curse words. unprotected sex. reader has vagina. please let me know if i have missed something. (english isn’t my first language so if there’s any mistake kindly do ignore :)

𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 : this is purely fiction. i have no intentions in sexualising any idol and have great respect for them as an artist. these are for entertainment purpose only.

-10:54 p.m

mingyu’s pov:

it’s almost the day..the day i was brought into the world yet the same day i hate with my entire being..the day i wish i could erase

birthdays are special to many and sadly mingyu wasnt one.

lost in thoughts i almost miss my door bell ringing..seeing the clock say 10:54,wondering who it could be i open the door only to see my favourite person ever,my best friend or more,my safe place,my y/n.

“Hey gyu” she whispers as i let her get in. we spend most of our time together. she’s calm,unlike me..like a quiet breeze on a heavy evening,existence almost not seen yet bringing so much love and joy. she knows i hate my birthday and never insists me to celebrate it.

“Should we watch something?” she says,plopping on my couch,like its her home..i wish it is.

oh how could i tell no..i’m so in love with her. so much,just for her.

general pov:

with a sigh you pass the remote to mingyu letting him decide what to watch knowing very well he’s about to watch the same show every time. you dont mind because you know you’ll be drowsing off in few minutes. and you do.

11:54 p.m

you stretch a little,you eyes waking up to no one,mingyu isn’t beside you. you look at the time,walking around to find him.

seeing a broad shoulder peeking out at the balcony and you swear you heard a sniffle.

you know why,you know him all,all his secrets. noticing your reflection on the glass he turns quick trying to hide his tears.

“you’re up sleepyhead..thats so unlikel-“

you hug him,the tightest,like the world is ending the next minute. you know your bestfriend. he doesnt talk about what bothers him. well how can he when all he does is give,give and give. inspite of your cold response to everything he does,not because you want to but thats how you are,he never stops giving you more because he knows you care,you love.

“You can cry..your secrets are always safe with me..you know..” you whisper against his shoulder.

there is silence which is then followed by wetness on your neck crook. oh it breaks your heart. you pillar crying against you and you are grateful that he trusts you enough to show his weakest parts,just like you do.

patting his back,ruffling his hair you stay quiet. you know thats what he wants.

he slightly pulls away looking at the ground while you search for his eyes,blood shot,nose pink. your heart aches physically as you hold his face. you want to wish him for his birthday but you know he hates it.

“thanks for being born gyu..” thats all you say,just like always,short and whats needed.

he stares into your eyes slowing leaning onto your lips then pulling back immediately.

“I-I’m so sorry I don’t know w-wh-“

you close the space with him up by a kiss. a very soft,delicate and comforting kiss. he snakes his hands on your waist pulling you closer,making the kiss deeper. you don’t complain.

the kiss grows more passionate and desperate. you hugging his neck while he slides his tongue onto your mouth,exploring it. he pulls away a bit

“Please tell me to stop..please”

you don’t. you just kiss him again as you both move to the counter and he makes you sit on it.

His plumpy lips all swollen because of your longest kiss,his face shining under the moonlight. you start kissing again.

“Gyu..please”

He slowly puts his hand onto your waist band,making his way to your core,already wet. he groans at the feeling.

Putting two fingers inside,making sure you’re okay to continue,he slowly rubs your clit with his thumb,making circles to relax you while his two fingers inside pump in and out of your hole.

“Oh god- fuck” you moan out as he fastens his pace.

An unfamiliar knot on your stomach,you almost sob onto his shoulder,hiding yourself as you cum. Eyes fluttering at the euphoric feeling,tiredly you put your hands onto his pants elastic.

His eyes widens

“Are you sure about this y/n..?”

You nod as he takes you to the couch,putting you under him as you remove your pants then your panties while he works on removing your shirt.

“So fucking beautiful..oh god”

Flushed cheeks,fully naked with your legs wide apart for your bestfriend. This was the last thing you expected on his birthday.

“Tell me if you want me to stop..or if you want more..or slow..tell me everything you want..hm”

You shyly nod.

He put his tip on your entrance gaining a moan from pain. A tear escapes as he pushes a little. His leans to kiss away your tear whispering a “it’ll get better,i promise” to distract you and ofcourse he wins.

“Y-You can move now” you tell and he does. Very slowly moving rhythmically,stealing few kisses,enough for you to lose your mind. “Ouhh..fast p-please”

Skins slapping,quiet sobs and groans all over his apartment. You both don’t break your eye contact. Getting deep your grab his back,almost scratching it deep.

“Gyu i think- OH FUCK” you scream out,cum dripping. he pulls back making himself cum with his hands.

Panting and resting for few minutes he takes you to the room,making sure you clean yourself,making the bed for you both to rest.

You lie on to the bed,your back facing him. Endless thoughts on your mind,some regrets,how is this going to affect both of you. You quietly sob.

A warm hand snakes onto your waist,pulling you close.

“Hey..don’t cry..” he comforts while his heart breaks hearing you.

“I’m so sorry-“

“Don’t be. If anyone has to be sorry then its me..I should’t have-“

“And I should’ve stopped you when you asked me to..you are my bestfriend,this is so wrong,i r-ruined everything” you sob louder this time.

“Y/n..you ruined nothing. Look at me” he says as he turns you around. Tears glistening you make an eye contact with him.

“I know..I know how you feel because i feel the same way but..” pausing “we can do whatever you want to. if you want to this to the next step we can,or if you want to stop and forget everything we can…or if y-you want me to stop seeing you ever again..we still can..whatever you want..you know i love you,more than a friend should..”almost making the last sentence inaudible.

“i don’t know gyu..you’re definitely more than a friend to me..but i think i need my time,to process all of this..”

“ofcourse y/n. take your time,i can wait for an eternity” he chuckles.

you stare at him,this time with more love. cuddling each other knowing very well you’re both in love,terribly.

#seventeen #svt smut #svt imagines #svt x reader #mingyu #mingyu smut #mingyu x reader

[kuoukyeee]

Kanoh Agito sfw alphabet

Gender neutral reader (I hope🙏)

This has spoilers👻

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Before and during the tournament he would be more reserved with pda as he didn't know how to express himself and thought affection was a taboo thing. He deffo wasnt used to affection untill you came, the only touch he would've felt would have been during fights and also because not everyone would have the balls to hug this big, muscular, scary guy yk?

But after the tournament when he becomes a cool biker dude and he explores the world and finds himself and shit and has built up trust in you he would deffo be more welcoming towards affection and would initiate it more often. He would stand closer to you, touching shoulders/arms in public with you, if he's in a good mood he even places his hand on your lower back, especially if you are in a crowded/unknown place to make sure you won't get lost. If you go over board with the kisses and hugs I don't feel like he'd mind but he would deffo be taken aback and tell you to calm down if you're in a formal setting.

I feel like in private he'd deffo appreciate long hugs where you are both chest to chest and you can feel eachothers heartbeats, and soft kisses that make both of you melt into eachother and relax.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

He would be one of those trustworthy friends, where you could meet up once a year but still be at the same point where you left off.

He would also be dense, you would have to explain lots of things to him eg slang (and how monsters dont exist). I also feel like you could rant to him about stuff. He wouldn't necessarily gossip with you, but would deffo give straight forward advice and an outsiders point of view.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

I feel like when hes not busy he would indulge you , but otherwise he would pry you off (easily cus he stronk💪) even if ur complaining.

He likes when he puts his chin on top of your head and just koala hugs you, as he can feel your warmth and soft breaths, signaling to him that you are alive and safe, unconsciously calming him too.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Once he finds someone who he trusts and can tell his deepest secrets to, he would not hesitate to put a ring on it. Literally, the proposal is probably straight forward and he spills out all of his feelings towards you sincerely while you tear up.

Since he can literally make up a martial art on the spot to counter his opponent, I like to think he's a fast learner and would deffo not mind to lend a hand in daily chores, actually I think he would enjoy it as it makes him feel like a normal person after so many years of people stepping on eggshells around him because of his status as the fang.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

He would feel very conflicted and heartbroken. Especially if you guys dated for a long time and were very dedicated to eachother.

He would decide breaking up is the best for both of you and confront you, trying to explain to you logically that it is the best thing to do.

It would be so sad too😖, like one of those cowboy movies where the main lead says some romantic shit like "we were not destined to be together in this life" and kisses the romantic interest kunckles and then rides away on a horse ( in his case a motocycle) into the sunset and the romantic interest is just standing there tearing up, watching the figure dissappear, never to be seen again. Both always hoping to encounter eachother again, thinking about 'what ifs', even in old age.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

I feel like he wouldn't run away from it, but he wouldn't actively pursue it either. Once he realises he loves you and cant live without you he would propose soon. ( cus he standing on business)

He would maybe marry after at least knowing someone for a good 4 or 5 years, since yk he cant trust any random aquaintance, as he was/is the fang of metsudo, he needs to be alert.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Emotionally- At the beginning, I think he's less considerate of other peoples opinions, so he would be straight forward with you, which can cause some arguments or you feeling belittled. However, he improves at communicating and sensing if somethings wrong. I also think he would come to realise that you would do things in his interest, like sacrificing something so it benefits him and he would realise that relationships are give and take, which helps with his attitude towards all of his relationships.

Physically- you are definitely weaker or slightly weaker than him. So he is very aware that he has to be careful with you, though some times you need to remind him, as before most physical touch he had was in fights where he could use all of his strength, so he can forget at times.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

He doesnt LOVE hugs but he deffo appreciates and feels loved when you hug him. He might forget to hug you sometimes, but once he remembers 'oh shit I have an s/o and in relationships you need to do this kind of stuff' he would search for you and give you a hug.

His hugs would envelop you with warmth and genuine love. He cant really let his guard down and be very comfortable with others, so he learns to appreciate these little moments you guys have.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Once again, he's very dense. So he would forget to say lovey-dovey stuff, until he sees something on tv like a romantic movie, or someone teases him about your guys' relationship. He realises his mistake and tries to remember for the future, so he can drop the L bomb in a romantic setting.

He probably says I love you like half a year or more into dating.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

He doesnt get jealous easy from lowkey comments made towards you, as he doesnt realise the intent behind them most of the time, so he brushes them off.

However if someone cat calls you or tries pulling any moves he does get relatively jealous only if it is a regular occurrence/ adds up over time.He grabs you close, makes sure the threat is away and then make sure you're okay. He might sulk for a bit, but if you reassure him he does calm down. He could never be sulky for too long as its not your fault.

HOWEVER if you do something to make him jealous, he would get cold towards you and he would no longer consider you to be trustworthy and would consider breaking up. Second guessing your relationship.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

His kisses are heavy and rough if he guides them and he has slightly chapped lips. If you guide them he will go with your flow and let you take the lead.

He probably likes to kiss you on your shoulders or on your cheeks cus it feels intimate, idk.

He probably likes it when you kiss his jaw, i feel like it would make him melt.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

He's straight forward with them and a little distant with ones that aren't his own, not because he doesn't like them, but because i feel like he could only have a strong bond with his own. He wouldn't feel a duty to get involved with them if they weren't his.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Most of the time he's awake before you, just staring at you sleeping, once you wake up he hugs you closer , encouraging you to get out of bed after lazing about for a bit. He probably has no problem getting out of bed in the morning, so if you do he helps you do your morning routine. He might help you pick an outfit for the day, help you cook, brush his teeth with you, or even join you in the shower.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

I feel like he sleeps like a log. You either sleep on his fat boobie or bicep and he just throws his arm over you. Or he traps you in bed with a bear hug. He probably has nightmares sometimes or has trouble sleeping.

O = Open  (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say  everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

He has to trust you a lot in order to reveal things about his past. It probably takes him a few years to fully tell you everything as he doesn't want to scare you and push you away.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

He seems quite collected, so it doesn't seem like he would argue about pointless things. He would only loose his cool if it was something serious like your safety etc.

Q = Quizzes  (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

He would remember quite a lot as he listens more than he talks. However if he had something on his mind or was worried about something he can forget.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

The scenic motorcycle rides with you and how much you enjoyed them.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

He would be very protective over you and would show no mercy to anyone who harms you, or has intentions to. He would use his raw strength and let out his formless stance to eliminate the threat. I don't think he would need to be protected tbh, he can hold out on his own.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

He's very inexperienced in love, so he would need to put in quite a bit of effort in to special events. But for everyday tasks it flows easily for him.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

He might put his work as the fang as a higher importance than you.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

He doesn't really care, but i think he deffo knows he has a fit body. There's no way no fan of his in the kengan matches hasn't told him.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Yes. You are one of the only things which makes him feel normal and loved.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

He melts when he feels your arms around his waist while he drives you around on his motorcycle.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

He probably wouldn't like someone if they are not loyal.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

He twitches in his sleep, which sometimes makes you wake up.

AHHHH this was so long to write 🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️

#kanoh agito #kenganverse #kengan ashura x reader #kengan ashura #kanoh agito x reader #kengan omega

[i-bring-crack]

To be fair I did have a lot more expectation on the mother daughter relationship that could have been shown between Chameleon and Zhen because the past three stories have always been about father and son relationships, which had been well done, so I kinda expected their first female one to be done just as well. In some aspects I liked the concept but it also lacked a lot of scenes that would have fit well with the stablished quota. In my part it would have been nice to see it as a reverse Soothsayer and Shen dynamic, but explored through a different complex dynamic. As if, instead of the child turning evil due to their rebellion, it is the parent(and master) who has become corrupted with trying to achieve as much power as possible in order to protect their children. Someone who had at first a noble attitude and was resilient to the struggles she faced (she was short, she was weak. I dont mean to completely take away her backstory in kfp 4 , especially with how much the people on the team tried so hard to put aomething out there), no matter how much it hurt she was still going to become strong enough to protect those she loved, but she slwoly started to succumb to the ambition of power that her own reasons dissipated with time and greed over what others had that she didn't.

And Zhen could have followed on her footsteps for a long amount of time, thinking that well, Chamaeleon is her protector so of course she should be grateful despite the horrible things she does to protect them, just like in the og kfp4 (but not just looting or being the boss of a gang but maybe actively being just as bad as Lord Shen in a different way. Like, Chamaeleon killing so many heroes because she saw them as a threat and they saw her as a threat too, that entire villages lost their protection and even their lives against her troops.) And whenever or not Zhen should be redeemed is another case of its own so ill leave that out of the window. (Mainly bc that new dragon succesor could be interesting, but i feel like it should have been executed later faaaar later and not broken so many plot holes.)

If she gets to be redeemed then (for me for me) i think the trip would have been the last knot or the breaking point to the suspivion that Zhen would have had a long time ago. Maybe her resolution to go against her mother would be sealed when she started to notice that Chameleon no longer cared for her or the family she had protected for so long, even going so far as endangering them for the sake of obtaining more power.

That betrayal would not only reinforce the fact that Zhen would have been so loyal to her mother that not even the dragon warrior would have changed her ways in a simple trip, but also the fact that she had to expirience the horrible side of her own mother to understand even just a hint of what so many people had been afraid of for years. I wish Zhen could have been able to sympathise with someone over that; over having a strict parent who was the only person that wanted to care for you and you owned them the world for that (cough Tai lung cough—) but at the end of the day it felt crushing that you wouldnt be able to meet their expectations (in the case of zhen she didnt become a sorcerer and instead a martial artist, and also betrayal). It would have hurt, and well maybe Po or Shifu himself (in the kidnapped situation they had planned before im going way too divergent) would have told her that the actions of her parents are not her own fault.

Chameleon had chosen to go on a darker path on her own. (I would either like to put it that the chance was there but also wasnt, like she was already strong enough to be respected at some point but her descend to madness blinded her to anything but getting revenge on everyone who thought she was weak. Maybe showing the story of the chameleon through Zhen's eyes and slowly getting to doubt something as time goes on but never truly questions it. As a watcher you CAN see how she is slowly becoming evil, but Zhen had lived with the idea that this was how it always had been.)

But Zhen, probably throught the story finding out the extent of the horrible things her mother had done and not being able to excuse it, as well as being shown the possible chances that there were in life which her mother couldnt afford, realized she had to break that cycle right where it started and put an end to her mother's schemes before anyone else got hurt in the same way they both did. (Because like, Chameleon incidentally letting innocents die for her gains, had become the things she resented and trjed to destroy.)

(Im probably going to do another long post of things i would like to ramble about kung fu panda four, and no hate to the artists that worked on the show. Just like a pinch of salt thrown mostly at certain people but i still get it. From the beggining it was going to be a mess. BUT i liked the pitched in ideas in the interview with the co director and my little dumb brain likes expanding upon weird niche topics so—

I could be nitpicky of other things but the first 3 had been so centered around the relationships of fathers, from strict to spoiled to wise to absent and more, that well, i did WANT to expect a lot of the mother relations when its a trope that has so so many ways to be explored and it DID have a chance through the concepts (a chameleon, supoosedly weak and short and not being able to do kung fu trying to spraise a child [who knows kung fu where did she even learn it??] In a horrible enviroment who doesnt care for them both LIKE PLEASE. Of course i would be interested.)

#kfp 4 #kung fu panda #kfp chameleon #kfp zhen #tai lung #cough cough #huh both shen and tai lung would have been able to “help” zhen escape from that bubble of never questioning her parents #since tai lung could understand what kind of unyeliding devotion zhen had to chamaleon would lead #and because lord shen had become so awful that chameleon will likely suffer the same way as her. dooming herself by fate as she keeps #hurting others more and more for the sake of survival #no like please please hear me out when i said it would have been FUN

[frenchfriedgiraffe]

dghda season 2 and childhood

this is adding on to this post i made a while ago. basically, i fully believe that the writers of this show set up the perfect opportunity to have the theme of s2 be about childhood, specifically exploring the effects of trauma (and escapism/maladaptive daydreaming). its already something that is featured or referenced to, however i think that there was a lot of potential for the show if they fully embraced the theme.

the biggest and most prominent example of the theme of childhood being present is in the character of francis (The Boy), who experiences severe childhood trauma and as a result creates a fantasy world that he can escape to. this world is full of stereotypes of a conventional children’s fantasy, with knights, a magic train, and even a crazy evil wizard guy. yet despite this, the world he created also contains elements from real life, specifically things that he found traumatic. francis witnesses his father get killed with a pair of scissors, and the main weapon used by the characters in wendimoor are a pair of giant scissors. also, in the house within the house, theres a copy of his kitchen, featuring the scissors and smashed flowerpot.

this is probably the most obvious display of the lasting effects of childhood trauma in a character, although there are a LOT more, though they are quite subtle.

dirk may be the second most obvious example of the presence of this theme. his very first scene in season 2 is set in blackwing, the organisation that took him and experimented on him as a child. blackwing is hinted to have abused him as a child, although we only see how they treat him as an adult. (there is a deleted scene of him when he was a child talking to the previous head of blackwing, meaning that there was a possibility we could have seen what it was like for him as a child too.)

however it is clear that he suffered trauma from his time at BW as a child, as many of his mannerisms throughout both season 1 and 2 mirror those of someone with c!ptsd. and having that trauma resurface in s2 also causes him to be more distant and get upset more frequently. (theres more but this is long enough already)

despite escaping blackwing early on in the season, dirk is obviously extremely shaken from his brief time back in there, and its pretty safe to say that the experience brought up a lot of bad memories. he is much more subdued throughout s2, and his previous optimism is rarely present, with his attitude towards the case being very different from s1.

like francis, there are a few tiny hints to escapism as a result of dirks trauma from blackwing (although im probably grasping at straws here). while in blackwing, he frequently dreams about being rescued by todd and farah. while being chased near the end of the season, dirk is lethargic and rather unresponsive, which could be some sort of dissociative state that he entered in order to escape from the reality of his situation.

while these are the most prominent examples where characters are shown to be effected by their childhood experiences, most of the other characters can be interpreted this way too.

farah is another good example, where she mentions the passing of her dad, and talks about how he wasnt a great father figure and caused her to often feel like a failure. she actually gets a resolution to this, with hobbs seeming to step in as her new father figure (yay!)

this was also something that seemed to be half set up for other characters. for example, todd and amanda having to learn to accept the changes in their relationship and amanda having to recontextualize her past. tinas frequent references to her struggles with addiction as well. farson and his whole family… thing. oh, and also like EVERY other blackwing subject. (more examples but again, this is a fucking long post)

essentially, the characters in this season struggle a lot, and a lot of this is because of things that happened (or possibly happened) because of their childhood experiences.

which leads me onto my next point (oh god, theres more!?) about the missed opportunity with this set up. many people agree that a lot of season 2 felt rather… aimless? while things were loosely connected, they definitely felt a lot less connected than in season 1. events happened and because there were plots happening in different DIMENSIONS, there was often very little overlap. having an underlying theme like this would have made each plot connect much more seamlessly, and it would have been a nice opportunity to further develop and explore some characters.

for example, throughout his journey in season 2, dirk could be seen recognising the parallels between the case and his own internal conflict. as he sees the destruction caused by francis’ powers, he could mirror the events with his own experiences and perhaps realise the effects of what pushing down trauma does. i think it would have been nice to see a conversation between dirk and francis about blackwing, ending with francis telling dirk he needs to learn to face the shit he went through and stop trying to ignore his trauma. this would have been a good way to connect their characters more as well.

it would have been a good opportunity to connect ALL the characters, especially if the show embraced the idea of escapism and pushed it further through wendimoor. as they got closer to solving the case, we could have seen them recognising their own flaws and looking back at their pasts.

and they wouldn’t have really had to make any super drastic changes, because theres already so much material for this theme to be introduced!!

tl;dr: s2 set up a lot of cool themes and the season would have been a lot more well-rounded if they embraced them more.

dont even get me started on the concept of good and bad…

#fucking hell thats a long post #thanks for reading if you made it to the end… if you didnt then tbh same #dghda #dirk gently #dghda meta #todd brotzman #idk what to tag this tbh #um #the consequences of experimenting on children??? idk #im so sorry if this is indecipherable im so bad at explaining my thoughts

[dmwrites]

It was to the point that xB stayed up for days on end, finding any excuse to not even look at a bed. Luckily for him, Beef was similar, but mostly because he was so obsessed over his card game project. There may not even be hermits to play it, by god damn it Beef was going to finish this card game.

xB helped where he could, it was nice to have someone to talk to at the very least. And Beef, as a fellow loner, was very understanding when xB went out on his own. Beef never asked questions, or at least, never pried too often.

Today was not one of those blessed days.

“Dude, when was the last time you got a good night’s sleep?”

xB grimaced and put down the shulker full of carpet down hard, hoping this would end the conversation before it really started. “Uhh, dunno, been busy.”

“Dude!” Beef, clearly ignoring xB’s silent pleas to stop talking, said in concern. “That’s no bueno, my friend. Sleep is important from time to time. I know you’re like, a fish, or something I don’t know, but fish sleep too… I think, do fish sleep? Aren’t their like eyes open but they’re- anyway, the point is, you gotta rest those vibrant blue orbs of yours, get your beauty sleep!”

“I thought I was pretty already.” xB replied slyly, always willing to stir the pot.

“Oh, well, of course, xB, you’re like the second hottest hermit here, but you’d look even prettier if you slept. You look like a haggard witch- in a good way!” Beef said.

xB, despite his trepidation about the night to come, giggled. “A haggard witch?? Oh my god, I’m leaving you.”

“In a good way!” Beef reminded him, also laughing, and slung an arm around xB’s shoulders so he couldn’t fly off. “I will make you sleep, xB. As your friend, currently your only friend here, it is my duty to. Come on, the sun is setting. Put down your bed, you can even put it next to mine if you want, and we’ll catch some Z’s.”

xB wished he could explain, wish he knew even where to begin with why he didn’t want to sleep. But Beef was stronger then him, and xB reluctantly put down his bed. Just looking at it made a wave of dizzying tiredness rush through him. He got in, and before Beef could even say goodnight to him, he was out.

And then, he was awake again.

“God damn it.” He muttered.

Even thought his eyes were closed, the sun was shining through his eyelids. He reluctantly opened his eyes and sighed. A slime squished nearby. He got up from the bed he’d hastily set down at the foot of some giant statue of a man with a pink coat or something. The sun was rising over this swamp kingdom. Might as well keep heading on, xB thought, since I’m here. He packed up his bed, the bits of food he’d collected, and found a path to walk on.

He supposed it could be worse, waking up in this dream world. He just wished that it felt less real then the Hermitcraft world, so he really knew which one was a dream. He was tired in both, which was annoying. And both felt real, which was just confusing.

Every time he fell asleep, he just kept walking, kept exploring this abandoned land. Despite it all, xB was curious. These lands, kingdoms really, all felt so loved. Blocks placed with care, well-worn paths, silly jokes on signs. So why was it empty? He felt like an intruder, but then again, how can one intrude when there is no other life to intrude upon?

He’d been to the land across the ravine, so he picked another direction, and by nightfall, ended up in the far end of some other kingdom, which had bits of red stuff all over the ground. He settled down by what looked like a summoning circle, which was concerning, but hey, what wasnt anymore.

He got into bed, watching the sun start to set. And just as he closed his eyes, he heard a distinct pop, and a voice he’d never heard spoke.

“Hola? Hello? Who are you?”

“xB?”

xB gasped and jolted upright, grabbing onto the closest thing to him.

“Woah there, you trying to feel me up already?” Beef chuckled.

“Oh, sorry.” xB said, wrenching his hand back from Beef’s bicep.

“Didn’t mean to startle you. You must have been sleeping hard.” Beef said, making his bed. “Don’t you just feel so refreshed now after such a good night’s sleep?”

xB had never felt so tired in his life, and his mind raced, playing that voice over and over again in his head. There was someone else in the abandoned world!

“Yeah, never felt better.” xB said, hoping his voice wasn’t shaking.

#December 4 2022 #fic #hc x empires #xbcrafted #beef is also there #not rly hermitshipping bc beef and xB are just Like That #long post

[theguywithaoriginalname]

Terraria has got to be the most funniest and chaotic game i have played (also spolier warning ig!!!), you start the game, make a character, create a world and then you're just plopped in there. No tutorial, nothing. You see some dude with brown (i think) hair and just press right-click, see a dialogue option labelled 'help' and think "oh! this gotta be how to go to the tutorial!" and NOPE! Think again fucker 'cause you better chop some wood and build a house because the night is dangerous (OoOoOoOh very spooky). So, you look up "Terraria Beginner Guide" (or something along the lines of that) and y'know you just get going, build houses, explore the underground, maybe built a hellevator, and you even built an arena (im so proud)! Then suddenly the text "You feel an evil Presence watching you" pops up and you know that you better get to your arena 'cause its very spooky big eyeball time (hooray).

So after you beat the very big Eye of Cthulu you get some loot, fast forward to The Wall of Flesh. This is it. The final challenge in Pre-Hardmode. The Gate to see if you have what it takes to go to Hardmode. And now, it begins. After you throw the doll of the person who pranked you out of a Tutorial into the lava below, you hear a roar, before a wall made out of flesh with two huge Eyeballs and a gaping wide Mouth comes at you. It was a great battle, with you seemingly being at equal with the giant fleshy wall. You threw everything you got at it: Bullets, Fire, Ice, even that Imp you found on the street. Ater a long Battle with many Hardships, you won. But only now....

The Fun really begins.

Oh, you thought that you could go out at night? Think again fucker, mf-ing Werewolves. You thought that Molten Armor/ Meteorite Armor was gonna protect you? Dont make me laugh. "Atleast I have my NPCs?" Wrong! You feel vibrations from deep below. Hardmode is the game's most challenging part imo, because not only is everything new, but also beefier, stronger, and more annoying to deal with. Oh, there's also a new Biome where, you guessed it! Everything kills you! It isnt as bad if you're more experienced and prepared alot of stuff, but unfortunately, most newer Players dont do that, and I've even seen some leave permanently because dying constantly wasnt fun anymore. But we dont quit, do we? No. Because our Mamas didnt raise us to be quitters! Uhh motivational quote, yadda yadda yadda etc. So. you actually persist, get better gear, and even kill a mechanical boss! So you get better weapons and gear, kill another Mechanical Boss and the last one is now dead. So you get clorophyte (No i will not look up how it's spelt and i really couldnt care less), get better-er gear and fight Plantera. This pink plant bitch is probably one of the best bosses in the game, and i am sad that it has some of the worst loot in the game imo. anyways, you unlock the temple, kill golem (Man Re-logic really need to buff this dude) get better-er-er gear and fight the lunatic cultist. Kill him, get the only drop (Man Re-logic really need to buff this dude's loot) and fight the celestial pillars. cool, you can now make weapons from SpAaAaAaaAAaace. Each of which correspond to a class (Solar=Melee, Vortex=Ranged,Nebula=Mage,Stardust=Summoner). but suddenly, the screen gets darker and more wonky, the music is gone and then,

The Moon Lord has Awoken!

Out of bloody nowhere, the final boss is here. The Final Challenge. The Wall between you and the End. After having improved so much and died so much, like, WOW those are alot of deaths, you are at the final blockade. And after a battle you will remember forever, you come out on top, victorious. You are at the top of the 2d Mountain. You have beaten everything. You have beaten

Terraria.

#holy fucking shit #this took so long #its like 4am #i dont even know if there was a tutorial or not #terraria #oh thank god it's over #just wait till you find out about calamity

[tiredstressedemotionalmess]

hihii do you have ideas for writing the fab four as ghosts? also what do you think halloween would be like in the zones? i'm attempting to write fanfiction for like the first time ever and you're basically the killjoys fanfiction mutual so i'm coming to you lol

i am absolutely honored to be considered the killjoys fanfiction mutual!! sorry this took forever to get to ive been battling a headache all day 😅

the fab four as ghosts is an interesting concept that ive never really thought about before!!! i mean i wrote one fic once kind of abt party as a ghost but that wasnt really the main focus.. anyways, there's a tooooon of super cool ways to explore that concept just in how they died alone. like is this a post sing thing where they all died together saving the girl? if thats the case i could easily see them following her around over the years, using what limited connection to the physical world they have to influence minor things and keep her safe as she grows up alone in the desert. or maybe (bc im a sucker for ghosts who dont remember their mortal lives) they have no memory of the girl or each other but they all decide to stick together bc they're scared and confused and There and they just kind of wander around together until they stumble upon the girl and they feel this strange pull to Protect Her

or if it's not post sing and they've all died in different ways, maybe this is an au and they meet as ghosts and they become known as this phantom crew, legends that wander the zones and take out dracs in the dead of night, only to be seen by those already well aquatinted with death

as for individual behaviors, i think taking the name fun ghoul literally would be really fucking cool. im pretty sure the general consensus abt ghouls is that they haunt graveyards so maybe ghoul specifically hangs around grounds where lots of death occurs, like common grounds for bli ambushes and firefights and shit. it's absolutely br the most annoying ghost ever, going out of his way to spook people by doing alll the classic horror movie shit. that motherfucker is howling and making weird noises in the dead of night, he is levitating objects and moving shit that shouldn't move and flickering lights and just being a general menace to the living

i think party would take a LONG time to accept the fact that they're dead, if they ever even admit it to themself at all. i feel like they have this sort of bitter, jaded relationship with death and the witch and the whole concept of the afterlife, and admitting that they're a ghost would be admitting that all the shit they weren't sure if they believed in was real the while time. and too, depending on how they died, i could easily see them having a sort of bitter breakdown over the fact that they've just been allowed to die with no fanfare. they've literally given their life for this cause and now that theyre dead and nothings changed or is changing it feels like they lived their whole life for nothing, like they lived their whole life wrong almost.

jet and kobra im having less immediate thoughts on. out of all of them, though, i think jet would be the most likely to try and find a way back to life. idk if youve read ttid but uh. yeah. i see her a bit like that, where she refuses to accept that this is the end of her story and she tries whatever she can to make it continue

kobra as a ghost i think would change a lot depending on how he died. if it was something out if his control like illness or a bad run on the crash track i think hed be more "go with the flow it is what it is" about it. if he was killed though he would dedicate his afterlife to revenge, and maybe actually no matter how he died hed end up becoming vengeful after long enough bc hed star thinking about why he was even put under the circumstances to die in the desert and hed think about his hatred for bli... yeah actually no matter what i think hed become a vengeful spirit!! hed go and hun down whoever killed him and make them fucking suffer, and then hed go and do the same for every drac and ever crow, every exterminator he can get his hands on. his mortal life was horrible and he is going to spend his afterlife making sure the ones responsible for his suffering get what they fucking deserve

uhhhh this has turned out wayyy longer than i meant it to so im gonna make the Halloween in the zones part its own post and I'll tag you in that when its done!! i hope at least some part of this was helpful or inspiring in a way, cant wait to see what you end up writing :]

#asks #danger days #my headcanons #danger days headcanons #danger days the true lives of the fabulous killjoys #fun ghoul #the kobra kid #party poison #jet star #ddttlotfk #ttlotfk

[deduction-substitute]

Hello. Do you have any thoughts about lg’s Mechanical Gear skin?

DO I!??!?!?!??!?!? I have so many scenarios so many ideas om so sorry youre only going to read absolute nonsense BUT

I have two main thoughts about Lucky Guy's Mechanical Gear that I love. 1) He's a fucking freak actually. 2) He's literally just a guy

My favorite is the former but I have surprisingly have more ideas with the latter

If we go with 2, Lucky's. Some guy that the research team picked up otw because he's wasn't infected. You've got this traumatized search team and this random guy they found outside the shelter THRIVING and going about his day as if it wasnt the FUCKING APOCALYPSE

They originally thought he was immune to the mycelium (because HOWWW HAS HE SURVIVED THIS LONG), so they brought him along, but Lucky insists that he is NOT. PLEASE STOP USING ME AS A GUINEA PIG FOR THE FUNGI PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

They find out that he was waiting for Charles (Failed Exploration), who said that he'd be going out to find the possible "safe shelter" theyve been hearing about over their now busted radio. (Qi Shiyi and Frederick looking at each other knowing fully well that they met the guy on the way here with spores on his arms)

Charles DID get to the shelter before being infected, but wasnt allowed in. Since the team would be going on their journey, as precaution, they strictly enforced the rule that NO outsider could get in- infected or not. So theyre the indirect cause as to why he's infected 😋

From then on its nonsense, so moving on to 1: HE'S A FREAK!!!!!

Lucky Guy doesn't love the apocalypse, but he doesnt mind it. He's been following the same structure and routine for so many years that he would welcome a sentient fungi hellbent on taking over the world if it meant change 🫶

He's still scared of it, but he's not as worried about it as he SHOULD be. The team doesn't know what to do with him because someone who isn't 100% cautious of the mycelium is a liability (everyone in that fucking team is a liability they need to look at a mirror), but his loser charms have captivated them (He looked pathetic while begging to join them on their journey)

So theyre stuck with him!! Its not all bad, since he actually goes around assisting the group, and Lucky brings this sort of. Feeling of before. Before the apocalypse. Before the mycelium. He slowly becomes a source of comfort when things get tough

Branching off now, I think it. Would be funny if Lucky is immune to the mycelium in the sense that it cant trap him in his "greatest desire," which is simply change.

Unlike Frederick who desired "more beauty and splendor to greater heights," which was achieved in the Feaster's illusions, Lucky was content with what was happening in the present. It could be better, but in the end it's still "change" that was able to break him from his continuous routine.

Im imagining the feaster trying to trap him in an illusion like everyone else only to stop and go "huh. this guy's a weirdo actually." and deciding to just trap Lucky in the same scenario over and over: the apocalypse happening, accompanying the research team, finding the source of the mycelium, repeat w/o memories

It's ironic. Lucky's greatest desire is change, but he doesn't know that he's going through the same journey over and over again.

SORRY this post is 100% nonsensical rambling. First mistake was mentioning Lucky Guy. I cant be normal about this guy. Im so sorry.

#it was a trap btw i did this only to put lucky guy in another loop just like in midsummer misty mountains/j #i love putting him in loops. we should put him in more loops. i hate him. he must suffer. die. #identity v #idv lucky guy #idv #identity 5 #lucky guy #idv lucky #identity v lucky guy #my asks!

[helluvabossrewrite45]

Hello, I just wanna say that your scene rewrites are amazing. Seeing Stars has got to be one of my favourites.

On the topic of Octavia, I agree that Viv and her team missed an opportunity with Via. To me in the context of the narrative, Octavia can be a tragic character that is screwed over by the writing. It is implied that she takes after Stolas with her love of astronomy as their form of bonding. Yet, she slowly watches her father drift away from them and is probably wondering if they—she even matters to him. You’re just watching a parent that you had a close bond to just leave you behind because they found someone else that captivated their interest. On top of the divorce that is currently going on would leave a child feeling doubtful.

I also just never understood why the writers want to keep having her being mad at her dad, even though they say that Stella has clearly been ruining the family, yet it’s his fault? Half the time the writing seesaws on Stella and Via’s dynamic because the only time she does care is when Stolas is there and…I get that could be counted as gaslighting, but the character lacks subtlety that it’s hard to tell when she’s always yelling. More often she doesn’t even care for her with two episodes implying this.

I just in general feel frustrated with this family because either avenue could be interesting if the writers took it seriously enough but they don’t and instead choose spur of the moment scenes that we have to use as jigsaw puzzle with some pieces not fitting because world building barely matters.

Sorry for the ramble. You’re version or fix it is probably one of my top favourites for the characters because I can definitely see the use of the loosely outlined jigsaw puzzle. Have a nice day/evening.

Thank you anon, im glad you like my rewrites

I agree 100% with via, they did the same thing with moxxie to her, that being repeating the same arc again of her being mad at her dad but forgive him in the end. It kind of shows that just like moxxie, they didnt know what to do with her which is a shame because the small details she has are there to be fully explored, but they never explore them. Like her and music, she oftens listens it even at the dinner table and with stellas reaction to the cheating affair, we can peice a puzzle of her doing it as a coping mechanism; escaping her problems through distraction. And with seeing stars main plot is around via running away to see a meteor shower, it would've been perfect to explore that side of her along with more knowledge of the family in general to piece this puzzle their giving (like the relationship with her mom, her uncle, the rest of their family, how they react to the situation, how their currently dealing with it, etc...) through flashbacks (since the whole point would've been that these issues wont go away no matter how much you try to ignore them) And yes, her closeness with her father drifting away is definitely tragic and its sucks that it wasnt futhered explored, especially with the entire goetta situation as a whole since were in season 2 and we dont even know how they reacted to it. It makes me wonder why even give us these pieces to solve properly if its so little that it makes it pretty impossible without theorizing from any vague info we have and thats not how problem solving works.

And yes, its odd that shes only mad at stolas but never to stella. I mean, i get she would be on her moms side because of him cheating but still with how stella is written, you'd think she'd hate her too. In this rewrite, stella would actually be subtle in her abuse to stolas in a way where you can still recognise it but also understand why other (like via) wouldnt. An example of this would be my first post where her and stolas confront each other about the divorce, the quote; '-or did you forget? Like you always do?'. Its meant to showcase her most common tactics, shaming. From her background (that i'll explain further in her own post), she oftens picks up things from her family, which shaming is included. She would shame stolas whenever he makes a mistake or does something she doesnt approve of (like if he wore a suit she didnt like, she would say; 'you know were meeting your family right? You think they want to see their son of royalty in that sort of wear?' or them arguing on how much time via should spend on her astronomy lessons; 'Shes going to be a future you and what, you wanna just, make her lazy, huh?!' (or even 'I didnt think you'd care that less for your own daughter....') See these are what you could recognise as shaming but also understand why people may not consider it so, potentially using excuses like 'oh shes probably right because its royalty/she just cares about looking good enough for her family' or 'oh she just cares for her daughter and her future' (ironically enough, those are kind of what fans AND the show itself use as an excuse for stolas lmao) but just because via doesnt recognise stella's abusive tendencies, doesnt mean she isnt upset with her. She very much is, mainly with stella's aggressiveness as stella developed anger issues throughout her life and didnt have anything to help it. Via hates it whenever stella yells because of course she would be, no one likes angry loud noises! Its just that unlike with stolas, shes not as open with her frustration to her mother because shes genuinely scared of her from that aggression that makes it much more harder to truly express her feelings about her, instead keeping it to herself along with her feelings towards how the rest of the family is reacting to it given that it just feels too much for her to be involved in. So the reason why shes only open on being mad at stolas is despite what he did, he's the only one she feels safe in being mad about (I mean, she does have andrealphus as someone safe to an extent though he's very dismissive of telling her whats going on with the goetias and definetly doesnt take being wrong well like stella so hes not much better) that way, it'd be more understandable and futher peice the puzzle of their family and their dynamic. Family itself is quite complicated because of the nuances it has behind it and i wanna incorporate that to the goetias were their not fully evil but tend to care about their statuses rather then whats right in front of them (that being them as a family) since i think its interesting to explore and wouldve suit stolas, stella and octavia really well.

No need to apologise for rambling, i like getting asks of peoples thoughts/ideas on helluva. Hell look, im rambling too. I hope you enjoy the future rewrites i have in store, have a nice day/evening too

#helluva boss critical #helluva boss critique #helluva boss criticism #helluva critical #helluva criticism #helluva critique #helluva boss rewrite #ask #anon

[syrupspinner]

i just completed Hypnospace Outlaw

i sincerely love how much the sci-fi genre is just explaining how much sci-fi stuff would suck if it was real

the reason you play hypnospace outlaw is the aesthetic and presentation, just so were all on the same page. the reason this game got your attention is because its a passionate parody of web 1.0, and it does an excellent job of that. i can tell this game was made with a deep nostalgia for what made the past special without being blinded from its flaws (like the viruses and general difficulty to navigate).

the only problem is that im 24

well i shouldnt say thats a problem. just because i dont have nostalgia for what theyre throwing back to doesnt mean the game doesnt stand on its own. i didnt grow up with a ps1 or n64 but i still enjoy that specific form of lowpoly modeling, for example. its just unfortunate that i cant have the same hit of nostalgia that people slightly older than me can, yknow? i wish i could enjoy this game as much as them

again, the game was still very enjoyable. the puzzles start out very grounded, introducing you the the world and how it functions very effectively, before ramping it up with more abstract mechanics and compounding techniques needed to find more results. the only problem i found myself stuck on in an unfun way was figuring out how to decrypt sandwich files. its one of those puzzles that make you feel silly for not getting it earlier, but in my defence... who the hell would program something that esoteric

as an aside, i saw people discussing what genre games like this would be. by "games like this" i mean hypnospace outlaw, outer wilds, rain world, animal well, that kinda thing. i dont think applying one genre is effective, but instead its about how they combine the genres of exploration and puzzle. instead of having all the tools to solve a puzzle when youre presented with it, you have to leave and seek out the solution elsewhere. notably, if the game isnt build to accommodate/encourage this, itd be pretty unfun. these games and their open-ended design manage to skillfully mesh both genres together: the exploration is the puzzle

so yeah, i really enjoyed the game! there arent a lot of games where its just fun to explore the world as its presented, and HO does a fantastic job of that even without considering the puzzle design. i love just reading about the characters and their lives in hypnospace. this games greatest strength is just how charming it is, theres really nothing that matches it in that regard

i also found it really inspiring. i love how much personality all the characters fit into their webpages. maybe someday ill move this blog to neocities just so i can evoke something half as impact

oh no this was all a secret advertisement for neocities wasnt it! well, it worked, im not even mad (yes i know about the page builder)

anyway! the game is worth it for the vibes alone, and the puzzles are a really solid foundation that everything is built on. totally worth buying! the only thing is if youre going for completion, please use a guide to find all the pages, some are hidden way too well. totally worth it, though. if you know what the "thanked" achievement is named after, you know it makes it worth it. also, buzz was hilarious, i love pranks on the player

now im going to spoil the ending, stop reading this is you want to not be spoiled about the ending, because im about to spoil it now. after sasuke

oh my GOD dylan merchant is such a schmuck. maybe ive just lost too much sympathy for venture capitalist techbros, but i cannot spare any positive regard for this guy. like, okay, i get hes the bad guy, but outlaw 1.0 tries sooo hard to make you feel bad for him it wraps back around to being infuriating. the thing is that i have no idea if this is intentional? like, was a guy who let a teenager go to jail and think about how his prank killed 5 innocent people plus his crush apologizing decades later (*after* being caught) with an unfinished video game supposed to be a sincere tug of the heartstrings? "sorry i killed zane before he could stop being an annoying twerp" "sorry i killed rodney, his family smelled like walmart" "sorry i killed mavis, i think that was her name. i got nothing else to say about her" "anyway thanks for playing the 'final' version of the game that killed everyone. you have successfully absolved me of my sins and sent me to heaven. remember to subscribe and hit that bell icon" DUDE how emotionally shallow and self aggrandizing do you have to be you are a child murderer my guy

#hypnospace outlaw #defeated #completed

[aziraphales-library]

hi ! i just read a fic called "Instructions Unclear; Seeking Divine Intervention" and i was wondering if you knew of anything similar ? Its abt Crowley and Aziraphale raising the spare baby from the baby swap (who actually turns out to be the antichrist)

it doesnt even Have to be the antichrist tbh, just the two of them raising their own kid ! so not a nanny and warlock fic

also if you could find smthg ace friendly that would be perfect (this one wasnt :/) but i can def read around it if not

tysm for the blog its seriously the best <33

We have. SO MANY fics on our #kid fic tag. PLEASE check that. We’re going to have to take a break from answering any requests for kid fic to give authors a chance to write some more.

I’m also not sure on what you, specifically, mean by ‘ace friendly’ as the fic you’ve mentioned as not being ace friendly is T rated. Do you want no kissing? No mention of sex? QPR? Just friends? Ace is a wide spectrum, please be specific.

Here are some non-explicit kid fics, a couple of which were also tagged for asexual, but I believe do also include kissing, so IDK. Take ‘em or leave ‘em...

Cures and Remedies by Jackie Thomas (NR)

“Whatever is the matter?” Aziraphale asks and Crowley shrugs open the cloak to reveal a swaddled baby held in the crook of his arm. “Oh, good Heavens.”

Crowley saves a baby’s life. Who is this child and why is he in danger?

The Second Coming That Wasn't (Or Was It?) by polymona (T)

Aziraphale is surprised with a chat from God.

Crowley is confused as to why any human would just abandon their newborn in front of a bookshop of all places.

When the forces of Above or Below find out what has just been set in motion, there will be both Heaven and Hell to pay.

If God can be a woman, so can Jesus.

And the Antichrist Makes Three by AstroGirl (T)

Crowley didn't exactly intend to kidnap the Antichrist. It just sort of happened. And now they're stuck with him. Over the next eleven years, Aziraphale frets a lot, Crowley tries to play it cool, and Adam grows up incapable of being surprised by anything at all.

White Teeth, Black Leather / White Soul, Black Feathers by jriracha (T)

After the end of the world, Heaven and Hell decide to leave well enough alone. Truly alone. Crowley and Aziraphale are finally free to explore their relationship with no pressure. But at what cost?

Nephalem by Audrey_Lynne (T)

After the Armageddon that wasn't, Crowley and Aziraphale settle into their new, independent lives. They stay in touch with their human friends, but, mostly, are enjoying a quiet life in the countryside.

All that is about to change. Heaven and Hell have countless plans that operate on a need-to-know basis...and Aziraphale and Crowley didn't need to know. But now they will, as they find themselves in the sudden possession of the byproduct of one of those plans.

Or, "Crowley and Aziraphale end up with a baby and chaos ensues."

It takes heaven and hell to raise the Antichrist by dont_stop_imagine_mccartneys_celery (G)

If Good Omens was a Rom Com Sitcom!

In which Crowley stays just a little longer at the hospital of the Chattering Order of Saint Beryl and witnesses how the nuns misplace the Antichrist. He decides that he will take matters into his own hands and runs off again with the Antichrist, that is believed to be the exchanged baby of the American Cultural Attaché's wife. In lack of a better idea he brings the baby to his archenemy and dear friend Aziraphale and they agree they have no other choice than to raise the son of Satan themselves. That way they have the chance to let him grow up well-balanced between heaven and hell. Surprisingly, (for them, but really not the readers) the little extension of their family lets them only grow closer.

And the one you mentioned...

Instructions Unclear; Seeking Divine Intervention by Alycat44 (T)

“The spare,” the nun says, passing the basket Crowley brought back to him.

“The what.”

Crowley wouldn’t get his answer, and left holding a basket with an infant he is fully unequipped for dealing with, he does the only sensible thing he could think of; he calls a nominally-friendly acquaintance for some help.

- Mod D

#good omens #ineffable husbands #kid fic #asexual #mod d

[fearowkenya]

Winds of Change -

Chapter 2: The Perfect Storm

Shuuji hangs there, breathless in its grip, and everything fades away until there’s nothing left but what he can see in that wild pair crimson eyes, swirling with anger, anguish, and above all else—fear. Maybe he’s too afraid to string together an apology, or maybe it’s that he knows there’s no use in offering one.  Either way, what a fitting end, for a pair of monsters to destroy one another.  But there’s always a critic, and today it’s Ryo.

Shuuji makes it out of the fight in the waterway alive, but somehow, it still goes horribly, horribly wrong.

AO3 link in source, and, as always, extended author's notes under the cut! (:

whoops! the chapter is late. I thought I'd have time to post it before my dads wedding yesterday, but wouldnt you know it, there wasnt quite enough time to get everything formatted properly without rushing thru it.  I was super tired after the wedding and tried my best to at least do my first proofreading before bed, but i kept dozing off. so here I am. better late then never!

this chapter was an absolute blast to write! i figured that one good way to really justify the groups collective paranoia was to let wendimon get VERY close to accomplishing a total party wipe. the mood I was going for was something similar to the hopelessness of trying to take down plutomon or boltboutamon - no matter how many megas get thrown at them, it never seems like enough. that's why I made wendimon a fair bit stronger than what's typical of a champion level digimon.

as I said in my author's notes on ao3, I think this kind of situation would definitely justify falcomons behavior too, both while hes actively arguing with minoru, as well as the time he spends refusing to return to the group even after minoru apologizes. falcomon has his insecurities like the rest of them, but hes always seemed to me like the one who is the most self-assured in who he is and what he cares about.

that's not to say that the others arent, but in terms of his understanding of the world and of himself, I find that falcomon is the one whose identity has the strongest foundation, and I think watching something like this happen to arguably the most gentle member of their group shakes that foundation to its core. 

even when the professor explains that this only happened because of a partner bond sustained severe damage, i think it would do very little to ease falcomon's worries -  it's hard to tell just how messed up minoru's self-image is under the big smiley front he puts up to hide his insecurities, and falcomon KNOWS that. but that's beyond the scope of what I'm exploring in this fic lol. it might be something I circle back to later on though! minoru is the character I find most interesting on my second run of truthful; there are SO many subtleties about him that i absolutely did not notice the first time around.

anyway, the waterway. hoo boy, the waterway. choreographing the waterway fight was probably the hardest part of writing this chapter. when I first drafted it, i was very confident in the image I had in my head of the waterway battlefield, but when I went to check screenshots, it turned out that I had it all wrong! so I had to rework the whole damn thing! which was really hard, because the biggest challenge was keeping track of where every single character was placed on the field!

the goal was to spread characters out so that they weren't all bunched together, but still located conveniently enough such that I could pull them into the fight with wendimon when necessary. in order to do this, i drew a big stupid diagram on actual physical paper made one big (temporary) change to the waterway battlefield which i doubt anybody noticed unless you, like me, are unhinged enough to study the structure of the in-game locations down to the smallest details.

in the game, a little behind the place on the map where you set your units, theres a gap on the left that usually has a treasure chest on the other side, one that you have to send a flying unit to retrieve unless you want to go alllllllllllll the way around. I needed to be able to get takuma, minoru, miu, and kaito over there so that arukenimon could be all menacing on the top of the stairs, but i couldnt figure out how to make it work without having to make them go past wendimon on the central path and around megaseadramon on the top left platform. so what I did is... close that gap.

but closing the gap created the problem where the kids could easily use that path to regroup with Shuuji and the others. which was inconvenient when i needed them to stay split up. so you can imagine how clever I felt when I had megaseadramon cut them off by destroying the stairs and putting the gap right back , which is what I meant when I said the change I made to the battlefield was temporary lmao

speaking of megaseadramon, when i was first writing this chapter, i was very overwhelmed at the idea of having to simultaneously balance the fight against wendimon with the fight against megaseadramon. splitting the party seemed like the obvious choice, but it felt very anticlimactic to be like "oh yeah here comes the other half of the group to the rescue, they kicked megaseadramon's ass off-camera lol"

by that same token, I didnt want to put TOO much focus on megaseadramon and detract from wendimon. so once again I felt like a genius when I realized that the solution was simply to have wendimon not only deal with megaseadramon, but raise the stakes and tension by demonstrating that it is on a completely other level compared to the other champion stage digimon. (in poor megaseadramon's defense, it was not at all expecting to be attacked by wendimon, and was likely at least a little worn-down by shellmon, sangloupmon, greymon, and diatrymon. I think it would have fared much better against wendimon in a clean one-on-one match.)

as for wendimons defeat, well... no matter how much I amp up its strength, I felt that taking a point-blank giga destroyer would probably do the trick. AND give us some truly horrific imagery. I struggled a LOT with that last couple of paragraphs, and I'm still not sure if I was able to give the exact image i wanted to leave off with at the very end.

while this chapter answered a bunch of questions asked in the first one, it also raised plenty more. theres some stuff i set up here that I'm really looking forward to people catching on to (: unless they've caught on already...?? heehee (: i wonder which things will take people by surprise, and which ones they saw coming a mile away...?

on that note, id love to hear what people think of the fic so far. kudos are nice and I greatly appreciate them, but nothing launches me over the moon quite like comments. I'm so curious to know what part(s) people liked best, both about this chapter and the first, as well as any predictions people have about the stuff I'm starting to hint at as I get further into the story. i won't confirm or deny anything of course, but it will make me smile so so so big.

please look forward to chapter 3! I'll evaluate when exactly I'm posting it as the week goes on, as im currently away from home and have a bunch of busy days coming up - I'll be sitting thru a 4 hour car ride on sunday and trying to see some friends on monday before I fly home on Tuesday , so I cant say with any certainty when chapter 3 will be out other than at some point within that Sunday-Monday-Tuesday timeframe. thank you for reading, please consider leaving a comment, and until next time!

#digimon survive #digimon #shuuji kayama #kayama shuuji #ryo tominaga #tominaga ryo #lopmon

[dreampearls]

thoughts on tha archon quest

prefacing this with a disclaimer that i watched a playthrough instead of actually playing the quest myself, meaning i missed a lot of in world interaction and open map exploration/lore/immersion that would have usually accompaned my overall impression of an archon quest. also i watched in eng dub which i kind of despise so that definitely affected my impressions of the cast

it was fun!

no huge complaints other than genshin typical pacing really dragging out certain segments but otherwise it was more or less successful at engaging me LOL if albeit kinda predictable or painful to sit through at times

furina :•)

i like her thing, idrk much abt the cultural/religious influences of fontaine beyond the obv french naming scheme but what w the whole mention of The Original Sin + a god manifesting themselves as flesh and blood to live amongst humanity + eventually executing themself in order to absolve all their people of that original sin. i think it could have stood to use more blatantly obvious christian iconography in the quest itself. like apples. or maybe they could have crucified her. just for funsies

are there any crosses in fontaine or does venti have a monopoly on that

that being said i think it would have been fun narratively if they hadnt made it so painfully obvious that furina was putting on an act/horrifically overcompensating for being the archon. like it would have been cool if her act was genuinely narratively convincing for at least the first half. the twist that she (technically) wasnt the archon/(more accurately Divine) would have hit harder but i can appreciate the angle they went for. idk i think its fun to see an archon that for once is kind of completely seemingly incompetent. a loss for feminism but a win for girlfailures all around the world

i saw someone else say this and i have to agree the deal w the whale did feel a bit tacked on at the end LOL... it didnt really feel as well integrated into the prophecy thing but eh

how is childe. does anyone care. actually no

clorinde navia "oh are you wearing a new lipstick?" "yeah, want to try" KILL MEEEEEEEEEEEE

have not seen furinas story quest yet but what are the mechanics behjnd her (assumedly) gaining a hydro vision when focalors' whole deal was sacrificing herself precisely to destroy the throne of the hydro archon, presumably preventing another hydro archon from ever ascending. wh... i guess im just missing something or otherwise misunderstanding what "destroying the throne" entails

STILL IT KIND OF FEELS LIKE AN INSULT TO HER CHARACTER CONCEPTUALLY NGL like she spent centuries parading around desperately as the hydro archon and when she finally breaks free of the curse celestias like.... "oh btw youre actually really cool now and we've decided u can become the archon for realsies" i think i would kill

on one hand, i do recognize how the visions function as a narrative device for self actualization and realize its only a fitting way to conclude her arc, but on the other, as signs of acknowledgement from celestia marking an individual as eligible for godhood, it does feel very incongruent with furinas whole thing

on that notd i feel similarly abt wanderer LOL like okay ignore how logically they need a vision for gameplay mechanics like just narratively it doesnt cohere to me... sniffles...

small detail i like how the focalors/furina divide was foreshadowed by the fact that for every previous archon theyve been consistently only referred to as their "real"/chosen/"human"(in a sense) name by those closest to them, whereas all of their subjects would refer to them by archon name or otherwise (lord barbatos, morax, lesser lord kusanali, etc etc) but nobody has ever called the hydro archon focalors or any equivalent, it was only ever her human/chosen name lady furina

this quest had a Lot of Telling instead of Showing and i physically groaned each time they had to spell something out loud instead of just having the audience put together the (already incredibly obvious) narrative pieces but id say this is a writing problem w genshin as a whole and not exclusive to fontaine

[graveyardcat7]

thots on jongerry?

finally, a good question! one i’ve been thinking about all day since i got it because putting my nebulous thoughts into words is exceedingly difficult.

jongerry, to me, is compassion. its caring too much, to a fault. its arguing for hours on end about insane minute things while caring for each other- making lunch, doing each others laundry, brushing the hair out of each others faces. jongerry is the resilience to continue, the urge to love and care and hold humanity tightly while the world crumbles and youre the only person each other has left and thank god its you and i would have missed you so much and shut up with a loving glare. jongerry is tender confessions broken by the natural levity they bring into each others lives. jongerry is so much more than a romantic pairing- theyre best friends, life partners, longing glances from across the hallway, a just missed connection that glowed with potential, a tragedy in the making and at its beginning and its end.

theyre… warm and glowing and a spark i wish could burn but can only do so far away from their actual source material. their brief meeting, though featuring gerry trapped in the archetype hes been forced to play his whole life, shows him breaking from his shell for this one man. shows jon, though a bit creeped out, thoroughly enjoy his company, talking to him like a person and not just an anthropomorphized monster manual- being so enraptured by him to go against the fear he’s being completely consumed by to help him! to stand against the hunters when they track him down and tell them gerry wasnt yours. GERRY! he always wanted his friends to call him gerry. implying with the wording his first friend, his only friend.

and how special is that? to have such a spark, such a connection, and see all the possibilities they couldve had together only for that to be impossible in any reality. how wonderful, then, to explore it.

#IJUST LOVETHEM SOMCUH. #writtenwhile listning to splatoonmusic usinga keyboard that only lets youuse the keyboard Sometimes. #i had to edit alot #gost #jongerry #jg #gerry #jon sims #gerry keay

[away-ward]

Were you surprised how much Rika and the others depend on Alex? 

Rika? No. They're friends, and Rika needs those bonds.

The others? It was unbelievable how much this woman is able to do. Not that there aren't incredibly accomplished people out there, but the amount of work she gets done for the group + plus keeping up with her own clients + going to college full time + having a social life, and she's still happy. And not taking drugs? And she does it all successfully, never dropping a ball or failing a task? It's just a huge reach for me.

-

OMG THIS! K.O., you perfectly nailed the reason why i found alex's char so questionable. And as a sex worker who frequents drugs and have access to the prostitution and sex work industry, youre telling me she can "stay pure"? While being surrounded by sketchy people who makes money off of preying on young women like her, and selling drugs under table? Her lifestyle literally influences the way she interacts with people, and that is just one word: ugky. And in this case, unrealistic AF.

one thing that i hate so much about authors writing about the sex work industry, escorting, and all those extreme works that normal citizens dont even get access to, is that these authors dont know shit about that world and have sensitivity readers to consider the behavior and opinion of people wprking in that industry itself. Not all sex work is just from OnlyFans and clearly Alex HAD done a lot of sketchy things behind her family's back, so why was she still pure? Even Rika knew that Alex worked for them? So?

idk man, i'm confused. For all these rise about sex working positivity, you would've thought PD would approach this topic with more nuances, because it IS a very complex issue, but nah, not only that Alex's lifestyle and job were not shown to be impacting her emotions a lot other than her being angry at Emmy for aydin's fault in nightfall, we only see her only as a plus when her friends want to have orfies. What about this screams empowerment? Istg if PD just did more research about how escorting, sex industry and porn industry work, Alex's character wouldn't have been so romanticised, and painted as "others". She would've ugly sides just like everyone else,

which is why i hoped PD wrote at least one POV in her behalf. Which i bet, 100% weren't so feminist or women-supporting of her due to the competition among women who are richer, prettier, smarter, chosen than her that she had to face at least since she was 18 with that ex-friend Aurora. Aurora was painted as the crazy girl, but alex WAS the homewrecker. And if alex can fight emmy for stupid shit in nightfall while lauding to everyone how a bitch emmy was even when she wasnt right, why would we trust her words when it comes to Aurora? Alex was messy s fuck! And this is a common problem among escort, and sex workers because their vile and vicious industry out women against another and men around them laugh at them while they fund their lifestyles. It's truly saddening for young women to be caught into this, but it's a reality for many.

which is also why i feel like PD glossed over this aspect, because we could at least get one explaination about how insensitive alex was to her FRIEND, emmy in nightfall. Because to a lot of workers in this industry, this is their norm. Fights, slamders, cheating, and pose emmy's friendship with her that started well from the start until the end a unique dynamic among her other relationships in life. Made me angry when alex was always fighting emmy for everything that aydin but never once hurt aydin or will in the process. She wasn't the feminist figure that everyone thought she was. But then everyone had low as fuck standards, so ofc, just like winter, her misogyny was overlooked.

i'm sure if we get an alex pov, we probably would've explored this side of her as a sex worker more, and how her relationship with men are different than women since she had to always buddy up with men, and hurt their gfs or be in competition with them. Alex's first interaction with all the horsemen's wives always interesting to me because you can see where these girls came from, how they were risen up in family, and what kind of person they chose to be to strangers, especially women that looked like are in "competition" with them. Which obviously made me love Emory even more. I think this point of Emory treating the girls well has been said many times, but it's truly sad that this is even an outlier, it should)ve been the standard. Which also made me like the dark verse series more because of the genuine supportive female relationships in that series.

in conclusion, i dont mind reading about nasty fmcs or women because in a dark romance, i dont hold fmcs to a higher standard than their male counterpart, but for stupid reasons? These characters almost dont want people to like them at this point because they all sound shallow and stupid as fuck. For them to still be stupid and nasty (especially from one women to another, and one men to another) for no reason while already having 7-8 members in the family? No braincells? WTF? I love dark romance, but it's hard to find the ones that truly makes it good and smart, because even the dark verse has a problem with the grammar and writing style. Ugh idk.

have you wver thought of alex's character in this angle, K.O.? I'm surprised nobody ever discussed this point.

And as a sex worker who frequents drugs and have access to the prostitution and sex work industry, youre telling me she can "stay pure"?

Sooooo. . . I was actually just talking about, like uh, Adderall.

You’re telling me she was able to do all of that with out taking some sort up upper, was my take. There's no way that girl is doing all of that, without some help, and taking care of herself.

I’m not aware of the specifics of the sex work industry. Most of what I know, which is little, is gleaned from the small exposure I have from social media. It’s either portrayed as the worst decision someone every made, forever giving them self-esteem and trust issues, or their way to freedom and the best decision they ever made. This is why I’ve never made an issue about Alex being a sex worker. She always said it was just a job and that she intended to quit someday, and I took her word for it.

My issue with Alex’s sex life is that she makes everything about it. I can’t get these moments out of my head. Like when something was going on, and Banks walked in on Alex with Lev, distracting him from what he was supposed to be doing, and Banks had to tell Alex ‘no’. Alex got pouty, if I remember.

Rika telling someone that when Alex is thinking about sex, someone is getting laid.

Alex asking who’s available for her with they’re on the yacht and all the other couples pair off. Banks and Rika need to reassure her that she can have access to the crew and Lev. Which made Alex feel like it was her birthday and Christmas rolled into one.

Again, not fully informed on the specifics, but it comes across as if she’s a borderline sex addict. As if as soon as the idea occurs to her, she has to act on it. She can't go one night without sex, and it doesn't matter who with. It doesn't feel like sex positivity. It feels like unhealthy behavior and a coping mechanism. Which, maybe it is to cover up how empty her life is without Aydin.

And then, in Conclave, to turn in around and have Alex express sadness that she ended up in this position almost by accident. But, still, she would never change it. Despite her doing all that work for the group, despite Rika pointing out that she could have a job where she doesn’t have to sell herself for $500 an hour, she always vehemently refuses to give it up because “there’s nothing wrong” with what she does.

Two things can be true at once, I guess. But it reads as a conflicting character to me. The fact that it’s not address leaves me with the impression that Alex’s character being contradictory wasn’t intended.

The “being pure” has less to do with what Alex does, but more of her personality. The idea is that despite everything she’s gone through, all the challenges she’s had to face, and the work she does, which is looked down on, Alex never let anything dull her light. She still approaches things with a childlike wonder and excitement. She still has a brightness and warmth to her. She hasn’t let the hardships make her callous. Therefore, she is pure and innocent, like a child.

you would've thought PD would approach this topic with more nuances

I don’t expect PD to approach anything with nuance. And that’s not a dig at them. There’s plenty of authors that I expect will do mid-level research for their plot, and will get some things right and some things wrong. In fact, a good way to do research is to search "What does Hollywood get wrong about –" because there’s a good chance someone who actually does have experience with that topic will be ranting about it online.

What I expect is nuance with the characters. Alex had the potential to be an interesting character, but like Rika and Damon, reaches levels of ‘this character is so perfect it’s irritating’.

not only that Alex's lifestyle and job were not shown to be impacting her emotions

Like I mentioned above, there is that scene in Conclave where Alex does express her feelings about her job a little bit more clearly than usual. In Nightfall, Alex tells Will that she puts everything under another layer of lipstick, clearly indicating that, like him, she shoves all her negative thoughts and feelings away and only focuses on the good in her life. She pretends everything is good, like Will did before Blackchurch. Since we only see her from other people’s point of views, we’re only getting the side of her that’s happy. It’s why a POV chapter from Alex might have been beneficial. It would have given her some nuance, and readers a chance to understand her better, if they wanted to.

how insensitive alex was to her FRIEND, emmy in nightfall. Because to a lot of workers in this industry, this is their norm. Fights, slamders, cheating,

I guess because of my lack of knowledge about the sex industry, I didn’t include the sense of competition in when considering the dynamic between Emory and Alex. I mean, I know Alex wanted to “protect” Will from being hurt by Emory, because she identified Emory as being the same threat to Will as Aydin was to her. But the added background of having to constantly be better than other women to get and keep clients wasn’t something I calculated for. It’s a wonder that Alex is even able to keep female friends. It seems like that sense of competition should bleed over into other aspects. In fact, in the books she sees the men as competition more often, like when she told Kai he “stole” her threesome with Michael and Rika, so therefore she should get to have Banks.

Which, in a way, seems like another instance of Alex being above it all. Those traits affect everyone else, but she’s better than to get caught up in trivial and petty fights. She’s got better things to focus on.

But again, I’m not sure how that actually works, and I assume that it’s not the same for every individual across the board. There’s probably different experiences and perspectives.

Made me angry when alex was always fighting emmy for everything that aydin but never once hurt aydin or will in the process. She wasn't the feminist figure that everyone thought she was. But then everyone had low as fuck standards, so ofc, just like winter, her misogyny was overlooked.

See, this is not something that I totally mind when reading. It feels realistic that our actions don’t always match up with what we say. So having a character talk and act as if they always support women no matter what, and then have them targeting a woman (in this case, Emory) rather than the actual source of their anger (Aydin), feels like something that humans actually do.

My problem is that it’s she’s not called out on it? Or at least, she’s never framed as being “wrong” for it. As if she’s justified in behaving that way, when she’s not. She is being hypocritical, and having a double standard.

And maybe I’m just not reading the text deeply enough to see that Emory has corrected her, and that’s why the scene in the bridal shop matters. I mean, we joke about supporting women’s wrongs. But we first have to acknowledge that they. . .did wrong. . .? Which I feel like we do with Emory and Banks, but not with Alex. So it make it difficult to get to the point where we can joke about it, since the text (seemingly) and half the fandom refuse to acknowledge that it happened.

I think this point of Emory treating the girls well has been said many times, but it's truly sad that this is even an outlier, it should)ve been the standard

I really do appreciate that Emory never did treat other women as the competition. Even when she first met Alex, and Alex teased her about sizing her up, Emory didn’t change the way she treated Alex. There’s a lot more to it, but when compared to the other women meeting Alex, it does stand out as different.

have you wver thought of alex's character in this angle, K.O.? I'm surprised nobody ever discussed this point.

I’m also surprised this is the first time someone is bringing how her life as an escort should be affecting Alex’s behavior. At least, with me. It’s an interesting conversation, for sure.

#asked and answered 306 #asked and answered #devil's night series #character discussion #no alex tag