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hyperfixat · 4 months

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HI!! i have decided on a posting schedule for this fic!! once a month, every month on the 25th, i hope you look forward to it <3 due to someone asking i will have a taglist, so please leave a comment or ask (i won’t post if you ask me not to) to join. any comments or reblogs mean a lot, thank you all for the support i have received.

also, dunno if i mentioned; while the reader is intended to be inclusive toward everyone they are, in the canon of me writing them, bisexual. everything else is up to interpretation

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** Written PRE 1.5 – Any mentions of new characters is pure speculation and or headcanons.

The Astral Express decides to stop at the Xianzhou Luofu first, then wrap things up on Jarilo VI. According to Pompom the train’s warp is near instant, so they won’t set for take off until the early hours of tomorrow.

Due to them being the first to offer, that night you spend in Caelus’ room. It’s pretty bare bones, an uneven mix of Dan Heng literally living in the archives and March 7th’s tasteful over decoration.

They offer their bed to you, willing to sleep on their relaxing-chair, but Caelus is the proud owner of a queen size bed. Long story short, their bed is large enough to share, and you do.

Initially you had fallen asleep on separate ends, but throughout the night, you migrated closer, making it so that when you crack your dry eyes open as the lights at Herta’s station turn on for the day, you’re greeted with front row seats to Caelus’ face.

After the initial fluster of emotions, you calm your body and mind and get ready to seize the day.

“So who, here, are we gathering up, again?” March questions you merrily, holding a hand out to help you off the express and onto the landing port.

“I hope everyone will still be here,” you muse, basking in the cool air of the flagship. “Will the Stellaron Hunters be here, you think?”

“Probably,” Dan Heng affirms, moving to stand next to you. You glance at him and smile.

“There’s Jing Yuan, Loucha, Fu Xuan, Bailu, Yukong,” you briefly consider mentioning Jinglui or Tingyun, but decide against it. “Yanqing, and of course Blade, Kafka, and Silver Wolf.”

“I doubt Silver Wolf will be here in person,” Caelus nods. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her not as one of her fancy holograms.”

The six of you, the whole Express minus the conductor, casually walk through the scape of the Central Starskiff Haven, taking in the sights.

The weather (which is likely simulated) is nice and cool enough not to warrant you drowning in sweat. March 7th casually slips her arm through yours, tugging you closer to her. Your gaits are forced to be in sync, but you weren’t walking that much differently than her.

“Be gentle with them, March,” Himeko lightly chides. Her hand falls on your other shoulder, lightly squeezing.

“I’m fine, Ms Himeko,” you reply lightly laughing. “March wasn’t rough.”

“Oh? Well if it isn’t the Astral Express!” Jing Yuan is walking at your group, crossing the flow of walking traffic. He’s so much larger than the game made him seem; he’s taller and broader (especially in the chest) than his game model portrayed. His hair looks shiny and smooth, and you’re staring, aren’t you? Alluring golden eyes meet yours, “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

You don’t want to speak, too afraid you’ll make an absolute fool out of yourself in front of the General.

“Hey Jing Yuan,” Caelus, ever the angel, redirects his attention. “We need to have a meeting with you and a few others later on. Are you free this evening?”

“Hm?” Jing Yuan gives a distracted sound of affirmation. “Indeed, I am.”

The next person you run into is Master Diviner, Fu Xuan. The short pink haired girl (Fu Xuan in this instance, not March 7th) looks up at the commotion of your group’s entrance.

“The Astral Express and… friend. How can I help you today?”

Caelus and March help lead the introductions throughout the day and before you know it you’ve tracked down Qingque, Loucha, Sushang, and are now on the hunt for the hunters.

“Are we sure they’re here?” You ask after another detour down an Aurum Alley backstreet leads to nothing. “Could they be… I don’t know… at their secret base?”

Welt frowns, resting his weight onto his cane as he comes to a stop next to you. “We can only keep looking, as we don’t know where that so-called secret base is. If we don’t find them soon,” he sighs. “We will have our discussion without them.”

Your group resigns to having your meeting with the Xianzhou Luofu residents without the Stellaron Hunters.

Qingque listens to what you say with a blank, contemplative face, her hands fiddling with her Mahjong pieces, fingers rubbing the smooth finish. She looks at you when you move your gaze away, eyes watching you curiously.

“I know it’s hard to believe,” you finish off your mini-speech. “But, please, you all are vital parts of this world and its story, and I don’t know who else to turn to.”

Loucha has long set his coffin down beside him, letting the thing take up an entire chair’s space. Jing Yuan looks across the table at the blond man, “what do you make of this situation?”

“It sounds absurd.” The voice didn’t come from your table. You lift your head and look around the empty plaza.

“Silver Wolf?” When you utter her name, her hologram flickers beside you. She’s semi-opaque and looks down at you.

“You know my name.” Silver Wolf aprases you. “That does help prove your point, I’ll give you that.” Her gaze moves to a well maintained shrub across the way, “I think it’s legit, Kafka.”

“Kafka?” Jing Yuan’s eyebrow raises. At that moment her well maintained, elegant form slips out from the branches of the bush. She pulls out a stray leaf from her hair and nods at the General.

“How intriguing.” Kafka switches her focus to you, “if what you say is indeed true…”

“It is.” You say before you can stop yourself. Her eyebrow lifts at your eager reply.

Fu Xuan crosses her legs and stares harshly at the wine haired woman. “You are a wanted criminal on the Xianzhou Luofu.”

Kafka gasps, faux hurt on her face. Her hand lays over her chest, right where her heart is. “Imprisoning me would be against your better interests regarding this one right here.” She says, referring to you. “If Elio were to know of how this little one has come to our world, who would be able to ask if not me?”

“Silver Wolf could, no?” Fu Xuan bites back. When her gaze moves to where Silver Wolf’s hologram was though, she has disappeared. Kafka giggles softly.

“I take it that is a no,” Jing Yuan chuckles.

“A game…” Qingque muses softly. Sushang, seated beside her, nabs a lone Mahjong tile, flipping it in the air idly. “It’s so odd. I have a whole life of memories, yet you say I am only built to be a side piece for entertainment.”

You look down at your lap, face feeling hot with shame at ever evening playing Honkai Star Rail. It’s not like you could have known…

Madam Yukong hums, “while I am inclined to believe you, is there any proof you can offer us? Something you know that would otherwise be unexplainable?”

Loucha is silent in his seat. “How much do you know about us?” He seems troubled.

You think, wondering where the question came from at the same moment a certain cutscene comes to mind. Loucha was somewhere he shouldn’t have been and is carrying more than just a coffin laden with secrets around.

“As a general rule of thumb, I won’t be revealing anything possibly hurtful or incriminating about anyone here.” You sigh, a line of worry coming across your forehead. This is all a lot to deal with. “I… I will do my best not to infringe on any of your private lives.”

“Hey now,” March puts on a sympathetic tone and pets the crown of your head. “I’m fine with you infringing on my private life.” The words most definitely contain an innuendo that you don’t think anyone at the table failed to miss.

With pink cheeks Dan Heng says as well, “You have become somewhat important to me in the limited time we’ve known each other. I would not object to having a more private relationship with you.”

Rounding back to the Foxian’s question you address her. “I mean, yeah, I could tell you what I know of your lives, but honestly? It’s mostly trauma, and sad, sad things.”

Yukong takes a long pause, lips thinning. “I see. I will lend you my trust for now, though I wish to have a private moment with you later on.”

The whole table shares with you that you have no need to worry about forging bonds with them, and it makes you tear up a bit. “That’s very kind of you all, thank you.” Once the emotional moment has come and gone, you realize the absence of one key character.

“Kafka, where’s Blade?”

Her face, that remained unchanging for the whole duration of the conversation, falls slightly. “The Mara is harsh on him today.”

“Oh,” you’d almost forgotten about the Mara. The affliction that curses those who don’t die by it, leading Blade into an undying fate of misery. “I would like to talk to him and fill him in on me being here.”

“He will come and find me soon enough. Wait here with me, darling.” A warm feeling covers your face and chest at the pet name she gives you. Everything about this woman makes you feel crazy….

“Leave them alone with you?” March's tone makes it clear how much she detests the idea. “No way!”

Kafka pouts, eyes lidding as she looks over at the girl, “would you rather I take them to meet Bladie?”

Caelus calls your name, meeting your eyes considerately. “You played our world as a game, so you must have an answer to this. Do you trust Kafka to bring you no harm if we leave your side?”

Now that… it’s not like you’re alone in a desolate place with her. Screaming is always an option. The thought of spending time alone with her makes your heart beat faster and fills your head with its sound. You got sidetracked, imagining sitting side by side with the woman… rather you should focus on the question at hand.

“Yes.” It’s half true. You wonder if her Elio has given her orders regarding anyone from other worlds. Hopefully nothing like ‘eliminate them on sight.’

The Xianzhou Luofu and Astral Express crew bid you goodbyes, Himeko making a point to narrow her eyes threateningly at Kafka as she exits the pavilion.

Kafka drags a chair out next to you and leans on her elbows, gazing at you. You force yourself to maintain calm, even breaths, willing and praying for the heat in your face to dissipate.

The two of you sit there in silence for a moment.

“I wonder if Elio foresaw me coming into this world,” you muse, gazing into Kafka’s pupil-less eyes. The color, a captivating mix of red wine and magenta, doesn’t give away emotion.

“I doubt it.” Her words are floaty and smooth, “As much as I don’t want to admit that, but your existence seems beyond even Elio’s grasp of understanding.”

“Will…” those words send an uncomfortable feeling down your spine. “Will he be angry about that?”

“Who’s to say?” Though in her unchanging eyes you swear you see a hint of amusement. “Though the way you captivate the hearts and minds of everyone you come across, I don’t believe you to be in any danger.”

Well, at least you don’t have to worry about being nuked or anything at the moment. That’s a relief.

Occasionally making small talk, the sun sets on the Loufu as you and Kafka watch. It’s quite intimate for having just met today, but you find your head leaning on her shoulder, breathing in her scent.

While the sky is painted twilight purple, Blade finally makes his presence.

His gait is cool and slow and had you not known of his Mara-Struck status you would think he’s calm and relaxed. His red pupils dilate when he catches sight of you, and they flick over to Kafka where they stay.

“I am late.” He says, though does not apologize.

“Don’t worry about it, Bladie, I had plenty of time to learn about this little one.” Kafka rubs the back of her hand on your cheek, the rings unnaturally cool against your face. It envokes a rush of heat to your face, making you divert your gaze to Blade, who takes the seat next to you.

You’re caged in between the two most beautiful, cool, and awesome Stellaron Hunters. Breathe. Just breathe and don’t pass out or get a bloody nose, because that’d be so cringe.

Kafka’s laugh twinkles in the air like wind chimes at your reaction.

“Are you planning on staying with the Astral Express?” Blade probes. He traces the planes of your face mentally, taking in every detail that graces you.

“Oh?” Kafka leans across you to tease her… (dog) comrade. “Recruiting them already, are we?”

Recruiting you? Are they trying to get you to join their organization? What use would you be as a Stellaron Hunter? You have no battle experience (how would battle even work? Turn based fighting, even in the real world?), so you’re useless there. You have some tech know-how, but clearly nowhere near Silver Wolf’s talent. All you have is— oh.

They want your knowledge about being from beyond this world, don’t they? That revelation brings a sour feeling to your soul. So you weren’t being paid attention to out of genuine interest rather they’re using how you react so positively to being fawned over to gain your favor.

You pull back, away from Kafka and Blade. The chair scrapes the pavement painfully, shrieking as it does so. Both of their gazes flash over to you.

“Where are you headed off to little one?” Kafka calls for you as you gather yourself and stand. Blade remains silent, but his gaze makes up for it in intensity. Though with Kafka’s eyes being clouded and without pupils, it’s not a high calling.

“Restroom.” You lie comfortably.

“Let me come with you,” Kafka says, moving to standing as well.

Even if you do not use the same restroom, you shake your head. “It’s okay, I’ll be back,” maybe.

Himeko finds you wandering Central Starskiff Haven alone, her fiery hair flowing behind her as she speeds up her walk to a brisk pace. She calls out your name, making you look up and offer a half smile.

“Ms Himeko.” You greet.

When she reaches your side, she wraps a lean arm around your shoulders, and tugs you a tad bit closer. Her sweet perfume feels like a second hug.

“Did Kafka abandon you?” Himeko’s words bring a more genuine smile to your face, and respond lightly.

“I didn’t want to continue the conversation we were having.”

Her hand strokes over your hair, “hm? Do you want to elaborate on that or would you rather not breach that topic for now?” You wrap your arms around her waist, seeking comfort, and ignoring the way her golden accessories dig into your torso.

“I want to go home,” you reply quietly, speaking into her skin. Though you don’t know if you wish to go to your home, your home in the real world, or simply seek out the safety and privacy of the Astral Express.

“Let’s get you home, then.” Himeko keeps you close as you navigate through the thinning crowds. Her arms are sturdy as she keeps you close from other pedestrians.

“Where are the others?” you wonder idly. Perhaps they took the time to catch up with the Xianzhou Luofu locals. You hope they won’t leave early for your sake, childishly running away when things don’t go quite the way you’d wanted. That’d make you feel far worse than you already do.

“I believe Caelus and General Jing Yuan are training with Yanqing,” Himeko begins. “March is at the Divination Commision. Welt and Dan Heng are in the Exalting Sanctum. As for the native citizens, I can’t say I paid much attention to where they headed off to.”

You nod contemplatively. “Can we get something to drink, or eat, before we head back to the Express?” It seems like a decent way to spend the time, and your body seems to have realized that you haven’t eaten much today.

Himeko agrees, and both of you find your way to an outdoor table at the Sleepless Earl, the both of you nursing Immortal’s Delights and sharing a new cake they’re testing out. Mengming was eager to offer up the slice to you both, and well, free food is free food. It’s delicious too.

At a certain point you realize just how much of a date it is you’re on with Himeko, a classic coffee shop date. It makes warmth flutter in your chest like butterflies on fire. And she’s not doing it out of desire to wring you for information. Perhaps she feels some moral obligation to not let you get lost, but it seems that she likes you, genuinely, as a person. That brings a soft smile to your face that you cover with a sip of your sweet coffee.

Before you find yourself lost once more in the gold of Himeko’s eyes once again a flash of orange hair and brilliant fire catches your attention from your peripheral vision.

There’s a familiar looking street performer showing off dangerous fire swallowing tricks with a crowd surrounding her. With a start you realize it’s an unreleased character, one you had not accounted for being here.

Gui… something.

Himeko follows your gaze when you jolt, “I’m sure those tricks are safe, she looks well practiced.” Her cool hand covers yours, her gold rings clinking against the table.

You shake your head, “she’s part of the game.”

“Hm? I thought we rounded up everyone on this nation already?”

“I thought so too. She’s unreleased, but I’ve seen her trailer and some leaks. Gui, ah I can’t recall her name, but we should probably catch her attention when we can.”

Gui is amazing at keeping the crowd around her engaged. She’s a natural performer.

There’s a round of cheers as she leans back comically, covering her mouth like she’s going to cough before leaning upwards and blowing out a sharp stream of flame from her mouth.

“She’s really good,” you murmur to yourself, transfixed by her crowdwork.

“Indeed,” Himeko nods.

Guinaifen, you remember her name just as she takes a large, performative bow. The citizens around her disperse and you whisper her name under your breath. As if she could hear you, her amber eyes meet yours from across the pavilion. Her head tilts, her side ponytail leaning more crooked than it was.

“We should talk to her,” you say, but shyness is a hard beast to battle and you drop your stare.

Himeko lets out an amused huff as she stands and crosses to talk to the girl.

A few moments later the two fiery haired women return to your table. Guinaufen drags a chair from an empty nearby table and sits next to you.

“Ms Himeko here says you need to talk to me about something? I saw you watching my performance, so if you’re asking for trade secrets, I have to let you down now. A magician never reveals her secrets~.” There’s a sheen of sweat across her forehead and her baby hairs make a halo around her face. Your mouth dries up when you look at her.

“Oh, it’s nothing like that,” you say with a hoarse chuckle. You lift your refreshing drink up to wet your palate. “Actually, it’s a bit on the serious side. I would have invited you to the meeting earlier, but I didn’t expect to find you here.”

“Hm? What meeting?”

“You have to take my word for it but I am not lying. Make an audience with the general if you want. He will back up my claims.” You ignore her question, instead focusing on carefully delivering your words. “This is a game. I played this world as a video game, but somehow I wound up here and I’m letting you know because you are an important side character. I did not know to search for you, because you aren’t a part of the story yet. If a time comes where I need your assistance to get me back to where I belong or something like that, I wanted you to be informed of this.”

“HUH?”

After thorough explanation with Himeko’s assistance, you bid Guinaifen farewell.

The artificial lighting of the Alliance ships dims as time passes, simulating a sunset as a natural planet would have. When the sky turns orange and pink, the same soft pink as a certain March 7th’s hair, you and Himeko decide to make your way back to where the Astral Express docked.

To your surprise, when you step into the passenger cart the breasts of Jing Yuan greet you. You blink, then look up to meet the man’s eyes.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” Jing Yuan chuckles to help alleviate your embarrassment.

“It’s quite alright, I must be going now, I hope to see you again, and soon,” he finishes by saying your name, the deep rumble of his voice bringing more warmth to your face.

“You too, me too. Uh, bye Jing Yuan, I hope to see you soon.” You’re going to die, that was so embarrassing, what the fuck, you’re so so silly. Himeko hides a smile, wrapping her arm around your shoulders to escort you back down the sleeping cart and to the safety of her room where you can recover from your flush.

taglist. @leafanonsforest

#honkai star rail #hsr #hsr x reader #honkai star rail x reader #isekai #honkai star rail isekai #self aware honkai star rail #sahsrau #xianzhou luofu #astral express crew x reader #hsr x you #tagging is hard

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twopoint99 · 8 months

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Possible spoilers if you haven’t already listened or read the book. Also, spoilers for The Horror of Dracula, 1958 and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 1992.

One of my favorite things about @re-dracula is seeing the reactions of people whose main exposure to the story is through the many film adaptations. The differences in how the characters relate to one another are way too many to list from film to film. Even aside from the bizarre choices (Lucy as Mina’s sister-in-law - the Horror of Dracula, 1958, or Mina as the reincarnation of Dracula’s lost love - Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 1992) the most important difference between those adaptations and re - dracula is that these are fully rounded characters who clearly care about one another.

Jonathan adores Mina, Mina loves him, and loves Lucy. The suitor squad and Van Helsing genuinely cherish Lucy and it causes everyone palpable pain when they see her slipping away. When the group finally gets together in one place, they all acknowledge and respect the various strengths they each bring, and they hold one another up as needed.

None of the characters seem cast aside, as often happens in film adaptations. Even the 1992 film, which includes all three suitors, doesn’t manage to make them all seem like full personalities. They appear more as aspects of an individual, or as tropes. Lucy herself in the ‘92 movie is the complete opposite of her characterization in the novel. Her behavior in the film is anachronistic at best, and offensive at the least. It is a perfect illustration of the stupid and misogynistic attitude in horror that “wanton” women are punished.

Not only that, but it also completely changes the story and the dreadful implications of it. Lucy isn’t targeted because she’s “done something wrong” (quotes because I don’t believe expressing/exploring one’s sexuality is wrong, no matter what my favorite genre keeps telling me), she is targeted because she is convenient. Dracula wasn’t musing in between leaving his castle and reaching England that by golly, he couldn’t wait to terrorize Lucy Westenra! He saw an opportunity, like any other predator, and he took it.

Of course, we’ve seen that he is very willing to play with his food once he feels in control. He was very pleased to be able to torment Jonathan, yet another character who is often treated poorly in adaptations - in the 1958 version he’s so smug and patronizing toward what appears to be a terrified woman, that I was actively hoping for his death.

In contrast, the novel/Dracula Daily/re-dracula show us a sweet, earnest man, one who is gentle and loving. He, like Lucy, is a convenient victim, and like Lucy, is innocent.

The true horror is that terrible things can happen to anyone, and no amount of wealth, education, or simple good-heartedness, will act as a shield. There are no preventatives, and no one “deserves” the terrible things that happen. The real strength of the story isn’t in deciding which characters(usually women) are worthy of saving, an overly simplistic approach that many film adaptations take, some more subtly than others. The story resonates because in spite of the randomness of the horror, the people involved decide to do something about it.

These people are not always perfect or even heroic. Dr. Seward (who I really enjoy, and who is also often portrayed badly in adaptation) is not a safe person for his patients to be around. He is ableist, arrogant, patronizing, and definitely not handling his own mental health well. He is also loving, practical, loyal, and in many ways exceptionally tender-hearted. All of the cast is achingly good in their portrayals, but Johnny Sims’ interpretation of Seward has been revelatory. The man is flawed, but gosh darnit, he’s absolutely human. His pain is visceral, his awkwardness is utterly relatable, and his attempts to make things make sense is so hard to hear, because we want the awful things to be a puzzle with a logical solution, but we also know that there is no motivation for what is happening, it is all chance.

Mina herself questions why they need worry about Dracula, once he is gone from England. By this time she’s had a horrific experience with the count and understandably wants to be done with the whole thing. Earlier, however, she begins her work of compiling all the information available about Dracula, because she understands that something may need to be done, for the good of all.

She is afraid of losing her husband, she is afraid of what other horrors may wait, but she also is able to put that aside to continue to pursue stopping Dracula, so that there won’t be another victim, and so that Dracula himself might be saved from the horrific reality he’s experienced for so long.

I have been telling people ad nauseum that re-dracula is hands down the best adaptation of the novel I’ve ever encountered. It is because it is treated as a story about people, real people, with real connections to those around them, real flaws and strengths, who grow to share a bond. They swear to stop Dracula, not out of vengeance, as Jonathan can be forgiven for wanting, but out of love for those they have lost and those they may save.

#re: dracula #tiny essay #if you aren’t listening but have any interest please listen #you won’t regret it

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idyllic-affections · 1 year

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invisible disability? it's rather visible to me.

summary. baizhu knows the struggle of maintaining a job while being chronically ill; as such, he is willing to offer an accommodating work environment for others who struggle like he does.

trigger & content warnings. angst (at first... it gets better i swear /lh), ableism, etc.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. hurt/comfort. baizhu & chronically ill!teen!reader, qiqi & reader. 1.7k words. they/them pronouns for reader.

author's thoughts. he's out of nonplayable prison ygs!!!!! can't wait to see his character stories for..... personal reasons..... anyways i want to specify that i am chronically ill. i am constantly fighting with my genetics to be healthy, its ridiculous LMAO

imagine baizhu employing a chronically ill, visionless teenager.

baizhu can easily say he's known their family for a long time, so he of course knows that they have trouble keeping a job. they often mention little things like that about their life during their visits with him. never once has he found anything wrong with them; they're always in virtually perfect health.

that doesn't change the fact that they're very clearly struggling. he's observed just how much they overexert themselves in a desperate attempt to actually keep a stable job, simply to help support their family, but all the exertion only seems to make their invisible issues worse.

also... they've been in his care for heat stroke more than once in liyue's warmer seasons. the heat is just far too much for their body to handle if they aren't careful.

"What the hell is wrong with me?"

Their voice was so quiet and whispery that if Baizhu hadn't been attuned closely to them at that moment, he might have missed it. They half wished that he would have. Based on the brief glance he spared in their direction, they knew he was listening. Oh well.

"I mean... really. This is ridiculous," they murmured, knees drawn up against their chest. "Everyone thinks I'm just dramatic. I'm not. I do fine for the most part, but then it just... gets bad for no reason at all... how am I in perfect health?"

By that point in their rant, his undivided attention was on them. Though his gaze was thoughtful, musing, they interpreted it differently and winced slightly.

"...Sorry. I really shouldn't be complaining like this in front of someone who's chronically ill."

"No, it's quite alright. You shouldn't minimize your pain. Your struggles are as valid as mine. I find your trust, your ability to confide in me, quite endearing, even," he reassured, unbothered, to which their shoulders seemed to lose some of the tension they harbored. "In fact... I've been thinking about this for quite some time now. Chronic illness may show itself in a variety of forms. Sometimes it may show itself in the form of your symptoms. Would you like to learn how to manage your energy better?"

the liyuean doctor basically hired them right then and there, but they don't really realize that for the first few weeks.

in the beginning, they're just... spending time at bubu pharmacy, learning how baizhu manages his own limited energy and applying those techniques to their own life (it works shockingly well). that's all!

it slowly turns into them helping out where they can—packaging herbs, learning what exactly each one of them does, delivering prescriptions to those who cannot physically get the medicines themselves... even when people start to question if they've found a new job, they remain oblivious.

it's one day while helping mince herbs that they realize they're basically a junior herbalist.

A soft hiss left their lips when the knife nicked the pad of their finger. They were quick to put pressure on the little cut, pulling their hand away from the countertop to prevent any blood from dripping onto it.

"It's best to get rid of those herbs," Baizhu reminded, stepping away from his own work to gently bandage their wound.

A small pout graced their lips. "I didn't get any blood on them, though..."

Amusement and the vaguest hint of fondness twinkled in his gaze. "We don't know that for certain, do we, now?"

"...Wait a minute." Their eyes narrowed suspicously at him, drawing their freshly-dressed hand back once he was done. "This isn't about energy management anymore, is it? Have I been... I've been working here this entire time. These tasks are very employee-like."

"Come, now. Don't look at me like that. You were looking for a stable job, and I am more than willing to accomodate your needs."

"You could've at least said something to me. I've been doing free labor all this time, and as a child, no less! Hmm... now, I do believe that is illegal in this part of Teyvat~ It'd be shame to get Ms. Yanfei involved~"

in the spirit teaching them to manage their energy, he often takes them on house calls with him, starting off to just homes in liyue harbor and later to homes all the way in qingce village. it's a good way for them to gain stamina and get a better understanding of their job.

baizhu has a tendency to smile through his own pain for the sake of his patients.

this habit slipped by unchecked until [name] came around.

whenever they feel like he isn't doing very well, they'll take over for him regardless of what he has to say about it.

herbalist gui is very thankful for them—baizhu hardly ever listened to him, but he does take better care of himself for [name]'s sake.

(he swears that baizhu is oddly parental when it comes to them, but he wouldn't dare mention the doctor's blatant affections to his face.)

"welcome to bubu pharmacy," they'd greet with a kind smile after unceremoniously shoving baizhu towards the back of the pharmacy where he could rest undisturbed, "unfortunately, dr. baizhu is currently out of commission, but herbalist gui and i would be glad to take care of anything you may need."

sometimes changsheng can be seen wrapped around their arm! usually it's their dominant arm, which is terribly inconveniencing. still, it would be an honor to be Chosen™ by their loved one's pet... if only she wasn't so mean to them.

"Hmph. You're terrible at cutting herbs. It pains me just to watch."

"Okay? Go back to Dr. Baizhu then? I'm not holding you hostage, Changsheng. You came to me," they huffed. "Also... maybe I'd be able to cut better if you weren't strangling my dominant arm. Just saying."

It's a few moments later that they're sulking, murmuring curses as Baizhu disinfected their fresh snake bite. Changsheng completely neglected to apologize until Baizhu had prompted her to.

(They would complain that he found that incident a little too funny if anyone were to ask them. It really hurt, you know!)

changsheng bullies them lovingly <3 she bites them affectionately <33

(not that she'd ever say that, though. baizhu knows. he just chooses to let her believe he doesn't know.)

qiqi becomes very attached to them very quickly, i think. she'd like having a nice older sibling around and would address them as such without even thinking about it. "jiějiě," "gēgē"... she can't really tell what gender they identify closer with and doesn't remember to ask, so she tends to bounce between the two terms of address.

she has an entire page in her journal dedicated to little things about [name] that she deems to be important. she notes down things they seem to like, things they seem to dislike, their birthday, other important dates, defining features...

she also keeps important warning signs related to health episodes of their's jotted down, like how when [name] stands still a little too long, qiqi should urge them to sit for a moment because they're probably either dizzy or having vision issues, or how when their hands begin to tremble, qiqi should share a sunsettia with them.

she does miss these signs sometimes... she does her best, though! qiqi only wants to help the sweet junior herbalist that braids her hair and accompanies her on her herb-picking trips and hugs her and says "i love you, please stop this task, you might get hurt" with so much genuine affection that it often overwhelms her :(

it's rare, but sometimes, there will be a customer or patient that has little tolerance for their disability-induced weakness or slowness.

because their illness(es) is(/are) invisible, very few people take their struggles seriously.

some people take this as an excuse to verbally and even physically abuse them.

baizhu does not take kindly to people abusing his employees, especially not his chronically ill teenage employee. especially not them.

"Is there an issue I can help with?"

They didn't mind being the only one at reception during the days Herbalist Gui was out, Qiqi was herb-picking, and Baizhu was otherwise occupied. It wasn't a big deal, really.

At least... not until someone particularly impatient decided to make their job difficult.

Baizhu never took kindly to such incidents; this one was no different. Based on his tone of voice alone, it wasn't hard to guess that he was livid, golden irises alight with rage. Even Changsheng had hissed in their defense at the sight in front of her eyes.

He'd come back just in time to see them flinch away from the raised hand of some foreign adventurer.

"This one—"

"And who said I was asking you?" he scoffed, sliding behind the counter and checking them for wounds. They were shaking, he noted, gingerly supporting a fraction of their weight in case they were to collapse. "I was asking my herbalist, [Name]."

Baizhu was a man of patience and, really...

He wasn't all that confrontational. Despite that, any semblance of the supposed cowardice he harbored was gone in an instant.

His scarred fingers drew soothing shapes on their upper arm as he led them into the back of the clinic, guiding them to sit on one of the beds before their legs could give out.

"Are you alright?"

baizhu takes very good care of them after stressful encounters because he knows very well that such high-stress emotional experiences will take a toll on their body.

whenever a wealthier patient comes in, they've learned to overcharge them on purpose even if it's for the most ridiculous of ailments; oh? you say you have been sneezing quite a lot and are having a hard time breathing? no, no, it's not springtime allergies, who told you that? it's quite dire, in fact, and the treatment price will be awfully expensive... oh? you'll pay it? wonderful!

^ herbalist gui says that baizhu is a terrible influence on them sometimes.

in their defense, they get hefty bonuses every time wealthy people pay ridiculous prices for typically rather inexpensive herbs (like a certain ginger harbinger did one time! they still giggle at the memory of him paying so much for so little). the more wealthy people pay, the bigger their bonuses (fatui harbingers are very wealthy...).

simply put, they make more mora than the majority of their family put together because of this morally dubious behavior.

baizhu, gui, qiqi, and [name] are a chaotic found family but yk what? they all make it work <3

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

#aphelion's headcanons 🌸#: [ the junior herbalist! 🌸 ]#baizhu x reader #platonic genshin impact x reader #platonic genshin x reader #platonic genshin impact #baizhu x you #baizhu x y/n #genshin imagines #genshin x reader #qiqi x reader #platonic qiqi x reader

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lil-elle · 6 months

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Can you do xikers reaction to you having different colored eyes??

Umm I hope I understood this correctly 😭

XIKERS when you have Heterochromia

(two different coloured eyes)

pairs: xikers x gn!reader

genre: fluff, established relationship

word count: 616

content: fluffy sweet boyfies, kisses

a/n: i'm worried i didn't interpret this correctly but if i did, it's really creativeee (also it's a little short since I didn't exactly know what to put 😭)

Minjae:

Would be so fascinated and accidentally lean in too close to you before realising

It'd be one of his favourite features of yours and he'd always defend you if someone called it weird or something

Loves staring into your eyes

Junmin:

Would ask all the questions about how that happens and when you noticed and just everything

Would bring it up to everyone you two meet (unless it makes you uncomfortable of course, and then he'd tell people you don't like talking about it if they brought it up)

Would kiss your eyelids before bed, they'd become his favourite place to kiss

Sumin:

You'd literally become his muse, you'd start noticing that whenever he paints people, they'll always have two different coloured eyes

Would come up with some cute nickname for you like “skittles” or just any candy that's a mix of flavours

Would fight literally anyone that says it's weird or scary

Jinsik:

You'd always catch him staring at your eyes and he'd get flustered when you look at him

It'd definitely be the first thing that makes him start falling for you, it's just something so unique that he adores

Your eyes would always be such a comfort for him, always telling you to look into his eyes when he's feeling anxious or down

Hyunwoo:

Would be so shocked at first, he didn't even know it was something that someone could be born with

He'd listen with wide eyes as you tell him about it, except he wouldn't take in a single piece of information, mesmerised

He'd randomly go “you're so pretty” whenever you looked at him

Junghoon:

His eyes would go wide when he notices but he'd act like he's not infatuated with them

He'd always steal glances at them, even once you've been dating for a while he'd still be so obsessed

You'd tease him about how much he loved your eyes by having staring contests with him and he'd always lose because looking at them for too long makes him flustered

Seeun:

Definitely vocal about how cool they are and would use them to flirt with you, constantly complimenting them and making up pick-up lines around them

Would melt whenever you looked at him, he'd be embarrassed if you realised how much of an effect they had on him though

Would jokingly cover your eyes if you were talking to someone, saying “only I'm allowed to look into these eyes.”

Yujun:

Would just be “:O”

Would wanna tell everyone he knows about how pretty they are and how pretty you are and how lucky he is to have you (they'd all make fun of him but he can't stop himself)

Would get distracted a lot whenever you're trying to talk to him because he'd just be zoning out while staring into your eyes

Hunter:

“God, your eyes are gorgeous.” In the most deep and sultry voice and then you'd literally die (he knows what he's doing, trust me)

Would pull away from kisses just to stare into your eyes. While you're waiting for him to kiss you again, he's getting lost in them

Thinks they're the prettiest thing in the world. No magnificent view or bouquet of flowers could compare

Yechan:

“WOAH !!!! THAT'S SO COOL !!! :D”

If you ever felt insecure about your eyes, he'd change that so fast and make you love them as much as he does with endless compliments and exclamations

If anyone ever made fun of them, he'd drag you away and smother you in kisses and compliments before going back to the person that said something and give them a piece of his mind

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

TAGLIST:

@hyunromi @chocoeon @hyunukitty @minjaezed @ihyeokzu @cake1box @chiiyuuvv

#xikers #xikers fanfic #xikers imagines #xikers fluff #xikers x reader #xikers drabble

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idv-sunsxin3 · 2 months

Text

Diggers // Dating Headcanons

Note// I gotta write this since i successfully managed to bring him home;;; 🥺

____

Diggers is canonly a hippie. He is based on them, his voice lines often tell how peace is better than war- I don't have the mind to interpret him with many kinds of hippies stereotypes because I'm still skeptical about some things that I don't even know better- 🤔🫠

There may even be misunderstandings because it actually really happened to the hippies from the 60s sometimes -

Diggers cherishes the times he gets to talk with you, always looking forward to seeing every day and getting to know you...

He is even eager to share his passions while he learns to understand yours as well. He has always been accepting and non-judgmental, ever since you first met. No matter the flaws.

It's probably how he treats everyone because of his moral standards- but it's also more than that... because it's you.

He definitely senses something different about you the moment your fingers touched..

You're his muse, "the sunlight from the mornings, the starlight of the night.... his whole universe." Yes, he said that to you once once--- 😭🫠🥺

But well, he loves showing some of his works of art - well, only the ones he managed to keep. He most likely does graffiti and flower power aesthetics.

Imagine there is a time you two painted a mark of your initials inside a heart with a paint spray on the same bench you both sat in where you first met each other--- it would be fate for sure smh;;;;

Hangouts usually would be staying with him at the back of his van with the doors open, so the windy day can go through. You sometimes lay down on the carpet he places down. You would hear him play his guitar as he sits across from you, serenading you with his slow, soothing tunes.

The sight of the grassfield's landscape can be seen from the van's back seat, along with the small silhouette of London from afar. Once Diggers stops playing, he tends to place his hand on your head and give it headpats... slowly massaging your scalp after as you try to stay awake.

He loves pampering you in his own way, letting you rest with him during lazy days.

He is a sweet, laid-back lover... He trusts you enough that his jealousy levels are low to none just by simply thinking of the many things that can make you feel safe and happy with him- having himself being part of your life is already an honor to him.

But of course, I can imagine he would be like a kicked puppy whenever you ignore him for too long... like not seeing for 3 days can already make him feel droopy;;;

You'll do a lot of outdoor activities with Diggers when dating him-- he would always say things like like "be one with the forest" or "connect with mother nature" while making you these pretty flower crowns to adorn them on your head,,,

Camping in a forest is one of the common things you two do, Diggers knowing lots of things about how to survive in the wild while only having his van as a refuge.

Don't underestimate for his slender figure!!! He can even name you many kinds of herbs, flowers, and berries. Even point out the ones that are venomous or poisonous. He can't do math or this deep insight science, but at least he is knowledgeable in certain fields.

This is just me, but I love a Diggers giving his s/o the passenger princess treatment. No more questions/ih

He talks to you in a very honeyed and flowery voice, you don't even know if he's ever angry at you even while being this upset---(to be true, he never brings himself to be angry at you-- it wouldn't be cool) With how he calls you "Honey", "Baby ", "Love", and so much more, you'll probably need a sleeping bag because man, his voice;;;

He is very affectionate - maybe a bit touchy even. Lots of hugs, kisses, hands on the small of your back, waist, or hip - he always has this tendency of keeping a hand on you when you're around.

If you give him the consent(because consent is beautiful✨️), he doesn't feel embarrassed when pulling you to his lap or holding you so close from behind around anyone.

His holds are meant to be pure and innocent. Having your bodies touch helps him charge his batteries from any stress he ever has to experience in a fast-faced world you both are living in.;;😔

He always likes to carefully plant soft kisses on your forehead, eyelids, cheeks, hands, and shoulder,,, (neck if he really wants to make out with you;;; 👉👈 *gets bonked for not being normal *) Lots of smooching when he finds the lovely opportunity.

He is 100% honest with you, never lies at all. Even would tell you his honest opinions in a sincere, half-hearted manner. Otherwise, it would be against his principles of a peace and love relationship. He wants to love you unconditionally no matter the future struggles that may happen between you two. Always avoiding toxicity and any form of hate towards you.

He loves taking care of his body, eating natural and non-processed food as possible, and going on vegetarian diets. He wants to share his little routines with you, if you want to, of course,,, it is pretty much a way he shows that he enjoys living life with you and taking care of you if you allow him to once in a while. It's like a sign of building trust for him. 🥺

It's so cute when he wants to try and persuade you to try these vivid color clothes with lots of patterns on it, even having these flower matching Keychains.;;

No matter the path you want to go to, he'll always support you and your choices,,, he'll encourage you to do anything your heart desires to achieve, as long as you're true to yourself. 🥺✨️

Overall! He is such a walking green flag. What else can I say to support that? You probably might have more ideas, and the floor is always open for them, my friends 😌✨️💅

#diggers x reader #r1999 diggers #reverse 1999 diggers #r1999 x reader #r1999 #reverse 1999 x reader #reverse: 1999 #reverse 1999

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rach-amber · 2 months

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Me again!

Do you think that Rachel and Max had a spiritual connection with one another? They’re completely different as far as their personalities and outer appearances. Yet, they both have one thing in common:

Their love for Chloe.

Plus, the fact that Rachel appeared as Max’s spirit animal (the doe) somewhat shows me that they were connected to some degree. What do you think?

You always ask great questions! I must admit I'm not as well versed on Max's side of the story as Rachel's, so there definitely are people who can give a more comprehensive answer than me. But imma just try and write what comes to mind :)

For 2 people that have never met, their spiritual connection, chemistry, "fate entanglement" as I liked to call what they have are the strongest across the fandoms I've seen. When Max returned, we as players felt Rachel's presence all over Arcadia bay. In the original there was even a line to the effect of "I feel like everything in this town is connected to Rachel Amber somehow". Max was able to "see" Rachel through different people in Arcadia bay. Everyone had something to say about her, even a random trucker. It can be said that she really had an effect on the people of that town, if we put the fire aside. This town being Max's hometown adds another layer to it, it is so much different due to Rachel's existence.

left pic from a fan made Rachel DLC | Yes, their love for Chloe is the key link that transcends through time & space, allowing them to see each other in some way.

Like the town, Max is also very different from her past self. While she didn't have such a strong presence back when she was growing up in Arcadia, Max eventually became the decider of the town's (including most of its people) fate. Whether Rachel is the root cause to Max's powers is very much a mystery and up to interpretation, just like many things in life is strange.

If we acknowledge that Rachel is the cause of the fire, there could be another parallel: this girl who tried to leave this town nearly destroyed the town; meanwhile another girl who came back actually have the power to do that, or stop it from getting destroyed. Even though both never meant to. (Not expanding on Rachel being the storm here cuz it's really not definitive & personally I think if Rachel's got powers she'd just use them on those who did her wrong, not the entire town)

Personality-wise, especially on the outside, they are almost opposites. But somehow I get the feeling that they'd really understand each other, because on the inside, they may not be that different. I've seen a Tumblr post saying Rachel using her people skills to get on people's good side is mirrored by Max using her rewind powers to fix her responses. (When you've got such an ability, of course you use them! Which is different from being manipulative, might I add.)

Rachel with her sensitive, vulnerable side, which she guarded & masked with so much effort and painted with her smiles & godly social skills, is definitely able to understand & empathise with Max and not judge her. And Max being pretty perceptive herself, having quite an astute understanding of Rachel just from photos she found, is definitely able to see more than Rachel lets on. Both are powerful smartasses and fiercely protective of Chloe. (& both bi x)

Max sees, Rachel shows. The photographer & the muse. Built for an "electric combo", as Love is Strange says, even though they may not hit it off well at the start due to awkwardness or slight jealousy from both sides, eventually they're gonna realise that the other is beneficial for them. Max is able to ground Rachel and give her heartfelt & real advice that she needed; Rachel's able to help build Max's confidence, socialise better (back off V, she's with me), share insights about art & photography.

I'd even say Max & Rachel may complement each other more than Max and Chloe, OR Chloe and Rachel. (If there are more content on these 2, AmberPrice in my heart might be challenged. Yeah. It's scary.)

Some say they share the same spirit animal, which is really possible (bts putting that "doe see doe" photo on Rachel's bed frame), or it could mean that as Max's spirit animal, Max sees all spirits in a doe form. Another possibility is that Rachel have the doe as her spirit animal, and everyone who can see her spirit sees the doe. Nonetheless it's incredible that Max seems to be the only person to be able to see the doe, or that Rachel chose to present herslef to only Max. Definitely a connection there. 🦌

Looking at their personalities through enneagram (Rach 4, Max likely 9) we see that they can be similar but in different ways (9 & 4 can be mistyped):

"The difference is that Nines are detached both from the external world and from their emotions (not keeping in touch w Chloe in Seattle & delay on reaching out to her?), whereas Fours withdraw from whatever has caused them pain (delaying telling Chloe about her messy relationships cuz it causes her pain? + her immediate reaction to finding James making out with another woman). Nines see the world through rose-colored glasses, and their view of it is comforting, whereas Fours see the world from a garret window as outsiders and are not comforted: everyone else seems to be living a happier, more normal life."

Thanks for the question! I've no idea I was gonna write this long. You guys can see a few of my blogs or reblogs that I've mentioned these 2 via the tag "Rachel and Max" or "Amberfield" if interested :) Feel free to reblog/ add on!

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feelingpure · 6 months

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hawk meeting tim just in time is just a storytelling decision, the point is just for us as the audience to see them meeting then and there.

but i wouldn't characterize hawk as soft(ening) at all, i think he is aware of his feelings for tim (the letter dictation), but because of homophobia, the regular one and internalized lol, he's dealing with that badly, and subsequently extending that to how he treats tim. bc first of all, it's a big deal overall to find yourself falling in love with someone, regardless of sexuality and gender, i think there's a little bit of mundane relationship drama in there, but on top of that, the homophobia of the 50s, and hawk never having had that kind of relationship before, as the first scene with that random blonde guy establishes, he's used to fucking a guy and leaving, but now he's developing a meaningful something with tim, no matter how much he resists admitting it (to himself, let alone tim). I do think he was genuinely affected by tim being upset bc of the birthday, but also he can never outright apologize and show remorse and make up for his mistakes.

I wrote another Fellow Travelers essay.

Under the cut.

I understand it could just be that, but I'm just going off of how it seemed to me. Could be interpreted different ways tbh, like maybe that's Hawk's way of being 'romantic', by making it seem so spontaneous.

He's definitely aware of his feelings, the letter dictation scene is a v good example of that. The fact he says "I fell for you...", and all the rest, while his eyes are flitting between the paper and Tim.

But of course, for all the reasons you mention (and the conflict of wanting to secure his own financial future/freedom via Lucy's family), he refuses to confront it himself, never mind explicitly admitting it out loud. And it's clear that he is far from being ready to do that yet, which makes Tim's plea via singing so so painful.

"You won't admit you love me, and so, how am I ever to know... A million times I ask you. And then, I ask you over again... So if you really love me, say yes. Or if you don't dear, confess..." 😭

Ugh, anyway. I keep going back and forth about Hawk. But I feel like he's meant to be much harder to read on purpose, so I don't really have anything overt to cite as him being genuinely affected by the whole birthday thing (can only muse on his inner conflict regarding that).

Unlike Tim, who makes what he feels so clear and verbalises it; it's a lot easier for everyone to see and know he's hurt (and for me to get in his corner and want to yell at Hawk for causing it). And I'm sure my feelings will continue to fluctuate on both of them as the series goes on, and I'm sure that's the intention.

Sorry I took long to reply, been thinking, and also knew I'd spend ages typing back a long ass answer myself! 😆 There's so much to say, but I feel like we agree on the actual crux of it all? Uhh, just don't ask me about that sex scene.

(Also re your other message to the inbox; it's fine and was comprehensible haha, from one rambler to another.)

#fellow travelers #ft spoilers #hawkins fuller #tim laughlin #tim x hawk #hawk x tim #asks #lgbtqia+#gay #gay ships #the anon is only furthering my obsession with these 2 #please help

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crescentfool · 2 years

Text

recently, i’ve been thinking about what a 100% social link/confidant run is like from the perspective of the persona protagonists, rather than the player. i’ve always been a sucker for thinking about the type of narrative created by a person’s gameplay choices (it can be so fun and deep) so!! i wrote this analysis / musing.

some notes before we start: this was written with the lens of persona 3 being the most recent game i played- but the concepts are applicable to the p4/p5 protagonists as well! no spoilers for any of the games are mentioned; this is moreso a general discussion of ludonarrative dissonance with the game mechanics and narrative and how it makes for fun angst (ft. personal interpretation).

(more under the cut!)

the framework: game mechanics

in all of the games, the social link system’s existence coincides with the social stats mechanic. certain social links require a specific set of stats in order to initiate it, or surpass a certain rank. each game has around 20 of these- each of which represent the major arcana (+ some bonuses, e.g. aeon / jester / faith / councilor).

for any players going for a 100% social link run, this basically requires each social stat to be maxed out. anyone who’s followed a guide for a 100% run would know that the beginning of the game tends to be very “strict” with how time can be used, most of which involves getting the stats raised as soon as possible.

outside of characterization and worldbuilding, completing social links are incentivized for a variety of gameplay reasons. so how could this completionist play style affect the protagonists?

prioritizing social stats over everything else: a general view

regardless of which protagonist you want to put under a petri dish, with a 100% run, you’re essentially asking the protagonist to form amicable bonds with 20 or so people, give or take. granted, not everyone becomes adjoined to the hip to the protagonist.

personally, i feel that forming 20 different bonds over the course of a year would be rather strenuous. during these 100% runs, the protagonists may feel that they’re spreading themselves thin trying to dedicate their resources to multiple different people as well as raising their “social stats.” i find the implications that this has on said bonds is so, utterly fascinating.

while this isn’t reflected in the game and would be better represented within a fic, i find it difficult to believe that this type of behavior doesn’t have any ramifications on the quality of the protagonist’s closer relationships (or their self-image, for that matter).

just… imagine calling one of your close friends but then they consistently give responses along the lines of “lmao sorry i’m busy doing other things,” and they rarely make the time of day for you. how would you feel? gameplay-wise, this deterioration of the relationship is best represented in persona 3 with social links reversing if you haven’t spent time with them in awhile.

part of my fascination with this concept is influenced by my own experiences. trying to maintain so many relationships can be difficult to keep up with and it quickly gets overwhelming (see dunbar’s number for more information). jumping between so many people also makes it difficult to focus on a few relationships meaningfully- meaning that relationships may be limited to being simple pleasantries. even then, ‘successfully’ keeping every relationship satisfying comes at the cost of being unable to pursue your own development and interests.

overall, i think that trying to do so many things ends up lowering the quality of the relationship(s) involved, especially when you also consider the fatigue from going to school as well as fighting shadows.

playing the therapist friend / listening role: a general view

another aspect of the 100% run that i think about is how the protagonists rarely open up to other people. a good chunk of SLs follow a storyline of the protagonist acting as a therapist friend/helping the other person through one central issue. some SLs are an exception to this and have a more casual “we’re just hanging out vibe.”

basically, SLs tend to be weighted toward the other character’s growth, moreso than the protagonist’s (which is handled by the main story). that said, the idea of mostly playing a listening role across most of your relationships and not having many that you feel comfortable to speak freely about your own stuff… feels really unbalanced and unhealthy?

i do think that part of the lack of “input” can be attributed to the silent-protagonist approach taken in the games (which is a whole ‘nother topic). but!! i find that each protagonist’s options, while limited, are fun to think about! some of the traits and interpretations i’ve seen for the differing protags, to name a few, include:

being afraid to open up / get attached and keeping people at arm’s distance as a result

needing to be around other people, even if it’s just listening them, to distract from their own struggles / pretend nothing’s wrong with them

enjoying helping others, being a good and careful listener who can provide an appropriate and helpful response

the willingness to prioritize others over themselves; a lack of self-preservation

compulsive people pleasing

at its worst, the lack of “protagonist talking” or equal reciprocation in response could be misinterpreted by the other person as disinterest (like they’re talking to a wall). alternatively- the lack of “personal tidbits” could be taken as, “you don’t trust me enough to be able to open up, huh.” and i just think that seeing this in a fic would be the biggest shitshow ever (and i would read that).

concluding thoughts:

overall, i feel that the protagonists taking a predominantly listening approach to several relationships at once can lead to compassion fatigue and general burnout. the protagonists are rarely at the receiving end of being listened to and/or having their issues worked through… and that’s kind of sad?

while the 100% social link run can provide great power to any persona fusions (and other cool battle abilities + hijinks)... i ultimately think that there’d be a lot of mental strain that would make achieving this much more difficult when you take a narrative-emphasized approach.

i do realize that it is possible to see the general vibe of this post as “100% social link is bad,” but like… there’s something i find really appealing about the messiness of attempting to manage so many relations at once- only to fall short in several of them and attempting to salvage the last bits of their sanity. when you think about the complications of the 100% SL run from the shoes of the protagonist… yeah!! that’s the good shit!

anyways! if anyone knows of any fics with this kinda vibe for the p3/4/5 protags… feel free to drop it in my askbox… i like them all VERY much :3c… and if this raised any food for thought- i’d be equally honored! let the protags go through shit i wanna see their emotions and coping mechanisms damn it! 👏

#persona 3 #persona 4 #persona 5 #yes it is 3am and im posting this. i couldn't sleep so i wanted to write something that i've been thinking abt as of late :x #highly recommend looking up ludonarrative dissonance btw! if ur interested in game storywriting its SOO interesting bc its definitely-#an occurence that happens every now and then in a video game. persona included. like.. when game mechanics tell one story but the narrative #-ends up contradicting that (or some other thing in reality ends up doing that...). does that even make sense??#i tried to keep this post general to p3/4/5 but if you know me well enough you'll see how my p3 bias has shaped this post. lmao #i also could go on a tangent about how i feel about orpheus telos as a thing w/rt p3 social links BUT I WONT. unless...?#i have more i want to say on the topic (maybe will do so at a later time) but feel free to ask for more specific hcs with the protags?#maybe not p4kun though just bc ive only watched p4 so i havent had the time to let it sit btwn play sessions #anyway bye im just going to let this float in the void while i sleep. have a good day #meta #hc and au nonsense #lizzy speaks

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muzzleroars · 4 months

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alright, i looked trough your blog and it is quite fascinating both for original parts of your narrative and how it seems specifically based off of ultrakill plot as of 6-2. with later versions will you plan to edit your AU to fit with new narrative elements or you prefer to keep it true to how it is now?

on the note of newer narrative elements, what is your interpretation for mind of hell? it really does seem that if ultrakill has a true main antagonist then it is hell itself. and with current way how it was characterized it seems to have "inherited" the world from god and is in complete control over current situation. angels are lost without gods plan and just try to make the same motions as before. humanity may have actually been ended by hell's design, even with how much the earths machines act as a force of nature hell seems to comfortably channel them like water and using for its own purposes and entertainment. so far hell restrained itself only for its wins to be more cathartic (various "uprisings" on different layers), and so far is the most in control and very distinctly from everyone else is absolutely enjoying its time

so yeah, i am really curios on your take on hell's mind in both official material and your AU since i saw only very passing mentions for it in your posts

p.s. absolutely love your art, your character designs are immaculate❤️

ooooo good questions tbh...i've definitely thought a lot about what will happen with the au as ultrakill reaches its end and what i'll do about elements obviously becoming unfit compared to the story. i think it really depends on how much it's going to be off, but i will be honest in saying i would have a tough time abandoning my ocs if official versions of michael, raphael, uriel, or lucifer are introduced! i think of course they would be well done and i would actually love to see them in canon, but i think it would cause a divergent au in that case. because i would love to explore how this au might fit into whatever becomes canon, but i've just developed the world and characters too much to leave the au behind as it is now. overall though, i just need to see how it ends and what it introduces to know where i might want to go, if i'd want to do a properly canon-divergent au when everything is said and done, or if i might just...stick with a canon-divergent from 6-2 onward. it's funny bc i actually was nervous about this just with layer 7 dropping, so i can't imagine how anxious i'll be for the last 2 layers! esp with lucifer looming in treachery - i think it's very up in the air if any of the other archangels will play a role in the game at this point, but more about lucifer is highly likely to come imo so!!! it's a big waiting game to find out!!

you're right in that i haven't done too much with hell, though i am interested in it as a character - i have considered it more with lucifer becoming much more of an element in the au, as he has spoken with it constantly and hell is sort of...in love with him, in an abstract way. it views him still as one of the most beautiful works it has, the first bright and radiant thing it had ever seen in its misery, but hell has become utterly engrossed with the cruelty of humanity. while lucifer was some celestial god that fell to it, humanity had minds much like it, and so it fell in love with them in a way it could understand. hell is always searching for more, an artist always looking for inspiration while holding lucifer as its muse. it's the capacity they connect with on the most, both great creators with god's spark in them, and admittedly, in his suffering, lucifer sometimes understood hell's work. but lucifer was secure, lucifer it had always to speak to, but increasingly it whispered the brutality of mankind, the wonderful inventions of their minds and the horrible works of their hands it began to copy. it hooked itself into the terminals they installed, and so lucifer gained all the knowledge of machines through their internal circuit. and when mankind was wiped out, hell became master in a world run by automation with all the creators gone from their servants. it has all it wants, and it indulges in testing its creations upon the machines and the husks of mankind in such tangible joy that an abstract like lucifer could not bring to it. lucifer it relates to in hatred, in his deep, abyssal loathing of the god that trapped him here, but even that is something more abstract to hell than the brutality of humanity - lucifer hates perfectly, he hates with the mind of god, and it is not met precisely by hell as hell was born into what it is.

so what then can hell feel when lucifer is released from it, when the dragon is cut down and its flesh severed from treachery's? this is really where i want to explore the relationship between lucifer and hell, what they are to each other - hell is a take on "this place loves you", but it is entirely malignant, noxious and harmful, while lucifer recognizes it as the hideous creation he fell trying to destroy, yet it is now irrevocably his home, the one entity he now knows. they are tangled up in each other, lucifer in an obvious sense but hell now cannot bear to lose its little spark of god's light. something in his beauty sustains it, it pulls at him constantly now that he's partially left it, and lucifer is stranded not knowing what decision to make. he still hears it speaking to him, esoteric fragments made up of the ambient noise of its body, but what can he do with it now? it is alive, sentient, a being put into a wretched position by god which condemns it for how antithetical it is to the fulfillment of all other creations. lucifer wanted it gone. he protested against it all those eons ago. but now he is frozen by choice, seeing it behave as some evil god yet knowing it cannot be any other way. what is fair then? to find some way to kill it? to cut off whatever constitutes its brain? to reason with it? try to change its very essence? lucifer must work through the possibilities while accepting hell, in so many ways, is the place he now wants to be. free at last, but once more full of despair. how can he kill his home and what might be his only friend? how can he reason with it, when he once tried the same with god and was struck down? how can he change it when he is just a pale shadow of what made something so monstrous in the first place? yet he fears hell will grow angry in its stasis, in running out of victims for its cruelty, and act out in retaliation

#not sure where it will end/what lucifer will decide on at this point #but i do like the idea of hell growing increasingly agitated with lucifer gone #and so while gabe and v1 are like 'we better kill it'#lucifer pops out like 'noooo!!!!!!! im working on it!!!!!!!!'#bc he doesn't really believe in condemning it for what it is #that's on GOD not hell!!!#cake answers #hell #lucifer

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bells-of-black-sunday · 6 months

Note

1, 11, 29, 36 ( whichever muse you feel most similar to )

Munday Asks | Accepting

1. at what age did you start RPing?

8 or 9??? I was still in elementary school and I'm turning 23 in like a month- so it's been a long while.

11. would you be interested into playing with doubles?

Absolutely! I think one thing that's really interest about Danny is that he comes from a franchise where there's always multiple g.hostfaces, so I think it's really neat to see how everyone takes his lore and bends it. Same with anyone else on my muse list, d.bd's lore is really up for interpretation a lot of the time just due to the nature of the Entity being a weird cosmic god no one really knows anything about, so lore is just told through memories which do have gaps and it's fun to explore those gaps.

29. what are your honest thought about your muse’s canon?

I'm going to be entirely honest and say, I love Ritos world building, but their lore makes no sense no matter how many times they retcon or say everything is cannon, the lore team is just so disorganized they get their own cannon dates mixed up. That and with a lot of lore being told in game through events makes it so you have to find outside sources to read it which makes so pieces inaccessible. I'm hoping the mmo they're developing will keep the lore all in one place instead of scattered, but who knows what's even going on with that at this point.

On the other hand: D.bd's lore may not be nearly as messy, but it's even more inaccessible. You can read all the bios and times you want, but that still won't give you the big picture of what's going on and terms of characters like the Legion it just makes their lore even more confusing. The devs used to do lore Q&A streams every month, but they stopped doing those and even then those would say conflcting information. An example being they said everyone in the Legion is 18 and over then they switched to everyone is 21+, but Susie's school day cosmetic still says she's a sophomore.

That's not even counting characters like Danny where is biography is him reading about his own murders, but if you go to his chapter description on the steam page or watch his announcement video it tells you things about him that should've been in that biography. Tarhos's lore is a mess where they both want him to be this super violent only is having fun when there's blood on his hands and his ears are ringing, but he'll lament to Vittorio about how he hates senseless violence and killing people for other men's egos. It's very messily written for what I can only assume is lore re-writes from him initially being a F.or H.onor chapter.

Oh and the maps have lore. They all do, but it can only be read in the custom games setting menu where you can select maps. Every add on has a quick lore thing that are sometimes really important. Killer powers sometimes have important lore things too, archives, cosmetics etc. etc. everything has something written on it that makes it important lore wise down to how every blighted cosmetic is a thing that happened in lore. And if I remember correctly every cosmetic is something both survivors and killers actually own too. (another Q&A I think)

It makes it really hard to get into and try to piece together what's actually happening in lore vs what's just for fun and I can only imagine how much harder it is for new players trying to get into it since I started playing and I started playing around the time Blight came out.

36. do you feel similar to your muse in any way?

I feel like when you're passionate enough about a character you write a bit of yourself into them no matter how much you try not to, so even muses I have that are horrendous of people like Danny or Karth, I can relate to different aspects of them. I too have a love for writing and story crafting and I too also think death customs are really fascinating. They just take those to a whole different extreme of course, but they're both interests I have and enjoy writing about.

#ooc #the lore 1 is so long im so sorry EWHRWEHRRH #my unhinged rant about how weird d.bd lore is and begging for the q&a streams to come back

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venus-haze · 1 year

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could you perhaps tell more about the fics you’re working on? i love your writing i look forward to anything you post🫶🏼

I have a few so they'll be under the cut, but these are the fics that are currently in progress or I have plans to write (featuring Vincent Sinclair, Bo Sinclair, Severen Van Sickle, Father Paul Hill).

Also I have to thank you for sending this because I was fucking struggling with one major aspect of my Vincent fic and while I wrote out a whole bitchfest about it, the idea came to me lol. Thank you for the kind words about my writing too🖤

Vincent:

This is the one I swear I've been working on forever because I can't find myself being satisfied with what I've written.

Unbeknownst to the reader and Bo (who are constantly at each other's throats) but will be revealed in the fic of course, Vincent decides to keep the reader as his muse. As you try to figure out why Vincent chose you and how you can use that to your advantage to escape, you find yourself being pushed to your limits mentally and physically in the name of art. Vincent's also a major perv because his view of the artist/muse relationship is extremely warped by his upbringing, his own interpretations of different artist/muse relationships, and his deep loneliness and desire for love despite his appearance.

Bo:

Kind of a spiritual successor to Howl and Adam Raised a Cain where the reader works at the gas station with Bo and actually has to kill victims. Messy and guilty and emotional.

This one I literally just came up with when I reblogged that In the Mood for Love gifset because it's one of my all-time favorite movies and I'm bastardizing the hell out of it with this idea. The reader lived in Ambrose, but your family moved just before the sugar mill shut down. You and Bo knew each other back then, not necessarily friends, but how could you not know each other in such a small town. You unexpectedly reunite when your husband gets a new job back in Louisiana and in the town near Ambrose where Bo makes his supply runs. Bo being charming and disconcerting enough over weeks of coffee "dates" for you to agree to go with him to the Sinclair house for dinner while your husband's out of town on a business trip for old times' sake. Your hometown is a lot different than you remember.

Severen:

Okay, I started writing one fic with the intention of it being a standalone thing, but then I wanted to write the background of Severen turning you for my own sake, so it'll probably be two fics coming out of this idea. ANYWAY the gist is Severen crashes your girls' night out with Diamondback and Mae because what's a party (massacring and incinerating a bar of unsuspecting patrons) without your clingy, show-off mate showing up.

Father Hill:

I feel like this premise sounds kinda cheesy Hallmark romcom on the surface, but I promise it'll be as uncomfortable and gory as I can make it. You quit your corporate job and buy a home on Crockett Island for dirt cheap, having come into money from a source that makes you feel extremely guilty but you refuse to disclose to anyone. You decide in your self-imposed isolation to try your hand at art after giving up the hobby not long after you started working in corporate America. Since Crockett Island is so fucking small and new people almost never move onto the island, everyone's interest is piqued, but especially Father Paul's when he discovers you're a lapsed Catholic with a sin that threatens to consume you. The two of you have extremely different interpretations of your interactions over the weeks, but it's too late to turn back when you discover the darkness that lurks within the parish, courtesy of the pastor himself.

#im so sorry anon im just rambling in this #ask tag

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thebigshotman · 1 year

Text

I’m sorry everyone, but once again my muse is failing me and I’m having trouble sitting down and writing anything in character. Replies will come tomorrow though, so you won’t have to wait forever like last time!

However, I will leave you all with some ramblings that are inspired by me having finally seen the original Aladdin yesterday. And those ramblings being the thought that the Genie and Spamton have a strange amount of similarities. Mainly between the voice acting of original!Genie and most vocal interpretations of Spamton (mostly Alex), but also other things!

I feel the voice acting for both are founded on the same ideas: A loud, distinctive, showy and mostly charismatic voice wrapped around all of these “bits” where the voice actor does his best to sound like something or someone else. Whether it be a Peter Lorre impression to emphasize you can’t bring people back from the dead or a reference to the way a certain version of Ganon says “die”, I think they’re quite similar. Course with Spamton it’s all under the dressings of the “bits” being different voice clips being spliced together and censoring his speech, whereas with Genie it was Robin being Robin and recording 10 hours of improv like that. But seriously, the similarities are too good not to note.

There’s also more obvious stuff like how they both desire for freedom. Though obviously Spam is a bit more malicious about his lol. But both-at least my take on him-hide how lonely they are and how much they want their freedom behind layers and layers of showmanship, comedy, and other nonsense. And finally, there’s a parallel between both of their introductory scenes somewhere in there, I feel. What with how in the universe of the world, the protags are trying their hardest to comprehend what the hell is happening, but we the audience are laughing our asses off because we understand their zaniness more than they do.

Plus, there’s that one fanart out there that puts Spamton into the “phenomenal cosmic powers, itty bitty living space” scene and it works GREAT. It’s definitely getting a reblog if I find it.

Long story short after this event PLEASE someone M!A him into a genie I need to explore this more, both of these guys are fighting for hyperfixation space in my head and it would just be an amazing combo anyway-

One final thought-Spaul singing (or trying to) Friend Like Me to Eileen 😆 Ok I’m done!

#(buddy you KNOW I liked the Genie the best!! I love goofy as hell stuff like him!)#(so have all of this word vomit! hopefully some of this makes even a lick of sense)#(normal activity will resume tomorrow! 😊)#STRING PULLER-out of character

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ofweave · 3 months

Note

8, 9, 17! :D

rpc / fandom talking points.

8. reblog karma

i'm not the biggest fan. i understand why it came about as a concept — it doesn't feel good to get a bunch of notifications only to see everyone reblogging a meme from you and not getting anything in your inbox, especially if it keeps happening! but i feel like people got super guilt - trippy and strict about it and i personally just cannot bring myself to care that much about tumblr roleplay (though i of course respect it if you have it in your rules to only rb from the source). if i reblog a meme you like but you don't see anything that would work between my muse and yours you can definitely just nab it straight from me if you don't feel like going the extra step of reblogging it from the source.

9. personal blogs

likes asks and comments from personal blogs? wonderful stuff. reblogs, especially since it's always always always without fail some stupid post i'd rather would not escape containment? horrible, i hate it when it happens. the roleplaying side of tumblr has its own etiquette thats a bit different from the rest of this site and if i had my way the two worlds wouldnt collide lol.

17. fanon interpretations

disclaimer it's not that deep let people have fun. but now that thats out of the way i can admit that generally i find it really annoying when a fanon interpretation becomes so popular it overrides canon. there are definitely cases where a fanon is more like a collective fix it ( especially when it comes to canon portrayals being bigoted or stereotypical ) but often times it's not that, it's just people being reductive or taking some joke, one - off or recurring, too far. also i do think a fanon interpretation and being canon divergent are two different things, though they can definitely overlap.

#out of spell slots / ooc.#juramentum #thank youu!

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musecaravan-info · 8 months

Text

Roleplaying Guidelines

MOST IMPORTANT

This is an independent, OC-friendly, multi-ship, multi-verse blog. Don’t know what any of that means? It’s okay to ask me. :) Or you can check out my Roleplay Glossary.

I am OLD. No, really. Probably ancient by tumblr standards. If you’re not comfortable writing with someone 35+ then you should walk away now.

I am SLOW. Like… REALLY SLOW. I usually manage to reply once every 4-6 months. Sometimes it’s less, but not often. (Maybe that will pick up now that everyone’s on one blog, but I can’t promise.)

I rarely seek out interactions for myself. If you found this blog on your own and I didn’t direct you here, then please be aware that you’ll have to approach me if you want to get something started with anyone.

Some of these muses haven’t been used in YEARS, but they’re not ‘side’ muses. I just haven’t had anyone ask or show interest in them lately. Some of them I’ve NEVER written with before. But you can be the first! :D If you’re interested, then I am 100% ready and willing to write as that muse. Please don’t be afraid to ask.

ABOUT RPING

All of my muses are multi-verse, which means all interactions will take place separately unless otherwise plotted. I’ll RP with different versions of the same canon characters because everyone has their own interpretations and it’s fun to see how my muses react to different versions. Please don’t let jealousy be a thing. I love all of y’all equally, I swear.

I’m (obviously) okay with original characters and blogs with multiple muses. (It would be a little hypocritical if I wasn’t, right?)

I am open to RPing with just about anyone. If we can find a way to make it work, then I’m good with any gender, any fandom, any sexuality, and any faceclaim (real or cartoon). I’m not okay with blogs that RP as living people or as people who’ve recently died. I feel it’s disrespectful. You can follow me; I won’t block you or anything, but we won’t be RPing. I’m generally okay with historical blogs, but will examine them individually before following.

My blogs aren’t Mutuals-Only, but I reserve the right to turn down RPs when and if I feel like it. Please respect my choices. Thank you.

In regards to starters, memes, etc. please send me the post number (which can be found in the web address) (ex. 683404661423767552) so I know which one you’re wanting me to do. ^_^ Here’s an example of what it looks like:

Also, if you don’t specify a muse for muse things, I will literally put them all in a randomizer and reply using the first one that pops up. Which is fun for me, of course, but may not be what you were wanting. ;P

I LOVE crossovers and AUs! Even when I’m not familiar with the fandom. :) Just because I’m clueless about your fandom doesn’t mean we can’t write together. All I ask is for your patience when dealing with my lack of knowledge. :)

A firm reminder that OOC =/= IC. My ideals and morals aren’t reflected in the expressions/actions/and thoughts of my muses. If a muse has said or done something IC that makes you upset OOC, then talk to me about it. I promise to listen and converse with you rationally about whatever’s happened. I also expect to be treated the same in return. If I have any reason to believe you’re having trouble finding the line between the two, I’ll come to you to talk about it. Politely, of course.

In-character drama and angst is something I love and live for! Out-of-character drama and angst won’t be tolerated. Life is too short for the petty squabbles of you, your friends, and/or some other random internet stranger. Posting callouts OF ANY KIND is probably the fastest way to get a soft-block from me. Asking/demanding I choose sides of ANY KIND will likely result in the same. Been there, done that. I WILL NOT be dragged into ‘he said/she said/I’ve got screencaps’ levels of drama. If you try, you WILL lose me as a partner. No exceptions.

ABOUT MY WRITING

As far as grammar and spelling and punctuation and such - I fully respect those of you for whom English isn’t your first language. I also respect those of you who have learning disabilities. However - if I cannot understand your messages or your replies well enough to form a decent response, we’re not going to work as writing partners. I’m sorry; it’s not personal.

I generally prefer to do at least a little plotting beforehand, but starters and the like can still be sent, I don’t mind getting things started between our muses that way. You can find some of my favorite starters here. Just remember to specify which muse you want and (if it’s a symbol, number, word, etc.) which post it came from.

In regards to formatting of any kind (small font, icons, font embellishments, etc.) I’m okay to let you do you as long as you’re okay to let me do me.

I’m okay with minor god-modding. If you need my muse to follow yours somewhere or something along those lines, and you don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t, then it’s okay to do it. Let’s save us both some additional writing time. But for anything major or where you’re unsure what my muse would do, please talk to me first. The same goes for meta-gaming. Unless your character has a real reason to know things about mine, please don’t do it. You’ll get one warning, and after that I reserve the right to drop our RP. Not sure what those terms mean? Take a look at my Roleplay Glossary to find out.

In that same vein - several of my muses have various forms of enhanced perception. Please DO NOT try to circumvent their skills by not telling me something that my muse SHOULD have noticed, and then having it come up in the RP. If you’re not sure they’d notice, tell me in advance and we’ll figure out how to make things work best for both of us. I’ll also do my best to inform you in advance of anything special about the specific muse you’ve chosen.

I like for my roleplays to have an ending. It doesn’t matter how long or how short the roleplay itself is, I just want it to have an obvious stopping point. If our roleplays seem to constantly die/get dropped rather than receive proper endings, I’m less likely to seek out future interactions. It’s nothing against you, it’s just how I prefer my roleplaying experience to be. We can still be friends and support each other within the community, we just won’t make good writing partners.

I tend to write A LOT. I like to explore my characters’ thoughts, and I like to explore back stories, and I like to offer up scene details. The length of my reply will never require a reply of similar length from you. As long as I have a way to reply, I’m not going to get upset if I write you 6 paragraphs, and you only reply with 2.

That being said, if you prefer one-liner RPs, we’re probably not going to mesh well as partners. I just can’t do them, and I don’t want to force you to do something longer just to RP with me.

ABOUT SHIPS, ROMANCE, and NSFW

Chemistry. Not just between the characters, but between the two of us as writers. It NEEDS to be there.

I am well over the age of 18 - as are all of my muses - so smut could happen. It’ll always be tagged NSFW. If I miss something, tell me and I’ll fix it.

More about smut - if you’re not 18 or older, it’s not going to happen. Not even ‘Fade-to-Black’ scenes. No exceptions. Please don’t misrepresent yourself to me in order to write smut.

Other NSFW topics - I’m okay with almost anything with the right plotting. Please DON’T just throw it at me! Ask and we’ll talk. Also, please don’t think I will throw anything at you, either. I won’t. I take dark subjects seriously and believe things should always be discussed first. However, some of my characters have dark back stories, and it is entirely possible that things might get referenced, so be aware of this when asking for certain muses if you think that might be an issue.

I don’t have triggers and I don’t tag them with CW or TW or any of that. Everything I consider ‘questionable content’ is generally lumped under the NSFW tag. Usually, if I’m posting about spiders or clowns or gore or whatever, I will tag it that way. So, as long as you have the main words flagged, we should be good. If we’re writing together and there is something you REALLY have an issue with and it’s slipping through your filters for some reason, come talk to me and we can try to work something out.

A FEW MORE THINGS TO KNOW

If I’ve followed you, I’ve read your rules. In fact, if I’ve got any intention of writing with you, I’ve probably read them more than once. But I DON’T send in passwords. Or ‘like’ posts or anything of that nature. No exceptions. I’m sorry. If your rules require a password and you follow me first I’ll assume you’ve read this rule and decided to make an exception for me. I DO NOT follow blogs that ask for passwords (or anything similar) first. EVER.

Follow backs will generally occur as long as you’re a roleplay blog. However - I do have a few reasons I won’t. It doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t want to RP, it typically just means I have reasons that I don’t want what’s on your blog on my dash. It’s nothing personal, and you can still ask for an RP and we’ll talk.

If you've got a DNI list of any kind - whether I agree with it or not - RPing isn't going to happen. Due to past experiences, DNI lists are synonymous with drama for me. You may have your reasons for having one, and I respect those reasons. However, for my own peace of mind, I can't interact with blogs that have a list like this.

ABOUT COMMUNICATION

Contact me however is best/easiest for you, but please don’t expect instant replies - even when it looks like I’m online.

If you haven’t heard from me in 5+ days after sending me a message, give me another nudge. I might’ve read it and forgotten to reply… or read it and thought I replied… or Tumblr might’ve eaten it.

If we’re writing together, I can offer you my discord handle on request. That’s actually the quickest way to get in touch with me because I have access to it practically everywhere, even while at work.

DO NOT be gas-lighty or passive-aggressive with me. EVER. I’ve been there, done that, and I REFUSE to put up with that kind of nonsense. You’ll get one warning (and the offer to talk things out.) That’s it. After that, all bets are off.

Thank you for looking through everything! I know it seems like a lot, but I figure offering up as much information as I can upfront will help us both decide if we’d make good writing partners. :) Since you’ve made it this far, can I also suggest you go take a look at my Useful Links page? It’s where you can find links to starters, memes, plots, etc. I also cover specifics regarding how I handle not specifying a muse, and also how to successfully send me an ask for an old meme. :)

Return to Mobile Links

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braintapes · 1 year

Text

Sketches 2022 part TWO!!!

September 30:

Around this time I got to thinking about Madam Hotel/the Hotel Herself as sorta like Walpurgisnacht from Madoka Magica. I’m not...really sure why. I think just the aesthetic of that witch, with all this buildup and grandiosity. The fact that she represents futility and helplessness. Her laugh. Her fucking cool as hell design. That she’s a witch conglomerate, formed from the amalgamation of TONS of witches...just good stuff.

October 3:

I really wanted to draw the Bellhop staring down into a bucket with bits of Manager in it, mocking and laughing. I couldn’t figure out the perspective though so it never came to be.

October 4:

More Bellhop. I think going forward I wanna draw her more like this. I’m honestly disappointed with myself that the painting I did of her was so blank-faced when that doesn’t capture her personality at all. I wanna redraw the Bellhop and the Concierge soon to just. look way better and more accurate to their personalities.

October 7:

October 8:

Plans for another big piece. I wanted to focus on doing it across October, November, and December and thaaaaat.....fell through pretty hard. Ah well. I’ll try and pick this up at some point this year. Though tbh what I’d love to do now is a biiig big collaborative illustration with a bunch of people featuring like, a bunch of doors/rooms with various interpretations of the staff behind them or something.

October 30:

October 31:

Around this time, I switched from drawing in a file created for each day (so, say, all of January 3rd’s drawings would be in one CSP file labelled 1-3-22), to creating a file to paint in for the whole month. It just...made things a lot easier with painting as opposed to sketching. The canvas setup is different from my daily files and quicker to get right into.

Consequently, though, while I start strong in keeping everything in those month files labelled and divided into folders for each day, uh...that falls apart by the end of the year...

November 1:

November 12:

November 14:

November 19:

November 28:

I really like drawing screaming faces. I don’t do it nearly enough

December 2:

December 3:

Desperately trying to find an animalistic pose for a Manager drawing. I tried this across several days and could not put together one I was happy with.

December 6:

December 8:

December 11:

I still need to play the Ib remaster. I wanna draw a cool piece with Mary sitting under the Fabricated World painting. She’s a character I relate a lot to, at least from what I can remember about the game.

December 13:

December 15:

December 17:

Attempting to draw lamprey hotel herself and struggling a lot lol. Terrified Judy Blashy. I wanted to make a comic of them having a conversation as like. a peek into what they were doing while the entire New Crew and Old Crew conflict was happening. It was going to go something like:

The Hotel Herself, absolutely cosmically massive, with Judy Blashy resting on her, positively tiny in comparison. The Hotel Herself is rambling, monologuing about how charming human sayings are - out with the old, in with the new, for example, while musing about endless cycles and arbitrary new years.

Judy Blashy is trembling, terrified, crying, of course, and the Hotel reminds Judy that she’s lucky to be getting this much up-close and personal time with Her, so could she at least try to be a good conversation partner?

Judy whimpers and tries her best but, like, clearly is not much at all. It’s still enough of a response for the Hotel Herself to start monologuing again. Meanwhile, in the background, everything from the New Crew’s introduction is going on, speeding by. The Hotel Herself is remarking on how she’s looking forward to seeing how everyone plays together and gets along, and what kind of new year they’ll ring in. The Crews are in an active battle to the death as she says this. She looks to Judy for a response, but despite her best attempts, Madam H is unimpressed.

She gets bored with Judy and lets her know it. In fact, she gets so bored she decides to toss her back out, deciding that she’s not even worth a death. It just wouldn’t be satisfying. Alone with Herself, She sighs and remarks that she misses having someone around that was “good to talk to.” She decides to check in on the staff, only to find the aftermath of their big fight.

Her form coils and winds in a way that suggests a big smile as she laughs and laughs. She says something about sayings, about how “some things never change!” and “alls well that ends well!”

I was still sick with covid enough that i did not have the energy to do all this but i still like the idea

Aaand finally, my last drawings of 2022, on December 29/30??? (I stopped labeling at this point):

Yahoo!! I’m excited to keep drawing more and more cool stuff going forward. I wanna try a whole lot of new things and improving at drawing all different kinds of character designs and compositions and learning perspective stuff and just. Idk where my art will end up but I’m eager to see where!!! Thank you again if you read through this :-)

#i tried to schedule the first one for when no one would be on #but its such a monster of a post that it keeps getting mangled in my queue. sry

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