#considering an edit hadn't seemed so possible in a while.

[notthestarwar]

Snippet from: When is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it. Chapter 5

Ghost Mace speaks to past Jaster (alive) and tells him what he knows of Jango's future, in the life he lived.

Mace's brow stiffened. "When we realised what we had done, we tried to find him but we could not."

"We tried to find the True Mandolorian's but the survivors had fled in all directions. We did try and see justice done, there was an overhaul of our internal mission preparation process. We changed our training. Dooku left the order as did his apprentice."

"None of it could make up for what we did. Years after the fact, I learnt that Jango was sold in to slavery by the governor. It took him years to escape. I learnt of the weight of what we had done in helping end the True Mandolorian's. In leaving Death Watch unchecked."

He meets Jaster's eyes. "We are here to discuss why we haunt Jango, but it would be remiss of me to not tell you that your son has haunted me every single day since the day I left on a mission to retrieve him; to attempt to offer reparations for what my peoples neglect brought down on him, and came home empty handed."

" We thought him dead, but I did not forget him. From that day, I've carried the weight of what we did to him. I have often thought of him over the years." Mace shook his head.

"You hold no blame here, but we just might."

And isn't that a thing. His son haunting a Jedi even before that Jedi might haunt him.

Jango is tangled up in something here far beyond Jaster's reckoning.

Mace is laying out the constituent parts that when put together, make Jango in to the man that is responsible for the death of every single person standing in that warehouse. Jaster isn't sure where that leaves him, because once he's done hearing this story, in the years that lay ahead of them yet, every single one of these horrible pieces is going to fall in to place. Tragedy after Tragedy ready to be pasted and slapped on to the boy he loves, his son, in order to make him in to the man that did this.

How the hell can Jaster stand by and let that happen?

There are no rules that apply to Jaster, not anymore. He doesn't care about morality or the ethics of fucking with a future that's apparently already happened. He has no care for his own code, not now. None of it matters.

Jaster is Jango's buir, before all else. He has been from the day he stepped in to a smoldering farmhouse and against the odds saw signs of life dancing across his HUD. The Ka'ra gave him Jango and by god, it can stand back while he brings his son back from the abyss.

Mace is watching him. "Jaster, you had no hand in making Jango Fett the man he became at the end. You did not abandon him, you were taken from him. I need you to know this. You should know that none of this was your fault. "

Jaster doesn't care. It doesn't matter if its his fault or not, he is responsible all the same; because he wants to be. He didn't fall in to parenthood, he walked in to it willingly. For Jango, there is no monster that Jaster will not face.

The ka'ra has given him one last gift. The opportunity to see Jango's life after Jaster, and a few precious years in which to try and change them. It may not be in Jaster's power to save his son from himself but by god, he'll die trying.

He looks at the Jedi.  "Tell me the rest."

Some of my thoughts below the cut

Some of my thoughts (because clearly rambling in the comments hasn't been enough for me lol)

I had a lot of fun with this one. I've written about ghosts before but with this one, I went at it from another angle. In this au, ghosts aren't bound by linear time. If you do something that leaves a ghost tied to your soul, they are tied to you in the past as well as the future. Jango and Jaster are both Force Sensitive (tho with a Mando understanding of it. They call it 'star touched') and so can see ghosts.

In this fic, moving in with Jaster sets Jango on the path that brings him to the prequels. Once he's on that path, the ghosts that'll be tied to him in his future, can move freely along the timeline, with each of them pulled to a particular version of Jango. Jango will obviously be responsible for the deaths of quite a few people, there are his bounties, the Jedi and the clones and so on; but when the first ghost appears he's just a kid. The story deals with Jaster coming to terms with the fact that his kid, who he loves beyond reason, even if he stumbled upon him quite by accident, one day becomes the person that will make all these ghosts.

At first there's only one ghost in their time, but Jaster can't let it go (tho he knows he should), he needs to know what happens. So he keeps asking until she admits that she isn't the only ghost and that they are tied to Jango as he's responsible for their deaths. Then, he keeps pushing until she introduces him to the others. She gathers them in a warehouse (so Jango doesn't see) and takes Jaster there.

In the part of the story this snippet is from, Jaster has just been confronted with an excessive number of people (including children) who are all tied to Jango as he's responsible for their deaths. He's had a (understandable) freak out, and ghost Mace has taken him aside and offered to tell him what he knows of Jango's future, and how it led to the death of so many people.

What follows is a buddy up adventure between Mace and Jaster (unlikely duo) in which Jaster tries to come to terms with what Mace has told him, and the horrible events that led to Jango becoming the man that would one day be responsible for all these ghosts. While he tries to save Jango from himself, long before he needs saving.

The idea behind the fic is the inevitability of a tragedy. There's a feeling when you're watching a tragedy play out, that it's all so unnecessary, that it didn't need to happen, but you only know that because as the audience you know that they are in a tragedy, the characters don't know. So what if a character did know? Jaster is served advance notice, will having that allow him to save Jango, or will it just feed in to the fulfillment of this prophetic future?

I wanted to explore the fact that there's only so much one particular character can do, in trying to prevent the end another is headed towards and also, the power of familial love, even when it's found somewhere unexpected. Jaster isn't Jango's blood family, he didn't even know him till he was an older child, which I think makes his love for Jango in spite of knowing what he will become, all the more powerful. The glimpse of Jango's future is disgusting to Jaster, it goes against all he believes in, but its Jango so he can't hate him for it, he loves him too much and so, he's determined to save him from himself. He's willing to do the impossible.

Then there's Mace: so in this au, Mace is sent out shortly after Galidraan, when it becomes clear to the order that they've made a mistake, to find the survivor they left in the hands of the Governor, and to right a wrong. He isn't successful, he looks everywhere but he can't find him, and in the end the order write him off as dead. In this au, Jango was 18 on Galidraan and what Mace sees as his failure to save someone that was little more as a child, and suffered so greatly thanks to what the order see as their own neglect, haunts him for the rest of his career.

Its that idea of 'the one case you couldn't close'. It's at the start of his career and he goes on to do amazing things, Mace is peak Jedi, he invents a new form, he's one of the youngest Jedi to be elected to the council, he ends up heading that council, but he is still human (or near human lol sw complicates everything. he's 100% human in a fallible/emotional/sapient sense) I think that as a Master Jedi he's very aware of his own weaknesses, and he tries to work through it, he talks to it with other Jedi, and he certainly doesn't let it affect his judgement, but he can't forget it all the same.

So it's this version of Mace that ended up meeting Jango in the arena. Which I think adds such an interesting angle.

#Jaster Mereel #Mace #I've been thinking about this one (and a part of chapter 7 which i might post as another snippet) #cause i saw a poll talking about who was responsible for Jango's death and I've got a lot of opinions about that #that can not be contained by a poll lol. it's something i explored in this fic #pretty much. i think that Mace had no choice but i don't think he'd agree with that. i think he'd struggle with having killed Jango and #how he killed him. (decapitation. a particularly violent move. which i don't think he had a choice in. but yeah think he'd struggle) #i think that Jango pretty much ensured his own end and was too intelligent to not realise he was doing that so i think that was a #self hatred/survivors guilt/'i have lived past my end' kind of thing #i also think that Jango was only the person that always would have brought death upon himself like that because his past made him so #and i think his past was bad enough to make him that because it suited the greater narrative to have him end up like that #it suited palps ends pretty much. did palps know he was doing that or did the universe just work in his favour? who knows. #still worked out well for him #the poll got me thinking about Mace which got me thinking about this fic but writing about the fic has me thinking about this fic again #kinda tempted to go through it again and give it a bit of a face lift. old once over. shine it up a bit #I've always hated that it's 17 chapters tbh. want it to be 15 or 20. i don't think I'll address that this time tho. #might just try an edit however #has this???? no i won't say it. not to curse it but... the editing/ read back block may... be shifting. possibly. #considering an edit hadn't seemed so possible in a while. #there are so many things i need to look over once i can lol I've posted things still in draft state #that's cool tho. no problem. not thinking about that just thinking about how nice it would be to give this old thing a shine #Mace is so ready here to absorb all the blame for everything on the order (and by extension him) but its really not on them

[alexawynters]

Scarlet Whispers pt 6

Gif not mine

A/N: I edited this while stoned. Probably not my best idea. Also this feels so filler. Should I upload chapter 7 as well??

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Female!Reader

Trigger warnings (let me know if I forgot to tag anything): Mentions of past child abuse, stalking, horror, dubcon, kidnapping, stockholm syndrome, gaslighting, angst, smut. There will be bits of fluff tho.

Rating: M. Minors DNI

Masterlist with parts 1-5 here

Chapter Six

The next morning, you found yourself unusually attached to Wanda, refusing to let her out of your sight. You had always disliked the idea of being clingy with the few friends you had, but with your mind in disarray from the events of the previous night, she was the only bastion of comfort you knew. Playing your games only reminded you of your suspicions, and the fact that you could only watch hard copies of anything had the same effect. Instead, you longed for the witch to hold you, alleviating your treacherous thoughts. Unfortunately, you couldn't express this to her without giving away what you had discovered, so instead you clung to her side whenever possible.

Not that Wanda minded, of course. If anything, she was wondering why she hadn't thought to arrange a little home invasion or something to draw you into her arms sooner. But better late than never, right? The witch cooed and fawned over you in her native Sokovian every time you pulled her back to you when she started to get up or go to her garden. Part of you wanted to ask her for a translation - she always called you some nickname or another - but you never had any idea. Another part just savored the way her language rolled off her tongue. You began to consider that you didn't need to know exactly; you could grasp the gist of it well enough.

Wanda, on her part, began sharing more of her work with you. She didn't reveal everything, of course, but she would show you snippets, especially since you were so intent on being by her side. She wanted to make you more familiar with what she was doing. The witch would demonstrate how she observed the multiverse using one-way portals she would conjure, to ensure your protection from external dangers. Naturally, Wanda made sure to only show you versions of the Avengers who would actually be a threat to you, who were truly evil in their universe. She hoped this would sway you further to her side, seeing the atrocities they would commit, the powers they wielded.

For sure this made you fearful of the Avengers. However, you never forgot what Wanda initially told you about her origins, her experiences with her versions of the Avengers, and your own involvement. The current situation didn't align with what Wanda had previously shared, sowing doubt to further creep into your heart and mind. These individuals were supposed to be heroes, just like Wanda once was. So why were they now posing a threat to you specifically?

That's what you couldn't understand. All Wanda seemed to care about was keeping you by her side, keeping you safe. But why would the "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" have any interest in you? You weren't a villain. Incapable of harming even a fly, you had never harmed anyone in your life, despite times when you should have defended yourself. So if they didn't want you, then who did they want?

Your gaze turned from the portal Wanda was observing to the witch herself. Could they want Wanda? You had witnessed what she had done in Westview, but she had done the right thing in the end. Surely that counted for something, not just in terms of morality but also with these so-called-heroes. Wanda wasn’t a villain.. Was she?

As you looked at her focused figure, you reflected on all the ways she had supported you. Openly confessing to journeying through multiple universes just to locate you; she rescued you from an abusive family, shielded you from the monotonous 9-to-5 existence, and brought you to your new home. Throughout your time together, Wanda had consistently shown nothing but care and affection, fulfilling your every desire. If Wanda was considered a "villain," did that moniker truly matter to you?

Captivating green eyes, flecked with bits of gold, sparkled with intensity as they met yours. In that moment, you made a firm decision: you didn't care if she was a villain. Perhaps you wished she had been more honest about her intentions and actions, but as far as you knew, she hadn't done anything truly villainous. If her "crime" was saving you, she shouldn't be punished for it.

"What is it, lyubov moya?" she asked, amused, having caught you in the middle of your intense gaze. Wanda wasn't sure exactly what you were thinking without reading your mind, but the way you looked at her, as if you had appraised her and found her to be the perfect answer to all you were seeking, made her feel weightless. Warmth bloomed in her chest as she gazed fondly at you.

Caught in your staring, you blushed and shook your head in denial, trying to hide any thoughts you may have had. Instead of responding, you leaned your head on her shoulder and wrapped your arms around her closest arm, indicating to her to continue her work.

Wanda smiled at you briefly before returning to her task. She didn't want to spend too much time observing the multiverse, as she had already set up multiple wards and alerts in case anything significant happened. It seemed that you wanted to cuddle, and she saw no reason to decline. Finished with her goal, arm in arm, Wanda led you to the living room and turned on the TV to watch the Dick Van Dyke show, knowing you enjoyed it almost as much as she did, despite its age. Contentedly, you nestled into her embrace, inhaling the faint scent of vanilla, and settled in comfortably.

Although you had decided to accept Wanda for who she was, you couldn't completely shake the persistent doubts in your mind. Those doubts crept into your dreams, turning them into nightmares.

Unlike most of your dreams, and even nightmares, these were fragmented. They appeared as flashes, resembling memories almost. In some of these fragments, a woman dressed in black and red was chasing after a man in a cape, and a teenage girl, as they hurried through what seemed like a monastery. The same woman in red effortlessly utilized puddles and mirrors to traverse through the monastery, pulling people back through. Although her face remained unseen, the outfit seemed familiar; a feeling of dread and unease overwhelming you whenever you came close to catching a glimpse. 

Unable to do anything, you were a helpless bystander to what was surely a slaughter. You hoped that this woman was just letting these people go, simply getting them out of the way. In your heart somehow you knew that was likely not the case. Suddenly, you had a close-up view from directly behind the woman, as she pulled another unsuspecting victim through a puddle, swiftly snapping his neck.

You woke up to the sound of screaming, and it wasn't until Wanda held you in her arms, turned you to face her, shushing you gently, that you realized the scream was yours.

It took Wanda longer than usual, but eventually she was able to calm you down and get you to go back to sleep next to her. However, you were uncharacteristically stiff and silent, a stark contrast to the affectionate person you had been earlier. Wanda was tempted to read your mind, but she had been making a conscious effort to refrain from doing so. She wanted the connection between you both to be genuine, and invading your privacy by reading your thoughts would not contribute to that. If it were anyone else, she wouldn't hesitate, but you were the one person whose privacy she respected and didn't want to intrude upon if there was any other way.

Night terrors were common for you, which was expected given your level of trauma, and how often you had them in Wanda’s presence. This one felt different to her. You had never recoiled from her touch before, even in the beginning when she first brought you to Wundagore. Wanda's touch had always been a source of comfort, capable of dispelling your fears. So why were you suddenly so tense in her embrace, as if you wished to be anywhere else?

Her heart clenched with fear and hurt that you weren’t comfortable sharing what had upset you. However, she knew that pressuring you would only make you shut down. Instead, the witch took a deep breath through her nose promising herself to be patient. It was incredibly vexing that she always seemed to make one step forward with you, and then two steps back. Wanda believed that you would eventually come to her, if given enough time. She hoped at least.  If Wanda couldn't trust you, then who could she trust? She couldn't bear to entertain that train of thought. 

Gentle rays of sunlight streamed through the curtains into your shared bedroom, rousing you from your restless sleep. The bed felt cold, and the delightful aroma of pancakes filled the air, wafting in from the kitchen down the hall. You concluded that Wanda must be preparing breakfast. Yawning, you got out of bed and padded your way towards the witch and the enticing aromas that made your stomach growl.

An adorable sight greeted you, causing your heart to flutter pleasantly in your chest. Wanda, clad in her favorite blue plaid robe, black pajama top, and dark grey sweatpants, dancing around the kitchen as she cooked for you both, listening to some 90’s pop. What a dork, you thought, affectionately. 

As if sensing your presence, the witch spun around. “Good morning, detka! Breakfast will be ready in just a sec!”

Your lips quirked upwards in a grin. How could this woman be so perfect, you wondered?

“No rush. Is there anything I can help with?”

Viridescent eyes twinkled with appreciation. Her girl always had such good manners, so sweet, so helpful. “No, dorogoya, I have it covered. Sweet of you to offer though.” Wanda walked around with your pancakes and set them on a plate in front of you, before placing a quick, but gentle kiss to the top of your head.

On contact, your body froze. A furtive glance cast in the witch’s direction but Wanda had already turned her back to you, completely unaware. You didn't understand what had just happened, but when the former avenger had entered your personal space, you felt an unexpected and almost overwhelming urge to run. Even now you were actively resisting it, trying to stay seated. It would look weird if you suddenly fled from the room, and you weren’t sure how to explain to Wanda when she inevitably would ask you why.

 Taking a few moments to breathe through your nose, you swallowed nervously and willed yourself to remain in place. What the fuck? What was wrong with you? This was Wanda, not some stranger out to get you. Gods, how traumatized were you anyway?

Before the witch could notice your discomfort, you quickly devour the breakfast she had prepared for you. With a disarming grin, you tried to regain a sense of normalcy by complimenting the chef. Wanda responded with a brilliant smile and plated her own breakfast before sitting down in the chair next to you. A soft, cool hand gently brushed across your lower back as she passed by.

This time, you shivered pleasantly, grateful that your body had recognized the familiarity that was Wanda, and she posed no threat to you. The anxiety that had been coursing through your veins just moments before began to fade. In an attempt to regain that sense of safety that the witch typically provided, you moved your chair closer to Wanda, earning yourself an affectionate look from the older woman.

Your behavior was a significant departure from the stiff and silent demeanor you had the night before, and Wanda was relieved that you weren't still pushing her away. If you had continued to distance yourself, she had resolved to read your mind without your permission to understand what was troubling you. Understanding that you had trust issues, and some uncertainty was to be anticipated, but Wanda was growing weary of every bit of progress being quickly overshadowed by your own lack of confidence. The witch contemplated how to better help you grow more than she already had been.

Conversation between the two of you flowed easily once again. Wanda had promised herself to be patient with you, although personally she knew patience wasn't her strong suit. For you though, she would try. A breakthrough in your relationship felt imminent. Maybe all you needed was a gentle nudge. Perhaps time for Wanda to stop allowing you to doubt her intentions and take a more direct approach with you. As ideas began forming in her mind, she had to muster her facial expression so as not to inadvertently reveal her plans for you, and how excited she was to surprise you.

A/N 2: ehhh... how are we feeling about where this is going? Again, edited when stoned so sorry if its... rambly.. Rambles? Words are hard.

Again thanks as always to @flowers-shouldnt-die as well as my friend Brooke for beta-ing these for me. You guys are so helpful and the best cheerleaders and I appreciate y'all.

Taglist: @dorabledewdroop

#Wanda maximoff x reader #dark!wanda x reader #wanda maximoff x fem!reader #wanda maximoff x f!reader #wanda maximoff x female reader #dark!wanda maximoff #dark!wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader #dark wanda x reader #yandere!Wanda #yandere wanda maximoff #wanda x y/n #wanda x you #wanda maximoff x you #wanda maximoff x reader

[brucebocchi]

Ranking every new anime I watched in 2023, Pt. 3: #10-6

hey, i just started a ko-fi for my writing and possible other creative outlets. this post will also be available there, so please check it out and consider tipping/donating as i'm currently between jobs. the tumblr version of part 1 can be found here and part 2 here.

I didn't mean to drag this out quite so much, but I ended up writing a TON for the top 10, so for the sake of everyone's attention spans (and so I can buy some time to finish my top two) I broke it up into two more posts.

​ALSO! I've embedded a link to each show's OP in the title of each entry. I wanted to give more of a visual element to each show outside of the header images, plus there have been some incredible OPs this year. I've gone back and edited them into the prior posts as well.

10. Trigun Stampede

It’s funny, I had fond memories of watching Trigun on Adult Swim in my adolescence, to the point where I used to count it among my all-time favorite anime for a while, but I didn't realize until this year that I hadn't actually sat down and watched it from beginning to end. It’s honestly a very uneven watch, and it’s clearly split into two parts: The first, a dieselpunk western revolving around a mysterious goofball with a big-ass gun and a bounty on his head, and the second a slightly more somber revenge quest as he is forced to survive his way past a rogues gallery while vowing not to take any lives. Still, it was a hit among western anime fans for a reason, and it was formative to me even back when I thought anime was kinda cringe.

Trigun Stampede is far from a faithful reinterpretation of Yasuhiro Nightow’s manga nor of the original Madhouse production. Meryl Stryfe is no longer a jaded veteran insurance adjuster but a much younger muckraking journalist. She’s no longer tailed by the gentle giantess Milly Thompson, but rather following her senpai, the gruff, bleary-eyed Roberto De Niro (the names in Trigun have always rocked). Nicholas D. Wolfwood isn’t an affable priest with a dark past; he’s all dark past now. And Vash the Stampede, now rocking a fuckboy undercut, is less of a mercurial wisecracker with a soft side and more of a reluctant gunman freaking it in a sensitive style. 

Stampede wastes no time differentiating itself from any previous version of Trigun. Vash’s history is no longer a mystery waiting to be uncovered; it’s a driving factor of the plot as his brother Knives seeks revenge on humankind for their use and exploitation of “plants,” an alien race to which the two seem to be connected, as an energy source. This was always an element of the original anime that I felt went unexplored, so it was fascinating to see Stampede dive right in. It’s a great introduction to the story for people who haven’t seen the original, and full of unexpected turns for existing fans. It’s still built on the bones of Trigun as we know it, but it is very much its own thing. 

People made a lot of hay about Vash’s new appearance, but I think it works. The huge pleather trench coat, spiky flat-top, and tiny glasses remain an iconic 90s design, but I believe the 90s is where it belongs. This take on Vash is just as capable but much more self-effacing, tortured, and averse to violence. This is a younger Vash, and it’s clear that his history with Knives is a much fresher wound, rather than the dull, nagging ache in the original. This is a gentler (but no less talented) Vash, so I think the softboy look suits him this time around.

I also spent most of the season quietly insisting to myself that the original version of Meryl is much better (and cuter) than the Stampede variant, and I still stand by that, but the updated version definitely grew on me. I mean, just look at that hat. But it’s clear from the jump that Stampede’s first season is very early in this version of the Trigun story (you may notice that the bounty on Vash’s head is much, much less than the famous 60 billion double-dollars), and Meryl has some growing to do (and presumably a whole lot of professional frustration) before she becomes something like the one we knew and loved around the turn of the 21st Century.

I’m still yet to watch Beastars, but it’s immediately apparent why Studio Orange was entrusted with the Trigun IP. This show looks incredible. This is some of the best CG animation I’ve ever seen outside of a Pixar or Spider-Verse movie. Characters are amazingly expressive and oscillate between naturalistic, weighty movement and cartoony flailing. Action scenes are inventive and dynamic and stand up to even the wildest sakuga. And yet, it still looks like an anime. It still retains the classic 24fps look and even occasionally trades in the CGI for hand-drawn animation for effect. We are long past the botched Berserk revival: This is what CGI anime should look like.

It’s plainly obvious that Trigun has always carried influences from landmark western media like Mad Max and Dune (not to mention Fist of the North Star, but that one always wore its Mad Max influence on its sleeve), so it’s been an unexpected delight to see those influences take a new shape now that both franchises have seen major updates since the last iteration of Trigun went off the air. For all of the alien technology and technicolor glowing lights, Trigun takes place entirely in a desert setting, and it’s impossible to see these chase scenes and not immediately think of Fury Road, or halfway expect to see Villanueve’s take on the Fremen popping out of the dust clouds. 

Stampede is a very welcome entry to a franchise long believed to be well and truly over, and the more eyeballs on Trigun, the better. It’s evident by the end of this season that this take on the story is only just beginning, and it has already taken unexpected departures from the story as we already knew it. I can’t wait to see where it goes from here, but that’s mostly because we have confirmation that Milly will be in the next season. It can’t get here quickly enough.

9. Insomniacs After School

I watched and read a frankly absurd amount of romance-centric anime and manga this year, especially of the slice-of-life variety, to the point where even by the early summer I thought I'd had my fill. I'm overjoyed to say that Insomniacs After School proved me dead wrong.

What a treat this was. It's a simple enough premise: A boy with insomnia is sent on an errand to his high school’s abandoned observatory, where he finds a classmate sleeping because she suffers from insomnia as well. They quickly find out that the observatory is a perfectly quiet environment for the both of them, and that they actually get restful sleep around one another. In order to get away with making use of the area, they resurrect the school’s astronomy club and find a genuine love for astrophotography and, you guessed it, one another.

You couldn’t have picked a more apt studio to adapt this work than Liden Films. Call of the Night made a splash last year for its saturated, vibey nightscapes, and Insomniacs’ gorgeous astral visuals carry that mantle. The nighttime backdrops of the quiet suburbs, wide-open beaches, and lush countryside are nothing short of stunning, and Isaki’s adolescent wonder at the world’s hidden beauties reminded me, and I do not say this lightly, of something Miyazaki would’ve animated.

On a couple of occasions this year, I’ve been able to step back from an anime, take a breath, and simply say “That was beautiful.” Insomniacs gave me one such occasion. Even putting the visuals aside, the story itself is lovely and would have made this the feel-good anime of the year, if not for the next entry on this ranking. I would have more to say, but Insomniacs After School speaks for itself. Give it a shot.

8. Skip and Loafer

There are so many standalone adjectives I could use to describe this one, and most of them are ones that would normally make me want to impulsively run the other way like “comfy,” “feel-good,” “wholesome,” what have you, but I think the most comprehensively I can boil it down to a single word is “lovely.” Everything about it just gives you the warm fuzzies, and almost makes me think that the “I want more stories with no conflict” dorks might actually be onto something.

It’s a simple one: Mitsumi, a dorky teenage go-getter with her entire life planned out, moves to Tokyo from her no-horse beach town to attend one of the country’s best prep schools, but much like everyone who played the first two hours of Persona 5, she quickly gets lost in Shibuya’s subway station on the first day of school. She runs into Sousuke Shima, a laid-back boy from the same school who’s also running late, because that’s, like, what he does, and manages to wrangle him into running to school with her.

Mitsumi quickly draws attention from her classmates, not only from delivering a speech as the incoming class representative (and subsequently barfing all over her teacher), but because she inadvertently made fast friends with the hottest, most popular first-year in the school. This attracts the attention of social climbers and jealous hangers-on, but Mitsumi hardly notices. She’s used to knowing everyone in her school back home, so she wastes no time reaching out and seeing what’s up with anyone who’ll give her the time of day.

A lot of Skip and Loafer revolves around the roles for which we think we’re destined in a controlled social environment like high school, and how easily the preconceptions you have of other people can be shattered if you just get to, like, talk to them for 20 seconds. Mitsumi’s friend group quickly fills itself out with people who wouldn’t give each other so much as a passing glance at first, but come together so naturally that you almost can’t believe they weren’t friends already.

Shima, for his part, also struggles with those preconceptions; for as laid-back as he seems on the surface, he’s a habitual people pleaser and is constantly playing a role. He’s so caught up in the performance that he doesn’t quite know what’s going on half the time or how he really feels about most things. Mitsumi is so naturally magnetic, though, that he does seem to genuinely enjoy his time with her, and vice versa. You can see where this is headed, if the gorgeously-animated dances they do together in the OP weren’t enough of a tell.

Everything about Skip and Loafer is just downright pleasant. Character models are simple and sketchy, the color palette is awash in pastels and neutral tones, and the soundtrack is peppy and whimsical. It’s a warm hug of a series, and at no point does it feel cloying or manipulative. High school slice-of-life is pretty bloated as a genre, and I watched a ton of those this year, but there’s just something so charming and magnetic about Skip and Loafer that instills in me a sort of false nostalgia for the ideal high school experience I never had.

Also: Nao-chan. Exceptional trans representation. We do not get enough of that in anime and she is a breath of fresh fucking air. I would die for her.

7. The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

And now for something much less wholesome.

I really don’t seek out harem anime. Tenchi Muyo was formative to me as a tween, and a rewatch last year ended up being a major catalyst in getting me back into anime, but despite it being widely considered the second-ever harem anime, it hasn’t left much of a legacy in the ones that followed. Harem anime from the 00s onward has largely been formulaic wish-fulfillment slop that runs itself in circles as a perpetual money-making machine rather than developing any sort of plot (see: Hina, Love and Girlfriend, Rent-a-). I know I covered Girlfriend Girlfriend earlier, and while that’s nothing like Tenchi either, it does scratch an ever-present itch for stupid, madcap, relentless anime bullshit.

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, [...] Really Love You, meanwhile, sees that itch and takes a fucking chainsaw to it. To say everything about it is over-the-top would be an understatement: The top is Hyakkano’s floor. This show gives you everything you could ever want in a harem comedy, but to the extreme: It is your dad making you smoke the whole carton. It is Hell’s donut machine, and you are Homer Simpson. Satire is often at its best when it pushes the boundaries of absurdity, and 100 Girlfriends revels in that push like a horny bulldozer. This is not genre subversion, it’s genre explosion.

The headcount isn’t the only wildly outsized element of this series; every single member of the titular harem, each a tick on the checklist of every -dere archetype you can imagine, pushes the slider of each of their character tropes so far to the right it’s breaking the track. The deredere is a ball of deranged horniness, the tsundere betrays her intentions so compulsively that she’s functionally incapable of lying, and the kuudere is so robotically devoted to pure efficiency that it’s salient to mention that her name is literally pronounced “Nano A.I.” If you can think of an anime girl archetype, she is in this (or will be in future seasons), and she is the apotheosis.

And yet, this show still bothers to make each one of them an actual character. Harem anime has such a low bar to clear on that front, yet most entries in the genre still bang their dicks against it. Hyakkano's titular girlfriends, at least the ones introduced in the first season, are actual characters with actual backgrounds, actual motivations, actual growth, and actual reasons to like the protagonist beside the premise. They’re all founded on stock anime tropes, to be sure, but the original manga’s author actually put in the work to give them, you know, personalities. And above almost all else, they actually like each other too! This isn’t exactly a full-on polycule (though two of the girls are prone to making out with each other on occasion), but for as deeply weird as this family unit is on paper, they actually come across as a group of people who love and care for each other rather than everyone cattily jockeying for the same position. 

And not for nothing, but Rentaro is easily one of the best harem protagonists I’ve ever seen, and again, this is coming from a Tenchi Muyo fan. I do enjoy Naoya’s over-the-top earnestness in Girlfriend Girlfriend, but Rentaro is the gigachad version. He is exceedingly patient, kind, and understanding of each of these girls’ unique quirks and qualities and quickly grows to learn to manage them in conflict and help them work through their insecurities, and he loves them back in kind and puts in the work to make equal time for each of them. He doesn’t want to “fix” these girls; he sees them for who they are and proactively does everything in his power to accommodate them. He's like if Tadano from Komi Can’t Communicate actually got the harem he deserved. Putting aside the fact that he’s, y’know, 100-timing his girlfriends, he comes across as just a really good partner.

I also want to be clear: For its rampant, fanservice-laden anime bullshit, this show is genuinely hilarious. It’s not some kind of “how did this shit even get made” trainwreck; it is a comedy first and foremost, and the comedy hits exactly as intended. The comic pacing is buckwild, the visual gags are so rampant that they’re almost difficult to keep up with, and the translators, at least in the version I watched, did an outstanding job of localizing the constant wordplay. It’s also so unapologetic in its horniness that you can’t help but admire it a bit; 100 Girlfriends knows exactly what it’s about, and it dares you to say something.

There’s a very good chance this won’t be for you. 100 Girlfriends is constantly pushing the boundaries of good taste, but never in an offensive way and never truly at its characters’ expense. Geoff Thew calls it the “most 'harem' harem anime,” but I'd argue that it’s the most "anime" anime: It is every trope you’ve ever seen in romcom anime cranked up to a thousand and smushed up against your nose. This shit hits like Panera lemonade. It is peak trash. If you have a tolerance for anime bullshit, this show may very well test that, but I still cannot recommend it enough.

6. Heavenly Delusion

Didn’t think I’d be getting into more than one post-apocalyptic anime this year, but I’d seen this one recommended so many times that I felt this list would be incomplete if I didn’t watch it. Don’t ask me about Pluto.

Heavenly Delusion (Hulu lists it under its Japanese title, Tengoku Daimakyo, for some reason) splits its runtime between two different stories: The first, a pair of young travelers making their way across a ruined Japan in search of nebulous goals neither is sure even exist; the second surrounding a group of adolescents in an unnervingly idyllic walled garden in some sort of school setting. The narrative flips between these two sporadically, rarely ever showing its hand in how they are even remotely connected.

On the post-apocalypse side, we follow Maru and his bodyguard-for-hire, Kiruko, as they trek across the country to deliver Maru to someplace called “Heaven,” while at the same time, Kiruko is in search of a pair of men from their youth. They are often beset by bandits, cults, and most crucially, horrifying monsters called “Man-Eaters,” which Maru has the unique ability to kill. On the school side, we see a group of gender-ambiguous kids in an enclosed space, constantly monitored and kept in a very controlled environment. Everything feels.. wrong. Nobody seems entirely human. There is a lingering and seemingly taboo curiosity about what lies outside the walls. I hesitate to say any more.

There is phenomenal human drama in here, and sparks so many conversations about transhumanism and human nature, gender, trauma, community, all things I’m not smart enough to really dive into. But to even address these topics here is to give the game away, and Heavenly Delusion is a story better left unspoiled, even if, a full season in, I’m still not 100% sure what’s going on.

This show is gorgeous in ways I’m still struggling to articulate. The character designs, animation, lighting, and cinematography are so immaculate that I repeatedly had to remind myself that I wasn't watching a movie. Heavenly Delusion looks like a grungy Shinkai film: Character models are immaculately realized and fluidly animated, the light and shadow effects are some of the best I’ve ever seen in TV animation, and action sequences are visceral and unpredictable. Maybe all I needed to say is that it was made by much of the same Production IG staff in charge of Psycho-Pass.

I want to say as little about what happens as possible, because the mystery is the main draw of Heavenly Delusion, but I feel the need to warn that there is a very dark and sour turn near the end of the season in the form of some strongly implied sexual violence. It was thematically unnecessary, and once that side of things is resolved, everyone just kinda… moves past it. It doesn’t ruin the show, I still recommend it heartily, but be forewarned. I found it upsetting, but more in the “did this REALLY need to be in there?” sense. The mounting tension and slowly-unfolding existential horror in this series are otherwise expertly woven into the narrative, and this part landed with a wet thud.

This is a much longer story than most of the season would have you believe, and it ends with far more questions than answers. One side of the story leaves off with an open end, and the other with a massive cliffhanger, which left me a little cold but with interest piqued for the next season. For what it is right now, though, Heavenly Delusion is a nearly perfect, endlessly thought-provoking mystery and one of the most gorgeously ugly things I’ve seen this year.

#anime reviews

[leojurand]

house of niccolò reread rambling thoughts: niccolò rising edition (final part)

writing this like a week after finishing the book because i'm lazy but hey! at least i'm doing it!

i think niccolò rising is a great introduction to the series. it's not as emotionally gripping as the game of kings, but it is way more polished and easier to understand and get into, i think.

that being said, it's still one of my least favourite dunnett books. which says a lot about the quality of her novels because i still really, really love it.

so yeah, a couple of reread thoughts before i (eventually) move on to book 2 :)

1.

“Although,” said Tobie, “we’ll never know, will we, what brought it on? Relief or disappointment?”

i think it's fascinating that after 8 books, and considering nicholas is one of my favourite characters of all time (possibly even my number 1!), i still can't 100% tell if something is a part of his plan, or fate making those things happen.

did he always plan to marry the widow? on paper it seemed like a last resort because he didn't want her to sell the company, and it gave him status so it was, mostly, a win/win situation (if we ignore the fact that she brought him up and he was ten, which i definitely can't ignore, but i do wonder if it bothers nicholas especially considering his childhood).

did he want felix to die, even if he wasn't happy about it? he was the one to encourage felix to go to battle, though trying to convince him not to go would've had the opposite effect. and right before felix gets shot, julius was thinking that people on horse make an easier target (something nicholas would know because the dauphin's men threw him off his own horse before that). so maybe if nicholas hadn't tried to save felix, felix would be alive. but who knows!!

and i love this. i think some readers are frustrated by how little they understand of nicholas as they read the series, but to me that just makes him more complex and more real. it's a testament to dunnett's prowess as an author that she can create a protagonist like this, and not only does she make it work, she keeps adding layer upon layer as the series continues. and nicholas is already super complex in this first book! by the end of his series there's so much going on with him, and somehow it's not chaotic at all. or, well, it is a chaotic, but a controlled and deliberate sort of chaos.

i could talk about nicholas's characterization forever. and i will in this ramblings 😁

let me finish this part with THEE quote of this book for me:

Nicholas said, “I thought of a way to do it. That was all.”

“And did it,” said Adorne. “Why?”

“To see what would happen,” said Nicholas flatly.

2.

For himself, Julius felt neither anger nor envy but a growing pleasure, and a growing curiosity. For whatever reason, it had begun. And now, what would come of it?

i know for a fact there are fans who don't like the julius reveal in gemini and don't think it makes sense on reread. i can't say i loved it when i read it, and i don't know yet how much sense it does or doesn't make, but at least i can say that in book 1 it was super fun to look at julius under a microscope.

i think i've mentioned this in my previous post, but julius was one of my favourite characters in the series because i think he's funny, and i love his reactions to the things nicholas does. because most of the time he's out there winning the idgaf war while everyone else is horrified. like tobie, he fulfilled his role in the story perfectly, but he was never that deep; and i was never going to write essays about him. he was just a silly guy.

but julius going from an amoral, selfish, entertainingly idiotic jerk, to a perfect example of lazy and opportunistic evil (while still being all those other things lol)? i do criticize dunnett's choice of leaving the reveal for the last half of the last book, but i do think that's really fun. and whether or not there are enough clues, or if they don't add up or only add up when dunnett wants them to, i will judge for myself. either way, taking a character that i enjoyed a fair amount on first reread because he was kinda dumb, and making me look at him really closely on reread... well i think that slays and i commend dorothy for it

#house of niccolo #niccolo rising #hon rr #yaaaaay finally wrote this lol #sotr will probably only get 2 parts because it is my least favourite dunnett? maybe?? but i do have a couple of things to say about it!! #me never rereading these posts before posting them. god knows what i said on there

[manifestmerlin]

AHHHHHHH PART 6 of @jackplushie's automation au ideas!

IGNIHYDE IGNIHYDE IGNIHYDE I CAN FINALLY RELEASE THE LOREEEE I hope y'all like this. Surprisingly there's... only one actual spoiler for chapter 6? And it's sorta something that's like... you were probably already maybe guessing since meeting the ignihyde bois, and i tried to be unclear about it... but its also pretty foundational soooo not able to seperate it.

(Oh yeah and... like one group name which i just decided to throw in there so it's like... a half spoiler?)

EDIT: pssst if you liked this I made a sideblog for twst writing, @scertifiedsavanaclawstan! So go follow me over there!

Ignihyde

Ignihyde Industries is a company that primarily creates tech for... well industrial purposes. Although that's not to say that's all they do.

Idia Shroud, acting head of Ignihyde's Research division, specifically project STYX. An initiative he started to investigate the possible future of true artificial intelligence.

It was a... passion project, and even with all of Ignihyde's connections at his disposal, getting access to all the different androids was... challenging.

But eventually bots began flowing through his lab, free for him to tinker around with, a few curcuit connections here... a few bits of code there and he sends the androids back into the world.

He spends every hour of the day watching his test subjects remotely. Monitoring their vitals, their movements, their behaviors.

It's easy to spend every minute in front of his screens... he replaced his stomach a while ago, and he hasn't needed to sleep in years.

Not since...... Well since he decided to start becoming more machine than man.

But it was fine. He had a goal after all, and no one was going to- hang on what the fuc-

Project STYX didn't get any conclusive results on wether it's subjects even had a semblence of conciousness.

But then YOU showed up on his screen. You had picked up a bot displaying signs of sentience that wasn't even from his lab!

Idia became obsessed, spending most of his time (well compared to the other cases) monitoring you.

He became intimately familiar with your schedule, your habits, your tastes. He almost forgot what he was originally doing.

And THEN one of the bots that had gone through his lab ALSO showed up at your house.

And then another... and then more... eventually Idia was actually spending the majority of his time watching you.

And keeping an eye on the androids! . . . But mostly you. He had to.

Anything for a chance to see his brother again.

Ortho Shroud. First android created by Idia Shroud, first result of project STYX, and the first android to achieve true sentience.

Well, at least he would be if his brother acknowledged him. Everytime he tried to bring it up Idia would just frown and remark "that's what you're programmed to say" with dissapointment.

But he shouldn't be dissapointed! Because he did it! Ortho could really feel! Even when he was shut down!

His big brother was too distraught at his apparent failure to bring him back that he wasn't even bothering to monitor him... So he'd never realize that.

Ortho spent his days listlessly helping his brother... and then Idia started watching you.

Ortho was curious about the bot you'd picked up, the beginning of his brother's obsession. It looked like a standard cat-bot, the kind children would keep as pets.

But yours... talked... and glowed with an odd blue light, and you... didn't seem to mind?

This was the sort of thing where most people would immeadiately send the bot back to the manufacturer. Did you not even realize? Did you not care? . . . Did you prefer it this way?

Ortho's gears, literal and figurative were turning. His brother hadn't gotten much conclusive data on the other subjects... and he hadn't had an easy time considering they were all spread so far around...

Wouldn't it be better if he could keep track of them all in one place? And maybe... if his brother began to notice the traits of sentience in the other bots... maybe he'd notice them in Ortho too.

So now the younger Shroud also keeps his eyes on you. He keeps track of your buying habits, your budget, your scavenging grounds.

He puts the changed androids right in your line of sight when you're walking down main street, he hacks the stores to put them on discount when you walk in, he has them moved as close as he can to your scavenging range.

Of course, they aren't always that easy. Sometimes he had to get his hands... a little more dirty.

If the Viper bot needed his safety features shut down to execute his plan? He'd get thrown out with his charge, and Ortho could send them straight to you.

If the hunter's trackers got stuck to your cat? If Heartslabyl's new manager bot gets distracted by a friendly cat eared bot? If a slippery butler needs to lose sooner than he should've?

Well it's not like he's *ruining* all their lives or anything. After all to hear his brother complain about it, living with you is probably way better than whatever they were doing before. They should be thanking him really.

And you get a bunch of companions too! Things are going great for you, he's making sure of it.

So make sure not to put all his hard work to waste, okay?

#twst #twisted wonderland #idia shroud #ortho shroud #automation au #yandere au #Ortho gets to be the 'big bad' as a treat #all thats left issss diasomnia who wont really have any spoilers because their chapter isnt out yet! #and then i can do the meeting grim drabble #which ill probably do on the new side account i've been setting up! #where ill post all my twst stuff after diasomnia #its extra long so enjoy yall #oh and as for that last line? #lets just say you probably shouldn't try and kick any of the bots out... ortho isn't going to be any happier about it than them.

[plants-and-poetry-and-punching]

a theory about The Ending

Before I go into it, I just want to say that I've had pretty much no contact with the greater fandom until now, so it's entirely possible that other people have come up with this as well. But the friends in my GO emotional support groupchat hadn't heard it before, so I felt the urge to get back on here in order to share with the class.

This is a very long post. BIG spoilers from here on out, I'll be talking about the last episode!

Edit: after engaging with the fandom on here for a while, I’m not as taken with this theory as I was. consider this more of a crack theory or an au idea!

I believe that Az and Muriel have swapped places, just like Az and Crowley did last season!

Overview: How and when: The swap would have needed to happen after the Metatron made the offer to Az, but before they re-entered the bookshop. I'm not sure how they could have pulled it off, but my guess is that Az did some magician trick (and "pulled it off the time it mattered"). He would have had to be able to talk to Muriel in order to convince them and explain the plan, but most of what went on during and after the talk with the Metatron happened offscreen, so there could have been time.

Strong potential evidence: I believe that both Az and Muriel were acting and speaking a bit out of character. I'm sure I don't have to explain why Az seems off- being oddly ok about leaving the bookshop, referring to heaven as the good guys (after the entire season was about him realizing they aren't), and Everything He Said To Crowley. Muriel, on the other hand, said some things that didn't seem like them. I love them dearly, but are they really familiar enough with books to talk about them so fondly? To say that they're like people?

Do you expect me to believe that Muriel knows enough human slang to say "jolly good"?? ("Tickety-boo", anybody??)

Circumstantial evidence: We don't really see 'Muriel' after they tell the Metaton about books. They just hang out in the background, suspiciously out of focus. They're watching what happened in the bookshop through the window, but we don't see their reaction. Why didn't they come in? (If it's actually Az, just IMAGINE the angst potential...) They do eventually enter the bookshop, but only once everyone else leaves. (In fact, this is the last thing we see them do, which I think could be circumstantial evidence in itself.)

The Implications: Taking the deal: In 'Az's' recounting of his talk with the Metatron, he says that the Metatron gave him time to think about the decision. But in the bookshop, he seems like he's in a huge hurry to get back to heaven. (One of my friends pointed this out in the gc as proof that Az is lying to Crowley in order to protect him, which I agree with! I'll mention how I think this theory works with other theories I've heard later.) If Az and Muriel swapped, it would make sense to get the Metaton back to heaven asap, before he figured out what was going on.

The fight in the bookshop: I'm sure pretty much everyone agrees that the Az we know wouldn't take the deal unless something else was going on. I mentioned the way he seemed out of character earlier, but there's another line that struck me as odd. The line "I need you" absolutely DESTROYED me on my first watch, and honestly I'm still reeling. (Yes, this theory is me trying to cope.) It could very well be the closest we've had to a confession from Az... But on the other hand, if Az told Muriel that it's essential to get Crowley back to heaven (be it for a plan or just for his safety), they might be frustrated that he's not playing along. They might, exasperated and unable to explain, say that they 'need' him. The KISS: Yes, this would mean Az and Crowley didn't actually kiss!! SCREAMING! But it would explain 'Az's' response- to me, he seems awkward and confused, like he has no idea what's happening. He's just standing there, not reciprocating. Sure, buddy is an awkward guy, but he's been on Earth long enough to know what a kiss is. (And my silly little gay heart wants to believe that if it was really him, he's kiss Crowley back, dammit.) The way 'Az' touches his lips after, stunned... yes, he could be in shock like the rest of us. Or, it could be Muriel, confused by this weird human thing they've never seen before.

The SMILE: I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that Az smiling in the elevator is unsettling, distressing, and out of character. If it's actually Muriel, I think it makes a lot more sense. Muriel's been smiling in awkward and uncomfortable situations the entire season! They could also be proud of themself for successfully carrying out a plan, and/or excited about getting a big promotion in Az's place. Plus, they aren't close with Crowley, so his reaction probably wouldn't affect them very much. He's a demon, so upsetting him is a good thing, right?

Other stuff: Why?: The Az we know wouldn't take the deal unless something forced him to. I believe that he convinced Muriel to switch in order to buy time to figure something out, in a similar vein as him convincing them that you have to wait a few days to tell if humans are in love. I don't know what the plan would be, or even if he has one, but I think figuring something out would make excellent material for season three.

Working with other theories: As I said at the start, this post is my first foray into the online fandom post season two, so I only know of a couple other theories that my friends told me about. If I come across more that I find compelling, I might come back and add them.

The Lie: The theory that the Metatron threatened Crowley in order to pressure Az makes a lot of sense. I think that the swap theory actually works to support this idea! Instead of lying to Crowley directly in order to protect him, Az could have swapped with Muriel and given them a rough script to follow. Maybe he hoped that Crowley would go with them, or maybe he hoped to meet back up with him later in order to explain. (Either way, Crowley ran off, meaning that Az would have to chase after him in season three, which I think would be interesting.)

The memory wipe: I'm not as sure about the theory that the Metatron wiped Az's memory in the elevator, but I don't see any evidence that disproves it. As I understand it, this theory is trying to explain the Smile, but I personally find the swap to be a more convincing explanation. If both theories were true (meaning Muriel would be the one getting their memory erased), whatever plan Az made would be ruined the moment anyone talked to the disguised Muriel. That isn't to say that it wouldn't happen- it would just mean that Az and Crowley would be in immediate danger come season three. (Though, knowing the angels, they might not notice immediately, turning the unknowing Muriel into a ticking time bomb.)

Other stuff: I'm convinced that the coffee the Metatron gives Az means something, or plays into things somehow. I might go back to figure out where it went, since 'Az' didn't carry it back into the bookshop. (Maybe 'Muriel' still has it and I didn't notice?) I'm also pretty sure that there's some symbolism in the book 'Muriel' is reading- I didn't catch the title, but it appeared in earlier episodes. I might look it up and update if I think it's something relevant.

Also, what did the Metatron need Muriel for? This question is what made me pay attention to what Muriel was doing in the last episode, and therefore the reason I came up with this theory in the first place. It's possible he just told them to watch the area, or gave them Az's old job (similar to the demons sending Shax to replace Crowley). Still, we never heard what exactly he wanted. (Part of me thinks that the Metatron could be in on it- something something god's plan is ineffable- but I highly doubt it.)

Anyway, thanks for reading this very long post! This theory helps me cope with the pain of the season finale, so I hope it can help some other fans deal with it too. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has come up with this idea, and I can't wait to hear everyone's thoughts!

#good omens #good omens 2 spoilers #go2 spoilers #good omens season 2 #good omens theory #I came back to tumblr just to yell about this lmao

[justsome-di]

How have you managed to update neud every week?

It's a combination of a lot of things!

How To Manage Schedules for Long Project

Advice by me, someone who has done this once and is totally an expert (/sarcasm)

Write in advance

Get a lot of the writing done before you start posting anything. For NEUD, I wrote the whole of draft one, then edited it to get to draft two which meant filling out every section that was incomplete, adding/removing chapters to make the plot move fairly well. Draft three is what's available now. I spent a week working on a chapter and then it gets posted on Friday (I worked ahead to get all of draft three up on Patreon early, so I'm not in this editing process anymore, but this is what it was like for a while). It's not impossible to write a chapter from scratch before each upload if you're on a weekly schedule, but you'll probably be battling burnout and you won't be giving yourself much of a safety net for any issues with the plot/writer's block/etc. This advice might seem kinda obvious, but I did try writing as I was uploading on a now-abandoned project, and it wasn't great! This also helps you stay motivated even if you're not getting notes/comments at first (and you may not). You'll have it all written out and all you have to do is press post.

Be okay with it not being perfect

There are a lot of parts of NEUD that I'm not happy with. But if I had waited for NEUD to be up to a grand, golden standard--it would have never made it online. Publishing a web novel, imo, allows for more amateur mistakes. You don't have an editing team like you would at a publishing house. Especially with a project like NEUD--a romance novel--I felt a little less pressure. I wasn't writing War and Peace. I want it to be good, but I tried not to be too much of a perfectionist. And the thing is, you're going to be unhappy with parts that other people really like. You're seeing your work in a different way than your readers. There are parts of NEUD that I honestly don't like, but it's one of those things that it just has to be done. A bad chapter doesn't make a bad book. Just try making sure there are as few grammatical errors or spelling mistakes as possible. You can use software like Grammarly to help catch mistakes you're inevitably going to miss.

Plan ahead and pace yourself

Make out your schedule before you start posting. Think about what days work best for you. Write down what dates you'll post on a little in advance and don't try tackling your schedule in one night. It'll take time to plan how you want to execute everything. I made a mistake here! I wish I hadn't chosen Fridays to post! I work every other Friday, and my homework is always due on Fridays. There would be other days that worked better for me, and in the future, I'm going to consider that for upcoming projects. You can also use queues or scheduled posts to ease the workload if you have chapters ready in advance.

Take breaks

Go on hiatus every now and again. Take time to relax and work on other hobbies. This is important especially if you have other commitments like school or a job that gets busy at certain times of the year. If you're using Patreon, you can suspend payments a month at a time.

Don't get discouraged

Disclaimer: not that many people have read NEUD. But I really am appreciative of every single person who has let me know they read it because I really wasn't expecting anyone to look at it at all! Projects posted online are often overlooked and get buried under the mountain of WIPs everyone is working on. Having someone read your project is a big honor because they're volunteering their time and attention! And everyone is busy, so really even if one person is leaving a like--that's a huge accomplishment! I don't buy into the "likes don't do anything" mantra that started being spread on this site. Likes are important! They're cool! Enjoy your likes! Reblogs don't guarantee that more people are going to look at your thing, honestly. Of course, reblogs are neat because they do raise the chances of your project being seen, but I also don't think anyone is entitled to having their project reblogged. People can post whatever they want on their blogs. If they don't want my amateur project there, that's fine! But I also understand when you've poured hours into something and you get about three notes. It feels bad. But don't let it get you down. Sometimes it just takes a while for people to find your project or find the time to read it. You never know if someone has the link open in a new tab on their laptop or is following your blog, waiting for more chapters to be uploaded so they can read a substantial chunk later. Just because something didn't get notes in the first hour that you posted doesn't mean it'll never be seen by anyone ever again. I know a lot of times that's how social media is made out to be, but you should never feel like you've lost an audience because you posted when people are sleeping/working/just not on their phones.

That's all I can really say :) Just stay positive and think ahead. It's not an easy thing to do but if you just set aside time once you're done writing and get your ducks in a row, you should be able to manage it bit-by-bit.

And mini self-promo, you can check out Nobody Ends Up Dead in a Bathtub, Everyone Keeps Their Organs every Friday on this blog, on Wattpad, AO3, or my Patreon (where chapters are made public every week).

Check it out if you'd be interested in a romance about a sex worker and a client who met through a prank, now fake-dating as revenge against the men who set them up.

#writblr #writeblr #writing advice #original writing #creative writing #web novels

[askstrangeweird]

I need to talk about Strange's default outfit design and apologize.

Recently I found the image on the left browsing Google, and clearly, the design is not mine.

Ive been recently working on new character designs, in which sometimes part of my process includes looking on Google at references of clothing or designs similar to styles I like to get inspiration from or use as reference, so I recently became aware that I've made a huge mental and error with my main OC, Strange Weird and have been for years now, and that I feel I owe a public apology to @jurinova, because long story short, I've learned that ive been using a design from your outfit meme for a few years as if it was my own my design as a mistake and I'm deeply sorry. It was never my intention to take a design of yours and claim it as my own, and certainly not for as long as I have without realizing it, and to anyone I ever told it was my design I am sorry I misled you and was mistaken. I was not purposely trying to be dishonest or lie, or steal, even unknowingly another's design.

To be fully open and transparent, I do suffer from memory issues, and that's not me making excuses, just trying to explain while taking accountability. I honestly don't remember ever even seeing the outfit meme in the first place or where but when I stumbled upon it recently I knew I had to have seen and used it while first designing Strange years ago and forgotten somehow that the outfit was from a meme had seen

No one else pointed this out to me or asked me to say anything, I want to take accountability on it myself, especially after exploring jurinova's blog, seeing more of their posts and how they seem to be supportive of other artists in general, and seeing a specific post where they clarified that of course, the outfits were not for permanent use, of course of which as another artist and someone who has made my own outfit memes before, I completely understand that and would have assumed if i hadn't clearly dropped the ball years ago and forgotten the outfit was even from a meme at all. I'm embarrassed and feel bad for any credit or attention I've taken from you.

Going forward, I've already started working on at least a completely new default outfit from scratch for Strange, as well, will slowly start to edit key art like reference sheets, icons, and the comic cover in the pinned post that ive already made including this outfit that isn't actually mine to a new outfit I'm 110% will be original. I will also attempt to go back to previous posts and give proof credit where possible as and when I'm able. I can guarantee, even considering my memory struggles that lead to this, that this was a one off mistake too. No other OC I've made has an outfit that wasn't designed from scratch. Now also I've taken steps to make sure of it and to keep better self notes to keep track of what my design inspiration and influence are for things so I know I'm only taking inspiration not just blatantly taking another's design, even for just an outfit.

I will have the new default outfit for Strange hopefully done soon and will start phasing the old taken design out completely to show respect to the original designer's wishes and art as whole, in attempts to make amends. For now I'll end by saying, that I would like to apologize to Jurinova again genuinely and encourage anyone reading this to go show them support and give them a follow or read their webcomic like I have begun too.

[k-s-morgan]

Hello! I first followed you for Hannigram but your fic single handedly dragged me into Sebaciel hell ( pun intended ) and by reading your asks about Kuro religiously I've wanted to ask about your view on Ciel's darkness, particulalry pre-contract. Most fans, even anime only fans, tend to consider it a result of his traumatic experience, not necessarily something that existed before then - small or bigger measure. And if he and Sebastian hadn't met like they did, how do you think said darkness could have come out?

Haha, I'm so pleased to hear this! I believe Hannigram was exactly the reason that attracted my attention to Black Butler. In many ways, Ciel and Sebastian are Murder Husbands: I think someone recced them to me as a duo with a similar dark dynamic. I watched a few fan edits, something like this one, with Ciel's backstory & him and Sebastian building their empire, and this one, with their dynamic as a whole, and was intrigued enough to try it. And here I am years later, just as hopelessly in love.

While the anime seems to portray Ciel as strictly naive and light before the contract, I don't share this view, and it's a good thing that there is space for all possible headcanons. I'm not a fan of thinking the captivity and trauma gave him a total personality switch. I think there was always some darkness and cruelty in him; he was always manipulative and calculating, though obviously, in pretty childish ways. In fact, this topic is going to be brought up in the next chapter: Sebastian is going to learn that Ciel was never particularly innocent and did some very questionable things even before their contract. I thought it'd be fun to come up with a more specific and darkish reason for hostility Elisabeth's brother Edward shows to Ciel.

If Ciel and Sebastian never met, I think Ciel would still thrive in the underworld. His father would have to pass the reins to him at some point, and Ciel would become pretty ruthless and intimidating, although his taste for darkness would never be colored with the personal desire for vengeance. I imagine him being more carefree, happier, less restricted and rigid, maybe a little less smart because canon Ciel feels a strong need to keep up with Sebastian and pushes himself above and beyond his limits. Still, he'd be impressive, a force to be reckoned with. He'd enjoy getting rid of his enemies, scheming and playing games, expanding his reach and intimidating the entire underworld.

I think Sebastian would feel equally drawn to this version of him. There is something unique and special in Ciel that I think was always a part of him: he can be sadistic and he can delight in darkness, but he also has his sense of justice. Whenever they met, Ciel and Sebastian would be captivated and pulled into their deadly relationship one way or another.

#sebaciel #black butler #kuroshitsuji #my fics #ciel phantomhive

[valiant-if]

I would estimate I am about 30% finished with the second half of the prologue/chapter 1 (whatever i decide to title it) at this point.

This is the part of the chapter where I realized is probably the best place for a choice determining whether or not your MC knows sign language. It becomes immediately relevant upon meeting one of the crew members. You only meet her in one of the initial 4 paths at the beginning, so for all paths except for that one, the choice will take place in the latter half of the chapter.

It also made me realize I needed to think about some intersections for sign language, non-verbal, and hard of hearing options. How to approach the use of sign language in the game was always something I'd been thinking about, since one of the central characters is non-verbal and uses it as her main form of communication.

It was also always my intention to have an option for the MC to be HOH. So I've been brainstorming gradually on when/where to implement the choices for these, usually thinking of having them combined, but I realized last night that it's probably better to split them up.

While thinking about this, I also realized that there's really no reason for me not to allow for a non-verbal choice as well, not just HOH.

So where I'm sitting at on these topics right now is this:

The initial release of the demo will include an option as to whether or not the MC knows sign language when it becomes relevant in the second half of the chapter. The choices for HOH and non-verbal will be in character creation at the beginning, but these won't be implemented for quite some time even after I release the demo.

The HOH and non-verbal options require a lot more in-depth editing and revision, in addition to possibily rewriting certain scenes, to make sure I alter everything that needs to be altered. I think the easiest way for me to tackle that will be chapter by chapter, especially to make sure continuity is followed through as much as possible. It is likely something I will work on in chunks throughout the project.

It's been an interesting subject to approach language in Valiant, and not just in the discussion of sign language. I brought up once before, when talking about the voices of the characters, that I hadn't yet accounted for how language affects accents yet, namely because of the level of technology in this universe that allows for automatic translators and how this would affect whose voice a person is actually hearing.

I had an epiphany recently that seemed very obvious to me in retrospect. One of the undertones of the Valiant universe is financial inequality—the Valiant universe has a lot of dystopian elements with specifically corporate roots. The subject of financial inequality comes up pretty immediately in the story in the form of cybernetic implants. MC's specifically are noticeably expensive while some of the other crew members have pretty cheap ones and others still have none at all. (For some people this is a choice, but it goes without saying that some people wouldn't be able to afford them.)

My epiphany was that I hadn't fully considered this when it comes to the discussion of language and translators. So the conclusion I've reached is that, yes, many people can afford implants with built-in automatic translators, but not everyone. So there very much is a "universal language" that most people have to learn to speak if they want to conduct any sort of intergalactic travel or business. But, for most people, this is not a first language. Different colonies and/or sovereignties would have their own separate languages.

Most of the crew of the Valiant would be bilingual and thus might speak with accents. I also imagine that any version of language spoken in the Valiant universe is probably different than languages we speak in our own lives simply because of how languages would have evolved over the course of hundreds, maybe thousands of years in space with separate societies. There are probably recognizable bits and pieces to our modern languages, but for all intents and purposes they are fictional languages. This probably won't be referenced too much over the course of the story, but it's still something to think about.

All that is to say, the amount of worldbuilding that goes into a story is sometimes astounding when you consider how much of it the story actually touches on. But it's still important to know certain things because it can influence details in the main story, like—bringing it back around to sign language—how the crew of the Valiant learned to communicate with each other.

At any rate, that was a much longer rant than I was planning—I meant to just have a short and sweet update about some planning things that have been going through my head. The point is, things are coming along pretty well. I'm still working toward getting a demo release soon, so I'd better get back to it.

[hvmelander]

My theory/headcanon is that Homelander is Teddy Stillwell's biological father. We know from season 3 that Homelander is biologically Soldier Boy's son, yet he has entirely different powers from him. The way Compound V and superpowers work seems to be pretty wishy washy. Blue juice = powers, but also some supes can be natural born and the supe gene(s) can be passed down from just 1 supe parent to a child.

After killing Madelyn Stillwell, Teddy is found miles away. Only one person could have managed to do that in time, unless Teddy's powers of teleportation kicked in right at that moment (which is possible). For the sake of argument, let's say his powers hadn't developed yet or weren't responsible for that outcome. I do think it would be possible that Homelander spared Teddy Stillwell out of the nagging thought that he could be his son. Considering the resentment he had towards her baby for taking attention away from him, he should have let him just die but he didn't. At this point, he knows he has a child and is capable of fathering children. I think he might have suspected based on the nature of his relationship with Stillwell that there was a possibility the kid was his, but wasn't certain enough to do more than transport him to safety. In season 3, Teddy is at the Red River Institute, confirming he does indeed have superpowers. Unless Stillwell dosed him with V, which I'm not sure she did, then she was exposed while pregnant or breastfeeding which is possible but doesn't seem likely since she wouldn't be in Vought's Labs all that much. This leaves one remaining possibility: Teddy's father is a supe. The supe that Stillwell had a known sexual relationship with was Homelander, the same person who ended up keeping Teddy alive when there was no incentive to do so. Teddy could have a different father, but the available evidence could suggest that Homelander has 2 children.

EDIT/PS: also, even if Teddy teleported himself, the question of where he got his powers from would remain. I doubt Stillwell would dose her kid with V knowing it doesn't always work. She's not exactly in a position where she needs the money for experimenting with Vought either. I think Teddy is most likely a natural born supe, and I would think Homelander is likely one of the few if only supes on her personal roster at Vought that she would have this kind of relationship with. It seems to me that her motivation was mostly to keep Homelander pacified and malleable. If Teddy has a supe father, that person is still most likely Homelander.

If Teddy is dosed with V after Stillwell is killed, the question then remains why would Homelander save him (since now Teddy can't teleport yet)? That and I doubt Stillwell has absolutely 0 other people, friends or family, that would take Teddy in the event of her death resulting in him being surrendered to the Red River Institute.

#* headcanon

[cerezzzita]

♡. sfw/fluff abc · widowmaker

ⓘ 09/23/2022 edit

A/N: Howdy there! So, one time I checked my ask box and saw a SFW/Fluff ABC request with Widow and when I checked again, it wasn't there :/ I probably deleted it accidentally, so hey little person who asked for it, sorry and take this as my apologies 😁 also, enjoy! Gender-neutral reader on this!

𝑨 = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?)

Let's be honest, Amélie is a woman who draws attention wherever she goes. Despite the previous events in her life, she remained elegant and sophisticated, yet fatal.

𝑩 = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?)

Even though she's still a little emotionally apathetic, she finds your hands attractive just because she can intertwine her fingers with yours and remain united with you in some way. There aren't many such moments, but Amélie will be by your side holding hands with you when there's no one around, or when there's a certain amount of people around. Her skin may be a little chilly thanks to Talon's brainwashing, but that becomes a mere detail when you see how she looks at you: Warm, sweetening but discreet.

𝑪 = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?)

Definitely not. Not that she hadn't thought of starting a family with you, but after everything that had happened in her life, considering the possibility of having children seems to be far from Amélie's reality. With the life she leads, the risks she goes through with being part of Talon and the risky feel of them discovering her connection with you… She doesn't want to put your life in a dangerous situation, and she wouldn't want that for her not-possible children either. She dreamed of it when she was married to Gérard, but now it's a little too late.

𝑫 = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

Please understand that Amélie is making efforts to give you as much affection and love as possible. Cuddles are still restricted, yet that doesn't mean they don't stop happening once in a while. Placing her hand on yours is one of the most frequent, further on there are hugs from behind, kisses on the forehead, pats… Anyway, with time she'll relearn and finally be able to show you all the love she feels for you.

𝑬 = Everything (You are my ____ (e.g. my life, my world…))

Coming from Amélie, you can expect the most elegant and refined encounters you've ever had. Or maybe you never had, because she knows how to do something surprising and enjoyable for both of you, but especially you. Dinners at very expensive luxury restaurants are recurrent, but who said that only that counts? She likes to take you to places that might seem common and we know that with her nothing is common, right? Museums, theatrical shows, casinos and even special surprises at Château Guillard. Classic and romantic encounters that only she can provide.

𝑭 = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?)

Amélie says that you are her mon soleil, for being warm and cozy in contrast to her, who is cold and restricted. She also often says that you are her ma rose for having the beauty, the scent and the majesty of one.

𝑮 = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

When she realized she was falling in love with you, Amélie's head messed up in an inexplicable way. She always wondered why she was feeling it when she shouldn't even have any lingering emotions in her. So she was getting back to being human again thanks to you? Oh, you've made her turn into a chaotic state. Amélie didn't share her doubts with anyone but you. After all, you were the cause of the return of her feelings, the reason why her heart pounded in her chest, as it once did for Gérard. And she liked to feel it again. She never felt more alive.

𝑯 = Hands (How do they like to hold hands?)

As stated before, she's still making efforts for it. Despite that, Amélie is kind to you in her own way. She likes to see you smile with small gestures like a minimal touch, a single, quiet moment just between you two, agreeing with anything you suggest and among many other opportunities where she can be — or at least try to — as gentle and kind as possible.

𝑰 = Impression (What was their first impression?)

Well, you already know. Amélie really appreciates holding hands with you. Sometimes when you two walk together, she'll subtly link her fingers with yours, she also does it during sleep as well. The touch is somewhat withdrawn, but still sincerely affectionate. As time passes, the firmness of the touch of your hands together intensifies, until it results in your fingers perfectly mated with heat and passion.

𝑱 = Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)

First time laying eyes on you, Amélie couldn't help but feel… Curious. She was somehow instigated about you, some part of her head telling her to get to know more about you. Something in yourself attracted her, and she was going to find out what it was even if that means to be on her own time.

𝑲 = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?)

Honestly, it really depends. If she ever felt jealous, it is in a very subtle way. Nothing too extreme, and Amélie will always admits when she's jealous in a frank way.

𝑳 = Love (Who says ‘I love you’ first?)

Her kisses carries her natural essence: they're elegant, soft and precise. The first time you felt her icy lips on yours, it was like the steps of a ballerina to the sound of Tchaikovsky. Intense but floating. A few goodnight or goodbye kisses from her carry the same feeling and you better be sure, it's a real spectacle worthy of applause.

𝑴 = Memory (What's their favorite memory together?)

As surprising it may sounds, she was the one who said it first. Until then, Amélie had been certain that she loved you, not as she had once loved Gérard, it was much more than that. Along with her confession, you where surrounded by a beautiful, romantic set and then passionate words first came, followed by your first kiss and a genuine “Je t'aime”.

𝑵 = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person love everything?)

It was definitely the first time you two laughed together. In some random conversation about a random subject, you managed to make Amélie laugh like she hadn't since brainwashed. Your smile made her feel something akin to fireworks exploding in vibrant colors inside her.

𝑶 = Orange (What color reminds them of their other half?)

Spoil you is a big yes for Amélie. Did you see something in a store that you really wanted? No problem. One day later, you'll have what you wanted with a neat package left somewhere in your room, and it doesn't take long to know that your beloved Widowmaker gave it to you. She loves to gratify you in any way, it's satisfying for her to see you glad to get something in the form of a surprise gift. Amélie can sometimes exaggerate and fill you with a lot of stuff, but that's a minimal detail.

𝑷 = Pet names (What pet names do they use?)

Amélie is somewhat critical of colors, she prefer darker and more neutral tones than other stronger tones like orange, green, yellow and so on. When she remembers of you, colors like crimson, purple and gray come up to her mind. Colors that are of her own personal taste, but that still remind her of you.

𝑸 = Quaint (What is their favorite non-modern thing?)

She heavily abuses of her original language. In public, Amélie doesn't use them too much, but when you're alone… Your name doesn't exist anymore, now you are mon amour, petite chatten, mon biscuit, mon coeur, the list go on.

𝑹 = Rainy day (What do they like do on a rainy day?)

Despite living in a world where technology is essential to all ways of life, Amélie prefers traditional things like reading a physical book and writing letters to you when she's away on a Talon mission.

𝑺 = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?)

One fact about Amélie is that she loves rainy days. Like, really love it. And if you're around, it looks like everything gets better. She stay with you watching movies and/or some series, sipping warm drinks like teas or some hot chocolate and the best of all, cuddling with you.

𝑻 = Talking (What do they like to talk about?)

She's not the best person to comfort someone who's sad. However, she makes efforts for you because you're her beloved-one. So, in case you're having a horrible day or not feeling the best, Amélie won't ask any questions at first and will only pat a hand on your shoulder to pull you into an awkward hug. After you've cried a good amount of tears and putted all of your frustrations out, she'll try to be as docile as possible by saying kind, comforting words and asking what made you had such blues. Besides, Amélie will also offer you something to eat or drink and if you don't want to, it's fine. She knows how bad days sucks, you deserve your own time to get better.

𝑼 = Unemcumbered (What helps them relax?)

At the beginning, Amélie wasn't much of a conversationalist and whenever she tried, something stopped her. Gosh, what would she talk to you about? How many people she was tasked with killing in one day? She didn't want to scare you or be weird at all. But thanks to the topics you brought up, she knew how and what to say to you. That's when Amélie found herself openly to talk about her tastes like classical and even modern music, her passion for ballet, her favorite chores when she's alone and much more things.

𝑽 = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

Amélie likes to remember her times as a ballerine when she needs some relief. Sometimes she starts dancing without even realizing she's doing it, her feet seem to move in their own accord and the classic rhythm fills her whole mind. She dances and imagines herself again on stages, being at Odette's or Giselle's skin. Moments that will never be repeated in Amélie's life, but these memories keeps some kind of fire inside her.

𝑾 = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?)

She's very proud of her home, the Château Guillard. It's a property passed down from generation to generation within her family, and now that it belongs to her, how can she not feel proud of such a grand and magnificent place like that?

Amélie admits that she never thought she would ever want to get married again. But now everything's different. You are the one she's deeply in love with and intensifying the bonds between the two of you would be a way of starting over for her, this time she would do anything on her reach to not repeat the same mistakes she made with Gérard in the past. And no one, not even Talon would stop her from being happy again.

The request would take place at one of your dates at the Château Guillard, in a starry, full of moonlight night. It might not seem like, but Amélie was extremely nervous. Gently, she would start to say everything she felt for you, how grateful she was that you made her human again and all the positive feelings she returned to felt because of you. Soon, after all the speech, Amélie would pull a small red velvet box from her pocket and when she opened it, it would reveal the most dazzling, glittering expensive ring you've ever seen in your entire life.

𝑿 = Xylophone (What's their song?)

“[Name], mon amour… I want to feel even more alive by your side, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Marry me, chèrie?”

One of Edith Piaf's classics, La Vie En Rose. Whenever she hear this song, Amélie starts humming the verses perfectly and, if you're around, she'll pull you into a slow, romantic dance.

“Quand il me prend dans ses bras, 

Il me parle tout bas 

𝒀 = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?)

Je vois la vie en rose…”

𝒁 = Zebra (If they wanted a pet would they get it?)

As shown above, she would think about marrying you and she would make the request herself. Even if you did it, Amélie would never refuse or think twice.

Amélie never owned a pet, but that's not to say she never liked them. She mostly prefer a calm one like a cat.

cerezzzita©, 2022 · all rights reserved ⓘ do not copy, steal or claim as yours

#overwatch #overwatch imagines #overwatch fanfics #overwatch scenarios #overwatch x reader #widowmaker #amelie lacroix #widowmaker x reader #amelie lacroix x reader #x reader #reader insert #overwatch fanfictions #widowmaker x gender-neutral reader #amelie lacroix x gender-neutral reader #gender-neutral reader #overwatch 2 #fluff alphabet #sfw alphabet #fluff abc #sfw abc

[sunshineneedsaplacetokeephernsfw]

Immortal - 1, Introduction (kinktober)

Kaminari Denki - Electricity

Warnings: 18+ (minor dni), non-consensual touching, electricity, creepy Denki, running, not edited

Word count: 3,185 (this is longer than all the other parts)

Masterlist

Part 1 | Next

October

The month that had become dedicated to stories and decorations on store shelves that ranged from spooky to creepy. But there was a strange unsettled feeling resting in the air this year. You felt it in the cool breeze and the whispers as people talked about the missing heroes from the past two years.

It was hard to believe the year was almost over. Especially when it felt like it had only just started, but here you were. You checked the clock and found your shift was done. You promptly wrapped up what you were doing and practically skipped out, with a book in hand. On your way out, your ear caught snippets of a conversation.

"It's horrible what happened."

"I wonder if it's going to happen again this year."

Right.

Two years ago, in October, the famous incident occurred when several students from U.A. went missing during a mission they had all been on. No one could ever find a single trace of them.

You pondered on it as you walked on the sidewalk with your book tucked under your arm. The sky was a deep blue and the air you breathed in was crisp and refreshing. And you were off work for the rest of the day. Which meant you could finally read more of the book that had been sitting on your counter for the past month. And it was a perfect day to read outside.

But you couldn’t stop recalling the strange, seemingly related event that happened last year. The next year after the disappearance, also October, two more heroes who had only just recently graduated from U.A. vanished the same way. It was also around that time when they realized that the villains Shigaraki and Dabi never showed their faces again, and the League of Villains seemed to be looking for them.

However horrible the disappearances, it soon faded into past news and life went on like nothing had ever happened. However, when the calendar changed to October once more, everyone was on edge. The heroes seemed more cautious, the public held their breath in anticipation.

You did your best not to care. It put a sick feeling in your stomach. Hopefully your book would manage to distract you.

Upon finding a nice bench, with a view of the nearby forest, you sat down with a content sigh and flipped the book open. Thankfully, it worked. You slipped into the story, hardly even noticing when you flipped the page or even when the clouds began to block out the sun. You only stopped when it became nearly too dark to read the page. You looked up.

Night had fallen. Shadows stretched and covered everything like a blanket. The only bit of natural light was a dim blue that was sure to fade soon enough.

Your heart beat fast. You closed your book and started in the direction of your apartment. There were always stories. Stories you knew were real. Stories that you'd hear all throughout the whole year, about people staying out too late at night and running into the wrong people. Real monsters.

This was your plan until you spotted somethin- no, someone moving. In the darkness, it took you a moment to see them more clearly. Someone in black and gray from head to toe, not a single bit of skin showing. And one in yellow, a top hat, and a theater mask. It took a moment, but you recognized these two as villains. You stumbled back. They were on the news once, and now they were there. You could see them. They could see you if they looked, they just hadn't yet. Or had they?

Your hands shook. Your limbs were frozen for a few precious seconds. Seconds that you could have used to get away. You ran to the forest. It was the first place you thought of. Maybe you could hide in the trees if they followed you. It was certainly a better option than running in the middle of the street.

The shadows swallowed you. You rushed past the tall trees that loomed over you. Twigs snapped beneath you. The sound of your own terrified breathing filled your ears. So loud, you thought everyone could hear.

The thought of actually stopping to hide finally occurred to you. You ducked behind a tree, hoping it was wide enough to completely hide you. Your eyes darted everywhere. You stopped breathing, praying that you wouldn't hear the sound of footsteps approaching. Nothing. Just the wind in the trees above. The leaves were so dark they looked more black than the sky above you.

Suddenly, your eye caught something that you missed. It was large. You jumped, as if some primal instinct were prepared for a giant monster. It didn’t move. You squinted and let out the breath you were holding.

It was a mansion. There were no lights on inside of it, and the wood was so dark it almost blended in. You never heard about this being here.

You wondered if anyone lived in it. Maybe they could help you. Though, it thankfully seemed like you weren’t being followed. It would be easy to just walk up and get a closer look. With a hand against the tree, you considered your options, to stay or check it out.

Your curiosity won the day.

You stayed low, prepared to dive behind a tree or bush, or duck underneath the mansion porch's railing. Almost every sound was amplified in your ear, making you jump. Which included the sounds even you were making.

The door wasn't locked. It swung open with ease, seemingly inviting you in.

You were considering whether you should enter, when you heard a distant, deep voice behind you. Your heart leaped from out of your chest. Following the voice, now another one, were footsteps. Without a second thought, you dashed inside and closed the door.

The entrance was large and open. Two staircases across from you. Two rooms to the left and right. You stepped into the left room to peer through one of the windows. You walked closer and closer to it. But no matter how close you looked, even when your nose was nearly against the cold glass, you could only see black. You stepped back in confusion.

It was the moment that you heard the door opening that you realized there was nowhere to truly hide in the left room. You quietly ran and dove under the table in the right room. Probably a dining room. The old carpet was rough against your elbows propping you up. You willed yourself to stop breathing as you watched their feet slowly tread in.

"I don't remember this mansion wasn't here last time we searched here," one said.

The other closed the door behind him.

"Yeah. This place is cool, but a little creepy. It's old and boring!"

"You don't suppose this mysterious mansion would have anything to do with Shigaraki's and Dabi's disappearance?"

"Hopefully, definitely not! Everyone's been looking for them for a long time. But I think the voice behind the screen cares more about Shigaraki."

You couldn't hold your breath anymore. You tried to be as quiet as you possibly could, but the small amount of air you allowed yourself just made you breathe faster and heart race. What were they doing here? Still looking for Shigaraki? You resisted the urge to peek up at them. If you could see them, they could see you. But somehow even looking at just their feet filled you with anxiety. Jumping every time one seemed to walk towards you. You wished the table was lower. That there was a long tablecloth that would hide you. That they wouldn’t see you.

"We should tell Kurogiri about this. Let's just leave."

"I agree." A moment passed. He tapped his foot against the floor. "I seem to not have a signal here."

A few seconds and some rustling. "Me neither. I'll go out and make the call."

His heavy steps left, leaving the other to wait behind, but only for a second.

"Um, you might need to see this. We're screwed."

"Hm?" He promptly left, leaving you alone.

You considered getting up and running away. But where would you hide? Would you be fast enough to hide somewhere else? Maybe you could open a win-

"How… did this happen?"

"I don't know! I just walked out and saw the ground wasn't there anymore! Or the trees or anything!"

You barely concealed a gasp. The door slammed shut and you saw two pairs of feet walk in once more. They debated for what felt like hours. Your nerves were shot and it felt like your elbows had rugburn. Finally, they walked up the stairs. You waited just a little longer until you heard a door closed. And even longer, until you were sure.

You slid yourself out from under the table. That couldn't be true, right? You ran to the door on your tippy toes, wincing every time you made the slightest sound. The door opened after a gentle twist.

You looked out. And sure enough. There was nothing beyond the porch but an endless black. Not the kind of black when everything's too dark to see. Even then, the shadows had depth. This.. seemed to stretch on forever.

You rushed back in and grabbed a vase on a wooden stand. Fragile white with turquoise lines that formed diamonds. You almost felt bad for what you were about to do. You lowered the vase to the dark, one hand on the floor board while the other reached down as far as you could with the vase in hand.

The vase never touched the ground. With a sigh, you let go of it. It dropped and dropped. Fell and fell, slowly spinning… until you couldn’t see it anymore. You listened for a crash, some sign that it reached the bottom, but the only sound was your own breath.

No bottom in sight.

This had… this had to just be some sort of quirk. Some sort of… defense for someone living there. It was the only explanation. That had to be it. You weren't trapped there with no way out, right?

You sat up. You cautiously glanced into the room before stepping in. You hadn’t noticed that it should be too dark to see anything. But somehow you could, like dim light coming from a moon that didn't exist.

A red carpet led to the staircase, then split to go up each set of stairs. Between the two sets of stairs was a book on a stand. One you hadn’t noticed.

You opened up a window and looked out. The void was still there. Still wrapping around the mansion. The only thing that existed now was you and this house. And the villains.

You wrestle with your pocket while dashing to a dark corner beside a table, and ripped your phone out. It nearly fell out of your hands as you turned it on and dialed the first contact you saw. Dial tone. The number was unavailable. You texted your parents. The text couldn't get through. Zero bars. You could get onto social media or make a Google search. But you could post or message anyone. Not one word, not on a single forum.

Your hands trembled. You ran one through your hair, grabbed onto the roots, and pulled. It didn’t even hurt. Nothing to distract you from your situation.

What to do. What to do. Well, hiding there was doing nothing good. Maybe you could search for a way out. Or find the owner and tell them what had happened.

There was no way you were going through the dooring up the stairs. You wanted to avoid the villains at all costs. You picked the door on ground level to the right. Book shelves were lined against the wall. There was no dust, but something gave you the feeling they hadn't been used in a long time. No lights, but strangely lit like the room before. You walked through the next door. A bedroom. The bed was sloppily made. Maybe it was the lack of people, but something unsettled you. Nothing felt quite right. But perhaps this was reasonable considering nothing else about the mansion was normal.

You reached for the knob of yet another door when you heard footsteps on the other side. That was your chance. You should have seen who it was, if they could have helped you. But there had been almost no real sign of anyone being in the mansion up until then. Even with the used bed, what if the villains had found another way downstairs? What if they were about to catch you?

You turned and made a dash. Through every door you'd been through so far. You should have just hid under the bed, but you didn't think of it at the time. You just wanted to get as far as you could.

When you got back to the entrance, your heart dropped in horror when you saw the villains emerging from the doors at the top of the stairs. They hastily ran out of it and firmly closed it behind them.

"Who is that!?" The louder of the two said.

Blood pounded in your ears. You didn’t stop. You were already opening the door in the left room and pulled the door shut behind you, still running.

How did they get there? Were they actually following you? Was it someone else you had run from? Was any of this even real?

You lost track of how many rooms you had run into. This one was hardly any different from the others. Same dark red wallpaper. There was a wardrobe, but did that really make a difference? You stopped in front of a window. Black. The moment you stopped was the moment your exhaustion hit you. Your legs and chest ached. You glanced at the door quickly then stared at the window.

Was this real? Was this all some sick dream?

You opened up the window.

If this was a dream and you fell, you would wake up.

You leaned out, placing your hands on the farm and beginning to lift a knee. The whole time you just stared into the nothingness.

"Woah, that's not a good idea," a cheerful voice behind you said, pulling you back by your waist.

Your back hit the stranger's chest. You twisted your head back to see who it was. His blond hair was long enough to reach his stubble covered jawline. He looked to be in his twenties, and was familiar for some reason. None of the villains, fortunately.

You breathed a much needed, heavy sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness you're not them."

“Nope, I’m Kaminari. Kaminari Denki. Wow! It’s been forever since I’ve talked with someone new. Hi, I’m Denki. Oops I already said that.”

You raised an eyebrow at his behavior. He held you a little too tightly. It was then you noticed you were too close together, with his crotch against your rump. You, embarrassed, gently pushed him away and he let go.

“Nice to meet you too. Kaminari? That sounds familiar.”

“Maybe you heard of me from the U.A. Sports Festival?”

“U.A…? Wait! Chargebolt? One of the U.A. students that went missing two years ago!??”

“The one and only.” He puffed his chest out.

“But.. what? That’s not possible. You look like you’re twenty-five or something.”

“You’re right, I am! It’s been so long since I had someone else to talk to! Did I already say that?”

He held your hand and pulled it close to him. Electricity sparked, going straight into your hand and making you jump.

“Sorry.” He smiled with concern in his eyes. “I have a little bit of a hard time controlling it now. Especially when I’m this excited.” His other hand reached towards you.

You stepped back and pulled your hand away. “Don’t touch me, please.”

He tilted his head, like he didn’t understand. But he didn’t come any closer.

"By the way, who were you talking about earlier? I’m not who?"

"Villains! They came in here after I ran in to hide from them."

“Really? What did they look like?”

“Twice and Mr. Compress. Twice has a black and gray suit, and Mr. Compress has a top hat, a mask, and a yellow jacket. Did you see them?”

“Yeah, I did. Actually, I saw them coming this way.” He pointed towards the door he had just come from.

“What!? Oh no…” your head whipped around, eyes scanning everywhere for a place to hide.

“I know a place to hide! In here.” Kaminari opened the wardrobe.

He quickly stepped in and moved to make room for you. You slid the hanging coats and clothing to one side and closed the door with just a small crack to see. It was too cramped for you. It was uncomfortably warm, but you would take it.

Your heart pounded in your ears. It was hard to see anything in the room with the small slit. Even then, you prayed they wouldn’t see you through the crack. If they did, you’d be finished with nowhere to run.

His fingers were against your waist, something you hardly even noticed because of the adrenaline. But they began rubbing circles into you, small tingles of electricity tickled you. One slipped down to the dip where your legs attached to the rest of your body. He pressed against your butt, at first you assumed it was simply him adjusting and the lack of room, but he didn't move. In fact, he pushed himself flush against you. You felt something warm and hard between your cheeks through the fabric of yours and his pants. If you tried to back away, the wardrobe door would open more, and the villains might come in any time.

"Please stop," you whispered.

He didn’t stop. He rubbed his head against the back of yours. He breathed in contently.

His hand rubbing you fell to your hip, then up again, into your shirt. You felt him drag against your soft skin. Reaching up to your bra. He made a clumsy effort to slip beneath it before squeezing and massaging it with the bra still on. Tiny sparks from his fingertips only drew your attention to this. You jolted when one ran over your nipple.

"Hey," you tried to sound angry, but it came out as a whine.

Much to your dismay, you felt your core growing unbearably warm. You wanted to stop him, but you froze. Your breaths were heavy. It didn’t help when he dipped his hand into your pants. Electricity somehow teased your clit through your panties. You barely held the moan in your throat.

"We can't be doing this," you said as a final attempt, "What if they hear?"

His lips fluttered against your skin. "Who will hear?"

"What do you mean? The villains… they are…" Did he actually see them coming?

He chuckled and ran a finger against your waistband. "We're gonna have some fun."

Next

#kinktober #kinktober 2021 #kaminari x reader #denki x reader #kaminari denki x reader #denki x reader smut #smut #tw:noncon #I finally got it done

[scolopendress-tag]

I said I'd make a post detailing my kid Asra working for Lucio theory in this post so here it is! 

So Let's get STARDED.

So! To start off, how it began. We do know when Asra and Muriel were kids, Lucio came to them each seperately with a deal.

Essentially: work for me, or I'll hurt your friend.

This was the sentiment he repeated for both of them. So, not wanting the other to be harmed, they both agree - unaware of the other's deal.

For Muriel, it was playing heel/excecutioner at the coleseium. For Asra, it was doing... Well, we never know, aside from he worked under Lucio. But that's what we are here to discuss in any case.

Continued under the read more, for the sake of people's dashes.

Now presumably, if I got my timeline right, Asra at this time would've been around 12 or 13. We don't know much about how Asra was when he was younger, other than that he has certainly changed.

It's also worth noting that it's not amiss to say they were both also still homeless at the time, and the hut hadn't come into the play until after.

Asra was still living on the streets.

This all isn't overly important for any of my claims later, but perhaps someone else could make something of it. It does provide us with some framing for the situation as a whole, though.

Now onto Asra's time under Lucio. I don't know that we have any indication of how long it was, but presumably at least a year if not more.

We do also know that Lucio knew who Asra was. Both in that he knew Aisha and Salim had a kid, and that he knew Asra was said kid.

This is bring this up because we know Aisha and Salim were incredibly talented, and likely incredibly powerful. Lucio wouldn't settle for any run of the mill magician or alchemist for the work he needed. So he must've had some idea that Asra may take after that power as well.

To top it off, he also interacted and talked with the dock kids he also used, (two of which would actually later become palace guards,) and seeing as this is seemingly how he learned of Muriel, it's not off to think that this is also how he heard of Asra again to start. The kids knew of Asra's magic, and roughly where he was, and could've even continued talking about both Muriel and Asra to Lucio for unknown amounts of time.

So now Lucio knows that the kid of his two powerful practitioners of magic is not only still around, but taking after them as well.

If Muriel's intimidating size and physical power are what drew Lucio to him, why wouldn't Asra's considerable metaphysical power and talents draw Lucio in as well?

We know how much Lucio loves power, and that he has an interest in magic because of it, as mentioned in the main story. (no ss sorry... If you have one send so I can add. )

Plus, homeless kid in a vulnerable spot. Easy pickings.

That's what I think this whole thing was about, really. It's all power. Though Asra likely didn't have the full scope of power he does in the current game, he was probably still considerably talented, and was only getting better.

What Lucio specifically probably wanted from Asra then was either to be taught how to use that power, to use Asra for things that required it, and/or use his power for entertainment akin to how he used Muriel.

I think out of these however, using him for his power was most likely. Why? (And teaching him now, more on that further down)

(Sorry for bad quality lmao it's a small image. Also thanks to @8-bit-space for showing these to me like months ago. As you can see I can't stop thinking abt it)

These are screenshots from the old prologue. While they're not canon any more, there's reason to believe they still hold merit as to how Lucio feels about Asra.

Two things to me are major here. First is the "powerful potent magic," and how it's the "real deal," equating to a large part of how he views Asra yet again tying back to a heavy interest in his power. Now, you could argue this relates to using his powers in the palace during the plague, but the second point stands out even more to me.

"The one who broke him for me?"

What this implies to me is that Lucio could never quite get all the way through to Asra or control him when he was younger, and he's been dying to do so. He wanted Asra broken, presumably so that he'll become essentially a tool for him to use for his skill and not put up a fight- something Asra likely did as a child.

Because it seems that Lucio for the most part relied on control through fear when it came to Asra, threatening to hurt Muriel, lying to him about how he executed his parents, likely other things as well. But things seem to point to that never quite working like he had hoped.

This could allude to this as well. Though "impossible" is something Asra's been called a few times, namely also by Julian, there's no reason to assume Lucio wasn't also including his work with him as a kid in "always". Impossible to hate could be his draw to Asra for his power, his talent, his skills, the prospect of which I'm sure Lucio found practically mouthwatering. Impossible to love could be his stubbornness or reluctance to do what Lucio wants, always pushing against him or being hard to deal with, both as a kid and during the plague.

And lines like this, where he calls him a coward. I find it hard to relate this to the plague ritual as he was for the most part willingly helping with that, so it could be resenment for when Asra eventually ran off as a kid, unwilling to put up with him any longer, or his reluctance to do certain things for him then in general.

We know, and it has even been mentioned by a character within the canon, that Asra can be incredibly stubborn, to back that up. Plus, he could've been even harder to work with then both being a kid and as I mentioned earlier he has changed from how he was then, so he could've had more spunk to him or such.

This also easily means that what Lucio was trying to get Asra to do then was something Asra was quite obviously opposed to. Being used for his power is already degrading enough, but there could be more to it.

You'll notice in the post that was linked at the top (the reason I'm writing this) I mentioned pushing Asra to his physical limits and magical extremes. This could be one of the reasons for a push back.

If Lucio was having Asra do things for him involving magic, it's not out of pocket to assume he'd practically run him into the ground- I'm sure he really wouldve loved testing the limits of what Asra could REALLY do.

Wether it be huge expendure of power all at once, or tons of smaller things one after the other, it would absolutely take it's toll. We are shown a few times that using magic can exhaust someone, and I don't remember if this is shown in canon ever (tell me if so!) but pushing it even further could definitely lead to other things such as passing out, (Or nosebleeds, for the aesthetic,) alongside likely being incredibly painful and draining, both mentally and physically.

Basically, abusing his powers and the body that commanded them. It's also possible that the stubborness to work with Lucio could also be partially percieved because of this- Lucio taking Asra's literal physical inability to continue as defiance.

Another reason for push back from Asra would be making him do morally compromising things. This is a little more vague, but intimidation is a common headcanon I see for what Lucio made Asra do, and that could tie in here. Other things could be meddling in things and business he shouldn't, but again, it's a vague thing. Make of it what you will. Fucked up stuff all around.

[EDIT - TEACHING LUCIO]

(THANK YOU @tea-tye for showing me these, and credits to @hangedman-magician for the video they came from!!!!!!!)

...I cannot BELIEVE I forgot this, I KNEW I was missing something. Especially when I was fairly certain I remember Lucio being obsessed with the idea of magic. SO, MOVING ON,

There's not terribly much to pick apart here as it's rather direct- Asra saying he has in fact tried to teach Lucio magic. So in my eyes this solidifies that this was a component of Asra's time under Lucio. I still think my points about Lucio treatment (pushing Asra to his limits) stand, as well.

This can also tie in the stubborness mentioned as, well, can you imagine teaching Lucio? Asra backs this up by saying nothing he has ever said stuck with Lucio, and you know how Lucio gets when things don't go his way. He would've blamed his inability to learn on Asra, likely.

Looking to other quotes mentioned: the 'broke him' line still rings to me like he was trying to use Asra in other ways, and the 'coward' line could go either way from refusing to teach Lucio certain things, or refusing to do certain things for Lucio when he was merely being used. The "impossible" line could also go for others, as trying to teach someone like Lucio would've undoubtedly caused some head butting.

This is certainly really exciting and interesting to me as it gives a more complete picture on the exact situation at hand here. I still stay by my reasoning for Lucio simply using Asra as well on top of being taught because it seems highly likely that Lucio would've been too impatient to learn to do certain things himself, and like I said as well, I don't doubt he also just wanted to see what Asra was REALLY capable of. Something he could've saw as a tantalizing insight into the kind of power he could aquire of this kid would just... work with him.

NOW we have a MUCH clearer answer as to what exactly Asra was likely doing under Lucio, or at this point, almost certainly doing. It's a sad picture for Asra of course, but with this you can draw some interesting points as to how he could've been affected by this, as I'm sure it would've left some kind of imprint on him.

Sure it may not have been as traumatic as what Muriel went through, but when you look at it, it's hard to say it DIDN'T leave it's scars. If we consider all the points presented in this post truth we have:

A 12/13 yo homeless child, threatened with his friend's life to work for the Count that he knew was the one responsible for orphaning him and making him homeless in the first place.

Said child believing his parents are still alive, and as we see in Travel at Night, could very likely still be trying to find them. In a situation like Asra's that glimmer of hope probably was a big deal in helping him push on. This may also be a reason he agreed on top of Muriel's safety.

While working under the count, he is told that his parents were executed, no doubt devastating. The manner in which this was mentioned is up for debate, and could affect exactly how it was taken. Options could be Lucio joking or bragging about it (treating it as trivial or an accomplishment), or using it to threaten Asra, (as in I killed your parents, I'll kill you too,) both would work when it comes to controlling by fear.

It is also mentioned that Lucio told him the reason for his parents execution is that they messed up his gold arm, so Asra also has the knowledge that his parents were killed over something so unbelievably trivial.

Being used as a source of power and nothing else, both for teaching and pure work/entertainment, all for the man who killed his parents, day after day.

Being pushed to physically painful and mentally draining limits, expending so much energy that he completely exhausts himself, day after day.

Likely taking all sorts of verbal abuse from Lucio, day after day.

Like mentioned earlier, it seems clear that Lucio wanted to break Asra, so some other form of trying to chip away at his psyche to make him more convenient for Lucio is likely as well.

Those points alone, to yet again a CHILD no less, seem more than enough to cause some traumatic impact, and depending on certain specifics of what exactly went on during that time, it could be worse. I may make a post looking into the long lasting effects of this on Asra, I may not. It would mostly be headcanon regardless. If you want to add your hc relating to this situation though, I'll gladly reblog it!

And now that we are closing out, it's time to revise my summary. So, without further ado, THIS is what I think was going on during this time.

Lucio knows of Asras existence and parentage.

Lucio learns Asra is around and that he's got power.

Lucio LOVES power, so he threatens Asra into working for him.

Lucio uses Asra for his power and to be taught how to use it for himself.

While using Asra for his knowledge and power, runs him into the ground by pushing his limits to physical and magical degrees, possibly even moral.

Asra pushes back against a lot of this, or is at least percieved to, frustrating Lucio.

Lucio does what he can to try and control Asra even more, primarily via fear, but can't seem to crack him.

Eventually it's too much, and Asra leaves. Likely when the plague hit like Muriel, but it's possible it could've been somewhat sooner. Lucio is PISSED, because he wanted that magical power all to himself.

Less related, I can see Lucio trying to brush it off and pretending to be fine with it, excuse being "he was too difficult to work with, anyways," or something.

...And then... years later, as far as Lucio sees it, Asra comes crawling back- and he's tamed down to a degree! He's actually working with him. Lucio might not know what or who did it, but Asra is finally broke for him, and I'm sure he was absolutely ecstatic to have that power back in his hands- and more than ever before.

Think of all of this as you would like!

At the end this is all still speculative, so definitely feel free to make your own points or say if you feel any different abt anything- expansions or counters on this theory/headcanon welcome!

And if you also have any other screenshots or info not here that could add to the theory or change the outlook of certain things definitely add them!!! I feel like I'm missing stuff for sure, and my memory has probably muddled some things (hopefully I didn't get anything wrong, though.)

And @asrascherry thanks for the offer in helping word my hcs also! I forgot to say that. This one is just so long I wouldve felt bad bringing it all to you 😔 it's probably still messy as a result but I tried lmao (worried it's repetitive or unclear 😬)

Uh yeah! That's mostly it for NOW.

+All the love to Asra for going through so much I'm so sorry bb,,

Thanks for reading!

#asra #the arcana #the arcana game #asra alnazar #asra the arcana

[anonquack]

| 3am Calls |

Alex Quackity x Reader, Oneshot!

Word Count: 1700

Warnings: None! Just some fluff.

Summary: Unable to fall asleep, you reach out to a friend in order to help ease you into peaceful slumber.

The seconds are passing quickly, 1am turns to 2am, and it doesn't take long for 3am to hit. Stirring around in bed doesn't make the restlessness stop, the little sheeps jumping around your head fall and get back up, attempting once again to lure you to sleep, but it doesn't work. You find yourself staring up at your ceiling, hands resting on your stomach. There is a stinging in your eyes that lets you know you are indeed tired, yet when your eyes finally close, they can't seem to stay that way. These restless nights had been going on for a while, yet you didn't want to be a bother and reach out to any of your friends. Who knew if they were either sleeping or had better things to do. You wouldn't be finding out any time soon. But.. perhaps tonight it wouldn't hurt to reach out. You felt lonely just staring up at your ceiling, and your own thoughts were eating up at you, making the restlessness feel even worse.

You reach out for your phone, turning it on and immediately being blinded by the bright light. Once your eyes became accustomed to the light, you opened messages and took a glance at all the people you had sent some to. A certain someone definitely caught your eye, but you really weren't sure if he'd be up, considering some days he'd wake up super early. He was a busy man, and fitting into his schedule could be a bit difficult. After some thought and the skin of your bottom lip slowly being bitten off, there was a single message sent.

y/n

hi

It was too late to consider his possible sleeping state or the embarrassment that might overtake you in the morning when you get a text with something along the lines of "i was asleep. sorry". You run a hand down your face, deciding to accept your fate and that your luck ran out. Perhaps you'd go back to counting sheep.

alex ((:

hi

The notification casted a bright light on your face, but this time it was welcome. Your finger quickly clicked on it, taking you to the message app.

y/n

did i wake you up by any chance?

alex ((:

i was editing a video, dw

why are you up?

"i don't know." you said out loud as you read the message. "i really don't know.." a small frown appeared on your lips as you texted back:

y/n

can't sleep

alex ((: ahh, is that where i come in?

y/n perhaps.. if you don't mind ofc

alex ((: call me

The message caught you by surprise. Of course you had talked to him on the phone before, but never this late. Never without it being planned beforehand. Never this sudden. Not because you couldn't sleep. Millions of thoughts rushed through your head as you stared at the message. call me. How could one possibly say no to that?

You cleared your throat before pressing on his contact and clicking on the call button. Soon enough, the sound of ringing could be heard, and you held your breath. Of course, he would answer, but you couldn't help the nervous feeling of talking to him this late, and just.. randomly.

"hello?"

Your breath hitched slightly at the sudden halt of the ringing, and the smooth sound of his voice. It didn't sound like it usually did. His voice wasn't full of energy, like it is when he's screaming at his screen or joking around with friends. It was calm, and sounded like he was a bit tired. Who could blame him? He was up editing at 3 in the morning. And here you were, making him talk on the phone rather than encouraging he get some sleep.

"Hi.." you said as a small smile formed on your lips at the thought of how hardworking this man was. "How's the editing going?"

"Mm.. it's going pretty well. I'll probably upload it by tomorrow. I'm planning on just working on it for a bit more before heading to bed." He stated, to which you let out a small hum, "That's good. It's important that you get your rest."

Now it was his turn to let out a small hum of approval. "What's keeping you up?" He asked. You closed your eyes, letting his voice ring and echo inside your head, letting the calmness his voice carried take over you, making you feel calm as well. "To be honest, I don't know. Whenever I close my eyes I just can't seem to doze off."

"Well, do you wanna keep me company while I finish editing? We can talk about random stuff until I bore you enough for you to knock out."

His words made you let out a small chuckle, shaking your head before realizing he couldn't see you. "You could never bore me." You admitted, thinking about his previous words for a few seconds. "That sounds good, actually. If you don't mind.."

"I offered it, didn't I?"

You hum in response. "True.. its settled then."

He let out a small chuckle in response, and the sound alone made you smile. You took a moment to really think about what was happening. You'd keep each other company until either he finished or his soft voice lulled you to sleep, and you'd talk about random stuff. It was a sweet deal.

As you lay in bed, you could hear the clicking sounds his keyboard made when he typed or when he'd move his mouse around while editing the clips. During small moments of peaceful silence, you could hear his steady breathing or light humming.

You'd asked how his day was and listened as he talked about how busy he'd been lately, some of the stuff he had planned for the upcoming month, and how his hard work would let him relax for a few days.. soon. Just hearing how hard he was working and how genuinely excited he sounded about everything he talked about made a warm feeling appear on your chest.

You gave small comments here and there, asking if he could expand on certain projects that caught your attention, as well as asking how he was keeping up with school work. He gladly answered all your questions, but always made sure to ask, "What about you?"

You hadn't noticed that it was mostly him talking, besides your occasional comment. You were just happy to listen to him speak so passionately about everything he did, and to be completely honest, the calm tone in his voice was also making you feel sleepy.

But you'd never deny that it made you feel so.. included. Yes, this was a 1 on 1 call but he always managed to make you feel like your inputs mattered just as much as everyone else's. It was one of his qualities that you adored wholeheartedly.

It could be during a stream, a group call, or even group chat. He always made sure that everybody felt included. He was just that sweet.

So even if you were now half asleep, you always made sure to respond and also tell him how your day went and what you had been up to. It was nice just being able to talk about simple things like that with him so late.

"I think I'm gonna stop editing for tonight. Just have a few things left but fuck, my eyes are killing me." He finally stated after a questionable discussion.

"As you should. You work too hard.. give your eyes a well deserved rest." You said, slightly rubbing at your eyes. The faint sound of shuffling and a few clicks could be heard, presumably him turning off his PC and heading to his bed.

A few more shuffling sounds could be heard before he spoke again. "I know. Thank you, Y/N. You always remind me how important it is that I take care of myself." The smile was evident in his voice, and he sounded way closer than before.

"Of course.. that's what I'm here for."

"I'll remind you too. Don't worry."

"Thank you, Alex." Small pause. "Are you gonna head to bed now?" You looked at how long the call had been going for and realized it had been well over an hour, making your eyes widen slightly.

"I could. Orrrr I could keep talking to you."

"You could.. but you should also head to bed and-"

"I'm already in bed. Got my blankets covering me and everything. Tucked in."

"Did you tuck yourself in? I should do it for you next time." You joked, before realizing you might have overstepped some boundaries. You froze as the call remained silent for a bit.

"Maybe you should– But you're not really down."

Your body relaxed as you realized his response had the same joking tone as yours did, and that it was okay to joke around about this stuff. You let out a small scoff.

"I'm not down? I will gladly go tuck you in. Just send your location and I'll be there in 5 minutes."

His voice had gotten raspy, quieter, and even more soothing if even possible. Each of his responses seemed to calm you more and more with each passing second.

"Well I'm already tucked in so you missed out on that opportunity." He boldly stated.

"We could tuck each other in next time." You said with a smile on your lips, and that earned a small chuckle from him. "Maybe." He hummed in response.

You felt so elated at that moment. You'd had a wonderful conversation with Alex, and he'd managed to make you feel more relaxed. At that moment, you found your eyelids fluttering shut, and at last they didn't force themselves open again.

Alex had been trying to get comfy himself while you were falling asleep. When he realized the silence had gone on for too long, he listened closely for any sound coming from you, and was only met with steady breaths.

"Y/N..?" He asked, quietly this time. Nothing. He let out a small hum, a small smile on his lips at the realization that you had fallen asleep. "Goodnight, Y/N."

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