#just be aware that they are wholly different beasts

[thedreamparadox]

What are your pros and cons of NiD and JoD?

NiD Pros:

Available on Steam and easy to play as a result (especially given that I've seen the game without a manual sell for $100! yikes!)

A-Life system adapts the music to (functionally) how much you accidentally paraloop Nightopians (the game functionally has three tracks for every stage except for Twin Seeds)

Nostalgia

Easy to learn, hard to master gameplay with the link system

Manages to tell a decently coherent story without any words entirely using cutscenes

There are actually hidden things you can find in the free roam sections and it is totally possible (though not easy) to bonk the Alarm Egg to roam more

Saturn version's debug mode turns off the Alarm Egg so you can wander around freely and just vibe (does not work on Steam, requires a Game Shark)

Completely banger soundtrack the entire game through

Pretty much the entire reason that controllers have thumbsticks now

Steam port also has Christmas NiGHTS

Trick ribbons!!!!! Make use of those shoulder buttons (warning: on a lower end pc this will lag your game to hell and back)

NiD Cons:

Completely unintuitive gameplay mechanic required to get the true ending (bonus time REQUIRED and if you don't make use of it your score suffers so much)

The English translation of the story changes and drops details and no one's ever fully translated the jpn manual (some day I will attempt to make progress on my very, very rudimentary attempts at this)

Minimalistic story can be really confusing (more of an issue for younger players who are less used to media that uses little to no spoken dialog aka me at age 7 with no idea what the hell was going on the entire time)

No explanation of gameplay you are dropped into a dreamscape and get mobbed immediately and it is just sheer confusion the whole time if you are going in blind

Steam port's seasonal features don't always work and a bunch of the features from the Christmas sampler (including Sonic Into Dreams) are missing entirely

You really do need the manual to understand a good chunk of what is going on beyond the plot that exists in the cut scenes

JoD Pros:

More accessible to new players, younger players, and people who have no idea how the original worked, or even that it existed. Infinitely more accessible to young gamers than the original

Great soundtrack (the Dream Gate theme is hands down my favorite track in the game)

Voice acting! Reala and Wizeman's put work into making their characters sound intimidating and NiGHTS voice actress exudes sass (within the occasionally clunky script)

The graphics are so good when it comes to the level design

Plot through line with relatable characters and understandable motivations for the kids

Dedicated on foot sections were a neat!

A+ boss design with my only real critiques being Girana's really confusing mustache and Reala's pink nails. Queen Bella for most effective Nightmaren design imo but that's the arachnophobia talking

Motion controls are totally optional and the thumbstick controls work great

On the Wii, which back in the day made it extremely easy for people to play due to how common the console was

Optional collectables have a cool bonus reward (aka being able to play as Claris and Elliot)

JoD Cons:

Owl (specifically his voice clip spam which gets so annoying so quickly)

I really don't enjoy the key chase missions and wish the game let you free roam outside of them more effectively

Bomamba's boss stage tilt table thing

Chamelean's unintuitive boss design

Reala's criminally underutlized in gameplay

Helen and Will not being able to put two and two together about NiGHTS and Reala being related for so long

Some extremely clunky dialog (ie "Go over and touch NiGHTS" which will be memed for all eternity by the fandom)

Character modeling and graphics are off on Owl's feathers and the kids' faces just don't look quite right in some scenes

Issues with plot and pacing (aka pretty much the primary motivating factor to my rewrite's creation in the first place)

The ambiguity of the game's timeline (aka is this a sequel, a prequel, or a soft reboot) but that's a completely personal gripe

My Dream. I LOVE the concept of it and loved playing the same levels repeatedly to try and shift the landscape but its inconsistency of what effected what got added, as well as Nightmaren drawn in by paraloops having to be manually taken out before they eat any Nightopians severely disincentivized paralooping in stages as an enemy removal tactic. That, and the stage never seemed to graduate beyond "grassy flat field" minus the occasional shallow water feature or hill

The ending's focus on the yellow Ideya just vibes so weird to me

Personas were kind of a weird inclusion that I wish the devs would have had a lot more time to utilize

Awakers are weird and I get the three count thing but the Alarm Egg was iconic. Annoying, yes, but iconic, I don't really get its removal.

Despite the wall of cons for JoD, both games are good for their own reasons!

#answered asks;; #JoD definitely suffered from a rushed development cycle and you can so tell in places #both deserve to be played though! #hey sega port JoD we'd pay for it #i'd say yar har it but the game apparently emulates like trash #but yeah both are good and if you can't get your hands on JoD grab NiD on steam #just be aware that they are wholly different beasts

[deersalad]

I Mean I'm Sick of Meaning, I Just Wanna Hold You

Tags: F/F, Mariner/T'Lyn, Mari'lyn, Fluff, Friendship, Star Trek, Lower Decks, Kinda Canon compliant, T4T Summary: What's a Vulcan to do with these feelings? Well T'Lyn is about to find out and Mariner is going to be very integral to this journey of self-discovery and deviation from Vulcan norms. "My objective was to be comedic and arouse you sexually, I believe I have succeeded on both counts." Mariner was trying to tamp down her laughter as T’Lyn’s monotone voice hit her like a wave breaking on rocks. She couldn't believe what she was hearing from T'Lyn, who was situated on the couch with her legs crossed in those black regulation star fleet pants - god how does she pull them off so well? But she focused her mind back on the situation at hand, T'Lyn had called her here because of a "peculiar situation" and Mariner could tell that she was acting unusual, she wasn’t meeting her eyes and kept tracing a seam in those form-fitting pants- god she needs to gets her mind of the gutter her friend could be in danger.

"Woah woah wait, is this like pon farr? God wow I've always been curious! But like not in a weird way! I just heard about when it happened to Spock and you know there's those rumors about him and Kirk and I mean back on Earth the humans who repress themselves the most tend to be the freakiest and oh my god I am going to shut up." Mariner closed her mouth and yet her eyes communicated more than enough as they quickly flashed a look from T'Lyn's eyes to her curves that were hugged by that Andorian-blue science officer shirt. She briefly thought of Jenifer but pushed that thought to the side, it wouldn't serve her here, this was an entirely different beast and she had to focus on helping her friend. Mariner mentally decided that the shirt was closer to warp core-blue anyways as T'Lyn began to speak and move imperceptibly closer to her on the couch in her room. 

"Well, not exactly. As it seems you are aware, pon farr occurs roughly every 8 years for a Vulcan of sexual maturity, and the symptoms can be quite debilitating and even fatal if not handled. But it is not yet time for my next cycle and I do not feel the regular effects… instead I am experiencing something pon farr-like." T'Lyn's eyes moved the smallest degree downwards and to the right to look at Mariner, who didn't notice. 

"Uh huh and you want me to take you to sick bay in case something happens or whatevs? Or like, do you want me to go on a daring adventure with you to find a hot Vulcan doctor who can diagnose you and or help you if this is pon farr?"

"Well, when I invited you here to my room I was not quite certain why I reached the conclusion that it would be most beneficial to call on your aid but now I… I believe I understand the logic I was operating on." T'Lyn again moved a quarter millimeter closer to Mariner who had a visible look of confusion. "Woah like did your Vulcan mind powers detect something special in me that you need?" Mariner said with a wry smile and small laugh before it was cut short by T'Lyn reaching her hand over and touching the very tips of her fingers for a moment. "Well, you are not wholly incorrect," she paused as a shudder passed through her from the hand to hand contact, "I do not believe this is related to my Vulcan nature but is rather a consequence or perhaps comorbidity of my heightened emotions and spontaneity.” T’Lyn placed both her hands in her lap in a futile attempt to stop her from yet again acting so impulsively. 

Mariner’s look of confusion was now tinged with worry as she looked on her friend who was clearly fighting some kind of inner turmoil, “hey sorry if my joke was off-color I know this is probably stressing you out and stuff, I can grab T’ana and bring her here if you’re worried about being around the other crew,” Mariner began to stand before being interrupted suddenly.

“No.” T’Lyn still wasn’t looking at Mariner as she let out that singular word that hung in the air.

Mariner waited for a followup and when she received none she decided to venture forth, “hey girl, are you like infected by a parasite or mind virus or something, you’ve just… look I noticed you touching my hand and even I know enough about Vulcans to know that’s way out of character. Usually you’re down to go to sickbay just to see all the weird places people get stabbed so you can record it or whatever, I remember you typing up a storm on Orion whenever someone, usually me, got impaled one way or another. Sorry, god, my mind’s all over the place and wait is this like that one time with the Betazoids? Do I need to give you a pep talk?”

T’Lyn gave a solemn shake of her head, “No, I have no reason to believe that my current status would be affecting your or anyone else’s emotional state. I can logically see why you would consider my behavior odd, the hand touch was an impulsive movement and I do apologize.” Mariner could not believe that she was still dodging around what was going on and why was she so feeling so fucking worked up? She wasn’t thinking straight, “Hey do you want me to get Boims? He knows everything about niche alien conditions, I can also grab Rutherford or Tendi, both of them are way smarter than me and frankly I still don’t see what logic brought you to asking me for help,” she let out a nervous laugh at the self-deprecation, what the fuck was this feeling? WHY WAS SHE THINKING SO MUCH ABOUT JENNIFER?

“No to both counts, I understand I am being vague and not sharing my lines of reasoning and for this I do apologize, I am just experiencing something I do not fully have the words for. I requested your help specifically and I know it was the correct decision. These past few days you have continuously been coming to mind in unrelated circumstances and thoughts, this initially troubled me as I was worried that I may have been psychically projecting onto you. But I had Dr. T’ana run a series of medical diagnostics and there were no abnormalities. Still I requested a copy of the scans she performed, particularly of my brain.” She paused as she felt her hands fighting her to reach out to Mariner, who was still standing. 

“Yeah ok all that makes sense and wow you and Tendi really have got to talk about medical shit sometime, but if all the scans were normal then what’s up?” Mariner was still confused and sat on the small coffee table across from T’Lyn, falling flat on her back as her legs hung over the side. She was feeling weird whenever she looked at T’Lyn and that certainly wasn’t helping the situation. 

“Well I pored over the documents and images and I could not find anything indicating illness, possession, psychic interference, strange energies, or any other possible source of imbalance. But I started to look at the areas of neural activity on the scan and the part that would be analogous to your hypothalamus was experiencing higher than usual levels of activation but not to such an extent as to alert the doctor…” T’Lyn said this in a way that made Mariner feel stupid for missing something. “And…?”

T’Lyn took a moment to respond, her hands were visibly shaking and Mariner was afraid she was about to cry, "and… well the hypothalamus is one of the oldest parts of the human brain in terms of evolutionary development and is integral to some of the most basic and instinctual parts of your psychology and biology. For us Vulcans it is much the same.” Again she paused completely, and at Mariner’s continued look of confusion and concern she decided to push onwards,  “Well, its function is to maintain the homeostasis of the human body via influence of hormones and the nervous system, it regulates many drives, including sleep, hunger, thirst-” 

God she was so fucking cute when she went on and on about all the things she knew but Mariner could tell she was stalling and she knew even the tiniest bit of time wasted could mean all the difference between life and death, “hey I’m sorry to interrupt but I have gotta get you moving along, I can tell you’re stalling and if you’re about to reveal to me that you’re going to explode, or liquefy, or turn into a slime in 5 hours or something then I would rather know that sooner than later, so what’s your hypowhatever got to do with this?” God she sounded like her mom, she didn’t want to be stern but she cared a lot about T’Lyn, she was a good friend and Mariner didn’t want anything to happen to her.

“That is what I was about to get to, in Vulcans our analogous section of the brain carries many of the same function but it also works to regulate pon farr, it operates much the same way as the hypothalamus regulating sexual drives but in a much more drastic manner that affects the totality of Vulcan biology. After looking at everything I determined that I seemingly experiencing an activation that is not on the scale of pon farr but is somehow related. I believe this is the reason for my strange and illogical thoughts and behavior and I feel that you may have a solution.” T’Lyn let her shoulders slouch the tiniest bit after getting all this out, as if she were relaxing after an intense exercise.

Mariner instantly shot up into a sitting position and looked at T'Lyn, “oh my god, T’Lyn, you’re not going to die, you’re just horny.” P.S.: So my partner and I watched the new episodes of season 4 and I made a one off joke that's the starting line of this fic and somehow that morphed into the both of us full on writing so here you go: All you Mari'lyn enjoyers I guess can eat up or whatever. I don't have an AO3 account but whenever I make one I'll upload this on there, this was actually a pretty fun writing exercise.

#lower decks #star trek #beckett mariner #t'lyn #t'lyn x mariner #mari'lyn lower decks #mari'lyn #fanfic #femslash #wlw ship #I forgot how much I love writing fanfiction and this pairing is giving me such bad brainworms #star trek fanfic #star trek: lower decks

[beautifulpersonpeach]

BPP!

I won’t even beat around the bush. This is a Jimin Fishing ask inspired by this lovely Twitter thread:

https://twitter.com/pjmngallery/status/1671537322075082753?s=46&t=0p2xrEO4ePcaUttUPmcMmA

So BPP, please do us the honour and drop your Jimin is so sexy pictures 😋

***

Hi Anon,

Your link.

I appreciate you being upfront about this being a fishing ask. But rather than post pictures as I usually do, I'd rather fill you all in on what I've been doing recently.

I've been watching fancams...

Jikook and rapline member fancams, specifically. Because, before anything else, I'm a fan (ARMY), and I need my fix of their god-tier performances on a regular basis. Coincidentally, I was going through my playlist of Jimin fancams before deciding to open up my Tumblr on a whim to answer a random ask, and yours seems most appropriate for what I was just doing.

So without further ado,

Jimin:

ON era Jimin is so fucking underrated. Timestamps of note: 1:10 - 1:38 (for peak Jimin energy), 2:43 (for Namjoon's walk), 2:43 - 4:02 (for jikook and Jimtonin concentrate).

*

I'm still gagged. The passion? The abs? The fact this man was singing live while maintaining that energy? The immaculate synchronization with the background dancers? The masterclass in charm and fan engagement he showed? The fanchants???? First of Park Jimin then BTS? Y'all, I'm gagged still, months later. Park Jimin did that shit with Set Me Free Pt 2. I'm looking forward to the rest of his music this year and next.

*

Also, streaming his MVs are good and all, but his music show live performances shouldn't be neglected either. First of all, they're very good performances. It's clear Jimin put a lot of work into them and the quality shows. Second of all, the streaming filters on music show channels are less than on HYBE channels on youtube, for whatever reason. Just FYI.

*

One of the first times I saw him perform live. And no offense to everyone else, but the difference in skill he showed here, in a song that wasn't even his, compared to everybody on that stage.... I had to pay attention.

*

Pardon my language but he's a beast, a serpent, if Lucifer had a love affair with blonde hair dye and tight skinny jeans, he'd be Jimin in this Gayo performance. Wholly demonic and entirely cherubic at the same time. There isn't a single idol in existence who has his energy.

*

Nobody is immune from Kitty Gang Jimin and I'm no different.

(In 2026 I want him in blood red dreads beaded in cowries, his back tats fully on display, and a military scar running up his left arm.... but I'd be alright with his angelic visuals and persona kept intact and that highlighted instead :))

*

Anybody who says they don't know why BTS is on top is lying. BTS has Jimin. Enough said.

*

In this one performance, you see at least 8 sides of his personality. He's incredibly aware, expressive, and empathetic.

*

Endeared.

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Endeared Pt 2.

*

Anyway, I miss them. Jungkook will be dropping new music soon, but I also really want something new from Jimin and Namjoon, so I hope we get that too before the end of the year.. maybe just before Tae's release or right after. I need it.

If you've read and watched the fancams to get to this point, here's a few random Jimin pics from my gallery just because...

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#I hope you're doing well anon #jimin #park jimin #bts #bangtan #kpop

[astroluvr]

The Video Vixen

Where Jack's dismissal to Y/N's feelings that she kept bottled up for him leads them to a place neither of them wants to be.

(long-winded) a/n: so we all know that i normally do mainly mild angst to fluff writing, but @lcandothisallday sort of urged me to go in a different direction with straight angst. and i am obligated to make clear that i've never done it before, i'm not very confident in it, but it was pretty interesting to try. and to be completely honest, this blurb started out 4 different ways before i settled on this one and i'm praying it was the best one. i'm very open to feedback and what could've been better because i am totally open to writing straight angst- i just want it to turn out better. anyways, i really hope y'all enjoy!

You took a deep breath as you opened the room to Jack’s man cave, decked out with video games, posters, his accolades, along with a microphone and laptop for a makeshift studio. He had been spending more time in it than you would’ve preferred, it seemed that he only came out for dinner and a peck on the lips that would satiate the quiver on them every time you saw that empty look in his eyes that was once filled with contentment with you.  

He was hunched over his phone, a song by someone you weren’t familiar with playing over the speakers. A month or so ago, you never would’ve thought twice about walking into the room, you’d probably waltz in and sit right on his lap. Now, it was like walking into the belly of the beast depending on his mood.  

“Jack?” you finally uttered out, causing him to shut the phone off and turn around in the cushioned chair.  

“Hey. Dinner ready?” he asked, as if you were a roommate and not the woman, he’d spent the majority of his adult life with.  

You stood there quietly, playing with the hem of a shirt from his side of the closet with a frown settled deep in your features. You had rehearsed what you wanted to say for the past hour and a half, trying to convince yourself that the conversation you were about to initiate would pave the rough patch in your relationship. Things had always been easy with Jack- talking to him, being with him. This was uncharted territory for you.  

“Baby, are you alright?”  

Jack’s soft tone and the way he turned off the music and approached you so gently almost made you forget that you had a purpose for coming to him. He easily wiped the worries from your mind the second he cupped your chin and brushed his thumb under your lip while he kept eye contact.  

“I, um, I just wanted to talk to you about something.” you mumbled, leaning into the warmth of his hand that was rubbing your lower back. “But if you’re busy, I can come back later.”  

“Nah,” he shook his head and started to walk towards the couch. “Come here and talk to me, sweet girl. I hate seeing that frown on your face.”  

“I don’t want to sit.” you mumbled, pulling your hands out of his begrudgingly and holding unsteady eye contact. “When you were gone earlier, where were you?”  

“I told you it was just to meet a friend and have some lunch. They were in the city.” Jack answered you quietly, adding to the tension that was filling up the room.  

“And did ‘they’ happen to be Veronica? The girl from the music video?”  

You would be lying if you said that you didn’t know why Jack had been so distant and you had been so drained of it all. Veronica was a sore subject for you and Jack the moment your mood shifted when Jack invited you to the set of a music video one day. Sure, you were aware there would be girls and he would be rubbed on, but you didn’t expect him to have an unofficial co-star that he would grind and kiss all over like he did to you.  

After you bought it up to Jack when you got home, a simple, passing comment about your discomfort got blown out of proportion and left you with a tumultuous mess. Jack seemed wholly unaffected by the whole thing, as if the void left by your drifting was filled tenfold by all other aspects of his life. And you couldn’t say that you didn’t feel unloved.  

“It was, yeah. And we literally just went to talk. She’s in town, so I met up with her and that’s it.”  

“I didn’t accuse you of anything. I’m just asking you to back off of her a little, Jack.”  

“You are so fucking jealous.” he scoffed, and your mouth fell open slightly before he continued. “Ever since I got big and there were girls that could replace you in my videos, you’ve hated it. I come back to you every night and you act like I cheated on you.”  

“First of all, I’m not jealous.” you spoke up. “And I’m not insecure. You’re just a selfish asshole who wants to cheat on me and then make me feel like I’m the crazy one.”  

"I’m selfish?!” Jack finally yelled, causing you to take a big step back and look him in his eyes that became blown wide with aggravation. “Yeah, I’m so selfish that I gave you everything you have! I work my fucking ass off to give you whatever it is you want, but you have the nerve to bitch to me about a music video extra?”  

“Jack, that’s bullshit and you know it!” you exclaimed back. “As a matter of fact, everything you gave me, take it and give it to Veronica. See if she’ll appreciate it or keep her feelings balled up to fend for your ego. See how far your attitude will take you with her.”  

As you and Jack stood in the middle of the room, you could both feel the tension rise to the ceiling and linger over your heads. It was then that you both knew there was no turning back. Jack must’ve realized it first because the next words he uttered was the finishing move.  

“I’ve never cheated on you, Y/N. And I swear to God that up until this moment, I hadn’t even thought about it.” Jack paused, picking up his phone to stuff into his pocket as he avoided looking at you. “Right now, though, it’s all I can think about- being with anybody besides you.”  

Your breath got caught in your throat with his admittance. Out of all the things he said during the argument, out of all the things that he could have said, those words are the ones he chose. You urged yourself to say something, to battle against that sinking feeling in your stomach and slow break of your heart when you looked up into Jack’s eyes that were once so clear you could read your future in them. Now, they were darker and murkier and a storming blue against the calm he presented.  

You finally swallowed and dropped your head when he shouldered past you out of the room and down the hall. It took you a few seconds to gather yourself, but you were able to catch him right before he opened the front door.  

“We’re done, Jack.” your cracked and tired voice told him.  

“I know.” he nodded without even turning around.  

After the door shut, you couldn’t stop the sobs that followed your soft gasps. You sank into the sofa and let it all go. Everything from the moment you two met played in your head- the obsession with one another, the late-night phone calls, the long days spent together, and the nights where one of you stayed over a few hours too late to find the sense of driving home so late, the deep conversations about fear and the future. All the love, all the security that you housed in one another became history.  

Perhaps you had just been in denial while your and Jack’s love story crumbled around you. Maybe that’s why Jack was so okay with letting it all go. While you were trying to put it all together brick by brick, he just found the quietest place to watch it all fall. He took the easy way out, you had realized. You weren’t sure just yet whether you would appreciate him or hate him for giving you those measured moments of delusion that could make you feel like everything was fine, or at least could be fine.  

You held your breath when Jack came back home hours later. You didn’t want to spend the last few moments with him smelling another woman. Shockingly enough, when he came into the bedroom where you were packing the last of your belongings, you didn’t.  

“What are you doing?” Jack asked, kicking his shoes off staring you down even though you wouldn’t look at him.  

“I’m leaving, Jack. We’re through. I should be done in an hour.”  

“And going where? Y/N, fucking-” Jack took a deep breath when he felt himself get too frustrated. You paused your movements to look at him while he pinched the bridge of his nose and licked his lips. “Y/N, just talk to me before you do anything.”  

“Jack, you said what you had to say, and I said what I had to say. It’s obvious that one of us is a lot more receptive of the other, though.”  

“We were mad! Neither of us said stuff we meant. I-”  

“No, Jack. I meant every word that I said. I meant every word when I said it a month ago as much as I meant it earlier. I was uncomfortable with you being so close to someone that you kissed and touched on a set after I had to watch with no warning. Maybe that makes me insecure or jealous, but I cannot do the same song and dance of you disrespecting me and making me feel like that’s stupid because of your job.”  

“I won’t talk to her, then!” he blurted. “I didn’t even go and meet with her today, I was with Urb. I’ll listen to you from now on. I’m going to do better.”  

“Why now, Jack?” you threw your arms up and let them fall against your sides as you screwed up your face. “Why not all before?”  

“I don’t know.” he whispered, looking you in your eyes with a defeated look.  

“Well, I do know, Jack. I appreciate you and everything you’ve done, but this whole Veronica thing made me realize a lot about you, myself, and us as a couple. I know that I have a lot more to figure out about myself and I don’t need someone that I can’t talk to.”  

“Y/N, let’s take a break. We could both use a break. We don’t have to end things right here.” he pleaded, going to grab your hands until you snatched them away.  

“I do, Jack. I want to end things on good terms and that’s already hard. I want to be able to grab lunch with you and catch up like old friends a year or so from now, so can we just end this? Can we do what’s best for both of us?”  

“I can’t.”  

Growing frustrated, you finally took a deep breath and shook your head. “This is over whether or not you want it to be. I’ve given you peace of mind with where we are for the longest, so can you, for once, just do that for me?”  

Begrudgingly, and with a petulant kick to the carpet at his feet, Jack nodded.

"Thank you." you breathed out, watching as he stood from the bed.

"I don't want you to leave here thinking that I meant anything I said. I didn't, Y/N, and no matter who I have in front of a camera with me, she'll never be you. I'm always going to have love for you, Y/N."

Giving him a tender smile, you reached walked close enough to kiss his cheek. "I'll always have love for you, too."

#my first post in a literal month i hope it isn't too bad lol #jack harlow #jack harlow x reader #jack harlow blurb #jack harlow x y/n #jack harlow angst #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow x you #jack harlow fanfiction

[nyarlathotep-thecrawlingchaos]

Hello I'm in anon but if anyone stumbles upon this and recognizes me no you don't

I've been pestering my friends about this idea of a sort of Beauty and The Beast excerpt of dialogue with Mihawk and S/O (or future S/O I don't know my mind doesn't focus on that part it focuses solely on Mihawk and sass). This isn't a Mihawk kidnaps S/O to have them the same way the movie goes (or it may, if anyone wishes for it to be yandere although that's not the vision I give to my friends 💀. My initial idea was along the lines of him having to keep S/O there because of it being part of a mission or something of the like)

S/O healing his scratches after he goes out to fetch them and gets scratched (I keep assuring them it's most likely a scratch because of thorns because there's no way the monkeys in the island try shit with Mihawk knowing him. The what causes the scratches themselves isn't important 😭 let me cook)

Mihawk, already pissed off about having had to go fetch them, dryly: If I didn't know it's useless, darling, I'd swear you're trying to tear my upper arm off

S/O, just as visibly pissed off: Well if you stopped moving it wouldn't hurt so much

Mihawk: If you hadn't run away I wouldn't have been injured in the first place

S/O: Well if you hadn't frightened me with that glare of yours I wouldn't have run!

Mihawk:

S/O:

Mihawk: Well, you shouldn't be giving me constant reasons to stare at you disapprovingly

S/O: Is that what you call your death glare?! Well YOU should learn how to stop being so bitchy!

And they're pinning for eachother so hard and they hate it MWHAHAHAHHA (I'm sorry I'm currently extremely sleep deprived and this gives me the giggles and I like sharing it with my favourite creators or people I feel might appreciate it or like the characters. This also applies to Zoro though in a different vibe hehehe).

This is very heavily the vibe between Mihawk and my OC for Hearing Problems (sole exception that she would absolutely under no circumstances ever admit she was frightened, too much pride, would just say she was annoyed), so I've thought about this general dynamic a lot.

Not the similarities to Beauty and the Beast, admittedly, but I very much like it.

And it's also my favorite way I can see Mihawk ending up embroiled in a romantic relationship after years upon years of being more or less of a hermit. A sometimes murdery hermit, yes, but still a hermit.

He's absolutely convinced that he hates future-S/O, because he's just sincerely not used to the feelings he's experiencing, and his instinct is to shove said feelings away and blame her for upending his solitary existence and making him feel things honestly how dare her he was perfectly content sipping wine and being sarcastic without any damned help.

And future-S/O is dealing with the same thing—just mad as hell that she has to deal with this ungrateful warlord with his sarcastic comments and general antisocial tendencies...but at the same time, secretly aware that he would probably just kill her if he didn't actually want her around, which is kind of sweet in a weird unhinged sort of way.

And so, their mutual, subconscious pining just slowly builds and builds until neither of them can lie to themselves about it anymore and they end up in love or something.

And they're both still low-key annoyed that it happened.

Enemies to lovers? No, enemies resigned to the fact that they're now lovers whether they want to be or not, and still wholly unwilling to admit that they like the idea of it.

Just accidentally in love and mutually irritated about it until death do them part.

[magicalhideoutengineer]

Tina & Credence

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them:

Katherine Waterston: Credence and Tina have a past. He doesn't remember it maybe, but she has been concerned about him for a while before the film starts.

- Mugglenet

Katherine Waterston: I found it really touching that the only thing that will tempt her to break her away from the position she has is if someone is in trouble. But by saving a No-Maj, she exposed herself as a magical person.

- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Movie-Making News: FANTASTIC BEASTS 2

Katherine Waterston: She broke the rules in order to protect someone who was in trouble. Though she's really proud to be a part of MACUSA and dreams of succeeding there, when push comes to shove she will abandon the rule book. I found it really touching. She loves the rules, but if someone's in trouble, she can't help herself.

- The Case of Beasts: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Inside the Obscurus, Credence reaches out to Tina, the only person who has ever done him an uncomplicated kindness. He looks at Tina, desperate and afraid. He has dreamed of her ever since she saved him from a beating.

- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay

Crimes of Grindelwald:

Katherine Waterston: Tina and Queenie were orphaned very young, Tina, as the elder of the two, felt a great responsibility to take care of her sister. Over the years, that feeling to protect helpless children extended beyond just Queenie. She values her position at work and respects the law, but a child in need－that's her Achilles Heel. If forced to choose, she'll break the rule to help a child, as she did for Credence when Mary Lou Barebone was beating him. Near the end of the first film, she gave Credence her word that she and Newt would protect him, and she is not one to go back on her word.

- Crimes of Grindelwald Production Notes

Katherine Waterston: I think you start to see a bit in the first film that a child in trouble is her Achilles' Heel, particularly an orphan child. As long as he is unsafe in the world, she has that concern to save him, and I think that stems from her own childhood. She and Queenie were orphaned young, and she knows what it's like to be a bit lost in the world, and she pulled herself up by her bootstraps, and she is a very hardy woman. I think she is just going to be forever distracted by Credence and his need until that is sorted.

- Crimes of Grindelwald World Premiere in Paris

Katherine Waterston: Her Achilles heel — the thing that kind of makes her throw the rulebook out the window — is a person, particularly a young person, in trouble, in need. There’s something almost of an obsession I think she has with Credence. She feels very responsible for him.

- Buzzfeed

Katherine Waterston: We find Tina in Paris along many other members of the original cast and some new characters. She is looking for Credence. There are people after him for different reasons, and obviously Tina cares about him a great deal and is trying to get to him first. 

- MTV News

Tina Goldstein has been reinstated as an Auror at MACUSA (Magical Congress of the USA), but, while she remains dedicated to the job of enforcing magical law, she has not lost her independent streak. Leaving New York, Tina has traveled to Paris on a cryptic—and wholly unauthorized—investigation of her own. She knows Credence survived MACUSA’s attempt to destroy him in New York, but she is also aware that, as an Obscurial, he is considered a threat to the wizarding community and is in grave danger. Employing all of her skills, Tina is finally closing in on Credence, but her perilous pursuit has also put her on a collision course with other powerful forces hunting him.

- Crimes of Grindelwald Official Character Description

Katherine Waterston: Tina isn't confident that the ministry would approve of her desire to protect and save Credence. They are seeking him for a different reason, and so she's kind of doing this investigation on the sly.

- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - Makers, Mysteries and Magic: Chapter 5

Katherine Waterston: She's continuing a sort of rebellious pursuit in trying to protect Credence.

- Bowu Magazine

Katherine Waterston: It's a little unclear whether MACUSA knows her whereabouts. Tina isn’t confident they would approve of her desire to save Credence. They are seeking him for a different reason.

- Lights, Camera, Magic!: The Making of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Ezra Miller: Yeah, I mean certainly we’ve seen sort of only fragments of a story in which Tina did care for Credence, and that was a rare and noted instance in Credence’s story. But again, when you really think about it, what does Credence actually know about that human being, where she comes from? I mean, the last interaction was a deeply confusing one where there were a lot of things going on on the subway tracks, you know? So yeah, I think that’s one of the connections.

- Collider

ANGLE ON TINA, edging through the crowd, searching.

She spots QUEENIE and, at a short distance, CREDENCE. Whom should she approach first? She chooses CREDENCE, but as she moves, is blocked by an ACOLYTE. They make eye contact. TINA knows she is wildly outnumbered. Under the ACOLYTE'S gaze, she sinks onto a bench.

- Crimes of Grindelwald: The Original Screenplay

#fantastic beasts #crimes of grindelwald #fb analysis #coginterview #tina goldstein #credence barebone #katherine waterston #ezra miller #cogbook #makers mysteries and magic #fbawtftbook #case of beasts #movie making news #screenplay

[theia-eos]

An Uncanny Resemblance I noticed

While I was playing Three Hopes, I obviously had to do the Golden Deer Route first because of my boy Claude. And I realized he has an uncanny resemblance to another character I truly do love, while also being a wholly separate and distinct character. I love them both as characters for different reasons, so I'm really not trying to say they're interchangeable or anything like that, it's just that the more I realized they had in common writing wise, the more stunned I became.

In order to keep the above the cut text spoiler free, I will get this out of the way: They are both well regarded tacticians who do/can specialize in wind magic.

Absolutely massive spoilers for both characters below the cut. You have been warned.

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT

So, anyway, just to make it perfectly clear: Claude and Soren are two very distinct and different people. Claude hides behind overt friendliness and jokes to avoid discussing serious issues. Soren hides behind being really cutting and rude to keep people from getting close to him so he doesn't have to hurt again. Soren is practical and methodical above everything else. Claude acts with empathy, but will make the hard decisions if push comes to shove.

But now onto the similarities that staggered me:

The character:

Is stated to be a highly intelligent tactician and strategist

Soren is stated to be a strategist of peerless talent in the lore of the tellius games

Claude is many times stated to be a schemer, a strategy guy

Has a high association with wind magic

Soren comes with a Wind Tome in FE9 and is a Wind Sage in FE10

If Claude is put into a class where he learns Reason, he learns all 3 wind magic spells and 1 Black Magic spell. In Three Hopes, Claude's combos often have wind magic used, even in his standard sniper/barbarossa classes

Would or does use non-lethal poisons to get the edge on their opponent

Soren uses poisoned food to knock out the guards at a fortress so the Gallian army can get in and attack

Claude jokes about wanting to use poison on the other classes in the Battle of the Eagle and Lion that would weaken them, but not kill them (every time he talks about developing poisons, it's non-lethal, stomach-aches and the like)

May or may not be recognized by their parents with the name they use now

Almedha mistakes Pelleas as her son, and has to ask Soren what his name is, implying that either Soren is not the name he was given at birth, or he was not given any name at birth

Claude's birth name is Khalid, and it is unclear if his parents would be aware that he began going by the name Claude Von Reigan in Fódlan

Is often shipped with a mercenary friend they meet along their path, relies on this mercenary friend for help

Soren is often shipped with Ike

Claude is often shipped with Byleth

Is born of the blood of two "warring" peoples/races and is treated poorly in their childhood because of their mixed blood

Soren is a Branded, half black dragon laguz and half beorc, and he experiences a lot of trauma and hardship as a child because he is Branded

"On my way to Crimea, I kept seeing laguz from the beast tribe. They were terrifying, but after a while I realized something. They never attacked me. They all seemed to notice something about me, and then pretend they couldn't see me. That look was burned into my mind, and it was always the same. They'd scowl, then walk away like they'd never noticed me. In a way, that left me feeling colder and more alone than if they'd attacked me. Hate... That I could understand. This was denial. They made me feel like I wasn't supposed to exist at all. That my simply being alive was an affront to the world. That was how the beasts treated me. And I hated them for it. It sat in my heart like a lead bar. Like a glacier."

Claude is half Almyran and half Fódlan, and he is treated as an outsider within Almyra to the point that he flees to Leicester to escape the way he's being treated

"So the young boy was treated horribly by everyone around him. He hadn't done anything wrong. Everyone hated him simply for existing. Yelling, fighting back, explaining himself... Nothing he did could change his situation. When he was finally old enough, he ran far away from home. He escaped."

Spends a lot of time in their youth looking for a place where they belong

Ike is the first person to be nice to Soren and saves Soren from starving to death, so when they're separated as children, Soren spends several years looking for Ike and feels that the only place he belongs is by Ike’s side

Claude goes to Leicester to try and find a place where he won't be treated as an outsider and be accepted for who he is, and once he finds that's not possible, he decides to make a place where he belongs

The character's father is:

King of a nation that often believed to be evil by other countries, and invades the borders of nearby countries often

Soren’s father is King Ashnard of Daein, and Daein invades Crimea to start the Mad King’s War and Ashnard frequently attacked the Begnion border to claim some territory from Begnion for Daein

Claude's father is the king of Almyra, and his people often attacks Fódlan's Throat to prove their strength, viewed as barbaric and cruel by the people of Fódlan (the fantasy racism of Three Houses is not an issue I'm well equipped to discuss, I know how problematic it is, but I'm not saying the king of Almyra is Ashnard, we never meet him. It's just that the king of Almyra would be viewed in a similar light by the people of Fódlan as everyone outside of Daein views Ashnard)

The character's mother:

Is the daughter of the leader of a nation

Soren’s mother is Princess Almedha of Goldoa, daughter of King Dheginsea

Claude's mother is Tiana, daughter of the Duke of Riegan, leader of the Leicester Alliance

Is the second child of the leader of her homeland

Almedha is the middle child of three children of King Dheginsea

Tiana is the youngest of two children of the Duke of Riegan

Has an older brother who is killed

Almedha's older brother Rajaion is turned into a Feral One by Ashnard and dies at the end of the Mad King's War

Tiana's older brother is killed with her father, creating the power vaccum in the Leicester Alliance that Claude eventually fills

Her older brother was killed for the machinations of another

Rajaion was turned into a Feral One so Ashnard could have a strong weapon

Tiana's brother is killed by Mercenaries hired by Count Gloucester to harass merchants

Left her homeland

Almedha left Goldoa because she wanted fight and her father would not allow her to

Tiana left Leicester because she fell in love with the King of Almyra

Is considered to be the wife of the king of the "evil" nation

Almedha is viewed as the dowager queen of Daein and said to be King Ashnard's wife, even though they never married

Tiana is the wife or mistress of the King of Almyra, it is unclear

Is shown to admire the belligerent ways of the king with a taste for battle herself

Almedha is said to have wanted to wage war with her dragon powers and shown to have had some admiration of Ashnard's methods, even if that meant killing 1,000 innocent civilians

Tiana is described by Claude as a warrior goddess, beating a man who had been undefeated in over a hundred battles, and laughs right along with the king of Almyra as he punishes people

If no one's ever gone over the massive list of similarities between Ike and Byleth before, here's a quick and dirty run-down because they are commonly shipped with their close mercenary friend.

The character's mercenary friend:

Has a dead mother who was part of a religious order

Elena was a priestess of Palmeni Temple

Sitri was a member of the Church of Seiros as a priestess/nun

Has a mercenary father who raised them to be a mercenary, and never speaks of the dead mother

Greil runs Greil’s Mercenaries and Ike being allowed to join the mercenary company is the opening of the game. Greil speaks of Elena so little Ike knows something's wrong with Greil talks about her before dying

Jerald runs Jeralt's Mercenaries and Byleth joins and earns the name the Ashen Demon. Jeralt speaks of Sitri very little.

Their mother once possessed a "Fire Emblem" and this resulted in her death

Elena took Lehran’s Medallion to hide it from Ashnard and was killed when Greil accidentally touched it

Sitri had the Heart of Sothis which gave her life and passed it to Byleth when Byleth was stillborn, this gives Byleth the Crest of Flames (Fódlan’s “Fire Emblem”), but killed Sitri

Their father is killed by an agent of the villain, and the mercenary seeks revenge against their father's killer

Greil is killed by the Black Knight, and Ike swears vengeance

Jeralt is killed by Kronya, and Byleth immediately searches for and kills Kronya

Is the main character of their game

Ike is the Lord of FE9

Byleth is the avatar character of FE16

Is stated to look a lot like their mother

Ike has blue eyes and blue hair like Elena

Byleth looks a lot like Sitri

The mystery of who their mother is and how she died is a significant plot point of the games

Elena’s death caused by Greil touching Lehran’s Medallion is revealed slowly through many chapters in the final half of the game

Sitri's death is why Jeralt left the Knights of Seiros and isn't revealed until the end of certain playthroughs of FE16

The mercenary struggles to express emotion

Ike's neutral expression looking somewhat angry is frequently commented on by numerous characters throughout the games and finds himself unable to cry when his father dies

Byleth grew up not expressing emotions because their heart literally does not beat and they are regarded as the "Ashen Demon" as a result, and multiple characters reflect on Byleth's growing repertoire of facial expressions as the game progresses

#fe9/10 #fe9 #fe10 #fe16 #fire emblem path of radiance #fire emblem radiant dawn #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem three hopes #fe soren #fe claude von riegan #fe claude #fe tellius #fe fodlan #fire emblem #thinking about characters a perfectly normal amount #absolutely unnecessary comparisons #very useless information that no one wants #I am Ike/Soren trash as always but I tried to keep my shipping biases out of this post #I also don't have strong feelings about most Three Houses ships #So it felt more fair to keep my Ike/Soren bias out of the conversation

[terraliensvent]

Since i know you said this was the end of the xiao talk, i’ll keep this pretty breif

people tend to stay away from Xiao because they are very closed off and only speak to their friends, but it’s not that hard to get to know him and appreciate things. Yes, he’s made some mistakes, but he’s being blamed for a lot right now, which i don’t think is really fair. Plus the heavy lack of proof on things lol.

as for where you said you might apply for mod, that would be interesting. You’d continue to run the blog i’m sure, but I feel like you’d might run into a few troubles trying to handle both. If you do however, i’d be excited to see where that heads. your judgment is good on a lot of the topics that come up here, it would be nice to see your stance on things.

sorry i’m aware this isn’t really a vent. just thought i’d state my mind !

post related

yeah i can understand people not liking someone just out of not liking them, but its a different beast when people come in my inbox saying that they were WHOLLY responsible for the Reckoning. like i feel like thats just factually incorrect. you dont need a moral reason to dislike someone, sometimes you can just say someone annoys you.

as for the mod stuff, i would love to apply for mod when/if applications open. with bug and coy in charge it felt very cagey and honestly kind of imposing, but im very inclined to apply now just from the fact that tycho went out of his way to reach out and talk directly about critique (yk, the stuff that actually holds weight, not us just going “coy sux lol.” its fun to make the jokes but someones gotta sit here and sort out the real critique from the shitposting lol), it really gave me a good feeling and i have a lot of hope knowing he has executive control now.

youre right about the troubles with handling both. i honestly dont know if i could hand the blog off to someone else since ive kind of made it circle around my own voice but i think that i wanna implement new rules on here just to make it more palatable (mainly the namedropping stuff)

i think if i did get on the mod team i would keep the blog running but maybe make some changes to things here, just stuff to maybe curb back the way that topics got pretty aggressive. i think it could be interesting to have a direct line of contact from anons to the mod team, and with the fact that theyre probably never gonna bring back anonymous suggestions, i think i could be able to sort out the stuff that holds no weight from the stuff that actually makes good points and pass them along.

and im unsure if i would even make it known whether or not i became a mod because a. privacy concerns, and b. i wouldnt want to make any other members uncomfortable because i know that vent blogs like this are really polarizing.

i have some stuff to think about with this, and keep in mind the whole thing IS a big “if.” in the event i apply and dont get accepted then we can have anon funtimes as usual

#closed species vent #terralien #closed species #terraliens #mod rambles

[ehlnofay]

@wispstalk tagged me to take this quiz and share 5 results from the top 50 that fit my characters. or that just catch my eye. this has made me aware of how little media I am familiar with. it was also very fun

Efri: (a bunch of delightful goofy guys) her top result was the pokemon boy. I know nothing about this but it was funny to me both lilo and stitch from lilo & stitch. I see it jo march. oddly I kind of get that one as well merry brandybuck. I know nothing about lord of the rings either but I’m including it based on the name alone

Arabella: (oops mostly villainesses) jennifer from jennifer’s body (love that for her) villanelle from killing eve. from what little I’ve seen of the show... yeah loki. from marvel not norse mythology the devil. from lucifer not christianity lydia bennet (I had to include someone who wasn’t a villain. and I don’t think she’s much like lydia but it stuck out to me somehow)

Pax: (a fascinating mixture) one of the top results. was shrek toph beifong. that one I get guy from die hard kaz brekker from those books a friend recommended to me... that’s not wholly without foundation the narrator from the handmaid’s tale (??)

Torr: (no-one gets him. all terrible results.) fuckin. one of the supernatural guys the hulk handmaid’s tale narrator again. also rita love interest from the divergent books, which I thought were the pinnacle of literature at age eleven

The Dragonborn: (HUH??) MR COLLINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! werewolf guy from twilight FRIAR LAURENCE. the guy who marries romeo and juliet. sheldon from big bang theory. hm. a different guy from supernatural

Caelestis: (weird rich kid central) georgiana darcy... weirdly I see it violet baudelaire. friend of mine loves these books and from what they tell me this one makes sense also two of I believe the vampire from twilight’s siblings the beauty of & the beast fame. weirdly I can see this as well. caelestis is the type that that would happen to

#what peculiar results... I am excessively diverted #oc tag

[ruckusfiddlesticks]

"Ask me something about WoL/MSQ canon-specific Ruckus!"

Chi: Why did WoL!Ruckus start working with the Scions? Who was his first point of contact, what kind of relationship did he have with them and the work they were doing together?

That doesn't really deviate from canon much-

He ran into Thancred during his early Ul'dahn days, they had a very informational-exchangey relationship, strained by ARR!Thancred's casual skirt-chasing. Kinda put-off by his tendancy to turn up, conveniently, after most of the work is done.... but Thancred also witnesses Ruckus being absolutely devastated by the outcome of the Ifrit mission, and it's really after that point that he commits himself to the Scions fully and wholly, hoping to not repeat the failure with other primals. Everybody else in the Scions sees his victory over Ifrit as a hopeful victory, but Ruckus is deeply and personally wrecked by it.

As for other scion general 1st-impressions... he's charmed by Tataru's sing-songing front desk vibes from the absolute outset, mildly intimidated by team Yda & Papalymo both for being *more skilled* than him at the job's he's juggling at ARR's outset (Pugilist/Thaumaturge), and kinda indifferent about Y'shtola because he's still very obsessed with Astraea at this point, all her intellectual charm points are things he's already pining for in someone else.

Ruckus was reluctant at first, to venture down to Vesper Bay's Scion HQ, because of the negative impression he has with Lolorito's shipping empire- it took some reassurance for their non-affiliation with the monetarists to feel at home returning to the Waking Sands, and he was absolutely on board in immediately understanding Minfilia's post-2.0 position on relocating HQ to maintain neutrality.

Merry- 1. what are the biggest differences between wol ruckus and rp Ruckus?

WoL Ruckus is just more accustomed to rolling up his sleeves and getting Big Shit Done, but he’s helped by the powers of plot-steering direction, where RP Ruckus flounders a little for lack of focus.

RP ruckus is a lot more recreationally people-oriented, and definitely a bigger Trader and Merchant than fighter- I don’t think WoL Ruckus has half the culinarian re-rooting that’s been going on with RP Ruck, just not time and space to hone that.

RP Ruckus has the hometown guilt of not being around for Bowl of Embers, but WoL Ruckus bears the weight of killing Ifrit barefistedly but not actually saving his neighbors, which slaps an extra layer of unresolved disconnect/discomfort from Drybone on him. He’s also buried more allies in the Lichyard, and associates his hometown more heavily with failures and death.

He’s still very lighthearted/upbeat in tone, but sees that cheerful levity as more front-faced obligation sometimes than RP Ruckus does. RP Ruckus is working through interpersonal life in a way that’s more intimate and less broad strokes, he has a lot more insecurity about where his life is headed, but still enjoys the freedoms of being largely whim-blown.

Post-Shadowbringers WoL!Ruckus has moved on from waxing so nostalgic about his pre-calamital past... he's seen from Emet-Selch how putting loss of the past on a pedestal can come at the expense of hope for the future.

2. were the variants to meet, what would they admire each other for, and what would they dislike in each other?

I think lots of these were covered by question 1, but they’d envy each other respectively for feeling as though the other had their life more together- WoL Ruckus would envy RP variant his lackadaisical freelancing, but also impressed by his committment to the local legacy & Drybone's infrastructure...that's something that never truly crossed WoL Ruckus's mind.

Rp Ruck would be in awe of how many Tribes Canon!Ruck has forged progressive alliances with, and afraid Pakeke would be more impressed with his other-self. WoL!Ruckus is very consciously aware how many beast tribal peoples he’s slaughtered to broker that peace

3. what's auntie think of wol ruckus? how does their relationship change?

Auntie has absolutely piggybacked/cashed in on WoL!nephew’s fame by now! Youngest cousin is definitely guilty of selling his smallclothes. Eldest cousin is currently one of Tataru’s seamstresses.c

Their relationship has definitely been strained by Ul’dahn public opinion following The Banquet, but his cousins were absolutely the informants giving him pulse on the undercurrents of when to return to Ul’dah and which households were doubtful of rumors surrounding the coup.

Ruckus has a lot more pull with his auntie as the WoL, and tends to dislike the showstopping fuss that goes on at her Salon when he steps through the door (and suspects she strongly detests being the less Important person in the room, when he does).

But he’s both frustrated and amused by his living relatives, on the whole- Auntie just sees him as less of a wandering bum when there’s some titles and public recognition to back his adventuring.

Jun- Does wol ruckus multiclass? What are his canon jobs?

(I’m Omni 90; but I try to keep WoL Ruck in like with my gameplay style)

Ruckus does multiclass- the only jobs that aren’t truly canonical for him are DRK, RPR & DRG - although he was a lancer up to level 30!

He learned how to Tank mainly for lone fieldwork survivability (FATEs) and has never led the party through any canonical dungeon event- usually he’s a DPS, and Healer when he’s mentoring new adventurers (Sprout-care!)

In ARR he was a MNK/BLM, Post-Castrum he picked up Rogue and Red Mage which made the throughline into HW Era, where Machinist, which became his primary job. He thematically learned Sam & Ninja during Stormblood & pretty much dabbled around in all the others somewhere between. Endwalker patches & going forward into Dawntrail, he'll be a Bard main, though he regularly flexes between all ranged phys jobs.

- Who are some non-Scion NPCs he gets along with well? Who can’t he stand?

He quite likes the Company of Heroes trio of Brayflox, Shamani & Riol- feels a close kinship with them. Fond of the ‘buki bros, considers the Skysteel machinists & the Redbills crew mates, loves the rogues & thinks Oboro’s a stickinthemud.

The VanuVanu, Arkasodara & Vath are especially dear to him, so are the 789th Order Kobold lazeabouts & the Dwarves- the Brotherhood of Ash was a late late game extended hand of wary friendship. (He’s a Tribal completionist.) Wildly envious of Pipin Tarupin's classic prettyboy defender position, but really can’t hate him for it.

Ruckus has great difficulty with Fordola’s grudging help and desperately wants her to become overnight-friendlier. He considers Yuyuhase the worst piece of fucking trash nemesis. Probably still fights the urge to smirk when thinking about Teledji’s death. He thinly tolerates Hancock but considers him a huge sellout to the worst kinds of people.

- Are there any raid/trial questlines that are canon?

All raids and trials are canon for him, and the Weapons Trials in particular had him lay down Machinist’s kit for awhile and get better at Barding- he got a lot of a shit for...sloppily piloting of the G-Warrior, a very nail-biting go at Sapphire weapon. Cid has never been more disappointed in him.

Alexander is canon for both RP and WoL -lavored Ruckus, though the Bigwest Gobbieflock and Ironworks connections forged there were more significant for non-WoL Ruck overall!

- Are there details about Ruckus!Azem

Ruckus!Azem is a big ??? Mystery to me, though… he was proooooobably Bacchus until canon josses otherwise-inevitably

Prompt -Which death grieved him the most? Which death left the longest lasting impression on him? Which death, if any, left him with conflicted feelings?

The answer to all of these is the outcome of Level 20 MSQ.

Papalymo’s hold-the-line conscious sacrifice is also something met with gut levels of respect, and he quite regrets Ysayle’s lost opportunity to see a neo-Ishgardian dream realized.

He dwells a lot more on Haurchefant’s dying directive than the loss of Haurchefant, himself- I’ve got other WoLs who miss him a LOT more deeply/dearly.

Jim - Is WoL Ruckus all in about this adventurer/Warrior of life/hero of eorzea thing, or is he uncomfortable being put in this position? Basically, is this something he wants?

He's grown into taking it in stride as his role has expanded to intercontinental/national diplomacy, and sees himself as more of a hopeful rallying point to inspire other (more skilled) people to action than a warrior-hero himself. He sees the blessing of light as his calling to get out into the world and 're-attune' peoplegroups to one another, foster connections, and try his best to face problems head on when no one else can bring themselves to step up first.

He's definitely all-in for adventure, and the prospect of exploration somewhere new generally excites him. Sometimes the weight of responsibility feels a little misplaced, but he sees himself as having just enough edge over things capable of tempering to lend morale-bolstering support. Shadowbringers-era really glued a steady team around him in a new, comfortable way, and Ruckus tends to prefer operating as a 'We' as opposed to a 'Me', when it comes to Scion activity.

He also really likes to sneak away and try out something totally new in places where no one recognizes him, but that happens less and less these days.

Rinalle/Elyanni- Is there anything about this job that makes him happy in between all the *gestures* stuff?

Everything. The breadth of the journey, I think, is worth the struggle- If given the chance to trade places with his other self and let someone else take up his role…. I think he’d be heavily reluctant to give it up.

#ruckus fiddlesticks #some copypaste from twitter #Wol questions

[princeasmodaios]

Darling, I don’t think that you’re fucked up, not even a little bit, not even at all. I think that you have been through many intense moments and experienced such profound emotions throughout your life so far, and you haven’t given yourself a moment to pause and reconcile the turmoil that these interactions and sentiments have left you with mentally. I’m going to make the assumption here that regardless of your love and genuine appreciation of her, that you’re finding yourself trapped in a way- be it the relationship, your feelings towards the relationship, or even your feelings toward yourself. From what I’m understanding of what you’re saying, you feel like you need time and space to find yourself again, address the trauma from your past and develop healthy coping mechanisms, recover from your experiences and recharge your soul, but you want to do it on your own this time without leaning wholly and completely on one person to help you get through it- more like you feel a need to confront it on your own so you can feel really and truly whole and yourself again while giving yourself the confidence that comes with recovering without help. Intimacy and companionship are two beasts that are wildly different and beautiful in their own way. You crave companionship at an elemental level, some of the things that you’ve experienced in life only caused that to root deeper into your being. You desire someone that’ll be there, listen to you talk about anything and everything, hold you when you crave touch and just sit on the end of the couch with you when you want company. Having someone there is important to you, but I’m sensing that it’s also causing you some level of distress? And intimacy. Love, intimacy is a difficult beast in so many ways, albeit a beautiful one. It’s messy and painful, so so so much trust is required in order to have intimacy in any relationship, whether it’s with a friend or with your partner. There are so many things in our subconscious mind that can prevent us from craving intimacy, and it’s usually a defense mechanism to something that’s triggered in every day experiences that you wouldn’t notice because it’s gone on for too long. Things such as lapses in communication and trust, inability to relate to one another due to differing experiences or options, personal preference, and even self love and image. I’m not one to talk about intimacy especially right now since I’ve lost all desire to be intimately involved with anyone, and I’ve slowly been coming to terms with that and working on the underlying issues that I developed that caused it for me. I can’t get better because I keep ignoring the primary reason behind it, but I’m not ready to accept that yet and I know that about myself. Loss of desire for intimacy isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just indicates that there’s something that needs to be addressed or recovered. Then again- you might just not care to have any intimate relationships and that’s okay too. It’s okay to feel like you’re lost and have no control over your own life- believe it or not. Yes, the lower you go the higher you have to climb, but the higher you climb the more you learn and experience and your confidence will build for the next time you experience something like this. You’ll have better tools and coping mechanisms to get through it. The struggle is real, but the end result is always worth it. I know you’re frustrated and feel like nothing is okay right now- and that’s fine. I know you’re aware that you have a net to fall back on regardless of what happens, and how you handle your life and these difficult circumstances, but also try to remember that regardless of how you tell yourself everyone might think or respond, that people might surprise you with their levels of empathy and understanding, and their willingness to help. Again- I could have completely missed the mark with all of this and if I did just let me know- I’ll bite my tongue a little harder next time.

- a ghost of who you once were

#depression #pain #desperate #love #sad thoughts #letter

[chews-erotically]

Waxing Gibbous 

Pairing: Ezra + femNurse! Reader

Rating: Hard M / 18+ ONLY

       * Warnings:  comfort/ injury /SMUT (super explicit I’m not kidding I have sinned)/ This is just straight up pornography tbh

      * Summary: uh, sex. They bang.

      * Word Count: 2631

*So I’ve never written such naughty, naughty things in my life….I thought I’d have a hard time but oops I guess I’m a whore. To prepare me for the ensuing sacrilege I read and then re-read the exquisite smutty work of @absurdthirst, @yespolkadotkitty, and @di-kut. Many thanks to these amazing writers for continuing to inspire me.

Part One        Part Two        Part Three

PART FOUR

    Time moved unlike a straight line from one point to another, but rather like the ripples in a stream when a pebble was tossed in. The pebble was the day you were attacked. Ezra was the stream, and he flowed around you and outward and rode time like it was a beast he could tame.

    You were surprised he let you use the refresher by yourself after that day. He was always hovering, a shadow ensuring you could not trip up, you could not wander and lose yourself.

Two weeks since the incident in the field, your bruises were finally faded to a sickly yellow. You were fortunate, incredibly so, to have not sustained more serious injury. Kevva had looked out for you, and now so did Ezra.

    You noticed that he had become a bit quieter, more contemplative. When he spoke to you he seemed to weigh his words. He checked in with you often- were you okay, were you thirsty, were you having bad dreams? Ezra had his share of nightmares, he was unafraid to tell you in the darkness of night that there was no weakness in confessing such things. He no longer hid how he looked at you, and you often held his gaze until you could bear no more and turned away burning. You noticed that he touched you often, a hand on your shoulder or against the small of your back. You remembered the day he had absentmindedly reached out to tuck an errant strand of hair behind your ear, as if he’d done it many multitudes of times before. It had made you feel like both a  treasure and an exposed nerve.

    Ezra’s cot stayed where it was moved that first night, sidled up with yours. You’d first held onto one another’s hands each night as part of a new ritual between soft words and sighs. You’d drifted slowly closer in cover of darkness, eventually tucked against him when you awoke in the morning. It began to be like this more often than not.

    You’d refrained from trying to broach anything more physical from him for the time being as you healed from your injuries. As you slowly came back to yourself, your desire for him returned. One night, instead of latching onto his hand, you’d beckoned his arms around you and aligned your back with his chest. His breath bloomed sweetly against the back of your neck as you ran a warm palm slowly up and then down the arm around your waist. Your skin felt electric against him. Slowly he responded to your languid touches with his own, rounding his own burning palms over the curve of your hip. A sense of fullness began to build between your legs, and pressure was cresting to an aching burn as some hidden part of you roared awake. You were dimly aware of your breaths becoming heavier, more explosive.

    The string snapped. Without warning Ezra ground his hips into yours and attached his hot mouth to your neck. You could not stop the moan that escaped your mouth, it surprised you in its volume. Ezra moaned in answer to you and placed his lips to the shell of your ear.

    “Is this real? Is this really happening?” His voice was impossibly low, husking and landing in plosives against your ear. The feeling of the low force of his words were like an electric shock that arched straight to your cunt.

    Your eyes were squeezed shut, you were convinced that at any second he might evaporate. You gasped and arched your back involuntarily when you felt the tip of his hot, wet tongue against your lobe. He hadn’t even touched you yet and you felt as if you would explode. He strained forward to meet the cleft of your ass and you felt him, impossibly hot and hard. Your voice left you strangled.

    “Ha...oh...fuck Ezra…pleasepleaseplease touch me. I’ll die if you don’t touch me…”

    His lips still held to your ear, he murmured to you as his own breath gasped and hitched.

    “Dove, you have to know that this cannot be a one-time encounter. I intend on ruining you for anyone else.” His teeth nipped at your neck, you gasped and shuddered. You were going to cum just like this, his breath and his words and his length pressed against you and he hadn’t even touched you yet. 

    You actually sobbed when his hand finally connected with you, you had expected his fingers to go first to your breasts like the well-established patterns of foreplay the men before him ascribed to, but instead his hand had curved down the swell of your ass and had slid between your legs to cup your weeping core. You couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t speak, you keened out into the darkness and ground yourself desperately against the heel of his hand. 

He pressed against you and your cunt was volcanically hot through the thin fabric of your thermal pants.

    “How are you so hot?” he whispered, as if almost to himself. “How is this divine sex so ready for me?” His voice was impossibly closer. “Answer me, angel.”

    You craned your head backward to seek his mouth. His words were molten, you felt like you were flying apart.

    “Ezra, please…..”

    Before you could blink, Ezra was ripping your pants down your legs, barely pausing to unhook them from your ankles, tossing them violently to the side.

   Getting back on the cot he rolled you onto your back before plunging his hand back between your legs. His fingers slid through your slick, and the groan that ripped itself from his mouth was filthy.

    “FUCK.” He was panting against your mouth, his lips hovering, not touching, just beyond your grasp. You inhaled as he exhaled desperately, gasping him into you the way you needed him inside you elsewhere.

    “Kevva wept, I have never felt a cunt like this, if this is what I am doing to you I’m as good as deified.” You gasped when he removed his hand and brought it up to your face. Your slick was coating each digit like a perverse film, webbing in strands between his fingers.

You should have shook with embarrassment, you thought, but your eyes widened in fascination as he brought his sodden fingers to your mouth and slowly painted your lips with your own arousal. You flicked your tongue out to taste yourself. 

    “Oh my God,” you whined.

    It was then that Ezra finally kissed you, dipping his own tongue into the cavern of your mouth before following with his feral lips. His hand shot back down between your legs and he pressed his first two fingers to either side of your aching clit.

    He moved his mouth against yours with a growl as he pressed down and slid his fingers up and down aside your erect bud, the noises from your soaked core reverberating through the tent. 

    Without warning your orgasm slammed into you like an intergalactic freighter, and you vaguely realized you may be screaming. Your entire body seized and shook, your back arching you off the mattress, and it was nothing like anything you’d ever experienced, you could not control the movements of your limbs and you could feel your cunt squeezing and gushing and bearing down on nothing as Ezra seemed momentarily as surprised as you were.

    His eyes locked on your face, wide with wonder as he kept up a slow, steady pace.

    “My sweet, beautiful girl, I’ve never seen anything as erotic as the spectre of you falling apart beneath me…” His eyes, soulful and sincere, searched yours as his fingers moved lower to your twitching hole. He slid his mouth back to the cusp of your ear and pitched his voice low and the syrup that erupted from his tongue was soaked in sin.

    “Do it again.”

    He slid first one, then two fingers into your grasping channel. The way he moaned when he did so, it could have been his cock instead.

    “Sweet Kevva fuck, I may not survive you.”

    He angled his fingers and zeroed in on a textured, spongy portion of your leaking passage and pistoned his fingers in and out against it. You were immediately brought right back to the precipice as you felt another climax build within you. You were shocked, having never been brought so close so quickly before. In the past you’d had orgasms with women and men, but you were always left sated after one, if a bit overstimulated. You were wholly inexperienced when it came to the razor-sharp lust and hunger that Ezra was spiking in you.

    You were making sounds you’d thought yourself incapable of. You should have been mortified. You were consumed, you could not find it within yourself to care.

    Ezra slanted his mouth to yours and sank his teeth into your lower lip, pulling it outward as obscene wet noises continued unabated. The pressure between your legs was building and you didn’t know if you could handle it, didn’t know how to ride this wave but your legs were shaking, your head thrown back and mouth open.

    Ezra watched your face with his forehead resting against yours, tracking your frantic eyes roaming wide, blown black with lust. He whispered low, almost imperceptible.

    “.....yesyesyesyesyesyes…….”

    When your dam burst this time it was different, deeper. You could not cry, you could not scream. You convulsed, almost folding in half. You had no control over your movements. You were dimly aware that you’d soaked your mattress, you’d soaked Ezra’s fingers and he swore thickly as you clamped and squeezed and fluttered around his hand.

    “Look at you Dove, you’re doing so well for me. So tight, so perfect. I have dreamt of exactly this for endless nights. It has been an exquisite torture to lie mere feet from you and deprive myself of this gift, resplendent before me.”

    Your hands flew to the sides of his face, grabbing the hair that curled around his ears. You pulled his face down to yours and kissed him, groaning into his mouth as your tongue ran along his teeth. You tried to pour into it every ounce of emotion you felt, desire and abandon still flashing and sparking. You ran one hand down his chest, down the front of his pants and through the curls on the soft flesh of his groin. Ezra stilled, mouth open and gasping when you wrapped your hand around his cock. It was larger than you’d anticipated and you paused mid-stroke, stilling your hand on the weeping head. He was hot and leaking onto your hand.

    Ezra’s eyes were squeezed tight, panting rapidly against the side of your neck. He moaned softly as he moved his hand across the flesh of your breasts, pausing to pull and squeeze your nipples. You gasped at the pinching sensation shooting into you; your cunt clenched in response.

    “I want you in my mouth,” you husked out, lowering your hand further to cup his balls. Ezra hissed, his brow creasing.

    “I….I fear I won’t last long enough if that sinful mouth comes anywhere near to where I need you,” he whispered, and his voice was straining and desperate as he thrust into your slick palm. You craned your face upward, teeth scraping against his jaw.

    “Then fuck me, Ezra.”

    He swallowed thickly, then reached down with a trembling hand, rushing to free himself. You glanced down, eyes widening as he came into view, thick and curving up toward his stomach. He looked as big as he’d felt. You moved to help him remove his pants fully, but his hand quickly moved to still your wrist.

    “I meant what I said, it’s been quite a few stands since I’ve indulged in pleasures of the flesh. Next time, perhaps, I will properly show my affections for you, however at present moment I fear I will reach my end by the time I have properly disrobed.”

   Your hand cupped his cheek as you nodded, biting your lip as Ezra moved to settle between your spread legs. Your thighs moved to frame his hips as he positioned himself at your opening. He once again leaned his forehead against yours, locking eyes with you, and began to enter you.

    The stretch was immediate and overwhelming. You thought he may have hurt you, had you not been so primed. His mouth hung open, eyes trained on yours until he reached your end and rolled them backward. You were split open on his cock, you had never felt so full, the sensations an incredible ache of indescribable pleasure. You involuntarily twitched around him and Ezra groaned and panted, seemingly overwhelmed in his own right.

    “I have never…..in all my years. Felt something….as fucking heavenly…..” He drew back, the drag of him forcing your stretched lips to cling to him obscenely. The drag made you drunk on him, you growled and sank your teeth into his shoulder. The sound of him advancing on you once more, meeting your tight resistance and pushing through, was charging the air around you. Electric. He angled his hips downward and stars, he found that spot again, and you could tell he was losing control, he raked your shirt up around your neck and pawed desperately at your breasts and he leaned forward and sighed your name.

    His thumb notched between your lips as you gasped his name back at him.

    “....fuck…”

    He angled his hips back once more, and his next thrust was sudden and unexpected and hard , you cried out after gulping in air and he wasn’t stopping, he drove into you and into that spot over and over and over and you felt the tears streaming down your face. You were sobbing brokenly, you had never felt so powerless over the feel of him breaking you, tearing you apart in a way you never imagined existed. The world did not exist, pain and hurt and suffering did not exist, it was just you and Ezra in this universe, every thrust and gasp a prayer of thanks to whatever God existed that allowed this to happen, allowed you to feel like this. You had lost the power of speech, you could only cry and whimper and gasp, broken with pleasure. Ezra’s rhythm began to falter. He placed his hand around your neck and growled between clenched teeth.

    “Let the whole of the Green hear you, how I mark you deep enough to make you mine for the rest of your days. Let the world shake apart with the force of my love for you.”

    At that, his hips stilled as his orgasm hit. The very act of him coming seemed to trigger your own release, and once again you shook and arched, but you only had the strength to gasp and whimper and sob softly and your hips jerked upward and twitched of their own volition.

    He spilled into you, groaning loudly, biting at any exposed flesh he could find before collapsing onto you. You wound your arms around his neck. You remained dazed and overwhelmed by what had transpired. Your mind was blank, you were wrung out. Ezra slid to the side of you with a sigh and pressed his lips against your temple. His hand reached into your hair and he stroked his fingers in circles against your scalp. His breathing evened quickly, and for the first time since you’d landed on this cursed moon you fell into deep and dreamless sleep.

Tag list: @yespolkadotkitty, @rzrcrst, @ifimayhaveaword, @cyaredindjarin, @mstgsmy, @im-like-reallythirsty, @hellojustheretolookatmeemees, @mrpascals

#chews-erotically writes #ezra x reader #ezra prospect

[thenightling]

I love Gaslight fantasy

I love Gaslight fantasy.  Gaslight fantasy is also known as Gaslamp fantasy.  And before I go any further, no I am not “Confusing” the terms.   Gaslighting as a term comes from a 1940s film called “Gaslight” where a man tricks a woman into doubting her perceptions of reality.   The concept of “gaslighting” as a verb to mean this didn’t exist until that film.   The title of the film was named for the object, “gaslights” which were common in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

This has nothing to do with “gaslighting.”   I should not have had to explain this but... Tumblr...  

There is a new genre of fantasy / Gothic horror fiction called Gaslight fantasy.   This genre can be compared to High Fantasy, Gothic Horror, and Steampunk in many aspects and yet it is wholly it’s own entity.   

Gaslight Fantasy is a genre where a fantasy world resembles our world’s Victorian era but the supernatural such as monsters and magick are known to be real.  It bears a lot of elements of Gothic Horror and many examples of Gaslight Fantasy also fit the genre of Gothic Horror but unlike the term “Gothic Fantasy” which feels like an attempt to circumvent acknowledging that Gothic Horror is a form of Horror, Gaslight Fantasy can exist in tandem with Gothic Horror as descriptors for the same property.  As a result it is a new sub-genre I welcome as opposed to “Gothic Fantasy” which feels like a term invented by those embarrassed of liking horror.  

Example: Barnes and Noble slapping “Gothic Fantasy” across the cover of their leather bound versions of The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, and H. P. Lovecraft, as well as Dracula, and Frankenstein.  Those are all Gothic Horror and the use of “Gothic Fantasy” feels like a term for those ashamed of the horror aspect or don’t realize horror can be more than just gore and jump scares. 

Further note: Frankenstein is often considered the first science fiction novel but Victor found the secret of life while reading the works of Agrippa and Paracelsus, a self-proclaimed alchemist and sorcerer.  Also Victor was studying metaphysics, not biology.  The Frankenstein monster is often considered (in fantasy-loving circles) to be a “Flesh golem with a soul.”  Psuedo-intellectualists seem to chafe at the idea that Frankenstein is a horror story and prefer to call it science fiction because there is still this incorrect ant antiquated notion that horror is low brow and cannot contain romanticism or emotional, spiritual, and moral explorations. 

Even The Shape of Water, which can easily be mistaken as a remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon and Revenge of The Creature (But with a happy ending for The Creature) is often called “Supernatural romance” instead of Horror even though there are scary moments, atmosphere, violence, death, supernatural elements, and other things usually associated with the horror genre. 

The same thing happened with Silence of the Lambs, which was branded “Thriller” when it got its Oscar nomination.   It seems the Oscar nomination might be why The Shape of Water isn’t classified as horror either.

Director Guillermo del Toro (though a clear lover of Gothic Horror) seems reluctant to classify his own films as Gothic Horror even though Crimson Peak is clearly paying homage to Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath and Hammer Horror films.       

It’s the cultural resentment of Gothic Horror that makes me dislike the term “Gothic Fantasy” but I am willing to embrace the new idea of Gaslight Fantasy that can exist within Gothic Horror or side by side with it, in the same story. 

Though it’s still a relatively new genre I do love the refreshingly new concept of Gaslight Fantasy as a reimagined Victorian era that isn’t just full of zeppelins, steam engines and gears (like the typical superficial Steampunk tropes) but also supernatural creatures and or magick being common place.   Not to mention so many fantasy stories are set in a pseudo-Middle ages Europe-esque land like in Game of Thrones and The Witcher, that it’s clever and different that the fantasy world doesn’t look like the late dark ages but instead the late nineteenth century, just to give it a different aesthetic and atmosphere while retaining a sense of wonder and historical nostalgia, though blatantly and deliberately inaccurate.    

  Examples of Gaslight Fantasy include: Amazon Prime’s Carnival Row - Set in a nineteenth century style city where humans, faeries, werewolves, Franeknstein-style monsters, trolls, fauns, and centaurs co-exist.   This is probably the first true, mainstream, gaslight fantasy and the best example of the genre.  It deals with Jack the Ripper style murders in a slum inhabited by magical creatures.  It’s a lot like Penny Dreadful but Penny Dreadful pretends to be set in our world where most people do not know the supernatural exists whereas Carnival Row is not quite our world and people know about most of the supernatural creatures who reside there.  

Dolls of New Albion - Dolls of New Albion is described as a steampunk musical, is set in a world where human souls can be summoned from Elysium (Greek Heaven) and inserted into semi-mechanical dolls.  The fact that the afterlife is treated as a common knowledge fact in a world that just resembles ours in the Victorian era, and human souls can be inserted into doll-like bodies indicates to me that this actually drifts into Gaslight fantasy.     

The movie Van Helsing- Though this film is what I would call Goth Action (Gothic Horror merged with action) the film Van Helsing is very much what I would consider Gaslight fantasy. Set in what looks like our world’s Victorian era and even using real-world place names there are distinct differences, such as The Vatican behaving as a secret monster hunting organization instead of just the Capital of the Catholic Church.  Similar can be said about the setting of Castlevania that is distinctly another world even though it resembles ours and has our European place names though that one is set in the fifteenth century.

Howl’s moving Castle - Though bearing Steampunk elements, the common knowledge of magick, in a setting that is not quite our world, and reminiscent of the Victorian era of our world, or even the Edwardian era, makes Howl’s Moving Castle very much a Gaslight fantasy.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Though easily considered Steampunk or Gothic Horror, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen bears some fantasy elements mixed with the horror and the resemblance to our world is dubious at best. 

Stardust - The film and novel by Neil Gaiman deal with a wall that separates the human world from the realm of Faerie and a young man’s journey where he meets a fallen star in humanoid form, and his own long lost mother.  In this world the barrier between the human world and the realm of magick is a known and tangible fact.

Discworld - The Discworld books by Terry Pratchett are set in a fantasy world known as.. the Disworld, supported by four elephants riding on the back of a giant turtle, the Discworld pays homage to and parodies fantasy tropes in a pseudo-Victorian / Edwardian setting.  The setting includes witches, wizards, Death incarnate, ghosts, golems, faeries, and so on.

His Dark Materials - His Dark Materials (i.e. The Golden Compass) is set in a fantasy version of the Edwardian and provides a stark commentary about religion and society.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - A very odd British mini-series and novel about two competing men who work with magick in what looks like late eighteenth century or early nineteenth century England but it’s really its own fantasy setting.  The subplot deals with a dark faery known as The Gentleman and his schemes.

A study in Emerald - Another one by Neil Gaiman, this is an alternate universe version of Sherlock Holmes’ story A Study in Scarlet, but a version of late Victorian England where Lovecraftian Old Ones have taken over and nothing is quite what it seems.  Anno Dracula - Anno Dracula is an alternate universe version of Victorian England set after the events of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker but if Dracula had won and married Queen Victoria.

Beauty and the Beast - The 1740 novel by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. Though nearly a century before the Victorian era this does fit much of the criteria of the Gaslight Fantasy.  There’s political intrigue with faeries, and unlike the Disney film, the novel is not set in France. It’s a fictional land that just resembles eighteenth century France.  And there are other fictional kingdoms such as “The Summer Isle.”  

Pinocchio -  The original novel by Carlo Collodi was set in a surreal, fictionalized version of early 1880s Europe and featured anthropomorphic animals, faeries, self-aware tree bark, and heavy handed human to animal transformations to represent the metaphor of becoming a jackass.   

Ravenloft - The Gothic Horror portion of Dungeons and dragons.  Where Dungeons and dragons already featured elves, dwarves, and wizards Ravenloft contains vampires, Flesh Golems (Frankenstein-style monsters) and werewolves.

Castlevania - Not so much the Netflix Castlevania series... yet but parts of the Castlevania video games franchise count as Gaslight fantasy.  Castlevania begins in a fantastical version of fifteenth century Wallachia (Romania) where vampires, demons and various other monsters are known to be real.   Later installments in the game are set in that world’s version of the nineteenth century.  Though place names match our own it is very clearly not our world as teleporting castles, vampire warlords, and entire towns being wiped out by vampire armies never made it into our own history books.   There are also some steampunk-esque historical inaccuracies in technology and science.  Castlevania is most assuredly a horror themed franchise but it also fits the criteria of Gaslight fantasy.

#Carnival Row #Gaslight Fantasy #Gothic Horror #Gothic Fantasy #Steampunk #Scifi #Fantasy #Faeries #Fae

[techmomma]

I made big progress with my trauma recovery the other day! I’m really proud of doing a very hard thing, and honestly doing so made me feel so much better.

Said growth involves realizing some unfun things, so y’know, look out for that under the read more, even if I consider this a hopeful, uplifting realization by the end. Christ this is long, have fun reading this word wall.

So I essentially lived in a bitter divorce household. Y’know, when the two parents have an awful, agonizing divorce that pits the kids’ loyalties against each parent and each other and themselves.

I grew up in that. Except they never actually divorced. Or separated. Not till after I’d moved out, anyway. So 20+ years of living in a household where my parents flip-flopped between “trying to make it work” and “screaming at each other and bitterly trying to corral their kids in this us-vs-them, me vs your other parent toxic tug of war.”

Why didn’t they divorce? Codependency and religious pressure because both were previous divorcees, one was an excommunicated catholic because of this, and the other was a narcissist who couldn’t admit defeat and made a promise to god to make it work for fear of the shame that would come from failing again! What a winning pair! Who definitely did not mutually cheat on one another and then act scandalized and eternally vindictive about this.

Anyway, what this meant for Steph’s psyche was every day was an eternal battleground of loyalty tests. Any disagreement was disloyalty. Saying the wrong thing could be taken as disloyalty. Yet, y’know. You don’t want to be disloyal to the other parent that you love. You don’t wanna throw them under the bus. You just wanna say what you saw happened.

Which meant every answer became this tightrope of not only validating and appeasing one parent’s ego, but also finding the diplomatic thing to say so as not to implicate the other parent, or get that parent in trouble, or appear disloyal because that too could come around to bite you in the ass. Sometimes we agreed with what one parent was saying, but taking issue with a small part or one aspect? This was seen as fully disagreeing and being disloyal.

You can imagine the pressure this put on an already socially-awkward kid, ages 4-20, to find the exact correct thing to say. It rarely worked out.

But I figured out a clever loophole early on: if I shut down, if I didn’t make a peep, if I said not one word—sure. That parent would be mad at me for not responding. They’d be made I wasn’t saying anything. They might yell louder, or guilt me, or threaten me with some form of humiliation.

But not saying anything was so, so much better than any alternative. Never once did speaking up end well.

If you know about pavlovian training, you can probably quickly see the conditioning that was set in. Parent would state an opinion, about anything. Give validation. Parent looks for validation about shitty feelings about other people? Don’t say a peep, let parent be mad, and eventually they’ll either get so frustrated they give up, or they say their piece and get whatever was on their chest off of it. Either way, they leave me alone. Maybe after three hours of screaming at me, but three hours could turn into six if I made them more mad by disagreeing or seeming disloyal.

And for the record, when I talk about loyalty, I’m not saying they were asking about actual loyalty. They wanted me to agree with their opinions. They wanted me to be on their side, their ally, no matter what the other parent said. It was all or nothing. “You’re with me or against me.”

Made all the more complicated that sometimes, if you seemed disloyal to the other parent, the supposed “enemy” in the situation, the first parent might berate you for that too. “How could you talk about your mother/father that way? How could you say those things?” Despite having been saying worse things minutes before.

They were volatile. The smallest, stupidest things could become full-blown arguments that could last for hours, at the top of their lungs. After which they might turn that to us, the kids, to get out whatever was left in their system I guess. Small questions, statements, became tests. Answer wrong, and there would be hell to pay. The most innocuous things could become loyalty tests. But most of all, the most discerning tests came when they were complaining about the other. When Dad complained about Mom, and when Mom complained about Dad. “Agree with me,” they said between lines, “Are you on my side? Aren’t they terrible?”

I just wanted to love both of my parents. I never wanted to choose.

My epiphany came when I realized that when others seek comfort from me, when looking for validation during shitty events or people being mean to them—y’know, normal things people do with friends—I was having emotional flashbacks. I was being triggered into a state of trauma, my brain receding to that familiar shutdown state. Terrified that whatever I say to comfort them, whatever I say to help them feel better, would be taken as a loyalty test. To voice even slight disagreement could be disloyalty.

My friends had never tested me. But my brain was reacting so firmly and my body so wholly that I had no idea. I try to be aware of my emotional states and how my body reacts but this shutdown response has just been so normal for so long, and such a large bodily feeling, that I never noticed what it was. And it wasn’t until watching a video about this type of situation, feeling like you have to validate someone not necessarily from a place of concern but of fear, that I realized what was happened.

I realized how deep the rabbit hole went. This has been happening for decades. At work, when coworkers would complain or even just chat normally about other coworkers, my brain was shutting down out of fear that my loyalty was being tested, I was being scrutinized for disagreement. When customers talked about my coworkers, my brain was shutting down, terrified to say the wrong thing and either disagree with said customer or throw my coworker under the bus. I shut down when friends talk about other friends, when people talk about other people and maybe I agree, but there’s an aspect or idea in the situation that I don’t agree with, or maybe I’m just seeing things differently from an outside perspective.

But every time, I was terrified. I was so scared that my brain returned to trauma, returned to that shutdown state from childhood (and some adulthood), because shutting down, previously, had always yielded the better result. Staying quiet, keeping my head empty and my thoughts blank, kept me safe for twenty years.

And now I can’t hear other people talking in a room without returning to that same shutdown state, for fear that they are arguing and I will be forced to choose between people. To love one friend more than another. Forced to pick a side, forced to soothe their emotions because if I don’t, things will be so many times worse. Heaven forbid they have disagreeing opinions, even if they’re calmly sorting them out, communicating in a healthy way. God help me if they’re actually arguing. I can’t think, I can’t even speak sometimes, voice pulled tight like I’m being strangled; I can’t even squeak out a sound. It hurts too much. It hurts so much.

Sometimes I can hear people through my earbuds or headphones and all I can do is lay on my bed and plug my ears with my fingers as tight as possible and try to hum a song, try to force a mantra to drown out the sound as I desperately try to soothe myself with some kind of stim, even if it’s just rocking side to side on the bed.

I knew I had problems with listening to people disagreeing. But I realized the other day how deep the rabbit hole goes. How often, daily sometimes, I’ve been having emotional flashbacks. How thoroughly this has been effecting my life, my relationships, my sanity.

It’s been so exhausting. Realizing how many things connect back to this central issue of toxic loyalty that I grew up with, how thoroughly engrained this trauma is in my life. Realizing I’ve been having emotional flashbacks almost every day, for decades.

I’m so tired.

But I’m really glad I did. It’s putting a name to the beast. I am finally getting to the heart of an issue that was so much larger than I originally thought but in turn, there is so much potential to truly grow and heal. If I know the beast, then I can know how to face it. I can know how to use CBT therapy for this, how to weaken it to progress. And I’m really glad for it.

I also did something very hard: directly forcing myself to face it, and told my roommates about this deep-set fear. I realized that I don’t often just talk about how I’m feeling, I usually do so in the context of like having an issue or a problem that we need to talk out or talk through. I don’t usually just say, “I’m really really scared of this thing.”

I told my roommates this realization and like the wonderful, amazing friends they are, they understood. It’s an internal problem for me, something just for me to work on. It’s my issue. But now... they know that if I go quiet when discussing other people, or leave the room when disagreements are happening, I’m not just trying to blow them off or or be wishy-washy. I imagine there have been many times in the past when a friend has come in need of support and my answer came across weird or like I was trying to change the subject and it was awkward and not what they were hoping for.

Now they know that my response might be weird because I’m having a flashback. I’m scared, my brain is shutting down and I can’t think.

And that’s okay. It’s okay to be scared in front of my friends. It’s okay to experience that trauma in front of them. I don’t have to try to pretend I’m okay or try to push through the fear when I really, really can’t. It’s okay to need a subject change or even to just listen quietly if I don’t necessarily want my friend to stop venting, I just may not be able to answer in a beneficial way. I may be shutting down and sometimes all I can do is wait it out. And that’s okay.

I don’t have to validate other people because I’m scared. Because I think I’m being tested.

I felt better not just because talking about these things helps but also because a weight was lifted. One of my main triggers is feeling like I have to respond and have to respond correctly Or Else. But now that they know, that weight is off of my shoulders. I can be afraid and not able to respond and they understand why now. I don’t have to try to keep up that lie or try to put on a face or try to push through it.

I can be scared. And letting yourself be scared is the first step to healing from it. I don’t have to pretend to not be scared anymore.

I always know I’ve hit the hammer on the head when it comes to my emotional issues because I start crying and even just typing this out made me weepy, haha. It’s a good weepy though. I made a big step, and I’m really proud of myself. My instinct was to take this and agonize quietly over it myself, find my own solution on my own and deal with it on my own. But I didn’t. I reached out, and it was scary and hard and it hurt and now I’m so, so much better off for it, and now I can really start healing. I can change this.

God I’m so tired tho. Holy shit.

[englass]

Hello ❤ hope you have a nice day 💖 can i request #14 from the dark prompts please?

Heya hun!!! Honestly, the day has been hot, but we push on. I hope your day has been good!! 💖 Hope you don't mind, but I went for a Fantasy AU for this one; I was super struggling with the prompt and the only thing I could think of was, "oooh, John as a mage..." so we kinda get that. The whole thing is more set up then anything else, but I didn't want to delete anything...

14. “You’re too sweet, darling. What type of monster would I be without you?”

- - -

There had been tales, whispers amongst the women and men of people going missing; of them being snatched off darkened paths and empty roads. Some reckoned it was a beast, spoke of a monster that was stealing people away to fuel their wicked appetite. Others thought it to be bandits, or other unscrupulous groups looking to profit off of the lives of inconspicuous civilians. But there were a handful, the few like yourself, that felt the shift in the air; that could feel the remnants of something foul and forbidden coiled around the scenes.

It had worried you greatly, the thought of such dark magic set loose in the town you had made a home of. Often you found yourself lost in your own mounting anxieties as the reports grew more and more frequent, and rumours gradianted into a much dreaded possibility. Even though you were no stranger to the darker arts, proficient as you are in the art of Summoning, you had never delved too far into its catalogue. In fact, Summoning was about all you ever touched and even then, amongst some other magically inclined individuals, it was considered somewhat of a lesser art; not as destructive and therefore not as notable as others.

However, just because you never strayed into more questionable arts doesn’t mean you know not of them. You’re aware that there are some dark arts that are a bit more accepted amongst the magically inclined than others, used for educational purposes and approved of as a means to protect oneself. Really dark arts are just offensive abilities, so no matter what there is always an element of wariness when it comes to the potential of such arts. As long as you utilise them in an acceptable manner there will be no questioning, no inquiries into your character.

For those not accepted though it is typically because they cross some form of moral or ethical line, taking an individual down a path that alters them irremediably. Stains the core of their aura with the makings of something dreadful, corrupts them until they lose all that makes them as they are.

Admittedly, if not studied correctly or the thirst for knowledge becomes too consuming, then any art can destroy a person; can set them down that very smart path. And sometimes a person can destroy the values of the art and stretch it into something it is not designed to be. There are many stories of Healers’ playing Maker, of a Conjurers’ calling going terribly wrong, of Astrologians’ going insane from their divinations. Once you were almost entranced by your own Summon; a rookie mistake, terribly embarrassing to recall.

Magic in general is a dangerous art and care will always need to be taken. But there are some arts where that danger is part of the art, and those are forbidden. They will always cross the line, and they will never fail to destroy a person; and that person will never fail to destroy others.

That’s what scared you so much about the recent happenings of the town. To think that such a person was lurching about the place, taking people off the street for who knows what nefarious reasons, terrified you. The idea that you could be next, that the stability of your own aura could be at risk because of this rogue caster sickened you. It tore you apart.

And John saw that.

It was a relatively small town, filled with all types of people coming in and out from across the region and the different towns within it. For a long time though the only people you knew that did magic was a spirited Pyromancer called Sharky and some eccentric Apothecary who lived on the outskirts called Larry (you were convinced the man tested his own potions on himself). The first you met when you had summoned a Kelpie to help you put out a fire he had accidentally caused a bit too close to your home, while the latter you had met by chance while looking for ingredients.

That had changed once the Seed brothers had moved in close to the town. They were surprisingly open about their magical inclinations and while the town wasn’t outrightly hostile they were openly suspicious of the three. You had even been a little suspicious of the three, not understanding their reasons for being so forward to a none magically inclined town; it could be dangerous to do so. Ultimately though they suffered little consequence of their reveal, other than strange looks and quiet gossip made of them. You had been envious of that freedom, to be forthright about what you were, but thought better of it. To reveal such a truth after so long would spell disaster for you.

Not even a full lunar cycle had passed before Joseph, the middle brother of the three, had made a point to come seek you out, introducing himself and his brothers to you. It had been a wholly uncomfortable encounter, especially the instance where he had suddenly questioned what arts you had studied. Desperately you had tried to deny it but thankfully the oldest brother, Jacob, had merely sighed and apologised on Joseph’s behalf. As an ex-Paladin turned Enchanter he had fully understood your need for secrecy and had been your saving grace during the whole thing. From then on the brothers become quick acquaintances to you, whether you wanted them to be or not.

Joseph was… okay. He made for interesting conversation no doubt and oftentimes his words gave you pause to think on things, but he could be a touch preachy at times, especially about his beliefs and divinations. Jacob on the other hand had become a confidante of sorts. You didn’t often talk, but when you did the conversation held well enough and his advice was always sound. He was also honest about his thoughts and opinions on a matter, and while you didn’t like being called out when you messed up you did respect his outlook. Your relationship with the youngest brother, John, however was a special one.

It had taken him a few days after the initial introduction to strike up a conversation with you, and for the most part he had purely asked you about yourself. But somewhere between admitting how long you’ve lived here and him nervously revealing himself to be a Conjurer, you had developed a fast trust of the man. It was unexplainable, completely foolish of you, but there was just something about him that you thought was pleasant; a believability to him. He was the first you deliberately told about your darker studies and thankfully, being of similar arts, he had taken it exceedingly well. You had even bonded over the differences and similarities between your chosen studies. He had become a dear friend, and only became dearer as the years went by.

So John noticing when your worries began to eat at you didn’t surprise you. He knew you extraordinarily well, sometimes it was even a little spooky how well he knew you, but it was also an odd comfort. He knew just what to say to put you at ease, to assure you that you would be safe and even going so far as promising that he himself would protect you from such a fate as those missing. You still had doubts, but his care was touching.

If only you had learned the truth sooner.

“My friend, please,” you cry, wrists shackled uncomfortably above you, the metal cutting into your skin, “I beg of thee, stop this! Such practises are a blight to the soul, you will doom yourself if you continue. I know not what it is you wish to accomplish, but please spare them this torture! Spare yourself! Surely there has to be another way, John; surely!”

John merely chuckles quietly, slowly shaking his head as he does so. “Oh, you’re too sweet, darling. Even now, as you are, you still think of me and my well being before yourself. Not to imply you have anything to fear, of course; you know I would never hurt you. I merely mean it as an observation. It is a charming trait, that sweetness of yours. It’s part of why I fell for you so.” He turns to you then, up to his elbows covered in blood. The person before him is still alive, but barely, their breaths shallow and their skin a deathly pallor. To think he was a Hemomancer this whole time…

“But why waste words on their behalf when they would never deign to do the same for you? You had to hide yourself, deny what you truly are just to be accepted by these lowly worms for years. Tell me, where is the fairness in that? In what world should we sequest ourselves away from those weaker than us, those deemed less worthy by the Maker themselves?”

Crossing the space in a few long strides he stops before you, bloody hands cupping your cheeks gently even as you try to turn away from him, bringing you back to stare helplessly into his sparkling eyes, “Don’t you see, sweet one? You are beautiful, in every part, as you are. We were blessed by the Maker, but they will never see that, blinded as they are. They will never appreciate our arts, our gifts, or even us as people, no matter what we may do or sacrifice for them. If I need to subject myself to risk to show them their place, to create a world that you need not hide in any longer, then I’ll do so gladly and without hesitation.”

Shaking your head softly, face still captured within his hands, a tear slips unbidden down your cheek. “But it will consume you. You’ll become a monster.”

“Maybe,” he admits, tone oddly calm as he carefully brushes beneath your eye with his thumb, smearing blood through the track of your tear, “but I wonder, what type of monster would I be without you, do you think?”

Perhaps it is vain of you, but something tells you that he would be another beast entirely without you chained to him as you now are…

#hrnggg #it's so long #and the ending feels weird but i didn't want to keep going #i like keeping my prompts to shorter pieces #yes i know they're not that short but their short for me #i just really wanted to write something in a fantasy setting and got carried away #my bad... #john seed #my gorgeous murder husband #john seed x reader #my writing #my writing prompts #my prompts #soft dark #soft dark writing prompts #soft dark prompts #soft dark fic #fanfiction #fanfic #fc5 fanfic #fc5 #far cry 5 #request #fadedjacket #thank you for sending this in hun! <3 #i know it's a bit different to usual but hopefully it's okay #fantasy au #john's probably a touch ooc in this #but a change in vocab does that to you i guess

[moonlightflower21]

Memory

A/N: a small one shot where mafia leo realises he’s in love with eva. hope you enjoy :)

trigger warning: slight mention of abuse. nothing graphic just a warning in case 

“Dinner is at 8, you know” The amused chuckle fell from the leaders lips, knocking thrice on her bedroom door. Looking at her he was stunned, never before having the pleasure of seeing her in a backless dress. A sense of envy rippled through his body, he had sort of hoped the dress would be a navy blue. That way, both would be matching dates to the party. Even if she wasn’t aware. But she looked gorgeous either way. How did one look so enticing simply just applying a small thing? Lately it seemed his thoughts were simply revolved only around her. And Leo wasn’t complaining, he only wished she knew how much he felt for her. 

“You can’t rush fashion” With careful precision, Eva lined her lips with a deep red liner, filling the rest with a lipstick. Her amber eyes carefully followed, mindful not to over-line. The last thing she needed was turning up to this event looking like a clown.

“Noted. However something tells me you don’t particularly want to attend” He leaned against her door and she paused, looking at herself in the mirror. It was true, she didn’t want to attend. Every part of her wanted to stay at home and dress in pajamas instead of being in this skin tight dress. She wanted to watch movies, instead of pretending to like everyone and converse with mundane people. Usually everyone who attended has a stick shoved so far up their ass, she was surprised it wasn’t coming out of their mouths. 

“Well if it’s any consolation, I’m not exactly excited either. Don been saying there’s been suspicious activity around those ends. Who knows, someone might just pull a gun on me” Leo joked playfully, sticking a hand in his pocket. His head leaned against the wall just admiring her silently, how brave she had been despite her past. How loving she continued to remain even if the world hadn’t treated her right. He was the total opposite. 

“Well then you’d be correct. I don’t much care for this party. Especially seeing you know who” She murmured, closing her lipstick and placing it aside. Leonardo knew who she was talking about, her delightful ex. The very person who abused her mentally and sometimes physically, the man she still didn’t quite heal from. The bastard that would have her trembling in the early dawn as a result of the nightmares from the relationship. Leonardo accidentally came across one of those when he paid her a visit. It ached his heart that he couldn’t hold her but he knew if Eva found out, she’d be mortified for life.

A surge of protectiveness mixed with anger flooded through his veins, he wouldn’t let anyone put their hands on her. Never again would she fear for her life. It took every ounce of maturity in his soul to not break Eva’s ex in several pieces. To not slice him until the first layer of skin was completely degloved and he was screaming in agony. The only reason why Leo hadn’t become violent towards him was because of Eva.

If it were his way, her ex’s head would be hanging from a pole displayed for everyone to see. 

“You’re in the mafia, who’s going to dare hurt you?” She laughed softly, turning around from the mirror to greet the mutant properly. The sight of him was enough to bring heat to her cheeks. His suit was custom made to fit properly around his body, black with hints of royal blue. His muscles bulged from the fabric, cinched in all the right places. His tie was neatly placed around his collar, tied and draped underneath his waistcoat. Leo dressed well, she certainly couldn’t deny. 

“You never know with these people. That also reminds me...” He reached for his back pocket and presented her with a red rose, delicately holding it out to her to which she gracefully accepted. She was surprised it hadn’t crumpled but appreciated this gift immensely. Why was he so cute? Her eyes sparkled with happiness and it made his heart flutter in return. 

“You look beautiful, Eva. You always do” Leonardo’s voice was soft, coming closer to her. He gently lifted her other hand, bowing his head to place a delicate kiss to her skin as a true gentleman.

“Leonardo....” Her voice was but a whisper, words failing her when she desperately needed them. Their faces were so close, only a nudge from him would have her lips on his directly. God only knows how bad she wanted to kiss him, how much she wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him until she couldn’t breathe. The amount of times she refrained herself from developing feelings but it never worked. If anything, these feelings developed into something more. Something that scared her. 

Normally she would be repelled by people and love but he was different. It was ironic, actually. He worked in the mafia, she knew that he killed and tortured people. She knew that his life was always going to be blood and murder and guns and violence. But even so, she didn’t mind. She knew Leonardo, the inside person that he rarely ever let anyone see. He wasn’t the monster that everyone painted him to be. Nor was he the cruel beast that the world loved to use. He helped the city lower it’s crime and criminals but he was shamed for it. And it was because Leo was different and they didn’t understand different. 

Eva didn’t quite know if she was ready to move on to a new person if she was brave enough to love someone wholly all over again. She should’ve stopped this when she had the chance but she was in too deep, far too deep. And maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing.

“Eva!! Leo!! Limo’s here!!” April called from the stairs, snapping them both out the amorous moment they shared. She jolted slightly, her hands ripped out of his warm grasp as she awkwardly fidgeted with the stem of the rose. Only from a glance, Leo knew the troubles that ran through Eva’s head. He knew what tormented her thoughts, the hesitance in opening her heart to a stranger. To him. But Leo wouldn’t give up, what was meant to happen will happen. He was a firm believer of that. All he wanted was a bright future for her, even if it meant that he couldn't be the one to experience those special moments by her side. She deserved a life full of happiness. 

“That’s our cue” She stepped back, chuckling lightly. Turning around, she sprayed her favourite perfume on her dress and neck while reaching for her black heels. He loved her scent, so easy and sweet on the nose. “Coming?” She looked over her shoulder, nodding her head to the stairs. He softly smiled, raising a brow. He would follow her to the ends of the earth if it meant being with her. Eva had Leo wrapped around a manicured finger even if she didn’t know it. 

“Lead the way, Mrs Hamato” He bowed, grinning when she gasped at him. She gently thumped his shoulder with her purse, unable to resist the giggles that left her lips. It made him so happy. She made him so happy. He wondered, however, if she knew that he was being serious. That maybe one day he could confidently call her that. But for now, he settled on the hopeful idea of being a lover. 

#tmnt mafia!leonardo #tmnt mafia!leonardo x oc #tmnt mafia!leo #tmnt mafia!turtles #tmnt 2014/16